Chapter 97

Trans and Su Yiqui both gave that evaluation, so naturally, no one else raised any objections. President Dai let out a huge sigh of relief. The friction and haggling he had worried about were all gone, and with the new photographer settled so quickly, his mood improved a lot.

With the biggest hidden danger eliminated, he was an outsider to photography anyway. Continuing to listen in held little meaning and would only interfere with the project team’s discussions.

He waved his hand grandly. “Luyan, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

After that, he led Jason out of the conference room together. Jason hadn’t wanted to leave at first. It didn’t matter if he didn’t get a chance to speak; at least he could stay and observe more.

But President Dai insisted on him leaving together, and he couldn’t find a suitable reason to stay. The farther they walked, the more uneasy he felt, pondering how to send the latest update to Young Master Quan.

Yesterday, he had reported Xiao Luyan’s recommendation of Lu Yuezhi to Quan Ruiyu right away, and the other man told him to keep a close eye. Earlier, when Lu Yuezhi shot the sample footage, he had also messaged Young Master Quan, saying she probably wouldn’t pass Trans’s scrutiny.

The original plan was to tell Young Master Quan after Trans rejected her, along with Trans’s evaluation and Xiao Luyan’s reaction. But now, none of that anticipated stuff happened—only appreciation and support for Lu Yuezhi remained.

Sweat beaded on his forehead; he felt a bit scared. He was truly afraid of being punished by Young Master Quan again. It was all his own fault for being so hasty; if only he hadn’t sent that “prediction” message!

His footsteps slowed, putting a large gap between him and President Dai.

Distracted, he completely failed to notice President Dai suddenly stop ahead and turn back to look at him.

“Jason, you look like you have a lot on your mind.” President Dai eyed him leisurely, his tone giving nothing away.

Jason’s heart tightened, and he quickly forced a smile. “I’m worried about Luyan.”

“Is that so?”

He swallowed. “President Dai, although Lu Yuezhi’s shots turned out well today, she has no track record after all. And with that kind of relationship with Luyan, is there really no issue on Madam Li’s side?”

President Dai’s expression remained unreadable. “Madam Li already sent back Su Yiqui’s work. Do you think there’s anyone more suitable than Lu Yuezhi right now?”

Jason was speechless; he had nothing to say.

“Luyan and she are legal wives. There’s no need to hide that relationship. If Lu Yuezhi truly has the ability to take on this project, I’d congratulate Luyan instead—finding a life partner who can keep pace with her.”

Jason had no retort and could only smile along.

Whether Lu Yuezhi could really do it wasn’t up to him. Now it seemed President Dai was quite optimistic about Lu Yuezhi too; there was no hope starting from him.

After President Dai left, the atmosphere in the conference room lightened a bit.

Things moved faster than Xiao Luyan had anticipated, mainly because the initial communications and follow-up discussions were very concise, leaving a chunk of the originally allocated time free.

She glanced at her watch; it was almost lunchtime. She decisively paused the meeting early. “That’s it for the morning session. Everyone, go rest and grab lunch. We’ll continue in the afternoon.”

Everyone was pretty happy about that, and soon the conference room emptied out, leaving only a few people.

Xiao Luyan sorted her own materials, but her attention stayed on Lu Yuezhi. She had plenty she wanted to say, but it wasn’t convenient to call her over directly.

Su Yiqui seemed to be asking Lu Yuezhi if she wanted to have lunch together, which brought back that earlier discomfort.

She raised the folder in her hand and tapped it lightly twice on the table—not too hard, not too soft.

Lu Yuezhi seemed to sense it and immediately turned to look at her.

Xiao Luyan curved her lips and walked straight over. “I have some work details I want to chat about with Yuezhi.”

She addressed Su Yiqui, her attitude fairly gentle, clearly carrying a tone of consultation.

Lu Yuezhi frowned upon hearing how gently she spoke to Su Yiqui.

