Princess Syndrome - Chapter 43
Chapter 43: Praising Her
Su Lingyue was driving the car, silent, both hands on the steering wheel, eyes fixed on the road ahead, focused. Even Ji Zhiyi, who was resting her chin on her hand, looking at her sideways, was amused.
Su Lingyue turned her head to glance at her.
Her hands turned on the steering wheel.
Clamping down tightly.
Ji Zhiyi asked: "Are you angry?"
What had she done?
She had only come in to deliver a cup of coffee this morning, what else could there be?
Ji Zhiyi couldn't figure it out.
Su Lingyue said lightly, "No."
Because she was unhappy, her voice had a hint of pique, crisp and clear. Ji Zhiyi tried hard to recall, but failed.
Su Lingyue didn’t say anything either.
Seeing that they were almost at the hotel, Ji Zhiyi said, "Park outside."
Su Lingyue parked the car in the outdoor parking lot, got out of the car with Ji Zhiyi. She still didn't know who they were meeting for lunch, and Ji Zhiyi hadn't mentioned it on the way here. If she wasn't going to say, then she wouldn't ask either.
She was the epitome of a quiet, dutiful, professional assistant.
As they were going up the elevator, she saw a black minivan pull in outside. Those types of cars were usually used by celebrities. Could it be Yang Zhizhi?
Wasn't Yang Zhizhi supposed to be with Zhou Yan for lunch?
She was confused. She followed Ji Zhiyi upstairs into a private room. Moments later, there were footsteps outside the door. High heels on marble floor made a crisp sound, getting closer, accompanied by the waiter's greeting: "Miss, this way, please."
The private room door was opened.
Su Lingyue looked up.
She never expected it to be Lin Fei.
Lin Fei took off her sunglasses, she was wearing a long black dress. She came in alone. Su Lingyue was surprised, but her expression was calm and she didn’t show any emotion. Lin Fei walked into the room, bowed her head and greeted Ji Zhiyi, "President Ji, I'm sorry I'm late."
Ji Zhiyi said: "We've just arrived too, please have a seat, Miss Lin."
Then, she waved her hand to signal the waiter to bring the dishes.
After Lin Fei sat down, she turned her head and saw Su Lingyue.
Her expression didn't change, she was very composed, and even took the initiative to extend her hand: "Miss Su is here too, nice to meet you."
Su Lingyue shook her hand: "Nice to meet you."
Actually, the two of them had met before, back at Su Qi. At that time, Lin Fei was riding high, endorsements were pouring in, and Su Qi had spent a lot of money to sign a contract with her. After her accident, many of her endorsements were lost, and Su Qi had also lowered her price.
She had gone with them to negotiate the price.
Lin Fei sat on the side of the bed, looking dazed. Her manager was there settling the deal, and in the end the price was reduced by half.
After that, Su Lingyue had never met Lin Fei in private.
Looking at her now, she seemed to be doing well. Although she knew Lin Fei's departure from Su Qi was related to Ji Zhiyi, she was still surprised when she heard Ji Zhiyi’s invitation.
Lin Fei also found it unbelievable: "Me? The new spokesperson?"
Ji Zhiyi nodded: "I wonder what Miss Lin thinks of that?"
Lin Fei glanced at her, then at Su Lingyue.
The fact that she could come here alone today showed that she considered Ji Zhiyi, who had pulled her out of the pit of fire, as a friend. Saying so was really ridiculous, Ji Zhiyi was only helping her because there was something in it for her, no matter how you put it, she shouldn’t consider Ji Zhiyi a friend.
However, Ji Zhiyi had not only given her a way to leave Su Qi, but she had also managed to get money from Su Qi, and this money just so happened to be enough to pay off the company’s penalty for breach of contract. Since then, she has had nothing to do with Su Qi and she was free.
In this industry, she had entered it as a child, floating and sinking for over 20 years, was she willing to quit now? No, she was not. She had been investigating the accident from the past in secret. The company had replaced her manager in the second year and they didn’t want to give her an assistant, and they sold her cheap to Su Qi.
At that time, she had been forced to endure, because Su Qi had reached out to help her when she was in distress.
She had never thought that help.
Was also fake.
She wanted to try her best to get back on her feet, at least to give an explanation to her past self who had been in the accident. But, to cooperate with Ji Zhiyi?
What if Yilin was the next Su Qi?
Then, she would be doomed forever this time.
Lin Fei had been silent for a long time. Ji Zhiyi didn't urge her, but instead invited her to eat.
Su Lingyue also frequently looked at Ji Zhiyi, and lowered her head to take a sip of warm water.
Lin Fei asked: "President Ji, can I ask why?"
Ji Zhiyi said: "I believe that you will return to your rightful place."
Believed in her?
Lin Fei's hand holding her chopsticks clenched until she was trembling.
During the six months after her leg injury, she dared not hear any news about the industry, afraid of feeling unbalanced in her heart and making extreme decisions. The endorsements that once belonged to her were signed by other people, and the roles that were decided to be hers were acted by others, and they became a big hit.
In the beginning, her fans felt regretful, thinking that it was such a pity, if only she hadn’t been injured.
After that, more and more comments appeared, saying: [It’s a good thing they replaced her, what kind of acting skills does Lin Fei even have?]
[Oh my god, the replacement was great! This show wouldn’t have been such a big hit without my wife. If Lin Fei had acted in it, it definitely would’ve flopped.]
[A match made in heaven! Lin Fei couldn’t have acted it out.]
She knew she shouldn't be looking, but in the middle of the night, those comments were like a sharp awl, stabbing her heart, the pain causing her whole body to tremble. She started having insomnia, became emaciated, she started taking medicine, and became neurotic.
