After Kissing the World-Weary Female Supporting Character [Transmigration] - Chapter 50

After the lively and interesting night (first) market (date) trip ended, the two spent another day lingering at the hotel, resting well, before unhurriedly taking a flight to Paris on the second day. This time, the schedule was quite generous, spanning a full ten days. Excluding travel time, they had seven or eight days left over. The first two days were spent learning about the brand’s culture and history; the third day involved being invited to tour the brand’s jewelry exhibition hall and learning the jewelry-making process from master craftsmen. Only then did the relaxed photo shoot commence, with ample time reserved for Song Xingzi to sightsee in Paris.

The brand was quite generous and placed great importance on their new brand ambassador. They not only provided plenty of free time but also painstakingly arranged their accommodation. Furthermore, they issued announcements across three major networks and arranged for a dedicated person to guide Song Xingzi through their heartland.

“Voici la place Vendôme, au cœur de nous. Vous pouvez le faire ici…” The young man, with a high nose, blue eyes, and wearing a black suit, walked at the front of the group, gesturing to a picture on the blue wallpaper and speaking volubly.

“What is he saying? I don’t understand a single word.” The novelty of being in a foreign country hadn’t worn off. Song Xingzi kept close to Ji Ruyue, whispering in her ear.

“He is saying this is the Place Vendôme, our heartland. Here you can admire the top historical salons and high jewelry workshops, and view the precious and extensive collections and archives…” [Note: 1]

The translator was clearly right behind Song Xingzi, his mouth constantly moving, essentially providing simultaneous interpretation. And wasn’t Song Xingzi wearing a conduction-based Bluetooth earpiece?

Song Xingzi instinctively touched her left ear, where the earpiece was. “Oh no, my Bluetooth earpiece ran out of battery, so I can’t hear.”

Ji Ruyue glanced at Song Xingzi’s ear. The small, black Bluetooth earpiece was nestled in her jade-like auricle. The simple contrast of black and white made her look even more appealing.

A strange emotion, a mixture of joy and desire, seemed to surge in her veins. Ji Ruyue turned her face away and gently repeated the translator’s words.

“Oh, so that’s what he was saying.” Song Xingzi gripped Ji Ruyue’s hand, her tone light and slow, like a nightingale singing melodiously.

“Mhm,” Ji Ruyue responded, taking the initiative by gripping Song Xingzi’s hand.

Hehe, success! Ji Ji finally paid attention to me. That cranky Ji Ji was either reading documents or spacing out the whole way, completely ignoring my feelings. What happened to our promised publicly funded date?

Song Xingzi revealed a triumphant smile.

The guide took in the whole scene. As French people are naturally romantic, he paid no mind to these minor details and smiled as he asked Ji Ruyue, “Est-ce votre petite amie?” (“Is she your girlfriend?”)

Ji Ruyue paused for a moment, then nodded gently, her cool, smoky voice speaking French in a very captivating way. “Oui, elle est.” (“Yes, she is.”)

The translation from the fully charged earpiece reached Song Xingzi’s ear:

“Is she your little girlfriend?”

“Yes, she is.”

Hehe, so in Ji Ji’s heart, we are already dating; we are girlfriends. This proud little thing never expressed it before! I thought I hadn’t succeeded in my journey of winning her wife yet.

Song Xingzi’s heart felt as if it were smeared with honey, radiating sweetness from the inside out.

But I just lied to Ji Ji that my earpiece was dead. If I now pretend to understand everything, wouldn’t I give myself away?

Thinking this, Song Xingzi gently scratched at Ji Ruyue’s palm with her pinky finger and asked softly, “Ji Ji, what did he say? Why is he looking at us and smiling like that?”

“He said you are a very lovely girl,” Ji Ruyue lied without blinking, but the tips of her ears quietly turned pink. “I told him that I feel the same way.”

“Oh, oh,” Actress Song Xingzi played along beautifully. “Then, Ji Ji, tell him I also think I’m very lovely, and he is very lovely too.”

“Mhm.” Ji Ruyue answered, and then spoke with the guide ahead of them.

Song Xingzi listened to the unhurried translation through the earpiece, her eyes curved in a smile.

Her Ji Ji said: “We have been together for a long time. She said you are very lovely.”

The guide said: “Wow, so romantic! In the name of God, I wish you happiness.”

Her Ji Ji replied: “Thank you. We will be.”

