Chapter 55 Mr. Wen always disliked hearing me say "I miss you" to his face. ...

After finishing work, Zhu Qingzhi rushed into the nanny van and grabbed her phone to reply to messages.

Dani finally broke her silence and, after a long monologue, came to a conclusion that was so sweet it was almost cloying: "So, he started a company for you?"

Zhu Qingzhi didn't even look up, her eyes fixed on her phone: "But it's also possible that he just likes running a company."

Dani: "......" Never mind, she's already asked Yang Qing about the specifics anyway.

When Zhu Qingzhi opened Wen Qi's chat window, a photo immediately appeared on her screen—a retaken picture she had just taken, accompanied by Wen Qi's comment: "[Director Zheng's returned photo - negative review.]"

Her words were concise and to the point, seemingly just a comment on Director Zheng's technique without any other meaning, but based on her understanding of Wen Qi, there probably was.

Then Yang Qing's message popped up: [Madam, President Wen is expected to arrive in Nancheng tomorrow.]

Hmm? Wen Qi just left today? And Wen Qi didn't tell her about this, but Yang Qing did? Something feels off, so Wen Qi's message must have had another meaning.

He was jealous.

She could almost picture President Wen in the conference room, listening to a tedious report while typing out such sour, sarcastic words with a blank expression.

Zhu Qingzhi's eyes darted around, and a mischievous glint immediately appeared in her eyes: "Okay, received."

Yang Qing received this polite and official reply, a lump forming in her throat. She secretly glanced at Wen Qi, and seeing that he showed no sign of backing down, she typed: "[Hope you, Madam, will cooperate and persuade President Wen.]"

Zhu Qingzhi already knew what Yang Qing meant, so instead of replying immediately, she switched to Wen Qi's chat window: 【Indeed, the photo didn't capture my gaze, but you could probably still see the deep affection, right?】

Wen Qi had been following her chat with Zhu Qingzhi, and as soon as she saw her message, she immediately checked her phone. Who would have thought that the focus of her message would be on showing off her "acting skills"? No wonder she's known as the "workaholic."

【Yes, I can tell.】 【Finished work?】

Upon receiving this message, Zhu Qingzhi was once again certain of her guess. Her eyes brightened, and the corners of her lips unconsciously turned up. At this moment, she perfectly embodied the image of a mischievous imp with ill intentions: 【Are you busy? I have something to tell you.】

Then, with a swift movement, she draped the large scarf over Dani's head, quickly pressed the voice button, and spoke a sentence in a soft voice.

Wen Qi had just sent his message, "It's okay, go ahead," when he received a six-second voice message from Zhu Qingzhi. However, midway through the international video conference, he was forced to switch to text.

The moment the text box popped up, the line of text was clearly displayed on the screen: "You also gave me a bad review? The way I looked at you was so affectionate!"

It was as if the unique, coquettish tone in her voice, which he could only imagine at the moment, tickled his heart. An unexpected surge of emotion coursed through his limbs and almost shattered his proud composure.

He could clearly "hear" her slightly smug and coquettish tone, and could even imagine her slightly wrinkled nose and sparkling eyes when she sent the voice message.

The phrase "tender feelings" seemed to pull him out of the cold and serious conference room and all the way to her side.

The voices of the business partners in the meeting suddenly became muffled and distant. My fingertips unconsciously twitched, and the urge to immediately open that voice message and listen to it again surged into my heart once more.

He needs to end all of this, now, immediately, right now.

Wen Qi's brows furrowed, and he abruptly raised his hand, interrupting the speaker.

“Mr. Will, the proposal is open to discussion.” His voice remained clear and steady, but it was a beat faster than usual, carrying an undeniable decisiveness. “There are urgent matters to attend to, so the meeting is adjourned.”

He didn't even give the other person a full chance to react or say goodbye; the moment he finished speaking, he got up and left the meeting room.

In the stillness, he could finally hear her voice.

Before she could reply, she sent another message: "Why isn't President Wen saying anything? Does he not like listening?"

Zhu Qingzhi's voice was delicate and sweet, like the tinkling of a spring.

