Chapter 32: Rumors of an affair between the CEO of the Wen Group and the daughter of the Lu family are exposed.
When Wen Qi drove into the Xisha parking lot, Yang Luo was still eating at the restaurant. After receiving the message from the front desk, he quickly ate a couple of bites and went out to greet him.
The entertainment venues are most active when the moon is high in the sky, so Xisha is not very lively at noon, with only six private rooms open for business.
Yang Luo saw Wen Qi from afar, wearing only a thin shirt in the cold wind, with his suit jacket in his hand. His face was as cold as ice, making it hard to tell whether it was the weather that was colder or he himself was colder.
As he approached, Wen Qi tossed his suit jacket into Yang Luo's hands, looking as if he didn't want to touch it again. Without pausing, he entered the revolving door, uttering the two words, "Throw it away." It was quite a statement.
Yang Luo was taken aback for a moment before noticing a faint lipstick mark on his suit jacket. Then, a woman with a voluptuous figure and pretty face came into view. The woman seemed to be in a good mood, and he could hear her humming a cheerful song as she passed by.
The suit jacket still carried a faint scent of rose perfume, somewhat similar to the perfume worn by women. So, why was the CEO so grumpy? Was he being framed?
Yang Luo shrugged, took out her car keys from her coat, glanced at them, and paused involuntarily for a moment. But she didn't dwell on it and tossed the keys and coat to the receptionist before entering the office.
Yang Luo really had no idea what Wen Qi was inspecting at noon, since he had never seen him care about the management of Xisha.
She braced herself and recounted the recent months' revenue, personnel changes, and internal restructuring plans, spending over twenty minutes before finally earning Wen Qi's comment: "The business is doing well."
Can we get a raise?
"Would you mind changing bosses?"
"What?! The business was doing well, and you still got fired? Mr. Wen, you can't joke like that!" Yang Luo steadied himself: "What are you saying, Mr. Wen?"
Wen Qi flipped through the documents without even lifting his eyelids: "Has Mr. Zhao from Mingyuan been coming here frequently lately?"
Zhao Zhixun, the youngest son of Chairman Zhao of Zhao's Entertainment, is 28 years old and has always been known for his womanizing ways.
He used to have a regular private room in Xisha, but two years ago he was too outrageous and got into trouble in the entertainment industry. His father sent him abroad to gain experience, and he hasn't come back since.
He returned to China in the second half of last year, and Chairman Zhao arranged a sinecure for him at Mingyuan, a subsidiary of Zhao's Entertainment. He kept quiet for a month or so, but ultimately proved to be a disappointment, and Chairman Zhao never paid him any attention again.
“I’ve been coming here often, and I’m currently staying at V9.” Yang Luo suddenly realized, could it be that Wen Qi doubted her sincerity because she had been reporting to him less often lately?
"Keep an eye on things and report to me immediately if anything happens." Wen Qi closed the folder, as if he had guessed her thoughts. "I just asked casually, don't overthink it."
Is this something you can just casually ask?! Yang Luo breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "Young Master Zhao brings different young celebrities over every few days. I'll have someone keep an eye on them and report to you daily."
Wen Qi nodded, glanced at the time; it was almost one o'clock.
He sent Xiao Ao a message saying, "Meeting at 2 PM," and prepared to return to the Wen family. As he stood up, he suddenly asked, "You didn't leak out about Zhu Qingzhi's visit to Xisha last time, did you?"
"Please rest assured, Mr. Wen, I have already given the instructions."
Yang Luo wasn't stupid. Even when she saw Wen Qi and Zhu Qingzhi hugging and cuddling in front of the door, she could pretend not to see it. Of course, she knew very well what she should and shouldn't say.
Actually, she had her own doubts. Because of Mr. Zhao's visits, the number of paparazzi in Xisha was increasing, all eager to get the latest entertainment news. Mr. Wen couldn't possibly be unaware of this.
However, the fact that he could still flirt with Zhu Qingzhi outside the door and then quickly buy out the news to prevent public opinion from escalating and affecting Zhu Qingzhi's reputation shows that Zhu Qingzhi holds a certain weight in President Wen's heart.
That's why she made everyone in Xisha keep quiet about Zhu Qingzhi's appearance, for fear of incurring bad luck.
