Luo Fei was stunned when Liang Qiao, his first woman, was mentioned.
He then said coldly, "What do women matter? Once I get control of the Luo family, what kind of woman can't I have?"
The first one was Jiang Mian.
Shen Tingyu smiled at his arrogance, "Someone like you, besides her, would anyone truly care about you?"
"Sincerity? What's sincerity worth?" His gaze swept over Shen Tingyu's face, and with a warning, he said word by word, "You'd better behave yourself during this time. I won't have time to clean up your messes later."
The second half of the year was a good time to enter the overseas market, and he would absolutely not miss this opportunity.
He wanted to show his useless older brother who deserved to be the heir of the Luo family.
Shen Tingyu lowered her eyelids, her expression unreadable, "I have my own plans."
"Oh, and don't say I didn't warn you. You are not on the preliminary guest list for the Kyoto Film Festival. Jiang Mian will definitely attend with 'Class 3 of Senior High', so you figure it out."
Shen Tingyu suddenly looked up, "I'm going too!"
"You go? With what? Jiang Mian only made one film last year, and you made two, neither of which is worth mentioning. Do you know how much the investors lost?"
Shen Tingyu gritted her teeth, "Is it my fault? The production team you arranged, what kind of people were they? Those directors were so arrogant and unwilling to listen to advice, and many scenes were unnecessary, yet I still had to do them!"
Luo Fei couldn't be bothered, "I won't manage you. If you want to go, find a way yourself."
Shen Tingyu raised her head, her eyes flickering, "If I have to find a way myself, then I will!"
...
The company.
Ye Yi dialed Jiang Mian's number, "How are you? Are you alright?"
Jiang Mian smiled, "I'm fine. Thank you for your hard work. Sister Ning told me everything."
Ye Yi let out a soft hum, "So what? In the end, it wasn't me who resolved this."
Damn it, Ji Zhixiu, that man acted so fast!
Jiang Mian couldn't help but curve her lips into a smile, "Then I still have to thank you."
"Let's talk business. The film festival next month, did Director Wang say anything to you? Your crew will all be attending."
Jiang Mian knitted her brows, "Director Wang sent me a WeChat this morning and also told me he couldn't reach Song Xingjia."
Ye Yi, "This guy has just vanished from the industry. His studio hasn't updated his schedule in a long time."
"Even you can't find him?"
Ye Yi pouted, "Unless I fly to Hong Kong to find him."
"If he doesn't attend," Jiang Mian paused, "it will definitely reduce a lot of the buzz for the crew."
"If he doesn't attend, then you'll walk the red carpet with me. I'm handsome too, you know?"
Jiang Mian stroked her cat treat, unable to help but laugh out loud, "Even if I don't walk the red carpet with Song Xingjia, I'll walk it with Director Wang."
"Fine, pretend I didn't say anything. You can finalize other details with Sister Ning. I'll arrange your evening gown."
Jiang Mian nodded, "Okay."
After hanging up, Ye Yi tapped his fingertips on the table and looked at Ye San, "Did you finalize the appointment with the viastr designer I asked you to book before the New Year?"
Ye San lowered his head, "I contacted her, but viastr said she is fully booked now and cannot provide her time for us to design a gown."
Ye Yi raised an eyebrow, "Fully booked viastr? I'm curious, who is so rich and influential that they could make her willingly serve only one person?"
"She refused to disclose."
Ye Yi smirked, "It doesn't matter, doesn't she have another masterpiece?"
Ye San exclaimed in surprise, "Aphrodite?"
Aphrodite was viastr's most classic masterpiece, well-known in the fashion design world.
The beauty and nobility of this evening gown were such that even the youngest princess of the French royal family had once lamented, "There is nothing I cannot match, except for this gown. I cannot do it justice."
Ye Yi had seen it exhibited once in France. He felt that only this dress could be worthy of Jiang Mian.
He stroked his chin. Such events were always about female stars competing for beauty. He absolutely would not allow Jiang Mian to lose to anyone.
Since she was going to attend, she had to be the most high-profile and eye-catching one.
Speaking of which, he was really looking forward to seeing what she would look like wearing it.
"Of course, tell viastr that I want to buy it."
Ye San calmly told him a fact, "Viastr said she would never sell this work in her lifetime. I'm afraid money won't be enough to get it."
Ye Yi looked at him, "Isn't that your problem to solve?"
He stretched lazily, grabbed the car keys from the table, "I'm going home to play games. The company is in your hands."
"Oh, and keep an eye on Shen Tingyu for me."
"Don't bother me if there's nothing, and don't bother me if there is."
...
The matter passed like a ripple on water. No related information could be found on the internet anymore.
However, Ye Yi became popular because of this incident.
His fan count increased by several hundred thousand, but he himself had not posted any Weibo updates.
Especially after Jiang Mian followed him back, everyone noticed that Fanhua's boss's only follower was Jiang Mian.
Some even started shipping them as a couple, and they even came up with a name for the ship: Coconut Milk CP.
Jiang Mian found it both funny and exasperating when she saw it. Her latest Weibo was also filled with fans' concerns.
Jiang Mian decided to host a live stream, just a casual chat.
There were as many as 100,000 people in the live stream room.
Old fans knew that Jiang Mian had a Ragdoll cat.
Seeing Xiao Yugan now, they felt extremely affectionate.
