Chapter 9 "I'll be waiting for you in the car"
Wen Jia hurriedly hung up the phone, handed it to Yu Kaiqing for safekeeping, and returned to the curtain, straightening her slightly disheveled skirt: "Everyone, let's continue."
The staff members were mostly insiders in the industry, and they quickly became familiar with each other. Having interacted with celebrities a lot, they weren't surprised by Wen Jia's trending topic. But it's human nature to love gossip, so the staff members naturally saw the trending topic on Weibo and couldn't suppress their gossipy hearts.
"Teacher Wen, is that thing trending on social media... true or false?" Photographer Mia was adjusting the camera settings when she looked up and asked this question.
Wen Jia knew she couldn't avoid the topic, so her reaction wasn't too awkward. She simply replied, "It's fake, it's fake," and then smiled casually, "If you hear anyone discussing this, please help me debunk the rumor."
"Who is that guy? Is he really that handsome?"
Wen Jia answered selectively, her tone light: "Just some investors from Yetu, someone I met at a gathering, not very familiar with them."
Mia narrowed her eyes and glanced sideways at Wen Jia, a gossipy look in her eyes: "You're already in the car and you still say you're not very familiar with her, are you trying to avoid suspicion? There's no need for that in front of us."
Wen Jia pursed her lips and playfully patted her lightly: "You're such a gossip."
When Mia saw Wenjia's hand coming towards her, she shrank her shoulders slightly and returned to the question from before: "Am I handsome too?"
Wen Jia knew she couldn't escape this problem no matter what, so she very seriously tried to recall Xu Shaoting's face in her mind: his brow bone, nose bridge, eyes, lips, and face shape.
"handsome."
This time, it wasn't just Mia who started making a fuss; all the staff members who were pretending not to care but were actually listening intently couldn't hold back anymore.
Wen Jia, fearing it would affect the schedule, could only appease them first: "Alright everyone, let's get back to work, and I'll satisfy your gossip cravings after we're done."
Only then did everyone let her go.
After everyone tidied up and came back to their senses, they prepared to start filming. Dong Yiwen came over to touch up Wen Jia's makeup, which gave her a perfect opportunity to gossip: "So what were you laughing at when you were doing my makeup? Turns out I wasn't wrong, I just guessed the wrong person. I thought it was President Zhou."
Wen Jia glanced around to make sure no one was there before speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear, pretending to threaten her: "What silly laughter, what President Zhou, don't believe the rumors, don't spread the rumors. If this gets out, I'll be the first to question you."
Dong Yiwen shrugged and pursed her lips, remaining silent.
The subsequent filming went exceptionally smoothly, and was completed in less than two hours.
Wen Jia took off her elaborate formal dress and changed into the casual clothes she had worn when she arrived. She went into the dressing room to remove her makeup, and with the exaggerated makeup gone, her face looked even more beautiful.
The driver arrived, and after greeting the staff, Wen Jia left the studio. The two of them got into the van one after the other.
Wen Jia, hugging a cushion, lay on her side and reached out to Yu Kaiqing: "Give me your phone, I want to check the trending topics."
Two or three hours later, the trending topic still had a red and white "Explosive" sign next to it, and its popularity showed no signs of waning, firmly holding the top spot on the entertainment list.
The discussion on Weibo's public platform even increased due to Wen Jia's personal blog post refuting the rumors.
The clarification post, aside from the topic, consisted of only eight words.
"#WenJia'sRelationshipExposed# It's not a romantic relationship, just friends"
As a result, netizens engaged in heated discussions, each holding their own opinions, and the momentum of gossiping was so strong that Wen Jia's fans' attempts to control the comments were unfortunately squeezed to below the fifth level.
"I knew they'd do this kind of PR. Friendships are truly a magic bullet. [Eating popcorn]"
"Got it, friend = potential boyfriend in the evaluation period."
"I suggest you choose a more understated car next time; the photos of this car are much more convincing than any statement you make."
These comments came from both haters and casual observers. Haters naturally wanted to see Wen Jia suffer negative consequences as a result. However, most casual observers left comments with the mindset of enjoying the drama. Some comments were rationally reasoned with by Wen Jia's fans, while several other comments had clearly been overrun, with the two sides tearing each other apart and hurling insults for dozens of floors without reaching a conclusion or determining a winner.
Aside from these, there are also rational onlookers:
"Honestly, there was no physical contact between the two in the paparazzi photos. If they were really dating, there would definitely be physical contact. Maybe they were just passing by?"
"Don't confirm the relationship yet. If it's true, the team will probably just let it cool down and won't come out to deny it so quickly."
"If they were really together, the paparazzi would have taken more solid evidence by now. One photo of them getting into a car doesn't prove anything."
Wen Jia was already used to this severe polarization. The comments from netizens were like a swarm of wild bees, sometimes gathering and sometimes dispersing, sometimes buzzing, accompanied by both stinging and sweetness.
Wen Jia couldn't tell whether she would be met with pain or sweetness, so she could only hide.
This is just a microcosm of her life.
Moreover, most of these comments are just about the matter at hand and do not escalate to Wen Jia personally. Wen Jia has experienced even more serious, unbearable, and disgusting cyberbullying than this, so these comments are just passing clouds to her now.
Wen Jia closed her Weibo account and called Zhang Linzhi: "Sister, what did the PR team say?"
