Chapter 47 Chapter 47
The ceiling lights that had been off all night came on, and the applause and thanks continued for a long time.
Lu Ye asked a few familiar staff members for help and pushed out three full baskets from the lounge. Inside were exquisite handmade snacks from a long-established brand in S City, which were to be distributed to everyone in the program crew.
Now he has a better understanding of the ways of the world and is no longer in a hurry like before, leaving no trace.
Among them was a piece of butterfly pastry, which he had reserved for An Jiuyue. He was holding it in his hand at the moment, but he could not find the figure of that person.
Zhong Xinli looked at the man distributing pastries from afar. He looked relaxed, his eyes gentle, but there was an innate sense of politeness and distance that was noticeable even from several meters away.
"Boss Zhong, the leaders of Huayi heard you were coming and prepared a small banquet. The live broadcast here has also ended. Please see..."
The woman waved her hand, casually rejecting Director Zhang's proposal. She had come here tonight for only one person.
Besides, she didn't want to deal with those people who were trying to curry favor with her family for their business.
Being able to give away a house in a livestream raffle was already a huge test and concession. Zhong Xinli's original prize wasn't a river view house at all, but three oil paintings.
In her opinion, the value of these paintings was much more precious than the Jiang Jingping flat. But the only problem was that the artist was unknown, and the valuation was only agreed upon within a very small circle.
Most people probably wouldn't be able to recognize the value of these paintings.
Zhong Xinli thought she was being sincere and willing to give up the prize. If it weren't for Lu Ye, she would never have gone to such lengths. However, the director's team subtly suggested replacing the prize. In a fit of anger, she simply swapped it for the most plain and ordinary river view room.
The few times she had crossed paths with Lu Ye before, she had either quietly listened to his roadshow from the audience or met him by chance over drinks. She was already satisfied and delighted to have a good chat with him during the live broadcast.
Lu Ye's inherent indifference and coldness made Zhong Xinli firmly believe that they had something in common in their souls.
He is worldly but not vulgar, understanding of human nature but not fawning. It is precisely because of this that she felt her heart beat fast when they first met.
Just like now, Lu Ye was delivering snacks with a smile on his face, saying words like "hard work" and "thank you", but perhaps his mood was the same as mine, both wanting to avoid these people who were smiling all the time and full of money.
"Hello, Mr. Zhong. Male guest number 4 was in a hurry to go live just now and didn't greet you. We have prepared a lounge for you two. Do you think you should go meet him?"
The person who suddenly came into her sight was not tall, but he was fat, blocking most of her view of Lu Ye.
Zhong Xinli suddenly felt irritated. Even the man's respectful expression and polite words made her inexplicably angry.
The live broadcast is over, why are there still people pointing fingers at me?
She didn't even look at the man, and asked coldly, "What's there to meet?"
In fact, if it were an ordinary time, Zhong Xinli might be in the mood to politely say "No need", and when she is in a good mood, she would add "Thank you for your thoughtful arrangement" which is in line with her temperament.
But at this moment, she only felt that the air around her was filled with foul smoke. The only other white lotus, who was as pure as herself, was standing a few meters away, separated from her by the busy crowd.
This person obviously didn't understand what she meant by rejection, and he began to seriously explain reasons such as "communicate with the male guest's personality" and "please give me some ideas on the packaging I expect", which she didn't care about at all.
This meticulous and earnest voice annoyed her even more.
Zhong Xinli finally retracted her gaze and squinted, "Is it because Zhong Xinwu brought money into the group that you are so eager to serve him?
"It turns out they'll do anything for money."
The voice of the last sentence was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for people within a two-meter radius of her to hear clearly.
She did it on purpose. Since this group of people valued sponsors and resources so much, then as the one who paid, she could just act recklessly for once.
Zhong Xinli raised her chin and looked around the gradually quieting scene nonchalantly, with undisguised contempt in her eyes.
Her words quickly spread, and most of the people around her were initially stunned, then almost all adopted an expression of anger but unable to speak. If they happened to meet her eyes, they would guiltily look away and lower their heads, or even force an uneasy, yet friendly, smile at her.
Like a puppy wagging its tail, a happy smile spread across the corners of her lips as she continued to glance at the next person.
This person did not dodge or feel uneasy. Anger burned in her cold brown pupils as she confronted Zhong Xinli accurately and intently.
The outline of that face should have been soft and beautiful, but now the jaw angle is protruding, the facial features are sharp, and it looks like he is gritting his back teeth.
Zhong Xinli remembered her as the young director who had been nagging at her for a long time.
This person was just a doorman for her, but now he openly made eye contact with her. Zhong Xinli felt strange and her eyes stayed on her.
The aura between them was too strong, and everyone present wisely left some space for fear of being affected by the impending war.
After the last obstacle was removed, Zhong Xinli was finally able to see the young director's full appearance.
She was wearing a red and white tracksuit and a pair of classic, simple trefoil shoes. She had a slender figure, and even in her loose clothes, it was easy to see her well-proportioned body.
