Princess Syndrome - Chapter 127
Chapter 127: Profile Pictures
Zhang Xian’s temper came and went quickly. Besides, the fact that Ji Zhiyi had managed to win over her first love was, upon reflection, a great and enviable event. So by the time evening came, she was no longer angry. She lay on the sofa with fruit, discussing with Chu Yi when to leave. Su Lingyue said, "You've been drinking, so don't go back. Why not stay here tonight?"
Chu Yi looked out the window, "Is it raining?"
Su Lingyue replied, "Yes, a light rain."
It was a drizzle, the kind that was not unpleasant this time of year, adding a misty feel to the night. Chu Yi didn't mind; she could just stop by her place in the morning to change clothes for work. Zhang Xian thought for a while and also decided to stay. She asked Su Lingyue, "Do you have any cards at home?"
They didn't.
But Ji Zhiyi had the housekeeper send over two decks, which arrived shortly. Although Zhang Xian hadn’t been in the country for many years, she knew many games. Ji Zhiyi knew a few as well. The four of them decided to play a simple card game with points that could be doubled. Zhang Xian, tipsy from the alcohol, kept yelling to double the score. Chu Yi, sitting opposite her, asked, "What kind of hand do you have that makes you so confident to double?"
Zhang Xian waved her hand dismissively, "You don't need to worry about that. Do you want to double or not?"
Chu Yi looked at the cards in her hand. Before she could answer, Zhang Xian declared, "The loser sleeps with Xiao Mafan tonight."
Chu Yi was speechless.
She twitched her lips and declined to double.
Zhang Xian, seeing that she'd been intimidated, was overjoyed. After playing her last card, Chu Yi reached over to playfully attack. Zhang Xian kept reminding her, "Sportsmanship! Sportsmanship!"
Chu Yi declared openly, "I have no sportsmanship!"
Zhang Xian was at a loss for words.
She was pinned down on the sofa as the two of them squabbled. Su Lingyue, sitting on the rug, exchanged a glance with Ji Zhiyi and suppressed a laugh.
After the card game, the four of them watched a movie. Before it ended, Chu Yi and Zhang Xian had already fallen asleep. Su Lingyue and Ji Zhiyi settled them down and returned to their room. Listening to the pitter-patter of rain outside the window, Su Lingyue stood by the window. Ji Zhiyi embraced her from behind. Xiao Mafan jumped up and meowed at them. Su Lingyue reached out to hold the cat, turned to Ji Zhiyi and kissed her on the corner of her lips. Ji Zhiyi turned her around to face her. Xiao Mafan meowed again and scampered off. The two figures by the window slowly merged into one, accompanied by the gentle sound of the rain in the night.
The next day was beautiful and sunny. Su Lingyue was woken by her alarm. She sat up, dazed for a few seconds, before remembering Zhang Xian and Chu Yi. She hurried to the guest room to wake them. Zhang Xian rubbed her head, her face contorted, "It hurts."
Chu Yi was no better. She had drunk a lot the previous night and then stayed up late, leaving her unrested. Both of them emerged from the guest room with dark circles under their eyes. When they saw each other, Zhang Xian couldn't help but laugh at Chu Yi.
Chu Yi's face darkened.
Breakfast was prepared by Ji Zhiyi and had just been delivered by the housekeeper. While eating, Zhang Xian asked Ji Zhiyi, "Are you going to the factory today?"
Ji Zhiyi said, "Tell the factory manager to send all the contracts to Yu Xuan."
Yu Xuan?
The name sounded familiar.
It then dawned on Su Lingyue that Yu Xuan was the sales director of Yilin? And also Ji Zhiyi’s person?
After all that had happened, she was no longer surprised. Zhang Xian simply nodded. After everyone finished eating, Chu Yi, while grabbing her bag, asked Ji Zhiyi, "Did your godmother call you?"
Su Lingyue also looked at Ji Zhiyi.
Ji Zhiyi shook her head.
Although Jiang Ya hadn't called her, Ji Zhisi had made several tearful calls, saying that Jiang Ya wouldn't let her come over or see Jiang Yunlu and that she was not to contact anyone from the Jiang family again.
