Chapter 15 Chapter 15

“Some people failed in their bragging, right?”

Shu Jun proudly showed off his full fish bucket and placed it in front of Rongrong and Zhu Ling's fish buckets with ulterior motives, sighing in admiration.

"What's so great about you?" Rongrong pointed out unconvincedly, "Didn't Mr. Zhan catch all of this?"

After a while, Zhan Nianqing quietly caught nearly ten fish, one of which was a particularly fat grass carp, flapping its tail in the bucket.

The sun was getting hotter. An Jiyue pulled her sunglasses from her purse and put them on, gazing out at the group of handsome men and beautiful women gathered together. They hadn't used any physical sunscreen, but almost everyone was in high spirits. Zhan Nianqing narrowed her eyes in laughter at the praise, while Rongrong and Shu Jun engaged in a back-and-forth banter. Even the usually expressionless Lu Ye smiled faintly.

Being in love is so great. She looked at the people on the monitor with some envy. The hormones colliding between high-quality men and women could only be barely captured by the camera.

The second half of the day was spent playing tennis, where Hef was at her best, from the ball receiving machine to the roulette game. She was skilled, and more importantly, had excellent stamina—while others felt tired after a morning of fishing, she wasn't.

Rongrong looked at her tirelessly running around the field and sighed, "She's indeed a young person... My old bones are really not going to work."

Guan Haifu stared at the opponent's position on the court for a few seconds, threw the ball high with one hand, leaned her flexible waist back, and hit the ball across the court with a snap.

"ACE!"

The hem of her skirt was lifted by the gust of wind, and the muscles in her long legs were tense. Guan Haifu smiled slightly after hearing the referee's loud praise, tossed her ponytail behind her head, and then frowned even more tightly, concentrating on preparing for the next ball.

"Haifu really works hard."

Zhu Ling had sat down next to Lu Ye at some point, watching the final match between Guan Haifu and Shu Jun. Lu Ye paused, his words indifferent, and replied with a "hmm."

"Do you know what the final reward for today's points race is?"

This question was asked directly to him. Although Lu Ye was a little confused, he was indifferent to it.

"have no idea."

"It's used to prioritize the favorite guests. The chosen favorite guests will have an additional 'Insomnia Night Chat' segment." Zhu Ling smiled smugly. "Hai Fu is trying so hard to win, I wonder who it's for."

Lu Ye's originally relaxed and indifferent eyes tightened, and he looked at the young and beautiful figure on the field and smiled helplessly.

As a senior, Lu Ye was very confident in Guan Haifu's fighting spirit and was willing to lend a helping hand if needed. As for other ideas, they were too much to ask.

He glanced at the scoreboard and saw that Hefu was already sure of victory.

Could it be that she would actually choose him as her crush later? Lu Ye silently calculated his points, his mind heavy. He wasn't in a good mood at the moment, and absent-mindedness had been plastered on his face all day.

Across from the tennis court, the production crew was already busy preparing for the next segment under the awning. Lu Ye's gaze only briefly caught sight of the woman chatting animatedly with Tang Bian.

An Jiyue, was it arranged by her again?

Is she determined to get him together with someone else?

Lu Ye's gaze lingered for a moment before dimming. He hated his damn memory. The intimate female voice on the other end of the phone last night, calling someone else's name, hadn't been metabolized by the alcohol. It was now automatically lingering in his mind over and over again.

Was it because of that man that she pushed herself away so ruthlessly?

The setting sun shone like a molten gold. A sweat-drenched Guan Haifu stalked toward the audience in the dusky haze. Despite her exhaustion, she couldn't hide her joy at victory. Unfortunately, Lu Ye was lost in thought, not noticing the end of the match. Zhu Ling glanced at the awkward scene, quickly grabbed a towel, and wrapped it around Haifu's back, then offered her warm water.

"Wipe it off quickly, or you'll catch a cold if the wind starts blowing."

As she spoke, she calmly stood in front of Lu Ye, interrupting his gaze towards the working group. Lu Ye looked up and saw Guan Haifu smiling at him earnestly, so he could only politely congratulate his teammate.

"Teacher Lu, I think..."

"Just call me Lu Ye." He interrupted, but his tone was particularly distant.

The winner was decided; both Haifu and Shujun had earned the chance to choose their favorite guest. Shujun hesitated for a long time, his gaze drifting towards Rongrong several times. Rongrong raised her nose, paranoid and awkward, and his inquiry was ignored.

"I choose... Zhu Ling."

Huh? Even Zhu Ling herself was shocked. Shu Jun's face flushed, his neck stiffened, and he no longer looked at Rongrong's reaction, repeating it as if to vent his anger.

"Yes, I choose Zhu Ling."

In the weird atmosphere, Zhu Ling sighed helplessly and nodded stiffly.

Before Guan Haifu could speak, her face flushed, she crossed her fingers and her eyes flickered.

"Can I...Mr. Lu? Ah no, Lu Ye?"

"Of course, I'm honored." Lu Ye smiled back at her without hesitation, and a cold sense of pleasure passed through his heart.

Don’t you want me to go with someone else? Okay, just as you tell me.

