Chapter 43: Sister Mi, are you really this happy about giving away money?

From a distance, Yang Mi spotted Li Qing's car.

"Mijie, I won't get out this time."

He Baibai handed the bag to Yang Mi with a smile and said, "Make sure to thank him properly."

Taking the bag, for some reason, Yang Mi felt a wave of intense nervousness. Although this wasn't her first time seeing Li Qing, an inexpressible and complicated feeling still lingered in her heart.

Seeing Yang Mi's slightly flushed face, He Baibai flashed a mischievous smile.

"What's wrong, Mijie? Don't tell me you're shy?"

"Well, Li Qing is so charming. Any woman would blush looking at him. That's totally normal."

Unwilling to engage with her, Yang Mi gave He Baibai an eye-roll and said, "Alright, I'm heading over now. I'll be right back."

He Baibai chuckled. "I'm in no rush. Take your time and chat for a bit."

After getting out of the car, Yang Mi walked forward slowly on her slender legs in high heels.

"Li... Li Qing."

Standing in front of Li Qing, Yang Mi felt somewhat nervous; the dynamic between them was genuinely awkward. "Um, how come I don't see Xuanbaor?"

A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of Yang Mi's mouth, carrying a touch of shyness.

Li Qing looked at her calmly and replied with a faint smile, "I took her out for a walk all day. She got tired and fell asleep, so I didn't wake her."

Once they started talking, Yang Mi's nervousness subsided quite a bit. Looking into Li Qing's eyes, she said earnestly,

"Um... thank you. I had no idea you helped me so much."

"When I went to see Chairman Liu today, he told me that you spent a lot of money and pulled strings for my sake..."

"I'm truly grateful to you!"

Yang Mi's gratitude toward Li Qing came straight from the heart.

Li Qing's gaze remained calm. Hearing what Yang Mi said, he knew instantly that ever since she left Jiaxing last time, she must have gone to see Liu Yanbin. Not daring to reveal his true identity without authorization, Liu Yanbin must have made up some excuses.

"It's nothing," Li Qing said indifferently. "Xuanbaor cares about you a lot."

Yang Mi nodded. She had already grown accustomed to Li Qing's cold demeanor. Far from feeling any resentment, she actually found him rather genuine.

He might look ice-cold on the outside, but he was a truly good person at heart! Otherwise, he wouldn't have helped her.

Thinking this to herself, Yang Mi reached into her bag, took out a bank card, and gently passed it over.

"Li Qing, there are one and a half million in this card. It's not a lot, but please take it and use it for now."

"I know you spent a fair bit of money smoothing things over for me, plus Xuanbaor has been staying with you..."

Yang Mi didn't finish her sentence, merely looking at him with sincerity. "I hope you won't refuse."

Seeing the bank card, Li Qing nodded without speaking and accepted it quite naturally.

A sense of relief washed over Yang Mi, and she smiled. "Thank you. If there's nothing else, I'll head back first. I'll come visit Xuanbaor when I have time."

With that, feeling that the awkwardness in the atmosphere was returning, Yang Mi said her goodbyes and got back into the car.

Watching the car drive away, Wang Mian finally couldn't help laughing.

"Brother Qing, Miss Yang is a good person. This is the second time she's handed over money."

Li Qing also offered a faint smile. He never expected that one day he would find himself on the receiving end of charity... While phrasing it quite like that wasn't entirely accurate, it was essentially the truth.

"Consider it extra income," Li Qing said casually. "Hold onto the money for now."

Saying this, Li Qing tossed the bank card to Wang Mian.

Wang Mian chuckled lightly. "I'm not taking it. Miss Yang gave it to you, probably worried you might run short of cash."

...

That evening, after returning home, Yang Mi was in an exceptionally cheerful mood. Sitting on the sofa, she enthusiastically looked through scripts and reference materials.

"Mijie, you're still this happy even after giving away a fortune," He Baibai teased, sitting nearby.

Yang Mi smiled lightly. "Alright, you're getting more and more fond of bringing him up lately."

"I'm reading the script materials. Do you want to get familiar with them in advance? It's about time you picked up your duties as an assistant again."

He Baibai nodded. "No problem at all. I'll definitely have everything running smoothly for you."

The two of them immersed themselves in their respective scripts and documents, preparing for the work ahead.

After reading for a solid hour, Yang Mi had a general grasp of the material.

"Chairman Liu is really pouring a fortune into this drama. Even the supporting roles are first-tier stars," He Baibai said with some astonishment after finishing her section. "And not a single scene is being shot at Hengdian; everything is shot on location."

"They've rented out the Peace Hotel for three months straight!"

Yang Mi was equally surprised. She hadn't anticipated that the very first drama she directed would involve such a massive investment, which naturally made her a bit anxious.

"Yeah, just the rental cost for the Peace Hotel alone must be staggering," Yang Mi said, taking a breath. "Most of the shots take place inside the Peace Hotel."

"They even need to re-decorate the hotel to authentically recreate the style of the 1950s."

The Peace Hotel held immense historical significance in Shanghai. Having witnessed the turbulent years of war, it had stood as a landmark symbol of Shanghai during that stormy era.

An old saying once went: No matter what trouble you got into outside, once you stepped inside the Peace Hotel, nobody could touch you—not even the people from the foreign concessions!

That alone spoke volumes about the status of the Peace Hotel in Shanghai.

Since the drama Yang Mi was directing was set against the backdrop of old Shanghai, the Peace Hotel was an unavoidable centerpiece.

"It looks like I'll have to put in real effort. I must not let down Chairman Liu's expectations," Yang Mi said calmly. "Oh right, let's put out a post in a little while. Chairman Liu wants us to release information about the crew in advance for promotional purposes."

He Baibai nodded. Many dramas required marketing prior to filming in order to build up hype before release.

Shortly after, He Baibai drafted a post and published it on Yang Mi's Weibo account:

"Thank you all for keeping me in your thoughts. The new drama is about to start filming! Giving you a little sneak peek at the cast lineup in advance..."

He Baibai included the names of several first-tier stars and also hinted at a few well-known filming locations.

Less than five minutes after the post went live, it immediately sparked a wave of public discussion online!

Moreover, the trending momentum rose rapidly, shooting straight to the top searches on Weibo and major online platforms!

Upon seeing this, many netizens were taken aback. None of them had expected Yang Mi to officially announce her comeback!

Having been silent for over half a year, Yang Mi's return thrilled countless hardcore fans!

Numerous well-known bloggers rushed to send their congratulations!

...

Meanwhile, it wasn't just netizens who saw the news. Wu Yufei, currently sitting in a villa in Shanghai, saw the updates as well!