Chapter 54
Zheng Xin’s shout caused the noisy conversation around them to pause briefly.
Everyone’s gaze followed the center of this farce and shifted to Qi Sijia.
The person who had been called out was now holding a glass of iced water. Drinking too much cold water was easy to get a cold stomach.
She placed the tall glass on the table. A waiter was holding a silver-gray insulated flask and handed it to her.
The insulated flask was sent by someone Meng Jiang had asked. Inside, there were goji berries, honeysuckle, ginseng… A quick glance, and there were all sorts of small ingredients.
Qi Sijia looked at the center of the vortex where Meng Jiang had been before. The person was no longer there, submerged in the crowd. With three layers of pleasantries inside and out, no matter what, she couldn’t see her.
Withdrawing her gaze, the insulated flask was tilted, and hot tea was poured into the crystal glass. Only then did Qi Sijia slowly turn her gaze back to the commotion in the toasting line in front of her.
Zheng Xin was awkwardly standing there. After waiting for several minutes without a response, she had caused a big trouble today. She had stepped on the foot of a big shot. No matter how she negotiated, the Australian actress next to her was going to hold her accountable.
Reining in the embarrassment in her eyes, Zheng Xin looked at Qi Sijia again. Qi Sijia happened to be looking at her too.
This seemed to give her enough courage. Zheng Xin’s voice was very loud. She first called out “big sister,” and then changed her words. “Qi Sijia, they say you’re the gold-medal screenwriter of RENAISSANCE STUDIO, Jia. Is that right?”
Qi Sijia looked up. Under the dim wall lamp, her eyes were like pebbles submerged in water. The color of her pupils was dark and not transparent, and the black of her eyes occupied the white part. When their eyes met suddenly, for a moment, it made Zheng Xin feel as if she had fallen into a cold and long night after a snowstorm.
Her pupils were pierced. Subconsciously, Zheng Xin avoided her, dodging Qi Sijia’s bland to the point of being cold gaze.
The matter had reached Qi Sijia. Sam walked up to Qi Sijia with a glass of wine, pulled over a log chair, and sat down next to her.
He nudged his chin towards that side and asked, “Junior sister, you know that person.”
“I’m her sister.” Before Qi Sijia could answer, Zheng Xin suppressed her emotions and introduced herself with a smile.
She had only met Qi Sijia once, and they had had no direct conflict all these years.
Zheng Xin thought to herself, Considering Qi Jun’s face, Qi Sijia will not refuse to help at this moment.
If it weren’t for the fact that her current situation was not good, and the negotiation between the boss of Xinle and the Australian actress’s team had not been successful, she would not have been able to protect her.
Zheng Xin didn’t know that she had to do her homework before she came. Only after she arrived did she realize that the rules of the foreign celebrity scene were even more than in China. There were celebrities from all kinds of countries at this banquet, and their customs were different.
She had unintentionally angered a group of celebrities and had even stepped on the instep of the Australian actress. The other party’s agent negotiated and said that her behavior had already constituted a disturbance of public order and a malicious injury. The serious consequences would be detention in a foreign country, and at the very least, a permanent ban on entry and exit.
No matter which situation, it was an unwarranted disaster for Zheng Xin.
Therefore, she had no choice but to ask Qi Sijia for help. Looking at her nominal step-sister, Zheng Xin reined in her complicated eyes and eagerly hoped that Qi Sijia could help her out.
Being publicly associated, Qi Sijia did not immediately agree. She just glanced at Zheng Xin and, a moment later, smiled at Sam and said, “I know her.”
As soon as she said this, Zheng Xin’s eyes brightened a lot. The group of industry celebrities who had been glaring at her just now seemed to have changed their faces. Even the fierce-looking bodyguards who were holding her took a few steps back.
Sensing the change in atmosphere, Zheng Xin’s trembling expression quickly faded, and she squeezed out a rather innocent smile.
She patted the back of the Australian actress’s hand, who was about to sue her, and said in not-so-fluent English, “Hi, she is my—”
The word “sister” on the tip of her tongue was not yet delivered.
Qi Sijia suddenly glanced at her and interrupted her. “If you’ve met someone once, it counts as knowing them. I know her.”
Her tone was calm, and there was not much emotion on her face, which made her seem cold. “There’s one thing. Don’t call me ‘sister’ in the future. It’s okay to call me Qi Sijia like you did just now. After all, it’s impossible for me to have another sister with a blood relationship in this life.”
At this point, the people in the celebrity scene immediately understood. Qi Sijia’s merciless reply was no longer just distant and cold. Her words had almost completely cut off Zheng Xin’s attempt to capitalize on their relationship.
