After We Broke Up, She Started Pursuing Me [Entertainment Industry] 25

Chapter 25

Nearing evening, after finishing her classes, Zhou Jinsi stayed in her office to grade homework.

When she closed the last workbook, Zhou Jinsi habitually glanced at the small clock on her desk.

April 27th, 5:05 PM.

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, a month had passed since Jinnan’s 20th anniversary celebration.

Zhou Jinsi’s thoughts drifted and swirled, once again circling back to a certain person.

Since they had parted ways downstairs at the apartment last time, the two of them had not contacted each other again.

Zhou Jinsi mocked herself inwardly. Once some things are brought to light, there’s really no point in talking about them anymore, is there?

And yet, here she was, still thinking that perhaps the other person hadn’t taken some of her words to heart at all…

Sighing softly in her heart, Zhou Jinsi snapped back to reality and, with some fatigue, gathered the pile of workbooks in front of her.

Most of the teachers in this office were young. At this time, only a few were left. Besides Zhou Jinsi, there was Shen Nan and another female teacher.

After a long moment, the female teacher, who was scrolling through her phone, suddenly said to Shen Nan at the next desk, “Hey, Xiao Nan, have you seen the trending topics?”

Shen Nan had just finished her presentation slides. She turned to look at her. “No, what’s up?”

“It’s nothing major. You know that couple I’ve been shipping recently? Shi Qin and Yin Chenxuan. They used to be at the same company, but Shi Qin has switched now. Logically, if it were a bundled marketing strategy, they would definitely be uncoupled by now.”

“But Yin Chenxuan even went to her Weibo to comment, hoping her future path will get better and better, and looking forward to more collaborations with the future her. Tell me, isn’t that sweet! How could this be a bundled marketing strategy?”

Looking at her colleague who was clearly deep in her ship, Shen Nan felt a bit helpless. She forced a smile and replied with a few words.

But at the mention of Shi Qin… Shen Nan subconsciously glanced in Zhou Jinsi’s direction.

And Zhou Jinsi was still focused on organizing the items on her desk, as if she hadn’t heard a word of their conversation.

Shen Nan remembered that she and Shi Qin were old acquaintances. Especially before, when Shi Qin had even come specifically to find her. Thinking about it this way, the relationship between the two of them should be quite good, and they should be very close.

But why did she always feel that something was strange…

However, while a certain person looked indifferent, her mind had already drifted off to the clouds.

Before, it was because she was in contact with her that Zhou Jinsi would pay special attention to entertainment news. Recently, she hadn’t even opened the related apps.

She wasn’t too concerned about Yin Chenxuan and Shi Qin’s affairs; entertainment publicity stunts were always happening. But the matter of Shi Qin changing companies did make her a little curious.

To verify the guess in her heart, Zhou Jinsi silently opened Weibo on her phone.

The trending topic about Shi Qin and Yin Chenxuan was in fifth place, and right below it, in sixth, was: [Shi Qin Signs with Tianyu]

Zhou Jinsi clicked on it. Shi Qin had posted on Weibo last night, saying that this would be a new stage, a new journey.

Lin Zhen had just left Jiang Nuo’s management recently. Now that Shi Qin has signed on, will she be assigned to her as well?

Zhou Jinsi remembered the “acquaintance” Jiang Nuo had mentioned before. It was obvious the two of them knew each other from before, and their relationship wasn’t that of strangers.

Could this have something to do with her signing with Tianyu?

.

The next afternoon, in Jiang Nuo’s office.

Shi Qin was sitting on the sofa, leisurely sipping the tea Jiang Nuo had just brewed for her.

She took a sip. The tea was fragrant, smooth on the throat, without a hint of bitterness.

“Auntie, this tea seems much better than the usual kind.”

Jiang Nuo was organizing documents at her desk. She looked up and saw her childish expression and couldn’t help but smile.

“This tea is Da Hong Pao from Wuning. Of course, it’s good. I only bring it out for distinguished guests.”

Shi Qin raised an eyebrow and smiled, asking knowingly, “Oh? So I’m a rare and distinguished guest?”

Jiang Nuo smiled, not denying it, and then said, “By the way, don’t call me that at the company. I’m your manager now. Just use the normal address.”

“As you command, Sister Jiang~”

Jiang Nuo shook her head at her with a doting smile. If any other employee were to walk in now and see this expression, they would be amazed.

After all, Jiang Nuo was famous for being an “iron-faced” manager. She was efficient in her work, and the artists she managed achieved results quickly. It was just that she always had a stern face, and her work style was decisive, calm, and rigorous.

Jiang Nuo sat down next to Shi Qin, looked at her from the side, and naturally reached out to tuck a stray strand of hair from her temple behind her ear.

“You didn’t renew your contract with Chengjin. Didn’t they say anything to you? Your commercial value is not low right now.”

Chengjin Media was Shi Qin’s original company. She wasn’t terminating her contract early; rather, it had expired, and she was leaving.

Shi Qin was half-lying on the sofa. The sofa here seemed even softer than the one at her home. Lying down, she felt like she was about to sink into it.

She looked at Jiang Nuo and said in a lazy voice, “What could they say? When they wanted to sign me back then, I told them I would only sign for two years, only considering a short-term contract. So, it’s normal not to renew now that it’s expired.”

“I was originally thinking that these two years would be a trial period. If anything happened along the way that made me unable to continue, I would have an escape route.”

“But I didn’t expect…” Shi Qin smiled faintly, a complicated look in her eyes, “that two years would pass so quickly. I’ve already come this far.”

