Li Chu felt she might not be able to look directly at the dressing room sofa for some time. Ning Manqing buttoned her up, one button at a time, covering every trace that couldn’t be shown in public.
Qian Duoduo, who walked in, didn’t sense anything amiss. Due to her Beta nature, she couldn’t smell pheromones, so she was completely unaware of the intertwined Alpha and Omega scents still lingering in the air.
“Ah, Sister Li, what happened to this sofa?”
Qian Duoduo let out a small cry as she noticed a large wet patch on the sofa.
“Just now, while rehearsing a scene with Xiao Chu, we both got too deep into character, so our movements might have been a bit exaggerated. We didn’t notice we knocked over a water cup placed aside, so the sofa got wet,” Ning Manqing explained from the side.
“Oh, oh, it’s okay. I’ll call someone to replace it right away. I’ll go now. Yuanzi, you stay here.”
Qian Duoduo trotted off, while Yuanzi silently watched her naive colleague leave.
Although she was also a Beta and couldn’t smell pheromones, her professional observation skills were damn sharp. She didn’t need to think hard to know what had just happened here. But a good employee possessed the professional discretion to turn a blind eye.
Seeing that Qian Duoduo wasn’t suspicious, Li Chu breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn’t help but glance at Yuanzi a few times. Seeing her seemingly oblivious look, Li Chu finally dared to hold her head high with confidence.
Yes, that’s right, nothing happened!
They were just rehearsing a scene in the dressing room and accidentally got too invested, knocking over a water cup.
But actually, Li Chu had watched, her body weak, as Ning Manqing poured that cup of water. Ning Manqing only poured about half the cup, and the rest… was on her.
Ning Manqing said she was thirsty. Li Chu had only known about wine-pouring play before; today, she learned from Ning Manqing that water could be used too.
At that moment, Li Chu lay there watching Ning Manqing lift her head. The impact was incredibly strong, leaving her completely disoriented, unsure of where or when she was. Thinking back now still brought a lingering aftertaste.
Although the crew didn’t think too much of it, Ning Manqing didn’t want to give people too much room for imagination. She didn’t stay in Li Chu’s dressing room for long and left quickly.
After Ning Manqing left, Li Chu opened the curtains and the window in the dressing room.
The mixed scent of Cloud Mist Tea and Peach pheromones drifted away, like a secret quietly buried in the windy summer.
Qian Duoduo returned quickly. After changing the sofa cover, she took out the schedule and went over the upcoming announcements with Li Chu.
Li Chu was currently very popular. Even though she was filming, quite a few crews were looking for her to juggle projects, but Tang Congnan had turned them all down.
Tang Congnan had told Li Chu not to overly consume her commercial value. After all, the goal wasn’t to make quick money, nor would she run out of earning potential after these two years. He advised Li Chu not to be too impatient; she was still young, and her path ahead was long.
Of course, Li Chu wasn’t impatient. She felt the current situation was quite good; having a protective agent and a company that let her be and cooperated with her was her good fortune.
Naturally, the luck regarding the company was brought to her by Teacher Ning.
Li Chu suddenly felt that she did have a transmigrator’s perk. Her biggest golden finger might just be the female lead herself.
Girlfriend is indeed the best in the world, oh yeah!
To give the main actors time to memorize their lines, Zhou Xinyuan decided to postpone their scenes until tomorrow and film some establishing shots today instead.
The two main actresses left the set one after another, their cars heading in different directions.
Li Chu had a gala to attend. Tang Congnan was already waiting for her with the stylist. She had originally planned to ask for leave tonight, but Zhou Xinyuan’s decision conveniently eliminated that need.
Ning Manqing, on the other hand, continued with her business negotiations and had scheduled a meal with Mu Xiao.
The two met at a Western restaurant with excellent privacy. Mu Xiao looked at Ning Manqing across the table, knowing she came with an agenda.
“Miss Ning, how do you have time to invite me for a meal today? I thought a busy person like you wouldn’t be able to manage everything.”
With Mu Xiao’s network, it wasn’t difficult to find out what Ning Manqing was doing. He wasn’t comparable to those people in the Ning family; he saw through the meaning behind Ning Manqing’s actions at a glance.
