dinner party
Zhou Ji'an's embarrassment was quickly replaced by unease.
How did Deng Yi know that Xu Zhiyan was looking for a job? Did they keep in touch privately?
“It’s been found,” Xu Zhiyan replied, staring at Zhou Ji’an, who was looking up at Deng Yi.
It seemed as if she only had eyes for the person she was looking at.
“Senior Brother Jinglin sent you a message without my permission. He told me that I had already found someone when your company wasn’t hiring.” After Xu Zhiyan finished speaking, he suddenly felt listless, took a sip of coffee, looked at the rowing chair opposite him, and fell into deep thought.
Zhou Ji'an felt slightly relieved. If Xu Zhiyan and Deng Yi were only in contact through Wei Jinglin, then they could still be considered strangers.
As Zhou Ji'an lowered his head, he couldn't help but let out a self-deprecating laugh.
Even though only she herself knew that she had once harbored thoughts of using Xu Zhiyan, she was still worried every day, fearing that Deng Yi would discover the dark side of her heart.
Deng Yi: "If there is an opportunity in the future, we can skip Wei Jinglin and cooperate."
Zhou Ji'an felt his earlobe being touched, but he didn't know whether it was intentional or unintentional.
Although he only touched her once, for an extremely brief moment, because he did it in front of so many people, Zhou Ji'an's heart pounded, he took a deep breath, and his body remained weak for a while.
How could she be so spineless?
"I hope there will be an opportunity in the future," Xu Zhiyan said insincerely.
His collaboration with Deng Yi meant that he would be outdone by Deng Yi in every way, and Xu Zhiyan's situation wasn't that bad.
Lu Jianni licked her lips and pointed to Qin Xirang beside her, seizing the opportunity to say, "This young man is a newcomer to the industry, named Qin Xirang. The three of you can work together."
Zhou Ji'an looked at Qin Xirang, her eyes and the corners of her mouth were coated with a thin layer of smiles, and she looked at Deng Yi with a light and relaxed demeanor.
Which qin is she? And which xi, which rang?
While Zhou Ji'an was pondering this, Qin Xirang had already given his explanation.
"I am Qin Xirang, Xi Zao Qin, Xi as in 'like' and Rang as in 'to contend'."
Her name doesn't match her temperament at all. Could it be that she was born into a wealthy family that favored sons and had many children, like her grandfather and father had a lot of children?
Clearly, Zhou Ji'an was not the only one who made this guess.
Zhao Xingran asked sharply, "Do you have a younger brother?"
Qin Xirang nodded slightly and replied, "Mm."
"No wonder you attended the seminar organized by Sister Jia Ni," Zhao Xingran said knowingly.
"Your parents really know how to name a child," Xu Zhiyan said with a hint of sarcasm.
“You’re an adult now, you can change your name to one you like,” Lu Jianni suggested.
Zhou Ji'an, who caught a glimpse of cunning on Qin Xirang's face, continued to observe Qin Xirang with suspicion. Unexpectedly, Qin Xirang also looked at her, as if waiting for her to say something.
She was about to mimic the conversation of the three people before her and exchange some casual pleasantries when Deng Yi moved the hand on her shoulder, pinched her cheek, and then turned to the others and said, "Let's eat and chat."
As Deng Yi led Zhou Ji'an into the restaurant and seated him, he realized that Deng Yi had not responded to Lu Jiani's words, nor to Qin Xirang's words.
Deng Yi is not an impolite person, and besides, he was the one who insisted on inviting her friend to his home, so he shouldn't have behaved like that.
Unless, unless he and Qin Xirang are very familiar with each other.
Zhou Ji'an cursed himself for being overly suspicious; he had become a suspicious person so quickly.
She composed herself, preparing to say something polite to show her status as the "host," but when she opened her mouth, she couldn't utter a single word.
She's really not good at acting.
In contrast, Deng Yi was much more natural than her. While inviting others to eat, he served her soup and vegetables, as if they were truly a loving couple.
Lu Jianni didn't quite understand Deng Yi. When she heard that he wanted to take Zhou Ji'an to escape the marriage, Deng Yi, who didn't react normally, actually invited them to his home for a meal. Now he was even carefully picking out fish bones for Zhou Ji'an.
She couldn't help but feel that Deng Yi was acting; there was no other reasonable explanation.
"Don't you not wear jewelry?" Lu Jianni asked, looking at the ring on Zhou Ji'an's left ring finger.
Lu Jianni sat directly opposite Zhou Ji'an. Zhou Ji'an looked up at her, then looked down at his ring and stammered, "I forgot to take it off."
“It’s different from your wedding ring.” Lu Jianni was deliberately testing the waters, hoping to see if Zhou Ji’an or Deng Yi would give themselves away.
Given Deng Yi's wealth, there's no reason for him to cling to Zhou Ji'an. Besides, the two have been separated for so many years and haven't had any contact. Why did they suddenly decide to get married?
Lu Jianni found it hard not to suspect that Deng Yi had ulterior motives.
She even suspected that Deng Yi wanted to take advantage of Zhou Ji'an's lack of vigilance or their past relationship to achieve some ulterior motive.
“We bought it that evening when we bumped into each other, right?” Zhao Xingran said.
She examined Zhou Ji'an's ring closely, then held up her left hand and said happily, "We seem to have the same style."
"Hmm." Zhou Ji'an curled his ring finger into his palm and smiled back. "It seems so."
Qin Xirang: "Director Deng, you've changed your ring too."
Qin Xirang’s tone was very casual, but Zhou Ji’an’s heart tightened. An unease, as if her suspicions had been confirmed, was spreading through her mind.
