I'm Rich - 4
Chapter 4
A big shot, clearly.
Otherwise, how could they have been sitting here for so long without a single dish being served except the cold appetizers?
But Guan Zhiyi didn't have the mind to worry about any of that. She simply followed Liu Yun's instructions: show her face, make the rounds and greet everyone politely, then sit quietly and listen to them talking.
From everyone's conversation, she learned that the male lead of The Imperial Court had already been cast. It was Li Xuan, an actor known for his acting ability. He was considered one of the veteran actors in the industry, though in truth, Li Xuan was only thirty. He had entered the industry at seventeen or eighteen, so he simply had more years of experience under his belt.
Besides the acting powerhouse Li Xuan, Xiao Ran, a rising young star who had been hugely popular over the past two years, had also joined The Imperial Court.
With a cast like that in place, the drama was already halfway to being a hit, so naturally, countless actors were desperate to squeeze their way into the production.
"Looks like Yitong wants the role of the Empress," Liu Yun said.
Guan Zhiyi nodded, immediately knowing which role she meant. Since The Imperial Court was a male-led drama, there was no absolute female lead, but the novel featured three standout female characters: the male lead's Empress, his younger sister, and a female official.
From what Zhiyi remembered, the Empress had relatively more screen time in the novel, and she was a particularly commanding character.
No wonder Zheng Yitong wanted her.
"What I mean is, I want you to go for the role of Zhaoyang, the male lead's younger sister, the Princess. What do you think?" Liu Yun asked.
Guan Zhiyi said, "That works for me."
Liu Yun looked at her in surprise. "I thought you'd be against playing this kind of cute, lively character now."
Given the show currently airing, where she'd been lambasted for playing a pitiful, sweet, airheaded girl.
Guan Zhiyi smiled. "No. I really like this character."
Princess Zhaoyang was cute and playful, but anyone who had read the novel would know that there was much more to her than that.
"You're with Yixing too? I don't think I've seen you before. Newcomer?" someone suddenly asked while she was mid-sip.
Guan Zhiyi hurriedly put down her glass and looked toward the man beside her, Mr. Huang, Huang Zhian. "I'm not a newcomer. I just haven't been in many productions, so you probably don't remember me, Mr. Huang."
"Such a cute young thing, how come you haven't been in many productions? You haven't been in the industry long, have you?" Mr. Huang looked at her with a smile.
Zhiyi managed a stiff smile: "Actually, it's been about four or five years now."
"That long?" Mr. Huang said. "So you were a child star."
"No, no. I filmed my first drama during my freshman year of college. I've already graduated for a year. I'm not a child star."
Mr. Huang looked genuinely surprised. Then he gave Guan Zhiyi's shoulder a meaningful pat. "You look so young. I'd have sworn you were under eighteen, hahaha."
Guan Zhiyi gave a dry little laugh and edged a little closer to Liu Yun.
Yet afterward, Huang Zhian kept finding excuses to talk to her. Just as Guan Zhiyi was wondering when this awkward, pointless conversation between them would finally end, she heard the door open behind her.
A moment later, Guan Zhiyi saw Zhao Zhihui rise from his seat, walk around the table, and head toward the door.
She rarely saw Zhao Zhihui look this eager to please. Who had arrived?
Guan Zhiyi turned toward the private room's entrance. But the moment her eyes fell on the person walking through the door, she froze.
The newcomer wore a long black overcoat. His tall, straight figure carried an air of effortless composure, and there was a polite, distant smile on his face. He wasn't alone, but the assistant following behind him took off his coat and quietly withdrew.
Beneath the coat was a suit in an exceptionally deep navy, with a white shirt underneath. Unlike the last time she'd seen him, he was wearing a tie tonight, giving him an added severity that seemed to warn people away. Somehow, it suited him perfectly.
He didn't notice her at first. Zhao Zhihui walked over and shook his hand, and he gave a slight nod in response. That handsome, composed face somehow made him seem a little more approachable.
A few seconds later, his gaze turned toward the dining table, and Guan Zhiyi almost instantly looked away.
She stared fixedly at the plate in front of her, her heart pounding. She had never imagined she would run into Qi Chengyan at an industry dinner like this. And from the way Zhao Zhihui was acting, they seemed to have some history.
What was he doing here?
For a moment, Guan Zhiyi even considered making a run for it. But once she'd calmed down, she decided it wasn't really a big deal.
It was nothing strange that a man in Qi Chengyan's position would know these investors. And as an actress from Yixing, there was nothing strange about her being here either.
As long as the two of them pretended not to know each other, everything would be fine.
With that thought, Guan Zhiyi pulled out her phone to message him. But before she could even open WeChat, Liu Yun slapped her arm.
"Put that away! Focus." Liu Yun lowered her voice. "It's actually Qi Chengyan. No wonder..."
Guan Zhiyi lowered her head. "Yun-jie, you know him?"
"I'd only heard before that the Qi Group was interested in entering the entertainment industry. I didn't expect Qi Chengyan himself to show up so soon. He just came back from overseas, so you probably don't know him. This man has quite a reputation in business. Sharp as they come. Huh... if he's here today, maybe he's interested in The Imperial Court?"
Guan Zhiyi had always been completely oblivious to this sort of industry gossip. How could she have known? And the last time they'd met, Qi Chengyan hadn't mentioned a word about it.
Liu Yun said, "Put your phone away. If you get the chance later, say a few words to him. At least get your face familiar."
"...Okay."
Amid everyone's eager attention, Qi Chengyan took the empty seat at the head of the table. Only then did Zhao Zhihui signal the waitstaff to start serving the dishes.
"Apologies for the delay, something came up at the last minute." Qi Chengyan spoke slowly and evenly.
He might not have been genuinely sorry, but there was something pleasant about his voice.
