Chapter 42: The Best Actor Keeps a Black-Hearted Vixen

"Goodbye, Song-ge... Mmm..." Su Tang widened her eyes, staring at Song Heqing's magnified face, which was right before her.

However, just for a fleeting second, Song Heqing pulled back and walked back toward the door. "I'm really leaving now." With that, Song Heqing turned the knob, opened the door, and stepped outside.

What had just happened was entirely too sudden. The moment that pair of warm lips brushed against hers, Su Tang's face had flushed brilliantly red.

Even as that warmth withdrew, Su Tang remained frozen, unable to process what had just occurred.

It wasn't until the click of the door closing behind Song Heqing that Su Tang snapped back to reality.

She raised both hands to cover her flushed face, then slowly squatted down onto the floor.

001's emotionless, mechanical voice chimed in: [Ooh la la~]

Su Tang: [This man is simply too dangerous... my heart can't take it...]

Heat rushed to Su Tang's face in waves.

001: [How does it feel to have the dynamic between you two completely flipped? Have you been completely wrapped around his finger?]

Though Su Tang was reluctant to admit it, she knew it was true.

*Ding-dong~*

Her phone buzzed in her hand. Su Tang stood up, walked over to the sofa, and unlocked the screen.

Song Heqing: [I've left~ Make sure you go straight to bed.]

Su Tang: [Got it~] She mimicked Song Heqing and added a wavy punctuation mark at the end.

Song Heqing: [You look extremely cute when you blush.]

Su Tang: ! ! ! Her eyes widened as she stared at the screen, utterly speechless, unable to craft a reply.

With a pleasant mood, Song Heqing glanced at the top of the chat box, where the indicator continuously flickered to show that Su Tang was typing...

He tossed his phone onto the passenger seat, the exhaustion of the entire day instantly vanishing into thin air.

Thinking of Su Tang's blushing expression just moments ago, Song Heqing started the engine and drove away from the intersection.

Su Tang had originally assumed, based on the romance novels she used to read, that someone of Song Heqing's star status would despise being relentlessly pursued by clingy people.

Recalling the cold expression Song Heqing had worn the very first time they met, she had intentionally put on a mask of magnanimity and graceful understanding when saying goodbye.

Never in her wildest dreams would she have guessed that Song Heqing would take the initiative to turn around and kiss her.

***

Su Tang slumped heavily against the back of the sofa, letting her head loll backward as she muttered limply, "My predecessors... I've brought shame upon you all, but I know you'd definitely understand."

001: [........................]

They always said that fox spirits were adept at using their beauty to seduce others, but weren't those very members of the fox clan often completely bewitched and led astray by humans themselves?

Some fell for a human's personality, while others were captivated by mere looks.

Yet Song Heqing possessed both in absolute perfection.

Still, after experiencing such an exhausting day, Su Tang was genuinely tired.

With Song Heqing gone, her previously soaring excitement gradually subsided. Looking around the meticulously tidied kitchen, Su Tang felt a warm sense of fullness in her heart.

She tidied up a bit more, crawled into bed, and sent Song Heqing a simple "goodnight." Waiting only until he replied before finally drifting off to sleep.

Early the next morning, Su Tang was awakened by a call from her manager.

Initially, Su Tang had no desire to answer his call, but considering their contract hadn't been officially terminated yet, she swiped to accept.

Manager: [Are you awake? I just sent you a statement. Download the image and post it straight to your Weibo.]

Hearing this, Su Tang exited the call screen and glanced over the document.

The statement essentially claimed that yesterday's incident occurred because Su Tang had been overly emotional, but that it stemmed from a close relationship with her manager, asking the public not to misunderstand.

Su Tang understood immediately—they were trying to cut ties and throw her under the bus, forcing her to shoulder all the blame alone.

Manager: [Hello? Did you hear me? Just post it directly in a bit, and don't say anything else unnecessary.]

Su Tang let out a cold laugh: [Do you really take everyone else for a fool?]

The manager clearly grew irritated. [Just post what you're told! Why so many questions? You don't need to worry about the rest. Let me tell you, considering you hit me yesterday, I've only written this statement for you out of our past relationship, do you understand?]

Su Tang didn't bother to reply; she simply hung up the phone.

Look at that—human hearts could be so treacherous. They always claimed to be acting in your best interest, when in reality they were just using you. But she wasn't as foolish as the original host of this body.

It was precisely because her manager and the company executives had constantly disrespected the original host, ignored all her opinions, and manipulated her at will that she had been driven to such a tragic end.

However, not all humans were wicked. Her boyfriend, Song Heqing, was living proof of that.

Just as this thought crossed her mind, a message popped up from Song Heqing.

Song Heqing: [There are still some leftovers in the fridge. Just pop them in the microwave to heat them up.]

Holding her phone, Su Tang smiled from ear to ear as she curled up on the sofa. He was actually worrying about whether she had eaten.

***

Su Tang: [Okay, okay~]

To prove how obedient she was, Su Tang deliberately took photos of every step she took to heat up the food, sending them one by one to Song Heqing until she finally received his praise, at which point she felt thoroughly satisfied.

After finishing her meal, Su Tang pondered for a moment before messaging Song Heqing to express her intention to sue her current agency.

Song Heqing agreed readily on the other end, assuring her that if any evidence was needed, he would have someone assist her.

Su Tang happily accepted.

The manager didn't send any more messages after that, presumably realizing that Su Tang's stance was unshakeable.

Bored, Su Tang opened Weibo and found that yesterday's scandal had naturally dissolved without her even needing to address it.

At the same time, the video of her and her manager was still being widely circulated, though their faces were conveniently blurred out in the later reposts.

Yet, a glance at the comments revealed that public sentiment was now overwhelmingly on her side whenever her name came up.

Public opinion was steering in a favorable direction, and coupled with Song Heqing's reassuring words—which acted like a stabilizing anchor—Su Tang felt completely at ease.

Though she wasn't sure how long a lawsuit would take, she sincerely hoped it would wrap up quickly.

Throughout the morning, her manager repeatedly tried calling her, but Su Tang ignored every single call, preferring instead to casually chat with Song Heqing while he worked.

Even though Song Heqing was busy and could only reply at intervals, Su Tang was already more than content.

To her surprise, however, the company's boss himself called her that afternoon.

Su Tang exited the app and quickly dropped a message to Song Heqing.

Song Heqing: [Don't answer his call. Just leave him hanging; tomorrow, he'll receive a nice surprise from you.]

Su Tang: [ [Obedient sticker] Mhm, got it.]

True to form, upon realizing they couldn't reach Su Tang, the company hurriedly published an official statement. While apologizing to the public, they claimed there was no friction between Su Tang and the agency, and announced that the manager who had supposedly oppressed her had already been fired.

Su Tang stared at the company's statement and sneered quietly—a classic case of cutting off a limb to save the body.

Truth be told, compared to anyone else, the agency loathed the idea of losing Su Tang, their ultimate cash cow.

As a rising female celebrity notorious for both good and bad press, Su Tang had raked in a substantial fortune for their small-scale firm.

Having stared at her phone for the entire day, Su Tang stood up, stretched lazily, and sent Song Heqing a message asking if he was coming over tonight.