Chapter 74: Normal Mind
Xiao Yang was not pretending to be pitiful this time. His boss Shen demanded that Ren Limeng be brought over. He had no choice but to try his best!
She had clearly racked her brains to tell lies and delay, but as soon as the driver secretly turned, Ren Limeng noticed it.
As expected of his boss's ex-wife! She's not someone he can easily trick!
The atmosphere in the car was somewhat tense. Ren Limeng stared at Xiao Yang with a gentle expression, but Xiao Yang felt as if a thorn was on his back for a moment. The pressure he felt was no less than facing Shen Xingzhi's cold and sharp gaze.
Xiao Yang finally gave in, "I'm sorry, Mr. Ren, Brother Xingzhi asked me to take you there."
"I have nothing to say to him."
Ren Limeng had been observing Xiao Yang's expression, wondering how much he knew about her and Shen Xingzhi's past.
"Teacher Ren, since you and Brother Xingzhi have decided to promote your relationship, there are many things we should discuss in person. Brother Xingzhi is very concerned about this matter. We spent a lot of money to hire the best marketing team in the industry to tailor a promotion plan for you. I heard... your progress hasn't been smooth these past few days, and Brother Xingzhi just wanted to take this opportunity tonight to have a good chat with you."
Xiao Yang's tone was sincere, his eyes full of earnestness. "Just now... I acted on my own initiative. Teacher Ren, I sincerely apologize again!"
Ren Limeng stared at Xiao Yang's eyes. Xiao Yang said that he was Shen Xingzhi's assistant, but as a backbone member of a top-tier studio, his status in the circle was not low. Even Dong Zhu and Li Ming had to politely call Xiao Yang "Brother Xiao Yang".
Speaking of which, she hoped to draw a clear line between herself and Shen Xingzhi and not talk about the past, but whether she treated Shen Xingzhi or the people around him, she was not as vigilant as she was towards other people in the program team.
If she was invited by the assistants of other top colleagues, such as Chen He, Chen Xi, or even Yan Baiwei's assistant, Ren Li Meng, she would definitely not be able to let Xiao Yang sit in the passenger seat as she is now, and she would not dare to refuse directly.
She subconsciously relaxed because of their old acquaintance.
Moreover, she happened to have her own doubts, and it was just right that Shen Xingzhi came to her.
"good."
She had to first clarify her own position so that she could confidently go her separate ways with Shen Xingzhi.
Xiao Yang brought Ren Limeng to a private restaurant deep in a street.
The small carved door is extremely inconspicuous, but once you enter, you will find a different world. There are winding paths, small bridges, flowing water, and houses accompanied by the melodious music of pipa and bamboo flute, as if you have directly traveled to the south of the Yangtze River, showing a style that is completely different from that of Jingchu.
Rich people are really different.
Ren Limeng quickly scanned the surroundings, followed Xiao Yang without looking away as he walked towards the winding corridor, and watched him gently knock on the door of an elegant room inside.
"It's more private here. Thank you for your hard work. Please come in, Teacher Ren."
Xiao Yang did not follow Ren Limeng into the room. The room was elegantly decorated, exuding a touch of Zen and classical charm.
Ren Limeng walked around the quaint carved wooden door and her eyes fell on the surroundings of the elegant room. Four calligraphy scrolls with freehand and elegant handwriting were hung on the ink painting wallpaper, which was matched with the round and smooth solid wood tea table and exquisite carved wooden chairs, giving her an indescribable shock.
Aside from her, the only thing that stood out from the crowd was the various dishes on the table to the right: pork ribs and lotus root soup, tomato sole, roasted lamb shank, stir-fried chicken breast with broccoli, spicy shrimp balls, mushroom and tofu soup, garlic crayfish, crab leg noodles...
The aroma of food mingled in the air, and Ren Limeng shamefully felt her hunger rumbling, but she would never compromise because of this little sugar-coated bullet!
There was only Shen Xingzhi in the room. He sat in the middle of the tea table, playing with an antique purple clay teapot that looked very expensive. Hearing Xiao Yang's voice, Shen Xingzhi raised his eyes slightly and looked at Ren Limeng who was walking towards him.
"With so many dishes, is anyone else here?"
Did Shen Xingzhi really invite a whole team of guests?
"What do you think?"
Ren Limeng quickly turned her head and counted the dishes on the table, one, two, three, four... ten, eleven, twelve.
Twelve large dinner plates, just the two of them?
“Chen Xingzhi, you really know how to enjoy yourself!”
Although she told herself to treat Chen Xingzhi normally, Ren Limeng couldn't help but secretly stabbed him when she spoke. She had just ordered takeout thinking of indulging herself, but in the end she only ordered a plate of crayfish and some grilled skewers. Looking at Chen Xingzhi, he was like a small witch meeting a big witch. There was no comparison. They were not on the same level.
As a diligent worker in the Orange Platform's Agricultural Channel, Ren Limeng found it difficult to take this seemingly fresh and elegant private club, which was actually built with money, in her normal state. Xiangcheng was the provincial capital of her hometown, but she had never heard of this place. It was actually ironic that she knew about it and set foot here for the first time thanks to Shen Xingzhi.
