Chapter 17: Reasonable

[Ahhhhhhh Zhengzheng! She flirted with me again!!]

Qin Zheng adjusted the bracket and heard a greeting from her side: “Zhengzheng? Why are you here today? Where’s Mi Jie?”

Qin Zheng turned her head and saw a woman walking over with a backpack containing filming equipment. Qin Zheng went to her side and helped her assemble the bracket, explaining, “Mi Jie went back to her hometown. It’ll be me for this period.”

“Pulling double duty, huh.” He Min grinned. “Hey, seriously, our station director has always wanted to poach you over. She’d double your salary. You really not tempted?”

Especially since Qin Zheng’s township promotional video from last time had won an award. Their station director had been trying to recruit her for the cultural tourism channel and had approached her several times, but Qin Zheng showed no interest.

Qin Zheng was currently at the main station, and indeed, many local stations were trying to poach her. She looked at He Min and smiled. “Aren’t you afraid I’d squeeze you out of your position if I came?”

He Min leaned affectionately against her. “Come on, come on! If you come, I’d be happy to be your assistant and run errands for you!”

Qin Zheng poked her forehead. “You might be willing, but would your station director be?”

He Min laughed. “Why wouldn’t she? She’d be over the moon if you joined.”

Qin Zheng lowered her eyes. Then she heard He Min look around and suddenly ask in confusion, “Your wife didn’t come?”

“She’s on a business trip.” Qin Zheng asked, “You miss her?”

“I knew it.” He Min hugged her arm. “Before, if I leaned this close to you, she’d have rushed out and dragged me away like a little chick.”

Qin Zheng was speechless. “Don’t exaggerate.”

He Min said, “Exaggerate? Who doesn’t know that the advisory team leader of the Capital Criminal Investigation Team is a total lovebrain?”

Qin Zheng: …

No way to communicate.

He Min let out an “aiya.” “But I’m more curious about Ye Yu and Jiang Ruoning. Are those two a couple?”

Qin Zheng heard this just as she spotted a message from Jiang Ruoning.

Excitement overflowing the screen.

She was certain that if she were in front of Jiang Ruoning right now, Jiang Ruoning would let out a squeal.

Qin Zheng replied to He Min, “No.”

He Min looked heartbroken. “I don’t believe it!”

Seeing her devastated expression, Qin Zheng followed up, “Really not. Ruoning has someone she likes now.”

He Min wiped away fake tears.

Qin Zheng couldn’t bear to look. Propping up her phone, she replied to Jiang Ruoning: [How did she flirt with you?]

Jiang Ruoning had been waiting for Qin Zheng’s message but fell asleep on the sofa. That night was exceptionally peaceful—no dreams. But her sleeping position was poor, and when she woke, her waist and neck ached. Jiang Ruoning let out an “aiyo,” twisted her neck as she sat up, and tried to move it.

Oh no, she’d gotten a crick in her neck!

The alarm was still blaring. Jiang Ruoning squinted, fumbled for her phone, turned it off, and checked the time—past eight.

She saw Qin Zheng’s reply from last night. Sitting on the sofa and enduring the pain, she chuckled out loud.

She’d been so thrilled last night that she’d sent it without thinking. Now, in the morning light, she felt a bit embarrassed by her message.

She replied to Qin Zheng: [Nothing much.]

Qin Zheng: [Awake?]

Jiang Ruoning: [Yeah. What are you up to?]

Qin Zheng: [Eating breakfast.]

Jiang Ruoning looked at her reply, then glanced at the time—eight-thirty. Shi Sui should have finished breakfast by now, or was she already at work?

She’d asked so many questions yesterday but forgot to ask what Shi Sui did for a living.

What a blunder!

Jiang Ruoning’s phone vibrated lightly. Qin Zheng: [Eaten yet?]

She replied: [Not yet.]

Qin Zheng: [Love filled you up?]

Jiang Ruoning: [Ha!]

Qin Zheng: [What did you two do last night?]

Jiang Ruoning: [Don’t make it sound so suggestive. We’re very pure.]

