Chapter 123: Did Ying Jie's Heart Move?

The acoustics in the broadcast hall were noisy, and Yu An initially couldn't hear clearly what Gao Lu was saying on the phone.

After rushing to the backstage lounge and asking for details, he instantly felt that some rich women's IQ was just like that; they wouldn't know the misery of lying stiff in a coffin until they die.

If you want to court death, that's your business; why drag me into it?

Last night you dragged me into a pit, and I dazedly walked near the Gate of Ghosts; I barely crawled out to catch my breath, and now you're making me stir up a hornet's nest.

Do you think I'm a clueless idiot?

Do you think I'm just a tool in your hand?

Damn!

……

Yu An swallowed his resentment, only daring in his heart to send greetings to Gao Lu's ancestors; facing the phone, he didn't dare let out even a half fart.

Yu An complained bitterly: "Manager Gao, you're giving me a tough problem."

"Is this hard to handle?"

A light, casual voice came from the phone, as if this matter posed no difficulty at all.

"Is this a question of difficulty or not?"

"This is a matter of life and death!"

Yu An stifled the urge to curse, and helplessly explained: "I'm the chief director of this show; if Chu Lingxi has an accident on stage tomorrow, it'll be a live broadcast accident. When the higher-ups come down hard, I'll be the first to die. I truly can't bear this responsibility—please, Manager Gao, show mercy and don't force me."

"It's not that serious."

"Manager Gao, putting drugs in Chu Lingxi's drinking water to make her hallucinate and embarrass herself on stage—this isn't a trivial matter; it's a serious crime that could land you in jail, and the higher-ups will definitely investigate to the end."

"Then let's change the plan."

"No matter what plan we switch to, if she has an accident on stage, I'll be held responsible."

"First, hear me out."

"Go ahead."

"I'll have someone rush-make a counterfeit dance costume tonight and send it over tomorrow afternoon; then you have Jianglan Cultural Troupe's Ying Jie swap it out—this isn't illegal."

"Not illegal? Are you sure?"

"Definitely not illegal."

"Then I don't get it—how are you going to make her embarrass herself on stage?"

"It's simple—use water-soluble sewing thread."

"Manager Gao, you're still screwing me over. When Chu Lingxi performs on stage, the dress's stitching will suddenly come undone, causing the performance to halt. This would still be a live broadcast accident, and I'd be the primary person responsible."

"How can your mind not wrap around this?"

"My back is already bent from a ninety-degree bow; I'm begging Manager Gao to show mercy."

"Listen: if the costume fails, the first responsible party is the costume designer. If the designer refuses to take the fall and insists on causing trouble, then let the person in charge of the swap—Ying Jie—bear the blame."

"This..."

"Stop hemming and hawing—I've already worked out an escape route for you. Go talk to Ying Jie right away; just tell her that if she nods, she'll get an immediate one‑million‑yuan reward."

"Won't one million be too little? Persuading her will be a bit of a pressure."

"Then how much do you think is needed?"

"It should at least be doubled; prices are rising fast, and after all she's the head of Jianglan Cultural Troupe—a worldly person."

"Alright, I'll transfer two million to you shortly; go negotiate with her."

"Okay, I'll give it a try."

Since someone would take the blame, Yu An didn't hesitate; following the principle that you shouldn't offend anyone if you can't offend money, he decisively accepted the task.

But he didn't immediately go to Ying Jie to discuss it.

Not until the next afternoon, after receiving the counterfeit dance costume sent by Gao Lu's aide, did he summon Ying Jie to the backstage lounge.

Ying Jie asked puzzledly: "Director Yu, do you need something?"

"It's like this…" Yu An handed the counterfeit dance costume to Ying Jie: "The station leaders really value your dance troupe. To make the lead dancer's performance more outstanding, the costume designer specially rushed a high‑end costume for Chu Lingxi. Tonight, have Chu Lingxi wear this costume for the performance."

Ying Jie is a meticulous woman.

