Chapter 60 Love Arises Like a Vines | There's No Difference Between a Brother and His Lover. ...
Five minutes before the government meeting was to begin, all parties in the meeting room were making final preparations.
Wen Qi finally had a moment to return the fountain pen that belonged to Gu Huaichuan, which he had taken from a government meeting earlier.
Gu Huaichuan raised his eyes, glanced at him indifferently, and did not express any opinion, but judging from his expression, he must have cursed him quite rudely.
Wen Qi didn't care. As long as Gu Huaichuan didn't speak, he could assume that Gu Huaichuan had no objection.
Ji Ran, who had watched the whole thing, idly joked, "You wouldn't admit it before, but today the sun rose in the west. Has President Wen had a change of heart? Or did something good happen?"
Wen Qi smiled and gave a rare "hmm," a single syllable, but it was clear that he was in a good mood, or rather, very good.
"Others steal things casually, and you steal pens casually?" Ji Ran touched his nose and smiled mischievously, "It's really funny to talk about."
Gu Huaichuan tested the pen to confirm it was his before putting it down: "Transfer the usage fee to my card. 1 million."
“You’re even more ruthless, trying to steal money on the side?” Ji Ran blurted out.
Almost simultaneously, however, Wen Qi responded with an "okay" and actually picked up her phone to transfer the money. When Gu Huaichuan's phone screen on the table displayed the payment notification, Ji Ran was truly silent.
He held his own hand between his fingers, weighed it in his hand, and sighed half-jokingly, "Next time there's something like this, you guys are the ones who get ripped off... No, can you let me know in advance if there's something like this? Hey, why don't you hold mine now, and I can even give you a discount."
Wen Qi ignored him, took out a brand new fountain pen from the inside left pocket of his suit, and placed it on the table. The design details were exquisite, unlike Wen Qi's minimalist style; it was clearly a gift from a girl.
There was no other girl besides Zhu Qingzhi.
"Oh. So it wasn't a change of heart, Mr. Wen was just being picky." Ji Ran reached out to take a look, but before she could touch it, Wen Qi pushed it back.
With Gu Qiao, the "number one undercover agent," by his side, Gu Huaichuan understood perfectly and consciously acted as a voice-over prompt: "I remember Qingzhi also carved words, right?"
"Hmm." Wen Qi shook his pen; there was indeed a line of small writing on the platinum pen clip, but it wasn't very clear. However, judging from his smug expression, it would be hard to believe it wasn't a cheesy love confession.
At that moment, Ji Ran finally noticed Lu Yao's low mood. His personality was such that he loved watching the drama unfold, so he naturally wouldn't let this opportunity pass: "Why isn't President Lu saying anything today?"
Lu Yao glared at me, clearly saying, "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."
Gu Huaichuan addressed the matter directly, helping to interpret the deeper meaning in his eyes: "Try to understand, President Lu's brother's identity is in jeopardy, and he's adapting to his new role."
"Oh." Ji Ran's thoughtful gaze lingered on Lu Yao for a moment before returning to Wen Qi. Then, she lowered her eyes and said seriously, "There really isn't much difference between a biological brother and a romantic brother."
It must be admitted that Ji Ran's summary is sometimes frighteningly accurate; even Gu Huaichuan couldn't help but laugh this time.
Lu Yao's expression was unreadable, mostly showing speechlessness and annoyance, but Gu Huaichuan sensed something else. He straightened his suit cuffs, leaned back in his chair, and spoke softly, whether as an explanation or a joke, it was hard to tell: "I'm not a siscon."
Lu Yao didn't respond. His gaze swept over the pen in Wen Qi's hand, and he chuckled, but still showed no intention of speaking.
Ji Ran laughed and pretended to open her phone: "You two, stop fighting. Do you want to see our past embarrassing moments?" Then, her eyes fell on the projected PPT, and her tone became even more smug. "Or you can give me this project? I promise to delete it on the spot, with no backups."
Lu Yao didn't even look up, and simply uttered two words: "Dream on."
Wen Qi was slightly more polite, slowly raising her wrist to check the time, and then glancing at him with a smile: "It's only three o'clock."
“He said you’re daydreaming,” Gu Huaichuan suddenly added.
Ji Ran couldn't hold back any longer and nudged Gu Huaichuan with her elbow: "Thank you, but I understand what you're saying, so I don't need simultaneous interpretation."
*
After lunch, Zhu Qingzhi rushed to LR to shoot New Year's materials. Originally, due to her schedule, the shoot was scheduled for after the New Year, but it was temporarily changed to this afternoon after coordination by the studio.
Dani burst in, her makeup halfway done.
As soon as she entered the room, she took out a stack of documents from her bag and piled them on the dressing table in front of Zhu Qingzhi: "I just finished sorting out my recent work. Since you're free anyway, let's go over the work from the past few days together."
Zhu Qingzhi watched as Dani unfolded the crumpled note, and her last hope of taking a nap was completely shattered.
"At 3 PM, Katrina will make an official announcement across all platforms, and FTYL magazine will be available for pre-order at the same time." She glanced at the time, "Remember to retweet this in five minutes."
Dani nodded her chin, signaling her to act immediately, and then continued with the schedule, "Second, go to Chaoxing tomorrow afternoon to shoot the New Year poster. Your solo cover was already shot in Nancheng, so tomorrow you only need to take a group photo. Just go there at 2 pm."
"Third, the brand gave us six invitations for the Katrina launch event the day after tomorrow afternoon. Do you think we need to coordinate something else?"
"Finally, the selection of the studio's New Year gift boxes has been confirmed. The fan club has prepared an extra 1,000 boxes at your request. You decide whether to give them away randomly or distribute them through the fan club."
