Chapter 45 The Cannon Fodder Assistant 10 A Four-Person Feast at Hongmen

"who?!"

Qin Yanyun was the first to react, and asked with a frown.

Li Qingran didn't intend to hide it from him, mainly because there was no point in hiding it now, as they would still see each other during dinner later.

Therefore, instead of hesitating and concealing Qin Zechuan's identity now, it would be better to tell the main characters in front of him directly, temporarily shifting their attention to Qin Zechuan, so as to avoid them arguing back and forth, which would not only affect their mood but also prolong his mission time.

According to the original plot, he should be resting in bed right now, instead of arguing with Qin Yanyun or Chu Yu about how many people are needed for a meal.

A hint of weariness flashed in Li Qingran's lowered eyes, but on the surface, he remained calm and gentle. He answered Qin Yanyun's question very honestly:

"President Qin."

"President Qin?!" Qin Yanyun was even more confused after receiving the answer.

"Why is President Qin here?"

Moreover, why did he get in touch with Li Qingran?

She contacted the guy right after the plane landed in the middle of the night?!

Qin Yanyun's internal alarm bells were ringing, but on the surface he remained calm and composed, especially when Chu Yu's suspicious gaze swept back and forth between him and Li Qingran; he became even more composed.

"I was wondering why Brother Zhang messaged me this afternoon telling me to be more proactive in filming. Turns out it was because the big boss came to inspect our work."

Qin Yanyun spoke calmly and casually, taking the blame for Qin Zechuan's visit upon himself.

He didn't want Chu Yu to know that because of his accidental liking of posts, Li Qingran had been called in for questioning by Qin Zechuan and almost lost her job as his assistant.

Qin Yanyun knew perfectly well that Chu Yu's first reaction after learning about this would not be to apologize to Li Qingran, but rather to follow his lead and criticize Qin Zechuan's cold-bloodedness and Jingyue Entertainment's indiscriminate punishment, and then use this to introduce how humane their Xingyu's management was and how good the treatment of their assistants was, in order to tempt Li Qingran to switch jobs.

After all, while love is important, when faced with the choice of bread, most people's first reaction will definitely be to choose the latter, which can provide them with food and clothing.

Qin Yanyun dared not gamble, especially now that Li Qingran had just finished talking with Qin Zechuan and her mindset and emotions were still unstable, making her most susceptible to external temptations. He didn't want to test the boy's determination to stay at Jingyue Entertainment.

However, Qin Yanyun did not show any panic at Qin Zechuan's arrival. In fact, when talking about men, his tone was quite familiar, as if Qin Zechuan had really taken time out of his busy schedule to visit him on set.

Chu Yu, however, did not fall for the deception as he had expected. Putting aside the surprise and doubt that flashed across his face for a second when he heard Li Qingran utter the words "President Qin," which Chu Yu happened to catch, the reasons he gave were not enough to convince Chu Yu.

After all, if Qin Zechuan really came for Qin Yanyun, why didn't he contact Qin Yanyun directly, but instead contacted Li Qingran, the assistant who, under normal circumstances, might never see the company's most powerful person again?

Therefore, there must be some hidden story he doesn't know about.

Of course, Qin Zechuan might also be here on a business trip, so he took the opportunity to visit Qin Yanyun on set. Considering that Qin Yanyun might already be resting, he sent a message to his assistant.

However, based on Qin Yanyun's series of reactions, Chu Yu was still more inclined to believe that Qin Zechuan had come for Li Qingran. Even if he really was here on a business trip, the person he really wanted to see when he came to visit the set was not Qin Yanyun, but Li Qingran...

It's unclear whether the purpose of this big boss's visit was to conduct a surprise inspection of whether the company's employees were fulfilling their duties, or...

Chu Yu's eyes darkened, and he unconsciously bit his tongue. A fine, dense pain traveled through his tongue to his brain, making him more alert and his body tense up.

He was confident he could outmaneuver Qin Yanyun, but if Qin Zechuan were added to the mix, the outcome would be uncertain.

But he couldn't object, since Qin Zechuan was someone Li Qingran had suggested, and compared to himself who had forced his way in, Qin Zechuan was more qualified to attend the dinner later.

Therefore, in order to prevent Qin Yanyun from finding a loophole to kick him out, and also to maintain a good image in front of Li Qingran, he decided to...

