Ye Manting was known for his humility and courtesy towards others. Suddenly, he called out to Li Mengfu, leaving her bewildered, wondering what had happened.
"Ah?" Li Mengfu hesitated for a moment, then sat up straight and responded to him.
Ye Manting offered a reasonable explanation, "There's a part in the upcoming scene that I'm not quite familiar with. Could I rehearse it with you again?"
The assistant director couldn't help but praise, "As expected of Ye Ge (Ge–Brother), you're so diligent and professional."
Ye Manting politely smiled, "This is what I should do as an actor."
Hearing this, Qi Zhi squeezed the mineral water bottle in his hand until it deformed.
Ye Manting didn't know that Qi Zhi had already caught Wang Chunhua, and he still wanted to get close to Li Mengfu according to the plan.
When Li Mengfu heard it was for rehearsal, her body relaxed slightly, and she quickly capped the mineral water: "Sure."
As the two of them rehearsed their scene, Qi Zhi occasionally glanced at his phone thinking that the police should be arriving soon.
With many people and eyes on set, several cameramen were busy fiddling with their cameras. One cameraman in particular kept focusing on Ye Manting and Li Mengfu.
Qi Zhi narrowed his eyes slightly. Sensing something amiss, he walked a big circle to stand behind the cameraman.
Qi Zhi's steps were light, and he held his breath almost to the point of being imperceptible. His figure seemed ghostly as he stood behind the cameraman. After taking a look at the camera screen, his eyes instantly turned cold.
The photos taken by the cameraman, with a little manipulation from the gossip columnists, could easily be turned into a scandal titled "Intimate Moments on Set: Alleged romance exposed."
With rumors, photos and drugs added later to force them, even if Li Mengfu had ten mouths to explain, it would be hard to clear her name.
"Who told you to take pictures like this?"
Qi Zhi asked coldly out of the blue, and the two people in the misaligned lens looked like intimate lovers.
The cameraman, startled by his voice, trembled for a moment but quickly regained his composure. "Just shooting some behind-the-scenes shots."
Behind-the-scenes shots?
Qi Zhi raised his eyebrows, then realized the man didn't have a work pass.
Qi Zhi reached out and firmly covered the camera lens, asking sternly, "Which team are you from, and where's your work pass?"
With his imposing height and a chilling expression, Qi Zhi immediately intimidated the cameraman.
When asked about his work pass, the cameraman's face turned pale. He wasn't actually part of the crew; he had been planted here by Ye Manting as a paparazzo, and of course he had no work pass.
Seeing Qi Zhi holding the paparazzo he had arranged, Ye Manting was startled inside, but his face remained calm as he smiled and spoke: "Qi Zhi, the man was just taking some behind-the-scenes shots."
"You came to visit the set today, isn't it a bit bad to trouble the staff?" Ye Manting furrowed his brow, looking genuinely concerned for Qi Zhi.
Qi Zhi saw through his pretentious act and a fleeting sneer flashed through Qi Zhi's eyes. Ye Manting was an expert at playing the role of a virtuous gentleman, but Qi Zhi knew his true nature. If he hadn't known his real face, he might have been deceived by this hypocritical facade.
Qi Zhi's expression gradually turned colder. The set crew also noticed the tension, and two assistant directors came over to ask:
"What happened?"
Seeing others come, the paparazzo could no longer maintain his composure. His expression became slightly panicked, with fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.
Qi Zhi, observing this, snatched the paparazzo's camera away. He pressed buttons to browse through the contents, revealing a collection of somewhat compromising shots of Li Mengfu and Ye Manting that could easily convey a misleading impression.
In front, Ye Manting saw Qi Zhi snatch the camera, and the hypocritical gentle smile on his face froze, his eyes momentarily flashing with vicious resentment.
This scheming brat Qi Zhi actually ruined my good deeds!
Ye Manting's subtle expressions were even more obvious to Li Mengfu, who was rehearsing with him.
Li Mengfu stopped her actions, closed her mouth that was saying lines, and then looked at Qi Zhi in doubt.
The gazes of the people around the scene converged on Qi Zhi. The paparazzo wanted to run, but was caught by Qi Zhi's eagle eyes and he grabbed him by the collar with his quick reflexes.
