CH 24

March 22, 2021kaychandra

Chapter 24: Scheming

Translated & Edited by KChandra

On the top floor of the quiet revolving restaurant, Gongxi Qiao took the menu handed to him by the waiter and ordered his favorite dish leisurely under the gazes of many people, as if he wasn’t affected by the atmosphere at all.

Xi Qing saw him like this and rejected the menu handed to him by the waiter: “I’m fine with the same as this gentleman.”

Sun Jingxue pinched her spoon and gently stirred the coffee in her cup. Her eyes swept over Gongxi Qiao several times, then she smiled and looked at Xi Qing: “It’s really an honor for me that the master of the Xi family is willing to come here.”

Xi Qing shook his napkin and put it on his lap, then said with an indifferent expression, “It is Mister Xi who has disturbed Ms Sun.”

Although Sun Jingxue was in her thirties, she was still unmarried, so she was known as President Sun or Ms Sun. Inside the business circle, she was also considered a female role model. Although she wasn’t as powerful as a big family like the Xi family, these years, people generally did not dare to provoke her.

“The other day, I invited you to have dinner with me, but I was unable to have this opportunity because of your busy schedule. Today I have the honor to sit with you, so how can I talk about disturbance?” Sun Jingxue looked at Gongxi Qiao with a smile, “but I didn’t expect Qiao Shao to be acquainted with you. If I had known that, I wouldn’t have invited Qiao Shao so abruptly today.” Although she said so, her tone was a bit regretful, the corners of her eyes with a smile still glanced at Gongxi Qiao.

Gongxi Qiao sized up the woman sitting across from him. She was wearing a long burgundy dress with dark brown wavy hair that matched her fair skin, and although her appearance was slightly ordinary, she carried the unique charm of a mature woman.

Noticing that the other party’s eyes fell on him, Gongxi Qiao returned a polite smile.

When Sun Jingxue saw this smile from him, her eyes lit up for a moment, but seeing Xi Qing beside Gongxi Qiao, she could only be regretful, “The French food in this restaurant isn’t bad, you two should have a good taste later.”

The man in the suit standing behind her handed her a beautiful feminine cell phone. She took the phone and looked at the caller ID and pressed the reject button with an unchanged expression.

After the meal, Gongxi Qiao found that Sun Jingxue was quite a chatty woman. At least he found that the man in the suit behind her kept looking at her with admiration. From her conversation and temperament alone, this was indeed a woman who attracted the opposite sex.

But …… He didn’t know this Ms Sun at all. Her men “invited” him to lunch in such a forceful manner, there must be a reason.

“I don’t know if there is something important that Ms. Sun so kindly invited me to do?” The spoilers should always be saved for last. Gongxi Qiao wiped the corner of his mouth clean and smiled at the man in the suit behind Sun Jingxue. “This gentleman has an amazing aura. My little assistant is just a young girl in her early twenties, so she was scared.”

Sun Jingxue frowned at his words. She turned her head to look at the man in the suit behind her and said with a slight apology, “This matter is a misunderstanding. The people below didn’t know what they were doing. I apologize to Miss Assistant on their behalf, I have absolutely no ill will towards Qiao Shao.”

She put the handkerchief that had wiped the corner of her mouth on the plate to the side and said with a light smile, “It’s just that I happened to see the movie Qiao Shao was in a few days ago and was amazed by the role you played, so as a fan, I wanted to meet and have a meal with my idol. I just didn’t expect things to turn out like this, and I’m deeply sorry.”

Chen Ke, who was dining at a nearby table, felt that there was something wrong with these words. This President Sun’s words …… Seemed a bit ambiguous?

“I’m really flattered to have a fan like President Sun,” Gongxi Qiao hooked his lips and smiled, with a hint of joy at the corners of his eyes, “It’s so nice to have someone who likes the character I play.”

Perhaps because the smile on Gongxi Qiao’s face was too sincere, Sun Jingxue faintly froze, then smiled with relief, “I will continue to support Qiao Shao’s future works. If you don’t mind, can I have your autograph?”

She handed Gongxi Qiao a lady’s wallet, not caring that there were many important documents and cards inside the wallet.

Gongxi Qiao took the wallet and signed his name quickly with the signature pen, as if he didn’t notice that the wallet the other party gave him to sign was a limited edition of the world’s finest haute couture designer goods. Even to make his signature look better, he trailed a beautiful tail for the last word Qiao.

“Qiao Shao isn’t only handsome and a good actor, even his calligraphy is so beautiful,” Sun Jingxue took the wallet and sighed a few words of praise, “I will definitely treasure this wallet.”

The face of Xi Qing, who was sitting next to the two watching their interaction, inexplicably sank.

Sun Jingxue glanced towards Xi Qing and said with a smile, “I’m really sorry for delaying Family Head Xi and Qiao Shao so much. Let’s dine together again next time we have the chance.” Speaking of which, she winked towards Gongxi Qiao, “I know a restaurant that has particularly good seafood.”

Gongxi Qiao smiled and didn’t say anything.

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“Then I’ll go first. It was a pleasant meal today, see you next time.” Sun Jingxue stood up and smiled at the two outstanding young men in front of her. With a man like Xi Qing present, it was surprising that Gongxi Qiao wasn’t overshadowed and rendered non-existent by him, but rather seemed like a soft luminous presence that made people unconsciously notice him. Such a man was just too attractive.

