novelI Want to Make You Stay (45)
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Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
"It's just a prank of mine."
An Xiaoning sneered, "A prank? Is the purpose of your prank to tarnish the reputation of others?"
"May I apologize?"
"Who instigated you?"
"No one did. I'm Yan Ge's fan, that's why I did that..."
"You're lying... don't make me ask the same question again. Just who had instigated you? Speak!" An Xiaoning hollered.
"I told you, I'm Yan Ge's fan, " she insisted.
"I'll have to use a lie detector, then." An Xiaoning instructed No. 5 and No. 8, "You two, go and buy a lie detector."
Knowing that she could not keep up with the lie anymore, the young woman quickly said, "I'll tell you if you promise not to hold me responsible."
"Sure, I won't hold you responsible." An Xiaoning then gestured for No. 5 and No. 8 not to go.
"Li Yuanfu made me do it."
An Xiaoning looked at everyone else and asked, "Who's Li Yuanfu?"
Xiao Yue exclaimed, "It's Co-director Li! It's him, it's him."
"Our friend... little Na Zha?" An Xiaoning said all of a sudden
There was a sudden shift in the mood and the tension faded.
"Sis, you must have watched lots of animated shows and cartoons about Na Zha when you were younger. You're so familiar with the theme song, " said No. 8, who could not contain his amusement and burst into laughter.
She cleared her throat and said, "Bring Li Yuanfu here."
"I'll go, " Xiao Yue volunteered and ran out of the door.
Half an hour later, Li Yuanfu, Yan Ge, Director Gao, and the producer arrived.
"I've brought the culprit here. It's him, isn't it?"
Li Yuanfu yelled, "How could it be me?! I don't know her at all. Ms. An, you may ask her if you don't believe me!"
The young woman waved and said, "Brother Yuanfu, I don't have a choice, you were the one who made me do it. Tell everyone the reasons behind your actions."
"Screw you. Since when did I make you do that? Ms. An, don't believe her words. I don't know her at all. Yes, I did take some photos of Fang Erlan and Yan Ge hugging each other, and I also threatened Fang Erlan, but her bodyguard had already smashed my phone afterward and compensated me. I wasn't happy about it, but would I resort to such a childish act? I wasn't born yesterday. Am I that foolish?"
"Are you willing to let me hypnotize you to prove your innocence, then?"
"Yes, do it right now, " said Li Yuanfu, whose anger knew no bounds.
An Xiaoning looked at the young woman and asked, "How about you? If he tells me the truth after hypnosis, are you willing to let me hypnotize you as well?"
"I..." The young woman seemed extremely reluctant to be hypnotized.
"That's really strange, then. You insisted that Co-director Li was the one who had instigated you to do this. The best way to prove your innocence is for the two of you to be hypnotized, yet you're afraid to let me hypnotize you. There are so many people around."
"Okay, I'll let you hypnotize me, but do it for him first."
"Sure, okay."
The truth was out, and it was proven that Li Yuanfu indeed wasn't lying. After seeing the results of the hypnosis, the young woman lost her last bit of composure.
"I don't need to undergo hypnosis. I'll come clean and tell you everything."
"No, I think it'd be easier to just hypnotize you. At least, I'll know who the culprit is."
"..."
Ten minutes passed.
Everyone remained silent, because it was revealed that Yu Caiwei, who had returned home to attend her sister's funeral, was the main culprit.
Yu Caiwei was called over.
At the sight of Yu Caiwei, Director Gao snapped, "Caiwei, are you trying to drive me to my grave? Haven't you learned your lesson since the whipping incident!?! What did I warn you!?!"
"The whipping incident?" Yu Caiwei asked with a sullen expression, dressed in black from head to toe.
Director Gao was at a momentary loss for words. However, she decided to finish what she'd started. Thus, she said, "Yes, Caiwei was the one who instructed for Erlan to be whipped during filming previously. When we agreed to compensate Erlan with an extra 100 thousand dollars per episode, Caiwei was also the one who had paid for the compensation with her own money."
Seething with exasperation, Yan Ge questioned, "Yu Caiwei, why did you do that? Are you out of your mind? You were the one who hacked Erlan's Weibo too, weren't you?"
She did not deny it since there was nothing left to say now that the truth was already apparent.
Yu Caiwei's manager and assistant were flustered. The manager said to An Xiaoning earnestly, "Ms. An, shall we talk about this in another room?"
"Talk... sure."
Everyone stayed in Fang Erlan's room while Yu Caiwei, her manager, the young woman, and An Xiaoning proceeded to have a discussion in another room on the same floor.
"There are only the five of us here. You two, tell me, how do you plan to settle this?" said An Xiaoning.
Knowing that it would be impossible to resolve the matter without spending an exorbitant amount of money, the manager looked at Yu Caiwei before saying, "We're willing to fork out 10 million dollars to compensate Fang Erlan for framing her and accusing her of stealing Ms. Wang's necklace."
"Ten million dollars? Don't bother talking to me if you're going to be so insincere. Well, I understand that Ms. Yu has earned enough money and can afford to lose her reputation. However, it's different for Erlan. She still has a bright future ahead of her. Forget it, I think we'd better not come to an agreement, especially since Ms. Wang is so dishonest. I wasn't going to hold it against you at first. It's a shame I had to force you into telling me the truth by hypnosis. I'll feel more relieved to hand you two over to the law."
The three of them began to panic.
If An Xiaoning handed them over the law, not only will Yu Caiwei's career be ruined, she would also be facing a lawsuit and a possible jail term.
"Ms. An, how about you name us a price?"
"Fifty million dollars."
Even Fang Erlan was dumbfounded.
"Fifty million dollars!?!"
"Yes, 50 million dollars, especially since I now know about the whipping incident. Yu Caiwei, you have to pay the price for all the misdeeds that you had done. Erlan's reputation has already been tarnished even before the television series that I had invested in went on air. If you'd like to resolve this, fork out the money. If you don't, let's not waste each other's time."
Filled with panic and anxiety, the manager had no choice but to say, "Ms. Wang, Caiwei might have been the one who had instigated you to do this, but you got yourself involved anyway. You must chip in too. How about you fork out 20 million dollars?"
Staring at her in disbelief, Ms. Wang retorted, "Why must I do that? I'm not going to fork out that money. Why must I? I wasn't the mastermind. The culprit should be held responsible."
"..."
After having a discussion amongst themselves, the three of them came to a consensus ten minutes later.
Yu Caiwei reluctantly agreed to fork out 40 million dollars while Ms. Wang forked out 10 million.
Ms. Wang fell out with her on the spot.
That was the end of their friendship.
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