After the True Heiress Travels Back
Chapter 291 Unable to Pay the Liquidated Damages

Chapter 291: Chapter 291 Unable to Pay the Liquidated Damages

"Director Wang, what do you mean by this announcement?"

Shi Yiqing couldn’t help herself, and privately messaged Wang Zhehai.

Wang Zhehai had expected that she would ask him, and had no intention of concealing anything, so he spoke frankly.

"It is exactly as you see."

Shi Yiqing was puzzled, or rather, she was unwilling to understand, "What do you mean ’it is exactly as I see’? What on earth is going on?"

Wang Zhehai replied callously, "I’m the director, and who the performer is is my decision to make. If you have any complaints, keep them to yourself."

Shi Yiqing’s eyes widened as she saw his reply.

She was simply incredulous.

At this moment, Director Wang really seemed like a total scumbag.

"Director Wang, you didn’t say that before, you clearly..."

Shi Yiqing sent a voice message that trailed off.

Wang Zhehai’s reply was very clear-cut, "Things change. I indeed felt that your image could inspire me, I didn’t lie to you." Only, the inspiration he referred to wasn’t anything positive.

Shi Yiqing didn’t know about his thoughts; she only knew she had been deceived.

The ruthless deception made her feel incredulous.

How could Wang Zhehai treat her this way?

It was just too much!

"You did this on purpose, deceiving me. I’m not acting in your movie!"

When Wang Zhehai saw her message, he snorted, "You say you won’t act? Do you want to breach the contract? Look at the penalty for breaching it before you say that."

Seeing this, Shi Yiqing hurriedly looked for the contract she had signed.

When she saw the long list of penalties for breach of contract, her head began to spin.

After a moment, her molars clenched tight.

She had been duped!

When she had met Wang Zhehai before, he had been so warm to her that she hadn’t thought to be on her guard.

She had signed the contract on the spot, without paying any attention to the breach clause in it.

Only after reading it carefully did she realize just how disadvantageous the contract she had signed was.

The thought that she must comply with the crew’s arrangements unconditionally, not even allowed to voice an opinion, else face a breach penalty, made her face turn extremely ugly.

She wasn’t aware that contracts in the entertainment industry often had hidden pitfalls.

Smarter performers knew that when signing a contract, every clause must be read carefully.

Utmost caution wasn’t just for show.

If you don’t scrutinize carefully, any single breached clause could become an issue to contend with.

After looking over the contract, Shi Yiqing felt very heavy-hearted.

As for Wang Zhehai, he did not feel the slightest bit guilty.

"You’re targeting me on purpose, aren’t you?"

Shi Yiqing couldn’t hold back and asked him another question.

Wang Zhehai was resolute in his denial, "What virtues or abilities do you have that would be worth my intentional targeting? This is truly just a coincidence. If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do."

Wang Zhehai’s words sounded nice, but the actual situation was something only he knew.

Shi Yiqing didn’t believe what he said. Since Wang Zhehai wouldn’t admit it, she blamed Shi Yaoguang for it all.

To get to the bottom of how exactly she had been tricked, she confronted Shi Yaoguang directly.

When Shi Yaoguang saw her, he raised an eyebrow, "A good dog doesn’t block the path."

"Shi Yaoguang, you did this on purpose, didn’t you?"

Shi Yiqing completely ignored her insulting words, glaring at her with righteous indignation.

Shi Yaoguang showed a surprised expression, "What have I done on purpose?"

Shi Yiqing took a deep breath, her face so grim it seemed like it could drip ink.

"You deliberately schemed against me!" Her chest heaved up and down, resembling a patient with a severe asthma attack, "Wang Zhehai was brought by you, wasn’t he?!"

She had been so pleased before, thinking that Wang, the director, had taken a fancy to her because of her beauty.

As long as she acted in the movie, she could secure a place for herself in the entertainment industry.

In the past, she had looked down on this circle, too.

However, she also harbored the attitude of a fox who decries the grapes as sour because it can’t reach them.

If she wasn’t in the entertainment industry, those inside were mere performers in her eyes.

But once she dipped her toes into it, she could no longer refer to them as mere performers.

For this reason, she even bragged about it to her girlfriends.

And now she was being told that the delightful opportunity that had her overjoyed was actually just a conspiracy?

She was merely being used.

At this thought, every glance Shi Yiqing took at Shi Yaoguang was filled with a desire to flay her alive.

"You did scheme against me deliberately, don’t deny it!" Shi Yiqing said through clenched teeth.

Shi Yaoguang crossed her arms, wearing an expression of someone watching an intriguing show, "Why should I admit to something I haven’t done?"

"You—"

"However..." Shi Yaoguang casually added, "If you insist on thinking that way, I’m not opposed to indulging your belief."

Shi Yiqing’s pupils contracted, and a bad feeling arose within her, "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is..." Shi Yaoguang curled her lips into a mocking smile, "You’re right, I indeed planned against you."

She did not conceal her malice, "The contract you signed with Director Wang, he showed it to me."

"You might not know, I really didn’t ask him to deal with you, but... when he found out we were not on good terms, he... he approached you and signed the contract with you, using it as a means to impress me, all just to get me to agree to play the female lead in his movie."

While speaking, Shi Yaoguang brushed her hair aside, a helpless expression on her face, "Tell me, with Wang showing such sincerity, how could I possibly refuse?"

"It’s you who are still smug about it..."

Shi Yiqing’s face turned deathly pale, she couldn’t help but mutter: "No, it can’t be! You must be lying to deceive me, I won’t believe you!"

She would rather believe that Shi Yaoguang had used some means to coerce Wang Zhehai into agreeing to let her play the female lead and that she had also been intentionally targeted by the director, rather than believe that all of it was Wang Zhehai’s own voluntary doing.

Using the contract that set her up as proof of his dedication, just to have Shi Yaoguang agree to play the female lead?

Then what was Shi Yiqing? A stepping stone?

Or Wang Zhehai’s tool?

Meeting Shi Yiqing’s eyes filled with hatred, Shi Yaoguang curled her lips, continuing to rub salt into the wound, "You must have been quite dissatisfied when you realized I would be the female lead, and you were just a supporting role, right?"

"Are you also thinking about terminating your contract with Wang?"

That was indeed what Shi Yiqing was thinking.

Shi Yaoguang’s next words made her feel sick to her stomach, "I’ve looked at the penalty for breach of contract, and it seems you can’t afford it with your net worth."

As she said this, her eyes revealed obvious scorn and mockery.

Shi Yiqing felt her face burning with humiliation.

Shi Yaoguang was blatantly ridiculing her!

"Right." Shi Yaoguang added another comment, "I’m somewhat curious, how did you end up like this? You’re the heiress of the Shi Family, yet now you can’t even afford the penalty for breaching a contract, it’s embarrassing even for me."

As she spoke, she clicked her tongue in feigned commiseration.

Shi Yiqing’s face grew greener with anger, "Shi Yaoguang, stop kicking me while I’m down!"