The male protagonist, a former fan of Fu Bing's films, was very anxious about acting in a love scene with his goddess.
"Bing, may I touch your waist and legs later?"
Fu Bing stared at the script, zoned out.
After a while, she said, "No matter where you touch, I will resist violently."
Fu Bing wasn't a fool; she understood now.
Su Junling was deliberately making this film to disgust Qin Jinhai.
She was the sharp dagger intended to disgust Qin Jinhai.
As soon as this film was released, Qin Jinhai's image would be ruined.
And she, even before the film's release, would be killed by Qin Jinhai.
"Director Su, we need to talk."
Qin Jinhai returned to his office.
The script was already on his desk.
Qin Jinhai didn't even glance at the tea his secretary handed him. His entire attention was on the script.
Suddenly, he slammed the script down and stormed out of the office.
That evening, after filming wrapped up, Fu Bing didn't ask Xiaomei to pick her up. Instead, she took a bus back to the city with the extras.
It was already nine o'clock by the time she reached her apartment complex.
The lighting in the complex was dim, with many poorly lit areas.
The darkness was unsettling.
Just as she was thinking this, Fu Bing was grabbed by the shoulder and her back was slammed against the rough trunk of a nearby banyan tree.
The coarse bark, separated only by the thin fabric of her dress, scraped her painfully.
Before she could cry out, her lips were sealed by someone else's.
The man's hot breath claimed her lips and tongue with dominance.
Fu Bing tried to pull back.
The man's large hand was clamped firmly on her waist.
Her delicate waist seemed to possess a magic that drew Qin Jinhai's hand.
He greedily savored her taste.
His tongue plundered her mouth, staking his claim.
The man's solid chest, his domineering presence, and his scorching body heat made Fu Bing involuntarily shiver.
Feeling her shiver, the man kissed her even deeper and harder.
"Enough!"
Fu Bing's eyes were closed, her eyelashes trembling.
Her lips were red and swollen from the kisses.
Strands of her hair were slightly disheveled.
Two buttons on her blouse had come undone during their embrace, revealing a glimpse of her soft chest.
Her appearance only fueled his desire to treat her roughly.
Qin Jinhai's voice was hoarse, yet his eyes were as sharp as knives.
"Where did that man touch you today?"
"It's none of your business!"
"You're forbidden from acting in that movie anymore!"
Fu Bing fastened her buttons, concealing the exposed skin.
She raised a pale, slender wrist to smooth her disheveled hair.
Every movement was meticulous, graceful, and beautiful.
It was as if the man before her didn't inspire a fear so profound it made one tremble.
A hint of red still lingered at the corners of Fu Bing's eyes, her tone laced with provocation.
"Is Mr. Qin willing to return my assets to me?"
Qin Jinhai didn't speak.
His eyes consistently followed her movements, admiring her beauty.
In just two days, she had quickly adjusted, transforming from a prisoner back into a star.
She wasn't wearing designer clothes, and apart from earrings, she wore no other jewelry.
Simple, yet her meticulous grooming hinted at a carefully maintained beauty.
This woman...
Even if you pushed her into the mud, she would still hold her head high with pride.
Fu Bing fought to suppress her fear of Qin Jinhai.
"Mr. Qin, even the ultimate punishment is just death. What is the truth about Li Qing's miscarriage? After three years, you should have found out."
"She was inferior to me in every way back then. Why would I harm her?"
"You had those false tax evasion accounts fabricated overnight and pressured the judiciary to imprison me in record time—wasn't it all just to clear the way for Li Qing?"
"Couldn't you simply finance her projects and build her a team? Or are you afraid that if I returned, I'd instantly snatch back the position she barely managed to secure?"
She had suppressed these words for three years.
This man, once her hope, had become her most terrifying nightmare.
She had barely gotten out, and still, he wouldn't let her go.
Qin Jinhai pinched her chin, his voice cold. "Do you think Su Junling genuinely invited you to make a movie?"
"Genuine? What's genuine in this world? It's all just mutual exploitation."
Fu Bing's tone was chillingly detached.
"Aren't you the same, Mr. Qin? So tender when you could use me, and so brutally heartless once I had no value left!"
He didn't love her, so he had personally pushed her into an abyss...
Fu Bing gathered her courage and looked Qin Jinhai straight in the eye.
Qin Jinhai's tone betrayed no hint of pleasure or anger, but his words were squeezed through clenched teeth.
"It seems the three years in prison were for nothing."
Fu Bing shivered.
The Qin Jinhai before her was like a malevolent abyss, threatening to pull her down into inescapable mire.
Terrified, she pushed Qin Jinhai away and fled blindly.
Just as she reached her apartment building's entrance, she saw an elderly man holding a thermal flask, standing by the security door.
The old man said loudly, "Young lady, I forgot the password. I've been waiting for a long time. Lucky you came along."
Fu Bing quickly unlocked the door and let the elderly man in.
She glanced warily outside the security door.
Qin Jinhai hadn't followed.
Fu Bing breathed a sigh of relief, suppressing the joy in her voice. "Uncle He, you're out?"
