Chapter 66
After Ning Xi’s interview was posted online, netizens’ thoughts were … that they made absolute sense.
To netizens, any hot topics would only trend for a few days. There were too many things happening all around the world; the Internet was generating so much information that they forgot older news very quickly.
Even though Ning Xi’s incident had generated a significant amount of hype, netizens started losing interest after a few days. Yet, they still retained a relatively good impression of Ning Xi. Hence, they didn’t know that Wei Siqi’s father had been jailed for five years for illegal financial manipulation.
At the same time, Wei Enterprises also suffered from competition from other firms, causing their profit margins to shrink drastically, and almost resulted in their bankruptcy.
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Wei Siqi was actually not surprised when Chen Yijun suggested breaking the engagement. She took a sip from her coffee; the bitterness overwhelmed her taste buds, causing tears to brim at her eyes.
“Siqi, I’m sorry.” Chen Yijun’s eyes were bloodshot; it was clear that he hadn’t rested for the past few days. “I hope that you can find a better man.”
“Yijun,” Wei Siqi’s voice was hoarse, as if it were a blunt knife rubbing against sandpaper. “How many years have we been together?”
Chen Yijun was stunned, and did not reply.
“It’s been nine years.” Wei Siqi looked at him in a daze, then suddenly laughed maniacally. “I’m really foolish.”
If only she had chosen to give up when she found out that Chen Yijun liked Ning Xi. Would things have been better then? At least her father wouldn’t be jailed, her mother wouldn’t resent her, and her brother wouldn’t treat her like a stranger.
The people in her social circle had all vanished as well, and even commented behind her back that she was a murderer.
How the tides have turned! The pain that she inflicted upon Ning Xi in the past had now been inflicted upon her.
“You should leave.” Wei Siqi put down her coffee, then looked at Chen Yijun. She was suddenly reminded of Chang Shi Gui. AFter so many years, she finally realised what it was like when a man truly loved a woman.
Chen Yijun and her were simply birds from the same forest, they would simply fly off by themselves at the onset of danger [1].
Chen Yijun had anticipated that Wei Siqi would either kick up a fuss, or even curse and scold him. He certainly didn't expect her to be this calm.
The coffee before him was untouched. During all their years together, he had always accommodated Wei Siqi’s preferences, such that he even tolerated drinking coffee, a beverage that he hated most. Now, he finally didn’t have to endure it any further, and he didn’t have to force himself anymore.
“Take care of yourself. Goodbye.” Chen Yijun grabbed his phone, then turned around to leave.
“Chen Yijun, have you ever regretted this?” Wei Siqi’s voice suddenly rang out. “All these years, you’ve been secretly trying to find Ning Xi. Was it due to guilt, or was it something else entirely?”
Chen Yijun turned and looked at Wei Siqi. She was holding her coffee with an unreadable smile on her face.
As she observed his reaction, Wei Siqi laughed, as tears fell on her cheeks. “You are a bastard.” She raised her hand, and emptied the contents of the cup on his face.
The coffee wasn’t hot, but the entire cafe had noticed the commotion, causing Chen Yijun to feel extremely embarrassed. However, by the time he cleaned up, Wei Siqi had already left the cafe.
He looked down at the dirty sweater that he was wearing. He didn’t need to lift his head to know that the people around him were probably laughing at him, so he strode out of the cafe.
Unfortunately, the entire scene had been filmed by some nosy onlookers, who later posted the clip online, even though their faces were in mosaic.
Initially, netizens thought that this was a simple break-up. However, when they heard the female lead addressing the male lead, they felt that the man’s name rang a bell.
Chen Yijun? Siqi?
Wasn’t this the immoral couple who caused the family tragedy of Goddess Ning?
They had broken up? This was such a waste. They obviously could still stick together and inflict pain on each other, why would they want to break up?
Hence, news of the break-up of the young master of the Chen family and the young mistress of the Wei family trended into the top ten on Weibo, resulting in another round of ridicule.
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“Ning Xi, are you sure you don’t need a double?” Lin Shujie was standing on the stone steps, and asked Ning Xi worriedly. “This is quite a dangerous scene.”
As Ning Xi’s character in the movie had unusual luck, hence incidents like falling down, knocking into walls were commonplace. She was a beautiful, sisterly, but somewhat foolish character. Even if she was very reliable during critical times, such moments were extremely short.
This particular scene was about the female lead rolling down the stairs, and eventually falling in front of the male lead’s pants.
“No problem. Let’s begin.” Ning Xi had filmed similar scenes overseas before, so she knew how to protect herself when rolling down.
