Chapter 43 No one is perfect, except Zhou…
When Tian Xu ordered flowers for Zhou Shilin, the florist asked if he needed a card written on his behalf. Tian Xu asked Zhou Shilin, who considered it for a moment and said no.
On his birthday, the greeting card tucked into the perfume bottle was handwritten by Chen Ci. Now, when he sends flowers to Chen Ci, he has someone else write the card for him, which feels a bit insincere.
"After that, I will write cards in advance every day, and you can have someone deliver them to the florist so they can send them over with the flowers."
"Yes, President." Tian Xu didn't expect that Zhou Shilin would write even a small card by hand.
He's really hooked. :)
Tian Xu suddenly remembered the novel Chen Ci had once written—"The Domineering CEO's Gentle Pampering." He admitted he hadn't seen enough before; it turned out a domineering CEO really could be this pampering. :)
In Chen Ci's office, she was still sitting at her desk, examining the bouquet of roses she had just received. This bouquet came from a different florist than the one from before, but both were beautifully packaged, and each rose was carefully selected. However, this bouquet certainly wasn't from Chen Yun.
So who else could it be?
Zhou Shilin's name was the first thing that came to her mind.
She picked up her phone and took a picture of the flowers on the table. She originally wanted to send the photo to Zhou Shilin to ask if he had sent them, but before sending it, Chen Ci's hand stopped.
After thinking for a moment, she didn't message Zhou Shilin directly, but instead posted the photo on her WeChat Moments with a caption.
Chenci: Who sent me these flowers? Please come and claim them on my WeChat Moments. >_o
When she got off work, Chen Ci opened WeChat and checked her Moments. She found that Zhou Shilin had liked her post about roses.
She raised an eyebrow and texted Zhou Shilin as she left the company: "So it's you, my little cutie [doge emoji with rose in hand]"
Zhou Shilin: ...
Zhou Shilin: I just gave it a like.
Chen Ci: You fell for my trap, didn't you? This post is only visible to you. [doge emoji with rose in hand]
Zhou Shilin: ...
Is it necessary?
Chen Ci: Why did you suddenly think of sending me flowers?
Zhou Shilin: Others can give gifts, but I can't?
Chen Ci: You really do have a mole in our company! Tell me, who is it!
Zhou Shilin: General Manager Wu.
Chen Ci: "..."
No, they sold out Mr. Wu way too easily.
Chen Ci: It really was him! He was acting suspiciously when I ran into him at the elevator. [Angry]
Zhou Shilin: I think he has a righteous and awe-inspiring air about him.
Sinking porcelain: ...
The matter of sending flowers was considered closed, but Chen Ci did not expect that Zhou Shilin would send flowers not just for one day, but every single day.
To her even greater surprise, the bouquets that were delivered starting the next day all included a small card.
The weather is nice today; I haven't seen such a blue sky in a long time.
That boss who's always out of the running invited me fishing again this morning. Sometimes I really admire his attitude.
I had a really bad fried egg for breakfast this morning. I'm curious how the chef managed to make it.
The air force boss is inviting me fishing again. For a moment, I thought it might be better not to discuss this deal.
"Pfft." Chen Ci couldn't help but laugh when she looked at the card Zhou Shilin had written today. She hadn't expected that this was actually a TV series.
These past few days, I've received a card like this with every batch of flowers. It has only a simple sentence on it and no signature, but Chen Ci knows that Zhou Shilin wrote it.
He was just sharing some trivial daily moments, but to Shen Ci, they were precious fragments of time. She neatly put these cards into a scrapbook, wishing Zhou Shilin could write them for a lifetime.
Chen Ci: Mr. Zhou, you're such a great writer, have you ever considered publishing a book? I'd definitely be the first to support you! [sending flowers.jpg]
Zhou Shilin: I haven't considered it.
Chen Ci: That's truly a huge loss to the literary world [regret.jpg]
Zhou Shilin: The literary world needs only one master like you.
Chenci: Thank you for your affirmation. [bows]
Zhou Shilin: It's Friday today, shall we have dinner together tonight?
Chen Ci: So, President Zhou had been planning this for five days just to treat me to dinner! [dog head with rose in mouth]
Zhou Shilin: What do you want to eat?
Chenci: I haven't had hot pot in ages, I'm craving it! I'll order it!
Zhou Shilin: Okay.
Chen Ci has extensive experience eating hot pot in City A. She has eaten at hot pot restaurants in every district and has even written reviews for hot pot restaurants in City A, but not many people read them.
