MGG - 14

Chapter 14: Can’t Hold Back

Su Ling had taken a week off, but the very next day after her grandmother woke up, her grandmother insisted she return to school.

Her grandmother was an independent and strong-willed woman. She frowned and scolded, “What nonsense! Go back quickly. Studying hard and acting well are your priorities!”

Su Ling peeled an apple for her. “I just want to stay with you a little longer.”

Her grandmother firmly told her to go back.

Fearing that her grandmother might get upset and harm her health, Su Ling quickly agreed.

As she packed her things and walked to the door, her grandmother suddenly spoke up. “You told Haoyan you got a role in a drama. What drama is it? When will it air? I want to see it while I still can.”

Su Ling’s eyes grew moist. What drama? She didn’t have one. But seeing the hopeful look in her grandmother’s eyes, she smiled and said, “It’s called Twelve Years of Dust . It just started filming, so the progress is slow. Maybe it’ll air next year.”

A faint smile of relief spread across her grandmother’s weathered face. She murmured, “Next year… next year… I can still wait.”

Su Ling remained silent. After getting off the plane and returning to City B, the sadness in her heart lingered, refusing to fade.

If certain events were destined to happen, then this time next year would mark her grandmother’s passing. Her grandmother’s greatest wish was to see Su Ling succeed, yet Su Ling had avoided taking on roles in order to escape fate.

Her classes had been swapped with another class, so there wasn’t much point in returning to school now.

After some thought, she decided to take a taxi to Qingyu Entertainment.

In her backpack was the card with over four million yuan, making her restless. Thanks to it, her grandmother had been saved. She had to thank him in person.

Qingyu wasn’t Qin Xiao’s main company—it was merely one of the film and television subsidiaries under his family’s conglomerate.

He had dropped out of school at nineteen to take over the family business. The Qin family was vast and powerful, a true commercial juggernaut. After Qin Xiao’s father passed away, half of the Qin family’s shares went to him, and the other half to his mother, Wen Xian.

Su Ling couldn’t understand why Qin Xiao had Guo Mingyan deliver the card. A man like him usually made sure she knew immediately what he’d done, using it as leverage to coerce or pressure her into doing strange and uncomfortable things for him.

On the large LED screen atop Qingyu Entertainment’s building, photos of popular young actors and actresses rotated in dazzling displays.

The vibrant colors reflected in her eyes, bringing a glimmer of longing and brightness to her gaze.

From a distance, Qin Xiao noticed her tilting her head up to admire the screen.

He glanced at it as well. The woman featured on the screen was some actress named Chen… something. Qin Xiao couldn’t recall her name, but he vaguely remembered seeing reports that she had recently gained popularity. Still, she paled in comparison to Su Ling.

Seeing Su Ling here surprised Qin Xiao.

Lately, he had been acting strangely, repeatedly visiting this small subsidiary of his conglomerate.

He Wen Qin sighed helplessly. “Young Master Qin, are you going over there or not?”

Why did he keep alternating between coldness and amusement?

Qin Xiao shot her an annoyed glance before striding toward Su Ling.

He still remembered how coldly she had treated him the other day, so he greeted her with a frosty tone, blunt and direct. “What do you want from me?”

Su Ling was startled when she first saw him but quickly nodded shyly. If she didn’t owe him anything, she could have stood her ground confidently. However, it would be wrong to accept someone’s kindness and then act ungrateful.

She took out the card and bowed slightly to Qin Xiao. “Thank you, Young Master Qin. I’ll repay you the 580,000 yuan as soon as possible.”

Her polite demeanor made Qin Xiao’s lips curve into a faint smile.

He casually accepted the card and toyed with it, thinking that Guo Mingyan had slipped up by telling her about it. But fortunately, it seemed like a good thing.

With a hint of amusement in his eyes, he asked, “How will you repay me? When will you do it?”

Su Ling bit her lip, feeling somewhat awkward. Her round-trip plane tickets had drained all her money, leaving her with only 52 yuan and two coins in her backpack, along with her campus card.

But looking into his eyes, she earnestly replied, “I’ll pay you back within three years.”

Her eyes shimmered with sincerity. He chuckled softly. “But what about interest? What about that?”

She froze, having not considered the issue of interest. But it was reasonable—three years was a long time. She straightened her expression and said, “You’re right.” Then, her cheeks flushed as she timidly asked, “Then… how much is the interest?”

Qin Xiao adopted a contemplative look, gazing down at her. Her ears turned red with embarrassment as she pleaded, “Can we calculate it based on the bank’s interest rate?”

Was she treating him like a loan shark?

He smirked. “Nope.”

Thinking of his notorious behavior, her face paled. “Then… how much is it?”

When he reached out, she instinctively stepped back in fear. He chuckled lowly, threatening, “Don’t move, or I’ll multiply it tenfold.”

She froze. Ten… tenfold?

Had she dug herself into a bottomless pit?

As he leaned closer, the faint scent of tobacco wafted from him—familiar yet unexpectedly subdued. Had he stopped smoking?

She felt a mix of fear and despair, unable to resist averting her face. Thinking of tenfold repayment made her heart sink.

Gently grasping a strand of her long hair, he marveled at its cool softness on this sweltering summer day. Something stirred deep within him. “This is my interest.”

Her eyes widened as she stared at him like he was a pervert.

He snorted. “Do you want to repay the interest or go get a haircut with me?”

It wasn’t a hard choice. The 52 yuan in her backpack decided for her. Qin Xiao had peculiar tastes, and she nervously stammered, “Cut… cut my hair.”