She approached Zhong Xinli, step by step, without fear. Her slightly curly hair flew out from her tight and beautiful back in the wind that blew from nowhere.
Under the light, An Jiyue's eyes and eyebrows were bright, and her whole body was full of determination.
An Jiyue stopped in front of her and reached out to pull the person who had just been mocked by Zhong Xinli behind her.
Xu Mu looked embarrassed and aggrieved. He was just a messenger, yet he had been made a target for no reason, subjected to the arbitrary attacks of his financial sponsor.
An Jiyue wasn't his first superior. Xu Mu knew in his heart that no leader would offend his financial backer for the mistakes of his subordinates. He would most likely be pushed out as a sacrifice. Director An's next words should probably be an apology for his ignorance.
But he was wrong. An Jiyue's voice was filled with anger, but her words were polite:
"Thank you, Ms. Zhong, for recommending our guests. Time is tight, and we still haven't received the new guests' information. We're having trouble figuring out the characters and storyline, so we're asking for your guidance."
“Since you have invested, we naturally have to live up to your expectations. This is our job responsibility.
"But you're asking if we'll do anything for money—I'm sorry, I don't understand. What do you expect us to do? If you have a request that's beyond the normal scope of work, please tell us directly."
An Jiyue used honorifics in every sentence, and just by listening to her words, you might even think that she was a good Party B.
But anyone who saw her expression at the scene would not think so.
The sharp light in her eyes was like a knife or a sword, and every word she said was like a weapon, wielded with clear purpose at the person opposite her.
Everyone knows about Zhong Xinli's recent lucky draw to give away houses, and An Jiuyue is the youngest new director of this program, so no one is unaware of their identities.
There is no lack of curiosity: How could a girl like An Jiyue, who has no fame or background, dare to confront the new sponsor of the program in front of so many people?
Zhong Xinli had a sarcastic smile on her face. Wearing high heels, she was slightly taller than An Jiuyue, allowing her to look down on this ungrateful young director.
She hated the world of fame and fortune piled with money the most, but now she had to stand among a group of vulgar people who were only interested in profit. Wasn't she allowed to take advantage of the situation and be willful for once?
Normally, she is the daughter of the Lijiang Group, and she has to be elegant in her dealings with others. So what if she acted a bit wild tonight?
"You're right. I paid you to buy your labor. But I'll add one more thing: I also want you to kowtow to me and bow down to me. Will you do it?"
Seeing An Jiyue's cold face and no answer, Zhong Xinli sneered and raised his hand to casually wave it, as if to disperse a tiny cloud of smoke.
"Are you going to refuse?—Am I wrong? Do you do anything for money?"
She frowned in disgust, looked up again, and wanted to look for Lu Ye, but was unexpectedly surrounded by countless angry gazes.
If Xu Mu and An Jiuyue were the only ones who were scolded by her before, then her words just now undoubtedly added fuel to the fire of the silent majority.
No one can remain indifferent.
They might stand behind An Jiuyue like Xu Mu, but their emotions were already exposed.
Even the director, who had always been respectful to her, looked at her with complicated eyes.
Besieged on all sides.
But she didn't take these people's hostility seriously.
Zhong Xinli had had enough of this place and wanted to leave quickly. However, there were so many people in the recording hall tonight that she couldn't find a suitable way out for a while.
She was just feeling worried when she saw a path suddenly opened up in the crowd and a cool and dignified figure came out of the crowded crowd pushing a huge cart basket.
Zhong Xinli felt relieved, "Lu Ye!"
She was sure that Lu Ye was here to pick her up.
Even if what he had just done was considered an abominable chaebol style in the eyes of others, Lu Ye would definitely understand.
He was on the same page as herself. From his ever-clear, dark eyes, from his unfawning pride, from his open, calm words, Zhong Xinli confirmed that he was on the same page as herself.
Zhong Xinli walked towards him.
The man seemed not to see her, his eyes not even glancing at her as he passed by her.
Lu Ye stopped in front of An Jiuyue, holding a fragrant butterfly cake, and waved it in front of her, like a big boy trying to please her.
He opened the brown paper package, picked up a delicate piece of pastry with his slender fingers, and personally fed it to the girl's lips. He didn't care if the biscuit crumbs fell into his wide navy blue sleeves.
An Jiyue, who had been bathed in anger, seemed to have been soothed, her slightly trembling body calming down. She tilted her head, opened her cherry-like mouth, and slowly chewed the pastry, her eyes lowered as if she was thinking about something.
After a long time, she walked in front of Zhong Xinli again. She was no longer angry, but calm and composed. It seemed that she regarded money as dirt even more than Zhong Xinli did just now.
An Jiyue used her white knuckles to wipe away the crumbs from the corner of her lips, and her almond-shaped eyes returned to the velvety color of chocolate. She smiled gently at the pale-faced Zhong Xinli, speaking softly, word by word.
"Ms. Zhong's money is too expensive. You'd better take it. We can't afford it."
"'The Last Lovers' will find new investors. I won't bother you any more."
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