Chu Yu bit his tongue hard, forcing himself to give Li Qingran a bright smile.

"I think it's a good idea! It's better to have a lot of people eating together, it's more lively and fun!"

Upon hearing this, Li Qingran returned his smile and nodded in agreement.

Qin Yanyun, who was completely isolated in this matter: "..."

He regretted it.

You should check the Chinese almanac on your phone before going out.

If he had known it wasn't a good day to go out, he wouldn't have dragged his tired body over to invite Li Qingran to dinner.

Confessing his feelings is important, but it's still better than turning a date between two people into a dinner party for four. He might not even have many chances to talk to Li Qingran, let alone confess his feelings.

Thinking about this, Qin Yanyun felt even more resistant to Qin Zechuan's arrival, but he couldn't refuse.

On the one hand, Qin Zechuan was, after all, his big boss. Since the other party took the initiative to come, even if it was for Li Qingran's sake, he couldn't say he wasn't welcome. If the other party got upset because of this and brought up the previous trending topic again, and fired Li Qingran, then he would lose more than he gained.

On the other hand, it was pretty much the same as what Chu Yu had thought—he was afraid of being left behind.

Although Qin Yanyun was the one who proposed this dinner, he was well aware that the real decision-making power lay with Li Qingran.

What if he says he doesn't want to have dinner with Qin Zechuan and Chu Yu, and Li Qingran just says, "Then let's not make plans today, everyone go back to your rooms to sleep," and then she goes to meet the big boss herself? Wouldn't that make things even more serious?

Qin Yanyun, whose rivalry was subtly escalating, was highly suspicious of Qin Zechuan's purpose in coming here.

In the corridor, the three people standing at the three corners each had their own thoughts, but in the end they all got into the same car and went into the same restaurant.

It must be said that this restaurant does a great job of protecting privacy. Even though the three people following behind them had just appeared on the trending topics, the waiters did not show any intention of prying into their secrets. As they walked from the lobby to the private room, not many people cast their eyes in their direction.

When I entered the private room, Qin Zechuan was already there.

The man looked up the moment the door opened. His gaze paused almost imperceptibly when it landed on Qin Yanyun and Chu Yu next to Li Qingran, but he didn't say anything. He simply nodded slightly to Qin Yanyun as a greeting when Qin Yanyun looked over.

It was obvious that Qin Zechuan had no intention of communicating with Qin Yanyun, but the latter took the initiative to approach him when he sat down, his smile polite, but his eyes concealing a hint of inquiry.

"Hello, Mr. Qin. Is there something you need to discuss with me today?"

Qin Zechuan took a sip of water, glanced at Qin Yanyun upon hearing this, gave a faint "hmm," and then said nothing more.

Qin Yanyun: "..."

Chu Yu, who sat next to Li Qingran, couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips when Qin Yanyun was humiliated. However, he didn't forget his main purpose for coming along. While Qin Yanyun was rendered silent by Qin Zechuan, he took the initiative to raise his wine glass to Qin Zechuan and said:

"Hello, Mr. Qin, I am Chu Yu. I met you at the charity gala for the hearing impaired before, but I didn't get a chance to toast you then. Today, I'm taking this opportunity to make up for it. I'll drink first, please feel free to drink as you like."

With that, Chu Yu tilted his head back and drank the red wine in his glass in one gulp.

Qin Zechuan did give Chu Yu face, but not in the same way.

After Chu Yu finished drinking, he only symbolically raised his hand to bring the wine glass to his lips and took a small sip.

Li Qingran doubted that his lips were even wet with wine.

After he put down his wine glass, Chu Yu, who had originally intended to take this opportunity to subtly inquire about Qin Zechuan's purpose for coming, was interrupted before he could even speak, by Qin Zechuan asking first:

"So, you and Qin Yanyun are really dating?"

"???"

"!!!"

At the same time, Qin Yanyun and Chu Yu, sitting face to face, spoke in unison:

"How is that possible!"

"No!"

"Why would I talk to him!"

Li Qingran watched as Qin Zechuan, in the short time it took to take a sip of water, made Chu Yu and Qin Yanyun both blush and blush, vying to explain to him that their relationship with Qin Yanyun/Chu Yu had deteriorated to the point where they didn't even want to look at each other, so how could they possibly be together!