"Invitations don't seem necessary, so there's no rush. But as for gifts, a raffle would be better; I'll think about the rules later."
As Zhu Qingzhi spoke, she opened Weibo and habitually browsed the super topic first. She had just casually replied to a fan's Weibo post when Dani tapped her forehead.
"Let's get down to business first," Dani said helplessly. "We can talk about the card-flipping thing later."
"Okay, don't be nervous." She winked at Dani, but obediently clicked on Katrina's official Weibo page.
It's exactly three o'clock.
Katrina's official Weibo account announced at the top of the hour: 【Welcome @祝清枝, officially joining Katrina as their global brand ambassador, effective immediately. Congratulations on gracing the cover of FTYL's March issue! New snow quietly blooms on the branches.】
FTYL's official Weibo account also launched pre-sales for the March issue of the magazine: 【#FTYLMarchIssue# After the snow, the branches stand alone. @ZhuQingzhi, wearing @Katrina's New Year selection, explores the mysteries of freedom.】
Kiyoshi Tsui reposted on time: 【Looking forward to creating more wonderful moments with @Katrina in the future, and also very happy to grace the cover of @FTYL in my new role, joining us for our spring rendezvous.】
Almost the instant the message was successfully sent, the number of comments and likes began to increase rapidly, and the comments section was flooded with blessings and cheers from fans.
"Done." Zhu Qingzhi waved her phone, her smile seemingly infected by the joy of her fans in the comments section, becoming even brighter and more radiant.
After my hair and makeup were done, LR's new jewelry collection was also pushed to me.
"Congratulations, Qingzhi, on securing the Katrina brand ambassadorship," Ella, LR's PR director, congratulated her with a smile, then opened the three jewelry boxes on the cart one by one. "These are new jewelry pieces from TRUE LOVE that haven't been released yet. Would you like to pick one today?"
The "First Cherry Blossom," "Entwined Branches," and "Eternal Bond" shimmered and sparkled under the lights, creating a unique and vibrant effect.
Zhu Qingzhi immediately took a liking to "entwined branches".
A platinum chain intertwines, set with several colorless diamonds, and delicately adorned with a gradient pink diamond. Floral branches entwine, dewdrops adorn, exuding unrestrained passion.
“The design inspiration for this set is that love is like a vine, tender and intertwined, growing together.” Ella noticed that her gaze was drawn to the “entwined branches” and immediately handed her the jewelry box. “This design was revised for almost two years before it was finally finalized in the middle of last year.”
Zhu Qingzhi took the necklace, pointed to the heart-shaped clasp with her finger, and exclaimed, "It's really unique!"
Ella bent down and took a velvet box from the bottom of the trolley. "The 'Entwined Branches' series doesn't have a matching ring, so I suggest you choose this 'Eternal Bond' series ring to match. What do you think?"
Extremely simple yet incredibly dazzling. Abandoning all complexity, the pure platinum band accentuates the stunning round center diamond, which boasts exceptional clarity and a flawless cut.
"Wow! I have absolutely no resistance to bling-bling things!" Zhu Qingzhi felt that she couldn't take her eyes off the ring; it was simply too pure.
Pure money.
With makeup, hair, and jewelry all in place, the photoshoot officially began. The lighting technician meticulously adjusted the lighting positions, while the photographer continuously captured Zhu Qingzhi's various angles.
She seems born for the camera and jewelry; as the light and brilliance flow, they complement each other and enhance each other's beauty.
One particular still image shows her with her fingers spread wide, displaying her diamond ring to the camera. Under the lens, the dazzling brilliance of the diamond ring did not overshadow the playful and lively sparkle in her eyes.
A gasp of amazement erupted from the crowd, all captivated by the perfect moment.
Ella and Dani stood by the side, supervising the work. One's eyes were full of praise, "She truly deserves to be our spokesperson," while the other's face was full of pride, "She truly deserves to be our artist."
Suddenly, the two of them looked up at the clock on the wall at the same time. It was just past five o'clock, forty-five minutes before sunset.
Ella cleared her throat, clapped her hands, and whispered, "Okay, transition."
Zhu Qingzhi was a little confused. What was this scene transition? She hadn't heard of it. But before she could ask, Dani pushed her into the dressing room.
Without waiting for her to ask, Dani took another set of clothes and pressed down on her hand that was taking off the ring: "LR added a set of photos at the last minute, saying that he wanted to show the different styles of this jewelry."
"Okay, sure." Zhu Qingzhi was always very obedient when it came to work.
Then she picked up the dress and saw a very simple moon-white satin slip dress, the style of which she liked. However, she paid close attention to the label and realized it wasn't Katrina's brand.
Now it was her turn to press Dani's hand. "Wait, wearing this isn't a breach of contract, is it?"
Dani: "......"
It must be said that Zhu Qingzhi has a good professional sense, which makes her very pleased. But right now, that doesn't matter.
"It's okay, it's not a competitor." She took the dress without changing her expression and gestured for Zhu Qingzhi to turn around. "Hurry up and change into it. We're going to be shooting outdoors soon, and it'll be sold out quickly."
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Author's note: Kiyoshi [fears]: I keep banging my head against the wall because of work.
Wen Qi: [Okay] [Okay] [Okay] [Okay]
Lu Yao [resting his chin on his hand]: [bursting into tears][bursting into tears][bursting into tears]
Ji Ran [covering her face and peeking]: Yo~ Yo~ Yo~
Gu Huaichuan [eating melon]: 1 million yuan has been received in Alipay.
Dani & Ella [doge]: What should I do if I can't help but laugh when I think about what I'm going to do later?
Ah Mei [doge emoji]: Me too.
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