"Now that you're out, there was no point in me staying in there."
"And Aunt Ning?"
"She's out too. She even made some nourishing soup and insisted I bring it for you. She said not to worry, she can help you regain the health you lost inside."
"Mm-hm." Fu Bing took the thermal flask, her smile genuinely happy and pure. "It's so good that you're both here."
"Don't worry about the money. My paintings are still worth something; I just need to paint a few more."
"No, you can't paint," Fu Bing rejected without a second thought.
If Uncle He were willing to paint, why would he have paid the price of ten years of freedom?
"For you, I can paint. And Aunt Ning can start treating the nobles again."
A wave of warmth tenderly enveloped Fu Bing's heart.
"For you and Aunt Ning, I can also go back to acting, face all the criticism, and do all the things I despise." Fu Bing shook her head gently. "You mustn't worry me."
Uncle He's hand was crippled, Aunt Ning's legs were disabled...
And they had been thrown into prison for so many years.
She couldn't let them risk exposing their own identities for her sake.
Unable to sway her, Uncle He changed the subject.
"Is Qin Jinhai giving you a hard time?"
"Not really." Fu Bing offered Uncle He an apologetic smile. "I'm living with a friend, and it's too late to invite you up now. Another day, please come over with Aunt Ning and try my cooking. I'm quite good at it."
"Alright, alright." Uncle He smiled, his eyes crinkling.
The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were deep.
Fu Bing's heart ached at the sight. "Once I've paid off my debts, I'll definitely buy a big house for all of us to live in together."
"Aunt Ning and I will wait for you to buy the big house. It's getting late. You should go up; I'll watch you get home."
Fu Bing didn't argue with him.
If it hadn't been for Aunt Ning in prison, she would have been long gone.
And Aunt Ning had brought Uncle He into her life.
In her despair, they had brought her a glimmer of hope.
Back at home, Fu Bing shared the soup with Xiaomei.
She briefly mentioned Uncle He and Aunt Ning's situation.
Then she said, "Director Su's side will be transferring the film's payment in the next two days. The first installment is about five million. Contact our past collaborators and tell them to bring their debt contracts to collect the money."
"Sister Bing..." Xiaomei looked worried.
Fu Bing had just been released from prison and, without a single day's rest, was already shouldering a debt of 1.6 billion.
Fu Bing smiled. "It's 1.6 billion. If I don't start repaying it, the interest will only make it grow."
Xiaomei nodded.
After her bath, Fu Bing lay in the darkness, unable to fall asleep no matter how she tried.
In a state between sleep and wakefulness, she always felt like she was still in prison, choked and desperate.
More than once, she replayed the events of those years in her mind.
The falsified accounts from her studio were too perfect; so perfect that it felt as if a hidden hand had manipulated her every action.
Qin Jinhai was an incredibly proud man, the type who couldn't tolerate any slight or imperfection.
He destroyed others openly, never scheming behind their backs.
Who could understand Qin Jinhai so well?
Who could have known to present those account books precisely when he was consumed by rage, and then, when Qin Jinhai wasn't looking, strike quickly, ruthlessly, and accurately to get her thrown into prison?
Li Qing?
It wasn't her!
She had a certain cunning, but she lacked the true capability or connections to manage something like this.
There must be someone else behind this.
Could it be the Su Family?
In Jiangcheng, only the Su Family stood on equal footing with the Qin Family.
What reason would the Su Family have to target her?
If it wasn't the Su Family, then why would Su San—someone with whom she'd had very little interaction—offer her a movie role the moment she was released from prison?
Unable to sleep anymore, Fu Bing sat up in bed and picked up the new phone Xiaomei had given her.
She logged into a website called 'Ying'.
As soon as she did, a flood of messages from Ying popped up.
All asking where she had disappeared to or inviting her to take orders.
Fu Bing typed on the virtual keyboard, "I'm back."
The reply was instant.
Ying: "Dear, you're finally back! The line of people waiting for your work stretches a hundred years into the future."
"I haven't been in a good state, so I rested for a long time. You can help me take orders. My account has changed; I'll send you the new details later. Transfer the money to her account."
Fu Bing sent Xiaomei's account details and name to Ying.
Ying: "A friend you trust? You're okay with large sums being transferred to her?"
"Mm-hm."
Her greatest skill was embroidery; she could embroider any piece, no matter how complex.
Her foster mother had been a professional embroiderer, and Fu Bing had learned from her since childhood.
When Fu Bing was in high school, her foster mother fell gravely ill and insisted that she become a celebrity, hoping her biological family might see her on screen.
That way, her foster mother said, she could die in peace.
Unable to refuse her foster mother, Fu Bing dedicated her spare time to acting.
She spent her days among throngs of extras, waiting for roles.
While the other extras scrolled through their phones, she would embroider.
Her first significant role, the one that got her noticed, was playing an Embroideress.
It was this very role that paved the way for her future career.
Ying: "I just posted your availability, and a big order came in immediately."
"Accept."
"Don't you want to know who placed it?"
"Not interested."
"Qin Jinhai."