Wan Yurou wore a black dress today, with heavy makeup, black hair and red lips, looking stunningly beautiful. It couldn't help but catch the eye of Lu Mingzhe, who was sitting at the table.
"This is for you." Wan Yurou took a gift from her bag and pushed it towards Lu Mingzhe.
"What's this?" Lu Mingzhe raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Congratulations on winning the grand championship of 'Tomorrow's Star'." Wan Yurou struck the perfect tone, neither overly intimate nor distant.
Lu Mingzhe felt a great surge of vanity. He picked up the gift box: "May I open it?"
Wan Yurou nodded, then picked up the teacup beside her, holding it gently and taking a small sip.
Lu Mingzhe opened it to find a silver-blue tie.
"I watched the live broadcast of the grand championship night," Wan Yurou put down her teacup and looked at Lu Mingzhe across the table. "I always felt the tie you wore on stage was a bit plain. I happened to see this one and thought it suited you."
She spoke openly and frankly, not as if she were deliberately giving a tie to create an ambiguous atmosphere.
Lu Mingzhe was very much taken by this approach.
He didn't like those who threw themselves at him, nor would he pay attention to those who were overly cold. Someone like Wan Yurou... was rather interesting.
The two exchanged a glance, sharing an unspoken understanding, with an ambiguous tension lingering in the air around them.
Just then, a waiter passing by with a water glass suddenly stumbled, falling to the side. The tray in his hand slipped, threatening to spill its contents all over Wan Yurou.
"Be careful."
Ye Qiusuo steadied the waiter with one hand and caught the tray with the other.
The waiter's face turned deathly pale, his hands trembling.
Wan Yurou beside them was startled. If that tray hadn't been caught, all the water would have spilled on her.
Ye Qiusuo helped the waiter sit down at a nearby seat: "Low blood sugar?"
The waiter nodded weakly, his face pale, unable to even speak.
Fortunately, there were sugar cubes on the table. Ye Qiusuo took one and gave it to him. The waiter held the sugar in his mouth and gradually stopped trembling so much.
The manager, having heard the commotion, came over. He first apologized to the customers, then helped the waiter leave.
Only then did Ye Qiusuo turn and head to the other side. Lu Minglang had arranged to meet her here.
"The service quality here is getting worse and worse," Lu Mingzhe said displeasedly. He looked at Wan Yurou, "Are you alright?"
Wan Yurou shook her head: "Just a bit startled, that's all."
"Was that Professor Ye, the one you recorded the show with?" Lu Mingzhe asked.
"...Yes. I wonder why she's here." Wan Yurou glanced in the direction Ye Qiusuo had gone. That area seemed to be private rooms, which were hard to book.
A minor interruption, Lu Mingzhe didn't dwell on it. The two sat by the window and continued their previous conversation.
Ye Qiusuo turned into the corridor leading to the private rooms. Halfway there, she suddenly remembered she had ruined Wan Yurou and Lu Mingzhe's romantic opportunity.
In the original book, there was a scene where Wan Yurou, dressed beautifully in a black dress, was having a meal with Lu Mingzhe at a restaurant. A waiter accidentally spilled water on Wan Yurou. In the end, Lu Mingzhe took off his suit jacket and draped it over Wan Yurou, taking her to his home. Their feelings for each other rapidly intensified from then on.
It was just that when she passed through the walkway earlier, she hadn't seen the two of them. She only saw the waiter about to fall and quickly stepped forward to help.
Professor Ye felt a twinge of guilt.
"Professor Ye?" Lu Minglang, seeing Ye Qiusuo distracted since she entered, couldn't help but call out.
"Apologies." Ye Qiusuo snapped back to attention. She looked at the young man across from her and seriously discussed the progress of their project.
Lu Minglang lowered his gaze, his fingertips tracing the teacup. Ye Qiusuo was actually a simple person, thoroughly a researcher's style—firm, straightforward, not one for devious thoughts, and not overly focused on profit.
After all the project details were discussed, Lu Minglang looked at Ye Qiusuo: "Tianqiu Tech... has been making quite a splash recently. CEO Zhang seems somewhat dissatisfied with you, Professor Ye, and is actively recruiting new researchers from outside."
Ye Qiusuo looked up: "What are you trying to say?"
"Zhang Chengjue doesn't seem like the type who can tolerate you, Professor Ye, holding so many shares. Perhaps we could cooperate..." This was Lu Minglang's real purpose.
Tianqiu Tech was too enviable. Achieving its current success in just a few short years—who wouldn't want a piece of the pie?
Those three shareholders who got in early were already the envy of countless people.
Lu Minglang was young, his ambitions greater than others. He had his eye on Tianqiu.
Ye Qiusuo suddenly let out a light laugh. Lu Minglang across from her was taken aback.
For a company, Tianqiu Tech hadn't been established for long, but because it had strictly adhered to the established rules from the start, it was now very mature in all aspects.
But now, just any outsider could easily find out about internal issues. It had to be said that Zhang Chengjue was treating the company like a toy.
"This is a matter between us," Ye Qiusuo stopped smiling. "Outsiders can't interfere."
There wasn't a hint of amusement in her eyes.
"My apologies," Lu Minglang quickly said sincerely, swiftly changing the subject. It had to be said he was extremely handsome, speaking unhurriedly, which made him quite likable.
However, this had no effect on Professor Ye.
The two parted after the meal. Lu Minglang returned to his car and let out a long sigh. Had he known this would happen, he wouldn't have brought up the matter. Now, Professor Ye probably had a poor impression of him.
Ye Qiusuo didn't pay much mind to Lu Minglang. She was thinking about how many people knew about the internal problems at Tianqiu. Of course, perhaps only Lu Minglang knew, being from the Lu family, whose reach was longer than others.