While these two people, mutually playing dumb, just confirmed their relationship and everything was moving in a good direction, the novel’s male lead, Li Yeben, was certainly in a bad situation.

Evidence of his ambiguity with other women suddenly surfaced online, seemingly from nowhere. Some were photos, some chat logs, and some were even short videos.

While none of them were perfectly clear, and some even had traces of being digitally composed, the involvement of marketing accounts caused the issue to snowball, eventually landing on the hot search a few days later.

Ji Ruyue, far away in France, did not speak up or contact him. However, Ji Hongguang, learning of the matter, was furious. He called Li Yeben’s grandfather late that night and unilaterally announced the dissolution of the engagement. Even worse, the Ji Group even began to progressively sever its cooperation with the Li Group.

Here, it must be mentioned: because Ji Ruyue and Li Yeben had been betrothed since childhood, this engagement tightly linked the industries of the Ji and Li groups. As top commercial conglomerates in Huaxia, their areas of overlap were considerable. Li Yeben had long intended to use Ji Ruyue, the sole heir of the Ji family, to swallow the Ji Group’s assets and complete his family’s monopolization.

In reality, however, the Ji Group was more massive and involved in more sectors than the Li Group. Take real estate, for example: while both were leaders in the real estate industry, the Ji Group also encompassed China’s building materials business. Ji Hongguang’s furious termination of cooperation with the Li Group, while not enough to shake the Li Group’s foundation, undoubtedly caused them a great deal of trouble.

Li Yeben paced back and forth in his office. His habitually arrogant face finally showed a hint of anxiety. He had just hung up the phone with his grandfather. Elder Li was absolutely enraged; if Li Yeben had been at the old residence instead of the company, he might have leaped from his Huanghuali wood chair and broken his unfilial grandson’s legs with a cane.

“Why haven’t you found the mastermind yet? Am I paying you all to eat free food?”

The voice of the handsome, god-like man was full of fury. Tang Wen genuinely feared the crazy CEO would grab the cannon fodder assistant by the collar and growl in a hoarse voice, “If you can’t find the mastermind, you’ll all be buried with it!”

As for what “it” was, that wasn’t too important. Tang Wen, wearing a proper smile, suddenly thought of a fatal error.

Oh no! It should be, “If you can’t find the mastermind, none of you will need to show up tomorrow!” A CEO is a CEO, not a tyrant.

However, Li Yeben hadn’t descended into full craziness. He wouldn’t say something so unintelligent.

Unable to hear good news, Li Yeben let out an angry roar, squeezing a glass cup in one hand and literally crushing it! Blood mixed with glass shards fell onto the desk. As if he didn’t feel pain, he clenched both fists and hammered the solid wood table several times. “Damn it! Who is plotting behind my back! How dare you move against me! I’ve never tasted defeat in the business world before. Very well, mastermind, you have successfully attracted my attention. Hehe.”

Tang Wen’s brow twitched. Looking at Li Yeben’s bloody hands, he lamented: The CEO’s overbearing demeanor is truly progressing at lightning speed. He doesn’t even feel pain anymore! Truly like a god among men!

Perhaps due to a miraculous telepathic connection, the aura of pain immunity around Li Yeben vanished. He woke up as if from a dream, grimacing, holding his bleeding wrist, and wailing, “It hurts so much! Damn it! Tang Wen, hurry and help me bandage the wound! Quick!”

Heh, damn capitalism! Making me do two jobs for one salary!!

Tang Wen smiled, first calling the private doctor, then taking out the spare medical kit to urgently treat Li Yeben’s injury.

A qualified CEO assistant must be skilled in all eighteen martial arts, proficient in everything.

“Damn it! Once I catch that villain, I’ll make sure he knows what he’s up against!” Even though he was accidentally injured, the domineering male lead, Li Yeben, still maintained a strong presence.

Tang Wen subconsciously recalled a viral line: Today, I will make you understand what rules are and what propriety is!

While wrapping the gauze, he unconsciously tightened his grip slightly. The pain of the gauze rubbing against his flesh made Li Yeben gasp, roaring with full anger, “Don’t move! If you move again, I can’t guarantee what will happen.”

Tang Wen’s body shook, and his hand froze: “…My God, you need treatment, CEO!”

The ever-ready private doctor was fast and efficient. After arriving, he treated Li Yeben’s wound, left the ointment and instructions, and quietly departed, floating away like a breeze without a trace.

