Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
Advance chapters available for patrons on Patreon. And a chapter can be sponsored by buying me a ko-fi.
Ming Yao had nightmares all night long. Her dreams were a jumbled mess. One moment she was cursing Qi Xu for being a scumb*g, and the next she was like a wronged woman, hoping to win Qi Xu’s love.
The scariest thing was when Ming Yao dreamed that she and he were doing what happened in episode six!
After being woken up by the phone call, Ming Yao’s first reaction was to breathe a sigh of relief, thankful that it was just a dream.
She must have spent too much time thinking about how to skip episode six before going to bed last night, so much so that she even dreamt about the plot.
The phone kept ringing, and Ming Yao picked it up to look at it.
It was Qi Xu.
The image of the two of them doing *that* was still lingering in her dream; Ming Yao’s heart pounded, and she answered the phone with mixed and dazed feelings:
“Hello.”
Qi Xu: “The Berlin Symphony Orchestra has a performance tonight. Are you interested in going to listen together?”
The man’s voice was hoarse and tinged with tenderness, as if he had just emerged from a dream.
It had that feel of episode six.
“Ming Yao?” Qi Xu called out again.
“Huh?” Ming Yao suddenly came to her senses. “Oh, a symphony.”
She had no interest in listening to symphonies.
Ming Yao rubbed her temples, trying to clear her head. Just as she was thinking about how to refuse, she suddenly remembered something.
In episode seven, Lin Yunyun and Gu Yuan went to see a performance together. Although it wasn’t a concert, the setting was roughly similar.
Moreover, the dreams she had at night, including the content of episode six, could be considered as having experienced them in her dreams.
So… a perfect solution?
Amazing! How did Qi Xu manage to seamlessly connect the plot for her?
Ming Yao immediately perked up, sat up in bed, and said with five stars for her service attitude: “Of course I’m interested. Today is the first day of us being friends.”
Qi Xu: “Then I’ll come to pick you up from school around six o’clock.”
“Good.”
After hanging up the phone, Ming Yao excitedly flipped through the script, ready to go through the map of the performance that Lin Yunyun and Gu Yuan went to, when she suddenly noticed that there were many unread WeChat messages in her best friend’s group chat.
Jian Ning: [Senior brother Ji’s assistant just contacted me, inviting me to his birthday party?! Sisters, come quick, am I still dreaming??]
Xingdi: […I was just about to ask in the group, me too.]
Jian Ning: [Really?]
Xingdi: [I wonder if Yao Yao answered the phone.]
After a half-second pause, Ming Yao suddenly remembered—
She slept through the night and completely forgot about it!
Ming Yao found it a bit strange when Ji Muyang invited her yesterday, but it makes perfect sense if he also invited Jian Ning and Guan Xingdi.
Perhaps he was just taking this opportunity on his return to Xingcheng to meet up with his classmates, after all, Ji Muyang had always taken good care of his juniors.
Ming Yao: [He invited me too.]
All three of them received invitations, which caused an uproar in their close friends’ group.
Ji Muyang had established himself in the entertainment industry at a young age and was considered a male god and idol in the hearts of all the female students in the film academy. No one would refuse an invitation to his birthday party.
Jian Ning immediately suggested that the three of them meet up as soon as possible to pick out a birthday gift for Ji Muyang.
Ming Yao had readily agreed, but just as she was happily heading out, she suddenly remembered—
She had arranged to go to a concert with Qi Xu that evening…
On one hand, she was dedicated to unlocking the same plot as the script, and on the other hand, she was invited to attend her male god senior’s birthday party.
In other words, it was a choice between public and private matters.
After hesitating for a few minutes, Ming Yao made a decision.
Putting aside the fact that it was rare for Ji Muyang and her fellow students to have a get-together—birthdays only came once a year— and as for Qi Xu, the concert could be rescheduled.
At worst, she could treat next time.
After happily convincing herself, Ming Yao called Qi Xu. To make her decision to stand him up seem reasonable, she told Qi Xu that because her period had suddenly started, she wasn’t feeling well, and she didn’t want to go out.
Girls have those few days every month when it’s inconvenient.
Qi Xu understood this and didn’t ask any further questions. “Then you should get some rest.”
Ming Yao was still feeling a little guilty, so she apologized profusely, “I’m so sorry, but I’ve already bought tickets for the day after tomorrow. Shall we go listen to it the day after tomorrow?”
Fortunately, the band’s tour had three days of performances, with the last show the day after tomorrow, so they could make it.
Qi Xu smiled and said calmly, “Okay.”
After resolving Qi Xu’s problem, Ming Yao immediately met up with Jian Ning and Guan Xingdi, and the three of them went to the mall to pick out a birthday gift for Ji Muyang.
Meanwhile, the tense atmosphere in the office did not ease at all despite the interruption of a phone call.
Five minutes ago, the Zhouyi Hotel became a trending topic.
