I'm Rich - 34
Chapter 34
The photography team went upstairs with Guan Zhiyi and the others to shoot. Since the press conference was about to start, they worked fast and were back down in just over ten minutes. Guan Zhiyi headed to the banquet hall downstairs with her manager for the press conference, while the photographers rushed back to edit the photos.
On the way to the banquet hall, Guan Zhiyi ran into Xiao Ran and Qi Chengyan. The two of them looked like they were headed to the same place.
"Zhiyi, what a coincidence," Xiao Ran greeted her.
Guan Zhiyi walked over and glanced at Qi Chengyan. "You're heading to the venue now?"
"Yep." Xiao Ran looked her up and down. "Wow, you look gorgeous today."
"Thanks. You look pretty handsome yourself today."
Xiao Ran raised his brows. "Oh, I get by."
"Cold?" Qi Chengyan asked instinctively, looking at what she was wearing.
She had on carefully done makeup today and a beautiful dress. It was short, above the knee, and flattered the lines of her legs.
Beautiful, but it didn't look like it kept much warmth in.
Guan Zhiyi shook her head. "Cold isn't the problem. I'm hungry."
"Hungry?"
"Starving." Guan Zhiyi lowered her voice. "I only had a tiny bit of salad at lunch."
Qi Chengyan frowned. "Why didn't you eat more?"
"I can't. If I eat too much, I won't look good in the dress!"
Qi Chengyan's brow furrowed with displeasure.
Guan Zhiyi added, "But I can hold out. I'll eat a proper meal once it's over. It's about time. Should we head in?"
Xiao Ran said, "Sure, sure. Let's eat together after. I didn't eat much either."
"Okay."
The hotel's banquet hall was enormous. The front section was for media and guests, while the back was filled with selected fans.
Most of them were Xiao Ran's fans. When Guan Zhiyi and Xiao Ran entered, an explosive wave of screams erupted from the back. Xiao Ran was used to it. He waved in that direction, setting off even louder screams.
Guan Zhiyi quietly made her way to the seat with her name on it. As she walked, she glanced toward the back and was surprised to spot her own name among the sea of Xiao Ran's light boards. Not many, but enough to form a small cluster.
She blinked, her heart suddenly warm. She gave a small bow in that direction before sitting down in her seat.
The press conference was mainly to release the first trailer, then have the cast come on stage to interact and generate all kinds of eye-catching news for the internet, building hype for The Imperial Court.
The event ran for an hour and a half. When it ended, Guan Zhiyi returned to their original guest room at Nanjue with her manager and assistant.
Shortly after they got back, Guan Zhiyi received a message from Guan Yuanbai: [Chengyan had someone bring a key card down. Come eat.]
A moment later, Mao Mao came over. "Zhiyi-jie, President Qi's assistant had someone bring a key card. He said to come eat. Xiao Ran and the others are all there."
Guan Zhiyi took the card from her hand and saw it was for the presidential suite in Yunting.
"I got it."
Guan Zhiyi got up, went into the inner room, changed into casual clothes, and headed out.
The Nanjue's guest floors had excellent privacy. She didn't have to worry about being secretly photographed as she walked out and took the elevator up with her card.
The guest rooms on Yunting's upper floors were all duplexes. The most famous feature was that every room's second floor had a living room with a massive floor-to-ceiling window. From there, you could practically look down over the entire city.
When Guan Zhiyi entered, she didn't see them on the first floor. She figured they must be dining in the second-floor area with the view. So she changed into slippers and headed straight upstairs.
"Zhiyi's manager thought you and Zhiyi had something going on? Hahaha, your image as a boss really isn't very upright." Xiao Ran's voice drifted over.
Hearing her own name, Guan Zhiyi stopped in her tracks.
"So you two plan to keep her identity hidden forever?"
Guan Yuanbai: "We're not going out of our way to hide it now. It's just that things are going well for her. No need to bring it up specifically."
"That's fair..." Xiao Ran said. "But I think you and Zhiyi could actually go somewhere, Chengyan. Hahahaha, I mean, you two are pretty well-matched."
Guan Zhiyi froze, her heart nearly stopping.
She carefully held her breath. Then she heard Guan Yuanbai's incredulous voice: "Well-matched? Can you stop spouting nonsense? There's a limit to gossip."
Xiao Ran glanced at Qi Chengyan, who was silently drinking tea, and smiled. "What, you don't think they're well-matched?"
Guan Yuanbai: "...Well-matched my ass. That little girl was practically raised by me and Chengyan. Well-matched? Would you say you and your own sister are well-matched?"
Xiao Ran: "Hey, hey, hey. You're Zhiyi's real brother. Chengyan isn't!"
"To me, there's essentially no difference."
"Then was I really reading it wrong?" Xiao Ran rubbed his chin and looked at Qi Chengyan. "Chengyan, you really don't like Zhiyi?"
Qi Chengyan lifted his eyes to look at him. Steam swirled in the air, and his eyes seemed veiled by a thin layer of mist, indistinct.
Like her, or not like her?
The scale in his heart wobbled back and forth, and in the end, it tipped.
But like Guan Yuanbai said, that little girl had been raised by him. Her dependence on him and trust in him were no different from what she had for Guan Yuanbai, her real brother.
So this was hardly the time for him to say anything like that. If he spoke his true feelings now, forget letting Guan Zhiyi find out. Just saying it in front of Guan Yuanbai would make him worse than a beast.
