Chapter 16 Disclaiming Relationship

Lin Zaoyi first went to the west of the city to queue up to buy sesame cakes. After waiting until 4:30, when the freshest batch came out of the oven, she drove her electric scooter non-stop to Jingyao.

The three floors above were booked out, and there were guards at the entrances and exits.

Aside from the invitation, the rest depends on luck. Sneaking in is too risky and embarrassing.

Lin Zaoyi called her mother for help.

Before long, a woman in uniform came over and asked, "Hello, I am the lobby manager. Are you Ms. Lin Zaoyi?"

She nodded.

The other person smiled and said, "Please follow me."

He glanced at her clothes and asked, "Would you like me to get you a dress?"

Lin Zaoyi shook the suitcase in her hand. "I brought it."

The manager led her to the changing room and stopped at the door. "Ms. Lin, I'll wait for you outside."

He thoughtfully closed the door.

She casually grabbed a light-colored dress from the closet, and her long hair was left unstyled, hanging down from the back of her head.

Lin Zaoyi doesn't need to be high-profile.

Even so, she attracted attention the moment she stepped into the banquet hall, as if she were surrounded by pearls, so dazzling that one could not look away from her.

A few couldn't be held back and went up to get to know him.

Due to her profession, Lin Zaoyi accepted the business cards one by one. Those who could come here today would become her KPIs in the future.

After walking all the way to the end, we finally found Mr. Solo in the innermost private room of the banquet hall. Tan Zhaojing was to his right, sitting in a relaxed yet elegant posture.

On the left is Ji Baishen.

Her gaze shifted again, and she saw He Nian, Duan Lin whom she had just interviewed, and a sexy and alluring woman in a black dress.

She knew this beautiful woman, but only on one side; she was the top female host at Haicheng Radio Station.

"Morning ceremony."

The first person to notice her was He Nian, who was sitting by the door. "Are you looking for Zhao Jing?"

Can she say no?

Tan Zhaojing, dressed in a black suit, walked towards her, paused for half a second, and gestured with his chin slightly inward. "Go."

This time, I wasn't ungrateful.

Ji Baishen seemed to recognize her and nodded.

She smiled slightly, "President Ji."

The others greeted her in turn, but since they didn't recognize the beautiful woman, they could only smile politely.

The other person extended their hand and said, "Hello, I'm Yuan Lai."

She shook hands in return, "Lin Zaoyi."

I sat down next to He Nian, whom I knew best, and whispered, "He Nian, please ask me why I brought this box in."

Meng Henian was puzzled, but he did as he was told, pretending to be serious. "Zaoyi, what are you holding in your hand?"

"Sesame seed cake." Lin Zaoyi took it out very naturally. After opening it, the aroma of sesame seeds mixed with brown sugar instantly overpowered the smell of wine.

This maneuver confused the group.

Duan Lin, ever the familiar type, asked, "Zaoyi, are you hungry?"

Lin Zaoyi smiled slightly, "Do you want to eat?"

Chao Menghenian winked.

Meng Henian received the signal, but didn't understand. "What are you up to?"

Lin Zaoyi replied softly, "You'll find out soon enough."

"Lin Zaoyi," Tan Zhaojing called out to her.

She turned her head and said, "Mr. Tan, please speak."

Perhaps not used to her sudden change in address, the man paused for half a second, then pointed to his original seat, "Sit here, Mr. Solo is interested in your pancakes."

She smiled gratefully and said, "Okay."

Seeing this, Yuan Lai frowned slightly. She lowered her voice and asked Duan Lin, "What is this girl's relationship with Tan Zhaojing?"

Duan Lin wasn't surprised that she didn't know that Yuan Lai had gone abroad for further studies when Uncle Tan held his wedding.

"Ming's daughter, or, to round it off, Zhaojing's sister."

Yuan Lai couldn't help but look at the girl again. She had a cool and aloof appearance, but when she smiled, she had a gentle and captivating beauty.

A while ago, I heard Jia Ni complain that this girl was quite popular with Uncle Tan. She asked out of curiosity: What is Tan Zhaojing's attitude towards her?

Jia Ni said: He treats her like a brother, not like a sister.

Judging from this, Tan Zhaojing seems to be much more enthusiastic than Jia Ni described.

The girl introduced herself in fluent English, "Mr. Solo, I am Lin Zaoyi, an intern reporter for CBN. I apologize for bothering you, but if time permits, would you be willing to do an exclusive interview with us?"

Now, Meng Henian understood. He chuckled and shook his head. Zao Yi was also clever; she waited until Mr. Solo ate the sesame seed cake without any suspicion before speaking.

Solo paused slightly. He hadn't planned to give any interviews during his trip to Beijing. He turned to Tan Zhaojing and asked, "Girlfriend?"

Lin Zaoyi: "..."