Qin Zheng: [Tsk.]

Jiang Ruoning touched her cheek—it was hot right after waking up.

Ignoring Qin Zheng’s teasing, she replied: [When are you coming back?]

Qin Zheng was filming a fireworks festival event, which started around eleven or twelve at night. She’d shot until past four last night, then went back to edit footage and retouch photos. Now, after finishing breakfast, she was about to head home to sleep. Seeing Jiang Ruoning’s question, she replied: [Two more days.]

Jiang Ruoning: [Oh.]

Her tone seemed a bit unhappy.

Qin Zheng: [What’s up?]

Jiang Ruoning: [Nothing. Just thought we could grab a meal together.]

Qin Zheng: [Introduce me?]

Jiang Ruoning: [Hehe.]

She didn’t deny it.

So, she was serious.

This was the first time in years.

She’d said before that she really liked the professor, but never thought of grabbing a meal to meet.

Jiang Ruoning seemed carefree and casual, but when it came to relationships, she was quite measured—never stringing anyone along.

If there was potential but no spark, she’d make it clear right away.

That’s why so many people she’d gently turned down became her friends.

Qin Zheng had heard Jin Man ask helplessly a few times, “What kind of person do you actually like?”

Jiang Ruoning had thought seriously for a long time before saying, “Someone who makes me happy.”

She must be very happy now.

Jiang Ruoning clutched her phone, grinning foolishly like a girl in the first blush of love. She scrolled through her chat history with Shi Sui. When a call came in, her hand jerked, nearly dropping the phone onto the sofa. She steadied herself and answered.

It was her agent, Wu Jie.

Wu Jie said cheerfully, “Ruoning, good news!”

Jiang Ruoning had a hunch. “News from Fengshang?”

“Director Li just called me. They confirmed you for the next issue.” Wu Jie was in high spirits. “Next time we eat, I’ll talk to her about an exclusive endorsement deal.”

Fengshang was changing their exclusive model at year-end. Rumor had it the current one’s fee was too high, and after weighing the pros and cons, Fengshang decided it wasn’t worth it and terminated the partnership. They’d been scouting the industry for a better fit. Wu Jie hadn’t planned on pursuing it, but now that the collaboration was set, why not?

Plus, with Jiang Ruoning’s looks, Fengshang had lined up to sign her exclusively before.

She was confident.

Jiang Ruoning was encouraged too.

Before hanging up, Wu Jie said, “Ningning, one more thing—have you heard of Less?”

Jiang Ruoning sat cross-legged on the sofa, tilting her head to wedge the phone. “Less? That new brand from a couple years ago?”

Wu Jie said, “Right. An assistant from Less headquarters DMed me recently about a shoot. I looked into it—they’re newish but doing well. They’ve been developing in the South District so far, haven’t expanded much in the East District. Now they want to push hard into the East District and booked a new product shoot with you.”

Jiang Ruoning asked, “What do you think, Wu Jie?”

“I think it’s decent.” Wu Jie analyzed. “They have a winter show at year-end. The assistant asked about our schedule, so they probably want you as the lead model after the shoot.”

Jiang Ruoning didn’t agree immediately. Instead, she asked, “Who’s the lead designer for their winter show?”

Wu Jie said, “I asked, but it’s not set. Apparently an external hire.”

Less had its own design team, but for this winter show, they weren’t sticking to the old style. They planned something new, and the external lead designer was still in talks. Since it wasn’t finalized, they couldn’t disclose it to Wu Jie.

Wu Jie understood—this was usually company confidential. Revealing the lead designer was like showing your hand, giving competitors the main design style. No news until official announcement.

But they were different.

They were the lead models.

Less was evaluating them.

They needed to evaluate Less and the lead designer too—see if the styling and vibe matched. If not, it wouldn’t be one plus one equals two; it’d be an industry joke.

Jiang Ruoning had been in the spotlight for the past half-year. Everyone awaited her first lead model show.

Under the spotlight, with her old company’s eyes watching.

She had to be cautious.

