CH 19.4

Meanwhile, Father Ji was on the verge of erupting. Unable to take it anymore, he grabbed Mother Ji’s hand and marched over to the VIP Lounge. 

“Please show me your invitation letter.” 

The security guards stationed in front of the VIP Lounge did their job and stopped them.

“Lad, do you not recognize who I am?” asked Father Ji lividly.

The security guard replied with a tone that was neither humble nor disrespectful, “I am new here, so I’m afraid that I don’t recognize the two of you. I’d appreciate it if you could show me your invitation letters so that I could verify if you have access to the VIP Lounge.”

Mother Ji gently consoled Father Ji while reaching into her bag to take out their invitation letters. 

The security guard quickly scanned the QR code on the invitation letters before turning back to the couple with a troubled look on his face, saying, “I’m afraid that the two of you aren't on the VIP list.”

“The woman who entered earlier is our daughter. Why is she able to access the VIP Lounge?” asked Father Ji with a voice of suppressed rage.

“Are you referring to the one who entered with Miss Zhang Ning earlier?” asked the security guard.

“… The one who walked in with her earlier is Zhang Ning?”

“Yes,” the security guard replied with a perplexed look on his face. “Pardon me, but… is it possible that you don’t recognize the organizer of today’s event?”

Father Ji’s complexion turned awful. 

The Ji Family was in the middle class. They were still a hurdle away from reaching the ‘capitalist’ class in each industry. 

Father Ji and Mother Ji thought that there was a chance for them to reach that level thanks to Ji Xinxin’s halo, but who could have thought that Ji Fanyin would actually reach upper society ahead of them?

It was then that Zhang Ning walked over with Ji Fanyin.

“Ah, you’re from the Ji Family! I believe that they were invited here by Song Shiyu,” she said. She then turned to Ji Fanyin and added, “We can invite them into the lounge as well if you like.”

Ji Fanyin couldn’t even be bothered to figure out whether Zhang Ning was trying to sound her out, so she replied curtly, “There’s no need for that.”

I want my peace.

“The drinks are there, and we have Japanese food and dessert around too. Feel free to get anything you like,” Zhang Ning roughly introduced the layout of the resting room to her. “You should feel much more comfortable here if you don’t wish to socialize with others.”

Between Zhang Ning and Ji Fanyin, one was dressed flamboyantly whereas the other was wearing casual clothes. This created a striking contrast that made them quite eye-catching. 

Nevertheless, of the few people in the lounge, none showed any intention of approaching them for a conversation.

Ji Fanyin preferred social settings where everyone was cold and proud. It was less tiring that way. 

“I still have matters to attend to. Will you be alright here by yourself?” Zhang Ning led Ji Fanyin to one of the tables to take a seat. “I believe that He Shen would like to meet you once he arrives.”

Instead of leaving right away, Zhang Ning blinked her eyes suggestively at Ji Fanyin, as if trying to encourage her curiosity.

Ji Fanyin decided to play along with her. “Why?”

Zhang Ning smiled in satisfaction and said, “He Shen fell in love with your reviews at first sight. He sees you as his soulmate, saying that the points you focused on in your film evaluations are the same as his. He was the one who insisted on having me invite you to his movie premiere.”

Ji Fanyin’s eyebrows shot up. “He was the one who followed my Weibo account?”

“Exactly.” Zhang Ning winked mischievously. “He even grumbled to me that you have only watched three of his movies, and none of them was the one which he was the most satisfied with… Cough, don’t tell He Shen that I told you all of this, alright?”

Ji Fanyin couldn’t figure out Zhang Ning’s rationale for revealing all of this to her, so she decided to keep up her guard and respond formally, “I’m flattered by Mr He’s high opinion of me. I hope that this collaboration between us will be a delightful one.”

Zhang Ning sent Ji Fanyin a flying kiss before strutting out of the VIP Lounge.

There was still fifteen minutes before the movie premiere, so Ji Fanyin headed to the drinks station to get herself a cup of juice.

Unlike the ladies dressed in gowns, Ji Fanyin was able to have her fill of drinks without having to worry about her stomach sticking out. 

While Ji Fanyin was drinking her juice using the straws provided, a few more people entered the resting room. She could sense their gazes casually sweeping past her.