“Ms Sun, take care.” Gongxi Qiao got up, politely shook hands with Sun Jingxue, and let go very naturally after a few seconds.

It was Xi Qing who sat unmoved in his seat, only nodding slightly to Sun Jingxue indifferently.

Sun Jingxue once again politely said goodbye to him before leading the people away unhurriedly.

After she left, Chen Ke and the other three slowly let out a sigh of relief. Although they didn’t know what this President Sun’s intention was, judging from the current situation, the matter was resolved.

“Thanks to President Xi for what just happened,” Gongxi Qiao sat back in his chair and smiled at Xi Qing, “but today was also quite a coincidence.” He was also a little surprised when Xi Qing suddenly stepped out of the car. If Xi Qing hadn’t been present today, he probably would have had to use some trickery to resolve the matter.

“It’s not a coincidence that I came all the way over here,” Xi Qing looked at him and said in a strange tone, “This President Sun is good at everything, but she likes beautiful men.”

Gongxi Qiao’s eyebrows slightly raised: “What do you mean?”

“She keeps[1] two or three artists. Liang Yumeng is the most valued one,” Xi Qing sized Gongxi Qiao up from head to toe, “She likes men like you the most.”

Gongxi Qiao smiled lightly: “I don’t really like people playing coercive games.” Xi Qing deliberately mentioned Liang Yumeng. Was it just in passing or was it a reminder?

Xi Qing looked at him without saying anything, and only after a long time said: “Call me if there’s something you need. This circle is only shiny on the surface, but the inside is always all kinds of nasty and dirty. Do you think those few male artists who were kept by Sun Jingxue were coerced?”

Gongxi Qiao looked at Xi Qing in silence. This person not only sent him home when he was drunk, but also helped him to inquire about the hidden gossip of the entertainment industry. Such a serious face saying things like who was kept by whom, there was really a …… Kind of indescribable contrast.

Thinking of this, Gongxi Qiao could not help but lightly laugh out loud. Then in a sincere tone, he said, “Thank you for coming here today, but unfortunately I have to attend a magazine cover shoot as well as an interview at three o’clock this afternoon. Otherwise I could treat you to a good meal tonight.”

When he heard this, Xi Qing’s heart was moved, but he still tried to maintain a serious expression: “It’s good that you’re okay. The treat can wait until the next time you’re free.”

“Okay then,” Gongxi Qiao looked at the time and got up, “I’ll go first then.” After a few steps, he made a phone gesture with his hand to his ear, “Call me if you need anything.”

“Okay,” Xi Qing nodded, “we’ll be in touch by phone.”

The assistant watched Gongxi Qiao’s party leave and whispered, “Boss, the company review meeting starts in half an hour.”

“I know,” Xi Qing stood up and the aura around him was no longer restrained. The assistant’s face looked more cautious, “Do you want to greet President Sun there?”

“No need, she’s a sensible person.” Xi Qing said with a sullen face, “That artist named Liang Yumeng there, you guys go handle it.”

In a certain crew, Liang Yumeng, who was drinking water, suddenly spilled his water cup. The surrounding staff members were busy coming up to him to shower him with concern.

“I’m fine, thanks for your concern,” Liang Yumeng smiled, but his heart was a bit apprehensive. He had been with Sun Jingxue for six or seven years. Sun Jingxue was also very generous to him, but whenever he thought of the way those people looked at him behind his back, he felt uncomfortable.

He was already a film emperor. He no longer needed to depend on people, and his film contracts were constant. He didn’t want to live in Sun Jingxue’s shadow, but he didn’t dare to break off relations with Sun Jingxue.

After so many years with her, he knew Sun Jingxue’s hobby. Gongxi Qiao was definitely the type of person Sun Jingxue liked, so recently in order to draw Sun Jingxue’s attention to Gongxi Qiao, he would always mention Gongxi Qiao to Sun Jingxue, intentionally or unintentionally, and even deliberately let people on Weibo spread photos of his good relationship with Gongxi Qiao.

Then he received news today that Sun Jingxue asked Gongxi Qiao to dine. At noon, he tried to call and she didn’t even answer the phone and hung up directly, indicating that Gongxi Qiao was attractive to her.

Thinking of this, the smile on Liang Yumeng’s face deepened a few points. Not that he was ruthless, but he didn’t want to waste his youth being kept by a woman in her thirties. There were so many young and fresh women in the entertainment industry. How could he let himself hang on to a woman who was three years older than himself?

A few days after he had just had an affair with a young artist, he was discovered by Sun Jingxue, and not only was he severely beaten up by those dogs, but even the young artist was snowed out, so he couldn’t help but feel hatred. Did Sun Jingxue actually put his manly pride in her eyes?

Had he known that Sun Jingxue had such a vicious nature, he would not have gotten on her boat that year ……

Slowly sipping a cup of somewhat cold tea, he bowed his head to conceal the ruthlessness in his eyes.

Gongxi Qiao could only blame his face for being too outstanding and becoming a roadblock for many people.

Just then, his assistant walked up to him with a frightened look and bent down to whisper in his ear, “Brother Liang, President Sun is looking for you, and it sounds to me like her tone isn’t very good.”

Liang Yumeng heard the words and once again knocked over the cup in his hand.

T/N:

1. Keeps: This term has been used before, but in case it’s unclear, it specifically refers to keeping someone as a mistress/sugar baby