"Can you shut your mouth? Do you not know us at all, or do you actually believe those rumors floating around out there?"
Xiao Ran: "But I really felt like there was something between you two..."
"She's just a little sister." Qi Chengyan's gaze was deep, he brushed him off casually. "I wouldn't have those kinds of feelings for her. Stop nagging."
"Fine, fine, fine." Xiao Ran smiled slyly. "Hey, then can I pursue her?"
Qi Chengyan paused.
"I just think she's adorable. Totally my type!"
Qi Chengyan set down his cup and, a second later, threw a pillow at him. "Someone like you? Stay away from her. She still has a career in entertainment to worry about."
"Ow... What's that supposed to mean? Like dating me would be some kind of disaster!"
Guan Yuanbai chimed in, "Wouldn't it be? Dating you means getting cursed out for eighteen generations of ancestors, right?"
"Hey—"
Xiao Ran's grumbling drifted over from that side. Guan Zhiyi listened with a blank expression. After a long while, she turned and went back downstairs.
Her steps were light. Back at the first-floor entryway, she changed back into her own shoes, opened the door, and walked out.
The moment the door closed, her expression crumbled for just an instant.
It was like thinking you’d finally found the courage to move forward, that you were almost where you wanted to be, only to realize you’d been going around in circles and were still standing in the same place.
That kind of confusion and sense of loss could knock you to the ground in an instant, leaving you feeling like you’d never be able to get back up.
Truthfully, she'd never had much confidence about him to begin with. It was only after the Yang Mengjia incident that she'd found even a sliver of courage to want to change how he saw her. All this time, even as she moved closer to him, she'd still been afraid. Afraid that one day, after she actually confessed, he'd feel awkward. That he'd say, Xiao Wu, I don't feel that way about you. You're just my little sister...
That fear had never left her.
Well, now she doesn't even have to say anything. She'd already heard the answer.
All her courage zeroed out in that instant. He'd handed down the verdict early, she no longer had to worry.
Guan Zhiyi rode the elevator in a daze. She saw her own reflection in the elevator mirror, her eyes hollow and a little absent. She didn't want to cry. She just felt empty.
She thought…. she must really have been overthinking things.
With or without Yang Mengjia, it was the same. Whether or not there was someone by his side, he wouldn't see her that way.
In his heart, she was just a noisy little sister. Nothing more.
Ding—
The elevator reached the floor she'd originally been staying on. She walked back, swiped her card, and entered.
The photography team had already left. Liu Yun was outside coordinating with staff about post-conference matters, only Mao Mao was in the room, sorting her schedule on the computer.
When Mao Mao saw her come in, she was surprised. "Zhiyi-jie, why are you back? You didn't eat?"
Guan Zhiyi opened her mouth, but her throat felt blocked, not even knowing what to say. She just felt like she'd been running around all day, and all the exhaustion had crashed down on her at once.
Her temples throbbed. She was tired, and helpless.
Mao Mao sensed something was off. "What's wrong? Not feeling well?"
Guan Zhiyi murmured an acknowledgment and kicked off her shoes, climbing straight into bed.
"Zhiyi—"
"I want to sleep."
"Huh?"
Guan Zhiyi burrowed entirely under the covers and said quietly, "I don't want to eat. Don't let anyone bother me."
"But Yun-jie might—"
"I said! Don't let anyone bother me!"
This was the first time Guan Zhiyi had ever raised her voice at her. Mao Mao was taken aback, "Then, then if you feel unwell, you have to tell me."
Guan Zhiyi closed her eyes, her nose stinging. After a long moment, she said hoarsely, "I'm sorry. I just don't feel well..."
There was no response.
Guan Zhiyi pulled the blanket aside and saw that Mao Mao had gone out to the small living room to work. She raised a hand to cover her eyes, and only then did the wetness surge out.
What was she doing, snapping at her own assistant? She should be angry at herself, only herself.
**
In the presidential suite at Yunting, the three of them waited a long time and still didn't see Guan Zhiyi come up, so they had Qi Chengyan call her.
The phone rang for a while before it was picked up. Qi Chengyan said, "Where are you—"
"President Qi."
Qi Chengyan paused. "Mao Mao?"
"Yes, it's me."
"Why are you answering?"
"It's like this. Zhiyi-jie said she's very sleepy and just wants to sleep. She asked not to be disturbed."
"Sleeping?" Qi Chengyan remembered before the press conference she'd said she was hungry. How was she sleeping now?
Qi Chengyan: "Has she eaten?"
"No."
Qi Chengyan frowned. "Already asleep?"
"Yes."
Qi Chengyan was silent for a moment. "Alright. Let me know when she wakes up."
"Okay, President Qi."
The call ended.
Guan Yuanbai asked, "What time is it? She's sleeping?"
Xiao Ran said, "She's probably exhausted. You don't know, our schedules as entertainers run day and night. Sleep is what we're always short on."
Guan Yuanbai: "She should at least eat before sleeping."
"Probably just got hit by a sudden wave of drowsiness."
...
Since Guan Zhiyi wasn't coming, Guan Yuanbai had food sent up.
Qi Chengyan glanced at his phone, a little distracted. How could that girl not even know to eat...
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Author's Note:
Alright, you're in for it now, Old Qi. Time to start your performance.
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