The two walked back to the private room hand in hand. Qi Xuan's gaze fell meaningfully on their clasped hands.
He felt a pang of envy.
Zhan Ruoqing inexplicably felt a chill down her spine. When she met Qi Xuan's gaze, she finally sensed something was amiss.
No way?!
Her brother hadn't gotten into a fight with Qi Xuan, but she was the one about to incur Qi Xuan's resentment? She was just an observer, she hadn't intended to get personally involved!
"Why did you take so long?" Zhan Ruofeng asked with a frown.
Zhan Ruoqing breathed a sigh of relief. What a good brother! Her own brother! Thank goodness he changed the subject!
"We ran into something just now..." Zhan Ruoqing then recounted what had happened in the lobby.
"Ruan Rou?" Qi Xuan's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing the name.
"What? Mr. Qi, you know her? I didn't realize you had such extensive connections!" Zhan Ruofeng said with schadenfreude, finally seeing an opportunity for revenge!
He had come to realize that Qi Xuan's pursuit of Ye Zhi was proving quite difficult, and he didn't mind adding a few more obstacles for Qi Xuan!
Seeing the three of them look at him uniformly, Qi Xuan calmly explained, "I saw the name in a documentary. She has produced many nature and historical figure documentaries, and has even won documentary awards. Her application of light and shadow is very strong, and her aesthetic level is high. Her documentaries are very comfortable to watch."
Zhan Ruofeng was taken aback, not expecting Qi Xuan to diffuse the situation so smoothly. He couldn't help but say, "Mr. Qi, you know so much about Ruan Rou's situation! Don't you agree, Miss Ye?"
"Of course!" Ye Zhi exclaimed admiringly. "Qi Xuan knows a lot! He's a walking encyclopedia!"
Zhan Ruofeng: ...
He had just wanted to make things more difficult for Qi Xuan, but how did it end up helping Qi Xuan instead?
Qi Xuan felt a bit helpless. He didn't want Ye Zhi's admiration like this.
"Documentaries..." Ye Zhi mused, lowering her head.
Although she intended to make a movie, Ruan Rou had won a documentary award, and even Qi Xuan affirmed her filming skills. She should consider finding an opportunity to meet her and expand her network.
A polite knock sounded at the door. Zhan Ruoqing said with some surprise, "Come in."
The private room door opened, and the restaurant manager walked in.
"Ms. Ye, Young Master Zhan, the female guest you two rescued earlier asked me to convey her thanks to you. She said that if it's convenient, she would like to meet you both to express her gratitude in person."
Ye Zhi was a little surprised. This Ruan Rou was quite resourceful!
She was just thinking about finding an opportunity to meet Ruan Rou, and now Ruan Rou was actively seeking her out. Had she failed to secure investment earlier, and was now hoping to try her luck here?
"Please invite her in," Ye Zhi said.
All three of them looked at Ye Zhi uniformly. Who was it that had just said they were here for dinner, not business?
The manager agreed and went to the lobby to invite Ruan Rou to the private room.
Ruan Rou's mood was somewhat complicated.
She had been feeling very dejected after failing to secure investment today. However, she recalled what the manager had said: the guests in the private room, without revealing their identities, had helped her resolve her problem.
Could she seize this opportunity to try?
So, with a "let's give it a shot" mindset, she approached the manager and conveyed her desire to express her gratitude, never expecting it to actually work.
But this made her hesitate a bit. Since they agreed so readily, were they perhaps harboring ill intentions?
Never mind, she'd go and see first. If the other party truly had malicious intentions, she wouldn't mind offending a few more people.
Ruan Rou, feeling apprehensive, followed the manager to the private room. When she saw the four people, Ye Zhi and the others, she couldn't help but freeze.
She had expected that such mysterious and unfathomable people would be a group of seasoned, successful individuals. But she never imagined they would be four young people, all handsome and beautiful, and each younger than her.
As she sized up everyone, Ye Zhi was also observing her.
Ruan Rou appeared to be around thirty years old. Her skin was a bit rough, a healthy tan, and her palms bore visible calluses, suggesting they were from her documentary filming days. Her features were delicate, but her demeanor exuded resilience and determination.
"Ms. Ye, this is Miss Ruan Rou," the manager said.
Ye Zhi nodded and calmly said, "Ms. Ruan, please have a seat."
Ruan Rou was even more shocked. Was the person with the highest decision-making power in this private room the woman who appeared to be the youngest?
Ruan Rou sat down on a nearby chair and asked somewhat nervously, "May I ask how I should address you?"
"My name is Ye Zhi, you can call me Ms. Ye," Ye Zhi said calmly, then briefly introduced the other three to Ruan Rou.
"Ms. Ye, were you the one who asked the manager to help me resolve my problem just now?" Ruan Rou managed a smile. "Thank you very much for your timely assistance..."
"No need, it was just a small gesture," Ye Zhi waved her hand. "Let's get straight to the point. You're looking for investment from us, aren't you?"
Ruan Rou: ... Ms. Ye, you are truly direct.
"I don't know much about you yet, could you introduce yourself?" Ye Zhi asked.
Ruan Rou immediately seized the opportunity. "My name is Ruan Rou, and I have a master's degree in photography from C University. After graduation, I have been filming documentaries for eight years. My works include..."
After listening to her almost illustrious resume, Ye Zhi's eyes lit up with interest. She had truly struck gold!
"So, you've been traveling all over the country filming documentaries all these years," Zhan Ruoqing said in surprise. "It seems your partner is very supportive of your work!"
"I'm single," Ruan Rou replied.
Zhan Ruoqing gave an embarrassed smile. "Then you must have a good relationship with your family, and your parents aren't pressuring you..."
"They do pressure me, but I don't care," Ruan Rou said calmly. "But in the past two years, they've seen that their nagging is useless and have accepted reality."
Zhan Ruoqing's lips twitched. Did she have to be so blunt? The name Ruan Rou really suited her; she was neither soft nor yielding.
"Ms. Ruan," Ye Zhi asked curiously, "since you have such a brilliant resume, why are you having trouble securing investment for your new documentary?"
"Ms. Ye, because documentaries have a smaller audience and are bought less by television stations, most of them are not profitable," Ruan Rou said with a wry smile. "Moreover, the documentary I want to film this time is my personal idea, not the nature and historical figure types I usually shoot, so it's even harder to find investors."
"Then what kind of documentary are you planning to shoot?" Ye Zhi asked.
"I plan to..." Ruan Rou hesitated slightly, then took a deep breath and said firmly, "shoot a food documentary. However, I don't want to film the dining tables of hotel chefs, but rather kitchens from north to south, east to west, in thousands of households, capturing the lives of ordinary people, their warmth, and their deep affections."
Ye Zhi was amazed. Was she planning to film a "Taste of the Otherworld"?