Chapter 69: 069

In the heart of Haicheng’s most bustling downtown district, Huazhao Building was infamous for its sky-high rents, measured in tens of thousands per day. Most companies here were in finance; entertainment firms rarely set up shop in such a place.

Yet Kejin Entertainment occupied the entire twenty-fifth floor.

The underground garage was a showcase of luxury vehicles—a veritable mini car show. The roar of supercar engines echoed one after another, but one adorable four-seater electric car backed quietly into its spot.

The driver let out a quiet sigh of relief once it was parked.

Thank goodness his skills were up to par. A single scrape against any of these rides would have left him in debt for life.

“Miss Song, should I wait down here for you?” The driver turned to look at Song Guiya in the back seat, her face half-obscured by a mask.

Song Guiya shook her head. “No need. Head home early today and make sure to celebrate your aunt’s birthday properly.”

The driver blinked in surprise, then realized she must have overheard his phone call in the garage before they set off.

The outside world had plenty of mixed opinions about Song Guiya, but after two years on her payroll, this was the first time she’d shown any personal consideration. He couldn’t help but feel touched.

“Thank you, Miss Song.”

Song Guiya gave a faint nod and stepped out of the car.

No sooner had she done so than Gu Yuanyuan came jogging over from the elevators. “Sister Yaya, Sister Huo sent me down to meet you.”

Now it was Song Guiya’s turn to be caught off guard. She’d only told Gu Yuanyuan yesterday to take some time off until work picked up again—no more daily breakfast deliveries or check-ins like before. “What are you doing at the company?”

Gu Yuanyuan scratched her head, looking sheepish. “I was bored at home, so I figured I’d drop by and check on the new hires’ training.”

Song Guiya gave her a skeptical look. “Is Chi Yu here too?”

Gu Yuanyuan’s eyes widened. “How did you know?!”

Song Guiya: …

It wasn’t exactly hard to tell.

Perhaps it was the new perspective she’d gained on the Sea Island, but ever since returning, she’d noticed something off between Chi Yu and Gu Yuanyuan—beyond whatever was going on with Li Xingruo and Qin Yi.

Chi Yu hadn’t shown any signs of it, though. It seemed like a one-sided crush from Gu Yuanyuan.

That said, if Chi Yu was at the office…

“Is Xi Tongyue here too?” Song Guiya asked casually as she headed for the elevators.

To her surprise, Gu Yuanyuan shook her head. “Teacher Xi wrapped up her outdoor shoot and went off to meet a friend—er, yeah, a friend. So she had Sister Chi head back first.”

Song Guiya’s steps faltered for a split second before she continued on.

Speaking of friends…

She hadn’t met any of Xi Tongyue’s friends in this world yet.

The only time had been at the salon, when she’d overheard Xi Tongyue’s friend sending over a few “precious collections.”

The mere thought of those words brought a faint warmth to Song Guiya’s cheeks, though her expression remained perfectly composed. Anyone who didn’t know her well wouldn’t have noticed a thing.

Seeing Song Guiya fall silent, Gu Yuanyuan assumed she was upset about Teacher Xi meeting someone else.

She hurried to change the subject. “Sister Yaya, why’d you drive this car to the office today?”

She’d seen it at the villa before—the one the aunt used for grocery runs.

Song Guiya glanced sideways at her from the elevator doors, her gaze puzzled. “Didn’t you tell me to keep a low profile when I go out?”

Song Guiya wasn’t well-versed in modern car prices, but she’d checked beforehand. This was the cheapest one in Xi Tongyue’s garage.

Gu Yuanyuan: …

She glanced back at the pink electric mini-car, its cute design standing out awkwardly amid a sea of international supercars and SUVs.

Yeah. Super low-key.

The elevator shot straight up to the twenty-fifth floor. The moment they stepped through the company doors, their eyes fell on a massive poster hanging on the display wall.

The woman in it was statuesque, draped in a bold red gown that revealed half of her sleek, slender legs. Her palm-sized oval face was chiseled like ice and jade, with a straight nose, sensual red lips, and phoenix eyes that drew people in—yet her gaze carried a cold, aloof edge. She was breathtakingly beautiful, her allure aggressive and commanding.

