Rong Guang’s mind instantly went into brainstorming mode.
In that brief moment, countless possible scenarios flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern—faced with this situation, should she pretend to faint, pretend to faint, or pretend to faint?
However, Chu Feiliang didn’t give her the chance to feign fainting.
She had already stood up and was slowly walking over.
Chu Feiliang walked up to Mao Xiaosong. Seeing him red-faced and unable to get up for a while from the pain, she asked with a smile, “How much force did you put into that kick?”
Rong Guang’s hesitation lasted only a second before she obediently told the truth. “I used all my strength. I didn’t hold back.”
Chu Feiliang nodded nonchalantly and nudged the person on the ground with her foot.
Mao Xiaosong let out another series of pained cries at Chu Feiliang’s action, tears and snot streaming down his face.
Chu Feiliang pursed her lips, turned to her assistant, and said, “Make the call.”
As soon as she finished speaking, several hotel room doors opened. Many people had noticed the commotion outside and came out to see.
“What’s going on here?”
“What happened?”
“Hey, isn’t that Xiao Song… Why is Teacher Chu here too? What’s the situation?”
The hallway was suddenly filled with chattering voices. Someone with sharp eyes spotted the listless Chacha huddled in her assistant’s arms. After asking about her injuries, they dashed back to their room to get gauze and iodine.
Rong Guang expressed her thanks gratefully, glanced at Chu Feiliang, and quickly went to Chacha’s side to hug her.
“Good girl, Chacha,” Rong Guang said softly.
Chacha shook her head, resting her chin on Rong Guang’s shoulder and letting her hold her.
Despite the surrounding noise, Chacha’s eyes were filled with a calm, almost indifferent expression from certain angles.
“Sister Guangguang, this Mao Xiaosong was trying to harm you,” Chacha said, stuffing the beautifully folded envelope into Rong Guang’s hand. “Along with Jiang Ruyi.”
Rong Guang’s movements paused.
She put the envelope in her pocket, her gaze lowered to hide the thoughts in her eyes. She said softly, “Good girl, Chacha. Your big sister can handle this herself.”
Chacha said no more, nuzzling against Rong Guang affectionately and saying with a hint of exhaustion, “Okay.”
Jiang Ruyi’s assistant had also heard the commotion outside and was now standing with everyone else, forming a circle and watching leisurely from a distance.
After all, she was a somewhat famous special guest. Even without Jiang Yuan in the crew to make things convenient for her, there were still plenty of actors who wanted to curry favor with her.
Seeing her come out, the people at the back of the crowd made way for her. It wasn’t enough to let her get to the center, but it allowed her to see what was happening inside.
“Ruyi, what’s wrong with your face?” an actress on good terms with Jiang Ruyi asked with some surprise after looking at her for a moment.
Jiang Ruyi was taken aback. “My face? What’s wrong with my face?”
As she spoke, she unconsciously scratched it again, feeling several bumps.
She frowned and stopped scratching, pressing gently instead. She could feel waves of itchiness coming from her face.
“Is it itchy?” that person said. “Are you having an allergic reaction? I feel like your face is really red.”
Jiang Ruyi shook her head. She wanted to go back to her room to check, but she didn’t want to miss the exciting scene outside, especially since the other party involved was Mao Xiaosong.
Although, to be frank, she hadn’t done anything. But if Mao Xiaosong got desperate and started spouting all sorts of nonsense, she wouldn’t be able to escape responsibility, and her reputation would be completely ruined.
Suppressing the itch, she shook her head and said, “It’s probably just the yellow lighting in the hallway. It’s nothing, just a little dust allergy.”
“Oh.” The person nodded and didn’t press the matter.
Jiang Ruyi’s assistant took a wet wipe from her pocket and said, “Sister Ruyi, wipe your face. The coolness will make it feel better.”
Jiang Ruyi took it and shot her a glare. “You had this and didn’t take it out sooner!”
The assistant secretly glanced at Jiang Ruyi’s face, clenched her fists, and hid the venom in her eyes.
Before long, the crew members who had received the call rushed upstairs.
Because the call was made by Chu Feiliang’s assistant, everyone assumed something had happened to Chu Feiliang, and almost the entire crew was alarmed.
Zhang Nanchuan hadn’t been asleep anyway. When the actors slept, he couldn’t. He was pulling an all-nighter with the screenwriting team to discuss things. When he suddenly heard that Chu Feiliang was injured, he was so scared he threw his instant noodles away, not even caring that he’d scalded a layer of skin off his hand as he rushed over.
The crowd gradually split into two, clearing a path in the middle for people to enter.
Zhang Nanchuan, his head spinning, surveyed the scene and asked in a hoarse voice, “What exactly happened?”
Chu Feiliang shrugged and said nothing.
Her assistant had already gotten the full story and had also retrieved the security footage from downstairs. When she spoke, she couldn’t hide her anger.
“The little girl was just playing with the carpet here, minding her own business. Mao Xiaosong came out from some room, had already walked past, but then saw Chacha, turned back, and kicked her. The kick made the little girl’s head bleed like a faucet, and she’s still dizzy now…”
Chacha cleverly raised her head and blinked, then her eyes darted around. She opportunely buried her face in the chest of a sister who was holding her and said pitifully, “Sister, I’m so dizzy…”
The sister supporting her had some first-aid training. Hearing this, she straightened her back even more, carefully supporting the back of Chacha’s head to keep it stable.
