Wu Shi didn't even ask, just nodded directly.
"My former agent was Lin Xiao. She cooked the books back then, and those accounts were key evidence leading to my imprisonment. After I was incarcerated, she immediately went to work for Li Qing and has been working for her these past few years. Check her itinerary. I want to meet her in person."
Amusement danced in the eyes of the man in the driver's seat. His Fu Bing would never stoop to playing the saint.
Filming today went smoothly, as usual.
But Su Junling's face was still very dark.
Fu Bing filmed without a single NG. She even discussed different ways to perform the same scene with him, each version flawless.
Looking at her face, Su Junling already had several new movie ideas.
He just wanted to keep Fu Bing on set, wishing he could shoot an entire movie in a single day.
No wonder that after her imprisonment, not a single director or major figure from any film company had publicly spoken ill of her.
This woman was truly born for this profession.
Under Su Junling's resentful gaze, Fu Bing removed her makeup and left.
Wu Shi drove into a mid-range residential complex.
Fu Bing was puzzled. "Lin Xiao lives here?"
Wu Shi nodded.
Fu Bing looked around the complex, perplexed.
The complex was at least fifteen years old, its exterior walls already peeling.
Is this how Li Qing treats her agent?
On second thought, it's not surprising.
Lin Xiao had betrayed her and directly caused her imprisonment. Given Li Qing's cautious nature, it made sense she would be wary of Lin Xiao.
The moon was now rising above the treetops.
Dense tree shadows flickered within the complex, their branches casting specter-like silhouettes on the walls as they swayed in the wind.
Wu Shi parked the car in an empty space and led Fu Bing upstairs.
Just as they reached the third floor, a sharp female scream pierced the darkness like a blade.
Fu Bing felt Wu Shi beside her tense up. Puzzled, she glanced at him, her eyes questioning.
Wu Shi shook his head.
The sharp scream died down, followed by the loud slam of a door.
Then, hurried, flustered footsteps clattered down the stairs.
A woman's figure soon appeared before Fu Bing and Wu Shi.
The woman stood against the light.
With just one glance, Fu Bing knew who she was.
When Lin Xiao saw Fu Bing's face, her legs gave out, and she collapsed to her knees in the corridor.
"Sister Bing, I'm so sorry for what I did to you! Please, spare me! I'm begging you!"
With that, she began to kowtow forcefully, banging her head against the floor.
Soon, bloodstains appeared on the ground.
Fu Bing looked down at the seemingly crazed woman.
"Do you think a simple 'sorry' can make everything right?"
Lin Xiao's body stiffened.
Like a marionette, she slowly lifted her head.
Under the gaze of Fu Bing and Wu Shi, she got up.
She pushed open the rather grimy door to her apartment.
Lin Xiao fumbled uncoordinatedly to turn on the light and pull out a chair for Fu Bing.
"You're Li Qing's agent, and she lets you live in a place like this?"
"I'm just a figurehead. Li Qing only parades me around at important events so people think she values me highly. It's all to maintain her image of being a loyal and caring person. In reality, all her work and her schedule are kept secret from me."
Fu Bing had no sympathy for Lin Xiao.
Someone who could betray once could betray a second time—who would dare trust her?
"Why did you frame me back then?"
Lin Xiao didn't dare meet Fu Bing's eyes.
Those beautiful upturned eyes seemed to penetrate everything.
"My mother was terminally ill back then, and we were desperate for money."
The words had barely left Lin Xiao's mouth when a slap sent her head whipping to the side, her ears ringing.
Fu Bing withdrew her hand coldly. "Three years, and you didn't even bother to think of a decent excuse. You assumed I wouldn't get out of that prison, didn't you? Or that even if I did, I wouldn't have the power to seek revenge? I remember exactly how high a salary I paid you three years ago. Even for a terminal illness, you didn't need to resort to such desperate measures."
Soon, Lin Xiao's cheek began to throb, itch, and swell. The agonizing itch rapidly spread to the rest of her body.
She clawed at herself, heedless of her appearance, while Fu Bing and Wu Shi watched impassively as she writhed on the floor, tormented by the maddening itch.
Lin Xiao's face was soon scratched raw, crisscrossed with bloody welts.
"What was on your hand?"
Fu Bing merely smiled, saying nothing, as she leisurely watched Lin Xiao become increasingly disheveled.
Prisons had countless ways to torment people. If you did a stint inside and didn't learn a trick or two, you weren't making the most of your time.
Tormented by the itching, numbness, and pain, and terrified of Fu Bing, Lin Xiao blurted out, "I'll talk! I'll talk! Just make this itching stop!"
"That depends on whether the information you provide is worth it."
Lin Xiao gritted her teeth against the pain. Sweat streamed down her forehead, seeping into her open scratches and adding a fiery sting to her agony.
"Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you. Everything I know!"
"Start with what you know," Fu Bing said, giving Lin Xiao no room to maneuver.
Lin Xiao, seeing no way out, confessed, "Half a month before your... incident, someone offered me thirty million to falsify our studio's accounts. I refused at first, but they added another twenty million, making it fifty million in total.
"Fifty million might not be a lot for you, but to me, it's more than I could ever earn in a lifetime. I thought about it for a long time and then agreed."
A pang still shot through Fu Bing's heart.
Even though she'd known for three years, hearing it directly from the culprit was still unbearably painful.
"I treated you well. And you framed me for money?"
"You had no powerful backers, and you never schmoozed sponsors or investors. They'd been unhappy with you for a long time. The one who paid me to frame you must have been one of the many financiers you'd turned down."
"I know the saying: 'when a wall is collapsing, everyone gives it a shove.' You were targeted; there was no escape. If I hadn't wised up, my fate would have been far worse than yours.
"Every man for himself, or heaven and earth will combine to destroy him!"
Every man for himself, or heaven and earth will combine to destroy him!
Fu Bing wanted to laugh but couldn't.
"And then?"
"I paid off the studio's accountant, got her to work overtime doctoring the books. You know what happened after that..." Lin Xiao forced out.
"After framing me, you immediately defected to Li Qing. Why?"
"She caught Qin Jinhai's eye. She was bound to climb as high as you did. I had to find myself a long-term meal ticket. I'm not like you—you have family in Jiangcheng, a house without even trying. I have to claw my way up just to survive in this city."
"Did the others from the studio leave willingly, or were they forced to merge with Li Qing's team along with you?"
"Qin Jinhai personally handed out the severance packages. The sooner people left, the more money they got. Everyone took it, except for that stubborn Fu Xiaomei," Lin Xiao said bitterly. "After we were absorbed into Li Qing's team, she barely used any of us."
Ignoring her complaints, Fu Bing asked, "Where are the real account books now?"
"In Qin Jinhai's hands."
Fu Bing's heart tightened. "You didn't make a copy?"
"I wouldn't dare try any tricks right under his nose."
Fu Bing remained silent for a long moment before saying, "Tomorrow morning, go to the police, turn yourself in, and tell them everything you know."
Lin Xiao's knees gave way, and she sank to the floor again.
"Sister Bing, please spare me this time. I really didn't mean to harm you."
"So, it was intentional," Fu Bing said, her beautiful eyes narrowing slightly. "If you don't turn yourself in tomorrow, I have many ways to deal with you."
Lin Xiao's face went white. She didn't dare utter a sound.
Fu Bing and Wu Shi returned to the car.
Wu Shi handed her his phone. "Are you sure she'll turn herself in?"
"She'll go crying to Li Qing first."
"Since you knew that, why give her time to contact anyone?"
"I want to muddy the waters further."