Seeing these lines, Qing Muye's face instantly turned green. He slammed the book shut and tossed it directly into the trash can.
Then, he stood up and walked to his desk, resuming his work.
Time ticked by, and by three in the afternoon, he still hadn't received a message from Meng Jingwei.
The man felt a pang of melancholy, leaning back in his executive chair and twirling the pen in his hand, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards the trash can.
After much hesitation, he stood up, walked to the trash can, and retrieved the book.
Fortunately, there was no other trash in the bin, and the book remained clean.
He turned the flyleaf and continued reading...
...
Meng Jingwei was completely unaware of what had happened on this end.
After finishing all her work, she finally had some free time and remembered the message Qing Muye had sent her earlier.
She picked up her phone and sent Qing Muye a text message: [I was busy this morning and didn't see it.]
Not long after the message was sent, another one arrived: [There's a new French restaurant that tastes good. Want to have dinner tonight?]
Meng Jingwei could clearly sense his 'enthusiasm' from Qing Muye's strong invitation, but she still politely declined, [Shu Yao has invited me to a jewelry exhibition tonight.]
His persistent pursuit was giving Meng Jingwei a real headache; she didn't even know what to do.
After she sent this message, it was like a stone sinking into the sea, with no further reply.
At half-past five in the evening, Shu Yao arrived punctually at the entrance of "Encounter" Wedding Company.
Meng Jingwei went downstairs, got into Shu Yao's car, and they headed directly to the jewelry exhibition.
As it was a large-scale jewelry exhibition held in Lancheng, many jewelry companies participated in the competition, and only outstanding exhibits had the chance to be featured in the jewelry show.
Upon arriving at the exhibition hall, many people were already seated. Meng Jingwei was about to find a seat, but Shu Yao pulled her towards the backstage, "Come on, let's go backstage and have a look."
"What are we going backstage for?" Meng Jingwei was a little confused.
"Oh, just come when I tell you to."
Shu Yao tugged at her arm and led her backstage.
A crowd had gathered backstage, including models displaying jewelry, staff, and some designers, as well as the models' makeup and costume artists.
After weaving through the crowd, Shu Yao found her friend, "Hi, Ivan, how are preparations going?"
Shu Yao greeted her friend and saw the woman with stylish short, ash-grey hair looking extremely anxious, "Ah, I'm so worried. Just now, one of the models sprained her ankle and can't walk at all. The jewelry show is about to start, where am I going to find someone?"
"Ah? How could this happen?" Shu Yao frowned, surprised. She thought for a moment and then said, "Don't they have backup models? You could offer more money, and you should be able to find someone."
Ivan clapped her hands, sighing in frustration, "It's not about the money now. Even for a hundred thousand, I couldn't find a model!"
Meng Jingwei, overhearing Shu Yao's conversation with Ivan, her beautiful eyes darted around thoughtfully. After a moment, she suddenly asked, "A model gets a hundred thousand for one show?"
"Just over thirty thousand," Ivan was looking for a rather good model, so the appearance fee for one show was over thirty thousand. She continued, "That model's ankle is swollen, she was just sent to the hospital."
At this moment, a voice rang out from backstage, "Attention all companies, the jewelry show is about to begin. Please make your preparations, models to enter in sequence."
The organizer of the jewelry exhibition urged from backstage, and hearing this made Ivan even more anxious, "What are we going to do? That model was supposed to be the finale, she's quite well-known in Lancheng."
"Fifty thousand, I'll do it!"
Meng Jingwei suddenly spoke up.
As soon as she finished speaking, Shu Yao and Ivan both looked over, their faces filled with disbelief, "You... can?"
Shu Yao tugged at Meng Jingwei, "Although fifty thousand is good compensation, you can't be reckless. This is a jewelry show, and you might cause Ivan to lose her job."
"I... will try my best," Meng Jingwei offered no further explanation, only the phrase "I will try my best."
Ivan sized up Meng Jingwei and only then noticed her identity. She recalled that Meng Jingwei had been appearing in Lancheng's news frequently lately, making her a minor celebrity.
If she were to exhibit for her jewelry show, it wouldn't be bad.
After considering it carefully, she looked at Meng Jingwei and said, "It's not impossible for you to walk the runway, but... you have to do as I say."
Whether she could walk the runway was not important; what was important was having enough buzz.
"What do you want me to do?" Meng Jingwei asked Ivan, the designer and person in charge.
The two stood together, discussing.
Once everything was decided, Shu Yao eagerly went to the main hall and found a reserved seat in the front row.
Only then did she notice Qing Muye and Qing Sihai sitting opposite her.
They had actually come too.
As the music began, models walked out one by one, adorned with jewelry, exuding an imposing aura.
Meanwhile, backstage, Meng Jingwei had already changed her clothes and was sitting at the dressing table putting on jewelry. As she looked into the mirror, she suddenly saw someone appear behind her...
Chu Xue!
"Heh, Meng Jingwei?"
As the head of Figg Jewelry, Chu Xue was naturally present today, but she never expected to encounter her backstage.
She let out a sneer and looked at Ivan, "This is the model your company hired? With this, how can you compete with me? Are you playing for shock value?"
Her attitude was sarcastic, and her eyes were filled with disdain.
"Ah, there's nothing I can do. Our model got injured, so we had to find someone to help temporarily. This is my friend." Ivan did not confront Chu Xue directly, as Chu Xue was the eldest princess of the Chu Group, someone their company couldn't easily offend.
"Ivan, I'm not saying this to be difficult, but you're being ridiculous." Chu Xue shook her head, her deep gaze fixed on Meng Jingwei, her complex eyes wondering about something.
Meng Jingwei looked at Chu Xue in the mirror and immediately felt a sense of hostility, but she didn't think much of it, assuming Chu Xue simply disliked her.
After Chu Xue left, Ivan immediately reassured Meng Jingwei, "It's okay if you don't know how to model. As long as you can walk down the runway, and remember what I told you, that's enough."
"Okay, no problem," she replied.
She sat backstage for a while, waiting for the models from the previous companies to finish their turns, and for designers to introduce the inspiration and concept behind the jewelry. This wait lasted twenty minutes.
After that, someone backstage called Ivan's name, asking her company's models to get ready.
In the jewelry exhibition hall, Qing Muye sat in the best position near the runway, with Han Yu and Tang Si sitting beside him. These two happened to be attending the jewelry exhibition today as well, and they ran into each other.
After sitting for a while, Tang Si spotted Shu Yao sitting opposite them and then said to Qing Muye, "Second Brother, look, isn't that Little Chili's good friend sitting opposite? If she's here, does that mean Little Chili is also here?"