Chapter 45: Assassin’s Creed
Chapter 45
The cameraman desperately chased behind, capturing this precious footage—
[Holy crap! A robber? The streets of Rome are dangerous!]
[Don't chase him! If he dares to blatantly rob in broad daylight, he probably has a knife. Besides, what's the use of catching up? Thieves here are especially brazen. Let's just take the loss.]
[Is this a prank by the program team?]
[It shouldn't be. That guy is clearly a local thief.]
...
Qin Wei didn't care about any of that. With their tight budget, 500 euros, if used well, could basically feed the six of them for two days. They didn't have much money left after lodging expenses, so this was not a small sum!
[Forget chasing him, call the damn cops! Safety first. Who has the mind to film this... seeking pleasure in death, huh?]
[I heard the cameraman was chasing after Qin Wei and happened to forget to turn off the camera... But Cameraman is awesome, carrying all that equipment while running so fast, a true king!]
[It's only 495 euros... If it were me I'd just give it to Sister Qin. It's not worth risking your life. Here he is, acting like Assassin's Creed...]
To Qin Wei's surprise, after it was aired she ended up trending. The tag read:
#Qin Wei Assassin's Creed#
Many people thought the game was being adapted into a TV series, and that Qin Wei was cast as the lead.
[I came in cursing but ended up bowing to Qin Wei before leaving.]
[Qin's absence from the Olympics is truly mankind's loss.]
At noon in Rome, under sunny skies, Qin Wei entered the local police station.
The director got a panicked call from Liu Xin and rushed over, only to find Qin Wei and the cameraman sitting side by side on a bench in the station.
Qin Wei still looked fine, though a bit sullen. The cameraman was already exhausted, occasionally rolling his eyes.
After getting the story, the director was puzzled—
The long and short of it was, the money got snatched, Qin gave chase and caught the guy, then beat him up and they both ended up at the police station.
The director looked at Qin Wei, she was unhurt, apparently she could fight!
Fortunately no one was hurt. Not to mention she was the female artist invested in by President Xu, even if she wasn't, with her national popularity, anything happening to her would be too much for him to bear...
The police officer came out and said something to Qin Wei. She looked very unhappy but eventually took the pen and signed.
Qin Wei said to the officer in English:
"He robbed my money and flipped me off. One has to live with dignity and cannot let this slide."
The officer expressed understanding and told her the penalty.
Qin Wei acted in legitimate self-defense and was released on site. The thief lost the money during the scuffle. Since he had no money himself, he would be jailed.
As for the money, don't even think about it. If he had money he wouldn't have stolen and robbed in the first place.
Liu Xin stood by watching the drama unfold.
What an exciting morning. Not to mention losing less than 500 euros, for this show she was willing to wire over 5000 euros on the spot.
The dissatisfaction that had been piled up was now dispersed, leaving her feeling great.
...
After signing the papers they could leave. As they reached the door, they heard Liu Xin start to gossip:
"Aiya, you shouldn't have chased in this situation. Qin Wei, your temperament is too violent! Not willing to take any loss, but only incur more losses instead. No wonder your agent Li Yao calls you Little Ancestor, you really are like an ancestor..."
Qin Wei was too lazy to explain, leaving only a breezy retort:
"Have you met your ancestor?"
Liu Xin got angry again. She hadn't intended to nitpick with Qin Wei over these trivial matters, but seeing her attitude, Liu Xin changed her mind.
She grabbed the director's arm and huffed:
"Anyway, she lost the team 500 euros. You can't cheat and reimburse her. She has to fill this hole herself!"
Upon returning to the hotel, Qin Wei was informed that the program would not reimburse her for the lost money and she had to find a way herself.
"You also need to hand over any remaining money."
Liu Xin added,
"I don't feel assured with you bringing so much money on morning jogs."
Qin Wei didn't argue with her. She handed over the money and ledger, and couldn't be bothered with who was managing it.
"I'll think of a way to earn those 500 euros over the next few days."
Qin Wei said and went upstairs to rest. Sitting on the small balcony, she took out a book from her bag and started reading.
"Teacher Qin, do you mind if I join you here to read together?"
A familiar voice sounded behind her. She turned around to see Li Hanming holding a book and looking at her.
Though in a bad mood, she still gave a smile.
"What book are you reading?"
Li Hanming also smiled as he pulled up a chair and sat down, opening the textbook in hand:
"I have the college entrance exam in a few days when I get back. I saw Teacher Qin's English is very good, so I wanted to ask some questions..."
[Bro, don't ask her!! Qin Wei probably only knows shoddy tricks herself and can't teach.]
[Bro, don't ask her!! Qin may be decent as a person, but her brain definitely doesn't work!]
[Bro, don't ask her!! What if she can't even recognize words?!]
[Bro, don't ask her!! (I'm just trying not to break rank, why are you all saying she's illiterate? Didn't she go to college? She's considered pretty good in the industry...)]
[She didn't graduate from college]
[She didn't graduate from college...]
[Right, she didn't graduate from college...]
...
"What book is Teacher Qin reading?"
Li Hanming had been curious for two days and finally got a chance to ask.
"It's a secret."
Qin Wei said, casually putting the book back in her bag. Li Hanming didn't pry further, but it aroused endless curiosity among netizens—
[She's been reading this book for several days, since London. But the program team blurred it out. Does anyone know what book she's reading?]
[Won't it be some unspeakable book? Why else blur it out?]
[How can unspeakable books be brought abroad? It's probably just an un-sponsored book that the program doesn't want to promote for free, or maybe an unpublished script that the studio required to be blurred.]
[I feel like I've seen this book before...green and white cover...this thickness...I guess it's the public foundation knowledge textbook...]
[No way! A female celeb reading public foundation knowledge?]
[??? Can someone tell me what public foundation knowledge is?]
[Public foundation knowledge, tested in the preliminary exam for the civil service exam...probably not, why would she read that?]
[Let me weakly ask, does Sister Qin know she didn't graduate from college...you can't take the exam if you didn't graduate...]
[Rest assured, she's probably reading Story Time or One Hundred Jokes.]
...
Li Hanming lowered his voice:
"Teacher Qin, what are you going to do about those 500 euros? Have you thought of something?"
Qin Wei looked completely calm, exuding confidence:
"No."
Yet also matter-of-fact.
Li Hanming slapped his forehead, somewhat worried. Though blameless, she was still responsible for this matter to some degree. If she didn't come up with a solution, she'd likely face more backlash after it aired.
This sister's reputation was already quite poor. Li Hanming really didn't want to see it worsen.
Liu Xin's voice sounded from downstairs:
"Qin Wei, come down. I just checked the books, you still owe money that must be repaid today!"