It's just acting
His deep and clear voice, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirred up ripples in Lin Tingyue's heart.
This caused the people around who were eavesdropping to have various expressions, and Su Wanqing's smile froze completely, with a trace of embarrassment and disbelief flashing quickly across her eyes.
Lin Tingyue was completely stunned, her mind went blank, and only the phrase "my person" kept echoing in her ears.
The faint touch from Chi Zhuo's fingertips still lingered, like a small flame, burning her ears and making her cheeks flush.
How could he... how could he say that?!
This is such a dramatic performance!
Is it really necessary to go to such lengths just to ward off unwanted romantic advances?
She subconsciously wanted to look up at Chi Zhuo's expression, to know how much of his gaze was genuine and how much was feigned.
But she was inexplicably timid and could only stand stiffly in place, feeling as if everyone's gaze was shining on her like a spotlight, leaving her nowhere to hide.
Chi Zhuo, however, seemed to have said something completely ordinary.
He even turned slightly to the side, in a more protective posture, to partially shield Lin Tingyue from Su Wanqing's almost tangible gaze.
"Wanqing, it seems like President Zhang is looking for you over there."
His casual tone was clearly a dismissive remark.
Su Wanqing's face flushed red and then turned pale. She gripped the wine glass tightly in her hand, her nails almost digging into her flesh.
She glared fiercely at Lin Tingyue, her eyes like poisoned knives, before managing to maintain her composure and forcing a smile at Chi Zhuo: "Okay, Brother Zhuo, I'll head over now."
After saying that, she turned and left, her back view revealing resentment and embarrassment.
This little incident made the atmosphere around them even more subtle.
The inquisitive and curious gazes only increased, but clearly, Chi Zhuo's declaration had a strong deterrent effect, and no one dared to easily come forward to inquire about Lin Tingyue's background.
Chi Zhuo lowered his head, looking at Lin Tingyue who was still in a daze, and frowned almost imperceptibly: "Were you scared?"
His voice returned to its usual indifference, as if those earth-shattering words had not come from him at all.
Lin Tingyue snapped back to reality, instinctively shaking her head, her voice barely audible: "No...no."
She paused, but couldn't help herself. She glanced at him quickly, then looked down again, her voice even softer, "It's just... what you said just now... wasn't it a bit too much..."
"Too what?" Chi Zhuo raised an eyebrow, seemingly finding her reaction amusing. "Wasn't the effect quite good?"
He was indeed just acting. It was simply to achieve the best effect of being a "shield."
Lin Tingyue felt a strange sense of relief, but then a feeling of loss welled up inside her that she couldn't quite explain...
She quickly suppressed this absurd emotion, cursing herself for being blinded by beauty and power, and for having such unrealistic fantasies.
"Oh..." she responded softly, and then fell silent.
After that, Lin Tingyue became even more silent, dutifully playing the role of a beautiful but empty vase.
The pain in her feet became more and more obvious, but she endured it, not wanting to show her vulnerable side in front of Chi Zhuo.
Chi Zhuo seemed to sense something, and as she subtly adjusted her balance once more, he suddenly asked, "Tired?"
"It's alright," Lin Tingyue said stubbornly.
Chi Zhuo glanced at her but said nothing more. A few minutes later, however, he excused himself, saying he had other matters to attend to, and led her away from the banquet hall ahead of schedule.
Once inside the car, shielded from the outside world, Lin Tingyue finally relaxed completely, a wave of exhaustion washing over her.
She secretly took off her high heels, rubbed her reddened ankles, and cursed this "on-call" job a hundred times in her mind.
The carriage was quiet, with only the faint sound of the air conditioning running.
Chi Zhuo leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes to rest, and the lines of his profile appeared even colder and harder in the flowing light and shadow outside the window.
Lin Tingyue secretly sized him up.
When this man is silent, he is like a frozen snow mountain—powerful, distant, and awe-inspiring.
But the occasional subtle gestures that reveal this, such as when he refused to drink earlier, or when he left early now...
It made her vaguely feel that he might not be as cold and heartless as he seemed on the surface.
But she quickly dismissed that thought. Don't forget, everything he's doing now is based on that "compensation," a deal she has no choice but to cooperate with.
The car first drove up to the building where her studio was located.
"Thank you, Mr. Chi," Lin Tingyue said softly, preparing to get out of the car.
"Wait a minute," Chi Zhuo suddenly said.
Lin Tingyue paused, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
He then produced a small, delicate ointment from somewhere and handed it to her, saying, "Here you go."
Lin Tingyue froze, staring at the unfamiliar ointment, but did not take it.
"Feet." Chi Zhuo said succinctly, his gaze sweeping over the high heels she had placed to the side.