Her feelings toward Su Yiqui had always been a bit subtle. After meeting the real person today, she didn’t feel as repelled as imagined. They hit it off talking about photography techniques, with plenty of common ground.

But when it involved Xiao Luyan, she still couldn’t stay completely calm.

Su Yiqui paused, her gaze flicking back and forth between them a few times before she suddenly smiled with deep meaning.

Lu Yuezhi didn’t know what she was smiling about and looked up for a couple extra beats.

Xiao Luyan’s ears warmed a little, but her expression stayed the same. She didn’t bother debating whether Su Yiqui believed her or not. In any case, Lu Yuezhi was staying for lunch today.

But what did it mean that Lu Yuezhi was staring at Su Yiqui?

Xiao Luyan’s breathing grew a bit heavier. Lu Yuezhi, being the closest, noticed first. She turned her head, eyes full of surprise.

Xiao Luyan instinctively glared at her, making Lu Yuezhi’s surprise even greater.

Seeing the two of them locked in an exchange that ignored everyone else, Su Yiqui tactfully said goodbye. “Then I’ll go eat first. You two take your time communicating.”

After Trans and Su Yiqui left, Cheng Yanran felt there was no reason for her to stay either.

She quietly packed her files and slipped away smoothly. Before closing the door, she heard her master say faintly, “Go to my office.”

Lu Yuezhi followed behind Xiao Luyan with those two heavy camera bags, not too far back but never quite side by side.

Xiao Luyan recalled how, when they went to shoot the samples, she had carried the two bags the same way but chatted with Su Yiqui the whole way. Irritated, she sometimes wanted to slow down and wait for Lu Yuezhi, other times thinking to walk faster to avoid getting more annoyed.

Her erratic pace tired Lu Yuezhi out as she kept adjusting, but she still worked to maintain the distance.

Just before the office, Xiao Luyan finally couldn’t hold back and turned. “Why do you keep walking behind me?”

“I’m carrying the bags.”

“The hallway isn’t that narrow.”

Lu Yuezhi smiled. “It’s easy to bump into you. It might wrinkle your clothes, or even hurt you if we collide.”

Xiao Luyan hadn’t expected her to be considering that and paused in surprise.

But she insisted on arguing. “Then when you were walking with Su Yiqui, why weren’t you worried about those things?”

Lu Yuezhi blanked for a second, recalling her thoughts from then.

“She’s a photographer too, so she must carry this stuff all the time and knows how to avoid it. And she didn’t look like the type who’d get hurt easily, so I didn’t think much about it.”

Xiao Luyan pressed her lips together, wanting to laugh but also feeling a bit exasperated.

She held her expression for a moment, then spun back around just as she couldn’t hold it anymore, pushing open the office door.

Lu Yuezhi set the camera bags on the sofa and finally relaxed with a breath.

Xiao Luyan poured a cup of water and walked over to her. “Your performance today was especially great. Congratulations.”

She had praised Lu Yuezhi in the conference room too, but now she wanted to formally say it again.

Lu Yuezhi drank more than half, then set the cup on the coffee table. Seeing the smile in Xiao Luyan’s eyes, her own mood lifted too.

“That’s because you gave me the opportunity.”

Xiao Luyan was genuinely happy for her and even more eager for her to seize this chance. She hadn’t expected Trans and Su Yiqui to give such high praise, which meant the gap between Lu Yuezhi and River had narrowed a lot.

To emphasize how important this opportunity was, she decided to explain the River situation seriously.

“Yuezhi, this opportunity is extremely crucial for you. You have to grasp it well.”

She spoke very earnestly, full of expectations and hopes, making Lu Yuezhi’s heart warm.

“I will.”

“You might not know, but there was originally a competitor lined up for today. That person was Trans’s top recommendation—someone they thought very highly of.”

Lu Yuezhi wanted to say she knew, but didn’t get a chance to interject.

Xiao Luyan’s tone stayed steady, but a trace of relief slipped through. “The other person gave up on competing this time, but you can’t let your guard down.”