Lin Shujie also wanted Ning Xi to perform the scene herself, but he had to take into consideration her current status, so he prepared a body double. When Ning Xi declared that she didn’t want to use one, his admiration for her increased even further.
The filming officially started. Ning Xi wore a beautiful dress, and she walked out with her hair curled, and her face made up. She had just closed a deal, and was feeling proud of herself.
“Prepare the big fan, Camera 3, be ready for a close up.”
When the wind blew, her hair started flowing in the wind. An indescribably beautiful scene appeared; when she turned her head, even her eyes were breathtaking.
At this very moment, the beauty fell. She was like a rolling winter melon, rolling down the stairs in loud thumps.
“Camera 1, close in.” Lin Shujie had filmed so many commercial films over the years that he knew when the scene should be funny, or when the scene should be eye-catching. He sat behind the monitors and instructed the cameraman, “Bring the camera closer. Ning Xi, raise your head slowly, and focus on your expression.”
The lady sprawled on the floor had her hair in a mess. She was covered in dust, but the moment she raised her head, the pair of teary eyes made everyone forget about the predicament she was in.
“Good! Cut!” Lin Shujie stood up from the monitors, and walked towards Ning Xi. “Ning Xi, are you alright?”
Gao Li had already helped Ning Xi up. He looked at the flight of stairs, and let out a long sigh.
Even a man like himself didn’t dare to roll down the stairs, but Ning Xi had actually done so. She was truly giving it her all.
In actual fact, he didn’t understand her. Ning Xi’s boyfriend was Chang Shi Gui; there were no resources that she couldn’t get, so why was she still working so hard?
“I’m fine. Director Lin, let’s move on to the next scene.” Ning Xi swiped the dust off her arms. As they still had to film the next scene, so the dirt on her couldn’t be touched in order to ensure the flow of the movie.
“Why don’t you take a break first?” Director Lin saw how Ning Xi had been covered in dust, and felt sympathetic towards her.
“There’s no need for that.” Ning Xi smiled, assuring them that they could continue.
The next few scenes were also filmed smoothly. When Director Lin reviewed the scenes, he nodded his head satisfactorily. Given their progress, they would be able to complete filming very quickly.
If all things went well, they could even try to hit the big screens during the Chinese New Year period.
When Chang Shi Gui appeared on set, Director Lin finally realised that Ning Xi was rushing to complete her scenes because she had a date.
“Director Lin, see you tomorrow.” Ning Xi changed out of her costume, and her make-up was much less than when she was filming.
Lin Shujie glanced at Chang Shi Gui, who was standing by a corner waiting for Ning Xi, then bade her goodbye happily.
After Ning Xi left with Chang Shi Gui, the assistant director hopped to Lin Shujie and whispered, “Director, when Teacher Ning rolled down the stairs just now, Mr Chang looked really angry.”
“He was already here?” Lin Shujie looked at his assistant in shock.
The assistant nodded. “But he was probably worried about affecting Teacher Ning’s immersion into the role, so he stood by the corner without making a sound.”
Lin Shujie nodded in understanding.
“Director, do you think Mr Chang will misunderstand us, and think that we were intentionally making things difficult for Teacher Ning?” The assistant was feeling panicky, so much so that his brows were almost bunched together.
“Do you think that we’re filming a drama about a brainless but domineering CEO?” Lin Shujie snapped at his assistant. “Don’t think too much.”
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“There’s a new stew restaurant nearby, I heard from my staff that the food is pretty good.” Chang Shi Gui’s gaze settled on a small bruise on Ning Xi’s fair joints. The injury was probably inflicted accidentally when filming. “Let’s go try it out?”
“Sure.” Ning Xi grinned and nodded.
Ever since she moved to the new residence, her sleep quality had been very good. She had not used tranquilizers for a long time, so her mood had also visibly improved.
Ning Xi thought that Chang Shi Gui was bringing her to an ordinary restaurant. To her surprise, the restaurant was housed on a ship, and judging from the interior decor, it was definitely not for mass consumption.
“It seems like the Chang Enterprises pay their employees well.” Ning Xi sat at their table, which was located by the window. The mild evening breeze was blowing at her face, and brought in a breath of fresh air.
“They should be paid quite well.” Chang Shi Gui looked at the lights on the surface of the lake. “You’re too skinny now, so you need more nourishment."
“If I continue to be nourished, there won’t be anyone who would invite me to take on any roles in future.” Ning Xi drank a sip of tea. “If I didn’t enter the entertainment industry, I’d probably have also chosen to enter Chang Enterprises after I came back.”
“That’s a shame.” Chang Shi Gui couldn’t help but think that if Ning Xi had entered Chang Enterprises, then when would they have met?