Thinking of this, Yang Luo reminded him, "Just a few days ago, Boss Zhao broke some tabloid news; there are quite a few paparazzi around in Xisha."
“I’m here on business, there’s no need to avoid people.” Wen Qi opened the door and walked out, with Yang Luo following closely behind.
The car he drove over was already waiting in the lobby; it was a tan Mercedes-AMG coupe, but it wasn't Wen Qi's car.
In fact, Yang Luo had already sensed something was wrong when he took out the car keys. The car was clearly driven by a woman, because there was a cute Disney female star clipped to the rearview mirror.
Wen Qi got into the car but didn't start it for a long time. Yang Luo's heart was in his throat, neither feeling relieved nor anxious. Suddenly, he rolled down the car window: "Has that jacket been dealt with yet?"
"I've already handed it over to the front desk; I'll handle it myself in a bit."
"I was in the parking lot just now, I'm not sure if I was photographed."
Yang Luo immediately took out his phone: "I'll communicate with you now."
Then a series of Weibo push notifications popped up.
[The true identity of the Lu family's heiress revealed]
[The Wen Group CEO and his wife express their love sweetly]
[Lu Yizhao, an 18th-tier female celebrity in the entertainment industry, is actually...]
Yang Luo's heart sank completely. She blinked awkwardly and showed Wen Qi her phone screen: "Mr. Wen, it seems it's too late..."
Her smile was pitiful; she was genuinely afraid that Wen Qi would fire her.
*
When Zhu Qingzhi saw the Weibo post, she was in the dressing room getting her hair and makeup done. She held her phone and zoomed in and out of the pictures in the post several times.
Lu Yizhao's lips brushed against Wen Qi's chest, and in that single second, Zhu Qingzhi had already imagined a whole drama unfolding.
The public opinion spread quickly, and in less than 20 minutes the photos had spread all over the internet, creating a fantastical connection with the previously censored news screenshot of "[Wen's CEO's Late Night Rendezvous with a Beauty]", generating more than ten related entries.
Zhu Qingzhi casually clicked on the homepage of a marketing account, and the latest Weibo post was a lengthy analysis of all of Lu Yizhao's deeds and life trajectory since his debut. High-end residences, frequenting high-end venues, and the patronage of luxury goods, etc.
In conclusion: [Lu Yizhao's true identity is most likely the mysterious heiress of the Lu family.]
Is this for real? You can draw that conclusion from just these facts? It would be better to write something like, "Her surname is Lu, and she was the woman involved in Wen Qi's two post-marriage scandals, therefore she is the daughter of the Lu family." That would be concise, clear, and reasonable.
The stylist finished curling her sideburns and completed the look. He also saw the message on her phone and laughed, "President Wen isn't in the entertainment industry, but she's quite famous, huh?"
“Yes, yes,” Zhu Qingzhi agreed half-heartedly.
As she exited the marketing account's homepage, she accidentally clicked a like, which startled her so much that she sat bolt upright and immediately canceled it. Zhu Qingzhi was on the verge of tears: "Just one second, only one second! It shouldn't have any impact, right?"
"It's okay, I'll vouch for you!" The stylist patted his chest when he saw that she was so scared she looked like a meme. "Let's change clothes."
As it turns out, fate never lets anyone off the hook. And there really are many spectators in life.
She changed her clothes and put on jewelry, and in less than five minutes, "Zhu Qingzhi accidentally liked" quickly became a new hashtag and appeared on the trending searches.
Dani, who acts as the real-time monitor of public opinion, has already rushed into the dressing room: "Next time you gossip, can you use only one finger!"
Zhu Qingzhi clenched her fists and raised them to her chest, deeply saddened: "There won't be a next time! I won't gossip anymore!"
The stylist knew that the team was now in an emergency public relations phase, so he didn't linger and left the room.
Dani stepped forward and her first question was unexpected: "Is this how marriages between wealthy families are? If he really cheated, could the Lu family tolerate it?"
...As an agent, this is how you react to gossip? Has she completely abandoned her professional ethics?!
Zhu Qingzhi gave her a complicated look, then took on the responsibility of awakening Dani's conscience: "What do we say now? Isn't playing dead the best way?"
