Chapter 15
Ling Jiayi had been in a terrible mood lately.
As soon as the director called "cut," Ling Jiayi swiftly walked off to the side, face overcast, and accepted a can of iced cola from his assistant. After gulping down half of it, his expression remained grim.
"What's wrong with you lately? You've been so grumpy every day." Xie Ruixin sat down on a lounge chair, holding her pleated skirt, and took two courteous sips of the milk tea her assistant handed to her.
Ever since their conflict, with Xiang Qingwei mediating, Ling Jiayi's attitude had slightly improved. He even gave Xie Ruixin some pointers, which Xie Ruixin gratefully accepted, having received confirmation of her talent from Xiang Qingwei.
As she regained her confidence, Xie Ruixin began to seek out Ling Jiayi for advice, and as the shoot went smoothly, she also grew more comfortable in her role. Gradually, the relationship between the two improved.
Ling Jiayi crushed the empty soda can in his hand and casually tossed it into the trash bin, then leaned back on the chair and opened his WeChat app, tapping on the chat window with Xiang Qingwei. She still hadn't responded to his message from the previous morning.
Upon realizing that he was ignoring her, Xie Ruixin clicked her tongue. She pulled out her phone to scroll through WeChat, then suddenly laughed and said, "Eh! Sis Weiwei gave me a like."
Just as she spoke, Ling Jiayi snatched the phone from her hands, sitting up from his chair to stare at the post Xie Ruixin had just shared.
Over forty likes, and he could see Xiang Qingwei's name amongst them at a glance. He was infuriated; she had time to like Xie Ruixin's post but couldn't reply to his WeChat messages!
Xie Ruixin was startled by this action and asked, "What are you doing?" Then she noticed Ling Jiayi's pale face, and her concern returned. "Are you all right?"
Ling Jiayi tossed the phone back to her, then walked toward his own van. Xiao Mei chased after him, but Ling Jiayi stopped him with his next words.
"Don't follow me."
Xiao Mei could only watch as Ling Jiayi stomped aggressively into the van, the sleeves of his shirt flapping wildly. The door slammed shut loudly, echoing even from a distance.
"What happened?" Xie Ruixin asked, confused.
Xiao Dong rubbed his nose subconsciously.
Ling Jiayi returned to the Nanny car, staring at his phone for a long while before finally dialing the number.
The phone rang a few times before Xiang Qingwei picked up. "Hello, Jiayi, what's up?"
Upon hearing Xiang Qingwei's voice, Ling Jiayi felt his eyes sting, feeling extremely wronged.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Xiang Qingwei asked again, "Hello? Jiayi?"
"What are you doing?" Ling Jiayi's voice was muffled.
"I'm currently discussing some things with a client at their office." Noticing the low tone of his voice, Xiang Qingwei asked, "What's wrong?"
Ling Jiayi responded after a moment, "Nothing." After a pause, he couldn't hold it in anymore and asked, "Why didn't you respond to my WeChat message?"
"Did you send me one?" Xiang Qingwei rubbed the corner of his eye and sighed. "I've been quite busy lately and there's also a lot of messages on WeChat, so I might've forgotten to respond to yours. Sorry. Is something wrong?"
Ling Jiayi stayed silent for another moment. "No."
"I might miss some messages on WeChat, so can you just call me directly if there's anything important?" Xiang Qingwei said gently.
Ling Jiayi's mood lifted slightly. "Okay."
"How's filming going?" Xiang Qingwei asked.
"Mm."
"Let me know when you're free, I'll go visit you on set," Xiang Qingwei said.
"Oh."
"I have a client waiting for me, so I'm going to hang up now." Xiang Qingwei didn't want to keep the client waiting too long, so she hung up after saying her piece.
Ling Jiayi clenched the phone that had been hung up on him, momentarily stunned. He hadn't seen Xiang Qingwei in half a month; the last time she came to the set, she'd left within two hours. At this time last year, he was also busy filming, but she had stayed by his side almost every day from morning till nightfall. Whenever he turned his head, he could find her in a place where he could see her. Yet, somehow, she had become busier and busier, replying less and less to messages on WeChat. She now only contacted him once in a blue moon.
The more Ling Jiayi thought about it, the more it bothered him.
Someone knocked on the car door. Xiao Dong opened the door, standing outside and carefully reminding Ling Jiayi that it was time to shoot.
"I know." Ling Jiayi responded dully, blinking his slightly reddened eyes, then got out of the car and walked toward the set.
After securing a photoshoot for Tao Yuner on a popular magazine cover, Xiang Qingwei finally returned to C City.
It had been a week since she last saw Ning Yang.
As soon as she got off the plane, she instructed Xiao Wu to drive straight to the studio.
Ning Yang was practicing with Zhan Lun.
It had been less than ten days since Ning Yang started learning to dance, but his progress was quite evident. His movements were no longer as stiff and mechanical as they had been; now, he danced with fluidity and grace.
However, Xiang Qingwei noticed a pretty girl in a tank top and shorts sitting by the wall of the studio, eyes fixed on Ning Yang. She frowned slightly.