A video blogger dressed up as a poor person and entered a hotel to test the concierge’s reaction.
As a result, the ultra-luxury five-star hotel brand “Zhouyi,” which was hailed as a gem in the domestic hotel industry and a leading representative, demonstrated its opportunistic and sycophantic behavior to the fullest extent.
The reputation and word-of-mouth of Zhouyi immediately collapsed due to this incident, and many guests posted online about the cold treatment they received when they checked in because they did not tip or dressed casually.
At this moment, a row of people stood in front of Qi Xu’s desk. The managers of the concierge department, public relations department, and marketing department had all arrived, each with their heads down and trembling with fear.
Everyone was waiting for Qi Xu to make his statement.
After a long while, Qi Xu turned around gently, glanced at his watch, and said coldly, “Five minutes have passed. Can any of you give me a solution?”
The public relations director responded first: “We will contact the blogger as soon as possible to delete the video. We are also suppressing the trending topics and related keywords on Weibo. An apology statement has been drafted and is waiting for your review.”
After he finished speaking, he handed a document to Qi Xu.
Qi Xu didn’t move. “That’s it?”
The PR director was taken aback. “Huh?”
De-escalating the situation and issuing an apology— isn’t this the standard template for crisis public relations these days?
Before he could react, the documents he had just sent were thrown back the same way.
It hit the PR director.
Everyone held their breath and fell silent.
Just as the atmosphere was about to freeze, Dai Zhiyang arrived.
Dai Zhiyang was the nominal vice president of Zhouyi Hotel. Although he didn’t usually manage things, he rushed over as soon as he saw that the hotel was trending on social media because of negative news.
He sensed something was off as soon as he entered the office, so he dismissed the supervisors and went straight to the point, asking Qi Xu:
“It’s not that I’m being paranoid, but don’t you think this is a bit strange? Is that blogger just bored out of his mind to make this kind of video? Besides, SG has so many hotel brands, why did they choose the Zhouyi Hotel, which you manage, for the review?”
Qi Xu knew what Dai Zhiyang was guessing.
He had been in charge of Zhouyi for two years and had consistently achieved good results, maintaining a leading reputation in the industry.
Excluding coincidences, Qi Xu could only think of one possibility.
He tapped his pen lightly on the table for a moment, then said casually, “Her son is coming back; she’s probably a little impatient.”
Dai Zhiyang: “…”
The two were silent for a while. Qi Xu pressed his temples, sat up straight, and made an internal call to his secretary outside, informing her that the meeting would start in five minutes.
The meeting lasted for two hours and they decided to respond to the trending topic as quickly as possible.
At 7:30, the night was lit up by neon lights, but Qi Xu was still in the office.
Ming Yao’s situation changed unexpectedly, and he had no plans for the evening. Coupled with the trending topic, he stayed at the company to observe how things unfolded.
Then his phone suddenly rang.
It was Jiang Yuhe who called.
“I just got off the plane and saw the news. To be frank, is there anything I can do to help?”
Although today’s events were somewhat upsetting, Qi Xu felt comforted because, over the years, no matter when he encountered trouble, Dai Zhiyang and Jiang Yuhe would always be there for him immediately.
Even if one was a spoiled, irresponsible vice president in name only, while the other had already reached the top of the entertainment industry pyramid.
The online sentiment had shifted. Qi Xu stood up from his chair, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window in the office, looked at the night view outside, and casually joked with Jiang Yuhe.
“Help? Sure, but just arrange a place for me to have a meal.”
Jiang Yuhe knew immediately that Qi Xu was alright.
He laughed and swore, then asked, “Are you coming to Night?”
Qi Xu frowned: “A bar?”
“I’m just showing up for a birthday party with one of the company’s artists. If you come, I’ll stay longer.”
Qi Xu had no interest in this kind of occasion and was about to refuse when he suddenly heard Jiang Yuhe muttering to himself—
“Why is that woman Tian Anni just signed here too?”
He paused, then seemed to realize something, “Oh… she and Ji Muyang are alumni.”
Qi Xu frowned and asked uncertainly, “The woman Tian Anni recently signed?”
Jiang Yuhe: “It’s the one who looks a lot like Jin Tang.”
Qi Xu: “…”
“Enough with the nonsense, are you coming or not?”
….
At seven o’clock, the three friends arrived at Night Bar.
The venue had been booked out by Ji Muyang’s team today. When Ming Yao and the others arrived, there were already many people there, including many familiar classmates.
Ji Muyang was surrounded by several people talking, with the lights and music blending together, and he hadn’t seen Ming Yao come over yet.
The three friends found a sofa and sat down. Ming Yao and Guan Xingdi discussed who should deliver the gift. Jian Ning, who was preparing to post on Weibo, noticed something and suddenly said:
“Zhouyi’s PR is amazing, I’m totally impressed.”
