Chapter 48: Listen to Me 029

Chapter 48

A black Maybach pulled up in front of the airport terminal. Su Tao glanced at the WeChat payment code that Xie Jin had pulled up and twitched her lips helplessly as she took out her phone to scan and pay the fare.

"I still have some unfinished work, so I'll only be able to go back to Jiang City in a couple days," Xie Jin said slowly.

Su Tao didn't contradict his casual use of the word "back" in referring to Jiang City.

"Of course, if you want me to be able to come back a few days earlier..."

Xie Jin turned his face and leaned forward, tapping his lips. "A kiss, and I'll come back a day earlier."

Su Tao: "Never mind, goodbye."

Su Tao opened the car door to get out when her hand was suddenly grabbed. A warm palm enveloped her small hand, the long articulated fingers massaging her fingertips.

Xie Jin raised his other hand and tapped his cheek, blinking his deepset eyes as he compromised, "A kiss on the cheek is fine too."

Su Tao: "..."

She silently retrieved her hand and got out of the car, leaving Xie Jin with an elegant departing view of her back.

"A kiss isn't necessary. Just say something," Su Tao was already walking away when Xie Jin's voice lowered in disappointment as he murmured to himself, "Say something and I'll go with you right now."

Le Xuan and Xiao Ke accompanied Jiang Qi to film his MV. According to Le Xuan's report, Jiang Qi was very cooperative at work, which made Su Tao very gratified.

But this gratification only lasted half a day before Jiang Qi suddenly appeared in the hot search rankings.

The hashtag "#JiangQi Fu Chengcheng sweet interaction#" squeezed into the top ten hot searches in no time.

Su Tao clicked in and saw paparazzi videos and photos.

On set, it must not have been during filming because Fu Chengcheng had her arm wrapped around Jiang Qi's. She was on her tiptoes whispering something in his ear, both of them laughing together.

The photos were even more ambiguous.

Fu Chengcheng leaning on Jiang Qi's shoulder, Jiang Qi leaning on her head.

The two gazing sweetly at each other.

Holding hands.

It was unclear whether it was during filming or not, leaving room for imagination.

These fans would only vent in their own fan forums, not yet losing their rationality.

The key was that Fu Chengcheng then posted a Weibo that instantly rocketed this trending topic into the top five.

Fu Chengcheng v: This is my first time filming a duo MV, it's pretty tiring but also very fun. I want to share a little trick for staying happy at work - devote your heart fully to the job, and you won't feel tired no matter how exhausting it is.

Picture: Fu Chengcheng with eyes closed and head tilted back. Jiang Qi leaning in close, their lips less than a centimeter apart.

What does "devote your heart" mean?

The picture is so ambiguous, is this an official announcement of their relationship?

Jiang Qi has a lot of female fans who instantly flooded Fu Chengcheng's Weibo profile, the comments full of scolding. Fan emotions were extremely polarized.

Marketing accounts were churning out speculation about the two's relationship en masse.

They even dug up interactions between them during the training camp period. Under edited clips, originally very normal interactions seemed intimate and ambiguous.

Many bystanders were starting to believe the two really were together.

Jiang Qi fans also flooded Su Tao's Weibo, demanding clarification on the relationship status, waiting for an official denial.

At this time, Su Tao was busy coordinating the PR and tech departments, using her media connections at high cost to buy back the paparazzi videos and photos of the two.

She also had the fan club managers organize counterattacks, not giving marketing accounts the chance to exploit this.

Because Fu Chengcheng's Weibo post was so ambiguous, Su Tao could claim it was just hype for the MV, mere delusional speculation by fans.

At this point, it wasn't suitable for Su Tao to post a clarification in the company's name.

She first had to negotiate with Fu Chengcheng's agency to understand their intentions.

The MV was filmed in Chongqing. Su Tao called Fu Chengcheng's agent wanting to resolve it over the phone, but they insisted on meeting in person in Chongqing. Sensing something wrong, Su Tao still bought a plane ticket to fly over.