Ning Yang first spotted Xiang Qingwei through the mirror, his heart clenched, and his smooth movements immediately became off-timed; he frowned in annoyance.
Zhan Lun noticed the change in his partner's rhythm, glanced out of the corner of his eye, and saw Xiang Qingwei standing outside the studio. His eyes lit up, and he immediately turned off the music.
The pretty girl sitting by the wall blinked, then turned to look as well.
Xiang Qingwei walked into the studio.
"Miss Xiang! You're back from your business trip?" Zhan Lun greeted her enthusiastically. He wasn't wearing his baseball cap today, revealing his short brown hair; his bright smile revealed eight pearly white teeth, making him look handsome and full of youthful energy.
Ning Yang walked over, his eyes fixed on Xiang Qingwei.
"I just got back, so I decided to come over and see how things are," Xiang Qingwei said with a smile, then turned to Ning Yang. "It's almost lunchtime. Let's go get something to eat."
Ning Yang agreed.
"Can I come too?" Zhan Lun looked hopefully at Xiang Qingwei.
Ning Yang's eyes flickered slightly, feeling a little uncomfortable in his heart.
"Of course," Xiang Qingwei replied, still smiling.
"Then let's go wash up first, and you can wait for us," Zhan Lun said immediately. He turned toward the pretty girl who had walked over earlier and said, "Lili, you should go ahead and eat first too."
"Is she your girlfriend?" Xiang Qingwei asked with a smile, glancing at the girl.
"No, no! She's one of our students," Zhan Lun said hastily, adding, "I don't have a girlfriend." Bright eyes looked at Xiang Qingwei with anticipation.
Xiang Qingwei's gaze landed on the girl's face. She was indeed very pretty, with a sweet and innocent appearance, and quite young, likely around twenty years old.
"Then we're going to go take a bath first," Zhan Lun said, pushing Ning Yang away.
Only Xiang Qingwei and the pretty girl named Lili remained in the practice room.
Xiang Qingwei suddenly spoke, her eyes following Ning Yang closely, "Ning Yang has signed a contract that forbids him from engaging in romantic relationships. Otherwise, he would have to pay a hefty penalty fee."
The pretty girl named Lili was taken aback, and it took her a moment to realize that Xiang Qingwei was speaking to her. Feeling exposed, she shot an irritated glance at Xiang Qingwei. "Are you his manager? Ning Yang is an adult, and he has the right to date."
"Unfortunately, he doesn't," Xiang Qingwei responded, unfazed by Lili's "provocation" and smiling nonetheless. "Unless you're willing to pay millions of yuan in penalty fees for him."
With that, Xiang Qingwei left the practice room.
At the front desk, Xiang Qingwei waited on the sofa for twenty minutes before Zhan Lun and Ning Yang returned from washing up and changing clothes.
Ning Yang wore a simple white T-shirt and light blue jeans, his clean hair slightly messy but glossy, clearly well-groomed despite giving off a youthful air.
"Let's go!" Zhan Lun walked over, nonchalantly wiping away the droplets of water on his chin, revealing a well-defined set of abs.
Xiang Qingwei's gaze lingered briefly, lamenting the beauty of this young man's body.
It was only a second, but Ning Yang noticed.
His lips pressed together slightly, his eyes dimming.
The three stood in front of the elevator door waiting for it to descend.
Pretty girl Lili suddenly appeared again. "I'm by myself now because my friend bailed on our dinner plans, so can I join you guys?" she asked hastily, adding, "I won't freeload, I'll pay my share!"
If Xiang Qingwei hadn't felt any ill will toward this pretty girl before, she certainly did now.
She first observed Ning Yang's reaction, relieved when she saw that his expression remained unchanged after Lili's proposition.
Zhan Lun looked at Xiang Qingwei, seeking her opinion.
"I'm sorry, we have work to discuss," Xiang Qingwei said coolly.
"I promise I won't bother you! I'm very quiet," Lili emphasized.
Xiang Qingwei frowned slightly.
"Zhan-teacher, you can go have dinner with her," Ning Yang suddenly spoke up, having been silent this whole time.
Taken aback, Xiang Qingwei turned to look at Zhan伦 and "kindly" suggested, "Zhan-teacher, you can go have dinner with this student. It's all right."
As long as she didn't interact with Ning Yang, it was none of her business.
Zhan Lun panicked almost instantly and said, "But I still need to report to you about Ning Yang's practice results!" Then he turned to Lili and said, "Lili, you should invite another friend. It's really too inconvenient for us."
The elevator door opened just then, and as if he was deathly afraid that Xiang Qingwei would leave him behind to have dinner with Ning Yang, he hastily urged her on: "Let's go, I'm starving—"
Lili watched helplessly as the three of them got into the elevator, the door slowly slid shut before her eyes, and Xiang Qingwei's icy gaze landed on her face, seemingly filled with silent mockery.
She felt as if she had been slapped in the face in public; her cheeks burned, and her expression grew sullen.
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