The camera weighing over ten jin in Qi Zhi's hand was like a toy. He swung the camera and smashed it fiercely onto the paparazzo's back.
With a yelp of pain, the paparazzo was instantly pinned to the ground by Qi Zhi's backhand.
Qi Zhi's movements were precise and ruthless, and his eyes radiated such chilling gloom that it was hard to imagine that he was just an eighteen-year-old, and looked delicate and androgynous.
He shot a sharp gaze directly at Ye Manting and enunciated word by word: "I said before, none will escape."
I will not let go of anyone who tries to hurt Mengfu.
When the camera fell into Qi Zhi's hands, Ye Manting's heart skipped a beat. He maintained his forced smile on the surface: "I'm not sure what you're talking about."
Qi Zhi, sensing Ye Manting's stubbornness, maintained his intimidating demeanor. It was just like this that his Jingyue was ruined by Ye Manting and this group of scumbags.
"Mengfu, come over here," Qi Zhi nodded gently, beckoning her closer.
"Qi Zhi..." Li Mengfu's right hand clenched into a fist, vaguely sensing something had happened, but still asked: "What happened?"
Li Mengfu frowned. Qi Zhi was occasionally a bit gloomy in her impression, but rarely showed such a gloomy and menacing side.
For a moment, Li Mengfu stood still in place with an uneasy expression.
Seeing her uneasy expression, Qi Zhi's face softened and he suppressed the gloomy aura all over his body, saying to her gently: "It's nothing, just someone was trying to do bad things but failed."
At this moment, one of the assistant directors took the camera from Qi Zhi's hand to take a look.
Qi Zhi spoke coldly, "Some people have thick skins; they actually attempted to take such scandalous photos for gossip."
With these words from Qi Zhi, plus the intimate-looking photos due to the camera angle, who in the audience didn't understand the situation?
"Ts-ts, I never expected Ye Manting to be this kind of person."
"It can't be, right? Ye Ge treats people so well, he wouldn't do anything to Mengmeng..." Discussions continued on set, with some even speaking up for Ye Manting.
Ye Manting could no longer maintain his smiling facade. He scanned the surroundings with a dark expression, finally locking eyes with Qi Zhi. "Qi Zhi, you can eat carelessly but can't speak carelessly. What does the photographer taking photos have to do with me?"
Seeing that he was still stubbornly arguing, Qi Zhi laughed coldly: "Stop pretending."
Shortly after, Wang Chunhua and Brother Yan were brought over by Qi Zhi's agent, both looking embarrassed.
Ye Manting turned pale with fright, realizing that his actions today had backfired on him, and his deeds had been exposed.
"If you have something to say, save it for the police," Qi Zhi's expression was sharp and cold. The tips of his ears moved slightly as he noticed several police officers approaching.
"Mr. Ye, our bureau received a report that you attempted to drug a minor, please come with us." Two police officers unceremoniously handcuffed Ye Manting.
The onlookers were shocked by this turn of events, only now realizing that Ye Manting not only asked paparazzi to take photos but also intended to drug Li Mengfu!
"Qi Zhi!" Ye Manting glared at him, full of resentment and unwillingness as he looked at Qi Zhi.
We had no grievances in the past, but if you dare to call the police and arrest me today, Jiaxin Entertainment will definitely make you pay!
Qi Zhi's eyes flickered slightly as he maintained a calm demeanor.
At that moment, Ye Manting suddenly felt that everyone had underestimated this young film star.
Is a person who can reveal such a gloomy and calm side really the dull-eyed Ah Dou with poor acting skills portrayed in the media? [T/N: 阿斗 - Ā dǒu - fig. weak and inept person.]
"Mengmeng!" Li Mengfu's mother had just returned to the dressing room when she saw the police officers holding the two cups of milk tea. It was then that she learned that Ye Manting, the guy with a heart of a beast but a human face, actually dared to drug her daughter!
Li Mu glared at Ye Manting angrily, shouting sharply: "Ye Manting, you beast! A few days ago you approached me to create a CP (couple) with Mengmeng, and when I refused, you dared to do this to her!"
Only now did Li Mengfu know that Ye Manting had failed in persecuting her.