After landing in Chongqing, Le Xuan called Su Tao saying she was there to pick her up, the car parked in the parking lot.

Su Tao found the car and upon opening the door saw Jiang Qi dressed in hip hop fashion also sitting inside, blinking his clear eyes at her.

Su Tao's expression darkened. She immediately got in the car and questioned Le Xuan, "Why did you bring Jiang Qi at such a sensitive time?"

Le Xuan looked at Jiang Qi but didn't say anything else, just silently acknowledged her mistake: "Sorry boss, I didn't consider carefully enough."

"It's not Le Xuan's fault, I insisted on coming along," Jiang Qi explained frankly, not letting Le Xuan take the fall.

Su Tao looked at him coldly: "I'm meeting Fu Chengcheng's agent. If you're seen together it'll make people speculate. You're not allowed to leave the car or show your face later. If you keep being stubborn, I'll..."

"I know," Jiang Qi calmly cut her off, a trace of helplessness passing through his clear eyes leaving only obedient compromise. "I won't leave the car or show my face, I'll wait here for you."

Su Tao looked at him suspiciously but didn't say anything, her expression still somber.

"Nothing happened between me and Fu Chengcheng, don't get the wrong idea," Jiang Qi said as he watched Su Tao's displeased face. "Most of the online stuff was required for filming. The director even planned a kissing scene but I didn't agree to it."

Su Tao narrowed her eyes at Jiang Qi: "You didn't agree? Why didn't you agree? The director has their own ideas for filming, kissing scenes are basic work for actors. Even idols need to be professional, let alone you wanting to become a professional actor."

Su Tao's words left Jiang Qi stunned for a good while. His brows gradually furrowed as he stared at her, deep sadness and disappointment in his eyes.

He didn't say anything, just turned his head away, tugging his hat low over his eyes as he slowly closed them, not letting Su Tao see the two tears that fell.

The car drove smoothly all the way to the appointed private club.

Su Tao brought Le Xuan to the meeting, leaving Xiao Ke to nominally accompany Jiang Qi but really to keep an eye on him.

When Su Tao arrived at the reserved private room, seeing nearly half the table filled with people including Fu Chengcheng sitting among them, her concerns were confirmed.

For them to brazenly have Fu Chengcheng meet with Su Tao at this time, their intentions to hype up the CP were already very obvious.

Almost everyone from Fu Chengcheng's management team was there, very enthusiastic towards Su Tao and Le Xuan. Su Tao even suspected they had brought paparazzi to follow them.

Yet she couldn't very well stand guard all night, so she chose to lay an ambush inside the room to nip any thoughts of Fu Chengcheng's in the bud.

Glancing over, Su Tao saw Le Xuan already nodding off in the chair.

She was also tired after today. Su Tao didn't have the heart to wake her, thinking she'd deal with it when they were leaving.

Suddenly her vision was obstructed as Jiang Qi strode up to stand in front of her. His clear eyes once again ignited with fiery heat. He leaned both arms against the door, trapping Su Tao between him and the door. His head slowly drew nearer.

With Jiang Qi wall-slamming her, Su Tao felt the scorching aura he exuded after his shower sweep over her like a heatwave. Her cheeks also turned crimson.

"Jiang Qi, don't you dare!" Su Tao turned her face away to avoid him as he got closer, shouting sharply to stop him.

Jiang Qi's lips halted just one centimeter from Su Tao's cheek, not quite daring to make contact in the end.

His breath caressed Su Tao's ear as he whispered softly: "If I listen to everything you say, will you give me a chance and allow me to like you?"

Su Tao lowered her eyes, sighing lightly. She seemed about to say something but Jiang Qi raised a finger to stop her lips.

He didn't want to hear it. She definitely wouldn't agree.

"If I'd known loving someone would be so painful, I definitely wouldn't have taken the initiative to speak to you that day on the beach at sunset."

Jiang Qi's voice carried a sob. The tears he had recently shed were to repay a past debt of the heart.

It was his just deserts.

"Listen to me sing a song I wrote myself. After singing this song, I promise I won't like you anymore."