“There are so many branches under Chang Enterprises. If I didn’t enter the entertainment industry, then we might not even have met by now.” As Ning Xi spoke, she couldn’t help but raise her head and smile at Chang Shi Gui.
However, when she saw a group of people approaching them, her smile stiffened.
Noticing the change in her expression, Chang Shi Gui turned around and saw Chen Yijun and a few young men walking in their direction.
When Chen Yijun saw Ning Xi and Chang Shi Gui, his face paled, and he stopped walking.
One of his companions asked confusedly, “Young Master Chen, what’s wrong?”
“It’s fine.” Chen Yijun pulled his gaze back. “I just saw an acquaintance.”
Beside him, He Dong looked obviously uncomfortable. He didn’t expect to meet Ning Xi here. He took a look at Chang Shi Gui, who was seated across Ning Xi, and was conflicted about whether he should go forward to speak to them.
“Isn’t that the President of Chang Enterprises?” Another companion recognised Chang Shi Gui. Immediately, everyone knew the reason for Chen Yijun’s uneasiness.
The scandal involving Chen Yijun, Wei Siqi and an actress had rocked the entire nation. If it was any other actress, then it wasn’t a big issue. However, this actress was Chang Shi Gui’s girlfriend.
Now that Chang Shi Gui had offended this person, he would have to face the consequences of doing so.
“Ning Xi.” Chen Yijun hesitated for a moment, then he walked towards Ning Xi. “It’s been awhile.”
“I’d rather not meet you.” Ning Xi put down her tea and frowned, giving off a cold vibe.
Chen Yijun looked extremely uncomfortable when he heard Ning Xi’s words. He gnashed his teeth as he continued, “About the issue in the past, I … I’m sorry.”
Chang Shi Gui’s brows twitched, but he saw that Ning Xi was unresponsive.
“What happened during that afternoon, you were actually in the know as well right?” Ning Xi’s calm tone was somewhat scary, and Chen Yijun could feel himself shuddering involuntarily.
“Since you didn’t stand out at that time, then there’s no use for an apology now.” Ning Xi sounded irritated. “You should go. I don’t wish to see you.”
Chen Yijun wanted to say something more, but he was cut off by Chang Shi Gui.
“Mr Chen, I’m in the midst of dinner with Ning Xi now.” Chang Shi Gui said expressionlessly. “I’m afraid now is not the time for a conversation.”
“I’m sorry, Mr Chang. We’ll leave now.” He Dong pulled Chen Yijun’s arm and dragged him along, as he apologized to Chang Shi Gui and Ning Xi. “Sorry to bother you in the middle of your meal.”
Chen Yijun allowed He Dong to pull him to a table far away from Ning Xi, looking defeated.
“Yijun,” He Dong looked solemnly at Chen Yijun. “Don’t appear before Ning Xi anymore. You’ve already seen what happened to the Wei family right?”
Chen Yijun raised his head in alarm. “Do you mean that the Wei family’s problems were caused by Chang Shi Gui?”
No wonder the Wei family had fallen so quickly, and even Uncle Wei had been jailed. It was all Chang Shi Gui’s doing.
He Dong shook his head. “I’m not too sure, but he’s definitely involved in this. You … shouldn’t follow in Wei Siqi’s footsteps.”
Chen Yijun lowered his head without saying further. The two companions who joined them for the meal looked at each other, as they started to regret accompanying Chen Yijun.
What if Chang Shi Gui had misunderstood that they were Chen Yijun's accomplices?
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Chen Yijun’s appearance didn’t really affect Ning Xi’s appetite. She finished her dinner with Chang Shi Gui, and after they returned home, she showered and lay on the bed.
Her phone vibrated twice. She turned on her phone, and saw a message in her inbox.
She opened the mail and looked through the evidence within. Ning Xi thought for a moment, then replied.
“Let’s hold our move for now.”
After removing all traces of the conversation, Ning Xi turned off her phone.
Outside her room, Chang Shi Gui knocked on her door. When she opened it, she saw him standing outside with a cup of warm milk.
“Drinking some milk before you sleep will help improve your sleep quality.” Chang Shi Gui put the glass in her hand, then kissed her forehead. “Goodnight, sweet dreams.”
“Goodnight.” Ning Xi returned to her room, touched her forehead lightly, then drank the warm milk.
A mild sweetness blossomed from her heart.
[1] 同林鸟 (tóng lín niǎo) - derived from a common saying 夫妻本是同林鸟, 大难临头各自飞 (fū qī běn shì tóng lín niǎo, dà nàn lín tóu gè zì fēi). This is a metaphor that explains the selfishness of humans - that they can even leave their loved ones in the face of danger.