-86- Another year

The next day, Zhao Jinghuan and Lu Kai went to the high-speed rail station to pick up Wanfeng's mother. They met with Hu Mingyuan with the draft termination agreement. After signing, Zhao Jinghuan released a pre-recorded clarification video. It was hard to predict how well netizens would react, but at least Hu Mingyuan had given an explanation to the retailer he was working with. The sold Pixz items were naturally unrecoverable, but Hu Mingyuan had promised in the contract that he would work with the retailer to remove any unsold Pixz items from their shelves and refrain from further promotion. Lu Kai and Hu Mingyuan reached a private agreement regarding the 1.5 million yuan compensation, which was kept secret from Wanfeng's mother. After Mr. Hu left, Wanfeng's mother expressed her gratitude to Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan for helping him recover the copyright for Wanfeng. The aunt hesitated, clearly wanting to say something else. Zhao Jinghuan, seeing her apprehension, guessed she still held onto hope. She hoped that after all these setbacks, Lu Kai's mind would change. If he could proactively offer to help Wanfeng realize his design, it would be even better. But Lu Kai did not speak. It was unclear whether it was because he did not guess what his aunt meant like Zhao Jinghuan did, or because he did. Wanfeng's mother also knew that her thoughts were actually a bit excessive. After hesitating for a long time, she finally said with some difficulty: "Aunt has learned her lesson this time and will not make trouble anymore." After seeing off Wanfeng's mother, Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan returned to the studio. When they heard that Hu Mingyuan had given up the copyright of Wanfeng, Xiao Liang and Ji Anya were very happy, and they clamored for Lu Kai to treat them to a big dinner to celebrate. Lu Kai complained that the two of them just wanted to eat for free, but in the evening he still took a few people to a buffet. During dinner, Xiao Liang and Ji Anya were thinking about "making back their money", and only Zhao Jinghuan noticed that Lu Kai seemed to be in a bad mood, even a little silent. Zhao Jinghuan would rather Lu Kai was heartbroken about the 1.5 million he lost, but he was obviously not. Lu Kai, who usually drank Coke, secretly downed several bottles of wine that night. After being caught by Xiao Liang, he received a rather unpleasant rebuke: "How can you drink beer at a buffet? You and Sister Zhao weren't supposed to eat, and you used beer to fill your stomachs. If you do that again, I won't bring you here." He spoke as if he were paying. After the party, Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan called a designated driver home. As they were almost downstairs, Lu Kai suddenly said, "We helped Wanfeng get his IP back." His tone wasn't particularly cheerful. … … Zhao Jinghuan's clarification video didn't seem to help Hu Mingyuan much, but it did help stem the flow and prevent the incident from escalating further. …

The next day, Zhao Jinghuan and Lu Kai went to the high-speed rail station to pick up Wanfeng's mother. They went to see Hu Mingyuan with the draft termination agreement. After signing the agreement, Zhao Jinghuan released a pre-recorded clarification video.

It is hard to predict how much netizens will buy into this, but Hu Mingyuan can at least give an explanation to the terminal merchants he cooperates with.

The sold pixz naturally cannot be recovered, but Hu Mingyuan promised in the contract that he agreed to communicate with the terminal merchants to remove the unsold pixz from the shelves and no longer carry out any subsequent publicity.

As for the 1.5 million yuan in compensation, Lu Kai and Hu Mingyuan made a private agreement without letting Wanfeng's mother know.

After Mr. Hu Zi left, Wan Feng's mother expressed her gratitude profusely to Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan for helping her recover the copyright of Wan Feng.

The aunt hesitated to speak later, and it was obvious that she had something else to say. Seeing her embarrassment, Zhao Jinghuan probably guessed that she still had some hope. She hoped that after all these twists and turns, Lu Kai's mind would change. It would be even better if he could take the initiative to propose that this time he help Wanfeng implement the design.

But Lu Kai didn't say anything. It was unclear whether he had guessed what his aunt meant like Zhao Jinghuan, or if he had guessed it.

Wanfeng's mother also knew that her idea was a bit excessive. She hesitated for a long time, and finally said with some difficulty: "Auntie has learned her lesson this time, and I won't make trouble anymore."

After seeing off Wanfeng's mother, Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan returned to the studio. When they heard that Hu Mingyuan had given up the copyright of Wanfeng, Xiao Liang and Ji Anya were very happy and started to clamor for Lu Kai to treat them to a big dinner to celebrate.

Lu Kai complained that the two of them just wanted to eat for free, but they still took a few people to a buffet in the evening. During dinner, Xiao Liang and Ji Anya were obsessed with "making back their money." Only Zhao Jinghuan noticed that Lu Kai seemed uninterested and even a little silent.

Zhao Jinghuan would rather Lu Kai was feeling bad about paying out 1.5 million, but he obviously wasn't.

Lu Kai, who usually drinks Coke, secretly drank several bottles of wine tonight. After being caught by Xiao Liang, he was scolded by him: "How can you drink beer at a buffet? You and Sister Zhao can't eat, and you still use beer to fill your stomachs. If you do this again next time, I won't bring you here."

He spoke as if he was the one paying.

After the show, Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan called a designated driver to go home. When they were almost downstairs, Lu Kai suddenly said without context, "We helped Wan Feng get his IP back."

But his tone couldn't be described as happy.

…………

Zhao Jinghuan's clarification video did not seem to help Hu Mingyuan restore much of his reputation, but it did stop the bleeding and prevent the incident from escalating further.

Tomato's new company gained a lot of fans in this incident, and then took the opportunity to post the release date of "Dragon Palace Primary School Students" on its account. Although it was inevitably attacked by netizens and scolded for its hype, the saying goes that black traffic is also traffic. In addition, many netizens posted to defend Tomato, analyzing Zhao Jinghuan's micro-expressions in the "clarification" video, saying that she was forced to post the video by "capital" public relations.