Jiang Qi's mouth lifted in a tranquil, detached smile. It would have been more convincing if not for the tears in his eyes.

He straightened up, wiping away the tears, and walked over to Le Xuan, kicking her foot lightly. "Help me buy a bottle of water."

Le Xuan rubbed her bleary eyes and glanced at Su Tao, leaving after getting her nod of approval.

Jiang Qi sat on the edge of the bed hugging his guitar, head lowered. His bangs had naturally dried into soft wisps on his forehead. His long, slender fingers strummed the strings, eliciting pleasant music.

"That seaside at our first meeting, the sunset dyeing your face,

So beautiful, so sweet.

Our second meeting that day, your smile climbing into your eyes,

So bright, so dazzling.

...

Don't know when I started caring about your messages,

Don't know when I started looking forward to seeing you everyday.

...

My girl, I want to keep you by my side, gazing at your face always.

My girl, if I could go back to that day, I'd definitely not say goodbye to you."

The gentle, clear voice sang lowly, telling of secret admiring feelings, making listeners' hearts sweetly sore.

Watching Jiang Qi earnestly singing and playing, Su Tao realized he was very suited for this kind of slowly recounted ballad.

If released, this song would surely ignite another wave of popularity.

As the last note faded away, Su Tao gathered her wandering thoughts and said with a faint smile, "The melody is beautiful, the vocals are flawless, just tweak the lyrics a little more and it'll be ready for release."

Jiang Qi's long eyelashes fluttered as his fingers clutched the guitar strings tightly. He was silent for two seconds before saying slowly in a low voice, "I won't release this song. I wrote it for you and will only sing it this once."

Su Tao didn't know how to respond, she just looked at him quietly.

He kept his head lowered the entire time, the atmosphere seemed to solidify along with his current feelings of despair and dejection.

The mood was shattered when the door was suddenly knocked on loudly. It was probably Le Xuan returning. Su Tao took a deep breath to collect herself before getting up to answer the door.

But it wasn't Le Xuan standing outside, it was Fu Chengcheng.

Fu Chengcheng clearly hadn't expected to find Su Tao in the room. She had seen Jiang Qi's manager leave, so why was there someone else in the room?

"Did you need something?" Su Tao felt relieved, she had finally caught Fu Chengcheng red-handed.

"Oh...I wanted to borrow a phone charger from Jiang Qi." Fu Chengcheng quickly made up an excuse.

"Jiang Qi needs to rest, he doesn't have any extras. The hotel front desk has some, you can go downstairs now to borrow one from them."

Su Tao's thinly veiled attempt to drive Fu Chengcheng away left the girl too embarrassed to continue making excuses. After all, she was just a young girl, her face flushed red as she awkwardly left.

Su Tao glanced back at Jiang Qi, he also looked up at her.

But only for a moment, he averted his gaze as soon as she looked over.

"Rest early, good night."

Su Tao said and then closed the door from outside. She stood in the hallway and took two deep breaths, finally relaxing now that she had caught Fu Chengcheng lying in wait. She was also ready to go back to her room and rest.

Walking on the soft carpet, she suddenly heard a hurried door closing.

She hadn't noticed any open doors, so where did that come from? Could it be someone was hiding behind a door to secretly observe her, and in their panic at potentially being discovered, hastily closed the door?

But that level of composure wasn't typical for paparazzi trying to sneak photos. Even if caught, they wouldn't react so frantically.

Su Tao walked towards the source of the sound, thinking all the spy games today had improved her investigative skills. She had an inkling who it might be, although she also felt it was unlikely. But to verify her guess, she video called Xie Jin.

The video ringtone immediately sounded from the next room over. Su Tao slowly approached and pressed her ear against the door to listen for movement inside.

The video connected, showing Xie Jin's usual extreme close-up angle with the camera held high to only capture his face.

"Where are you?" Su Tao asked.

"Home, of course." Xie Jin naturally replied.

"Point the camera down, let me see."

The camera instantly panned down, landing on his muscular bare chest as he shamelessly said, "Want me to go lower?"