That's outrageous.

Not wanting to put Tan Zhaojing in a difficult position, he took the initiative to speak, saying, "Our two families are neighbors."

Those who knew about the relationship: "?"

Then, Meng Henian's eyebrows rose silently; it turned out that Xi Xi wasn't complaining.

Looking at Zhaojing again, the look in his eyes when he fell on Zaoyi was hardly innocent; it was tinged with a possessiveness that no one else could see.

My eyelid twitched twice.

He suddenly remembered that the manager had told him a few days ago that Xixi had deleted the entry and exit list for April 27th when she came to the club, and added that the person was: Lin Zaoyi.

It was obvious that Zaoyi was trying to cover something up, and coincidentally, that night, he found ambiguous red marks on Zhaojing's body.

I'd venture a guess: could it be Zao Yi who did it?

On the other side of the sofa, Mr. Solo finally nodded, glancing at his watch. "Monday is fine?"

Lin Zaoyi smiled instantly, "Of course, thank you so much."

Solo: "You're welcome."

He was interrupted by a phone call.

Lin Zaoyi also left temporarily; she couldn't wait to go home and had to share the good news with Sister Qiao immediately.

On the phone, Xu Qiao was quite surprised, "Wow, sis! How did you get the invitation?"

Lin Zaoyi: "It was through my mother's connections."

"Your mom is so awesome"

Of course, there's the editor-in-chief of Mingda University, whom you all mention every now and then.

But she never mentioned it.

Whether it's talking about family or mother, she's done a good job in this regard. No matter how the media tries to dig, they haven't been able to find any photos of her as a burden.

The inner room.

Ji Baishen, who had been silent until now, suddenly asked, "When did Xiyuan get neighbors?"

Duan Lin chuckled, "You actually believed that?"

Ji Baishen: "?"

Duan Lin explained with a single sentence, "Zhaojing's stepsister."

With a raised eyebrow, he said with a playful and unrestrained tone, "Mr. Tan, it seems that Zaoyi doesn't want to benefit from your fame."

Tan Zhaojing's indifferent gaze swept over her. "Is she your sister?"

Duan Lin laughed loudly, "Oh ho, are you jealous?"

Tan Zhaojing ignored him.

Lin Zaoyi returned from the balcony after finishing her phone call, but before she could even get close, everyone turned away.

"..."

It's quite intimidating to have so many eyes staring at you at once.

She paused for a moment, then said apologetically, "I'm sorry to have taken up your time."

Duan Lin waved his hand dismissively, "It's nothing."

Lin Zaoyi shifted her feet slightly, moving closer to Tan Zhaojing. "Brother Zhaojing, thank you."

One should have a conscience; if he hadn't spoken up for him, Mr. Solo wouldn't have agreed so readily.

The man gave a faint "hmm," and asked, "Are you hungry?"

His questions were always unexpected; if I hadn't reacted quickly, I almost wouldn't have been able to keep up.

She was alright; he must have been hungry.

Pointing to the half-eaten box of sesame seed cakes, he asked, "Want one to tide you over?"

Tan Zhaojing glanced at him and understood; he wasn't interested.

If you don't want to eat it, fine.

Holding up the bottom of the box, I asked, "Do you want some?"

Meng Henian waved his hand, "I've already eaten."

Duan Lin casually picked up a piece.

Since everyone had asked, Ji Baishen naturally couldn't be left out. Lin Zaoyi handed him a piece, "Mr. Ji, would you like one?"

Before Meng Henian could even finish saying "He doesn't like sweets," Ji Boshen had already reached inside.

"When did you eat sweets?"

Ji Baishen: "I eat it occasionally."

At this moment, Duan Lin called out, "Zaoyi, my little sister."

Lin Zaoyi looked over and asked, "Hmm?"

Duan Lin pointed at Ji Boshen, "Hurry up and get an exclusive, otherwise you'll deny it even after you've wiped your mouth clean."

Joking aside, Lin Zaoyi naturally couldn't take the bait, so she replied, "Next time, next time I'll bring a whole box to see President Ji."

The pastry box in her hand suddenly felt lighter. She looked down and saw a hand in her field of vision, with clear, slender fingers and faint blue veins protruding slightly on the back of the hand.

Then the owner of this hand picked up a piece of sugar cake with two fingers and brought it to his mouth.

"Didn't you say you weren't going to eat?"

Tan Zhaojing glanced at her, "I suddenly feel like eating."

Lin Zaoyi: "..."

Truly fickle.

Solo came over and said, half-jokingly, "Lin bought this for me."

Upon hearing this, Lin Zaoyi glanced down at the box; there were three pieces left. Then, she looked at Tan Zhaojing.

He ate with little interest.

Why force yourself like that?

Tan Zhaojing misunderstood her meaning, "You think I'm wasting food?"