Xi Jia had been keeping some questions to herself for a long time, unsure how to ask them. "Qiu, what are your thoughts on playing the youngest daughter in the film?"
Ye Qiu smiled faintly: "You want to ask me if I've gotten over your second brother's relationship, right? You have, haven't you?" Her tone was very relaxed. "By the way, your second brother came to see me a few days ago."
Xi Jia paused slightly. "What is he planning to do now?"
Ye Qiu: "I'm just going to take a look, it's nothing. You see, I'm not that excited."
Xi Jia was skeptical, staring at Ye Qiu for a long time, but she couldn't tell whether her eyes were genuine or not. Sure enough, her acting skills had improved.
"You haven't forgiven him, have you?"
Ye Qiu shook his head.
That's good. Xi Jia breathed a sigh of relief.
Ye Qiu didn't say anything more. Ji Qingshi's apology wasn't an apology at all, so there was no question of forgiveness. Recently, a movie produced by the woman he liked was about to be released.
These days, there are trending topics related to the film and its producer every day, and they are all positive news.
Six months ago, some unknown marketing account dug up the fact that a popular producer had been in a relationship with the second son of the Ji family. It even became a trending topic.
The woman later responded on Weibo: "It's all in the past. I hope everyone will focus more on my work."
This is a direct admission of that relationship.
Later, gossip circulated that the woman was the only girlfriend Ji Qingshi had ever publicly acknowledged in his social circle.
Several months have passed since then, but whenever there is a promotional event, the media still gossips and asks her if she will get back together with Ji Qingshi.
The woman remained silent and smiled throughout, saying that they would only discuss matters related to the movie.
That night, Ji Qingshi made a special trip to her neighborhood near the Fifth Ring Road. Presumably, he was worried that bad news might affect the box office of that woman's film, so he came to find her.
In other words, he was afraid she would hire online trolls to smear his sweetheart.
“A scumbag like my second brother deserves to be tortured to death.”
Xi Jia's voice interrupted Ye Qiu's thoughts. She didn't reply, but instead took Xi Jia's arm and said, "Don't let me cause you to become estranged from your second brother."
"Ye Qiu." Her agent called out to her from ahead.
Ye Qiu waved to Xi Jia, "Let's chat sometime."
Chapter Thirty-Two
Upon arriving at the hotel lobby, everyone found someone they knew and sat down at a table.
Xi Jia sat next to Teacher Shang for easy communication about the script.
There was another seat next to Xi Jia. She had a strong presence and was exceptionally beautiful. Apart from discussing the script, she didn't chat with them casually.
That position naturally became vacant.
Mo Yushen stepped forward, only to find that someone else had beaten him to it.
Zhou Mingqian figured that Xi Jia and Mo Yushen would definitely avoid sitting together to avoid suspicion, so he sat down with a clear conscience.
Mo Yushen stared at Zhou Mingqian's back for a few seconds before Jiang Qin pulled him over. "I just asked the kitchen to add a dish; you should like it."
What dish?
"Stir-fried squid with vinegar".
"..."
In the end, Mo Yushen sat at another table, where he could only see Xi Jia's back. He felt that Xi Jia was no longer clinging to him; after two weeks apart, she no longer seemed to want to see him all the time like before.
While waiting for the food, Mo Yushen sent a message to Secretary Ding: "Buy some tracing paper."
Secretary Ding never asked many questions and simply agreed.
During the meal, Mo Yushen scanned Xi Jia's table no less than 1,800 times.
Incidentally, Zhou Mingqian was also cut 1,800 times, just like a piece of fruit.
Jiang Qin picked up some food for him, a piece of fish, which she dipped in a little vinegar sauce. "Try it. The chef at this restaurant is quite skilled. I ordered it especially for you."
Mo Yu glanced sideways at Jiang Qin.
Jiang Qin pretended not to see it and casually picked up another piece of fish for herself.
Mo Yushen messaged Xi Jia: "The dishes tonight aren't very light. Do you want me to order a few extra dishes for you?"
Xi Jia: [It's okay, my stomach doesn't hurt at all now, and my appetite has been pretty good these past few days.] After stopping the Western medicine for a week, my stomach basically returned to normal, and my appetite is back to normal.
Mo Yushen was still worried; she had lost a lot of weight since then: "Be careful, don't eat anything too oily. Did you bring your stomach medicine?"
Xi Jia: [I've got it ready.]
The dinner party has ended.
Teacher Shang told Xi Jia that he would be discussing the script with Zhou Mingqian and the main creators tonight. Tomorrow's scene is the highlight, so they would go over the script tonight and revise any problems in advance.