The company initially needed a public-facing representative and someone to handle business investments and such. Ye Qiusuo wasn't willing to manage those things; her mind was entirely on research. Back then, Zhang Chengjue held half the shares and was even somewhat uneasy.
People's hearts are easily changed.
"I don't want to go. I'm not recording."
Xie Xi covered his ears, avoiding his manager's arrangements.
Wei Qi blocked Xie Xi's path: "You have to participate. This is a great opportunity for you."
After the near-accident last time, Wei Qi suddenly realized something: the outside world knew too little about Xie Xi, and she had protected him too well. If something happened to Xie Xi and she wasn't the one handling it, he would inevitably be attacked.
"A reality show. The audience will definitely like you," Wei Qi said with certainty. After spending time with Xie Xi, no one could help but like him.
"Aren't reality shows all fake?" Xie Xi currently didn't want to record any shows. The experience with 'Tomorrow's Star' had successfully killed his interest in any program.
"I've vetted it properly. It won't be like last time where we ran into that kind of production team. Also, regarding editing issues, it's written in the contract this time that our side gets to review it before it's released."
Xie Xi was willful for a long while, but Wei Qi still wouldn't budge. In the end, he could only agree.
"Just be yourself during the recording, the same as you usually are." Wei Qi sighed inwardly. She was taking a risk this time. "Xixi, make the most of it."
"What do you have to do on a reality show?" Xie Xi asked.
"There are three resident guests. For the first three episodes, you'll record at each other's homes. After that, it will be based on mission themes." Seeing that Xie Xi was willing to listen, Wei Qi sat down and explained carefully.
"Besides you, there are two other guests. One is the film director Xu Qingwei, and the other is the young actor You Feibai."
Just from looking at the other two participants, one could tell the production team had put thought into it. Director Xu Qingwei, hailed as the queen of art-house films, and You Feibai, a young actor who had risen in the past two years and won Best Actor last year. All three were top talents in their respective fields.
"They're coming to my place?" Only now did Xie Xi grasp the meaning behind Wei Qi's earlier words.
Wei Qi: "...Yes."
Xie Xi felt a bit reluctant.
"You'll be going to their homes too," Wei Qi comforted him. "Besides, there's not much to see at your place anyway."
Xie Xi was not comforted.
After explaining everything, Wei Qi left, and Xie Xi curled up alone on the sofa.
...He lowered his head to play games.
If you're unhappy, just play some games; that fixes everything.
"Holy crap!"
A hushed exclamation came from somewhere in the living room.
"What are you doing?" After playing a few rounds, Xie Xi got up to get some water and saw his assistant squatting in a corner, clutching his phone and whispering excitedly.
Zhang Dong jolted, turned around, saw it was Xie Xi, and waved him over. "Look, Professor Ye!"
It was a press conference, being broadcast live on a certain channel, with Ye Qiusuo speaking.
"Professor Ye is really amazing! She's even on the news!" Zhang Dong had also become a fan of Professor Ye after watching "Knowledge Q&A."
Xie Xi took the phone and looked at the person on screen. He had to admit, Professor Ye stood out brilliantly among a crowd of middle-aged people. Coupled with her fluent, script-free explanation, it made people admire her even more.
"What is she talking about?" Xie Xi felt he understood each word individually, but put together, it was completely incomprehensible.
Zhang Dong leaned in to watch and shook his head. "No idea. Seems really impressive though."
Xie Xi, self-taught in this regard, started taking screenshots. After about ten minutes, Ye Qiusuo finally stepped down, giving the camera over to someone else.
"Let me borrow your phone for a bit." Xie Xi took his assistant's phone, intending to pick a few screenshots to send to himself.
This one looks good, that one looks good too... In the end, Xie Xi sent all the screenshots to his own phone, then meticulously deleted every single one from his assistant's phone, even cleaning out the "recently deleted" folder that kept items for thirty days.
When Zhang Dong got his phone back, he wanted to check the screenshots, but found nothing.
"..."
Even as a fan, his Xixi was this domineering and not exactly a model one.
What fan didn't wish the whole world could see the person they liked?
Xie Xi hugged his phone, looking at the screenshots. As he looked, a sudden feeling of unease settled in his chest. Last week, Ye Qiusuo had come to him for the final round of tests, marking the end of their scheduled sessions.
They basically had no chance to meet again unless the project results came out.
Maybe he should go supervise the project's progress?
The next day, Xie Xi swaggered off to find Ye Qiusuo.
Of course, this was only Xie Xi's own perception. In Ye Qiusuo's eyes, he still seemed rather sneaky.
"Aren't you afraid of being spotted by students?" Professor Ye was just by the corridor railing getting some air when she saw the fully disguised Xie Xi waving from below. To avoid causing a commotion, she had no choice but to bring him into her office.
"Zhang Dong's car is nearby. If anyone notices, I'll just run back to it," Xie Xi declared confidently after entering, first inspecting the small cactus before speaking.
"What did you need to see me about?"
Xie Xi cleared his throat, hand covering his mouth, then stated with an air of righteous seriousness, "I came to supervise the progress of that project."
Coming from Xie Xi, these words felt oddly out of place.
When Lu Minglang came to see Ye Qiusuo, it was also to discuss project progress, at least ostensibly. As for Xie Xi...
He seemed more like he was here on a casual visit.
Nevertheless, Ye Qiusuo still earnestly began explaining the project to him. The main difficulty currently lay in data collection. In the past, too few people cared about dyslexia. Nowadays, those who typically came to hospitals were young parents with very young children who naturally knew few characters, making testing difficult. Therefore, progress wasn't as fast as hoped.
Xie Xi's eyes glazed over: He didn't understand a word.
But Professor Ye looked really good when she was talking seriously.