Mu Xiao was fully aware of the words she had spoken during the day. Her attitude wasn’t polite, and their relationship wasn’t very familiar, so Mu Xiao’s opening words also carried a hint of impoliteness.
“Isn’t President Mu also a busy person? Yet you still find time to wait outside the set for someone to grace you with their presence?”
“It was merely a sincere invitation for Miss Li to accompany me to the gala.”
Mu Xiao had a good impression of Li Chu. He had done some investigation and knew that Li Chu and Ning Manqing had a good relationship.
Mu Xiao knew Ning Manqing’s purpose in coming. Li Chu was an Omega, Ning Manqing was an Alpha. As fellow Alphas, Mu Xiao naturally understood Ning Manqing’s displeasure, but what did that have to do with him?
“Miss Ning should know that to reach a cooperation, one cannot simply give up because the other party refuses. Of course, one must show sufficient sincerity and considerable benefits.”
Mu Xiao didn’t feel he had done anything wrong. His request was simple, and he felt it was a very likely successful cooperation. Although Black Gold was indeed okay, they didn’t treat Li Chu as a main focus. Mu Xiao recognized Li Chu’s commercial value and knew her potential. He felt it was a pity and a waste for someone like her to stay at Black Gold.
“I believe the most important thing in reaching a cooperation is understanding the other party’s intentions and demands. Coercion is not good business practice, it could even be called…” Ning Manqing’s red lips curved slightly, but her eyes held no warmth. She paused subtly, looking at Mu Xiao before finishing her sentence, “…despicable.”
“Don’t use your commercial value to insult someone else’s interests. She doesn’t need your so-called benefits, nor is she someone you can touch.”
Ning Manqing put down her wine glass. The light clink as glass met tablecloth made the atmosphere increasingly tense.
Ning Manqing’s initial reason for choosing this path was precisely to prevent anyone from using power to pressure Li Chu, forcing her to become a puppet of capital like everyone else. She had already come this far; how could she allow others to use Li Chu as a commercial tool?
“Miss Ning is so certain?”
No Alpha remains indifferent when provoked by another Alpha. Mu Xiao knew Ning Manqing hadn’t released her pheromones, but her gaze, more than a direct pheromonal confrontation, stirred his fighting instinct.
Mu Xiao wasn’t actually a particularly dirty, self-serving businessman, but he wasn’t entirely clean either. After all, he had snatched Tiange back into his own hands. As a major player in Yunzhou, he understood his influence and what he was capable of.
He believed no one would be unmoved by benefits. If there were, it must be because the benefits offered weren’t enough, weren’t tempting enough.
“Yes, I am precisely that certain.”
Ning Manqing revealed a smile. Compared to her previous fake smile, this one seemed much more cheerful and sincere, yet it carried a hint of danger.
Ning Manqing wasn’t just confident that Li Chu wouldn’t be swayed by benefits; she was also confident in her own strength.
Tiange Group was indeed constantly growing, but this behemoth wasn’t indestructible. On her way here, Ning Manqing had carefully examined Tiange Group’s shareholding structure. When she decided to expand her business from overseas to Yunzhou, she had already analyzed the major powers in Yunzhou. Ning Manqing knew she understood certain underlying things better than Mu Xiao did.
“Don’t get any ideas you shouldn’t have. Goodbye, President Mu.”
Ning Manqing didn’t want to waste too many words on Mu Xiao. She had achieved her purpose for today’s meeting.
She raised her hand to check her watch and said, as if offering a kind reminder, “President Mu should leave via Linying Road later. This is Yunzhou. At this hour, the road you came on will be very congested.”
This was Yunzhou. Although it was the Yunzhou where Tiange was located, it was also the Yunzhou where she, Ning Manqing, grew up.
Mu Xiao was merely someone who had successfully seized power and entered this circle in the last two years. If Mu Xiao insisted on doing something to Li Chu, then she wouldn’t mind letting him know how many upstarts had become fleeting stars in Yunzhou.
Mu Xiao understood the subtext in Ning Manqing’s words. Watching her retreating back, his brow gradually furrowed.
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Don’t you dare covet Li Chu!