Xi Jia always prioritizes work. "Okay. Where shall we meet?"
Teacher Shang suggested, "How about we go to Director Zhou's place? His room is spacious and has a living room." She went to ask Zhou Mingqian for his opinion.
Zhou Mingqian made an OK sign, and after agreeing on a time, he took the cigarettes and went outside the restaurant.
Xi Jia could only send a message to Mo Yushen, telling him to go home, as she had to work overtime that night.
Mo Yushen: [Working overtime at home is the same.]
Xi Jia: [We need to discuss the script.]
Despite the crowd, Mo Yushen looked at Xi Jia and finally replied: "Take care and get some rest. Don't stay up late."
Mo Yushen had a video conference at home and needed to go to the company early the next morning, so he didn't stay overnight at the resort hotel.
The car drove away from the resort and sped along the highway in the night.
When his phone vibrated, Mo Yushen assumed it was Xi Jia, but it turned out to be his mother.
Qin Sulan: [Are you back from your business trip?]
After a long pause, Mo Yushen replied: 【Hmm.】
Qin Sulan didn't say anything more, and he didn't ask any questions either.
The next day.
When Mo Yushen arrived at the office, a stack of calligraphy practice papers was already on his desk.
Secretary Ding handed Mo Yushen today's schedule and waited for instructions. Mo Yushen glanced at it and saw that the whole day was filled with meetings.
Mo Yu asked, "What did the R&D center say?"
"It's only been half a month, how could there be progress so quickly?" Secretary Ding shook his head.
With no one else to talk to, Mo Yushen confided to Secretary Ding, "Xi Jia can hardly hear anymore."
Secretary Ding was stunned. For the first time, she felt so powerless, unable to respond, and didn't know what to say.
Mo Yushen opened the document but couldn't concentrate on it. His mind was filled with thoughts of Xi Jia's hearing loss. She couldn't hear anything if the sound was too soft, and when they made phone calls, she always thought it was a bad signal.
Secretary Ding: "I'll go to the R&D department again today to see what's going on."
Mo Yushen snapped out of his reverie and gestured to Secretary Ding, "You're busy."
Secretary Ding left, and the office door closed.
Mo Yushen stared at the document in a daze for a long time, then picked up his phone, uploaded the few pages of the script he had photographed yesterday to his email, turned on his computer, and printed out the pictures.
With some time before the meeting, Mo Yushen laid out tracing paper on the printed script and began to trace the part that Xi Jia had handwritten, imitating her handwriting.
After a day of meetings, Mo Yushen's private number seemed to be disconnected, with no calls or messages.
After the meeting, Mo Yushen sent Xi Jia a message: [Still busy?]
Xi Jia: [Mm.]
Back in his office, Mo Yushen found a blank sheet of paper, wrote some words on it in his own handwriting, took a picture of it, and sent it to Xi Jia.
Xi Jia did not reply.
There was a knock on the office door, and Secretary Ding came in. "Mr. Mo, Aunt Qin is downstairs. She just called me to ask if you're busy."
Mo Yushen remained silent.
Secretary Ding was still waiting for a reply.
Mo Yushen looked out the window; it was already dark. He turned back and said, "Let my mother come up."
Qin Sulan had not been to the Mo Group for twenty-five years; everything was familiar yet strange.
Secretary Ding came down to greet her personally, "Aunt Qin, it's been a long time."
Qin Sulan smiled gently, "You've worked hard all these years."
"Of course." Secretary Ding held the elevator door open and waited for Qin Sulan to enter before pressing the elevator button.
Mo Yushen personally made coffee for his mother. He hadn't contacted her since New Year's Day, and then there was that message last night.
His mother knew his specific itinerary; she must have asked Secretary Ding.
Qin Sulan knocked and came in. She took off her sunglasses and hung up her trench coat. "I was just passing by, and your office light was still on, so I called Secretary Ding."
Qin Sulan explained.
Mo Yushen's office is on the forty-something floor; counting floor by floor is simply inaccurate.
He placed the coffee on the coffee table in front of his mother. "What is it?"
A cold, businesslike tone.
Qin Sulan didn't mind at all: "It's nothing, I just came up to see you. Those flowers haven't withered yet, they're in full bloom. Thank you."
Mo Yushen lowered his eyes, looking at the still steaming coffee on the coffee table. "The flowers were a gift from Xi Jia."
Qin Sulan: "It doesn't matter who gives it to you or Jiajia." She picked up her coffee cup and stirred it gently.
Silence fell over the office.
Qin Sulan didn't know what to talk about with her son. It was as if he felt that anything he talked about would be superfluous, and that sitting like this was enough.