Wu Jie said, “How about this: once they confirm the lead designer, we decide whether to take it.”

Jiang Ruoning had no objections.

After hanging up, she lounged on the sofa a bit longer before washing up. Living alone, meals were whatever. But the fridge was empty of quick fixes, so she boiled two eggs and ate them bite by bite.

Her phone screen popped up a studio message while she scrolled videos.

Jiang Ruoning tapped into Weibo.

She had quite a few fans. Her early career with Del had been smooth sailing—national model champion, covers on major magazines, lead model for big brands. Most importantly, in the circle, she was Ye Yu’s only acknowledged bestie.

This made her fanbase eclectic: career stans, CP fans, even Ye Yu fans.

Since Ye Yu rarely posted on Weibo, they’d come to her for updates.

Sometimes Jiang Ruoning felt like she was Ye Yu’s manager.

Hilarious.

She tapped into the Weibo Wu Jie had just posted and saw familiar fans: [Wow! Ningning’s collaborating with Fengshang!]

[That account that badmouthed our Ningning recently, saying it was her fault back then?]

[I knew my sis was innocent! That house played dirty! Ningning fighting!]

[Fengshang good! Ningning good! Del bad!]

Jiang Ruoning laughed at her fans’ cute rants. She switched to her main account, reposted the work account’s collab promo. Comments and likes surged. As she skimmed to exit, she spotted a familiar avatar.

The avatar had liked and commented just now.

Jiang Ruoning tapped in. The Weibo name was R.

Matched her WeChat name.

Shi Sui?

Her heart tightened. She scrolled the profile—empty, a small account.

She immediately screenshotted it and sent to Shi Sui for confirmation: [Is this you?]

Shi Sui leaned back in her chair. When Jiang Ruoning’s message arrived, her expression didn’t falter for a second. She quickly replied: [It’s me.]

Jiang Ruoning: [You knew who I was?]

The words were a bit ambiguous—they’d already sparked some chemistry—but what surprised Jiang Ruoning was that Shi Sui knew her job.

Shi Sui replied ambiguously too: [I knew.]

Jiang Ruoning guessed wildly: [So at the airport that day, you recognized me?]

Shi Sui typed: [Yeah.]

Jiang Ruoning was astonished: [How?]

She’d been in the partition! Had Shi Sui seen her when she went to the bathroom?

Before Jiang Ruoning could voice her suspicion, Shi Sui replied: [Your voice.]

Jiang Ruoning: [You recognized me by voice? Weren’t you afraid of mistaking me?]

Shi Sui: [No chance of that.]

Jiang Ruoning’s brows lifted slightly: [That confident?]

Shi Sui: [I’ve watched your T-stage walks and interviews.]

Jiang Ruoning didn’t quite buy it. Watch a model’s runway and interviews, then match the voice to the person without seeing their face? How many times would you have to watch to get that familiar?

Unless Shi Sui worked in something voice-related?

Jiang Ruoning asked: [Are you a voice actress?]

Hence the sensitivity to voices.

Shi Sui smiled at the guess: [No.]

Jiang Ruoning’s guess missed: [Oh.]

Shi Sui: [I do fashion business.]

Jiang Ruoning: [Oh~]

That made sense.

In fashion, keeping tabs on models was normal.

Jiang Ruoning: [Didn’t expect you to be my fan.]

Shi Sui: [Can I not be your fan?]

Jiang Ruoning’s heart skipped, pounding twice as fast. She swallowed the egg yolk, rubbed her neck that stabbed with pain at every move, figuring whatever Shi Sui said next might choke her, so she exhaled in advance.

But after a long wait, no follow-up.

Jiang Ruoning: [Then what do you want to be?]

She bit her lip, cheeks flushing, eyes watery. Her fingers gripping the phone ached faintly—she was holding too tight.

Jiang Ruoning closed her eyes.

The phone vibrated lightly.

She squinted through her lashes at the screen.

Shi Sui: [I want to be your friend.]

Friend?

Not…?

Friend????

Was this reasonable?

Jiang Ruoning rolled her eyes.