Li Mengfu's mother might have treated her like a cash cow, but she also protected her, shielding her from the sordidness of the outside world.
"No way! Ye Manting actually did such a thing? Mengmeng is still a minor!"
The executive who had defended Ye Manting earlier instantly changed his face, and the onlookers also looked at him with a look of disdain and disgust.
"My Mengmeng is only seventeen years old. If anything happens to her, I will carve you up a thousand times!"
Li Mengfu's mother was frantic with worry, her eyes red with rage. She rushed over and wanted to scratch Ye Manting's face.
Heavens! What if this beast had succeeded?
Li Mengfu was still a child star, portraying the image of the "good girl" to the outside world. If she was photographed in nude photos or videos, how would she survive?
How could a seventeen-year-old girl live through this?
This damned guy actually had plans to drug Mengmeng. If Xiao Qi hadn't come over today, my daughter would have been in a terrible situation!
Li's mother looked at Qi Zhi with tears in her eyes: "Thank you so much for today."
Qi Zhi shook his head: "Those who do evil will perish by their own hands."
Ye Manting was a scumbag who had harmed many female stars with despicable means.
Most female celebrities value their reputations and wouldn't dare to speak up about such injustices, especially considering that Ye Manting had the support of Jiaxin Entertainment, a giant in the entertainment industry.
"Qi Zhi, you just wait for me!"
Ye Manting never expected to fail against Qi Zhi. Seeing his deeds exposed, he glared fiercely: "I will absolutely not let you go!"
You dare to touch someone backed by Jiaxin Entertainment, you really don't know the immensity of heaven and earth!
"Mom–" Li Mengfu looked scared and panicked.
"It's okay, it's okay, Mengmeng. Be good." She took Li Mengfu aside for rest and to comfort her.
After Ye Manting and others were taken away by the police, Qi Zhi's complexion still did not improve.
In her previous life, not only was Li Mengfu forced to publicly promote their relationship after he succeeded, she was even forced to sign an almost sell-your-body contract with Jiaxin Entertainment, eventually leading her down the abyss.
Fortunately today, he came in time, so Li Mengfu escaped the disaster, avoiding the tragic outcome of her previous life.
*
The shooting of "Old Shadows of the Republic" just started for not too long, and the male lead got into trouble and was imprisoned, which had no small impact on the crew. And the person who caused this impact, Qi Zhi, walked towards the director under everyone's gaze.
The director's gaze at Qi Zhi was not very friendly.
You say you're here to visit the set, and you create such a big commotion. Where am I supposed to find another male lead now?
"Director Chen."
Qi Zhi withdrew his sharp aura, and his tone was relatively mild: "What happened today was my impulsiveness."
Qi Zhi said it was his own impulsiveness, but he had no intention of reflecting on his actions.
If he had arrived late, and Mengfu had fallen victim to Ye Manting, it would have been his fault.
Director Chen wore a stern expression as he glanced sideways at Qi Zhi. He picked up his water glass and took a long sip, before starting to speak in a yin and yang tone:
"Master Qi's incredible magic! Your visit to the set today resulted in my male lead landing directly in prison."
Losing the male lead meant the production team would have to find a new actor, causing delays and incurring additional expenses.
Upon hearing this, Qi Zhi let out a faint smile and then took a seat across from Director Chen. He nodded slightly and asked, "Director Chen, what do you think of me?"
Director Chen scrutinized him from head to toe, his brow furrowing, and hesitated, "...You?"
The original owner had at least won an international film emperor and had a significant presence in the industry. Unfortunately, he had never been able to shake off the influence of "Full Moon," which made his acting unstable.
However, Qi Zhi, as the tasker, had traversed numerous worlds, playing roles with identities and experiences that ordinary actors could not compare to.
Of course, the director Chen here did not know these things.
His biggest concern right now was that if they changed the male lead, Jiaxin Entertainment might withdraw its investment. After all, Ye Manting was a fresh face highly favored and nurtured by Jiaxin Entertainment in recent years.
"Hmm!?" The cell phone spun around in Qi Wei's hand and was snapped back onto the table again by him.
Chen's gaze followed his movements and stopped on the table, only to see Qi Zhi's eyes shimmer as he said a few words to Director Chen:
"Change the male lead, I will increase investment."