Ji Zhisi didn’t know what was going on, so she had called Ji Zhiyi.
Ji Zhiyi wanted to reassure her that it was nothing, but before she could speak, Ji Zhisi suddenly seemed to understand. She said, "Sis, when you asked me before if I would choose you or godmother, was that what you meant?"
Ji Zhiyi didn't answer, acknowledging it by her silence.
Ji Zhisi said, "I understand."
It wasn't just her that understood.
Lu Yuanchun and the others understood as well. But unlike in the past, this time they didn't ask Ji Zhiyi to apologize and beg forgiveness from Jiang Ya. Instead, they were silent. A silent battle of wills was taking place. Ji Zhiyi occupied one side, staying calm and collected.
Jiang Ya stood on the other side, gnashing her teeth.
She roared at Meng Jiu to immediately secure the licensing rights to Ji Zhiyi's Haoyue series. Meng Jiu replied, "President Jiang, instead of signing Haoyue, we should sign Dual Life. The promotion for Dual Life is gaining momentum, and all the promotional preparations in the country are complete. If we change from Dual Life to Haoyue at this point, Ji Zhiyi will definitely sue Yilin."
Jiang Ya sneered, "She wouldn't dare!"
Meng Jiu just looked at her. "She has already made her choice."
Her choice was not to side with Jiang Ya.
Jiang Ya’s face twitched. She could have expected anyone to stab her in the back, but Ji Zhiyi? It was the last thing she’d imagined. How could she collude with Jiang Yunlu to do such a thing! Jiang Ya had been furious these past few days and wanted to lash out at the Haoyue series. But it involved too many parties, and Ye Qiuyun was watching closely. She didn't act rashly. Now that things had reached a stalemate, she thought of the Haoyue series.
She would make Ji Zhiyi taste what it was like to lose her most cherished possession.
Meng Jiu said, "The Dual Life series currently has Yang Zhizhi and Lin Fei on board with high fees. The promotional photos have already been released. If we change series at this point, Lin Fei and Yang Zhizhi certainly won't agree."
Compensation would be the least of their problems.
The moment Ji Zhiyi withdrew the Dual Life series, she could invite Lin Fei and Yang Zhizhi to be spokespersons. Whether she opened her own company or went to another company, it would be a great start. The publicity and buzz it would create would be like a gift to Ji Zhiyi.
And there was the Aron company. The main purpose of this collaboration was for the Dual Life series.
Jiang Ya suppressed her anger.
It wasn't about Ji Zhiyi opening a new company or taking her work elsewhere, but about taking the designs to Dingsheng. That would be a devastating blow to Yilin. Ji Zhiyi had made a choice, but that choice still had room to be reversed.
Now, this possibility was being placed in front of Jiang Ya, forcing her to make a choice.
Meng Jiu said, "President Qi's idea is to use the Haoyue authorization now in exchange for the Dual Life authorization."
Jiang Ya clenched her fist. "Where's Qi An?"
Meng Jiu looked at Jiang Ya, her gaze turning cold, but her tone was normal. "President Qi is unwell recently and is still recovering."
Jiang Ya remained silent.
Meng Jiu said, "President Jiang, the contract with Aron is about to be signed."
Jiang Ya finally gritted her teeth, "Fine! Make the switch!"
Meng Jiu left Jiang Ya’s office and sent the message to Yilin and Ji Zhiyi.
Ji Zhiyi wasn't surprised. At the same time, a new company had also been secured. When she sent a message to Su Lingyue about this, Su Lingyue was on her lunch break. She was listening to Zhang Ting and the others discuss their weekend plans. Zhang Ting asked Su Lingyue, "Assistant Su, are you coming?"
They were planning an outdoor barbecue at a nearby park.
Su Lingyue said, "I won't be going. I have to help a friend move."
Zhang Ting was a little disappointed, "Okay, have you not been resting well these past two days? You have dark circles under your eyes."
