Second Take On Romance - The A-List Actor Wants Me-Chapter 246 : Collateral Damage?

Mother Shen rushed to the hospital as soon as she found out that Shen Jingwei collapsed on the set.

Shen Dou Dou wanted to skip lectures to be by her brother’s side, but Mother Shen strictly forbade her from doing so.

"Dou Dou, Jingwei cares a lot for your education. You must not skip classes!"

Shen Dou Dou reluctantly complied, leaving Mother Shen to take care of Shen Jingwei.

When she arrived at the hospital, Shen Jingwei had already been rolled into a ward.

Zhu Dongyi sat by his bedside.

He shot to his feet like a bullet when Mother Shen entered.

"Mrs. Shen!" He cried out. "I am sorry for not taking good care of Little Shen!"

Mother Shen put aside the pot of soup she brought from home and shook her head.

"No, Manager Zhu. Things happen. The most important thing right now is nursing Jingwei back to health."

"Since you are here, I am going to call the doctor," Zhu Dongyi volunteered. "He will explain everything to you in detail.

The doctor came in a short while later, urged by Zhu Dongyi.

"Mrs. Shen, the laboratory has returned with some result. Apparently, Shen Jingwei ingested some vomit-inducing medicine."

"... Why?"

"Of course it did not happen voluntarily," the doctor continued. "We suspect that someone poured this medicine into the tea he drank at the set."

Zhu Dongyi quickly supplied, "Yan Renzhong is investigating the matter at Peak Point Shooting Studio. We are trying to recover the rest of the tea and the cup from the set."

But when Yan Renzhong returned from the set, he had nothing conclusive to report.

"After a scene concludes, the crew members put everything away. We checked every cup for traces of said medicine, but we couldn’t find any."

"Is any cup missing?" Zhu Dongyi asked.

"No," Yan Renzhong shook his head. "Whoever did it might have taken a replacement from the storage beforehand. Either way, cups get broken a lot in Peak Point Shooting Studio, so no one paid attention to any missing cups."

Zhu Dongyi groaned.

Mother Shen reached out and caressed Shen Jingwei’s pale face.

"My poor son..."

"It’s my fault, Auntie, I am sorry," Yan Renzhong said. "I was there with him the entire time. I should have been more careful."

"No, it’s my fault," Zhu Dongyi fought to speak. "Manager Wen already told me to be more attentive. I should have paid more attention to what Little Shen ate and drank."

Knock, knock, knock.

"Enter."

As soon as Shang Ruohai stepped inside with a basket of fruits, he marched toward Mother Shen.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Shen, I am in charge of the overall drama production. I am sorry that this incident happens."

Mother Shen looked miserable.

With so many people apologizing, she couldn’t bear to blame anyone, but her son was the one suffering here!

"Naturally, our company will compensate Shen Jingwei for any incurred loss, including the hospitalization fee. He will not sustain any lasting damage from this incident, I assure you."

Mother Shen gave a stiff nod in response.

"Yes, thank you..."

Shang Ruohai turned to Yan Renzhong.

"A word, Yan Renzhong?"

Yan Renzhong silently followed Shang Ruohai outside.

They ventured to the back lawn outside of the hospital to talk. At this hour, it was relatively empty, save for several elderly patients on wheelchairs, who were enjoying the weather before being wheeled back into their wards.

"Could it be that he is being targeted?" Yan Renzhong asked in a hushed voice.

"Impossible. What’s the merit of targetting him? He is not even affiliated with CNC Studio," Shang Ruohai replied.

"If anything, he might be collateral damage. The real target was someone else."

"Oh? Who could it be?"

Shang Ruohai pulled out his phone and showed him a viral post on Weibo.

The protagonist of a popular kingdom drama, "The Last Concubine Of Emperor Yong" had unfortunately ingested a vomit-inducing herbal concoction in a cup of tea she drank during a scene.

By chance, both dramas were shooting at Peak Point Shooting Studio at the same time.

Said protagonist was an actress of Yan Renzhong’s generation, many years Shen Jingwei’s senior.

"What a coincidence," Yan Renzhong pointed out.

"We found the same medicine inside the pot of tea prepared by Peak Point Shooting Studio’s kitchen staff this morning.

Of course no one from the kitchen staff intended to inflict anyone any harm.

But since the perpetrator was bold enough to pour the medicine at the kitchen, it will be difficult to track them."

Shang Ruohai flipped through the posts on Weibo.

"Anyway, representatives from both dramas already reported this matter to Peak Point Shooting Studio’s management. All tea prepared this morning has been poured down the drain to avoid further casualties."

Yan Renzhong scoffed.

"How convenient."

"It’s probably a case of jealousy," Shang Ruohai pointed out. "With the award ceremony of Kunlun Snow Lotus Award approaching, everyone is on edge. Best to be very very careful. That manager of Shen Jingwei is too inexperienced. Should we assign him a second manager just to be sure?"

Yan Renzhong shook his head.

"Manager Zhu is loyal to Shen Jingwei. Besides, rather than asking everyone else to be careful, should you not enforce a strict safety regulation during the production of ’Dance Of The Dragons’? You are personally in charge of this drama. Any incidents occuring during the production will heavily impact your chances."

And they both knew what chances Yan Renzhong was speaking about.

"I know," Shang Ruohai muttered with a hint of concern. "Don’t worry, I will handle the aftermath. For now, you should return to Peak Point Shooting Studio. Your absence is drawing a lot of attention."

"... Sure."

It turned out that Yan Renzhong was not entirely wrong.

The matter exploded within a matter of hours. freēwēbnovel.com

The circumstances surrounding Shen Jingwei’s poisoning incident, whether accidental or deliberate, were yet to be determined. However, public discourse on Weibo swiftly shifted to the apparent safety shortcomings during the drama’s production.

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