Clearly, there were only the two of them in the room, and Chen Xingzhi was only a few feet away from her, but Ren Limeng felt that the distance between them was so far.
This was also their original distance, but the nearly 24-hour recording of the program this week almost made Ren Limeng forget that they were not only guest colleagues and teammates, but the naked reality always existed - their status was not matched.
"sit."
Chen Xingzhi smiled lightly, and gracefully prepared to stand up and go to the table next to him. He raised his hand to pick up a stack of A4 paper books on the tea table and handed it to Ren Limeng.
"Let's eat first. The people from the Star Studio just left. You can take a look at these five marketing plans they have planned."
Just now, Shen Xingzhi seemed to have been sipping tea, but since Ren Limeng came in, he had been paying close attention to her. Naturally, he also noticed that Ren Limeng's gaze was particularly lingering on the dining table. He remembered that during the recording today, she and Xu Chichi had chatted and whispered that she hoped to have a big meal to reward herself tonight.
"No."
Ren Limeng stopped Shen Xingzhi from getting up. She took the booklet and slowly sat down at the tea table. Her eyes fell on the A4 paper in her hand. It was named after the Star Studio. She had watched a group of people eating melons on Douban.
I heard that they are behind crisis public relations and out-of-circle marketing, such as idols in the entertainment industry secretly getting married and having children, preparing to become the best actor, and reversing the reputation of philandering male stars. One plan starts at seven figures.
Shen Xingzhi was willing to invest in the five plans, or perhaps, for him, these were just small amounts of money, and his level of entanglement might not be as great as the 322 yuan luxury takeaway she ordered in the evening.
Why make so many plans? It would be great if she could just give her the money!
While thinking with great sorrow in her heart, Ren Limeng's face was righteous. She gently pushed the marketing plan booklet back in front of Shen Xingzhi, "I don't need it, Shen Xingzhi. I came here to tell you that our cooperation is over."
Her light voice was firm, and her calmness revealed infinite determination. Even when she met Shen Xingzhi's sharp eyes, Ren Limeng's gaze did not dodge at all. She was even distracted with some evil fun. Shen Xingzhi finally put down the teapot in his hand. How could he have so many bad habits at the age of thirty, smoking and pretending to be a middle-aged man? She simply couldn't bear to look at him.
Cutting the Gordian knot will be good for them all.
Chen Xingzhi could be treated so seriously by Guaxing Studio. Even if he was Hanxing's agent, Ren Limeng didn't believe that Chen Xingzhi would be helpless.
Maybe Chen Xingzhi was not sincere in cooperating to hype up the couple from the beginning, and now she couldn't even figure out the recording rules of "Shan Hai", so she really had no intention of dealing with him.
Ren Limeng was very tired. Whether it was the continuous high-intensity training, Xu Chichi's elimination, the myriad possibilities of her life hanging by a thread, or the other unspoken difficulties of this week, all made her exhausted.
The work intensity this week was extremely high. Even though she had expected it, Ren Limeng still felt like an ordinary person who had strayed into the world of fame and fortune, struggling in embarrassment. The glamorous entertainment industry was more difficult to survive in than she had imagined.
It is difficult to feel the same excitement and joy as when I first came to "Shan Hai".
But she will overcome it. With just one night's respite, she will be able to adjust her condition and continue recording. She will not allow herself to miss any opportunity of "Mountains and Seas" until her goal is achieved.
As long as there is the slightest possibility, she would not let herself and Xu Chichi leave in disgrace.
"The cooperation is over? Ren Limeng, is our cooperation so unimportant to you? Have you ever put your heart into it these past few days?"
Chen Xingzhi stared intently at Ren Limeng, who had a calm expression on her face, and said in a cold tone with a hint of gnashing teeth, "How dare you!"
In the past two days, he was like a spinning top that never stopped, busy communicating and coordinating with the program team, busy perfecting the new song and completing the solo stage, busy practicing "Song of Heaven and Earth" and banggu with everyone, but he always remembered their affairs.
Almost every night after practice and recording, he would continue to stay up late to deal with the CP hype. He did so much without her knowing, just to present a more perfect collaboration and live up to their reunion.
But she just said "end" lightly, and Ren Limeng didn't even open it to take a look at the plan. Shen Xingzhi couldn't control his emotions, but in the end he just stared at Ren Limeng, took a deep breath, and continued in a seemingly cold tone, "I don't agree."
“Shen Xingzhi, I’m not asking for your opinion.”
Ren Limeng finally gave up and stopped making things difficult for herself.
Chen Xingzhi always seemed to have a kind of magic. Perhaps it was just because they had known each other too long ago and were too familiar with each other before, so she couldn't completely equate him with the big names in the circle. She spoke to him with a bit of hypocritical politeness and respect. Especially at this moment when it was just the two of them, her words also had a sense of strength that she rarely showed in front of others.
The room suddenly became quiet, and intermittent music could be heard from the window. However, neither Ren Limeng nor Shen Xingzhi had the elegance to listen to the music. Their eyes met, and there was no smile on their faces. Two sharp eyes collided violently in the air, with the same unwavering determination, unyielding and unyielding.
"Ren Limeng, I don't understand what you are thinking."
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