Zhang Linzhi said frankly, "We haven't reached a conclusion yet. The intention is not to remove it. It's already at the top of the trending searches, so there's no point in removing it. Besides, even if we remove it, it would be too obvious. In the end, netizens might use the removal of the trending search to make a fuss, saying things like 'cover up' or 'blah blah blah.' It's time-consuming, laborious, and expensive, and it won't please anyone. After all, it's not a negative news story. A clarification would be enough. What do you think?"
After her analysis, Zhang Linzhi continued, "Besides, it's not all bad..."
Wen Jia's heart tightened. Judging from her tone, she was clearly thinking the same thing as her. So, both of them said in unison, "At least it's generating buzz."
Zhang Linzhi was clearly stunned, and after a couple of seconds of silence, she spoke: "You think so too?"
"Yes, you have to think positively about everything. If you think too negatively, you'll keep all your anger inside and only make yourself suffer."
Zhang Linzhi smiled with satisfaction.
Before making the call, Wen Jia felt like she was carrying a mountain of public opinion on her mind, but after finishing the call, she felt much more relaxed.
When you feel relaxed, you tend to overthink. My mind suddenly jumped back to the phone call I had just had with Xu Shaoting, and I abruptly sat up from the back of my chair.
Yu Kaiqing, sitting to the side, was startled: "What did you think of? Why are you so jumpy?" She thought Wen Jia was still upset about the trending topic.
"Did you take Mr. Xu's clothes to the dry cleaners?"
Yu Kaiqing took two seconds to react, then helplessly slapped her forehead, looking very remorseful, "Oh... I forgot."
She turned around and took a cardboard bag from the last row of seats, confidently proving herself: "I remembered when I left home. Look, I put it in the car, planning to go out and find a dry cleaner while you're filming..." As she spoke, she waved the bag in front of Wen Jia.
Wen Jia grabbed her hand: "Don't shake it, I have a headache." Then she thought it wasn't a big deal and was lenient with her. "Go find a dry cleaner later, Chairman Xu was just urging me to come."
"Is Chairman Xu urging you?"
Wen Jia nodded.
"Just for a suit?"
Wen Jia nodded again.
Yu Kaiqing joked, "Chairman Xu doesn't seem like the type to rush people just for a piece of clothing."
Now it was Wen Jia's turn to be at a loss for words. She shrugged and said, "I don't know either. I guess they were in a hurry to put it on."
Wen Jia dared to say it, and Yu Kaiqing didn't dare to believe it either. Although they had only met a few times, Yu Kaiqing felt that the phrase "in a hurry to wear" should never be used to describe Xu Shaoting.
Sensing something was amiss, she leaned closer to Wen Jia: "Tell me, what else did Chairman Xu say to you?"
Wen Jia sighed helplessly, "I didn't really say anything, just asked when I was going to return the suit." She pushed Yu Kaiqing away from her, "Why are you all so gossipy? Do you want to see me dating Chairman Xu?"
Seeing that she had fallen into her trap, Yu Kaiqing exclaimed, "Which word did I say that you were dating Chairman Xu?"
Wen Jia realized what was happening, glanced at her lightly, and, too lazy to pay any more attention to her, tossed her phone aside and went to catch up on sleep during the ride.
The driver drove very steadily, and forty minutes later the van slowly drove into the villa complex.
When they reached the corner, Yu Kaiqing gently nudged Wen Jia to wake her up, but Wen Jia was too tired and smacked her lips a couple of times in a daze, ignoring her and not waking up.
The van had come to a complete stop, but not in front of the villa's courtyard, because a white Porsche had already taken up the space in front of the villa's courtyard.
The driver didn't recognize whose car it was and complained in a somewhat rude tone, "Who is it? So rude, parking their car in front of someone's house?" He kept honking the horn as he spoke.
Wen Jia found the horn noise too noisy and lost all desire to sleep, so she sat up abruptly: "What's wrong?"
"Someone's car is blocking the way."
Looking through the windshield, Wen Jia couldn't see the license plate number because the car's chassis was too low, but the car looked very familiar.
The next second, the Porsche door opened, and the man calmly got out of the car.
Zhou Jingcheng was still wearing a suit, but without a tie. His collar was loosely open, losing its tightness, and he looked more approachable and younger than usual.
Zhou Jingcheng turned around and walked straight towards Wen Jia's nanny van, his purpose was very clear.
He walked to the car and knocked on the window.
Wen Jia knew perfectly well why Zhou Jingcheng had come looking for her. She had lied to him that night, and now she was struggling with how to explain it to him.
She snapped out of her daze and looked at Zhou Jingcheng through the car window with the privacy film on. He looked normal and there was nothing unusual about him.
Wen Jia didn't open the car door, but rolled down the window and stiffly called out to him, "President Zhou."
Zhou Jingcheng gave a faint "hmm," then asked her, "Do you have a schedule this morning?"
Wen Jia answered truthfully: "To shoot an advertisement."
Zhou Jingcheng glanced into the nanny van, his expression slightly displeased, and ordered her, "I have something to tell you. It's not convenient here, so come to my car."
Although the sun was shining outside, the temperature did not increase at all. The autumn wind came at a very inopportune time, blowing into the car through the window, and Wen Jia suddenly felt goosebumps.
Wen Jia didn't know what Zhou Jingcheng was planning, but she had experienced his methods firsthand. Although he hadn't used them on her, she had witnessed them firsthand.
She hesitated for a moment, then didn't directly refuse: "They'll take pictures..."
“I’ve sent her away,” Zhou Jingcheng’s displeasure became even more apparent. He placed one hand on the car window sill and slapped it twice, giving her no room to maneuver. “I’ll wait for you in the car.”
A note from the author:
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