I'm Rich - 62
The interview started at eight in the evening. Guan Zhiyi set out an hour and a half early to meet up with her team.
By the time her car pulled into the parking garage at the interview venue, Liu Yun and Mao Mao were already there waiting. Following the exact spot Guan Zhiyi had described, they walked over and found her standing in front of a sports car.
It was painted black, but in this parking lot, that black was anything but understated. With a matte finish, sweeping lines, and an aggressively styled front end, it radiated an immediate, commanding presence.
Ever since learning about Guan Zhiyi's family background, Liu Yun had slowly grown accustomed to it. After all, she had even visited the girl's luxury estate. Yet seeing her drive a machine like this to work still packed a punch.
Liu Yun had seen this model online. It was expensive enough to make someone like her, well-accustomed to the excesses of the entertainment industry's elite, feel her scalp tingle.
"Whoa, Zhiyi-jie, your car is so cool!" Mao Mao's eyes shone.
Before heading out, Guan Zhiyi had simply taken Guan Yuanbai's car keys. "It's not mine. My brother's."
Mao Mao asked, "Which model is this? I've never seen it before."
Guan Zhiyi had zero interest in cars and simply shook her head. "I have no idea."
Liu Yun patted Mao Mao on the shoulder. "Don't ask. You're better off not knowing."
Mao Mao asked, "Why?"
Liu Yun gestured toward her chest. "If you know too much, your heart starts to hurt."
...
Work officially kicked off at eight. Guan Zhiyi joined the rest of the cast for interviews and promotional games. An hour later, it wrapped up, and everyone scattered.
Returning to the parking garage, Guan Zhiyi said her goodbyes to Liu Yun and the others, climbed into the car, and headed straight for Xinghe Bay .
Ever since practicing under Qi Chengyan's supervision, she had grown quite comfortable behind the wheel. With the night roads largely clear, her speed naturally crept up.
Almost... leaving the car behind her in the dust.
"She's driving way too fast. Keep up, hurry up and stay with her," urged the person in the passenger seat of the gray sedan trailing behind, clutching a camera.
The driver muttered a curse. "You fucking try keeping up with her. Look at what she's driving and look at what we're in."
"Just don't lose her!"
"I'll do my best..."
The gray sedan tailed Guan Zhiyi all the way to the gates of the Xinghe Bay residential complex.
The sports car glided smoothly past the main gates and disappeared inside. Recognizing instantly that they had no chance of getting past security, the men in the sedan told the person in the back to grab the gear.
"Hurry, hurry, get my new toy out."
"You got it."
The sunroof slid open, and a compact drone drifted slowly into the air, dipping low and slipping stealthily through a blind spot...
Driving past Qi Chengyan's house, Guan Zhiyi cast a lingering, reluctant glance at it before pulling into Guan Yuanbai's driveway.
"You're back." Guan Yuanbai had just returned himself, still dressed in his unswitched suit.
Guan Zhiyi offered a soft murmur. "I'm exhausted. I'm going to bed."
Guan Yuanbai shot her a sideways glance. "Oh."
As she headed upstairs, Guan Yuanbai lingered in the living room to check his phone.
After waiting a moment, he didn't hear her coming back down.
He felt a mild surprise. Knowing Guan Zhiyi's usual habits, he fully expected her to sneak out and haunt the neighboring house for a bit, but she hadn't.
A flicker of confusion crossed his mind, mingled with a quiet sense of triumph. It seemed his status as an older brother still carried some weight.
Of course, this perpetual bachelor had no idea that modern couples could remain thoroughly glued to each other even when apart.
Through video calls, for instance.
Having retreated to her room early, Guan Zhiyi showered, collapsed onto her bed, and happily swiped to accept an incoming video call from Qi Chengyan.
"Done with your shower?" On the screen, Qi Chengyan sat in his study, settled in a chair with earbuds in his ears.
Lying on her stomach with her face half-buried in the blankets, she peeked up at him. "All done, getting ready for bed. What about you?"
"Still have a few things to wrap up. I'll sleep in a bit."
"Ah... should I hang up then? Am I distracting you?"
"No," Qi Chengyan said. "Those things can wait. You're heading to sleep soon."
"I can stay up late too! I'll wait for you!"
Qi Chengyan replied, "There's no need. Go on to sleep and get some rest."
Guan Zhiyi hesitated, humming softly. "So... what are you doing tomorrow?"
"Heading to the office."
"Oh..."
"How about I come over and have dinner with you tomorrow night?"
Her eyes lit up, though hesitation followed almost immediately. "How would that work? My brother's here."
Qi Chengyan raised a brow, a quiet chuckle escaping him. "Xiao Wu, your brother might be a bit annoyed, but he didn't forbid us from seeing each other."
...Fair point.
Qi Chengyan added, "So you don't need to take his menacing act too seriously. Rest assured, I'll come find you tomorrow."
"I'll be waiting then."
"Alright."
They stayed on the line for ages, chatting idly as if they would never run out of things to say. It wasn't until Guan Zhiyi's eyelids began to droop that they finally ended the call.
When Guan Zhiyi woke the next morning, Guan Yuanbai had already left for work. However, the domestic help he had hired arrived today, and seeing her awake, quickly whipped up breakfast.
