Love Contract chapter 6

Backing Up

After speaking, Jiang Liusui let go without warning. Wu Qi, who had been using all his strength to struggle, almost twisted his ankle from the sudden release.

Barely able to stand, Wu Qi’s eyes were red with anger. He spat harshly on the ground and pointed at Jiang Liusui:

“You just wait!”

With that, he stormed out of the dressing room, slamming the door so hard it shook.

Jiang Liusui, now with Wu Qi’s sweat on his hands, pulled out a wet wipe and slowly cleaned his hands.

After a while, he suddenly clicked his tongue, the earlier domineering attitude fading, replaced by a look of genuine distress.

He knew he had no real background to rely on and rarely got into fights in the industry. Unless absolutely necessary, he didn’t want to make enemies with anyone.

He had lost his temper earlier, leaving him no time to consider the consequences. He was confident that as long as He Yujing was present, Wu Qi wouldn’t dare cause any trouble, but He Yujing was only overseeing this MV shoot. If Wu Qi really decided to sabotage him in the future, making it difficult for him to find work…

“This isn’t even my fault,” Jiang Liusui muttered to himself, frustrated, running a hand through his hair. “So annoying. Why can’t that idiot Wu Qi just stay far away from me?”

Outside the dressing room, Wu Qi cursed as he slammed the door, and upon turning around, found himself facing a cold, gloomy gaze.

He silently cursed his bad luck and immediately forced a smile: “Mr. He.”

He Yujing’s tone was ambiguous: “Quite a commotion.”

“Ah, I had a bit of a personal grudge with Xiao Jiang.” Unsure how much He Yujing had overheard, Wu Qi quickly calculated his options, then glanced at He Yujing’s expression before finally deciding to lay everything out in the open. “Earlier during the shoot, I was also in a bad mood and couldn’t adjust my mindset properly. I’m sorry if it affected your progress.”

“Sorry?” He Yujing repeated the word playfully. “Not many people have the guts to delay my work. You not only did that, but you also threatened the artist working with me right under my nose. Quite bold.”

His voice wasn’t loud, and it even carried a hint of a smile. But Wu Qi stood frozen, not daring to meet his eyes.

He had heard many rumors about He Yujing. In the early years of his career, He Yujing had an even worse temper and was known as a tyrant. While most artists could only swallow their anger when faced with slander from unscrupulous media, He Yujing not only fought back personally but also used his connections to sue the offenders into bankruptcy. The owner of that media company eventually ended up in prison for being unable to pay the damages.

After that incident, most media outlets didn’t dare to fabricate stories about him. It became widely known that He Yujing was a tough and unyielding character.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t professional enough.” Wu Qi, not wanting to provoke him further, apologized repeatedly.

Seeing that He Yujing wasn’t responding, Wu Qi’s mind raced. The reason he dared to mess with Jiang Liusui during this shoot, aside from thinking that He Yujing wouldn’t care, was another important factor.

He Yujing was about to release a song next month, and if they fell out now, it would be hard to find another director with the right schedule and ability on short notice. Wu Qi guessed that his harassment of Jiang Liusui might have angered He Yujing, but as long as he promised to do a good job from now on, He Yujing shouldn’t make a big deal out of it.

After all, causing such a scene on set was indeed a bit much.

Wu Qi gritted his teeth and said, “How about this? I’ll make sure to shoot the rest of the scenes well, and I’ll only take half of the agreed fee as an apology.”

He believed he was offering a sincere gesture, but He Yujing responded with a hint of sarcasm: “No need. You’re no longer needed.”

“No longer needed?” Wu Qi repeated, almost thinking he had misheard. He couldn’t believe he was being dismissed so easily and instinctively asked, “What about the MV?”

As if surprised that Wu Qi had the nerve to ask, He Yujing stared at him silently. Wu Qi felt increasingly uncomfortable under his gaze and finally spoke up: “…I understand. The follow-up has nothing to do with me. I was just asking.”

The opportunity to work with He Yujing was something Wu Qi had spent a lot of effort to secure, and he couldn’t believe it was ruined over such a trivial matter. Although he was resentful, he didn’t want to make things worse and was about to step back when—

“Before you leave,” He Yujing interrupted, “apologize to Jiang Liusui.”

Wu Qi was incredulous, the smile finally fading from his face.

He felt that He Yujing was pushing him too far, and his expression twisted slightly: “Don’t you think… that’s unnecessary?”

He could apologize to He Yujing without hesitation, but he couldn’t bring himself to say sorry to Jiang Liusui.

In Wu Qi’s view, bowing down to someone of He Yujing’s status wasn’t humiliating—who wouldn’t lower their head to him? But Jiang Liusui? He had no fame, no backing, just a good-looking face. Even if he had some talent, in Wu Qi’s eyes, he was just a pretty plaything.

“I understand Xiao Jiang; he definitely didn’t take it to heart,” Wu Qi forced a smile and said. “It’s really not something worth making a fuss about, how about we just let it go, what do you say?”

He Yujing ignored him. “When you kept making me redo the scene during the shoot, didn’t you feel guilty?”

“…”

“While I’m still being reasonable, go apologize to Jiang Liusui.”

His tone was steady and calm, not threatening at all, but Wu Qi felt as though those words were crushing him, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.

He exchanged a glance with He Yujing, then turned on his heel and walked back towards the dressing room, steeling himself.

After Wu Qi slammed the door on his way out, Jiang Liusui made a phone call to Jiang Chuan. His agent seemed busy and didn’t answer immediately, so Jiang Liusui quickly typed out a message and sent it over.