【So cute so cute!】
【Wife, stop holding the cat, hold me instead】
【Will Wife walk the red carpet with Song Xingjia at the film festival! I want to see a second collaboration, a second collaboration!】
A flood of bullet comments scrolled by.
Jiang Mian propped her chin on her hand and stared at the camera, "Yes, I will be attending the film festival."
【Wife seems to be working under duress】
【Wife, when will your historical drama air?】
Jiang Mian finally found a comment she could answer from the barrage. She thought for a moment, "I haven't received any news yet, but the post-editing and such will probably take a lot of effort. I guess it might air in the second half of the year."
She paused, then heard a car downstairs.
Her eyes curved, "That's all for today's broadcast, bye-bye!"
She let go of Xiao Yugan, put on her slippers, and ran downstairs.
"A Xiu!"
The girl's joyful voice called out. Ji Zhixiu stopped in his tracks and looked up.
Her skirt hem fluttered, drawing an elegant arc in the air.
Jiang Mian landed steadily in Ji Zhixiu's arms. She hooked her arms around the man's shoulders, smiling brightly, "You're back so early today?"
Ji Zhixiu held her slender waist, "I'm taking you out to dinner."
Jiang Mian's bright eyes stared at him, "What are we eating?"
"You'll know when we get there."
Still being mysterious, Jiang Mian couldn't help but curve her lips, feeling a little excited.
Jiang Mian changed into a different outfit.
When she came downstairs again, a flash of astonishment appeared in Ji Zhixiu's eyes.
Jiang Mian was wearing a green qipao, her hair styled with a plum blossom hairpin, looking elegantly beautiful and refined.
She carried a matching embroidered coin purse on her arm and then linked her arm with the man's, "Let's go!"
Only after getting into the car did Jiang Mian realize there was no Xiang Long.
"Are you driving?" she asked.
Ji Zhixiu leaned over and fastened her seatbelt.
With his hands on either side, he trapped her between his chest. The usual coldness in his eyes faded, replaced by a hint of a smile, and he softly uttered, "Just the two of us."
A hint of sweetness welled up in Jiang Mian's heart.
Ji Zhixiu took her to Zhuyayuan.
He parked the car and took her hand.
The private room had already been booked, and the courtyard was enclosed.
As soon as someone approached, the wind chimes hanging at the door would ring with a clear and pleasant sound. Immediately, a neatly dressed waiter would come to open the door.
Upon seeing Ji Zhixiu, the person smiled slightly, "Mr. Ji? Please come in."
Jiang Mian looked at her curiously. The courtyard had a serene environment, ancient charm, rock gardens, pools, and swimming koi.
It didn't look like a place to eat at all. It was more like a resort.
The waiter led them through a winding corridor, guiding Jiang Mian further inside.
Jiang Mian gently tugged on his hand and whispered, "Are we eating Chinese food?"
Ji Zhixiu nodded, "Yes."
Jiang Mian nodded and said no more.
When the waiter reached the last room at the end, she pushed open the door and extended her right hand, "Peach Blossom Courtyard, please."
Jiang Mian then noticed that the nameplate above the door read "Peach Blossom Courtyard" in three large characters, carved on lacquered wood with a delicate small-font calligraphy, very beautiful.
The room also had a gilded lacquered wooden table and two bamboo chairs. In the center was a large screen painting of a beauty bathing in water, which looked very valuable.
However, from the doorway, one couldn't see the other side of the scene, but Jiang Mian could already faintly smell a sweet fragrance.
She seemed to have already figured out the origin of the private room's name.
The waiter pulled out the chairs for them, "Please wait a moment, we have already notified them to serve the food."
Ji Zhixiu hummed and his gaze fell on Jiang Mian, "You can go."
The waiter acknowledged and retreated.
The private room was instantly left with just the two of them.
Jiang Mian couldn't help but go around to the other side of the screen. Upon seeing the peach branches breaking through the window, she raised an eyebrow, "As expected."
Ji Zhixiu stood behind her, "Do you like it?"
Jiang Mian nodded her head, "I do, but it's not peach blossom season, is it?"
Ji Zhixiu put his arm around her shoulders, "The result of grafting and cultivation abroad."
After he had brought Jing Yiyi here last time, he was certain that the little girl would like this place.
Seeing the joy in Jiang Mian's eyes, Ji Zhixiu felt it was worth postponing a meeting today to rush back and have dinner with the young lady.
Soon, the first dish was served.
"Chicken feather vegetable and meatball soup!" Jiang Mian exclaimed.
"This is Jiangnan cuisine!"
Ji Zhixiu nodded, "Try it, is it the taste of your hometown? Is it authentic?"
Jiang Mian picked up a meatball and brought it to his lips, her eyes smiling, "You first."
Ji Zhixiu lowered his eyes, opened his mouth, bit into the meatball, and chewed it carefully.
"It's good. It's fatty and lean, and the meatballs are very delicate."
Jiang Mian also ate one. She could immediately tell the secret within it, "These are handmade meatballs."
Jiang Mian ate to her heart's content. Every dish was to her taste.
However, this kind of place didn't seem like where a man would usually conduct business.
The smile on Jiang Mian's lips faded slightly. Although she had just arrived, she could tell that this was definitely a private dining establishment.
She put down her chopsticks, blinked her eyes, "How did you find this place?"