Chapter 84 Who is the perfect victim? I just want to be a little happier. ...
When Zhu Qingzhi was woken up by Wen Qi, it was just dawn.
She opened her eyes groggily, but wasn't actually awake. She turned over and was about to go back to sleep when Wen Qi pulled her out of the covers.
The cool air instantly touched her skin, and Zhu Qingzhi jolted awake, all the drowsiness in her mind vanishing in an instant.
She was thoroughly exhausted last night, and her silk nightgown had long since been kicked to some corner, so she was now practically... fresh from the factory!
She frantically grabbed the blanket that was about to slip off, barely covering her chest. Her eyes, misty with tears and filled with the anger of someone just waking up, stared blankly at the culprit.
The sheer curtains let in a sliver of light, thin and soft, outlining the tall figure of the man beside the bed. His silk pajamas were slightly open at the neckline, and his body was tilted from his previous movements, revealing a glimpse of his firm chest.
He sighed helplessly, turned on the phone screen that was on the bedside table, and handed it to her.
Five fifty-eight.
"If you don't get up now, you'll be late." Wen Qi's voice was slightly hoarse, a characteristic of early morning.
As he spoke, he picked up the nightgown and deftly pulled it over her head. Then he gently pinched Zhu Qingzhi's cheek to make sure she really wouldn't fall asleep again before going to change his clothes.
Zhu Qingzhi reluctantly reached into her sleeve, but her eyes were glued to the slowly moving second hand on her phone screen. She decided to procrastinate until six o'clock sharp before getting up.
With a soft "click," the warm-toned arc light strip lit up, gentle and not dazzling.
Wen Qi changed his clothes and walked towards the light. The top button of his dark gray shirt was neatly fastened, making his jawline look even more sharp.
Just as Zhu Qingzhi was about to ask him, "Why do you dress so business-like when you're not working?", the tie in Wen Qi's hand was handed to her.
"Please take care of me." He smiled, leaned forward, and used his strength to pull her out of the bed.
Zhu Qingzhi instinctively grabbed his shoulder and used the leverage to stand on the edge of the bed. Now, she was more than half a head taller than him, and had a rare opportunity to look down at him.
She wrapped the tie behind his neck, her fingers clumsily fiddling with his shirt collar, muttering softly, "I'm not very good at this..."
Wen Qi said nothing, but simply raised his hand naturally, his warm, dry palm covering the back of her hand, guiding her fingers to weave, intertwine, and knot.
His movements were steady and fluid, but Zhu Qingzhi keenly caught a faint smile that flashed across his eyes.
Wow, he did it on purpose!
This realization gave Zhu Qingzhi a sudden flash of inspiration after a night of confusion, and she finally came up with a retort.
"Wen Qi." She suddenly pulled her hand back, put her hands on her hips, and looked at him with a righteous air.
"Um?"
"I think you were very strange last night." She said, emphasizing each word. "You seem so happy, what do you have to be unhappy about!"
"Hmm." Wen Qi took her "striking" hand back and guided her to complete the final step of tying the tie. "One more time, let's continue tonight."
"...?" Zhu Qingzhi was speechless for a moment, then quickly retorted, "I didn't mention his name!"
"Hmm." He calmly adjusted his bow tie, his fingertips casually brushing against her wrist. "I just wanted to be a little happier."
What's going on so early in the morning?!
Zhu Qingzhi's cheeks belatedly began to burn. She was no longer naive enough to think that she had misunderstood. In her embarrassment and anger, she grabbed the end of her neatly tied tie and pulled it down sharply.
Wen Qi, however, seemed to have been prepared, his thumb precisely positioned below the bow tie, defusing the sudden "attack".
Zhu Qingzhi suffered in silence, her attempt to do something bad failed, and she pouted angrily.
Wen Qi patted his neatly tied tie with satisfaction, then skillfully pulled Zhu Qingzhi, who was venting her dissatisfaction, off the bed: "If you don't get up now, someone will be trending again today. Late, unprofessional, acting like a diva."
*
Yesterday's events caused quite a stir, and Zhu Qingzhi's phone was flooded with calls of condolence from all sides.
The official statement was released, with clear evidence and complete facts. The public had no objection to the statement, but they were very interested in the "eavesdropping device incident" and "banquet incident" that were brought to light by this incident.
What's more, the mastermind behind these incidents is Zhang Siyue's ex-girlfriend, a woman surnamed Liu.
In fact, based on the "six-person rule," netizens had already discovered that the "woman surnamed Liu" was Liu Xiaoning, the eldest daughter of the Liu family, who had just returned from studying abroad and was carefully cultivated by the family.
The videos that Xu Dong originally posted, including those about Shen Rou criticizing Liu Xiaoning, were not posted online. The focus of everyone's gossip was on "her and Zhang Siyue's bittersweet love story".
Unexpectedly, the more they dug, the more they found out. Liu Xiaoning's private life was too colorful, and she shouldn't be Zhang Siyue's ideal woman at all. So Zhang Siyue, who stood up for her online, became the best representative of "love-struck".
This announcement further confirmed that she resorted to this tactic to retaliate against Zhu Qingzhi, and the public opinion immediately shifted to a comprehensive and unbiased gossip session.
Wen Qi is coordinating the relationships in Nancheng today, while Zhu Qingzhi is carefree and shows no signs of the listlessness she displayed when she left work last night.
The nanny van was parked in front of the cosmetics building, where reporters and cameras, several times more than usual, were waiting in a state of high alert. The sound of camera shutters rang out the moment Zhu Qingzhi got out of the car.
