"Then, what should I do?" Song Yanqi asked anxiously.
"Give me the contact information of the paparazzi who took the photos." Three or four staff members surrounded Song Jinlan and helped her take off her bespoke suit. "Look at how wronged you look, you're so embarrassing. If people knew that my nephew, Song Jinlan's nephew, was bullied like this by some nobody, who knows how many people would laugh their heads off!"
"Give me your contact information now, quickly."
Song Yanqi made two "oh" sounds and immediately picked up his phone to forward the contact information.
In the ten or so seconds that he looked down at his phone, the stylist picked up the haute couture jacket that Song Jinlan had thrown on the ground, and reported to Song Jinlan with an apologetic and respectful expression: "I'm sorry, Mr. Song, that was... the last look."
"The last set?" Song Jinlan's tone suddenly became several degrees sharper due to his displeasure, making his voice sound particularly grating. "Didn't you say there were eight sets? This is only the fifth set, how come there aren't any left?"
"Hmm..."
Song Yanqi heard the rustling sound of papers turning. He pretended to be busy and didn't dare to look up, but he guessed that the stylist must be thinking urgently about what to say by turning the papers; judging from the tone, the stylist was very nervous.
"One set won't arrive until the day after tomorrow due to shipping issues, so we'll need to try out the makeup and styling again then. As for the other two sets... the brand isn't willing to lend them out."
"Unwilling to lend?" These four simple words ignited Song Yanqi's fiery temper. "Xiao Chen, aren't you one of the top stylists at TOPISSUES? You can achieve top sales in the store, but you can't lend me, a movie star, two haute couture suits?"
Stylist Xiao Chen trembled with fear: "Because those two pieces are from next year's spring/summer super season, the brand will pay extra attention to the artist's appearance—"
"Are you implying that I'm not classy enough?" Song Jinlan slapped Xiao Chen's face again, stood on the small round platform, pinched Xiao Chen's cheeks, and said with a fierce expression, "I'm a movie star! If a movie star isn't classy enough and can't borrow high-end custom-made clothes, what's the point of being a movie star?"
"Go borrow it, go borrow it again! I absolutely, positively must wear an off-season suit to the two important events at the end of the year!"
Song Jinlan suddenly let go of his hand and pushed Xiao Chen before stepping off the small round platform. Xiao Chen, who was in a daze, staggered two steps and was helped up by two staff members.
"Are you alright?" Song Jinlan's clothes were draped over the back of the sofa where Song Yanqi was sitting. As he passed by and picked them up, he glanced lazily at his nephew. "If you're alright, then go ahead. I'll figure out a way to help you with your problem. Your uncle isn't in a good mood today, so I won't entertain you any longer."
After uttering a casual remark, Song Jinlan put on her clothes and left quickly, not even waiting for the female assistant who was helping her carry the things.
Chapter 164
Song Yanqi snapped out of his daze, quickly gathered his belongings, and headed in the opposite direction.
He fled to the parking lot, got into his Mercedes-AMG, locked the doors, fastened his seatbelt, and panted heavily for a long time!
It's so strange. He clearly came to ask his uncle for help, but the pressure his uncle exerted on him was so strong and intense...
He almost thought he had survived a disaster!
Two days later, entertainment reporter Xiao Zhang brought news from the front lines: Su Yanxi had left the hot spring resort with her sugar daddy.
In other words, Song Yanqi's plan to gather evidence and file a report has officially failed.
First, Su Yanxi's vacation is almost over. After leaving the hot spring resort, it's unlikely that Su Yanxi and her sugar daddy will have another trip together. With no more travel opportunities, the chances of them being photographed together or kissing will only decrease.
Being outside is different from being on set. Su Yanxi will most likely not be as unrestrained as she is on set, and will definitely have to restrain herself.
Secondly, rehearsals for the film and television awards ceremony have already begun. With the lineup and schedule finalized, the organizers will not easily make personnel changes or cuts—meaning that at this point, it will be futile to report the matter to higher authorities.
Song Yanqi was naturally extremely depressed after investing money but failing to obtain any concrete evidence. Coincidentally, Su Yanxi was recently the subject of discussion due to issues with her commercial endorsements, so Song Yanqi could only resort to a self-deceptive, almost hysterical, approach: although Su Yanxi is annoying, she doesn't have any compelling commercial endorsements!
His business deals are all incredibly high-end, ranging from top-tier cosmetics to high-end ready-to-wear lines; if he wanted, he could even land endorsements for top-tier jewelry and luxury brands! His uncle is even more impressive—he's a movie star! He can easily appear in prime-time sales like September and October and wear off-season ready-to-wear!
but……
"Sis, are you cold?"
Below the main stage, Su Yanxi, Zhou Tong, and others waited to go on stage. Because the film and television awards ceremony was held in an open-air stadium, a cold wind was blowing inside, making everyone shiver.
Song Yanqi stood less than five meters behind Su Yanxi. Wrapped in a small blanket, he clearly heard Su Yanxi ask her female agent a question amidst the whistling wind.