Ming Yao didn’t pay attention at first, but it took her a couple of beats to realize what was happening. She turned her head and asked, “Zhouyi? What’s wrong?”
Jian Ning pointed at her phone screen: “They were criticized by netizens all afternoon on the trending topics, but now they’re praising them. Qi Xu of SG is really amazing; he can even bring the dead back to life.”
Ming Yao was stunned for a moment, then immediately reached for her phone.
She opened Weibo and saw the trending topic that Jian Ning had mentioned.
#Zhouyi Hotel Responds#
#Zhouyi Hotel Discrimination#
After briefly glancing at two related entries, Ming Yao understood why the hotel was being criticized.
Just three hours earlier, in addition to issuing a bilingual apology statement on social media platforms such as Weibo in China and Twitter abroad, the Zhouyi Hotel also immediately donated one million US dollars to a domestic organization to support the development of charitable causes.
The most amazing thing was that they announced they would randomly select 100 netizens from the comments section to stay at Zhouyi Hotel for free at any time, so they could personally supervise and experience Zhouyi’s sincerity.
This sincere apology and genuine public relations efforts quickly won over the public. Till now, there had been 590,000 comments on the official Weibo account expressing a desire to stay at the hotel.
Zhouyi turned negative trending topics into a free publicity campaign.
For some reason, Ming Yao felt a sense of relief after seeing the public opinion reverse.
After thinking about it, probably out of guilt for standing someone up, Ming Yao immediately sent a message of condolence.
[I saw it trending on social media. Are you okay over there?]
Qi Xu replied quickly.
[I’m alright, how are you?]
Ming Yao replied softly, [I’m still feeling a little unwell. I just drank some hot water and am going to sleep now. Goodnight.]
Just as she sent the message, Jian Ning pulled her and Guan Xingdi to their feet, exclaiming, “Holy crap, Jiang Yuhe is here?! That’s giving Senior Brother Ji so much face!”
Ming Yao’s brain exploded for a moment: “…Who?”
Jian Ning pointed to the man surrounded by a crowd not far away, “Jiang Yuhe!”
Ming Yao looked in that direction, and her expression immediately changed.
Why was this person here!
Oh shift, how could she forget that Ji Muyang had just signed with Asia Entertainment not long ago!
Jiang Yuhe and Qi Xu were good friends, and she had met him before. If they run into each other later, what should she do if he tells Qi Xu that she was here?
Better safe than sorry. Ming Yao nervously hid behind her two friends. Guan Xingdi frowned at her and asked, “Yao Yao, what are you doing?”
Ming Yao: “The air conditioning here is so strong, I’m cold.”
“…”
All the time during Jiang Yuhe’s stay, Ming Yao felt like she had thorns in her back, and was extremely uncomfortable. After much deliberation, she decided that it would be best to run away first.
Since she hadn’t seen Ji Muyang yet, she’ll just pretend she was never here.
“My stomach hurts a bit, so I’m going back first. If you see Senior Brother Ji later, please tell him happy birthday for me.”
Jian Ning & Guan Xingdi: Huh????
After saying that, Ming Yao picked up her bag and ran. The bar was on the 12th floor. She had just slipped to the elevator when Ji Muyang suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
“Ming Yao? When did you arrive?”
Ming Yao froze, then turned around and forced a smile: “…Just arrived.”
“Where are you going?”
“Oh, I was going to buy a bottle of water.”
“Only drinks and alcohol were prepared for today’s birthday party,” Ji Muyang said with a smile. “It was my oversight. I forgot to ask the staff to prepare some water. Let’s go.”
“Where to?”
“Aren’t you buying water? I’ll go with you.”
“…”
No, I just want to leave quietly by myself QAQ
Ming Yao felt that it must be because she lied to Qi Xu that God was punishing her by making her play outside in fear and in secret.
“No need, I can go by myself.” Ming Yao pushed Ji Muyang towards the bar. “You should go back and entertain the guests.”
“You’re a guest too, I’ll keep you company.”
“Really, it’s not necessary.”
Why are you being so polite with me?
Just as the two were pulling and tugging at each other, the elevator doors suddenly opened.
Ming Yao paused, then looked up.
She was caught off guard and her eyes met those of the man standing in the elevator.
…?
???
Sensing something from the man’s gaze, Ming Yao jolted and withdrew her hand from Ji Muyang’s body as if she had been electrocuted.
The air seemed to freeze almost instantly.
Qi Xu glanced at her and walked out of the elevator expressionlessly.
Ming Yao seemed to be strangled by fate, unable to speak, her body only subconsciously retreating.
It’s over.
Ming Yao swallowed nervously.
Her tool seems to be getting emotional.
The author has something to say:
President Qi: Ha, is this how it is on the first day after we became friends?
Yao Yao: …Let me explain (flips through the script to find a walkthrough)
One minute later.
Damn it, the script didn’t teach me how to appease the tool!
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