Li Yeben leaned against the boss’s chair, his handsome, god-like face as cold as ice, but his eyes were tightly enduring the pain. His voice was as frigid as his face. “Tang Wen, report the current work progress! I’m not paying you all to eat free food!”

Isn’t that true? You have a male nurse to treat your wounds.

Tang Wen pursed his lips internally, maintaining the serious and dedicated expression of an elite man externally. “CEO, the PR team has released a whitewash draft, and the internet trolls are online. The heat of the posts has basically been suppressed, so the public’s favorability should be minimally affected. However, the cooperation with the Ji Group still needs you to resolve it.”

“Wait a minute! Tang Wen, didn’t He Ya mention before that that crazy woman, Ji Ruyue, likes that little star? You even formulated a plan based on that, didn’t you?” Li Yeben tapped the table lightly with his uninjured hand, frowning in thought.

Tang Wen was confused. “Yes, but that shouldn’t affect the overall situation.”

“Speaking of He Ya,” Li Yeben’s eyebrows, sharp as swords, furrowed. “That woman hasn’t contacted me proactively for a long time. Has she told you any useful information?”

“This…” Tang Wen hesitated. He Ya hadn’t proactively contacted him for several months. He wondered if she had made good use of the photos he gave her earlier.

“Miss He Ya really hasn’t contacted me for a long time. She must be busy with work.”

“Hmph, call her. I want to see what’s going on with this woman.”

Li Yeben was extremely annoyed, a bad premonition in his heart. Since Song Xingzi appeared, he noticed his luck fluctuating, and things often went wrong. He hadn’t felt the smooth, world-yielding sensation of the past for a long time.

Yet, he didn’t actually dislike Song Xingzi. He even occasionally dreamed of her, and although the content of the dreams was forgotten upon waking, it invariably gave him a strange feeling towards Song Xingzi.

Unaware of the truth, he simply categorized it as “what you can’t get is always the best” and didn’t think much of it. However, hearing the false news about Song Xingzi and Ji Ruyue being together still gave him the delusion that something of his was being snatched away.

But years of life experience told him that he was always the man women loved the most, and countless people were willing to live or die for him. His fiancée, Ji Ruyue, was one of them. So, while he was angry and annoyed, he never took these rumors seriously. Today, he merely asked about it casually to see if he could use it: He and Ji Ruyue are free to do as they please. That way, even if the news reaches the elders, it won’t be too embarrassing. Ji Hongguang is just overly protective of his daughter right now. As long as I find a reason and appease Ji Ruyue, won’t the Ji Group still be mine for the taking?

“I hope her information will satisfy me.”

Tang Wen helped hold the phone to Li Yeben’s ear. Ruthlessness and malice flashed in Li Yeben’s handsome eyes as he spoke an emotionless declaration, and the call connected.

“Hello?” A gentle female voice came through the phone.

He Ya was rushing to an announcement. With this endorsement deal, she could save up a good amount of money. When Li Yeben and President Ji inevitably fell out, she would have a slightly better time when she was discarded as a scapegoat.

“Why aren’t you speaking? May I ask who this is?” He Ya was busy rushing to catch her flight home and didn’t look at the caller ID.

“Li Yeben,” Li Yeben fiercely spat out his supreme name. The woman who was supposedly devoted to him couldn’t recognize his voice, which made him very displeased. Even though he didn’t love He Ya, his male ego was bruised.

“Oh, oh, it’s CEO Li,” A hint of disappointment flashed in He Ya’s beautiful eyes, but she quickly cheered up and asked warmly, “Does CEO Li need something?”

Perhaps because Ji Ruyue showed mercy, or perhaps because she was deemed completely unimportant, He Ya was absent from the photos and chat logs exposed online. Therefore, her career was unaffected, and busy rushing from one announcement to the next, she was unaware that the topic of “The CEO and His Mistresses” had already topped the hot search.

“Am I paying you to eat free food? So many resources flow into your hands, and I just gave you one small task. Yet, I hear the drama has wrapped, and you haven’t made any progress? Hmm? Are you challenging my bottom line?”

It is as I suspected. The relationship between us has always been purely a matter of benefit.

He Ya, pulling her suitcase and escorted by her assistant, walked into the airport. “CEO Li, young President Ji might truly not like you anymore. You should give up on this path. I can’t intervene in the relationship between young President Ji and Song Xingzi. Furthermore, Miss Liu Bai, with her benevolent heart, definitely wouldn’t accept you taking the heart of another innocent woman for the sake of your beloved.”

