Chapter Thirteen
The launch event for the new product "Lanzhi" was held on the platform on the second floor of the Four Seasons Hotel in Gangcheng. The Alphard carried the three of them on the Haiwan Avenue.
With a "buzz," Su Xian's phone vibrated. It was a message from Lin Zhiyuan. He had already booked a restaurant and was asking what time would be convenient for him to pick her up.
Su Xuan stared at her phone in a daze for a while, and finally made up her mind.
"Sister Lin, change your flight. We'll go straight back to the film studio after the event."
The car was descending the slope of the parking lot. In the dark interior, Su Xuan's expression was difficult to discern. She picked up her phone and typed a reply on the message screen: "Sorry, my schedule has changed. I need to get back to the film studio as soon as possible."
She wasn't one to drag things out; once she made a decision, she quickly put an end to it.
The car came to a smooth stop in front of the elevator lobby. Su Xian put her phone back in her bag and handed it to Qingqing. The car door slowly opened, and a perfect smile bloomed on her lips as she stepped out of the car, her high heels clicking confidently.
The staff from "Lanzhi" led Su Xian to the lounge. Su Xian was already familiar with the process of this new product launch. There was still a while before it officially started, so Su Xian read the script softly. It was her habit to read it aloud to deepen her memory.
A knock sounded on the door, and Qingqing got up from the sofa to open it.
"Miss Su, it's been a long time." Mr. Wang, the chairman of Lanzhi, walked in and extended his hand to her.
Mr. Wang is in his early forties, and compared to his peers, he is well-maintained, at least not severely overweight. But what makes Su Xian most uncomfortable is the way Mr. Wang looks at her.
Last year, when Su Xian first signed with Lan Zhi, she attended one of their company's cocktail parties. Chairman Wang's gaze was saccharine, as if he were eyeing her like food. Therefore, afterwards, aside from fulfilling the activity clauses in her endorsement contract, Su Xian declined all other personal invitations from Chairman Wang.
Despite her disgust, Su Xian still did her best to maintain appearances. She stood up, and immediately pulled away from the hand that Chairman Wang had extended.
"Hello, Chairman Wang." Su Xian gave a standard smile.
"Time flies, it's almost been a year since we started working together." Chairman Wang rubbed his hands together. "I've mentioned to Bai Lin a few times that I'd like to see when Miss Su has some free time to get together, but we could never find the time. Well, I've finally managed to catch her today." Chairman Wang laughed loudly.
"Let's have dinner together tonight and sit down to discuss the contract renewal properly." He reached out and patted Su Xian's arm. Han Yi had chosen a black halter-neck dress for her today, and Chairman Wang's gaze was blatantly fixed on her shoulder. Su Xian suppressed the discomfort.
Bai Lin stepped forward with a smile. "Chairman Wang, I'm so sorry, Su Xian's new drama starts filming tomorrow, and we have to rush to the airport after the event."
"The same excuse again?" Chairman Wang frowned. "The filming starts tomorrow, not tonight. We can go over after dinner, it won't be a problem."
"Hey, look at what you're saying, this really isn't an excuse..."
Bai Lin tried to smooth things over and avoid the dinner party, but Su Xian interrupted her directly.
"Chairman Wang, because filming starts very early tomorrow, I need to go back early today." Su Xian tried her best to maintain a smile.
Chairman Wang's gaze shifted to her face, his tone growing impatient. "It's just filming, why are you taking it so seriously? I'm giving you an eight-figure endorsement fee, isn't that enough for a meal?"
Just because you paid me an endorsement fee, does that mean I should do whatever you ask? Su Xian couldn't suppress the disgust in her heart.
She stopped smiling and said coldly, "Chairman Wang, the endorsement fee was negotiated and signed jointly with your company, and I have fulfilled the terms of the endorsement contract. Also, since I took on this job, I will definitely take it seriously, and the press conference later will be no exception."
Su Xian knew that 'Lanzhi' attached great importance to today's new product launch. In order to quickly gain a foothold in the domestic cosmetics industry, Chairman Wang and his investors had already burned through a lot of money and now urgently needed a product to recoup their losses.
"Stop threatening me. If you don't do well at the event later, it won't be good for you either." Chairman Wang squinted at her, his nostrils pointing his nose at her. "You really think you're something special. In your industry, who isn't a prostitute? You really think you're some kind of aloof goddess?"
Su Xian gritted her teeth and remained silent.
Chairman Wang pointed his short, thick index finger at her face. "Let me tell you, there are plenty of people who want this endorsement. Don't be ungrateful." He snorted coldly, turned around, and walked towards the door, slamming it shut with a "bang."
"That's too much!" Qingqing suppressed her anger, not daring to shout too loudly.