He... he actually noticed? And even prepared ointment?
Lin Tingyue's heart skipped a beat, and a complex emotion that was hard to describe welled up inside her.
She hesitantly took the ointment, her fingertips touching his slightly cool fingertips, and she recoiled as if electrocuted.
"Th...thank you." Her voice was a little dry as she gripped the small tube of ointment tightly, feeling its alarming heat.
"Next time, wear a pair of shorter shoes." After saying that, Chi Zhuo closed his eyes again, as if to see the guest out.
“…Oh.” Lin Tingyue, holding the ointment, got out of the car in a daze, watching the black sedan silently glide into the night and disappear from sight.
She stood in the night wind, motionless for a long time. The presence of the ointment in her hand was surprisingly strong, constantly reminding her of Chi Zhuo's almost "thoughtful" actions just now.
What exactly does this mean?
A slap followed by a sweet treat?
Or is it a sign of the capitalists' humanitarian concern for temporary workers?
She shook her head, trying to banish the man's image from her mind, but found it was futile.
Every word he said, every glance he gave, every movement he made tonight played out repeatedly in her mind, like a slow-motion replay.
Especially that phrase "my people"...
Lin Tingyue, wake up!
That was just acting! It was just dialogue!
She slapped her cheeks hard, forcing herself to calm down.
Back in her apartment, she couldn't wait to call Xia Xiaoran to report on the "thrilling" events of the night.
"...He just said it in front of everyone, 'She's mine!' My God! Ranran, I almost had a heart attack!"
Lin Tingyue hugged a pillow and rolled around on the bed, her voice excited and confused.
Xia Xiaoran on the other end of the phone was stunned, forgetting even to chew her potato chips:
"Holy crap?! Is Chi Zhuo really this audacious? He just went ahead and made it official?! And then what? And then what?"
"Official announcement my foot!" Lin Tingyue wailed. "He said it was just for the effect! And later in the car, he even gave me one of these!" She picked up the tube of ointment, took a picture, and sent it to him.
"What is this?"
"Ankle ointment! He gave it to me because my feet were blistered!"
"..."
Xia Xiaoran remained silent for a long time, so long that Lin Tingyue thought the signal had been lost.
"slowly?"
"Yueyue..." Xia Xiaoran's voice suddenly became extremely serious.
"Something is definitely amiss! A man like Chi Zhuo, whose time is so precious that it's counted in seconds, would he bother to pay attention to whether his female companion's feet hurt?"
Do you even carry ointment with you at all times?
This is completely inconsistent with his image as a cold-blooded capitalist!
"Maybe he just happened to have some? Or maybe his assistant prepared it?" Lin Tingyue tried to find a reasonable explanation.
"Come on! My assistant wouldn't care about such details!"
And what he just said... his possessiveness was off the charts! "My person!" Is that something you can just use as a shield?!
Xia Xiaoran became more and more excited as she spoke, "Yueyue, I guarantee you with my twenty years of experience watching dramas and reading books, Chi Zhuo definitely has feelings for you! This isn't revenge at all, this is a roundabout way of pursuing his wife!"
"You're at it again!" Lin Tingyue exclaimed, both amused and exasperated. "What does he want? Does he want me to get drunk and act crazy? Does he want me to humiliate him with three thousand yuan?"
"Oh dear, you can't guess what a man is thinking, especially the mind of a top-tier man; it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack!"
Xia Xiaoran spoke with an air of experience, "Anyway, just listen to me, be vigilant, but don't be too afraid."
If he tries to flirt with you again, you should... you should just react accordingly! And while you're at it, see what he's really up to!
After hanging up the phone, Lin Tingyue looked at the ointment, her mind in turmoil.
Xia Xiaoran's words were like a seed, quietly planted in her heart.
Could it be... that Chi Zhuo really...?
No, that's impossible.
She immediately denied it.
This is absurd.
She unscrewed the ointment, and a cool, medicinal scent filled the air.
She carefully applied it to her swollen ankle, and a comfortable coolness relieved the pain.
The ointment works very well, just like him—seemingly cold, yet occasionally revealing unexpected...delicacy?
Lin Tingyue couldn't sleep that night.
If you close your eyes, all you see is Chi Zhuo's deep eyes, his deep voice, and the ever-echoing phrase, "My person."
And the fleeting yet scorching temperature at your fingertips.
She felt as if she had fallen into an intricately woven net, and the one who cast the net was Chi Zhuo, the one she could never fathom.
She couldn't see his purpose or guess his thoughts, and could only passively follow his rhythm.
This feeling of being out of control made her panic, yet... a dangerous curiosity, which she shouldn't have, also began to stir within her.
She wanted to know what Chi Zhuo wanted from her.
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