Rong Guang was pacing anxiously nearby, wanting to help but afraid that Chacha might really have a concussion. She hadn’t learned any first aid, and it would be terrible if she made things worse by trying to help.
Just as she was getting extremely anxious, she felt a small hand grasp her ankle.
Then, the small hand crept up her ankle, stopping when it reached her calf.
Next, a finger slowly traced a few words on her leg. Rong Guang stopped moving and figured out the words were “I’m faking it.”
Rong Guang: “…”
She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but in the end, she let out a long sigh.
Chu Feiliang, who was beside her, heard it and glanced at her, then said, “Let’s not waste any more time. The one who needs to go to the hospital should go to the hospital. As for calling the police… oh, that’s probably not necessary. Mediate it, and take away who needs to be taken away.”
After listening to the assistant’s account, Zhang Nanchuan was over there watching the copied security footage.
When he saw Mao Xiaosong walk past Chacha, then turn back to kick her, he was so angry his hair was practically standing on end.
Mao Xiaosong, who had just recovered enough to slowly pull himself up with the wall, hadn’t even steadied himself when Zhang Nanchuan sent his head sideways with a loud slap. “You son of a bitch, you’d even lay a hand on a child—are you fucking asking for it?!”
The slap, filled with rage, was so undisguisedly forceful that it sent Mao Xiaosong’s world spinning. His legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground again.
Rong Guang was a bit stunned by this.
But beside her, Chu Feiliang let out a soft scoff.
Rong Guang looked at her, a little lost.
Chu Feiliang leaned down, brought her lips close to Rong Guang’s ear, and whispered, “In his entire life, the one thing Zhang Nanchuan despises most is someone bullying a child on his turf.”
Rong Guang slowly nodded.
Chu Feiliang wasn’t finished. As if afraid Rong Guang would run away, she held her head and continued, “The reason he liked you so much back then was also because you were young.”
Rong Guang’s face flushed red to the roots of her neck. With her head held in place, even nodding was difficult.
“Wh… why?” Rong Guang’s head was a little dizzy.
Chu Feiliang thought for a moment, then decided to tell her. “It’s not really a secret. He used to have a daughter. When she was two, she was playing at their doorstep when a human trafficker covered her mouth and abducted her. He was right there at the door and chased them for over half an hour, but couldn’t catch up. He went crazy for a long time after that and still hasn’t found her. If you count the years, she’d be in her teens by now.”
Rong Guang was stunned. Looking at Zhang Nanchuan, who was so angry he was practically steaming and about to explode, a wave of sorrow suddenly rose in her heart.
No wonder he could always tolerate Ye Zi and Chacha’s wild antics on set.
No wonder he would sometimes even join in the children’s games.
So there was a reason for it all.
In her previous life, she had the good fortune to meet Zhang Nanchuan too late. Her impression of him was limited to his work, and she never knew the reason for his deep melancholy every winter.
She only knew that he was in his forties, unmarried, and had no children.
In the end, Chacha was the first to be sent to the hospital, and Rong Guang went with her.
Zhang Nanchuan had checked Chacha’s injury. Looking at the layers of gauze wrapped around her head, he couldn’t tell how bad it was, but Chacha’s face was pale, her usually rosy lips were completely colorless, and she had none of her usual chirpy energy.
Coupled with the crystal-clear video footage, Zhang Nanchuan said nothing, only gently patting Chacha’s shoulder and having a staff member accompany them.
In the car, Chacha was half-lying in Rong Guang’s arms. Her hand would squeeze Rong Guang’s palm from time to time, and some of the squeezes were so forceful that Rong Guang could feel the pain.
Rong Guang sensed something was wrong and became extremely nervous. She gently wiped Chacha’s face with a wet wipe and whispered, “Chacha, how are you feeling?”
“So dizzy,” Chacha’s voice was weak. As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes. With the slight rocking of the car, they finally streamed down from the corners of her eyes. Her voice trembled as she said, “I feel like throwing up.”
Seeing Chacha like this, Rong Guang’s tears also started streaming down in a ‘swoosh’. She hastily wiped them away with the back of her hand and asked anxiously, “How much longer until we get there?”
The driver was from the crew. He was also anxious, knowing this matter had alarmed the top brass. He didn’t dare to be slow, glancing ahead and saying, “Almost there, almost there! There’s no traffic at night, we can get there in twenty minutes on the main road!”
Rong Guang sniffled, carefully brushed back Chacha’s sweat-soaked hair, and bit her lip, a certain resolve in her eyes.
Just then, the phone in Rong Guang’s pocket vibrated.
She took it out and saw a WeChat message.
Chu: The doctor has been contacted. He’s in the emergency hall on the first floor. Take Chacha directly for an examination. Stay calm, I’m here with the crew.
The tears Rong Guang had just managed to stop surged up again, this time accompanied by sobbing sounds.
With trembling hands, she picked up her phone. Several times, she failed to type because of the moisture on her hands.
After a long while, Rong Guang finally replied: Thank you, Sister.
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