Lu Yuezhi hadn’t realized Xiao Luyan was so concerned about it and didn’t know how to respond for a moment.

Seeing her go silent, Xiao Luyan recalled her earlier reactions and worried she wasn’t taking it seriously again.

“Yuezhi, I looked into it—that person’s name is River. Su Yiqui said she has a lot of potential too.” Xiao Luyan took a breath. “Originally, I wanted to find a way for you to meet Trans or Su Yiqui, even if just to chat a bit and earn some impression points, so you wouldn’t fall completely behind in future competitions.”

Lu Yuezhi’s expression shifted subtly, her emotions hard to read.

Seeing her turn into a stoic gourd again, Xiao Luyan’s tone grew urgent. “Are you even listening to me?”

But Lu Yuezhi was thinking about something else.

“Were you bringing up Su Yiqui earlier for this reason?”

Xiao Luyan huffed. “What else?”

Did she seem like some social butterfly chatterbox?

Lu Yuezhi’s expression grew even more complicated, her joy and anger indistinguishable for the moment.

Xiao Luyan couldn’t figure out what she was thinking, but this woman just wouldn’t speak—what did that mean? Was she planning to brush it off again? But today’s events proved meeting them had been useful!

“Yuezhi, you…”

Before she finished, Xiao Luyan fell into a scorching embrace. The familiar scent, the blazing heat, with more force than ever before.

Lu Yuezhi felt very annoyed with herself and deeply guilty. Thinking back to her fits of silent jealousy, she realized she had misunderstood Xiao Luyan’s intentions.

While Xiao Luyan was racking her brains to create opportunities for her, she had been getting upset? Once with a cold face, another time even forcing a kiss—Lu Yuezhi was both frustrated and embarrassed.

The person held tightly in her arms was completely baffled about what was going on but didn’t really struggle.

“Sorry.” Lu Yuezhi buried her face in Xiao Luyan’s neck and took a deep breath.

It tickled! Xiao Luyan’s calf twitched, and she gently pushed some distance.

“Why say sorry all of a sudden?”

Beyond confusion, Xiao Luyan felt a bit worried, afraid Lu Yuezhi would tell her not to worry anymore.

Lu Yuezhi was talented, sure, but even the best wine feared a deep alley. Opportunities wouldn’t come knocking repeatedly; she feared Lu Yuezhi didn’t realize how important they were.

“If you don’t want to deal with these things, then I…” Though she found them annoying too, at least she was more practiced than Lu Yuezhi.

“I won’t lose to River. Don’t worry about me.” Lu Yuezhi’s words rang with determination, more than just a promise now.

Xiao Luyan loved seeing her so full of fight but still worried she might underestimate the enemy, so she tried to explain River’s threat more clearly.

The more she spoke, the sadder Lu Yuezhi felt. She hadn’t realized how much Xiao Luyan had considered for her sake, even worrying she’d be overshadowed by River from start to finish.

She hugged Xiao Luyan tighter. “Don’t worry about River’s threat anymore. She won’t beat me.”

Seeing her so certain, Xiao Luyan felt it was pointless to say more—it would only boost the opponent’s morale.

“Really?” she thought. As long as Lu Yuezhi was firm herself, she’d believe her.

Lu Yuezhi smiled. “I won’t let River come out scaring people anymore, okay?”

Xiao Luyan frowned. “How could you control someone else…”

Halfway through, Xiao Luyan sensed something off. She hesitated and looked at Lu Yuezhi, only to see those raised brows and the smile tugging at her lips.

It was hard to believe, yet felt the most believable.

“Yuezhi, you…” The suspicion in Xiao Luyan’s heart took shape.

Lu Yuezhi pretended to be annoyed. “This River is so annoying—making you worry for so long, making me mad so many times!”

Xiao Luyan pressed her lips together; she seemed to know the answer already.

Lu Yuezhi rested her forehead against hers and sighed softly. “I’ll punish her to stay in and face the wall to reflect until this project ends—no coming out!”