Chapter 17 Private Message Storm I wouldn't be able to resist pouncing on him, or...

On the way back, Mo Ningzhi received a call from Li Yan.

"Where are you? I've been ringing the doorbell for ages and no one's answered. Have you moved?"

"No." Mo Ningzhi tilted her head. Through the rear window of the taxi, Zhou Yaozheng was still standing there, staring blankly at the back of the car. Mo Ningzhi looked away. "He's on his way back."

Li Yan: "It's almost 10 o'clock, and you're working 996 as an assistant? Do I have to make an appointment in advance if I want to see you in the future?"

Mo Ningzhi didn't explain further, "Wait for me for half an hour."

"Okay, have you had dinner yet? I'll order some food, let's grab something together tonight?"

"good."

Forty minutes later, Mo Ningzhi returned to her home, which she had been away from for several days.

Li Yan sat down unceremoniously in front of his house, with several takeout bags piled up beside him. His long legs stretched out, almost taking up the entire aisle. He was looking down at his phone and didn't even hear the elevator arrive.

Mo Ningzhi walked over and kicked his shoe: "You're blocking my way, Mr. Li."

"Hey, Assistant Mo is back." Li Yan looked up, his handsome face particularly eye-catching. He braced himself on the ground for a moment, but didn't get up. He looked up at Mo Ningzhi and said, "Pull me up, my butt is numb."

"..."

Mo Ningzhi pulled the person up and opened the door to bring them inside.

The dinner that Li Yan brought was a signature dish from a high-end restaurant near the entrance of the residential area. The restaurant does not offer takeout, so Li Yan must have gone out to pack it up and bring it back himself.

"Please sit wherever you like. I'll heat it up in the microwave."

Li Yan hummed in agreement, put his hands behind his back, and curiously strolled around the house. "You found a decent house, it's just a bit small, but the view is nice. It'll be easy for you to live alone."

Mo Ningzhi brought out dinner, and Li Yan opened a bottle of his own wine. He glanced at Mo Ningzhi's slightly wrinkled shirt and asked, "Is your line of work so busy that you don't even have time to change your clothes?"

Mo Ningzhi glanced down at them, then raised her hand to straighten her collar. "I've been quite busy lately. Qin Weijin's new drama has just launched, and it's incredibly popular. This wave of popularity is likely to continue for a while."

Li Yan clicked his tongue twice, about to pour some wine, when he suddenly paused, "You have guest rooms here, right? Can I drink?"

Where is your driver?

"Who brings a driver when a CEO our age goes out? My car is brand new, and I won't let anyone touch it until I've had my fill of driving it myself. No guest rooms are fine too, I can just make do on the sofa for the night."

Mo Ningzhi said helplessly, "There are rooms available. You can change your own sheets, and the toiletries are in the bathroom cabinet."

"Alright, then I'll drink as much as I want. You can drink less tomorrow since you're at work."

According to the schedule, Qin Weijin has no work tomorrow. Mo Ningzhi had already received a notice from Zhan Linzhou to rest tomorrow, so there was no need to worry about not being able to get up.

"You came to me just to find someone to drink with?"

Li Yan tilted his head back and drank a glass of water: "No, it's not like that."

He rummaged in his pocket, pulled out a card, and pushed it in front of Mo Ningzhi. "I invested the money I borrowed from you last year into the project. You are now my major shareholder. This is the first quarter's dividend."

Mo Ningzhi raised an eyebrow: "How many?"

"Besides what was donated last time, it's all here, about 350 or 360. The quarterly dividends will be deposited on time every year. Just wait to collect the money. It's a little less than I thought, but I just took over the family company and haven't expanded the business this much yet. Little by little, it will add up."

After spending all his money at the duty-free shop, Mo Ningzhi was short of cash. This money was just what he needed, so he accepted it without hesitation.

Having already eaten a meal before going home, Mo Ningzhi put down her chopsticks after eating very little. Li Yan also didn't eat much, but he had drunk a bit too much. He looked at Mo Ningzhi with slightly hazy eyes and smiled, "Just tell me straight, what are you after for being Qin Weijin's assistant?"

"Money," Mo Ningzhi replied without hesitation.

"Get lost. Am I not richer than him? There must be another reason why you went to be his assistant."

Mo Ningzhi was taken aback: "Why do you ask that?"

"Don't I know you?" Li Yan smiled and leaned back in her chair, looking at him lazily. "We grew up together, and we've spent more time together than my parents have. I know you too well."

He put down his wine glass, leaned forward, and stared into Mo Ningzhi's eyes, unusually less drunk. "Did Qin Weijin offend you?"

"No."

Li Yan looked completely incredulous.

Mo Ningzhi felt helpless. Initially, he agreed to be Qin Weijin's assistant not only for the substantial salary, but also because he found it exciting.

He knew Qin Weijin's hidden dark side, and knew the man's many flaws outside the spotlight. As long as you get close to Qin Weijin, you can see the man's two-faced pretense, and watch him struggle in the glamorous world of fame and fortune, changing one mask after another to please his fans. How interesting!

But as he learned more about Qin Weijin, he realized that Qin Weijin wasn't as bad as described in the group chat, and his initial bad impression gradually faded.

But it was inappropriate to say this out loud, so Mo Ningzhi casually brushed it off, glanced at the time, and said, "That's about enough for today."

"Tsk, changing the subject is a bit cliché, Ning Zhi."

Mo Ningzhi smiled nonchalantly: "Can you still find the door?"

"What a joke, who do you think you are?" Li Yan said, turning around and bumping into the corner of the island platform: "Ouch—hiss!"