The sales of "A Million Ways" also increased significantly during this wave of verbal battles, which can be regarded as a "share" for Lu Kai and compensate for some of the losses from the 1.5 million expenditure.

Chinese New Year was approaching, and most online debates had died down as the year drew to a close. This year, Zhao Jinghuan wasn't upset about having nowhere to go for the holidays. With more than a month left, Lu Kai secretly contacted his parents and asked them to invite Zhao Jinghuan home for the holiday.

Although everyone celebrated the New Year together last year, it was Lu Kai's parents who came that time, which is fundamentally different from Zhao Jinghuan coming to visit.

The old couple went to the bank in advance to exchange new money and sealed thick red envelopes. Afterwards, they bought clothes, permed their hair, and even replaced the old sofa at home. If it weren't for the lack of time, Lu Kai suspected that his parents would have renovated the house.

He casually complained to his parents, but Dad Lu said, "How can we not take our daughter-in-law seriously when she comes to visit us for the first time?"

Lu Kai waved his hands repeatedly and asked how she could be called a “daughter-in-law”. When Jing Huan comes, you should stop talking nonsense.

The two elders said, "Okay, girlfriend, girlfriend, your generation is too clear about the distinctions."

Lu Kai didn't say anything more, but he felt a little uneasy. In the past month, Zhao Jinghuan had been living at Lu Kai's place almost all the time. She didn't think there was anything wrong with it. After all, the two of them had been through so much and had long since determined their position in each other's hearts. On the contrary, Lu Kai was always having wild thoughts, feeling that he seemed to have accidentally skipped the step of formal confession and didn't even have a formal status.

But if he were to confess his love again, given their current situation, it would seem a bit superfluous. Besides, the last time Zhao Jinghuan asked him what he liked about her, he still hadn't come up with a satisfactory answer.

Lu Kai thought that nothing important had happened recently, so he should really think about this issue. If possible, he should try to "hand in the paper" before the New Year and get a reputation at the same time, which would also make him feel at ease.

So he began to carefully "examine the question". The so-called "examining the question" actually means observing Zhao Jinghuan more closely and carefully.

After reviewing the questions for a few days, in addition to finding that Zhao Jinghuan looked more and more attractive, he also discovered something that made him even more vaguely uneasy.

Recently, Zhao Jinghuan always holds her phone and chats with someone, chatting while eating and before going to bed. When she sees beautiful scenery on the road, beautiful decorations at street stalls, or even cute cats and dogs passing by, she will take pictures and send them to the "hidden person" on the other side of the phone to discuss.

These are obviously things that should be shared with the other half you are in love with.

It wasn't that Lu Kai didn't trust Zhao Jinghuan, but people in love were bound to be curious. On Monday at work, he tentatively told Ji Anya, "Jinghuan seems to really like chatting with you online lately."

"Huh? We've been on WeChat for a long time..." Ji Anya was stunned for a moment, then tilted her head to look at him, "What's wrong, Jing Huan is having an affair?"

Lu Kai was horrified and pointed at Ji Anya, yelling, "You! What nonsense are you talking about?" His subconscious shouting was so loud that it even startled Zhao Jinghuan, who was standing nearby. She came over and asked what the two were talking about. Lu Kai waved his hands and said it was nothing. Ji Anya pointed at Lu Kai and said, "He wants to check your phone."

Lu Kai stared at her with wide eyes: "When did I ever say that!!!"

Ji Anya shrugged, saying it was a reasonable deduction. Zhao Jinghuan blushed. She hesitated for a moment, didn't explain, uttered a somewhat guilty "Oh," and turned away.

When she did this, not only Lu Kai but also Ji Anya was a little surprised.

Zhao Jinghuan didn't speak to Lu Kai for the entire day. Ji Anya and Xiao Liang also sensed the strange atmosphere between the two, and when it was time to get off work, they ran away dejectedly.

Lu Kai didn't know if Zhao Jinghuan would come to his place tonight, so he didn't dare to leave or ask. He just sat at his workstation, secretly peeking over and looking in Zhao Jinghuan's direction.

Their eyes met, and they each looked away. Lu Kai suddenly felt a little aggrieved, pursed his lips, and was about to "leave alone" when Zhao Jinghuan suddenly said, "Do you want to see my phone?"

Lu Kai was startled and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "I'm not that kind of person." When Zhao Jinghuan came over with her phone, he backed away, shouting, "You, you, you, don't come over here." He looked like he was going to jump out the window if she came any closer.

"I'm not that suspicious guy. Don't let me see this Pandora's box. Once opened, it can't be closed and the big bugs inside will crawl out..."

Zhao Jinghuan sighed helplessly: "I was embarrassed to say it just now because, because it was Wanfeng's mother."

Lu Kai was stunned for a moment, and Zhao Jinghuan continued, "I spoke to Auntie a few words that day, and then I don't know how, but we started chatting."

She handed the phone to Lu Kai, and this time Lu Kai reached out to take it, swiping through it casually. It was all meaningless small talk, but it made it seem more intimate and warm.

At the end of the chat record, Zhao Jinghuan asked Wanfeng's mother: "Auntie, where are you going to celebrate the New Year this year?"

Below was a light grey time stamp. It took a long time for the aunt to reply: "Just stay at home. My sister asked me to come over, but they have a big family too."

Perhaps because she understood the feeling of being alone during the New Year, Zhao Jinghuan looked up at Lu Kai and asked, "Do you want to invite Wanfeng's mother to come with you during the New Year?"