After asking the question, Su Yanxi took off her expensive custom-made suit jacket and draped it over her manager: "You wear this first, I feel you're dressed much less warmly than me. It's okay, Xiao Hai went to the dressing room to get me a blanket, he'll be back in a bit."
Because of the dispute over who should own the coat, Su Yanxi and her female agent started passing the buck. In the end, Chen Yongyan couldn't stand it anymore. He told Su Yanxi to put on the coat, then took it off himself and draped it over Su Yanxi's female agent to shield her from the wind.
The moment Chen Yongyan took off his coat, he was dazzling, as if he were radiating light. Standing in the shadows, Song Yanqi was moved by her idol's thoughtful gesture. Her pupils unconsciously contracted, and she let out a dazed sigh of admiration.
"So handsome..."
It was because of this coat, because of this thoughtful gesture, that Song Yanqi's heart was touched and wavered. He couldn't help but compare Su Yanxi and his uncle, and before he had even compared them item by item, he had already come to the conclusion of who was better and who was worse.
He realized that, compared to his difficult-to-get-along-with uncle, he seemed—
She prefers to be close to the bad man, Su Yanxi.
Author's Note:
Dog: ? I thought you were my wife's nemesis, but I didn't expect you to be joining the fan club too?
————————
Thanks to SuSu for personally cooking 6 bowls of honeysuckle chicken soup, saying she'll never change her email address again! *slurp slurp*
The reason this chapter has a lot of plot and little interaction is not because I didn't want to write it, but because I couldn't (winks). I'll add it to the extra chapters when I have the chance, oh!
#62 is angry, they're going to film something big tonight!
The first rehearsal went by very quickly; it was basically just the artists going through the motions and getting familiar with the order.
Su Yanxi and Chen Yongyan will have about eight minutes to promote the drama. They will go on stage to interact with the hosts, chat about interesting things that happened on set, and discuss what the actors think are the highlights of the drama, thus whetting the audience's appetite before the premiere.
The two entered the stage from the right side and exited from the left. Su Yanxi breathed a sigh of relief and chatted easily with Chen Yongyan: "We were too tense just now, we can relax a bit more."
"That's what I thought too." Chen Yongyan scratched the back of his head. "But the thought that the ceremony will be broadcast live makes me really nervous. Brother Yanxi, what if I say the wrong thing?"
"Is it really that bad?" Su Yanxi shrugged, walked over to Zhou Tong who was waiting backstage, and took the small blanket. "The monthly evaluations and weekly tests during school are all to help actors hone their improvisation skills. You got good grades in school, so you should be even more confident and assertive now!"
As she spoke, Su Yanxi turned her head unintentionally and met Song Yanqi's gaze across the distance. Song Yanqi was waiting to go on stage on the other side.
He had no particular feelings for this naive young man, neither liking nor disliking him; because of Song Yanqi's crazy pursuit of Chen Yongyan, he even felt a bit of sympathy and pity for Song Yanqi - after all, in their emotional relationship, he and Song Yanqi were both the more affected and fluctuating right side.
The moment their eyes met, Su Yanxi gracefully raised her hand and greeted Song Yanqi: "Good evening."
Song Yanqi looked like a fawn caught by a hunter, startled and quickly looked away without responding to Su Yanxi's words.
Su Yanxi withdrew her hand, bored, and asked Chen Yongyan in a low voice, "What's wrong with Song Yanqi? Even if he dislikes me, he shouldn't avoid my eyes, right? I thought he would glare at me fiercely."
Chen Yongyan sighed inwardly, not wanting to continue the conversation: "I don't know. We haven't been in contact since our last argument."
Chapter 165
"It's been almost half a month, and you haven't been in touch at all?" Su Yanxi draped a blanket over herself. "Did you two delete each other's contact information?"
“No,” Chen Yong said helplessly. “We just don’t contact each other anymore; I won’t reach out to him or delete him. I tried to delete him once before, but he stopped me and forced me to add him back.”
"Pfft—" Su Yanxi laughed, never one to miss a good show. "Song Yanqi is really infatuated with you. I'm so curious, what exactly does he like about you?"
"Who knows? If I knew, I would definitely change it immediately." Chen Yongyan shrugged, finally relaxing after walking into the less crowded backstage corridor. "Um... Brother Yanxi, I have a few friends here today, I'll go say hello while I have some free time."
“Okay.” Su Yanxi nodded readily. “Go ahead. Keep an eye on your phone, and I’ll call you back anytime if you need to make arrangements.”
Chen Yongyan replied with an "okay," gave a polite bow, and left.
The more Zhou Tong looked at Chen Yongyan's well-behaved and polite appearance, the stranger it seemed. She pondered with Su Yanxi, "Why would Song Yanqi, such a spoiled and self-important young master, like someone like Chen Yongyan? These two don't seem to be on the same wavelength."
