Chapter 79
On a rare workday off, Bo Muyu didn’t set an alarm and slept in lazily until the sun was high in the sky.
But with Jiang Chenyin gone, she felt empty. She reached out to the side, but only grabbed a handful of air. But fortunately, Jiang Chenyin’s scent was on the bed, on the blanket, and on the pillow. Bo Muyu had no choice but to hug Jiang Chenyin’s pillow, reluctant to get out of bed.
There was nothing to do even if she got up, and Jiang Chenyin had told her to wait at home.
With nothing to do, she opened her phone, intending to continue reading the novel from last time. As soon as the screen lit up, she saw a message from Sun Ruowei.
Sun Ruowei: “Xiaoyu, have you finished reading the secret crush novel I recommended last time?”
Bo Muyu thought for a moment and said honestly, “No, I’ve been reading something else. I haven’t read the one you mentioned yet.”
Sun Ruowei immediately replied with an emoji: “You’re rebelling.jpg”
How could Bo Muyu dare to say that she was reading an age-gap novel? Last time, just by asking if there were any lesbian secret crush novels, she had been hounded by Sun Ruowei. This time, she could only laugh it off and reply, “I’ve been interested in other genres recently, the no-cp kind.”
The smile in Sun Ruowei’s reply was clearly a little disappointed. “Oh, I see. Your eldest auntie and I both like to read about two little sisters falling in love, hahaha! I was originally thinking of chatting with you about the plot. Let me know when you’ve read it!”
Bo Muyu’s fingers quickly typed and sent, “Got it, Little Auntie.”
She let out a sigh of relief, pulled the blanket up, and huddled under the covers.
Both a secret crush and an age gap. If Sun Ruowei found out, she would probably immediately guess her thoughts. Once Sun Ruowei knew, Xu Zijun would know. And after Xu Zijun knew, she probably wouldn’t tell her husband, Jiang Yingzong, so quickly, but would go and tell Jiang Chenyin, asking her to take measures to prevent more serious consequences.
Once it reached that point, Bo Muyu couldn’t even imagine what Jiang Chenyin’s reaction would be.
Jiang Chenyin had said that she no longer treated her as a child, but how could a habit of so many years be changed in an instant? Besides, what had she done now that could make Jiang Chenyin feel that she was an adult?
If there was anything, it should be the matter of dealing with Mrs. Shao. Other than that, it seemed there was nothing.
How on earth could she make Jiang Chenyin change this subconscious thought? If she revealed even a hint of her love, Jiang Chenyin would definitely find out. She was able to not restrain herself much now because of the familial love they had cultivated from the very beginning. Jiang Chenyin was also used to it. But if she wanted to change a little, the way they interacted would not be the same as now.
Bo Muyu’s heart was heavy. She hugged the pillow tightly and buried her face in it, taking a deep breath.
After calming down for a while, she opened her phone, found the novel she had been reading before, and continued from where she had left off.
As she read, Bo Muyu unconsciously recited the words in her heart again.
“I tried every means to get close to her, to do everything I could think of to be good to a person, except for the fact that I loved her, which I did not reveal. But she did not notice at all. It was clearly the same holding hands, but when her male colleague wanted to hold her hand, she could feel his intentions. When it came to me, she let me hold her hand, and even let me place her hand on my face. Even at this point, she did not feel my feelings.”
Bo Muyu carefully touched the words with the pad of her thumb, only feeling that those words were like small stones, accurately hitting her heart.
Whether it was Meng Yi’an’s relentless pursuit or Duan Zhiheng’s neither-too-close-nor-too-far distance, Jiang Chenyin had noticed it all. Only her wisp of affection, Jiang Chenyin had never thought of it in the direction of love.
She carefully maintained what she had, and greedily hoped for more, and was even happy about the disappearance of Meng Yi’an and Duan Zhiheng. She wanted to live with Jiang Chenyin in silence like this, but that little bit of hope was like something that would scratch at her, and she couldn’t control her actions at all.
She was both afraid of being found out and eager to be found out.
Bo Muyu huddled under the covers, her nose tingling. She simply closed the novel and continued to hug Jiang Chenyin’s pillow, going back to sleep. Reading this novel was simply asking for trouble, but she couldn’t help but want to read it.