After eating, she settled into the living room to watch a movie. Her hobbies were few, but cinema held a massive place among them.
With two films finished, lunchtime rolled around. As she sat at the dining table, her phone buzzed.
She picked it up. "Yun-jie."
"Zhiyi, listen, about yesterday..."
"What is it?"
Liu Yun asked, "Didn't you notice anything unusual when you came home yesterday? Some paparazzi were following you last night."
Guan Zhiyi blinked. "No, I didn't notice a thing."
"Figures... None of the photos look like close-ups, so missing them makes sense. I'm just calling to let you know that your trip to Xinghe Bay in that car yesterday has blown up online."
"Huh?"
"Anyway, take a look first. Once you've seen it, give me a word and I'll figure out how to handle the PR."
"Got it."
Ending the call, Guan Zhiyi set down her chopsticks and quickly pulled out her phone to open Weibo.
Sure enough, her name was already trending, and not just in one spot.
#GuanZhiyiLuxuryCar#
#GuanZhiyiQiChengyan#
Hm?
She was photographed driving an expensive car—what on earth did that have to do with Qi Chengyan? She hadn't even been with him yesterday.
She tapped directly into the trending topic. After skimming the photos and leaks posted by the top accounts, the situation finally clicked.
The paparazzi had apparently been tailing her since the parking garage at the interview venue. As for the connection to Qi Chengyan, an insider had apparently leaked that the house her car pulled into belonged to Qi Chengyan, the head of the Qi Group.
There were always plenty of resourceful sleuths among netizens. Since Qi Chengyan lived there long-term, unearthing his property holdings was hardly surprising. But the problem was... the house she drove into yesterday belonged to Guan Yuanbai! Qi Chengyan's place was the one right next door! Were people's eyes completely useless nowadays?
She tapped into the comments section. True to form, that zone of absolute freedom had already devolved into a cesspool.
[Damn! A limited-edition supercar. Heard there are only two of these in the entire country...]
[Didn't she build an image of a hardworking girl pulling herself up from poverty? Guess the mask slipped?]
[Hilarious. She's been famous for ages now, can't she earn enough to buy her own car?]
[That kind of car isn't something you can just buy with money, fans. Wake up.]
[Turns out she just latched onto Qi Chengyan after all. So desperate to deny it before, how embarrassing.]
[Really going all out to marry into wealth, huh.]
[You said it. Hook up with Qi Chengyan and you get cars and houses handed to you.]
[A house in Xinghe Bay? Holy crap, that's insanely expensive.]
[Get real. He's probably just playing with her. Does some little actress actually think she's getting into the Qi family?]
[Even if he's just playing with her, she still cashed in (doge).]
[Ugh, my husband would never like her!!!]
[Disgusting.]
...
Plenty of comments from supportive fans and netizens mixed in, but given Guan Zhiyi's surging popularity, she naturally drew more than just regular haters—various gossip bloggers and rivals were eager to seize any leverage to tear into her.
After scrolling through the reactions, she let out a weary sigh.
Previously, she had believed that simply focusing on acting was enough, which was why she never shared her personal life online. She hadn't expected a few stray photos to invite this level of vitriol.
Just as she finished browsing, Qi Chengyan's call came through.
"You've seen it," she said the moment she answered.
Qi Chengyan gave a low hum. "What are you thinking?"
She replied, "My brother and dad are both pretty supportive of my career these days. I'm not really worried about going public anymore."
"Right. And about you and me?"
"Hm?"
"Would you mind if our relationship became public knowledge?"
Guan Zhiyi paused. Her previous reluctance to go public stemmed mostly from her massive wave of anti-fans; she didn't want her private life—especially anything involving Qi Chengyan—torn apart by public scrutiny.
"Why would you ask that? I've never minded," she said. "I was just worried going public would disrupt your life."
"You don't need to worry about me," Qi Chengyan answered. "Honestly, I never planned on broadcasting this to strangers either. But seeing how things are, keeping things under wraps might just cause more headaches down the road."
Thinking it over, she realized he was right. They couldn't hide forever while dating; sooner or later, they would be seen together, sooner or later a reporter would catch them. Rather than taking another wave of mudslinging later on, they might as well lay it all out...
"True. So... maybe we should just go public directly?"
Qi Chengyan let out a soft laugh. "Alright."
Things had to be handled one step at a time. After discussing it with Liu Yun and her team, Guan Zhiyi decided to first clarify the truth behind those photographs.
At one o'clock that afternoon, Guan Zhiyi published a clarifying post on Weibo, which rapidly climbed the trending charts.
Seeing the topic #GuanZhiyiClarification# on the board, countless netizens lit up, tapping through with a mix of thoughts:
"The starlet responded this fast? Got some nerve."
"Let's see what kind of excuse she's spinning this time."
"She's definitely going to deny it again. 'Just a friend, we're just friends.'"
With eager anticipation, they clicked in, only to find—
Guan Zhiyi: "Don't make things up. The car belongs to my biological brother, the house belongs to my biological brother, and President Qi's place is the one right next door, haa..."
Netizens, wearing identical masks of absolute bewilderment: [????]
What on earth?
---
Comments
Post a Comment