She actually found out my real intention? But so what! How dare a trivial mistress lecture me? Li Yeben’s peerlessly handsome face flushed with insulted rage. His voice was icy, literally dropping the office temperature by a few degrees. “Don’t forget your place. You are only my mistress. What right do you have to say such things?”

He Ya’s heart felt as if it had fallen into the mud, unable to be wiped clean. She looked up. The giant screen at the airport was broadcasting the endorsement of the new emerging star, Gu Zhu. She adjusted her sunglasses, her tone full of exhaustion. “CEO Li, you are right. I have no right.”

Li Yeben nodded, satisfied. The woman’s obedience appeased his ego. “I ask you: is it true that Ji Ruyue is with that little star? Do you have evidence? After all this time, you failed the mission. You didn’t come back empty-handed, did you?”

Remembering the deleted videos and photos, He Ya sighed, saying helplessly, “I am sorry, CEO Li. He Ya is incompetent.”

“You damn woman! What does that mean?”

“Sorry, I have to board my flight. I’m hanging up now.” He Ya was physically and mentally exhausted. For the first time, she proactively hung up on Li Yeben, then stood with a headache behind the crowd, waiting for the security check.

“If you are deliberately trying to anger me, then I,” will tell you that you succeeded!

Li Yeben’s sentence was cut short by the beeping sound from the phone. He Ya had already hung up.

“This damn woman! How dare she hang up on me proactively!”

Even when the other party had said so much, the self-centered CEO male lead still only focused on the strange main point.

“CEO, CEO! This is bad!” The deputy secretary rushed in, knocking frantically. The Head of the PR Department followed behind him.

“I am perfectly fine! What are you talking about!” Li Yeben glared angrily. “What happened?”

“The hot search is back up. Starshine Entertainment has made a statement.”

Li Yeben showed his disappointment. “Don’t hold your breath when you speak! What did Ji Ruyue say?”

“No, it’s not young President Ji. Wait, yes, it is young President Ji.”

Li Yeben was impatient. “So what exactly did Ji Ruyue say?”

“The official Weibo of the Starshine Entertainment CEO, which is young President Ji’s official Weibo, posted a Weibo message.”

Tang Wen couldn’t stand it anymore. He clicked on today’s hot search, found the entry “Starshine Entertainment Makes Statement,” and briefly summarized it for Li Yeben.

“Young President Ji’s official Weibo stated: Even for a verbal engagement, the respect that should be afforded to both parties must be mutually upheld. And then added an official announcement of the dissolution of the engagement? But there was no need to be so formal! Young President Ji should be overseas; Chairman Ji must have handled this for her.”

Li Yeben frowned, shocked and angry. “Ji Hongguang, that old fool! Book me a flight! I’m going to find Ji Ruyue.”

“CEO, please calm down,” Tang Wen, who paid dearly for this salary, analyzed the situation for Li Yeben in meticulous detail, like an old father. “First, we don’t know young President Ji’s specific location, so how can we book a ticket? Second, the urgent matter now is to appease the public, salvage public perception, and prevent stock prices from falling. Finally, Chairman Ji and the Elder Master have the best relationship, and he is now overly protective of his daughter. The CEO should first figure out how to cool his anger. As for young President Ji, her infatuation with the CEO is not a matter of a day or two. It won’t hurt to let her be for two days. While the situation is not severe, we should quickly apply the right remedy.”

“You are right,” Li Yeben pondered for a while, slowly nodding. He then spoke to the deputy secretary and the Head of the PR Department. “Regarding public opinion, offer a sincere apology first, and then you must try your best to whitewash it, pushing the blame toward the female party and the chaos in the entertainment industry. You must prevent it from spreading further, and absolutely must not let it reach the foreign internet and let Xiaobai (Liu Bai) find out.”

Tang Wen: Damn it… at a time like this, he’s still worried about Xiaobai, Xiaobai. Xiaobai your mother! How did I end up with a CEO like this? However, at least he still has a brain.

Tang Wen carefully asked, “What about Miss He Ya and the others?”

“Let her be. She’s just a pawn,” Li Yeben waved indifferently. “Also, use the previously collected evidence of Ji Ruyue’s ambiguous relationship with the little star. I’ll go see my grandfather first.”

With a series of instructions given, the Li Group, like a massive machine, slowly began to operate.