"Qingzhi, look this way!"
"What are your thoughts on what happened yesterday? Will your cooperation with Zhang Siyue continue?"
"Do you have any grudges with Liu Xiaoning? Have these things affected you?"
Questions came flooding in, but Zhu Qingzhi, wearing a mask, showed almost no expression, and she did not respond to any of them.
But today she chose a bright yellow dress, which looked vibrant and beautiful, and didn't seem to have been swayed by public opinion.
Suddenly, a loud female voice rang out, "Qingzhi, you're the best!" Zhu Qingzhi, who had been led through the glass door by Xiaozhou, suddenly turned around, took off her mask, and waved to the fans with a smile.
These "energetic little suns going to work" photos were quickly posted online, creating a stark contrast with the disheveled state of Liu Xiaoning and Zhang Siyue, which netizens had dug up on.
[Hilarious! The main character is looking beautiful at work, while her vicious ex-girlfriend and clown-like ex-boyfriend are being publicly executed.]
[This is a two-way race between a wealthy heiress and a love-struck woman; please don't drag us working-class folks into it.]
I was feeling down after work yesterday, but I seem to be in a great mood today. Is someone protecting me? [doge emoji]
【Don't forget! Our Zhi is also a rich heiress!!!】
Upon entering the dressing room, Zhu Qingzhi first downed a cup of black coffee, which was more bitter than life itself, before Chen Rou pushed open the door and came in.
She looked like she hadn't slept all night, with dark circles under her eyes that looked like they were about to fall to the ground, but her voice was full of energy: "Mingyuan is such a jerk. He told me to post on Weibo to clarify things for her, and he even got my dad involved! This guy said he'd cut off my allowance if I didn't help!"
"Haha, I didn't expect our crew to be so full of talent." He Fei said half-jokingly after tidying up his makeup supplies.
“I don’t count,” Shen Rou answered readily. “None of my siblings share the same mother.”
He Fei: "..."
Is this something I can say? Can I just pretend she didn't ask?
Zhu Qingzhi truly admires Shen Rou; with such a silver tongue, no wonder she ended up with a "good ending" of being exiled to Kyoto.
After speaking, Shen Rou probably felt embarrassed and pulled out the seat next to Zhu Qingzhi to sit down: "Xiao Tang's matter will definitely be brought up again. I finally cleared my name, and I don't want to ruin my future."
Zhu Qingzhi gave her a thumbs up.
“My dad is such a fool. He's no good with women, but he's loyal to men. Even though he knew about all this, he still made me issue a statement. I know he doesn't care about me, his only daughter. But he changed his mind this morning.”
Shen Rou leaned closer and lowered her voice, "The Wen family put pressure on us, and the Zhu family also withheld two projects. My father has completely calmed down, hehe."
Zhu Qingzhi raised an eyebrow, not at all surprised.
Wen Qi is handling these matters, and as a relevant party, he will inevitably have to contact the Shen family. As for her uncle, needless to say, the dozen or so voice messages he just sent are giving her a headache.
During a break from makeup, Zhu Qingzhi glanced at her phone. Sure enough, the internet was in an uproar again.
A well-known gossip blogger released a backstage video of Chairman Liu's birthday banquet. The video and audio were blurred and the voice was altered, but it can be analyzed from the few words spoken that this was a big show being planned.
The top comment: [“I’m on the scene! @JustSaySomethingIfYouNeedIt @CenShen’sCen”]
The first reply in this thread: [Cen Shen's Cen v: On site +1 @Just say something if you need anything]
Zhu Qingzhi: "..."
As a gossip enthusiast, I'm sure they're finished before they even get their turn.
But she didn't get involved because Zhu Qingzhi received a call from Wen Qi.
"Are you in the dressing room?" Wen Qi's voice came through the receiver, with the faint sounds of papers turning and whispers in the background, amplifying the reassuring magnetism of his voice.
"Okay, let's get started right away." Zhu Qingzhi lowered her voice a little. "How's it going on your end...?"
“The Liu family still wants to protect her,” Wen Qi said in a lower voice, succinctly stating the result, “but there’s no rush, it will be fine after today.”
He paused, the background noise seemed to fade away, and his tone softened, "Shall we have lunch together?"
Zhu Qingzhi flipped through the script, which was covered in annotations, and estimated the time. She sighed, "This scene will probably take a long time to work out, and the timing might not be right."
A few crisp taps of keyboard clicked from the other end of the phone, followed by Wen Qi's knowing voice: "Got it. I still need to finish up here, just don't wait up for me while I'm hungry."
During this morning's filming, Zhang Siyue was clearly not in the right state of mind. Director Zheng shot several clips but was not satisfied, so he told him to go aside and adjust as soon as possible, and then shot a few group shots and close-ups of Zhu Qingzhi.
During filming, Dani made a few phone calls to Xiaozhou and then left immediately, leaving Xiaozhou staring at her phone in disbelief.
She waited until the morning's filming was completely over before approaching with a strange expression: "Sis, Liu Xiaoning registered a new Weibo account and just posted a long article..."
Zhu Qingzhi took the phone. On the screen was a long article that had just been published but was being restricted due to the use of sensitive words, yet it was still being frantically screenshotted and forwarded.
[To Zhu Qingzhi, the "Perfect Victim": Do you think you're clean?]
-----------------------
Author's note: Kiyoshi [resting her chin on her hand]: If it's going to be public, then it's public.
Wen Qi [cracked]: A society governed by the rule of law.
Ah Mei [doge emoji]: I feel like I'll be finishing it in a few tens of thousands of words!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