Seeing her like this, Jiang Nuo’s heart was also filled with a mix of emotions. She said no more, just reached out and stroked Shi Qin’s hair.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door. They both looked over.

Shi Qin asked, “Should I leave first?”

Jiang Nuo shook her head, then said toward the door, “Come in.”

The door opened. The person who walked in surprised Shi Qin, and that person’s figure also visibly froze.

But it was only for a split second. The two of them quickly composed themselves, but Jiang Nuo, on the side, sensitively sensed that something was not right.

Shi Qin looked up at the tall, cool, and slender person. It had only been a month since they had seen each other, but it felt like a long time had passed.

The deeply buried sourness in her heart gradually rose, and her gaze toward her held a hint of resentment.

Zhou Jinsi tried her best not to pay attention to that intense gaze. Looking at Jiang Nuo, she greeted her politely, “Auntie Jiang.”

“I came to the company with my dad to take a look. He asked me to ask you if you’d like to come over for dinner this week.”

Jiang Nuo smiled warmly. “What are you standing there for? Sit down and chat, Xiao Si. If I’m not busy with work this week, I’ll go. It’s been a while.”

Zhou Jinsi sat down opposite them and nodded with a smile.

Jiang Nuo saw that Shi Qin’s gaze was fixed on Zhou Jinsi, without any restraint, so she asked directly, “Do you two know each other?”

After a few seconds of waiting, Zhou Jinsi kept her eyes on her nose and her nose on her heart, not making a sound. Shi Qin smiled faintly. “We know each other. We went to the same school.”

Jiang Nuo: “Then you’re all acquaintances. Xiao Si is quite concerned about you. She asked me about your situation last time.”

Hearing this, Zhou Jinsi’s hand, holding the teacup, froze, and her heart skipped a beat.

Shi Qin, on the other hand, looked somewhat surprised. She looked at Zhou Jinsi, her eyes narrowing, and said with deep meaning, “Is that so? She never tells me these things.”

Under Shi Qin’s gaze, Zhou Jinsi lowered her head again, her lips pressed tightly together.

Jiang Nuo: “Xiao Si is a reserved child.”

Shi Qin pretended not to know the situation and asked Zhou Jinsi, “Are you going to be an artist at Tianyu too?”

This was obvious teasing.

Zhou Jinsi paused, then lowered her eyes. “No.”

Jiang Nuo helped her explain, “Oh, I forgot to mention. Xiao Si should be considered the future successor of Tianyu.”

This was something Shi Qin had never known. From Zhou Jinsi’s clothes and belongings, and even the car she usually drove, she could tell her family was wealthy.

But she had never connected her with being the heir to Tianyu.

Zhou Jinsi was a little embarrassed. “Auntie Jiang, don’t joke. You know my heart isn’t in this.”

Jiang Nuo smiled. “I know. It’s a pity. Your father has always had expectations.”

With this back and forth, Shi Qin had more or less figured it out.

Zhou Jinsi was the daughter of the president of Tianyu, or rather, a young miss.

She never thought that fate would bring them together like this. Looking at Zhou Jinsi’s neck, which seemed to have a crick in it from how she refused to turn toward her, Shi Qin secretly wanted to laugh.

Zhou Jinsi felt as if she were sitting on pins and needles, extremely uncomfortable. She said her goodbyes to Jiang Nuo and left.

And Shi Qin naturally followed close behind. Jiang Nuo watched the two of them leave one after another, not understanding what these two kids were up to. She sighed softly in her heart and took a light sip of her tea.

…

Shi Qin followed Zhou Jinsi all the way to the company’s parking lot.

Finally, halfway there, Zhou Jinsi couldn’t take it anymore. She turned to look at her. “What are you following me for?”

Shi Qin looked puzzled. “Who said I’m following you? My car is parked here too.”

Zhou Jinsi was used to being at a loss for words with her. She didn’t say anything more and turned to go back.

Shi Qin watched her back and followed. Just as she was about to open the car door, she leaned against it first.

Zhou Jinsi’s hand, about to pull the car door, paused. She looked at her with a slight frown, somewhat confused.

“So Teacher Zhou does secretly care about me. Actually, you don’t have to be so secretive. You can be more direct.”

Those same deliberately flirtatious, teasing words. In the past, Zhou Jinsi would have been a little embarrassed, but now, she was just really tired.

She sighed softly and said faintly, “Could you please move? I need to drive.”

This person was immune to both hard and soft tactics. Shi Qin really had no way to deal with her. She had no choice but to soften her voice. “Zhou Jinsi, how long are you going to keep being difficult?”

Zhou Jinsi was about to answer when she looked up and saw a few people walking over in the distance.

Shi Qin, on the other hand, misunderstood and thought she was distracted and not listening to her. She couldn’t help but feel a little angry. She was about to repeat herself when Zhou Jinsi suddenly covered her mouth.

“Mmph-mm…”

Zhou Jinsi was afraid she would say something outrageous that would be overheard after her identity was recognized, so she could only cover her mouth first and lead her into the car.

The moment the car door closed, Zhou Jinsi said helplessly, “This is still a public place.”

But Shi Qin paid no mind to her words. She just looked at her quietly. Taking advantage of a moment of inattention, she moved her face close to Zhou Jinsi’s.

“Aren’t you still concerned about me? If you didn’t care about me, why would you bother with all this?”

This was clearly twisting logic.

Zhou Jinsi turned her face away, not wanting to look at her, but Shi Qin used her fingertips to pinch her chin and turn it back.

Her eyes were as shimmering as water, yet hotter than fire.

“Xiao Si, don’t deliberately hide from me anymore.”

“Some people, some feelings, you can’t hide from them even if you want to.”