Chapter 36: The old dog's tail wagging so high only shows Wen Qi's despicable character. ...
Zhu Qingzhi, of course, didn't turn around to look at him. She sullenly walked to the coffee table, took out a cold pill, went back, and pressed the record button: [Mr. Ji, what other inside stories about the entertainment industry do you have? Tell me!]
Her affected smile, sarcastic tone, and alluring charm made her appear like a captivating little vixen. But as soon as she finished speaking, the smile vanished completely. She shoved the pills into his hand, glared at him fiercely, and then turned and left, her back view radiating anger.
Wen Qi lowered his eyes, the curve of his lips widening. He swallowed the medicine from the glass of water she had just drunk from, then got up and followed her.
As soon as Zhu Qingzhi opened the car door and got in, Wen Qi got into the passenger seat. She had no problem with Wen Qi, but she had a lot of problems with Ji Cen, so she also gave him a cold look: "What are you doing?"
Wen Qi seemed completely oblivious to her displeasure, and proceeded to fasten his seatbelt: "Give me a ride, I have a meeting at 8:30."
"I'm going home, but it's not on my way."
"Okay, I'll postpone my meeting by half an hour."
"Do you think I'm your driver?!" Zhu Qingzhi was all bark and no bite; she was going to say something harsh, but she had already stepped on the gas and driven out of the yard.
It was still the New Year's Day holiday, and the streets were still filled with a strong New Year's atmosphere in the early morning. People came and went, and cars were busy. A snowfall last night had lowered the temperature a few degrees. The pine and cypress trees on both sides of the street were still covered with unmelted snowflakes, which shimmered in the morning light.
Taking advantage of the moment when overtaking and changing lanes, Zhu Qingzhi glanced at Wen Qi a few times, intentionally or unintentionally. His face was still pale, and the unconscious look of fatigue softened his resolute and thin face.
She pursed her lips and, while waiting at a red light, quietly turned up the car's air conditioning temperature by a few degrees.
Just then, Wen Qi put away his phone and asked casually, "Are you free to have lunch together?"
She casually replied, "No time."
What about at night?
No, not at all.
Wen Qi raised an eyebrow and turned to look at her: "Did you eat a firecracker?"
"No, but soon, we can eat right away." She practically spat out two words at a time, her emotions overflowing, her tone strained, making her seem more vibrant than the distance she had deliberately maintained when they were together before.
Wen Qi knew when to stop and didn't press her any further. He turned his head to look out the window, where the sunlight was soft and misty, adding a touch of languidness. Zhu Qingzhi couldn't help but glance at him again, just in time to catch the smile on his lips that he hadn't had time to hide.
As soon as the car came to a stop in front of the Lu residence, Zhu Qingzhi unbuckled her seatbelt, shoved the keys into Wen Qi's arms, grabbed her bag, and got out of the car without saying a word.
Wen Qi watched her figure disappear into the porch before slowly turning his gaze away. The car key was small, but it had a very cute, large strawberry bear keychain hanging from it.
It was just past 8:30.
As soon as Zhu Qingzhi entered the room, she saw her mother standing by the window watering the flowers, while her father sat on a single sofa next to her reading the newspaper. The living room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
So I rushed her home early this morning, and now things are finally peaceful?
"Dad, Mom, stop pretending, he has another meeting later." Zhu Qingzhi didn't take off her coat and slumped onto the sofa without any regard for her image.
"Oh, oh." Zhu's mother put down the empty transparent kettle, kicked Lu's father, and pointed speechlessly at the newspaper in his hand. Lu's father squinted and chuckled, then threw the newspaper, which he was holding upside down, onto the coffee table.
"Your Uncle Ji and the others just called, you..." Zhu's mother walked over with a smile, smoothing Zhu Qingzhi's unruly hair as she glanced towards the door, "So, there's been some progress?"
Uncle Ji? Who is he to Ji Cen? So he knew everything so quickly?
Although she was prepared to make her identity semi-public, Ji Cen was far too efficient, as it had only been half an hour.