The gaze she cast at Zheng Xin had no warmth at all. Her tone was overly calm, as if she were facing a completely irrelevant person.
So much so that Zheng Xin was stunned for a long while.
By the time she reacted, the distance of less than five meters between them had been stretched out like a chasm. In the long line of people in front, the sound of clinking glasses and compliments rang out again. Zheng Xin’s faint rebuttal was almost buried in the clamor of compliments for Qi Sijia.
The question on the tip of her tongue was, “Aren’t you afraid that Dad will find out that you’re not saving me? Does he know that you’ve been hiding such a big thing?”
Countless questions and accusations filled her mouth, but no one heard her when she wanted to convey them again.
Before Zheng Xin was pulled out, she stared at Qi Sijia. She was sure that Qi Sijia had looked back at her, but it was just a faint glance. Qi Sijia did not reply and lightly withdrew her gaze.
That cold to the point of being indifferent gaze, Zheng Xin had seen it before.
It was exactly the same as the only time they had met five years ago. Qi Sijia was a person who was not emotionally rich. She would not write her dislike in her eyes, and she would even be stingy with a little bit of emotion, because she didn’t care.
This was why Zheng Xin had been able to occupy the position of the Qi family’s eldest daughter without any harm.
Before tonight, Zheng Xin had even felt that she had squeezed out the proper Qi family’s eldest daughter with her own ability. But now, seeing Qi Sijia, who was at the center of the vortex of this banquet and was being praised by the top foreign Oscar-winning directors and producers, all her previous perceptions were overturned. The clamor that was blowing in her ears at this moment seemed to be the wind mocking her sorry state.
After Zheng Xin was taken out, the banquet returned to its previous liveliness.
At the same time, at the center of the other vortex, Meng Jiang was holding a tall glass and looking at the door. Next to her was the Australian actress who had been at the center of the public opinion not long ago.
“Her acting is not bad,” Meng Jiang turned her gaze to the other person, her tall glass turning in her fingertips. Their glasses clinked, and Meng Jiang took a big sip of red wine to give her face.
Seeing this, the other person covered her mouth and laughed. “How did she offend you?”
Meng Jiang’s eyes were half-closed, and her smile was lazy. “Didn’t you see? She’s mooching off hot topics, mooching off resources—mooching off everything. This TV series has been going on for a bit long, and it’s an eyesore.”
Meng Jiang’s charming phoenix eyes were half-raised, and her lips were still smiling, but her eyes revealed a decisive ruthlessness that could decide life and death.
Luiya clicked her tongue in her heart. “This is not your usual style.”
Meng Jiang lazily glanced over and asked back, “What is my usual style?”
“To leave a way out for others. A small matter like latching onto hot topics is nothing to you.”
Meng Jiang was noncommittal and just said, “I owe you a favor this time.”
“You should. Next time, remember to bring me along for the investment in Little Meng Jiang’s new movie.”
Meng Jiang and her looked at each other and smiled, clinking their glasses again.
At the end of the dinner party, Meng Jiang was still surrounded by a group of producers.
Shen Tunan and Chen Cheng, who were helping to block the drinks, both fell down, looking drunk. They were lying on the banquet hall sofa, playing with their hair ties, and laughing as if they had lost their minds.
Qi Sijia glanced at them and walked straight over. The crowd automatically made way for her.
“Teacher Qi is here.”
“It’s all Meng Jiang’s fault for being so talkative. Old Jiang and I were just regretting that we didn’t get to greet Teacher Qi earlier tonight,” said the boss of Universal Pictures.
He refilled Meng Jiang’s tall glass. She had drunk too much, and Meng Jiang’s fingers curled up almost imperceptibly.
Qi Sijia glanced at her. This person didn’t show it on her face when she drank. Everyone thought she wasn’t drunk, but Qi Sijia could tell.
Their eyes met. Meng Jiang shed her dangerous and charming laziness and looked straight over, her eyes full of charm.
She smiled and walked towards Qi Sijia. Looking closely, she was walking with the same hand and foot, a little dazed.
Qi Sijia silently let Meng Jiang walk forward a couple of steps and lean on her shoulder.
When she leaned over, Qi Sijia calmly put her arm around Meng Jiang’s waist and supported her sliding body.
“Teacher Qi and Teacher Meng have a very good relationship. If I had known you were so close, I would have had Teacher Meng introduce you to me.”
Qi Sijia’s face was calm. “Not at all.”
In fact, the banquet was about to end here, but Meng Jiang was a little drunk tonight, and she didn’t refuse any of the toasts that came later.