Now all this experience is finally coming in handy; she's determined to take Zhou Shilin to eat the best hot pot in City A!
Considering it was Friday and there would definitely be a lot of people, Chen Ci made sure to reserve seats in advance. Everything was arranged perfectly, except for one thing: someone would suddenly start digging into Zhou Mingye's brother's past online.
When Chen Ci found out about this, Zhou Mingye's brother was already at the top of the trending searches, followed by a bright red "hot" character.
At first glance, this trending topic seems to be about Zhou Mingye's brother, but it's actually a negative one. The central idea is to tell everyone that his brother is Zhou Shilin, the famous founder of Shijie Group, and that Zhou Shilin has also invested in his entertainment company, making him Zhou Mingye's biggest backer—Zhou Mingye's success today is all thanks to his brother.
Yang Shuang: Holy crap, I'm so angry! They're relentlessly attacking Zhou Mingye on the trending topics page. It's obviously the work of rival fans!
Yang Shuang: How many people's hearts were broken when Zhou Mingye participated in the play last time!
Li Linrui: Calm down. He's always been the most popular member of the team, making him the easiest target. I've seen this kind of thing many times. Let's wait for his company's PR team to handle it.
Chen Ci: I've taken a quick look, aren't there a lot of people in the entertainment industry with powerful connections? Why is this becoming a point of contention? [laughing and crying emoji]
Chen Ci: His backer is his brother, isn't that better than those other shady characters? [Thinking]
Yang Shuang: They're just trying to black people! They want to attribute all of Zhou Mingye's achievements to his brother!
Li Linrui: It might be related to that previous rumor that Zhou Mingye might be playing the male lead in a big IP drama.
Yang Shuang: Yes, yes, yes! It was indeed rumored a few days ago, and today it was revealed!
Chen Ci doesn't follow the entertainment industry much, so she hadn't heard about this. This small group was created by them on short notice when Zhou Mingye invited them to sing and eat at the Emperor Hotel. After that, no one had spoken in the group, so she didn't expect it to be so lively again, discussing Zhou Mingye's negative trending topics.
Chen Ci: It's clear that there's really nothing wrong with Zhou Mingye, so this deserves a huge exposé [sweating].
Yang Shuang: Just being a sour grapes, jealous that it's not their own brother who got a big IP role [smile].
Chen Ci: I see some fans are also muddling through, aren't you a shipper? =.=
Yang Shuang: As the saying goes, "He who eats another's food is bound to him," but Jian Shu hasn't even treated me to a meal. =.=
Li Linrui: LOL, this is such a realistic fangirling experience, hahaha.
Chen Ci chatted with them in the group for a few minutes, then went back to work. During a break, she picked up her phone and sent a message to Zhou Mingye: "I saw the trending topic. Are you okay?"
Zhou Mingye did not reply immediately, probably because he was dealing with the matter. When Chen Ci remembered to check her phone again, she had already received several messages from Zhou Mingye.
Zhou Mingye: Ugh, I'm so angry! I wish I could register a hundred fake accounts and argue with them!
Zhou Mingye: Let's forget about this TV series, but last time he even said the stage play was a resource my brother gave me! Ha, does my brother know how good he is to me!
Zhou Mingye: And this TV series hasn't even been finalized yet! The producer only contacted me briefly, and they're already having such a big reaction!
Zhou Mingye: Then I absolutely have to act in this drama!
Chenci: ...I support you!
Zhou Mingye: Waaaaaah, you're so good to me, heroine! [Sobbing uncontrollably.jpg]
Zhou Mingye: My agent won't let me respond, and my work tonight has been postponed. Perfect timing, let's go to the Emperor Hotel for drinks and karaoke tonight! [smile]
Chen Ci had already made plans with Zhou Shilin for the evening, but if she told Zhou Mingye now, he might explode.
She thought for a moment and sent Zhou Shilin a message: "Did you see Zhou Mingye trending on social media? He's not in a good mood right now and asked me to go to the Emperor Hotel for drinks and karaoke tonight."
As soon as Zhou Mingye's name appeared on the trending topics list, Zhou Shilin learned about it from Tian Xu. The public relations department was dealing with it at the moment. When Zhou Shilin saw the message from Chen Ci, he picked up his phone and replied to her: "I have some work to do right now, so I'll be a little late tonight. How about we go for hot pot another day?"
Sinking porcelain: Good
Zhou Shilin: Going to the Emperor Hotel for karaoke is fine, but don't drink alcohol. I'll come pick you up after I'm done here.