Su Xian looked at Bai Lin, "This should be Lan Zhi's last event, right?"
“Yeah, it expires in July.” Bai Lin frowned, her face full of disgust. “I think it’s him who’s the one who thinks he is. He’s just someone who’s spent money to get ahead, and he thinks he’s something special.”
"Forget it, don't get angry over this kind of person. Let's talk to other makeup brands about endorsements."
Su Xian took a few deep breaths to compose herself. She knew this was just how outsiders perceived things; in the entertainment industry, a veritable melting pot, everyone was a commodity with a price tag. This was one of the downsides of choosing acting as a career, something Su Xian had to accept. She couldn't control what others thought, but she could control herself from being affected by people like Chairman Wang. Knowing she would lose an endorsement, making up for the loss was more important.
The door knocked again. Su Xuan tidied her makeup and followed the staff to wait in the waiting area. Just as she had said, she never took on any job casually. The unpleasantness only involved her and Chairman Wang, not the ordinary employees on or off stage.
Su Xuan went on stage and dutifully went through the process with the host, introduced the newly launched foundation of "Lanzhi", and interacted with the fans and media present, fulfilling her responsibilities as a spokesperson.
On the way to the airport, Su Xuan glanced at her phone. Besides a missed call from Lin Zhiyuan, there was also a message: "What time is your flight?"
Su Xian didn't reply. If she was determined to break up, she wanted it to be a clean break. But Lin Zhiyuan was persistent; Su Xian's phone had been vibrating non-stop ever since she went through security. The security guard in the VIP lane clearly recognized her and couldn't help but glance at her phone several times.
Su Xian sat in the lounge, her hands almost numb from the phone ringing, but the person on the other end was clearly determined not to give up until she answered.
Su Xian slid the answer button on her phone.
Where?
"Are you already in the lounge?"
"Could you come out for a moment?"
Su Xian held her phone without answering. Lin Zhiyuan asked urgently, his breathing rapid, as if he were running.
"Could you come out for a moment?" he pleaded again, his voice even sounding a little dejected.
Su Xian's heart softened. She stood up, opened the door, and went to the lounge area, where she immediately saw Lin Zhiyuan. He was holding his phone to his ear with one hand, looking around, and almost at the same time, he saw her.
Su Xian hung up the phone and watched him approach. His dark gray shirt wasn't as neat as usual, and even his hair was a bit messy. This was the first time Su Xian had associated Lin Zhiyuan's appearance with the word "disheveled."
Lin Zhiyuan grabbed Su Xian's arm and pulled her into the nearest private room, closing the door behind them. The room was small; after placing a leather sofa, there wasn't much space left, and the central air conditioning hummed overhead.
Su Xian gently shook her arm, and Lin Zhiyuan immediately let go of her.
"Sorry, did I hit too hard?"
Su Xian shook her head.
"Mr. Lin, what brings you to the airport?"
Everything seemed to have returned to square one, and she still called him Mr. Lin.
Lin Zhiyuan was clearly taken aback by her sudden change in attitude, and he hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I... didn't we agree to have dinner together? Why did you suddenly cancel?"
"Sorry, because filming starts very early tomorrow, I've decided to head back to the film studio early."
"Then in a couple of days, when it's the weekend, I'll come over to see you after I finish what I'm doing, okay?" he asked carefully, as if afraid she would be unhappy.
"My schedule is packed, I don't have time."
Su Xian had decided to end this ambiguous pretense, so she wouldn't drag it out any longer. She looked up at him calmly.
“Mr. Lin, this is only our third meeting today, and we don’t know each other at all. I’m sorry if this is my fault that has caused you to misunderstand.”
“For me, work is the most important thing. Unlike Mr. Lin, I don’t have a lot of time to play. Even if I did, I wouldn’t play this kind of boring emotional game with you.”
“I am not Winona, and I do not need to exchange my body for benefits.”
The secret that the two knew about but had never touched was revealed by Su Xian, completely unexpectedly. The smile in Lin Zhiyuan's eyes gradually faded as Su Xian spoke one sentence after another, replaced by disappointment.
Su Xian couldn't bear to look at him; her overly bluntness might have hurt him.
Su Xuan turned around, her hand on the doorknob. "I have to catch my flight, excuse me."
"Wait," Lin Zhiyuan called out to her. "I will consider what you have to say, but I want you to know that I am serious about you."
Lin Zhiyuan finished speaking hastily, as if afraid she would leave without listening. Su Xian gripped the doorknob tightly, opened the door without thinking, and hurriedly fled back to her original rest room. She leaned against the door, covering her face with her hands, unable to tell whether she was happy or unhappy.
I finally made up my mind to sever these feelings, but I just couldn't.
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