Just by feeling the fabric and looking at the rough stitching, you can tell this is absolutely not a high‑end dance costume—it's purely a shoddily made counterfeit.

She smiled and said: "Director Yu, are you joking with me?"

"Heh heh, since you know your stuff, I won't beat around the bush." Yu An said: "Someone's offering you 200,000 yuan to swap Chu Lingxi's performance costume."

"Who is it?" Ying Jie gave a light smile, as if she had expected it.

Yu An kept it vague: "Exactly who it is, you don't need to ask; all you have to do is lift a finger, and you can easily pocket 200,000 yuan."

"Since you won't say, forget it—I'm afraid this money would burn my hands."

Ying Jie turned and walked away.

Seeing that the iron‑clad "scapegoat" wasn't buying it, Yu An hurried two steps forward, reached out to stop Ying Jie, and said: "I heard your troupe is about to be disbanded, and you're facing the difficulty of losing your job and finding new work. Have you saved enough for your child's overseas studies? Don't be so obstinate—200,000 yuan isn't little; better to pocket it and be safe."

As he spoke, Yu An directly placed two bundles of cash before Ying Jie, each bundle holding 100,000 yuan.

Faced with those two bundles of bright red bills, Ying Jie felt a stir of emotion. Yu An's words didn't hit her lungs—they struck right at her heart.

She was indeed facing the threat of being laid off.

Her child wanted to study abroad, and she indeed couldn't come up with that much money.

Seeing Ying Jie begin to hesitate, Yu An struck while the iron was hot, shoved the money into her hand, and said: "I see you're not young either; after being laid off, what can you do? You shouldn't offend anyone if you can't offend money."

"You're right," Ying Jie replied with a half‑smile, "let me get straight to the point—why are you determined to go against Chu Lingxi?"

"It's not that I want to oppose her," Yu An said, again thrusting the counterfeit dance costume into Ying Jie's hands, "taking people's money to do their work, it's better not to know the details. Just rest assured—if anything goes wrong on stage, it's the costume designer's responsibility, and it has nothing to do with you."

"The costume designer is really wronged," Ying Jie laughed.

Yu An replied unmoved: "Whether he's wronged or not is his fate; it's nothing to do with you or me. Hurry up—we're about to go on stage."

"Ah..."

Ying Jie shook her head and sighed, wrapping the two hundred thousand yuan in cash in her dance costume and heading to the actors' changing room.

Yu An watched Ying Jie's back with a dark smile: "Damn, you're such an idiot, waiting to take the fall!" He didn't know Ying Jie was also cursing him as an idiot in her heart.

From the moment she entered, Ying Jie had a trick up her sleeve, her phone secretly recording the whole time.

Ying Jie returned to the changing room and immediately instructed Chu Lingxi: "Carefully check your performance costume, shoes, and headpiece—no detail can be overlooked."

"Okay, got it, Ying Jie."

Although Chu Lingxi didn't know how dangerous her situation was, she was still very conscientious while checking her costume, just to ensure she could perform smoothly tonight.

Ying Jie then sent the recording she had just made to Lin Dongfan.

And sent a message: "You're with the Anti-Corruption Bureau—tell me, should I now take this two hundred thousand to find their station's leaders, or should I hand over the two hundred thousand to the cultural work troupe?"

At that moment, Lin Dongfan was squatting in the toilet, smoking.

After listening to the recording, Lin Dongfan replied with a laugh: "Ying Jie, you're so tough—two hundred thousand can't move you. To ward off disaster for my wife, I'll have to compensate you four hundred thousand no matter what."

"We're talking serious business here, and you're just messing with me." Ying Jie adopted a serious tone.

Lin Dongfan laughed: "I'm serious about compensating your loss—I'll pay up after the performance. We can't let a good person suffer. As for that two hundred thousand, I suggest you take it and go straight to their station's leaders. This must be a big surprise for them, letting them get a taste of unemployment ahead of time."