Cannon Fodder in an Era Drama — I Survive with Acting-Chapter 53: Sophistry

The moment Wen Xiuxiu started to cry, everyone’s sympathy shifted toward her.

Everyone, that is, except for the delirious Fei Jin and Xiao Yang, who had unwavering faith in Song Qingya.

Fei Jin was completely lost in a daze.

Xiao Yang stepped forward to defend Song Qingya.

"Ma’am, I can’t agree with that. How can you be so sure she didn’t do it on purpose? Besides, my sister-in-law is a wonderful person, always polite and kind to everyone. She must have lashed out because she was pushed to her limit. You don’t know the first thing about what happened, so how can you just run your mouth?"

The staff member was so thoroughly refuted she was left speechless. She quickly and nervously tried to defend herself.

"You’ve got a sharp tongue, but if you’re going to accuse her of drugging him, you need proof. You can’t just make baseless accusations."

The staff member began to wonder if she had, in fact, misjudged the situation.

Seeing his commander collapsed on the floor, Xiao Yang felt a fire of rage ignite in his chest.

He was about to argue further.

"What do you mean ’baseless’? Our commander is in perfect health! How could he end up like this the moment he entered the room? If he wasn’t drugged, what else could it be?"

"Xiao Yang, I swear, I didn’t do anything. As for why Brother Fei is like this, I have no idea either,"

Wen Xiuxiu continued.

Though tears streamed down her face, she steadfastly maintained her innocence.

It was a truly moving sight. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Afraid of getting into trouble, a staff member quickly tried to explain—

"How could that be? We’re a state-run hotel. Our services are all above board, and we absolutely don’t make mistakes like that."

The manager seemed a little nervous as he spoke.

Xiao Yang was furious and about to step forward to argue the point.

Suddenly, he felt a light pat on his shoulder.

He turned to see Song Qingya.

She gave a slight shake of her head, gesturing for Xiao Yang to go back and watch over Fei Jin. She would handle this.

"But, ma’am, you..."

Though Xiao Yang was still indignant, he followed Song Qingya’s advice. He hesitated for a moment before taking a few steps back to stand by Fei Jin’s side.

"It’s alright. Let me handle this,"

Song Qingya said reassuringly.

Song Qingya took a step forward and began to speak. "Everyone, please, rest assured. We’re not here to blame any of you. I understand that since this happened inside your hotel, you must have some questions. But I can assure you, the hotel itself is not directly involved in this matter."

"Really?"

Murmurs immediately rippled through the crowd.

Everyone looked surprised.

A moment later, after a brief commotion, someone finally stepped forward.

It was the hotel manager, a square-faced man in his forties or fifties.

He wore a serious, yet uncertain, expression as he looked at Song Qingya.

The manager sized up the young woman before him, thinking to himself.

’She can’t be much older than her early twenties.’

’But she has this... indescribable air about her.’

’Judging by her appearance, she doesn’t seem like a troublemaker at all!’

The manager turned to a staff member standing nearby. "Xiao Lin, tell me exactly what happened here."

Xiao Lin, the young woman he’d addressed, was the one who had checked Fei Jin in. She was also the one who had spoken up for Wen Xiuxiu earlier.

Now that her boss was questioning her, she didn’t dare hide a single detail. She dutifully recounted everything she knew.

"Director Yang, from what I can tell, this is all just a misunderstanding."

After carefully explaining everything that had happened, Xiao Lin looked back at her boss.

Xiao Lin said confidently, "I’m the one who handled their check-in, so I know what’s what. There haven’t been any sounds of a struggle coming from that room from last night until now."

Xiao Lin was sure her boss would praise her for this.

She had placed all the blame squarely on the family.

The hotel was completely blameless.

Who would have thought.

Director Yang’s expression grew even darker.

"What a bunch of idiots!"

he yelled, furious, and began to reprimand the staff around him.

"Are you all just going to stand there and watch? The family says a guest has been drugged, and you don’t even bother to investigate? You just pass the buck completely?"

Before he’d rushed over, he had already glanced at the check-in records. He knew the guest staying in this room was no ordinary person.

’How could they possibly be the ones making trouble?’

Besides, Director Yang could tell just from the way Song Qingya spoke that she wasn’t the type to make trouble for no reason.

Which meant that someone really had been drugged inside his hotel.

Although the last thing Director Yang wanted was to take responsibility for this...

...he knew that if he tried to smooth things over or pass the blame at a critical moment like this, he would ultimately be the one held accountable.

’Better to just apologize directly than try to evade it.’

"I am so sorry, ma’am. We have truly failed in our duties. The most important thing right now is to take care of this gentleman. I’ve already sent someone to get the medic. They should be here any minute. Is that acceptable to you?"

Director Yang’s apology was utterly sincere.

’Now *that’s* the right attitude.’

Song Qingya wasn’t the type to cause trouble for no reason.

Seeing Fei Jin drenched in sweat, she felt a surge of anxiety.

’I’ve only ever seen this kind of emergency in novels,’ she thought.

’But besides... *that*, is there any other solution?’

Her brow furrowed as she gave a quick command.

"Quick, get me some cold water and wet towels."

After a flurry of activity, their efforts began to show some effect.

Fei Jin’s temperature dropped slightly.

But his hand, still gripping Song Qingya’s, was burning hot.

His consciousness was fading, and it seemed that the closer he was to Song Qingya, the more distressed he became.

In a hoarse, strained voice, he managed to say, "Qingya... stay back..."

Song Qingya understood at once. She immediately stood up, took a few steps back, and told Xiao Yang to keep applying cold towels to Fei Jin to bring his temperature down.

Xiao Lin, still smarting from the reprimand, wore an expression of discontent and couldn’t help muttering under her breath.

"Is it really that serious? I still think the gentleman is just drunk."

Still, she felt sorry for the injured Wen Xiuxiu.

She took out a chilled towel and handed it to Wen Xiuxiu.

Xiao Lin knelt and whispered to Wen Xiuxiu.

"The medic will be here soon. They rotate, you know? This one is a doctor who just transferred from the county hospital last month. I hear he’s very skilled and professional. He’ll definitely investigate this thoroughly, find out who’s lying, and clear your name."

Wen Xiuxiu, who had been planning to slip away during the chaos, was suddenly at a loss after hearing what Xiao Lin said.

She didn’t know how to respond.

At that moment, the only thought in Wen Xiuxiu’s mind was that she had to get out of there as fast as possible.

Otherwise, once that new medic arrived and started looking into things...

...it would be too late to change anything.

The seconds ticked by.