He had just sent eight 60-second voice messages on Gu Qiao's WeChat, apologizing profusely. He was Wen Qi's friend, so of course he was considerate of her. Besides, she didn't have much contact with Ji Cen, so she gave him a way out.
But just because her identity has been revealed doesn't mean there's any further progress between her and Wen Qi, okay?!
"No progress." Zhu Qingzhi replied listlessly, looking around, and then asked, "Where's my brother? Did he go to the company too?"
"How could that be?" Zhu's mother was clearly not paying attention to her; her eyes were fixed on the door.
Zhu Qingzhi sighed helplessly and looked to Lu's father for help. Lu's father didn't get her message either, and he also looked out the door with his hands behind his back.
Left with no other choice, she looked over and was shocked to find that the two ancestral spirits had met again.
Lu Yao must have just come back from outside. He was leaning lazily against the car door, one hand on it. As if he noticed her gaze, he turned his head and waved to her.
Does this mean she should go there? Zhu Qingzhi was a little unsure.
It was freezing cold, and she wasn't very willing to go out until Wen Qi, who had been facing away, turned around. Only then did she reluctantly walk out, saying, "What's wrong?"
"You little ingrate, how dare you talk to your brother like that?" Lu Yao took advantage of her momentary lapse in attention and pinched her face quickly and accurately. Then, he casually put his hands back in his pockets, his tone turning cold as if his expression had changed. "What are you doing here? Today isn't a day off." He was speaking to Wen Qi.
Zhu Qingzhi didn't try to get involved in their affairs. She crossed her arms, buried half her face in her collar, and only revealed a pair of eyes that were full of "speechlessness".
Compared to Lu Yao's bad temper, Wen Qi seemed much better-tempered. "Mr. Lu, could you give me a ride?"
Lu Yao had already noticed the large strawberry bear in Wen Qi's hand and immediately guessed that he had come with Zhu Qingzhi.
Oh, is he short of a car or a driver? Anyway, all he can see is that Wen Qi is immoral.
He slammed the car door shut: "No one is arranging your commute, Mr. Wen, should we consider changing your assistant?" He took a long stride and stood in front of Zhu Qingzhi, in a protective gesture. "We can't always have my sister working part-time as your driver."
......
Zhu Qingzhi glanced at him sideways and began her indiscriminate attack: "Don't you go to work either?"
Lu Yao raised his left eyebrow, dangling the car keys in front of her with his fingertip: "Go ahead, what, are you going to be my driver for a day?"
"No." Zhu Qingzhi pushed the car keys back without even thinking.
The sunlight was a little better than in the early morning, but compared to the biting cold wind, it was at best like a high-wattage light bulb.
Wen Qi was still dressed in thin clothes, a formal shirt and suit, with a dark gray cashmere overcoat that didn't seem to offer much protection from the wind. He was looking down slightly, replying to messages on his phone, the screen illuminating his slightly pale profile.
If you say he's a diligent worker, he can easily postpone meetings. If you say he's not diligent, his attitude is frighteningly upright.
But does this person completely disregard their own health? They're not fully recovered yet, and they're standing in a windy spot—are they trying to collapse again?
A strange sense of unease rose within her, and Zhu Qingzhi's tone remained unpleasant: "Aren't you leaving yet? Don't you have a meeting at nine?"
Wen Qi had no intention of leaving in the first place. How could he leave without even saying goodbye after arriving at his parents-in-law's house?
Yesterday's troubles started because of him. Although they have been resolved, he still owes the Lu family an explanation, both morally and logically. So when he heard that Zhu Qingzhi was coming back this morning, he decided to come with her. However, seeing her sullen expression, he temporarily concealed this intention.
"No rush, I've already had Xiao Ao handle it." He had just glanced at the reports from various departments that Xiao Ao had sent, and there was nothing urgent, so he wasn't in a hurry to go back. "Let's go inside, it's chilly outside."
He put away his phone, completely ignoring Lu Yao standing to the side, and naturally pulled her arm, leading her home.
Zhu Qingzhi didn't want to recall what happened after that.