A necklace of rare treasure gleamed at her slender neck. Dazzling on its own, it seemed to lose its luster the moment it touched her skin, as if it existed solely to accentuate her innate nobility and charm.

Nearby, two fresh-faced new hires with badges clipped to their chests struck poses for selfies with the poster, their expressions brimming with excitement and anticipation.

“Finally joined Kejin! I hope I get a chance to see the real Xi God someday.” The girl snapping the photo could barely contain her excitement for two seconds before something occurred to her. She lowered her voice and grumbled to her companion, “But I heard Song Crow works here too. Running into her by accident would be the worst luck ever.”

“Don’t worry. My team leader says Song Guiya hardly ever shows up at the company, but Teacher Xi drops by all the time. We might even run into her today!”

“Really? Hold on a sec.”

“Hey, where are you going?”

“To touch up my makeup!”

“Wait, wait—me too!”

The two young women linked arms and hurried off toward the restroom, chattering nonstop the whole way. No one noticed Song Guiya slip past them in silence, her face hidden behind a mask.

When they reached the corridor, Gu Yuanyuan sneaked a glance at Song Guiya. Her expression was utterly calm, as if she hadn’t registered a word of what the girls had said. Gu Yuanyuan let out a quiet breath of relief. She dreaded the day Sister Yaya’s old temper flared up again and caused a scene with Huo Yao.

Plenty of people at the company knew the reason Song Guiya stayed away. A year earlier, she’d overheard someone trash-talking her behind her back. She’d grabbed the culprit by the hair and dragged her straight to Huo Yao’s office, demanding that Huo Yao fire the woman—or else Song Guiya would make Xi Tongyue fire Huo Yao instead.

Once word of the incident spread, the entire company buzzed with speculation that Song Guiya must have paranoia.

After that, Huo Yao had laid down the law: Song Guiya was banned from the office. Any updates would come directly to her by private notice.

Gu Yuanyuan had pried the story out of Song Guiya’s previous assistant shortly after starting at the company herself. Back then, she’d pegged Sister Yaya as impossible to deal with and spent every day walking on eggshells.

Luckily, Yaya had changed. She’d become so much better now.

This was a Song Guiya worth protecting.

With that in mind, Gu Yuanyuan mentally jotted down the badmouthing from those two girls. The next time she saw Chi Yu, she’d whisper it in her ear—or maybe even turn it into some pillow talk.

Huo Yao’s office sat at the far end of the corridor. As they reached the door, Gu Yuanyuan said, “Sister Yaya, I won’t go in with you. I’ll be right next door in the meeting room. Just call if you need me.”

She still had some ear-whispering to do.

Song Guiya inclined her head. “All right.”

Once Gu Yuanyuan had gone, Song Guiya knocked. At the sound of “Come in,” she stepped inside.

Huo Yao was on a call with earbuds in, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she multitasked like a whirlwind.

Spotting Song Guiya, she managed to point at the stack of scripts on the tea table with one hand, gesturing for her to help herself.

Song Guiya nodded and settled onto the sofa without protest, flipping quietly through the pages.

Huo Yao’s call was all business—she didn’t bother hiding any of it from Song Guiya, who in turn showed zero curiosity and kept her focus on the script. The two worked in companionable silence.

Only when the call wrapped up did Huo Yao add, “Oh, right—Song Guiya’s here already. Once we’re done, are you heading back to the company, or…?”

Her own name snapped Song Guiya’s attention upward. She met Huo Yao’s serious gaze and took a guess at who might be on the line.

She already knew the answer, deep down.

“Fine, fine. Single dogs have feelings too. I’m hanging up.” Huo Yao ended the call with obvious impatience, then locked eyes with Song Guiya.

Those puppy-dog eyes.

Same puppy eyes, totally different lives.

Huo Yao huffed a laugh, half-amused, half-annoyed. “Yes, yes—your Xi Tongyue says she’ll swing by the company later. Pick out a script and wait for her so you can head back together.”

“Got it.” Song Guiya smiled faintly. “I’ve already chosen.”

“That quick?” Huo Yao’s brows knit together.