The glass of wine that the boss of Universal Pictures had just filled was one that Meng Jiang had wanted to drink herself.
Qi Sijia could have ignored the people around her, but Meng Jiang had been socializing all night, intending to establish a long-term relationship with the foreign investors and producers.
The wine glass was handed to Meng Jiang. Qi Sijia took the initiative to take it. She politely greeted the group of producers around her.
“Everyone, I’ll drink this for her,” her lips touched the rim of the glass.
Meng Jiang was drunk, but not to the point of being unconscious. Remembering that Qi Sijia didn’t drink, she subconsciously raised her hand to stop her.
Qi Sijia glanced at her and, without a word, drank the remaining red wine in the glass. Her other hand unobtrusively supported Meng Jiang again. After finishing the glass of wine, Qi Sijia said to everyone, “It’s getting late. We’ll stop here for today.”
All night, no one had seen Qi Sijia drink. Now that she was willing to drink for Meng Jiang, it was already shocking enough. What was even more ambiguous was that the tall glass she was holding now was the one Meng Jiang had used.
The people present looked at each other. They were all smart people who could read people’s expressions. This kind of relationship was almost laid bare.
Qi Sijia calmly let her friends around her make a few jokes.
The boss of Universal Pictures was probably the one with the highest status among them. He smiled and took a step forward, continuing the conversation, “Teacher Qi is being an outsider. It’s getting late tonight, so we should break up. Next time I go back to the country, I’ll ask Meng Jiang to arrange a dinner. You must do me the honor.”
Qi Sijia lowered her eyes and said, “Of course.”
She was so easy to talk to because she was giving Meng Jiang face. After all, business dealings were not like Qi Sijia’s single-minded social interactions, where she could be arrogant because of her talent.
After saying this, she put her arm around Meng Jiang’s back, and Qi Sijia decisively took Meng Jiang and left.
Meng Jiang’s steps were unsteady from the alcohol. After walking a few steps, her body slid down, and Qi Sijia had to use the strength of her elbow to support Meng Jiang as she walked forward.
Chen Cheng had called the assistant driver in advance. A few minutes later, Meng Jiang’s assistant rushed over and offered to help, but she was blocked by Qi Sijia’s cold gaze. The assistant took their two bags and followed behind.
During this time, Meng Jiang felt dizzy and wanted to vomit. Qi Sijia helped her to the restroom, told the assistant to go down first, and Meng Jiang vomited in the restroom. After helping her rinse her mouth and wash her face, she was a little more sober, and the two of them entered the elevator.
Meng Jiang barely managed to lean against the elevator wall and smiled at Qi Sijia.
“Are you sober now?” Qi Sijia turned her head and asked.
The corners of Meng Jiang’s eyes and eyebrows were filled with a drunken smile. She said, “I’m not sober. You can ask the assistant to get off work.”
Her voice was low and lingering, falling by Qi Sijia’s ear. Her exhaled breath carried the mellow aroma of wine.
Qi Sijia just thought she was really not sober and was about to hold her in her arms again.
Meng Jiang did not refuse and naturally leaned against her, her half-soft body wrapping around Qi Sijia. She said with a charming smile, “Qi Sijia, did that half-glass of wine make you drunk? I’m so drunk my eyes are blurry. I actually saw…”
Meng Jiang laughed foolishly, her usually lazy voice hoarse.
Qi Sijia turned her head and asked, “What?”
“I saw you drink my wine in public.”
The elevator reached the B1 floor. Qi Sijia helped Meng Jiang out and then asked, “Can’t you drink it?”
“I can… I can drink it,” Meng Jiang was really drunk. She slurred her words and said she could. Her gaze was wandering, and finally, it settled on Qi Sijia’s earlobe for a long time. An unbearable expression appeared on her face, and she sucked on it, then bit it with her teeth.
Qi Sijia was a little annoyed by the grinding. She held her face and pushed her away.
“Sister,” this was said in a low, hoarse voice. “Don’t flirt. I can’t stand it.”
Meng Jiang nodded very obediently, but the next second, she brought her lips closer again, her charming and flirtatious lips holding Qi Sijia’s cheek, nibbling from top to bottom, the force not light or heavy, a tingling and numb sound panting in her ear.
Qi Sijia’s fingers curled up. Her gaze landed on the drunken Meng Jiang’s face. This person had a hibiscus face. Due to her drunkenness, the corners of her eyes and eyebrows were stained with a charming look, and the corners of her eyes were upturned, captivating.
Qi Sijia picked her up and placed her on the sofa in the RV.
Her body covered her.