“You and she are both from Chaoxing Entertainment. Logically speaking, when an artist under your management has a scandal, diverting attention and reducing public interest is a form of emergency public relations,” Dani said, getting into the swing of things. “But Director Yang just spoke to me on the phone. This is strange, so let’s hold off for now.”
"Lu Yizhao's reputation is negligible. Even if Wen Qi is a well-known figure in the business world, I don't believe that no one is pulling the strings behind the scenes to make things like this."
"But that's your problem too! Gossip is fine, but why did you like it?! Otherwise, who can make a fuss about you? You should be happy that no one is criticizing you yet."
The terrifying professional ethics have returned. A volcanic eruption is never temporary, so getting out of there is the best course of action. Zhu Qingzhi quickly stood up: "Alright, I'll continue filming. We can't delay the schedule."
As she stepped outside, she ran into Xiao Tang, who was changing clothes in the dressing room. Xiao Tang had just been lectured by Huang Shan and didn't dare to approach Zhu Qingzhi to cause trouble, but that didn't stop her from speaking with her eyes.
Zhu Qingzhi was sometimes too lazy to argue, but she wasn't exactly a pushover either. She slightly raised her chin, somewhat curiously asking, "What are you looking at? Didn't Moli get you any jewelry?"
Zhu Qingzhi's "Eternity" diamond necklace features seven flawless D-color pear-shaped diamonds totaling 150 carats, surrounded by 73.42 carats of smaller diamonds. It was specially designed to celebrate LR's 150th anniversary and is worth over 100 million yuan.
Xiao Tang wore Moli's latest colored gemstone necklace, surrounded by small diamonds, and it wasn't very large. Priced under a million, it could only be considered mid-range jewelry from Moli.
Since Xiao Tang wants to compare herself to her in everything, then let them compare.
Xiao Tang's face slumped, and Huang Shan behind her quickly grabbed her arm to calm her down. Dani also nudged Zhu Qingzhi's back, indicating that they should stop now and there was no need to cause any more trouble.
Zhu Qingzhi smiled freely and brightly, while Xiao Tang smiled with forced resentment. Their eyes met again, and the two took steps in unison. As they passed each other, Zhu Qingzhi whispered, "Goodbye."
She ignored Xiao Tang's expression, which had become as cold as an ice pool.
In a game between two sides, the joy of the victor is always built on the pain of the loser, and she never hesitates to rub salt into other people's wounds.
The provocations have continued time and again. If you've chosen to win, you should win decisively. As for the rest, we'll deal with that when others turn the tables.
After the magazine shoot, it was nearly 7 p.m., and with the subsequent communication and revisions of the final photos and interview transcripts, Zhu Qingzhi didn't leave FTYL until after 8 p.m.
The news about her accidentally liking a post has been removed from the trending topics, but speculation about Lu Yizhao's identity continues to intensify. The topic of "[Rumors of a marriage alliance between the Lu and Lu families]" has once again topped the trending topics.
It's strange. Given the strength of the Wen and Lu families, they shouldn't be unable to suppress even this little bit of news, let alone offer no explanation.
Zhu Qingzhi then opened WeChat. There was a small red dot next to Gu Qiao's profile picture. After comforting her for a few minutes, she switched to another app and subconsciously opened Wen Qi's chat window.
Wen Qi hadn't sent any message to explain, and the chat history remained stuck at noon today. Her eyes darkened; she wasn't in a good mood.
Zhu Qingzhi's entry into the entertainment industry was conditional on not affecting the family business, but now that the topic of the Lu family's daughter has been brought up again, even if it's not because of her, it can't be completely ignored.
The nanny van was parked at the elevator entrance. As Zhu Qingzhi was about to get in, a car next to her started up, its headlights shining on her. She glanced at it subconsciously.
It's her AMG.
She paused as she got into the car, a message popping up on WeChat: 【Get to Lu's immediately.】
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Author's note: Kiyoshi [clasped hands]: Just so-so, third in the world.
Wen Qi [clasped hands in prayer]: ...
Yang Luo [transformed]: I really don't want to do this anymore.
Xiao Tang [cracked]: There's something wrong with him.
Lu Yizhao [heart eyes]: Handsome guy~
Author [Sunglasses]: My daughter!
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