Please don’t let it be that hearing Xi Tongyue was coming killed her ambition. She wouldn’t just grab something at random to placate me, would she?

Huo Yao took the script Song Guiya handed over and glanced at the cover. Two words stared back at her: Carving Jade.

Song Guiya caught the shift in her expression and tilted her head curiously. “What’s wrong? Something off with this one?”

Huo Yao’s eyes grew complicated. She paused for a long moment before saying slowly, “You and Xi Tongyue already worked this out ahead of time, didn’t you?”

Song Guiya blinked in confusion.

Seeing the genuine puzzlement on her face, Huo Yao explained, “This one wasn’t in the original stack I had for you. It got added just before you walked in.”

Song Guiya got it at once. “Teacher Xi’s request?”

Huo Yao nodded. “Yeah. Though… it’s a bit more complicated than that.”

“The screenwriter for this script is a promising newcomer who wasn’t taken seriously at first. She shopped it around for two years without any bites, but then Xi Tongyue spotted it by chance. Thanks to her recommendation, Director Chen Mobai—the best in the business at grand historical costume dramas—agreed to helm the project, which finally lined up the investment.”

“Originally, the script was meant for you. But then the Li Corporation caught wind of it from somewhere and muscled in with their own investment, putting it on ice for the time being. That held until this morning, when Li Xingchen officially stepped down as general manager of the Li Corporation. The Li Family booted him out of Haicheng to drum up business overseas, and only then did they release the script.”

Song Guiya’s expression grew even more astonished. “Stepped down?”

Huo Yao arched an eyebrow. “You didn’t know?”

Song Guiya shook her head.

Huo Yao realized Xi Tongyue wasn’t the sort to explain her every move to anyone.

Still, Huo Yao had always thought her boss’s habit of doing good deeds without fanfare was a bad one. There was no sense in standing up for a lover while keeping it all under wraps.

Huo Yao laced her fingers together on the table and said to Song Guiya, “Well, you remember Wang Jian, right? The director of that Island Variety Show.”

Song Guiya nodded. “I do.”

Huo Yao’s face turned deadly serious. “Do you know the real secret behind Wang Jian’s success with the blockbuster variety show Crazy Caveman? It’s all about digging up dirt on the guests ahead of time—gathering their background, their scandals—and then laying traps in the program that exploit their personality flaws. That forces their true colors to show, their carefully crafted images to crumble. And that’s what hooks all those drama-loving viewers who can’t get enough.”

Song Guiya’s face stayed calm, betraying no shock.

She had done her homework on the show before signing on, so none of this came as a surprise.

“So at the start, I was against you joining that variety show. But Xi Tongyue insisted you give it a shot. She said if you could navigate those traps, it would go a long way toward clearing your name.” Huo Yao gave Song Guiya an appreciative look. “She was right about you, as usual. You never let her down—your performance throughout was stellar.”

“But here’s the thing: once someone gets that godlike overview, the power to pull strings and control others, it’s addictive.”

“With Wang Jian’s control-freak tendencies growing by the day, he wouldn’t rest unless someone’s facade cracked over the course of the show. Everyone else was untouchable aside from you and Chen Hanxuan, so Xi Tongyue got ahead of it. She neutralized every scrap of dirt that could’ve been weaponized against you and even slotted herself into the show to shield you from any backstabbing.”

Here, Huo Yao remembered how Xi Tongyue had called Song Guiya’s heart pure, blind to the entertainment industry’s underbelly. She’d rolled her eyes so hard she nearly lost a month’s bonus on the spot.

From then on, she’d known better than to tangle with women in love.

Especially one like Xi Tongyue, perched at the very top.

Huo Yao smacked her lips and went on. “You already know about the listening device and Du Siqi. Good thing Xi Tongyue laid out countermeasures before setting foot on the island—no matter what mud they slung, we were ready.”

“But who would’ve thought Wang Jian had the balls to suppress the tsunami warning.”

“Back at the hotel after evacuating the island, Xi Tongyue pieced together that Li Xingchen had been pulling strings from the shadows. That same night, she paid a visit to the Li Family patriarch for tea and a chat.”

“So, you see?”

How dearly Xi Tongyue treasures her little golden songbird.