When the two men started arguing, she had no room to maneuver. She was polite and considerate on the surface, but in reality, she was throwing cold knives at each other, and every sentence she uttered could be twisted three times to stab the other in the sore spot.
Even though the room was kept at a constant temperature, she held the scalding hot water glass and could still taste a chilly, drafty feeling. This silent battle finally ended with a phone call from Lian Shang urging Lu Yao to return to the company to handle work.
The result was obvious: given that the Lu and Wen buildings were located in adjacent blocks, she, Zhu Qingzhi, was naturally "promoted" to become the part-time driver for the two presidents.
But she wasn't without temper either. She simply dumped the two of them at an intersection between two buildings, and before the car had even come to a complete stop, she rudely ordered them to get out: "Right here, get out."
But out of some inexplicable reluctance, she threw her only scarf to Wen Qi.
*
Zhu Qingzhi was not lying; when she arrived at Chaoxing, Dani was already waiting for her in the parking lot.
"What happened at FTYL yesterday has been exposed, and we are currently in the wrong in terms of public opinion."
...No, is she having bad luck with Tai Sui this year?
I definitely need to visit Xiangshan Temple another day!
Dani dragged her directly to Yang Qing's office. Inside, Yang Qing sat behind his desk, his hands covering his face, radiating a suffocating, powerless weariness.
Dani was clearly used to this atmosphere. She walked straight over, turned the computer screen around, and showed it to Zhu Qingzhi: "The video is short, 23 seconds long, and it was filmed in Studio One."
The overall image is blurry, accompanied by a continuous rustling sound of fabric rubbing together, and there is always an irregular shadow obscuring the upper left corner, making it a very typical voyeuristic perspective.
The video content is exactly the conversation that Dawn and Xiao Wenfeng asked Zhu Qingzhi to film first, cleverly skipping the sentence "Xiao Tang's side temporarily added a set of shots".
Based solely on this censored video, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that "Zhu Qingzhi and Dawn conspired to act arrogantly and outmaneuvered Xiao Tang."
The blog post was published by a small, unregistered account that had been registered for less than 30 days. Along with the video, it also included a short essay of about 800 words.
First, the video content is described in an exaggerated way, then the details of the incident are blurred, and details such as "creating chaos in the dressing room", "confrontation in the photography studio" and "Zhu Qingzhi and Xiao Tang bumping into each other in the corridor" are carefully interspersed.
Ultimately, the theme is elevated to the noble cause of "standing up for the wronged," and the entire piece focuses on igniting emotions, making it a very competent lyrical essay.
Zhu Qingzhi nodded and began to express her untimely empathy: "How much is a thousand words of this kind of writing worth?"
"..." Dani took a breath, "Do you know that too much negative news has a very bad impact on an actor's career?" Finally, she couldn't help but hit Zhu Qingzhi on the head, "Besides, you've already had too much going on in the past month!"
Yang Qing raised his head at the right moment, revealing two deep finger marks on the bridge of his nose: "Calm down, don't rush, this matter is easy to handle."
This state perfectly illustrates what it means to be alive but barely alive.
Zhu Qingzhi forced a smile, revealing an awkward yet respectable one: "Director Yang, I'm sorry."
She truly didn't expect that after signing with Chaoxing, before she could even significantly boost the company's brand awareness, she would already be showering the public relations department with gifts.
Yang Qing didn't straighten the computer screen, but got up and picked up the mouse to operate it: "FTYL said they would investigate, but there has been no response yet." Then he opened the information he found: "This account was purchased from a scalper, and the IP address is in Beijing."
At this moment, Dani suddenly stepped forward and held her phone between the two of them: "Director Yang, that person just posted another video."
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Author's Note: Qingzhi [splitting]: [eye roll][splitting][melted][chin resting on hand]
Wen Qi [splitting]: [Let me see][shy][shrug][kiss]
Wen Qi [rolled his eyes]: [eye roll][eye roll][eye roll][eye roll]
Hey hey! Have a great weekend! [starry eyes][starry eyes][starry eyes]
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