"..."

Mo Ningzhi escorted the person to the guest room, and as he came out, the phone on the table lit up. He went into the kitchen to pour a glass of water, and only then did he turn on the phone; it was Xiao Guo.

[Xiao Guo]: Ningzhi, I've already exported the photos and arranged for the studio staff to develop them. I've left you a digital copy.

[Xiao Guo]: [Document]

Mo Ningzhi replied with a message before sending the file to her computer and opening it.

Since becoming Qin Weijin's assistant, Mo Ningzhi has not managed his personal account for a long time. The various platform accounts he created when he was in the group chat have also gone dormant. However, because he has not thoroughly cleaned up his device, all kinds of software started running automatically as soon as he turned it on.

Beep beep beep.

Countless messages came flooding in at once.

The desktop penguin icon popped up, and Mo Ningzhi clicked into her alternate account, which she hadn't accessed in a long time, only to find that there were already 99+ unread messages in various group chats.

My alternate account is filled with couple groups, girlfriend groups, and true love groups. Once you open it, the screen is full of cute emojis and starry eyes.

[The makeup and styling for Jin during this trip to Thailand was absolutely stunning; it's been getting a lot of praise online.]

He's so handsome my legs went weak!

What's the difference between a life where you can't even sleep with someone from Qin to become Jin, and a life like a salted fish?

[The female lead had very few scenes in this promotional video. I think she and Wei Jin are a good match in the drama, but her screen time is too limited.]

[Me too! Me too! When the male and female leads recognized each other on the mountaintop in the red maple forest, I laughed so hard I rolled around on the bed! Who can understand my excitement?!]

The pairings I ship are weird, so I'm not going to say anything.

In addition to group chats, there are also some private chats.

[Little Sheep Loves Chili Peppers: Teacher Gu, your Weibo hasn't been updated in a long time. I've lost all inspiration for my drawings. When will you have some free time to come back and chat?]

Mo Ningzhi glanced at the other person's contact name and found that it was a female artist she had met on Weibo half a year ago. This person was famous for her sexy paintings of Qin and Jin and had a great reputation in the circle.

Mo Ningzhi got to know him because several sets of photos he had shared on Weibo were very much to the other party's liking. Every time he updated, this little sheep would post new drawings.

Mo Ningzhi opened Weibo and found a large number of private messages and followers.

His last update was a month ago.

Looking at the flood of eager fans in the private messages and comments section, Mo Ningzhi thought for a moment, picked out a set of photos from the folder, edited out some details and backgrounds, and then posted two sets of nine-grid photos.

...

On his rare day off, Qin Weijin stayed alone in his new home. He had gotten used to traveling around all these years, so the change of location didn't affect his sleep.

After taking a shower, he lay half-reclined on the bed and habitually checked Weibo.

As soon as I opened the software, I heard a notification sound.

[The blogger you follow, @古德莫宁, has updated their content!]

On the homepage, two sets of photos took up the view.

The angles, the clothing, the composition—Qin Weijin didn't even need to consciously recall; he knew he had seen these photos with Xiao Guo that afternoon.

Mo Ningzhi took the photo.

Although some details were blurred and the blogger's photo editing skills were very high, Qin Weijin had seen the original photo before and recognized it at a glance.

This is Mo Ningzhi's Weibo post.

The image of that always aloof and handsome face flashed through Qin Weijin's mind, and an indescribable sweetness rose in his heart, as if he had finally seen through Mo Ningzhi's cold mask and discovered that there was a passionate heart hidden beneath it. With each beat of that vibrant heart, the intense affection hidden within would be revealed and surge towards him overwhelmingly.

Qin Weijin was momentarily at a loss for words, unsure of his own feelings.

Happy? Surprised? Afraid? It seems like none of those.

But deep down, I felt an indescribable sense of comfort.

Qin Weijin stared at the Weibo photo for a few seconds and noticed that it had just been posted. On a whim, he opened his private messages and tried sending a message.

...

After taking a shower, Mo Ningzhi lay down on the bed; it was already past midnight.

The various group chats were still buzzing with activity. Mo Ningzhi was exhausted from the past few days, so he closed the group chats, and a private message notification popped up.

【Qjqin】: The photos are really well taken. Are there any other angles? Please share them, I'm willing to pay.

The message came at a very opportune time. Mo Ningzhi clicked on the other party's homepage and took a look. There was no Weibo account, and the registration time was not long, so it seemed to be a secondary account.

[Goodmorning]: That's all.

Qin Weijin saw the reply, his gaze falling on the "oh" at the end of the sentence, and raised an eyebrow.

【Qjqin】: Your photography skills are excellent, and I really like your photos. I heard that Qin Weijin has a variety show coming up in a couple of days. Will you be going to take some behind-the-scenes photos?

Mo Ningzhi frowned, his impression of this stranger plummeting. This Weibo account was something he used to practice photography in his early years, originally intended to share the customs and cultures of various places around the world. Unexpectedly, by a twist of fate, most of the photos he took were of Qin and Jin.

After gaining popularity, he received all sorts of private messages, mostly from people offering to buy his services. The people who contacted him all started with similar messages to this person, 【Qjqin】.

Mo Ningzhi wasn't interested in the proxy bidding industry. He held his phone up to his face and replied with two words: "Not going."

【Qjqin】: Why?

[Goodmorning]: Because I like him. If I get too close, I'm afraid I won't be able to resist pouncing on him, or kidnapping him and locking him up.

【Qjqin】：?

A note from the author:

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Oops! The automatic update time was set wrong, it showed tomorrow. Luckily I checked it. Sorry!