With much difficulty, she had gotten through that period, and her mentality had gradually become peaceful.
She accepted those people stepping on her to show their superiority.
But, when she heard someone else say "I believe you will return to your rightful place" again, her eyes instantly reddened. Fans comforted her through the night, they sent her private messages. All those days, she had gotten through it thanks to those heart-warming replies and messages.
It had been so long that she had forgotten how long it had been since she had clicked into her private messages to see those adorable fans. Lin Fei looked up at Ji Zhiyi, a person that she had inexplicably trusted and liked since the beginning.
Ji Zhiyi said: "Miss Lin doesn't have to rush to reply, we have a lot of time, let's eat first."
Lin Fei said: "Sorry, President Ji, I need to go to the washroom."
If she didn't go in, she was afraid that she would lose it.
Ji Zhiyi nodded.
Lin Fei left the private room and walked straight out. Su Lingyue looked at her back, and then at Ji Zhiyi, frowning.
There was no one in the washroom.
It was so quiet that she could hear her own heartbeat.
She stood in front of the mirror, looking at herself. Because of the company and Su Qi’s matters these last few days, she looked a bit tired. But, a kind of emotion she couldn’t quite explain was breaking through the surface.
She knew, it was longing.
Longing to return to that circle, longing to return to the past.
More than anyone, she desperately longed for it.
She had been in the industry for so many years, it wasn't like she had really accomplished nothing. She still had some connections. After she terminated the contract with Su Qi, she had started contacting these friends. There were some who said it wasn’t a bad option, but this time, she wouldn't be the main lead, but a supporting role. And, her name wouldn't even appear on the promotional page.
She had been hesitating and hadn’t been able to decide if she wanted to go to the set.
Lin Fei took out her phone. The company had returned her platform account to her. Given how tumultuous the last two days had been, the company didn't dare make a fuss over the account, and they didn't dare delete anything or post any random opinions. Lin Fei changed the password and logged into her account.
She clicked on the private messages.
[Feifei, add oil! (a phrase to express support and encouragement)]
That one sentence made her eyes water.
[Feifei, we're all here, we'll always be with you.]
[Feifei, the weather is so good today, did you eat well?]
She clicked into it. Many fans would share things with her every day, some were still students, and they would complain about how difficult studying was, and then say [But Feifei, I'm not afraid. I’ll study harder, and earn a lot of money in the future, so that you can film more.]
She couldn't hold back.
She laughed.
Tears rolled down her eyes, she wiped them away, took a deep breath. After a few minutes in front of the mirror, finally, she washed her face, and walked out feeling lighter.
Having made her decision, she was completely different. Ji Zhiyi turned her head upon hearing the door open. Lin Fei walked in quickly, she didn't say anything else, she just extended her hand towards Ji Zhiyi and said: "President Ji, then, may we have a pleasant cooperation."
Ji Zhiyi was not surprised at all. She smiled and shook her hand: "A pleasant cooperation."
Her palms were cool, different from Lin Fei’s warm ones. Lin Fei lowered her head and looked at Ji Zhiyi’s slender fingers, it was this hand that pulled her out of the abyss.
Lin Fei said, "Then, I have some other matters, I'll leave first."
Ji Zhiyi said, "Please do."
Lin Fei also greeted Su Lingyue, exchanged contact information with her. Without asking too much, she turned around and walked out of the private room.
After she left, Su Lingyue was still confused: "You want to sign Lin Fei?"
She hadn't misheard, had she?
Ji Zhiyi said, "Mm."
After she said that, she placed the braised pork in front of Su Lingyue and said: "Hurry and eat, the food is getting cold."
She had seen Su Lingyue pick at that dish twice. Su Lingyue followed suit and picked at the dish and asked again: "Then you're not going to sign Yang Zhizhi?"
Ji Zhiyi said: "I’ll sign her too."
Su Lingyue looked at her firm expression, and slightly furrowed her eyebrows. Ji Zhiyi lowered her head and ate. Lastly, she ordered after-meal desserts for the two of them. She wiped her mouth and went to the washroom. Su Lingyue was looking at her back.
She was pondering what her intentions were.
Her phone rang. She startled, and after a moment, she took her phone out of her bag.
It was Chu Yi's call.
She put the phone to her ear and took another bite of the dessert. She heard Chu Yi say: "Did Yang Zhizhi sign with you guys?"
Su Lingyue said: "Not yet, why?"
Chu Yi said: "Zhou Yan came back after having lunch with her, he went into that woman's office, and I heard he got a fierce scolding, and even got beaten!" Chu Yi had heard that Zhou Yan had come out of the office with a hand print on his face.
She was about to die of laughter.
Su Lingyue was silent.
Chu Yi said: "I thought she had signed with you guys."
Remembering that it was indeed Yang Zhizhi that had requested to meet up in the evening, then, this contract was most likely settled. Her tone was calm: "Pretty much."
Chu Yi said: "So, it's settled then." She thought of all the chaos at the company recently. Every time Zhou Yan entered that office, he would come out yelling, either being beaten or scolded.
She tsked once, and said: "Tsk, Ji Zhiyi is still amazing, a sly old fox!"
Su Lingyue was holding her phone.
Hearing that, she felt a little uncomfortable.
Su Lingyue’s tone was muffled: "Are you praising her?"
Chu Yi said, without a second thought, "Yeah."
After saying that, she covered her mouth.
Thinking of how Su Lingyue and Ji Zhiyi didn't get along.
She said: "I..."
Su Lingyue’s tone was even more muffled: "Then praise her again."
Chu Yi understood: "That person is too insidious, despicable, cunning, and deceitful!"
Su Lingyue went silent.
Why was she doing this!
Why was she cursing Ji Zhiyi again!
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