Wen Qi made a video call.

The first person, Zhu Qingzhi, quickly hung up; the second person hung up automatically after a minute.

Wen Qi knew that was just her personality; she was fearless when teasing, but became a quail once she faced a direct confrontation.

He thoughtfully sent a few words: 【I need your help urgently.】

Zhu Qingzhi had already tossed her phone aside and didn't dare touch it at all. She only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the message from Wen Qi.

Dani folded her scarf, rolled her eyes, and silently looked away, as if she "couldn't bear to look."

Zhu Qingzhi took out her earphones, put them on, took a deep breath, and called back.

The moment the call connected, Wen Qi's handsome face appeared on the screen, against a backdrop of a transparent glass corridor. Zhu Qingzhi steadied herself and feigned composure: "What is it?"

Wen Qi's eyes were exceptionally deep. He looked at her slightly reddened earlobes and slowly curved a very faint smile on his lips: "It's nothing."

He paused deliberately, noticing that she instinctively held her breath on the screen, before continuing softly, his deep voice reaching her eardrums through the earphones, "I want you to say it to me in person."

*

Shen Rou finished her scenes early today, so she went back to the hotel to rest and is now lazily leaning on the sofa scrolling through her phone.

The hashtag "[The Knot: The Opening Ceremony]" topped the Weibo trending list, followed by "[Zhu Qingzhi is the Chosen One for Xiaoyue]" and "[Zhang Siyue is a Refreshing Young Man]". Meanwhile, the hashtag "[Chen Rou Says Actors Should Let Their Works Speak for Themselves]" about her ranked outside the top 20. Clicking on it revealed that the number of views had just surpassed ten million.

Shen Rou frowned, somewhat speechless, and clicked on the entry for "[Yunshuiyao Opening Ceremony]" and found that several short videos from the group interview had a considerable number of views, the most popular of which was "Zhu Qingzhi's first on-screen kiss".

In the clip, Zhu Qingzhi's smile is genuine, and she skillfully throws the difficult question to Director Zheng in just a few words. The comments below are also overwhelmingly expressing anticipation for the film.

It's boring. Chen Rou scrolled down a few times in frustration and finally saw her interview clip. It didn't get much attention, only a few hundred likes, and the comments were mostly controlled by fans.

What's wrong with Mingyuan? Didn't he say he was going to promote himself today?

Shen Rou was so angry that she called her agent, Susan: "What's going on? There's not even a ripple?"

Susan knew what she was talking about and quickly nodded and bowed to reassure her: "Don't worry, it's already being handled."

"Handle? How do you intend to handle it?" Shen Rou closed her eyes in anger. "The question you designed not only failed to stump her, but also helped her cultivate a persona of high emotional intelligence. Tell me, how do you plan to handle this?"

She spoke with righteous indignation, but Susan was completely confused: "What problem? I'm dealing with the trending topics."

Shen Rou: "..." If it wasn't arranged by Mingyuan, then who could it be?

On the other end of the phone, Susan was still explaining in a gentle tone why the trending topic hadn't gone up, but Shen Rou wasn't really interested in listening anymore. She gave a few perfunctory replies and hung up.

After thinking it over, she sent a message to Liu Xiaoning: [Xiaoning, is that you?]

Liu Xiaoning replied quickly: 【What?】

Shen Rou typed a line of text, but before she could send it, the "typing..." message in the chat box stopped, and then another message popped up: "[I was just watching your group interview video, it's so charming and cute, but why isn't it getting more attention?]"

In fact, Shen Rou wasn't that concerned about her work, since she didn't rely on it for a living. It's just that she was competitive and disliked being overshadowed by others.

The reason why Zhu Qingzhi was targeted this time was twofold: first, Mingyuan intentionally set her up to stand out; second, Zhu Qingzhi was given a hard time during the script reading.

Shen Rou bit her lip, still not sending the message "[the question about the first on-screen kiss]" in the chat box.

At this moment, Liu Xiaoning's messages came one after another: [Zhu Qingzhi's part was also very good, but judging from her reply, it's obvious she was prepared in advance.]