Before she could finish complaining in her heart, Su Man called. Her voice sounded very tired. “Xiaoyu, are you free to come out?”
Bo Muyu threw off the blanket and sat up. “Senior, is something the matter?”
“I wanted to talk to you, and also to take a break.”
“Okay, I have time.”
Bo Muyy arranged to meet her at Jiang Chenyin’s coffee shop, and then left a message for Jiang Chenyin, who was on a plane at the moment.
Su Man arrived at the coffee shop first and found a good spot by the glass wall. The sunlight streamed in, and she could also leisurely watch the endless stream of traffic outside.
Her brow was filled with an indelible sorrow, and her usual gentle face was gone. Bo Muyu had never seen such a Su Man. The seriousness she showed during company meetings was the most common expression Su Man had besides her gentleness. At this moment, she gave Bo Muyu the gut feeling that things were not going well.
As soon as Bo Muyu sat down, Su Man withdrew her gaze and said to her, “Yesterday, I had someone communicate with the other party’s assistant. The reply was that there was no time to communicate. This morning, her Weibo post has been reposted over ten thousand times, and the comments have reached over a hundred thousand. The official Weibo of God of War has received a lot of malicious comments.”
Bo Muyu’s eyes were calm. “And then?”
Just then, the shop manager walked over. Bo Muyu was close to Jiang Chenyin, so she wanted to personally take her order, but Bo Muyu waved her hand to signal her not to bother.
Su Man said, “Time is tight. We can’t wait any longer. This morning, I had someone invite some screenwriters and directors who are not too involved with either side, as well as a few web novelists, to compare her novel and your script. This matter is rather special. The script absolutely cannot be released before the movie is released, so we’ll have these more convincing people make the judgment and announce the final result.”
Bo Muyu looked at Su Man’s sad face, and she still couldn’t help but say, “Senior, I did not plagiarize. You believe me.”
Su Man nodded gently and sighed. “Don’t worry. It will be over soon.”
“Does Uncle Su know about this? What did he say?” Bo Muyu had great respect for Su Zhengyang, because he was the first to appreciate her.
Su Man said, “My dad told me to try and solve this matter myself. The company has been handed over to me, after all. I should be the one to handle these things. I also know that I can’t just go to my dad whenever something happens.”
Bo Muyu pressed her lips together, studied her tired face, and said softly, “You’ve worked hard.”
“The main thing this time is that the other party is coming on strong…” Su Man frowned at this, her head aching. “Because she’s also a veteran author in the web novel circle, as soon as that Weibo post came out, her fans went crazy. Now it’s not just you, but even the main actors of God of War are suffering. There’s a whole bunch of aggressive comments under their Weibo posts, all criticizing them for taking on a plagiarized film.”
Bo Muyu lowered her head slightly, her eyelids drooping, hiding the sharp glint in her eyes.
Su Man comforted her, “Alright, don’t worry. Just take a good rest for a while. I’ll let you know when the matter is resolved and you can come back to work. At that time, I’ll be laying off some of the unproductive people in the company.”
Bo Muyu looked up in a daze. What was Su Man saying? Layoffs?
Seeing her surprise, Su Man did not explain much, only smiling faintly. “You don’t have any objections, do you?”
The confusion and bewilderment in Bo Muyu’s eyes disappeared in an instant. Was she supposed to say a few words for someone? But it seemed there was no one to help. None of the unproductive people Su Man was talking about were not the ones who had mocked her.
After a moment of silence, she said, “No.”
Su Man smiled with satisfaction.
Just then, Bo Muyu’s phone rang. It was Jiang Chenyin. As soon as she answered, she heard her ask, “Are you still at the shop?”
Bo Muyu glanced at Su Man. “Mmm, I’m still here. Senior is here too.”
“Wait there. I’ll be right over,” Jiang Chenyin said decisively and hung up.
Bo Muyu told Su Man that Jiang Chenyin was coming. Su Man smiled happily and said that she also wanted to say hello to her.
Jiang Chenyin arrived very quickly, dressed in a white woman’s suit, tall and with long legs, her temperament elegant and noble, attracting the gazes of some of the customers in the coffee shop.