Qin Zechuan didn't care whether the two of them genuinely wanted to explain to him or were using it as an excuse to talk to someone nearby. He simply sipped his red wine silently while the two were giving their passionate speeches, and then, at the end of his presentation, he summarized with a single sentence...

"Then why are you two eating together again?"

"us……"

Chu Yu and Qin Yanyun's gazes fell simultaneously on Li Qingran and the Four Divine Beasts sitting next to Qin Zechuan, but they couldn't bring themselves to say, "I came here for him."

This is really not the right time to confess your feelings.

Especially when there are two more pairs of eyes watching from the side.

Chu Yu pursed his lips and remained silent. After all, compared to Qin Yanyun, he had even less right to ask Li Qingran out for dinner privately.

After all, he was an artist from the rival company to Li Qingran's company. With that kind of status, no matter how pure his desire to be alone with Li Qingran was, it would easily become ambiguous in the eyes of outsiders, especially in the eyes of Li Qingran's boss. It could easily be seen as him trying to poach her or bribing Li Qingran to be an undercover agent in Jingyue...

Qin Yanyun also dared not say.

The main concern was that if she revealed it, Qin Zechuan would perceive Li Qingran as an assistant with ulterior motives who wanted to sleep with her.

Even though Qin Yanyun dreamed of Li Qingran climbing into his bed, and vice versa, he could never reveal these thoughts to Qin Zechuan and the protagonist of his dream.

For a moment, Qin Yanyun and Chu Yu both fell silent.

This, ironically, played right into Qin Zechuan's hands.

His fingertips tapped out a discordant rhythm on the table. Qin Zechuan put down his wine glass, looked at the two silent people in front of him, and said calmly:

"Neither of you are going to say anything? Then I suggest you two book another private room, go over your lines, and then come back to explain this to me."

"No, Mr. Qin!"

Qin Yanyun never expected that at this dinner party, the one who would ultimately ask him to leave would not be Chu Yu or Li Qingran, but Qin Zechuan.

He couldn't sit still any longer and stood up, saying:

"Why would I want a private room with him? I didn't book this restaurant for him!"

“I know you’re not doing this for him, but right now, you can only do it for him.”

As Qin Zechuan spoke, he turned his phone, which was lying face down on the table, over, unlocked it, and then pushed it in front of Qin Yanyun. The latter subconsciously looked down and saw a dark photo.

It was clearly taken from a candid angle. The photo wasn't very clear, but you could still vaguely make out that the three people in it were him, Li Qingran, and Chu Yu.

This is... the hotel's underground parking lot?!

Qin Yanyun's body suddenly stiffened.

Qin Zechuan's soft voice came again in his ear.

"Before you went abroad, Zhang Cheng should have told you that even abroad, you can't let your guard down. Paparazzi won't stop exposing your secrets just because you're abroad, especially in the period when your trending topics have just cooled down. You need to be even more careful."

As Qin Zechuan spoke, he looked up at Qin Yanyun, his gaze as still as water, utterly calm and devoid of any emotion, like a frozen pool of ice, his tone carrying a chill.

"But do you need me to repeat what you did?"

Qin Yanyun: "..."

Chu Yu couldn't see Qin Zechuan's phone screen from his angle, so he couldn't see the photos on it either. However, judging from Qin Zechuan's words and Qin Yanyun's expression, he could vaguely guess that this matter was most likely related to him.

Sure enough, just as this thought crossed Chu Yu's mind, Qin Zechuan, who had finished speaking about Qin Yanyun, turned to look at him.

"Mr. Chu, it's a pleasure to meet you tonight. However, in order to avoid a repeat of the last time's trending topic, which could negatively impact your and Qin Yanyun's career development and the upcoming variety show filming, I think it would be better if we split up for dinner tonight. What do you think?"

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Author's Note: President Qin: What, holding your nose and eating with two other people just for a pear? That doesn't exist in my world! Get rid of them! Get rid of them all!!! [Angry][Angry][Angry]

Sorry, my little ones, my cold suddenly got worse today, and I'm really not feeling well, so I'll be updating less. I'll try my best to catch up once I'm fully recovered. Love you all! [heart emojis]