You don't think I orchestrated this, do you? I have no grudge against her, and I don't have time to bother her.

[What's wrong? Our Miss Shen lost her first battle, and now she's starting to get paranoid?]

Liu Xiaoning's denial was expected, but it only made her more agitated and guilty. She quickly deleted the message she had typed and sent a text: 【What are you thinking! I just received a gift and thought it was from you.】

She also took a picture of the newly bought hair clip and sent it as evidence.

On the other side, Liu Xiaoning, seeing Shen Rou's clumsy attempt to cover up her mistake, let out an undisguised sneer. What a brainless idiot; she exposed her weakness at the slightest probing.

That was indeed a question she arranged for the reporter to ask.

She had read the script for "The Knot," and the intimate scene there wasn't some fleeting, innocent love; it was a burning desire. To ensure the plot's progression, there was virtually no possibility of any cuts.

Even if Wen Qi is currently blinded by love and can overlook the fact that an actor can film intimate scenes, what about in the long run?

When the movie is released, clips will be everywhere. Regardless of Wen Qi's reaction, how could the elders of the Wen family accept it so easily?

She's just setting the stage for things, planting a thorn in the side of Wen Qi and the Wen family elders.

Liu Xiaoning picked up the tea on the table and took a sip, her eyes brimming with barely suppressed excitement. Suddenly, a low, husky male voice sounded from behind her: "You need something?"

She quickly replied, "Let's talk later, I'm in Shi Yan's office," then put away her phone and turned away.

Zhao Shiyan had just finished the meeting. After placing the documents on his desk, he stood quietly in the shadows by the window, as if he himself were part of the shadows.

His skin was pale and cold, and he exuded an aloof and melancholic aura. His emotions were suppressed under an icy restraint, but his gaze towards her carried a calm scrutiny.

Liu Xiaoning stood up, then took out an invitation from her bag and handed it over, saying with a smile, "My father invites you to his birthday banquet."

Zhao Shiyan glanced at it, but didn't take it. The air froze for a few seconds, carrying a silent sense of oppression.

But Liu Xiaoning had anticipated this, so she didn't insist and simply placed the invitation on her desk, saying, "I'm just a messenger; once it's delivered, the task is complete."

Zhao Shiyan raised his left eyebrow, turned slightly to the side, and asked symbolically, "Are you adjusting well back in China?"

It was a polite remark meant to show concern, but Liu Xiaoning knew his temper; once the polite words came out, it was a way of telling him to leave.

"It's alright so far." She took a half step forward, her smile still bright. "Chen Rou is in Mingyuan, please keep an eye on her for me."

"For Mingyuan's matter, ask Lao San." Zhao Shiyan's voice was emotionless, directly shutting her out.

Liu Xiaoning clicked her tongue lightly, complaining with a hint of familiarity: "Xiao Zhao isn't as reliable as you. Believe it or not, if I mention Shen Rou's name to him today, he'll forget about it the moment he turns around."

She paused, her tone tinged with just the right amount of worry, "I know you all take good care of Shen Rou, but in the group she's joined now, some people are always trying to outdo her, whether it was during the script reading, the dinner, or today's opening ceremony. I'm really afraid she'll be bullied."

Zhao Shiyan's gaze fell on the window, his profile hard and cold. After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke, uttering a name precisely: "Zhu Qingzhi?"

He actually knew about this too? It seems that the conflict between Xiao Tang and Zhu Qingzhi was quite serious.

However, Liu Xiaoning didn't point it out, and joked, "Brother Shi Yan, I didn't expect you to care about the entertainment industry."

Zhao Shiyan's gaze turned cold, and the symbolic gentleness vanished completely. She decided to stop while she was ahead, saying, "I won't disturb your work, I'll be leaving now."

-----------------------

Author's note: Kiyoshi [frightened]: I'm outta here.

Wen Qi [sunglasses]: Happy.

Yang Qing [thumbs up]: You've found Mr. Wen's pain point.

Dani [glasses]: Who am I? Where am I?

Ah Mei: My drafts are all gone. [food emoji]