As soon as she sat down, she first nodded and greeted Su Man, and then went straight to the point. “Miss Su, how is the situation progressing now? What is the other party’s attitude?”
Su Man answered truthfully, “I had someone contact the other party’s assistant. The meaning was that there was no time to communicate. We later asked her to set a time, and her reply was still that she couldn’t be sure when she would have time. But we are short on time, so I have already invited some screenwriters and directors, as well as web novelists, to compare her novel and Xiaoyu’s script.”
Jiang Chenyin nodded. “That’s good.”
Just then, Bo Muyu reached out under the table and took her hand, pressing her lips together and smiling. “Auntie Yin, this is not a big deal at all.”
As soon as Jiang Chenyin arrived, Bo Muyu had changed a little, especially when she spoke to her, there was a sense of intimacy.
Jiang Chenyin looked at her relaxed expression, and some of her fatigue dissipated. She couldn’t help but reach out and poke her forehead. “This is not a big deal? Have you not seen how nasty the fans are scolding you under the other party’s Weibo post?”
“I haven’t,” Bo Muyu replied with a placid smile. “I’m not the one who started it. It will be fine once the comparison result comes out.”
Su Man burst out laughing, shook her head helplessly at Bo Muyu, and then said to Jiang Chenyin, “President Jiang, don’t worry. No matter what, I will definitely protect Xiaoyu. Nothing will happen.”
Hearing this, Jiang Chenyin suddenly frowned, sized up Su Man, and then her tone became formal and serious. “Miss Su, you can continue with your arrangements. I also have my own considerations. I know that God of War is a key project for your company, and the script absolutely cannot be made public at this time, but the impact of this incident is very large. I have already invited the chairman of the Qinzhou Writers’ Association, the chairman of the Web Writers’ Association, and the general director of Qinzhou Television Station to do a comparison. These three teachers are all veterans in the industry. With their participation, I think it will be more deterrent.”
Bo Muyu was so surprised she almost covered her mouth, and Su Man also couldn’t help but show an incredulous expression.
These three people were not just veterans in the industry. If the people Su Man had invited needed to be fair and just in their wording when they published their final conclusion, then the people Jiang Chenyin had invited could even disregard the other party’s status and directly condemn them when they published their conclusion!
The chairman of the Writers’ Association, the chairman of the Web Writers’ Association, just these titles were more than enough to crush the other party. And with the general director of Qinzhou Television Station, let alone the three of them joining forces, even if only one of them came forward, it would be enough to cause a huge wave.
Jiang Chenyin did not let the two of them be stunned for too long. She took Bo Muyu’s hand and said goodbye to Su Man. “Thank you for your trouble this time, Miss Su. I’m a little tired after just getting off the plane, so I’ll be leaving now.”
Su Man came back to her senses and smiled. “Not at all. This is what I should have done.”
Jiang Chenyin tugged at the hand she was holding under the table, and Bo Muyu also said her goodbyes in understanding. “Then we’ll be leaving now. Goodbye, Senior.”
After Su Man nodded, Jiang Chenyin left with Bo Muyu.
In the parking lot, Bo Muyu fell a few steps behind Jiang Chenyin. She felt that Jiang Chenyin seemed to be in a bad mood.
Jiang Chenyin was indeed a little uncomfortable. The reason was Su Man’s “no matter what, I will definitely protect Xiaoyu.” But she couldn’t say anything to Su Man. From a fair and just perspective, what Su Man had done was completely right, and rationality was a must for a manager.
She suddenly stopped in her tracks. That’s right. Su Man was too rational, so rational that it felt as if she didn’t trust Bo Muyu and had to go to great lengths to protect her. But Su Man and Bo Muyu had clearly known each other for so many years. Although they didn’t interact much in private, it was definitely not non-existent.
“Auntie Yin.”
Bo Muyu suddenly called her from behind and took her hand.
She turned around. Bo Muyu had her head slightly down. Just as she was about to ask, “What’s wrong?” she heard Bo Muyu say in a low voice, her emotions unclear, “Auntie Yin, I need to explain this to you. I didn’t…”
“Don’t explain to me,” Jiang Chenyin sighed softly, interrupting Bo Muyu. She then composed herself, gently stroked her head, and said to her in a soft voice, “I believe you. You’re not that kind of person.”
