After hearing this, Director Fang and Shu Qingqing both frowned in unison.
"No, Ling Hao, do you even know what you're saying? We're already halfway through filming this drama, and you're suddenly backing out? Are you messing with us?" Director Fang had a bit of a short temper, and his loud voice drew the attention of the people nearby.
Shu Qingqing pulled him further inside before asking Ling Hao, "Are you serious?"
"Yes," Ling Hao answered quickly, though he didn't dare to look at her.
Shu Qingqing asked again, "Can you tell us the reason? Why quit so suddenly when everything was going fine? Did something unexpected happen to you, or is it a family matter?"
Ling Hao kept his head down. "Sister Qingqing... there's no specific reason. I just don't want to act anymore."
Director Fang angrily smacked him. "You think you can just quit just like that? We signed a contract, you brat! Do you have any idea how much money you'll have to pay if you breach it?"
Ling Hao simply replied, "Director Fang, Sister Qingqing, don't worry. I will pay every single cent of the penalty fee."
Shu Qingqing felt that something was wrong.
Ling Hao had just turned twenty-four this year. From what she had observed, he came from an ordinary family. Meanwhile, the mini-drama she and Director Fang were producing was aimed at the premium market, with a total investment of three million yuan.
According to the contract, if Ling Hao breached it, he would need to pay nearly one million yuan in damages.
Because he had previously starred in a hit mini-drama, Director Fang was paying him ten thousand yuan a day for this project. While that was a lot, it was still a far cry from a million. How could he possibly come up with that much money?
After his scolding, Director Fang began to earnestly persuade him.
But Ling Hao remained silent. He seemed absolutely determined to break the contract and refused to disclose the reason why.
Shu Qingqing tugged at Director Fang. "Forget it, let's stop asking for now. Ling Hao, I'll give you one day. Go back and think it over carefully. If you still feel the same way tomorrow, then... we will discuss the contract termination."
Ling Hao agreed.
Director Fang could only leave, sighing heavily.
On the third day, Ling Hao arrived at Director Fang's studio, still insisting on terminating his contract.
Shu Qingqing and Director Fang both knew his mind was made up, so they didn't try to persuade him anymore and simply signed the termination agreement.
Now that the drama was halfway done, replacing the male lead meant many of the shot scenes could no longer be used. Both Shu Qingqing and Director Fang were perfectionists who wanted to do things right, so after a discussion, they decided to simply take a two-day break and wait until they auditioned a new lead actor before resuming the shoot.
Taking advantage of the free time, Shu Qingqing went to the hospital for a follow-up check on how her wound was healing.
To her surprise, she ran into Ling Hao at the hospital.
He was pushing a wheelchair with a middle-aged woman sitting in it. Afraid of making him uncomfortable if he saw her, Shu Qingqing didn't greet him.
Unexpectedly, upon leaving the hospital, she saw the woman in the wheelchair again, but this time Ling Hao was nowhere to be seen.
Just as Shu Qingqing was feeling confused, she saw two little boys run over and start kicking the wheelchair back and forth.
Shu Qingqing was about to step in and stop them when one of the boys delivered a hard kick, sending the wheelchair flying out of control.
Shu Qingqing quickly sprinted over.
Just a split second before the wheelchair crashed into the flowerbed, she grabbed its handles.
Shu Qingqing had barely breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Ling Hao rushing over.
Ling Hao frantically crouched down to check on the woman in the wheelchair. Only after confirming she was unharmed did he stand back up.
"Sister Qingqing, thank you so much," Ling Hao said, panting heavily. Then, he gave Shu Qingqing a deep bow. He had seen how the wheelchair had slid away, but from where he was, he couldn't have stopped it in time. If it hadn't been for Shu Qingqing... his mother would have crashed into the flowerbed.
"It's nothing," Shu Qingqing waved her hand. "Don't be so careless in the future. I can see that Auntie isn't very lucid. You can't leave her alone outside like this again."
Seeing that Shu Qingqing was about to leave, Ling Hao called out to stop her. "Sister Qingqing, I am truly sorry, but I had no choice but to break the contract."
Shu Qingqing immediately turned around. She guessed that Ling Hao might be about to tell her the real reason for his departure.
Sure enough, Ling Hao crouched down and held the middle-aged woman's hand. "Sister Qingqing, as you can see, my mother is not like ordinary people. To put it bluntly, she is mentally unstable. She used to be gentle and elegant, but it was that animal! He domestically abused her time and time again, and that's how she ended up like this!"
"Sister Qingqing, that animal is my father. Later on, he got into a fight and accidentally stabbed someone to death. Now, he's serving time in prison."
"A few days ago, someone approached me and offered me a million yuan to breach the contract and quit the show, and even asked me to star in his drama instead. I refused. But later, he came back to me with the news clippings of my father's crime and threatened that if I didn't quit, he would expose the incident online, letting everyone know that I'm the son of a murderer."
"Sister Qingqing, I'm sorry. I didn't want this."
So that was the truth.
Shu Qingqing remained silent for a long time before patting him on the shoulder. "Ling Hao, this isn't your fault."
"Take good care of your mother." Leaving those words behind, Shu Qingqing walked away.
However, after returning, the more she thought about it, the more something felt off. Ling Hao was just a rookie mini-drama actor, not some highly influential male star with a massive fanbase. Who would go out of their way to dig up dirt on him for no reason?
In all likelihood, the other party was actually targeting her.
Shu Qingqing immediately sought out Ling Hao again and asked for the identity of the person who had approached him.
But despite Shu Qingqing sending people to investigate time and again, she couldn't uncover any grudges between herself and the other party.
Meanwhile, the auditions for a new actor weren't going very smoothly either.
Director Fang and Shu Qingqing were both perfectionists. They had originally planned to wait another two days to continue the auditions, but that afternoon, Ling Hao suddenly returned.
"Director Fang, Sister Qingqing, if I... want to come back... come back to act in this drama, would you still be willing to take me?"
Shu Qingqing was surprised. "Ling Hao, weren't you worried about..."
"Sister Qingqing, do you believe in karma?" Ling Hao suddenly let out a soft laugh. "The night before last, I received a call from the prison saying that he passed away from a sudden heart attack."
Perhaps sensing it somehow, his mother had suddenly hugged him tightly that night and cried her heart out. He knew it wasn't out of sadness, but rather a release of pent-up emotion.
Ling Hao continued, "Suddenly, I'm no longer afraid of people knowing that I'm the son of a murderer, because he has already received the retribution he deserved."
Director Fang, however, was completely baffled. "What son of a murderer?"
Ling Hao knew that Shu Qingqing respected him greatly and wouldn't easily reveal his private matters to others. Fortunately, he had found peace with it now, so he recounted his experience to Director Fang. "I know that, after all, he is my father. If you mind these things..."
"What's there to mind!" Director Fang patted him heavily on the shoulder. "I couldn't be happier that you're willing to come back. We were just stressing over not being able to find a suitable male lead. We'll refund your penalty fee, and we'll resume filming tomorrow!"
Shu Qingqing was also thrilled.
But she knew that what was meant to come would eventually come.
Sure enough, just as their drama passed the censorship review, the news about Ling Hao's father suddenly exploded on the internet.
On top of that, the other party also dug up the old scandal of Liu Piaopiao wearing plagiarized designs.