"Isn't it common to find a complementary partner? It's precisely because you don't have it yourself that you hope your partner does," Su Yanxi replied coolly. "When I first got together with Yun Zong, we weren't on the same wavelength either. Now, seven years have passed, and we're still doing just fine, aren't we?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Zhou Tong looked disgusted and pushed open the door to the lounge for Su Yanxi. "I can feel your privilege. Don't start showing off your love again while we're talking."
"Your complexion is rosy; you must have been well-nourished during the holiday, right?"
Su Yanxi rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on, and sat down on the sofa: "Sister Tong, I'm not afraid of your teasing anymore. I'll tell you the truth: I was able to return to Beicheng alive because Bie Yunzong showed me mercy."
Zhou Tong clicked his tongue: "Is it really that scary?"
"You think he's a kind, harmless little dog? Wrong! He's actually incredibly ruthless behind the scenes, capable of gnawing on bones without batting an eye." Su Yanxi rubbed her still-sore shoulders and cursed, "He's a wolf in sheep's clothing!"
Su Yanxi noticed two beautifully packaged boxes on the coffee table in the lounge. Looking closer at the labels, he realized with a start that these were the water bottles he endorsed!
"Hey, is this the Hit-Drink thermos?" After her vacation, Su Yanxi threw herself into preparations for the grand event without a break, unable to find time to go to the company to see the product in person. "Great, my brother actually had it delivered directly!"
"Sis, look! This thermos is pretty good quality, isn't it?"
Su Yanxi opened the two boxes and handed one of the thermos cups to Zhou Tong.
"The inner liner doesn't look very thick," Zhou Tong said, weighing it in his hand. "It's not as heavy as I expected. As an insulated water bottle, I wonder how well it keeps things warm?"
"It should be very good. The brand's predecessor was a German company specializing in vacuum insulated containers, which already had very successful vacuum insulation technology. Because of the high cost of materials and the small overseas market, the price was very high; a 500 ml insulated water bottle like this used to sell for more than 400 yuan."
“It is indeed expensive.” Zhou Tong shook his head. “Even decent insulated water bottles are expensive.”
"At the beginning of this year, the original German company encountered a problem of broken capital chain. Just then, my elder brother wanted to further expand the daily necessities market, so he asked YUNSO to take over the company."
"The factory moved from Germany to China. With the double boost of lower raw material prices and expanded market, guess how much this thermos, which originally cost 400 yuan, now sells for?"
As Zhou Tong listened, he suddenly felt a surge of excitement: "—How much?"
Su Yanxi first extended one index finger, then added a thumb: "One hundred and twenty!"
"A water bottle that originally sold for 400 yuan is now only 120 yuan!"
Su Yanxi couldn't stop smiling. Even though the lower price meant his YUNSO Holdings Group would make less money, he was still very happy, feeling he had saved his customers hundreds of millions!
He called Lin Xiaohai over and instructed him with a smile, "Xiaohai, wash the cups and pour some hot tea into them to test their heat retention. Give the black one to Sister Tong later, and we'll keep the silver one for ourselves."
Before the start of the second phase of filming, Lin Xiaohai had some trouble back home and needed to go back to deal with it. Su Yanxi thought that Lin Xiaohai had worked hard and had been with him throughout the first phase; the second phase was starting in Beicheng, which was closer to home, so he probably wouldn't need anyone to take care of him. Driven by this thought, Su Yanxi simply gave Lin Xiaohai a long vacation.
This also resulted in Lin Xiaohai missing the entire second phase of filming.
After the hotel peeping incident and several instances of being followed, Su Yanxi hurriedly recalled her young male assistant. Zhou Tong, being a woman, couldn't be by her side all the time, while he desperately needed someone to look after him—to prevent any conspiracies from unfolding.
Although Bie Yunzong can also serve as a companion and protector, at this stage... it's not the time for him to appear openly.
"Yes, young mistress, I'll be right back!" Lin Xiaohai took the water bottle as instructed, turned around and left with high spirits.
Zhou Tong chuckled: "Is it just my imagination? Lin Xiaohai seems to have a lot more energy since he came back?"
“He went home to be my brother-in-law a while ago. Maybe after seeing his sister get married, he had a different mindset and ideals. Before I called him back, his mother called me and asked me to take good care of him and give him more opportunities to grow.”
"It's good. Your little assistant is hardworking and capable, but he's a bit slow on the uptake. When I first met you, he called you Brother Yanxi, but now he's completely stuck on that." As Zhou Tong chatted, he smoothly transitioned to the question he had been wanting to ask, "Aren't you afraid that if you don't correct him, he'll expose your relationship with another young master?"
Chapter 166
"The drama has finished filming, you wouldn't... be planning to go public with your relationship, would you?"
Su Yanxi did indeed have this intention—he had it close to the end of filming, but he had never shared it with his manager. Now that his intentions had been guessed directly, he was not flustered and smiled calmly.
"Isn't this a perfectly normal idea? How did it become 'planning'?" Su Yanxi retorted. "I had already considered similar issues before the filming wrapped up, but I just hadn't discussed it with you."
"Sis, why are you reacting so strongly? Does that mean you don't support me going public with our relationship?"