He took the rose medal, the symbol of his heartbeat, from Hai Fu's hand and clutched it in his palm. The sharp edges hurt him. Where was An Jiyue? Lu Ye glanced at her where she had just been. Where had she gone? Wasn't this the scene she had always dreamed of?

——

There were many empty chairs in the conference room, but An Jiuyue was not asked to sit down. Instead, she stood alone aside.

The face of the administrative personnel director sitting in the main seat was not good, and the face of Director Zhang, the chief director of "The Last Days Lovers", was even more gloomy.

"Xiao An, after comprehensive consideration, you should suspend the filming of "The Last Days Lovers" for now. You can focus on other programs."

Director Zhang's tone was clearly conciliatory, something An Jiyue hadn't anticipated. Her lips paled, but her cheeks flushed, and her previous shame vanished completely.

"Having dated male guest No. 3 will not affect my work. I have been following this program until now, and it takes time to adapt to a replacement midway. I implore the leaders to trust my professional qualities."

She deliberately replaced Lu Ye's name with "Male Guest No. 3," trying to calmly analyze the pros and cons to secure a chance for herself. The video on the presentation screen paused on a behind-the-scenes photo of Lu Ye and Zhu Ling. An Jiyue forced herself not to meet his affectionate gaze, completely ignoring her own blurry figure in the corner of camera number two's shot.

Director Zhang was the first to remain silent, hinting at a desire to protect her. The head of administrative personnel was also hesitant and weighing the pros and cons. An Jiyue calmed herself down and turned her gaze to the short-haired woman sitting with her back to her, anger rising within her.

I am just a newcomer. When did I become estranged from the leader of the investment promotion team?

She was able to catch such a subtle handle, and her intention to target me was obvious.

"Director Zhang, Director Feng, Director An's abilities are indeed exceptional, but whether this will affect the recording of the program should be considered conservatively. Even if Director An can uphold his professional ethics, Lu Ye has clearly been affected."

The short-haired woman pointed at a specific frame on the screen, then turned her head to reveal a sharp profile. The voice was unfamiliar, but why did the tone of her voice when she mentioned 'Lu Ye' sound so familiar? Before An Jiyue could recall, the woman continued.

"Lu Ye, the male guest with the highest female favorability rating online, has always had an unclear relationship path. Even the highly discussed 'Luzhu CP' pairing seems to be losing steam. A twist was originally a selling point, but netizens are not fools. Lu Ye's reputation has already begun to swirl with negative keywords like 'not caring about relationships' and 'not taking the other female guests seriously.'"

An Jiyue's heart tightened. She was not unaware of the recent comments, which was why she had sneaked into the screenwriter team today to inquire about the news, and at the same time, subtly provided some inspiration suitable for Lu Ye's character.

The short-haired woman had a well-reasoned argument, and she was thinking hard about how to break the deadlock.

"If we let Lu Ye continue with this character, how will the show end? Will we let Director An come on the show and reconcile with him to create some buzz?"

The last sentence was filled with mockery, but An Jiyue blurted out subconsciously:

"Absolutely not!"

Director Zhang and Manager Feng were so startled by her that they turned their heads together and saw that her eyes were bloodshot and her usually pretty and gentle oval face was filled with a determined and excited look.

"There will absolutely be no further connection. Please rest assured, leaders."

Director Zhang quickly gave her a soothing look, fearing that his attitude just now had frightened her, "Xiao An, please sit down first."

Manager Feng completely didn't understand why An Jiyue was so decisive, and secretly complained that it was not impossible to arrange for the two of them to get back together... Anyway, I like to watch it.

When the two leaders softened their hearts, the short-haired woman interrupted and teased:

"Director An, are you serious? I heard you two stayed after the recording to swim together. It was so sweet."

What? An Jiyue's eyes widened, staring at the short-haired woman's back in surprise and anger. She still refused to turn around, but leaned back, crossed her legs and swayed leisurely.

"Xiao An?"

Director Zhang observed An Jiyue in disbelief. When she didn't immediately deny it, he knew what was going on. He didn't wait for An Jiyue's explanation and left the meeting room with a final word.

"Xiao An, you should take a break first. Director Wu and I will help with the recording of the male guest."

An Jiyue clutched the back of the chair, barely holding up her body, which was about to collapse. The door slammed shut, and she gritted her teeth before finally squeezing out the words.

"Who are you?"

The short-haired woman turned her head, her downturned lips were a little stiff, and her pair of mocking and wanton almond-shaped eyes looked down at her through her large black-framed glasses. Even her voice was no longer as steady and serious as before, but became much softer.

"Jiyue, long time no see."

Her brows relaxed as she suddenly remembered the voice and the name of the old acquaintance it corresponded to. An Jiyue looked at the shrewd and ruthless face and shouted as if from another world:

"Song Yiyi?"

Her roommate from college, who had always kept her company, always kept a nodding distance from her, never even asking to borrow toilet paper. Yes, although An Jiyue herself was new, her classmates had been working in the industry for years, and Song Yiyi was not the only one who had reached management.

An Jiyue let go of her hand and forced herself to straighten her back. A sudden pang of pain welled up in her heart. She met Song Yiyi's gaze, feeling dizzy. They had lived in the same room for four years without any problems. So where did all this resentment come from?