Su Lingyue hurried to look at herself in the mirror. There were indeed dark circles under her eyes. Although they weren’t very obvious, she was wearing simple, light make-up this morning that hadn't concealed them. Also, the redness at the corner of her eyes, while the swelling had gone down, was still slightly visible. Given her fair skin, it stood out. But Zhang Ting and the others were too embarrassed to ask more. Su Lingyue rubbed her eye and saw the secretary-general walking in from outside the office. She said, "Secretary Li, please draft a new contract for the Dual Life series. I will go sign it this afternoon."
Secretary Li nodded, and after the secretary-general left, she muttered, "Why isn't President Qi back yet?"
Zhang Ting said, "Don't you know? She seems to be ill."
Secretary Li was surprised, "Ill?"
Zhang Ting shrugged, "I heard HR discussing it this morning. Who knows? If President Qi is sick and can't come back, then President Ji will be back, right?"
Secretary Li looked delighted, "Oh, that's great..."
Then she glanced at Su Lingyue, her smile freezing.
Su Lingyue, clutching the mirror, also wanted to laugh but, given the pitying looks she was getting, she forced a smile.
The smile was more like a grimace.
Su Lingyue was speechless.
Seeing her distressed expression, everyone felt sympathy for her. Su Lingyue tried to hold it back, but it was so painful. She turned to go to the bathroom and saw a message from Ji Zhiyi informing her about the new company.
Su Lingyue immediately called Ji Zhiyi. Ji Zhiyi's voice was low. "Have you eaten?"
Su Lingyue had been so busy these past two days that she hadn’t had a chance to call Ji Zhiyi all morning. Hearing Ji Zhiyi’s question, she stretched her neck, "Yes, I finished eating. What about you?"
Ji Zhiyi said, "I'll eat in a bit."
Su Lingyue, "Eat now!"
She'd definitely forget later.
Hearing her sharp tone, Ji Zhiyi laughed. "Okay."
She heard the sound of the toilet flushing on Su Lingyue's end and asked, "Are you in the bathroom?"
Su Lingyue opened the door and walked out. The hallway was empty. She bought a cup of coffee and sat on a long chair. She said to Ji Zhiyi, "They were talking about you just now."
Ji Zhiyi understood. "Secretary Li and the others?"
Su Lingyue said, "Yeah, they were saying if you'd go back to Yilin."
She really wanted to say "no" but didn't dare.
Holding it in felt too uncomfortable, so she came out for some fresh air. Ji Zhiyi chuckled softly. Su Lingyue felt a tingle on the tip of her ear. She loved it when Ji Zhiyi talked to her with that tone and timbre. On several occasions, after they had finished making love, she would nestle into Ji Zhiyi's arms and ask her to speak to her like that. Ji Zhiyi didn't understand why she liked it but indulged her. Su Lingyue felt all warm and fuzzy inside. She wanted to say Ji Zhiyi's name but was afraid someone would hear. She bit her lip. "I'm hanging up."
Ji Zhiyi asked, "Is something wrong?"
Su Lingyue said, "Nothing. I'm going back to the office. I'll send you a message later."
Ji Zhiyi said, "Okay."
When Su Lingyue returned to the office, Zhang Ting and the others assumed that Su Lingyue had gone to the bathroom because they were talking about Ji Zhiyi. They were planning to comfort her once she came back. But Su Lingyue returned with a big smile on her face, looking down at her phone, typing a message. Zhang Ting and Secretary Li exchanged glances. As Su Lingyue passed her, Secretary Li leaned forward and said, "Assistant Su!"
Su Lingyue was startled. Her phone slipped and nearly fell. Secretary Li swiftly caught it and handed it back. "Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to. Did I scare you?"
Su Lingyue took her phone and said with a smile, "It's okay."
Secretary Li smiled, too, "Chatting with your partner?"
That expression and that tone; so sweet. She was definitely chatting with her partner.
Su Lingyue didn't try to deny it. She admitted it straightforwardly, "Yeah."
As she spoke, her phone vibrated. A message popped up. As Secretary Li handed the phone to Su Lingyue, she was confused. She hadn't meant to look, but the angle at which Su Lingyue was holding her phone allowed her to catch a glimpse. With that one look, she grabbed the phone. Su Lingyue was confused and looked up at her. Secretary Li immediately released the phone, looking incredibly embarrassed. Then she said in a more bashful voice, "Your partner and President Ji have the same profile picture."
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