She turned to look at Deng Yi beside her, hoping that what he was about to say would overturn her guess.
Deng Yi transferred the tender, boneless fish meat from the small dish into Zhou Ji'an's bowl, and simply replied, "Ji'an likes simple styles."
His tone was indifferent, as if he didn't care about the words that kept coming out of other people's mouths, probing the authenticity of their marriage. He only cared about whether the fish bones in the fish meat had been removed, and whether she, the person eating the fish, was happy.
Deng Yi: "Eat it with green vegetables."
Zhou Ji'an obediently ate a piece of fish and a piece of green vegetable, thinking that he didn't really need to put on such an exaggerated performance. But when he thought about how attentive Zhou Ji'an had been when they ate together a couple of days ago, he couldn't figure out whether Zhou Ji'an was acting or not.
Lu Jianni and Xu Zhiyan had never met Zhou Ji'an and Deng Yi when they were dating. Seeing how meticulous Deng Yi was in taking care of Zhou Ji'an, even oblivious to others, they were somewhat confused.
Lu Jianni simply couldn't reconcile this Deng Yi with the Deng Yi who was emotionally stable to the point of being indifferent on the day of their wedding.
Xu Zhiyan suspected that Wei Jinglin had been lying to him all along, and Deng Yi and Zhou Ji'an did not seem to have gotten married based on mutual exploitation.
"Are you planning to have a baby?" Lu Jianni asked deliberately.
Zhou Ji'an sighed. Lu Jianni was unaware that Deng Yi already knew what had happened in the dressing room.
She assumed Lu Jianni was asking because she thought she had eaten too much. She swallowed the food in her mouth and was about to deny it when Deng Yi, who was beside her, answered first, "We don't plan to have children."
“We don’t really like kids,” Zhou Ji’an added, echoing Deng Yi’s sentiments.
"Planning to be childless?" Xu Zhiyan asked in surprise. His fluctuating thoughts instantly became like a bamboo raft tied to the shore, no longer so easily sinking or being capsized by the wind and waves.
“Jian, don’t believe what he says,” Xu Zhiyan said seriously, then added with a hint of humor to Deng Yi, “What I mean is that we men aren’t very trustworthy in this regard.”
Zhou Ji'an knew, of course, that men weren't very trustworthy in this regard, but given her relationship with Deng Yi, she didn't need to worry about Deng Yi going back on his word.
“She’s known me for a long time and knows me very well,” Deng Yi said, emphasizing each word. “She will believe what I say.”
His words put her in a difficult position, leaving her no choice but to believe him.
Just as Zhou Ji'an was about to secretly pinch him to remind him not to overact, Zhao Xingran, sitting next to Lu Jianni, asked curiously, "You two knew each other before?"
"Hmm." Zhou Ji'an awkwardly withdrew his left hand.
Deng Yi noticed that she quickly withdrew her hand, which was originally about to pinch his waist or thigh, and then put a piece of crispy pork chop on her plate. "We met on the first day she came to Ji City."
"Didn't you say you met him when you were looking for a part-time job?" Lu Jianni asked suspiciously.
Zhou Ji'an glanced at Deng Yi, met his questioning gaze, then turned her head and saw Lu Jianni staring at her. She hurriedly said, "We first met on the subway, which was the day I first arrived in Ji City, but we lost contact after that, so we don't count as knowing each other."
Deng Yi's gaze fell on her already red ears. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "It's not that we lost contact, it's that you didn't reply to my messages."
Deng Yi smiled and said, "I messaged you on the third day, but you didn't reply."
He was definitely acting; they didn't exchange contact information at all.
But since he had already taken the role, Zhou Ji'an had to accept it, so he asked, "What did you post?"
"Give me my phone number so you can contact me if you need anything." Deng Yi casually moved the plates on the table.
Zhou Ji'an noticed the growing suspicion on the faces of the others at the table and assumed that Deng Yi had indeed sent her the message, thus finding a reasonable explanation.
"Maybe I had just entered the school and had a lot of procedures to complete, and I received too many messages, so I didn't see yours."
Deng Yi nodded in agreement, saying, "That's what I think too."
Xu Zhiyan, who had visited Deng Yi's studio several times, noticed a flaw in the story of their chance encounter: "You studied computer science, so why would you be looking for a part-time job at a photography studio?"
Zhou Ji'an had just finished eating the food in her bowl when Deng Yi peeled a shrimp and put it in her bowl. She was busy eating and thinking about the answers to a series of questions.
Her chopsticks poked at the bouncy shrimp, her brain racing, trying to come up with a reason in a short time that wouldn't let Deng Yi know her feelings.
But Deng Yi suddenly looked at her closely and said, "I also want to know why."
Zhou Ji'an was in a panic.
She felt that Deng Yi had gone too far in his acting today. He hadn't asked her why he agreed to let her work part-time at his studio the day before, but now he was asking her questions together with Xu Zhiyan, catching her off guard.
"Just out of curiosity," Zhou Ji'an tried to bluff his way out, "and the timing was just a coincidence."
Qin Xirang said quietly, "Shouldn't we be asking Director Deng why he hired a part-time computer science student?"
Zhou Ji'an was enlightened.
Yes, the decision-making power clearly lies with Deng Yi.
Besides, she's just started college and is only looking for part-time work. Even if she wanted to find a part-time job related to her major, she wouldn't be able to find one.
Zhou Ji'an couldn't help but admire Qin Xirang's sharp insight once again. He turned to look at Deng Yi, waiting for him to answer Qin Xirang's question.
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