Zhao Zhihui immediately said, "Of course not. We only just got here ourselves. We haven't been waiting long."
Qi Chengyan smiled: "Please, have a seat, President Zhao. Don't stand on ceremony."
"Ah, right." Once Zhao Zhihui sat down and immediately began introducing people to him. "President Qi, this is Zheng Yitong, one of our artists at Yixing."
Zhao Zhihui had strategically arranged for Zheng Yitong to sit beside Qi Chengyan, and Zheng Yitong, who'd been quiet all evening, suddenly lit up with a brilliant smile at this introduction: "Hello. My name is Zheng Yitong."
One sentence, one look. She was completely different from the way she'd introduced herself to everyone else earlier.
Clearly, she'd come tonight with a target in mind.
Qi Chengyan merely gave a slight nod. "Hello."
Zhao Zhihui exchanged a meaningful glance with Zheng Yitong, then naturally moved on to the next person.
There were more than a dozen people around the table. Sooner or later, Zhao Zhihui was bound to get to her.
Guan Zhiyi took a deep breath, lowered the hand she'd been pretending to scratch her forehead with, and raised her head.
Qi Chengyan didn't notice Guan Zhiyi immediately—he was still politely acknowledging each person as they were introduced. But when he was two or three people away from Guan Zhiyi, something caught his peripheral vision, and his gaze paused.
Then, almost naturally, his eyes settled on that familiar face.
"......"
The moment Guan Zhiyi felt his gaze land on her, her heart tightened. After the initial rush of nerves, she blinked hard at him.
There was half surprise and half suspicion in his eyes, but Qi Chengyan absorbed it almost instantly, his face shifting to something between amusement and curiosity.
Guan Zhiyi coughed lightly and shook her head.
The corner of Qi Chengyan's mouth lifted ever so slightly.
"President Qi, this is also one of our artists, Guan Zhiyi." Zhao Zhihui gave only the briefest introduction and was ready to move on.
But Qi Chengyan, who had barely spoken until then, suddenly leaned forward slightly. "Guan Zhiyi."
Zhao Zhihui paused. "Hm? Ah, yes. Guan Zhiyi, one of the company's actresses."
Beside them, Zheng Yitong's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Guan Zhiyi wore a perfunctory smile, but inside, she was starting to panic. Why was he calling her? Hadn't he understood her signal?
"Mm. Very good." Just when Guan Zhiyi thought Qi Chengyan was about to do something, he turned his attention to the man beside her. "And this must be Director Huang?"
"Ah, yes. Hello, President Qi."
...
The executives returned to their business chatter.
Guan Zhiyi quietly let out a breath of relief. Thank goodness he hadn't actually meant to acknowledge knowing her.
Though…had he just done that to mess with her?
**
Once the drinking and toasting began, the dinner only truly got underway after Qi Chengyan arrived.
Amid the clinking glasses and constant rounds of drinks, everyone had already had quite a bit to drink.
"Zhiyi, come on, let me have one with you." Mr. Huang suddenly turned his attention toward her. Guan Zhiyi hurriedly picked up her glass and clinked it against his. "Mr. Huang, I should be the one to toast you."
"No, no, don't talk about toasting or anything. We're just drinking." Huang turned his head to look at her, his eyes behind his glasses already red from the alcohol.
Guan Zhiyi forced a smile and downed her glass.
Qi Chengyan had been glancing at her now and then, but he could tell the young woman didn't want anyone to know they knew each other, so he simply let her be.
Still, when he saw her finish that glass of red wine, his brows drew together.
She could really hold her liquor now?
When Zhao Zhihui glanced sideways, he happened to see Qi Chengyan looking across the table. He followed his gaze and gave a soft laugh. "Mr. Huang's tastes never change, do they? He just can't resist the pure and adorable type. Looks like bringing Zhiyi here today really was the right call."
Zhao had had too much to drink, and his words carried an edge of carelessness that wouldn't have been there otherwise. He hadn't expected the man beside him to go cold immediately.
Zhao Zhihui froze. "President Qi?"
Across the table, Huang Zhian was clearly already drunk. Once he'd gotten into the mood, he kept trying to ply Guan Zhiyi with more drinks. She'd already taken her share of toasts earlier, and Huang Zhian had just forced her into drinking two more. She knew exactly where her limit was, and this time, she refused to drink another drop.
"Mr. Huang, if I drink any more, I'll really get drunk. How about I drink tea instead?"
"That won't do. Are you saying you don't want to give me face? What's the fun in drinking tea?"
"But..."
"Come on, come on. Just one glass. The last one."
Liu Yun also tried to intercept. "Mr. Huang, Zhiyi really doesn't hold her liquor well. How about this? I'll drink this one for her."
"What good does you drinking it do?" Huang Zhian's voice immediately turned cold.
The exchange wasn't loud, but everyone around the table looked over.
The actors wore the indifferent expressions of people who could do nothing to help, while the executives watched with the detached amusement of people who had seen this sort of thing countless times before.
Liu Yun's smile was slightly strained.
She didn't want Guan Zhiyi getting too drunk, but she couldn't afford to offend Huang either. She glanced at Guan Zhiyi, hesitated for a moment, then had no choice but to gave a small nod—take this as the last one, just get it over with.
Guan Zhiyi was helpless too. She took a deep breath and slowly reached for the glass...
"Guan Zhiyi."
Just then, a voice cut through from across the table.
The room had gone quiet, so it landed like a stone in still water.
Everyone froze for a moment before turning toward the speaker.
Qi Chengyan, who'd been affable all evening, now had a sharp edge between his brows as he slowly said, "Come here."
---
Author's Note:
In the beginning, he's an expert at spoiling his "little sister." As for later on... we'll see.
---
Comments
Post a Comment