Limited-Time Attachment - Chapter 16

Song Ming’s blatant favoritism toward Yu Zhaowan was completely undisguised.

Many of the staff members at the filming location were veteran employees of Jiaxin. The romantic scandals between Song Ming and Zhou Jibai were still fresh in their minds, and now, the story of this new commercial’s leading lady was unfolding right before their eyes. For the bystanders, it was nothing short of a gossip feast.

Rumors and whispers began to rise from every corner.

Ji Shan was so anxious he was practically climbing the walls. “Do you have any idea what they’re saying about you out there? Can’t you show a little restraint?”

Song Ming seemed to be spacing out. Hearing Ji Shan’s voice, she turned to look at him, an unlit cigarette dangling from her lips. “Hmm?”

“Even if you want to promote a starlet, why do it so flamboyously?” Ji Shan was on the verge of a breakdown, desperately trying to reason with her. “What’s the harm in taking it slow? You’re dumping all these resources on her at once, can’t you see she can’t even digest it all?”

Song Ming understood what Ji Shan was getting at, but she didn’t care. She leaned back lazily on the sofa, crossing her legs. “If you’re worried about my reputation, you might as well save your breath.”

Ji Shan frowned, a bad premonition washing over him. “What do you mean?”

Song Ming shrugged. “If you had known me earlier, you wouldn’t even consider trying to maintain or salvage my reputation.”

Because it was beyond saving. Even before she was with Zhou Jibai, everyone knew exactly what kind of person she was.

Ji Shan fell silent for a moment, then looked up and sighed deeply. “…What a disaster!”

Amused by the bitter, resentful expression on Ji Shan’s face, Song Ming laughed wickedly.

Setting aside the fact that she didn’t care what others thought of her, the current direction of this farce was exactly what she had orchestrated. Why would she be dissatisfied when her goal had been achieved?

Just as Ji Shan was about to speak again, Song Ming’s phone suddenly rang.

The call came at a perfect time. Song Ming gave a lazy smile and waved her phone at Ji Shan.

Ji Shan was fuming. “I…”

Song Ming shrugged innocently, indicating her hands were tied, and strolled casually into the inner room.

However, the moment she saw the screen, her movements paused. She had assumed it was one of her employees, but the caller ID read: “Old Man Song.”

Faster than I expected…

“Song Ming?” a deep, slightly hoarse voice of a middle-aged man came through the receiver.

“Yeah.”

“Have you taken some little starlet under your wing lately?”

“…Which one are you referring to?” Song Ming held the phone in one hand, her other hand shoved in her pocket.

Ignoring her ambiguity, the man on the other end spoke plainly: “First it was Zhou Jibai, and now it’s this starlet. Didn’t the upheaval at the Zhong Corporation teach you a lesson? Do you absolutely have to mess around with women?”

Song Ming remained silent for a moment before speaking again. Her tone was solemn, as if she were sincerely seeking advice: “Oh… then should I keep a man instead?”

The man on the other end instantly flew into a rage. “Song Ming! Do you have even an ounce of discretion?!”

Song Ming laughed, completely unbothered. “What’s the matter, Dad? Why are you suddenly managing small things like who I spend my time with?”

Song Zhongtian took a deep breath. “You are to return to the ancestral home once this month.”

On her end of the line, where Song Zhongtian couldn’t see, Song Ming’s lips curled into a silent smirk. “Sure.”

Her old man never paid attention to the entertainment section. Since he had found out about her recent antics so quickly, who had snitched? Was it her eldest brother, or the second one?

…Either way, they were both the same kind of idiot.

“Um…” Ji Shan poked his head through the doorway. “Are you done with your call?”

“What is it?” Song Ming turned to ask.

Ji Shan raised his hand and pointed a thumb behind him. “Someone from Jiaxin just arrived. Things look a bit rowdy, it seems like the CEO of Jiaxin is back.”

“Oh,” Song Ming retracted her gaze, looking utterly disinterested. “Wu Chengyong, I assume.”

“Who?” Ji Shan didn’t react immediately.

Song Ming lowered her eyes to adjust the watchband on her wrist. “That President Wu who was on the European trip.”

Ji Shan stared blankly for a moment, finally digging up a shred of information from the corners of his memory. On their first day at the site, Lin Yu had mentioned something about President Wu being in Europe this week, and that Lin Yu would be following up on the activities in his stead.

That must be the President Wu in question.

“Your memory is impressive,” Ji Shan remarked instinctively as he watched Song Ming switch into professional mode in a split second.

Song Ming paused while straightening her cuffs and looked at Ji Shan. “Wu Chengyong used to be my subordinate.”

Ji Shan was stunned. “Huh?”

Song Ming: “He jumped ship to the Zhong Corporation later on.”

Ji Shan: “…Never mind I asked.”

Song Ming didn’t care about this minor interlude. She lowered her lashes and methodically fastened her cufflinks.

Wu Chengyong had jumped to the Zhong Corporation back when she and Zhou Jibai were deeply in love. At that time, Song Ming felt that what was hers belonged to Zhou Jibai, there was nothing she wasn’t willing to give.

Seeing the internal chaos at the Zhong Corporation, Song Ming had specifically signaled for Wu Chengyong to take a position there. Zhou Jibai hadn’t disappointed her either, once Wu Chengyong arrived, his talents weren’t wasted in the slightest; he had truly flourished.

In reality, sending a talent like Wu Chengyong to the Zhong Corporation wasn’t exactly a loss for Song Ming. Unfortunately, not long after that, she and Zhou Jibai broke up. Unwilling to continue wasting time at Songyun, she had promptly washed her hands of it and left. As for Wu Chengyong… they had, of course, never been in contact since.

She wondered how much “face” a former boss still held with Wu Chengyong after nearly two years of silence.

“Let’s go.” Song Ming performed a brief check of her appearance and walked out of the lounge with one hand in her pocket.

Ji Shan caught a glimpse of the half-smile on Song Ming’s face and felt a slight chill. “Didn’t you say he was your former subordinate? Why are you so willing to grace him with your presence now?”

“Times change,” Song Ming BS-ed without blinking. “It’s not two years ago anymore.”

The two crossed through the exquisite, open entertainment area, taking a shortcut onto a glass sky-corridor built with a heavy artistic flair. The view here was excellent, directly connecting to the main filming block and allowing one to see the entire campus at a glance.

“You say that without a hint of guilt,” Ji Shan continued to complain. “Have you ever actually looked up to anyone? No one in all of City A is more arrogant than you.”

Song Ming let his words go in one ear and out the other. She walked with a brisk stride, mentally calculating how to give those two brothers of the Song family a “surprise.”

As she walked, her peripheral vision caught a crowd crossing the campus plaza, slowly approaching the area beneath the glass corridor. Song Ming stopped in her tracks and rested a hand casually on the railing. She truly wasn’t in a hurry to see Wu Chengyong, since the man was already here, she might as well observe how her former subordinate was doing from a distance.

Song Ming’s gaze swept aimlessly over the group. She didn’t find the middle-aged man she expected, but instead caught a familiar, slender silhouette right in the center of the crowd.

The smile on Song Ming’s face vanished instantly. Her hand on the railing tightened into a grip.

This was a person she could never mistake.

It was the one person she would never easily forget even if she didn’t want to remember, the one she’d recognize even if she were turned to ash: Zhou Jibai.