Her mixture of anger and fear amused him to no end.

How could she be… so soft?

If only she were a little firmer… but he couldn’t even imagine it. Refraining from touching her was already the height of his self-restraint.

There were stylists inside Qingyu Entertainment. Clutching her backpack straps tightly, she watched the tall figure walking ahead of her, growing increasingly anxious. When she was younger, her family had been extremely poor, and her grandmother would sell her hair, often cutting it short like a boy’s buzz cut.

But her grandmother wouldn’t let her cut it. She’d pat Su Ling’s head affectionately. “You’re a good girl. Your hair is too fine and soft; no one wants it.”

Later, Su Ling realized her grandmother had been lying—it was just her way of showing love.

“Qin Xiao,” she called out.

He turned around.

It wasn’t the buzz cut she feared but the thought of being uncastable after losing her long hair. That would leave her unable to repay the debt, trapping her indefinitely.

“Can we change the terms?” she asked hesitantly.

His lips curved into a mischievous grin. “Sure.”

A flicker of relief appeared on her face, but then he took a step closer. “Kiss me?”

Her face flushed red, and she lowered her head. “I’ll go get a haircut.”

Qin Xiao found her utterly adorable.

He completely forgot how much she disliked him.

Sitting in the stylist’s chair, Su Ling felt as if she were sitting in an electric chair. She knew it! She knew she shouldn’t owe anything to him.

The stylist addressed Qin Xiao respectfully. “Young Master Qin, how would you like it cut?”

Qin Xiao replied, “Cut it to here, and make the bangs straight.” His masculine aesthetic preferences were evident. Su Ling’s original wispy bangs had lent her a soft, delicate look. The stylist wanted to laugh but managed to suppress it.

He approached the nervous girl and began cutting her hair.

The stylist worked efficiently. Her waist-length hair was trimmed to just below her shoulders, and her bangs were styled into a neat, straight fringe.

The stylist hadn’t expected much, but Su Ling looked even more adorable and innocent after the haircut.

Even the assistant stylist wanted to pinch her cheeks.

Su Ling had always struggled with aesthetics. She had a vague idea of what looked good but lacked nuanced judgment. As a result, she had never understood the difference between her beauty and that of people like Tang Weiwei or Zheng Xiaoya.

She glanced back at Qin Xiao, but he had turned his face away.

Was she ugly now? She tried to stay optimistic. At least it wasn’t a buzz cut.

Standing up, she slung her backpack over her shoulder and asked her creditor, Young Master Qin, “Can I go now?”

She desperately wanted to leave.

He avoided meeting her gaze. “Go ahead.”

Su Ling followed behind him as they exited.

The ground floor of Qingyu Entertainment was spacious, with tight security measures due to the presence of celebrities.

As they turned a corner, Su Ling was mentally calculating how she would earn 580,000 yuan within three years.

Suddenly, she was pulled into an embrace.

Instinctively, she tried to struggle, but his grip was ironclad. “Please stop moving, alright? Just let me hold you for a moment. Do you want to drive me crazy?” Damn it, he couldn’t hold back anymore. It had been torture.

This was truly seduction—from the tips of her hair to her very essence.

She was terrified and uncooperative. “Qin Xiao, let me go!”

He couldn’t bring himself to release her and resorted to coaxing her. “Just one minute… no, ten seconds, and I’ll reduce your debt by 100,000 yuan. Deal?”

Her eyes reddened with anger. He was still the same arrogant, shameless man!

Summoning all her strength, she stomped on his foot. He hissed in pain but only nestled his chin against her neck, pulling her closer. The faint fragrance of her hair reminded him of May gardenias, and he felt as though he were drowning in her.

Qin Xiao was on the verge of madness. He had been thinking about this for over a month!

Su Ling couldn’t break free. Tears welled up in her eyes as she trembled with anger and humiliation.

Realizing something was wrong, he quickly released her and saw her tear-filled eyes. Only then did he recognize his own despicable behavior. “Don’t cry, Su Ling. Why are you crying?”

She lowered her head, staring at the tips of her shoes.

Qin Xiao had never comforted anyone before. “It’s my fault, alright? I’m a bastard.”

“I won’t make you repay the money. Everything before was just a joke.”

“You already stepped on me once. If it makes you happy, hit me again.”

She pressed her lips together, hiding her tear-reddened eyes, and walked toward the exit of Qingyu Entertainment. To him, it might have been a trivial game, but to her, it felt like being forced back onto the path of her past life.

Qin Xiao chased after her but only managed to see her board a taxi and drive away.

Frustrated, he loosened his tie.

How the hell was he supposed to comfort her? With her delicate and soft demeanor, it was impossible for him to restrain himself.

Back in his office, Qin Xiao recalled the longing in her eyes as she gazed at the screen earlier. He picked up his phone and called He Wen. “Has filming for that drama started yet?”

He Wen immediately understood. “Twelve Years of Dust ?”

“Yes.”

“No, the director told me it was originally planned for February next year.”

“It’s shooting this month.”

He Wen didn’t question his intentions, as obedience was part of her job. “Alright, I’ll contact the director.”

After hanging up, Qin Xiao noticed the pink rabbit still sitting neatly on his desk.

Picking it up, he clicked his tongue softly, recalling how earnestly she had claimed it was worthless.

He asked the rabbit, “Do you have any conscience?”

The rabbit, of course, didn’t respond, its floppy ears drooping lifelessly. He reminisced about the sensation of her soft, fragrant body in his arms and tugged gently at its ear. Smiling wryly, he muttered, “I’ve lost. I’m shameless, alright.”