The large door opened, and Qi Xuan walked out with a beaming smile.
The butler and servants, who had been eagerly anticipating, were immediately disappointed. They had come out so quickly? And dressed so properly, it seemed nothing had happened.
Just as Qi Xuan reached his front door, it slammed shut with a bang.
Then, the butler’s gloating voice came from behind the door, "Oh dear, my apologies, young master. Our lock is broken, and the door won't open. I think you'll have to go and stay with Miss Ye next door for the night!"
Qi Xuan: ...
His family status was truly worrying.
"Stop fooling around," Qi Xuan said helplessly, "Butler, open the door quickly."
The large door slowly opened, and the butler said with a mournful tone, "Young master, you really are something. I even prepared an excuse for you, why couldn't you seize the opportunity?"
"If I had really done that, I would have lost all opportunity," Qi Xuan walked in and said calmly, "If I were to deceive Ah Zhi like this, she would be angry."
The butler was slightly stunned. Indeed, such a petty trick would not escape Ye Zhi.
Given Ye Zhi's personality, she would definitely not let Qi Xuan stay overnight and would most likely send him to a hotel. Even then, if Ye Zhi were to misunderstand and think Qi Xuan was just a scumbag trying to trick women into bed, it would be troublesome.
"Butler, what Ah Zhi wants is mutual understanding and compromise, under the premise of equality and respect. Not to disregard her wishes for momentary pleasure," Qi Xuan continued calmly.
"Alright, alright, I get it," the butler sighed helplessly. "We wild fans will absolutely not disturb you two main characters."
Qi Xuan chuckled, "You're becoming more and more trendy."
"Of course!" The butler straightened his back proudly. "Miss Ye's company's main business is all online. If I don't understand more, how can I be your butler in the future?"
"Then keep up the good work," Qi Xuan said with a low laugh.
*
A few days later, a piece of gossip suddenly spread online: Shan Jin Jewelry would become the title sponsor for the Spring Festival Gala that year.
The news was so detailed and credible that it even made it onto the trending lists of major social media platforms.
Ye Zhi noticed it and, with a hint of confusion, called Feng Jie over.
"Did Ou Minghan discuss Shan Jin Jewelry becoming the title sponsor for the Spring Festival Gala with you?" Ye Zhi asked.
"Not at all," Feng Jie replied, quite puzzled. "I saw this trending topic today too, and I found it strange."
"He didn't ask any questions related to these matters either?" Ye Zhi continued to inquire.
"No," Feng Jie mused for a moment, then answered seriously.
Ye Zhi pondered for a moment, then nodded. "I understand. This should be a fake piece of news that was orchestrated and acted out."
"Ah?" Feng Jie was taken aback and asked doubtfully, "President Ye, are you implying that Ou Minghan deliberately released this for publicity?"
Ye Zhi nodded. "Last year, Taoxun was the title sponsor for the Spring Festival Gala. If Ou Minghan truly had such an intention, he would at least ask you for some of Taoxun's experience. Since he didn't even ask, it's highly probable that he's just putting on a show for the Cen family."
Feng Jie's lips twitched. Ou Minghan wasn't doing this for the first time!
"But why is he doing this?" Feng Jie was confused.
Just as Ye Zhi was about to answer, her phone rang.
The call was from Zhan Ruoqing. Ye Zhi waved her hand, signaling Feng Jie to leave, and then pressed the answer button.
As soon as the phone was connected, Zhan Ruoqing's furious voice came through the receiver.
"I'm so angry! So angry! Ye Zhi, did you see the trending topic? What is wrong with Ou Minghan and Cen Ya? Just because I refused to be friends with Cen Ya and didn't want the clothes she made, they want to snatch the Spring Festival Gala sponsorship from us?!"
Ye Zhi replied with a slight smile, "The Spring Festival Gala sponsorship has already been secured by Zhiwei. What are you worried about?"
"I'm definitely not worried, I just find it disgusting!" Zhan Ruoqing huffed. "Are those two sick? Are they going against me?"
"I actually think they might not know at all that Zhiwei has secured the Spring Festival Gala sponsorship. And," Ye Zhi said calmly, "Ou Minghan doesn't actually intend to sponsor the Spring Festival Gala."
Zhan Ruoqing was startled. It was true, although Zhiwei had secured the sponsorship rights for the Spring Festival Gala, the matter had not been widely publicized. Currently, only people in their small circle knew about it.
Ou Minghan and Cen Ya were not even in the same circle, so it was highly likely they had no idea Zhiwei had already secured the sponsorship.
"Since they don't plan to sponsor the Spring Festival Gala at all, why are they creating this public opinion offensive?" Zhan Ruoqing asked, confused.
"Regarding the Spring Festival Gala sponsorship, you need to separate Ou Minghan and the Cen family," Ye Zhi explained. "The Cen family would definitely be willing to use the Spring Festival Gala to boost their reputation. But for a foreign brand to want to sponsor, wouldn't that require some operation and money?"
"I get it!" Zhan Ruoqing suddenly realized. "Meaning, it's highly probable that Ou Minghan instigated the Cen family to strive for the Spring Festival Gala sponsorship, so that he could legitimately take money from the Cen family and 'operate' for them! These trending topics online are deliberately shown by Ou Minghan to the Cen family, making them think their money is well spent!"
"Yes," Ye Zhi nodded. "Even if the news of Zhiwei sponsoring the Spring Festival Gala is announced to the public in the future, he can say that because Shan Jin Jewelry is a foreign brand, and due to various reasons, the operation was not successful. As for the money, once it's been operated, there's no reason to return it."
"Isn't the Cen family clearly inviting a wolf into their house?" Zhan Ruoqing sighed. "Ou Minghan is now ruthlessly extorting money from the Cen family!"
Ye Zhi couldn't agree more. She was also quite surprised. All of Ou Minghan's recent actions indicated that his goal was no longer to oppose her, but to desperately swindle the Cen family's money.
"Cen Ya is so devoted to him, why is he in such a hurry?" Zhan Ruoqing continued to complain.
"It's probably because Cen Ya has spent a lot of money on the studio recently, so he's in a hurry. After all, to him, this is his money being spent. Besides," Ye Zhi added, "the Cen family doesn't have only Cen Ya as a daughter; they can't give everything to Cen Ya."
"He's truly greedy," Zhan Ruoqing said with disdain.
After chatting for a few more minutes, they hung up the phone.
Things were as they had guessed. These trending topics were deliberately created by Ou Minghan for Cen Ya and Ni Na to see.
Ni Na, seeing that this matter seemed to be coming to fruition, gave Ou Minghan more money to handle the operations.
But shortly after, the news that Zhiwei had secured the Spring Festival Gala sponsorship spread. Ou Minghan immediately shifted the blame to Ye Zhi, saying that it must have been Ye Zhi who instigated the Zhan family to compete with Shan Jin Jewelry for the sponsorship with the entire family's strength.