Chapter 13 – Wheedling
He, Lin Ganzhi, had no ill intentions. He just wanted everyone around him to know that his boss could live just fine without the Zhong family. Schemers of any kind, stay away!
Lin Ganzhi lowered his eyes, a shy expression on his face as a blush gradually crept up his cheeks. “Our relationship won’t be fractured by a short business trip. It’s just that Shengping will be a little reluctant to let me go. He was clinging to me and wheedling all last night.”
The faces of the others in the room were simultaneously etched with dark lines.
Yan Shengping, wheedling?
It was completely unimaginable that Yan Shengping, who was once so decisive and ruthless that a mere frown from him could shake the business world, would act like a spoiled child with this goofball after getting married!
Zhuang Wenduan was the first to react, forcing a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I really can’t imagine your partner doing something like that.”
Lin Ganzhi nodded with satisfaction. “He can be a bit childish at home sometimes.”
“Ahem!” Yan Shengping, sitting in the car, suddenly coughed. It happened to be a red light, and Uncle Yan turned around nervously. “Sir, are you feeling unwell from being out too long? Let me take you back first!”
Yan Shengping shook his head. His complexion didn’t look particularly bad after coughing. “My throat was just a little itchy. It’s not a big deal.”
On the contrary, he found it strange that such a mild itch could make him cough. A bad feeling welled up inside him. Could Lin Ganzhi be out there spouting nonsense again?
Although the people in the office had a million retorts in their minds, they could only suppress them in front of him, almost to the point of internal injury.
Socializing as an adult was truly difficult!
Lin Ganzhi smiled obediently, absolutely not mentioning what really happened last night:
“Shengping, I’m begging you. I just got into these two games, and I need a talent like you for the first twenty draws~” Lin Ganzhi had been shamelessly lingering in Yan Shengping’s room all night, refusing to leave.
Yan Shengping’s face was dark. “I’ve already drawn for you no less than twenty times, and for ten different games at that!”
…Ahem.
“But these are all my interests. I won’t be able to ask you to help me draw cards for the next week. Can you bear to part with me?” Lin Ganzhi shamelessly pestered him at his desk.
Yan Shengping almost blurted out the words “get lost.”
Taking a deep breath, Yan Shengping looked at Lin Ganzhi. “Just tell me how many are left.”
Lin Ganzhi immediately stood up straight. “Eight!”
That night, Lin Ganzhi would never forget the terror of being picked up by the scruff of his neck and thrown out by Yan Shengping.
Nor would he forget Uncle Yan patting his shoulder and telling him gravely, “Young man, you must have self-control!”
Beep—
His internal alarm bells were about to go off!
In the end, Zhuang Wenduan and Director Fang had to leave to take a call. Before they left, Zhuang Wenduan looked at him with a complicated expression and said, “I didn’t expect the relationship between you and CEO Yan to be so moving. I’m really looking forward to learning more about your love story on the show in three days.”
Lin Ganzhi smiled shyly. Who couldn’t make up a story? As long as it didn’t reach his boss’s ears, it would be fine. When his boss finally recovered, they could have an amicable breakup. If that still couldn’t quell public anger, he would start building a deeply-in-love persona for his boss now. Later, he could take on the scumbag persona himself and take some flak to benefit his boss. That wasn’t out of the question.
Before he left, Zhang Dianhuai, who hadn’t said much, gripped his arm tightly. “Don’t talk nonsense on the show. Just be a quiet little unknown who only eats and works. Can you do that?”
But then no one would know about his and his boss’s beautiful, tragic love story!
Seeing at a glance that Lin Ganzhi was about to cause trouble, Zhang Dianhuai leaned in and said, “If you attract any more hate, you’ll pay the PR fees. We’ll deduct it from your salary as an advance.”
Hiss!
Lin Ganzhi sucked in a cold breath. What a vicious capitalist. He quickly nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.
As soon as he stepped out of the office, Lin Ganzhi received a message from Tian Nini saying she had arrived. Not wanting to waste any time, Lin Ganzhi headed for the elevator.
The staff who had wanted to chat with Lin Ganzhi lost sight of him in the blink of an eye.
This kid, did getting married turn him from a social butterfly into a socially anxious person?
Que Jin and her agent had just come out of the boss’s office. When they reached the elevator, her expression changed. She had just won Best Actress this year, yet the boss had given the script most likely to be a massive hit to a newcomer who had joined a round after her. When she raised an objection, the boss had just mocked her for being too fat!
The elevator stopped after descending one floor, and a young man entered. Que Jin didn’t look closely. Her agent, seeing someone enter, lowered her voice slightly but didn’t stop talking.
“Jinjin, it’s not that I’m nagging you, but you just finished a shoot and your weight went from 42.5 kilograms to 43.5. Who would the boss scold if not you? The entertainment industry is like this now. The moment you slack off, someone else can replace you. You won an Best Actress award, that’s true, but you know in your heart that drama was basically a bunch of veteran actors in a serious style. There was no ‘it’ factor. Don’t be resentful that a newcomer is replacing you. You don’t have a shoot right now anyway, so get down to 40 kilograms first.”
Que Jin didn’t speak, but a fire was burning inside her. At 167 centimeters, 42.5 kilograms was already her limit. She was an actress, and she was willing to conform for a role. But to cater to the current unhealthy aesthetic standards, she could only say the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. Yet, her family was from a small county, with no power or influence. She had made it this far purely on her own grit.
Worried that she would look fat when meeting the boss today, she had already been on a light fast for three days.
“Jinjin, you have to listen to me! You’re twenty-six this year. You don’t have many years of your youth left to sell!”
The ten-centimeter high heels were already making Que Jin’s feet ache. She wanted to move a little, but her body went limp and she pitched forward, falling directly towards the elevator doors.
Que Jin’s breath hitched. If she crashed like this, her spot on the variety show would be gone!
Suddenly, a slender arm caught her. In a daze, she heard a suppressed grunt, and a pleasant coconut scent filled her nostrils.
“Thank you,” Que Jin said, her thanks completely sincere.
“It’s nothing.” The young man’s voice was clear, calm, and healing.
Her agent, terrified, quickly helped her up. “Jinjin, are you okay? Oh my, did you go on a diet? You need to lose weight healthily! If you get sick, there are plenty of people to replace you!”
“If you can do it, then you go up,” the young man in front said just before the elevator stopped on the first floor and the doors opened.
The agent was stunned and about to curse, but the young man turned his head and looked at him fearlessly. He had a cute face, but at that moment, his gaze was a bit chilling. After just one glance, he left the elevator.
Que Jin clutched the candy that had been placed in her hand, her fist tightening. She turned her head and asked, “Who is he? He looks like he has good potential.”
Her agent replied with a sarcastic, passive-aggressive tone, “Jinjin, it’s not that I’m nagging you, but besides filming, you should really pay more attention to your social connections. Isn’t that Lin Ganzhi? The unknown who was crazily riding on the coattails of the Film Emperor and Zhong Jingyi a while ago. He must have offended someone behind Zhong Jingyi, so he married Yan Shengping. Oh, and he’s on the same variety show as you. You should stay far away from someone with a constitution that attracts hate. Don’t let it affect you. He was so rude just now!”
Que Jin didn’t say anything, but she knew in her heart that the young man was much better than the caustic person beside her. It had been a long time since she had felt such simple warmth in the circle.