Chenci: Received. [Respectfully yours]
This time, Zhou Mingye didn't invite anyone else, only Shen Ci. Shen Ci was genuinely worried that if the paparazzi photographed the two of them, it would only make things worse. But thinking that Zhou Shilin would also be coming over that evening, she felt much more at ease.
Zhou Mingye had booked the same large private room as last time. When Chen Ci arrived, Zhou Mingye was standing alone on the small stage, holding a microphone and wailing, completely immersed in his art.
He only realized Chen Ci had arrived when he finished singing the whole song and Chen Ci applauded him.
"Heroine, you've arrived." Zhou Mingye came down from the stage and walked to the sofa. "Perfect timing, sit down and have something to eat. I ordered all the delicious things you mentioned last time!"
"Thank you, sit down and eat with me." Seeing that he had already drunk several cans of beer, Chen Ci was afraid that he would get drunk, so she pulled him to eat with her. "Those people who talk about you online are just jealous of you, you don't need to take it to heart."
"Hmph, they just want to say that their own brother is all self-reliant, how ridiculous. Do they even believe it themselves?" Zhou Mingye picked up the beer on the table and took another sip. "Some people don't actually have their own brothers, but they wish they could have several more brothers and sisters outside."
Seeing that he was only drinking and not eating, Chen Ci wanted to persuade him to eat something, but before she could speak, Zhou Mingye angrily slammed the beer can in his hand on the table: "Besides, my brother is so busy, how can he have time to care what dramas I take on!"
"..." Chen Ci was startled by his sudden outburst and chimed in, "That's right!"
Zhou Mingye was quiet for a while, then his mood became a little depressed again: "I know my brother is very capable. The reason I entered the entertainment industry is because I know that if I follow the same path as him, I will never be able to surpass him. So I want to take a path that he would never take."
Chen Ci was stunned. She hadn't expected that there was this reason behind Zhou Mingye becoming a star.
"But I never expected that even after all this, they would still say that all my achievements were given to me by my brother." Zhou Mingye slammed his hand on the table again. "They don't understand anything at all!"
Chen Ci: "..."
Doesn't it hurt when you pat like that?
Looking at Zhou Mingye like this, she suddenly felt a little emotional. She opened a can of beer for herself, tilted her head back and took a sip: "Actually, when I was little, I really hoped that I had an outstanding older brother or sister. That way, my mother wouldn't place all her hopes on me. They could do the things that I couldn't do. My mother might be more tolerant and loving towards me. I wouldn't have to desperately change myself, and I wouldn't get sick."
Zhou Mingye slowly turned his head to look at her, his expression somewhat complicated. He didn't know what to say for a moment. Chen Ci squeezed the beer can in her hand and smiled at him: "But seeing you like this today, I suddenly realized that even if I really had an excellent older brother or sister, I would still have other misfortunes, just like you are now."
After she finished speaking, she tilted her head back and took a sip of beer: "This incident tells us that there is no perfect life, and everyone's life will have regrets."
After a moment of silence, Zhou Mingye spoke up: "Except for Zhou Shilin."
Chen Ci: "..."
Her memes have already said it all!
Chen Ci couldn't help but chuckle and asked Zhou Mingye beside her, "Then let me ask you, would you prefer to be a manager at Shijie or to be singing and acting in the entertainment industry like you are now?"
“Of course it’s like this now. Who wants to wear a suit every day and do business with a bunch of greasy bosses?” Zhou Mingye curled his lip. “Only my brother can stand it.”
Chen Ci said, "Then shouldn't you thank your brother? He really took on a lot of things you didn't want to do for you. Without him standing in front of you, would your parents have been able to let you enter the entertainment industry so easily?"
“I didn’t say he didn’t help me… wait,” Zhou Mingye looked at Chen Ci, gradually realizing what she meant, “Weren’t you here to drink with me? Why are you siding with my brother? Wait, you two aren’t really together, are you?”
"..." Chen Ci withdrew her gaze, picked up the beer in her hand, and took a few more gulps. "I must say, this beer is pretty good, hahaha."
"What kind of wine is so delicious?" The door to the private room was pushed open, and Zhou Shilin strode in from outside.
Chen Ci paused for a moment, then quickly put down the beer in her hand and moved to the sofa next to her: "What kind of alcohol? I don't know. Zhou Mingye drank all of this."
Zhou Mingye: "..."
No, you're a heroine! Why are you so afraid of him!
Zhou Shilin's gaze naturally fell on Zhou Mingye.
Zhou Mingye also moved to the side: "How strange, why is there so much alcohol in the private room?"
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