Jiang Liusui was upset, unsure of just how big of a mess he’d made this time. Shen Sijia’s nerves were even more sensitive when it came to his matters, and he didn’t want to worry her, so he texted the unfortunate Zhou Xun instead: [Xun, I think I’m about to lose my job.]

Zhou Xun: [？]

Jiang Liusui: [Will you take care of me?]

Zhou Xun: [Sure, you can share a bed with Snowball.]

Snowball was Zhou Xun’s Samoyed, who always went crazy every time it saw Jiang Liusui. Unfortunately, Jiang Liusui was afraid of dogs, and every time he saw Snowball, he acted like he’d seen a ghost.

Jiang Liusui: [On second thought, maybe not.]

But Zhou Xun brought the conversation back: [What happened? Tell me.]

Before Jiang Liusui could reply, the door opened from the outside. To his surprise, Wu Qi had returned. Jiang Liusui felt all his hairs stand on end, eyeing Wu Qi warily, wondering what tricks he was up to now. But then he noticed the person who followed Wu Qi inside and was slightly taken aback.

The next moment.

Wu Qi’s face was tense, the muscles on his face twitching slightly from the effort to control himself.

“I came…” Wu Qi’s stiff voice squeezed out from between his teeth, “to apologize to you.”

“…” Jiang Liusui wondered if he’d misheard. “What?”

Wu Qi really didn’t want to repeat himself, but the man standing behind him cut in, “He couldn’t hear you. Your apology doesn’t seem very sincere, does it?”

He Yujing’s tone was light and casual, but Wu Qi felt as if he might kick him in the leg at any moment, forcing him to kneel down to show his utmost sincerity.

Wu Qi held back his frustration, resigning himself to get this over with as quickly as possible. “I said, I’m sorry for deliberately holding up your progress earlier and for saying those disrespectful things to you just now.”

Jiang Liusui blinked.

He looked at He Yujing and suddenly understood why Wu Qi’s attitude had changed so drastically. Understanding the situation made him even more incredulous.

He had originally thought He Yujing just didn’t want Wu Qi affecting the MV shoot. He never imagined He Yujing would actually demand that Wu Qi apologize to him.

“Oh,” Jiang Liusui said, his tone full of surprise. “Director Wu is apologizing to me?”

“…”

Seeing Wu Qi’s suffocated expression, Jiang Liusui suddenly felt a bit of satisfaction from the situation. “But I still find you annoying every time I see you.”

He Yujing silently chuckled behind Wu Qi.

“Alright, let’s just move on from this. We’ll terminate the contract normally.”

Wu Qi’s expression relaxed slightly. A normal termination meant fewer follow-up disputes, and it wouldn’t sound bad if the news got out. They could easily use an excuse like scheduling conflicts or creative differences, which wouldn’t be too damaging.

But then he realized that he was feeling grateful to Jiang Liusui, and his expression darkened again.

As if seeing through his thoughts, He Yujing patted him on the shoulder. Wu Qi was about to sigh in relief, thinking that was the end of it.

But then He Yujing leaned in close and warned in a low voice:

“And don’t ever think about messing with Jiang Liusui again.”

Wu Qi’s scalp tingled, and he felt a surge of fear from those words. When he inadvertently glanced at He Yujing’s eyes, they were filled with an arrogant, domineering intensity.

At that moment, Wu Qi regretted everything.

He never imagined He Yujing would protect Jiang Liusui so fiercely. If he’d known earlier, he wouldn’t have dared to pull any of those tricks.

But at the same time, he felt something strange.

He Yujing… Is he really the type to stand up for the underdog? What a joke. Why doesn’t this rich young master go play police officer in the entertainment industry?

He Yujing stepped back and returned to his normal volume, “Got it?”

“Yes, I got it.” Wu Qi quickly agreed, finding He Yujing’s earlier demeanor terrifying, not wanting to cross him at all.

“Alright, that’s that.”

Wu Qi didn’t want to stay a second longer. Hearing that, he turned and left as if granted a pardon. Jiang Liusui had never seen Wu Qi so humiliated before, and it brought him a sense of satisfaction.

In the end, his issue with Wu Qi was a personal grudge, but terminating the contract was a big deal for the whole crew. He Yujing’s actions made it clear to Wu Qi that he was on Jiang Liusui’s side, so even if Wu Qi wanted to cause trouble later, he would think twice.

Wu Qi had questionable morals, but his skills were undeniable. Even Jiang Liusui knew how difficult it would be to find a director of similar caliber on short notice after the termination. This time, he truly owed He Yujing a big favor.

“Yu Ge,” Jiang Liusui said earnestly, “thank you.”

Before He Yujing could respond, Jiang Liusui continued, “How should I thank you? Let me treat you to dinner. What do you like to eat? Or maybe I…” He Yujing lacked nothing, so Jiang Liusui didn’t know how to express his gratitude. He even thought about jokingly offering to kneel in thanks.

“I’ll always remember this. If you ever need anything in the future, I’ll do my best to repay you.”

Unlike the tense, indifferent expression he had with Wu Qi earlier, Jiang Liusui now looked at He Yujing with sincerity. His eyes, clear and bright, seemed to hold a galaxy of stars.

The reaction was actually quite cute.

He Yujing smiled, understanding that Jiang Liusui was sincerely grateful to him, and casually brushed off the matter. “Didn’t you already call me ‘Ge’? It’s only right that I help you out.”

Jiang Liusui didn’t expect him to be so accommodating. After a brief moment of surprise, he obediently called out, “Thank you, Ge.”

“…”

He Yujing raised an eyebrow, feeling as if his ears had been lightly pricked.

For some inexplicable reason, he wanted to hear Jiang Liusui call him that again.