By this point, the two of them had already walked up to Mrs. Bai. The latter looked at the two ladies and smiled. “Zhang Ning, and… Miss Ji.”
“This is my business partner, Ji Fanyin,” Zhang Ning quickly clarified with an introduction.
“Pleased to meet you,” greeted Ji Fanyin with a polite smile. “It’s our first time meeting.”
“Ji Fanyin?” A contemplative frown formed between Mrs. Bai’s brows. Her pupils drifted upright, seemingly trying to recall something. “Ah… Are you Ji Xinxin’s older twin sister?”
Mrs. Bai directed her gaze back at Ji Fanyin and carefully studied her face. “The two of you do look alike… Pardon me, but I’m not too fond of those from the Ji Family.”
She was extremely straightforward, typical of a graceful member of upper-class society.
Ji Fanyin was far too familiar with the attitudes put up by the affluent that her heart was hardly fazed at all. She simply smiled quietly in response.
However, Mrs. Bai smiled shortly after and added, “However, it’s different since you’re Zhang Ning’s friend.”
With Zhang Ning mediating between them, Mrs. Bai wouldn’t go to the extent of snubbing Ji Fanyin. The three of them had a polite conversation with one another before promptly concluding their talk.
Zhang Ning remarked that she saw someone else whom she recognized, and Mrs. Bai bade her farewell with a nod. However, Ji Fanyin remained on the spot.
She directed a smile at Mrs. Bai and said, “My younger sister has brought you quite a bit of trouble. I’d like to offer you an apology gift. May I know where it would be convenient for me to deliver the gift to?”
Such words shouldn’t have been spoken under such a setting. They would have easily eroded any goodwill that was previously built up.
It was just that Ji Fanyin knew that Mrs. Bai already had the poorest impression of her due to her relationship with Ji Xinxin, so there was no need to pay heed to such trivial details. It was far more convenient to just get straight to the point.
Mrs. Bai cast an assessing gaze at her before impassively uttering a company’s name.
“Very well. I’ll deliver it there promptly tomorrow.” Ji Fanyin noted down the company’s name in her head and set a mental reminder to bring the contract there tomorrow.
Before taking her leave, she briefly glanced at Bai Zhou, who was standing not too far behind Mrs. Bai. The two of them met eyes for just a single second before she coolly turned her head away and strutted off.
…
Seeing that the seemingly pleasant conversation among the three ladies had finally come to an end, Bai Zhou gulped down his wine. He then put down the glass and hurried forward to his mother’s side. “What did you talk about?”
“What are you so worried about?” Mrs. Bai glanced at him with a wine glass in hand and asked with a cold tone. Despite this, she still ended up answering his question anyway, “Don’t worry, it has nothing to do with your little girlfriend.”
“Little-” Bai Zhou repeated those words in confusion before belatedly realizing that Mrs. Bai was referring to Ji Xinxin. That brought a frown to his face.
Mrs. Bai couldn’t possibly have missed the change in his expression. “The two of you’ve had an argument?”
“… That’s not it.” Bai Zhou denied it with the frown still firmly fixed to his face. “I just wanted to ask what you talked about.”
Mrs. Bai looked at her son intently as she answered, “We were chatting about business matters. The two of them established a filmmaking studio, and it would appear that they are making huge strides in the industry. News about it even reached my office. They might just become a formidable force in the industry within a few years.”
“Filmmaking studio? Ji Fanyin?” Bai Zhou grasped the crux from it right away. “Is it very profitable?”
“I wouldn’t say that it’s very profitable, but it should fare decently for a startup if they manage to work out the kinks,” evaluated Mrs. Bai.