Edge of A Burning Kiss - Chapter 35

Xia Jin had just seen the text message when she swiftly deleted it.

[Deleting my message won’t help~ Be a good girl and keep your distance from Qin Yu. I’ll be back in at most half a month.]

Xia Jin glanced around nervously, how did Shen Du know she’d deleted the message?

[No need to look around. I didn’t have anyone watching you.]

Xia Jin hovered over the text box for a long time before finally choosing to turn off her phone altogether, out of sight, out of mind.

Once that lunatic Shen Du returned to the country, she’d just avoid him. Couldn’t she at least hide from him?

Three days later, in the afternoon, Xia Jin arrived at the Lelai studio for a pre-broadcast meeting with the production team of Almost Lovers.

Entering the conference room, she greeted the director: “Hello, Director Zhang. I’ll be counting on your guidance for the show.”

Director Zhang quickly stood up. “You flatter me, President Xia. Thank you for joining our dating show,the ratings are guaranteed now.”

Xia Jin smiled. “Then I’ll look forward to the activities you’ve planned.”

“Of course, of course. The other four celebrities don’t know yet that you and President Qin will be participating as guests. Tomorrow morning, we’ll have them guess your identities over the phone. What do you think…?”

Xia Jin took a seat at the very back.

“I’ve always trusted your judgment, Director Zhang. Just proceed with your plan, I have no objections. Treat me like any other guest.”

Qin Yu was the last to arrive. The moment he entered, all the seated staff members stood up.

“President Qin!”

He nodded. “Take your seats.”

Passing by the front-row seat reserved for him, Qin Yu tapped the shoulder of the person sitting in front of Xia Jin.

“Mind switching seats? You can take the front row.”

The staff member stood up, flustered. “Of course! Absolutely!”

And so, Qin Yu smoothly settled into the seat beside Xia Jin, casually crossing his legs and leaning back in his chair.

He raised a hand, signaling Director Zhang to begin the meeting.

Director Zhang wiped his sweat nervously. Originally, someone of Qin Yu’s status wouldn’t even need to attend this meeting.

But who knew what had gotten into the boss? Suddenly, Chi Fan had notified him that Qin Yu would be joining.

“Right, right. So, Almost Lovers will primarily be broadcast live…”

Xia Jin propped her chin on one hand, staring absently at Director Zhang.

Qin Yu followed her gaze, also fixing his eyes on the director.

Feeling the weight of both their stares, Director Zhang faltered mid-sentence. “Did I… do something wrong?”

“Hmm?” Xia Jin snapped out of her daze and pointed at herself. “Are you talking to me? What’s the matter?”

“Ah?” Director Zhang was baffled by her irrelevant response and didn’t know how to continue.

Finally, Qin Yu cut in with a sigh. “It’s nothing. Director Zhang, please carry on.”

Swallowing hard, Director Zhang forced himself to continue.

Qin Yu rested his head on his hand and turned to Xia Jin. “President Xia, daydreaming during a meeting?”

“Mm-hmm. I’m always the one holding meetings for others. This is the first time someone’s holding one for me.”

Qin Yu chuckled. “Ready for tomorrow?”

Xia Jin looked somewhat excited: “Alright, this is my first time participating in a variety show, it feels pretty fresh.”

“Sure. Director Zhang’s shows rarely make mistakes, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

The director, PD, and crew for this project had all been personally selected by Qin Yu.

Originally planned as a two-hour meeting, it was abruptly cut short to just one hour after Xia Jin, bored in the back row, secretly played with her phone and was caught by Qin Yu, who then glared at Director Zhang to wrap things up.

Xia Jin waited in the lounge next to Qin Yu’s office ostensibly to avoid suspicion until all the meeting attendees had left before she went to find him.

Just then, Song Qianrou called: “President Xia, Chen Zeyu has already admitted it. As you instructed, his other resources have been revoked, but he…”

Hearing Song Qianrou hesitate, Xia Jin cut straight to the point: “What else did he do?”

“Chen Zeyu is adamant about keeping two of the drama offers for CEO-themed roles.”

Xia Jin pinched the bridge of her nose. “Fine, let him have them. Tell his agent that from now on, he’s not to take any more CEO-type roles. He should explore other genres.”

“Understood.”

Feeling weary, Xia Jin walked to the window and gently drew back the curtain, letting in just a sliver of sunlight.

She pulled a slender cigarette from a silver case, leaned against the window, and lightly bit the filter before casually lighting it.

A haze of smoke swirled around her, making her seem almost ethereal.

But the next second, the cigarette was abruptly plucked from her lips.

Xia Jin turned her head toward the intruder, her eyes lifting slightly, gaze shifting, though her voice remained cool: “Hmm? What brings you here?”

Qin Yu casually stubbed out the cigarette and leaned lazily against the wall, grinning. “I came specifically to inform you that smoking is prohibited in the lounge.”

Xia Jin arched an eyebrow. “I don’t recall Leilai having such a rule in the lounge.”

“Is that so?” Qin Yu feigned confusion.

He left the room but returned shortly, holding a “No Smoking” sign.

“Well, now you’ve seen it,” Qin Yu waved the sign. “No smoking. Violators will…”

Xia Jin was momentarily speechless. “Violators will what?”

He leaned in close to her ear. “Violators get fined with a kiss?”

Blushing furiously, Xia Jin stomped hard on Qin Yu’s foot. “Stop talking nonsense!”

“Alright, alright!” Laughing, he snatched the cigarette case from her hand. “No more smoking!”

“No, give it back!” Xia Jin stood on tiptoe, trying to grab the case back.

Seeing it was out of reach, she gave up and switched to verbal sparring. “This isn’t fair!”

Qin Yu tossed the case onto the sofa and reached for Xia Jin’s pants pocket, startling her into darting away.

With long strides, he chased after her, finally cornering her against the back of the sofa.

“Hand it over.”

He held out his other hand. Xia Jin pouted and reluctantly pulled the lighter from her pocket, handing it over.

Qin Yu took it and tossed it aside. “Who taught you to smoke?”

Xia Jin turned her face away stubbornly, refusing to look at him.

Amused by her expression, Qin Yu pinched her chin and turned her face back toward him.

“Fine, I won’t ask. Let’s eat.”

“Hmph!”

Xia Jin shook off his hand and turned away again, pretending not to hear him.

Qin Yu was truly out of options now. He coaxed her softly, “I also bought you a strawberry shortcake. Do me the honor and have dinner with me, okay?”

“Hmph!” Xia Jin finally forgave him. “Let’s go!”

Qin Yu smiled and stood up, walking ahead. Xia Jin watched his back and quickly reached out, trying to stealthily snatch the cigarette box from the sofa.

But it was as if Qin Yu had eyes on the back of his head. Without even turning around, he reached back, grabbed Xia Jin’s wrist, and pulled her along as he walked out.

Xia Jin pouted and grumbled under her breath behind him.