Chapter 32

Zhou Jingyu’s cooking was quite good.

Wen Tang deliberately made things difficult, but Zhou Jingyu still prepared all the dishes she had requested.

Zhou Jingyu didn’t eat, he had already had dinner.

He didn’t leave immediately but sat at the dining table, watching Wen Tang eat.

Given that the delicious food came from her neighbor, Wen Tang didn’t ask him to leave. If he wanted to watch, so be it; she was used to others’ gazes and felt no discomfort.

However, her two cats, upon seeing Zhou Jingyu, meowed incessantly. While Prince comfortably lay on Zhou Jingyu, Princess remained more reserved, lazily resting by his feet. He seemed to have a natural affinity with animals; as soon as he arrived, her two cats turned traitor.

“They seem to really like you,” Wen Tang said with a hint of envy and jealousy.

It was the same last time.

She had never seen her cats be so attentive to anyone else besides her, not even to the nanny who fed them. The nanny had to earn their trust over time.

As former strays, these cats were usually very wary of strangers.

But not Zhou Jingyu.

Why was that?

Wen Tang thought Zhou Jingyu was a difficult person to get along with. She had encountered many obstacles with him and had plenty of grievances.

Was it because he had also raised cats before?

Zhou Jingyu only smiled at this, noting that the two cats were unusually large, with smooth and glossy fur, indicating they were well cared for.

“It’s fate,” Zhou Jingyu said after a moment.

If it weren’t for these cats, he wouldn’t have known that the person he chatted with daily was Wen Tang.

He reached out to pet Prince, who purred contentedly with half-closed eyes.

Wen Tang: “……”

You really don’t know any shame.

Despite the delicious food, Wen Tang’s self-discipline as a celebrity remained intact. After a few bites, she put down her chopsticks.

She didn’t eat any rice.

“I’m full,” Wen Tang said, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

Zhou Jingyu didn’t say much. After setting the cats down, he stood up to clean up the table. His purpose in cooking for Wen Tang wasn’t to get her to eat more, but to gauge her mood and be there for her during a difficult time.

Although Wen Tang didn’t know this and wasn’t appreciative.

Once the kitchen was cleaned up, Wen Tang ushered him out.

“It’s getting late, Mr. Zhou.”

Wen Tang stood by the door, which was already open for him.

She didn’t ask him to stay any longer, despite having just enjoyed a meal cooked by her neighbor.

However, unlike her unwillingness to let him in earlier, she now stood by the door, hand on the handle, with a casual and nonchalant attitude. Wen Tang considered herself a generous person; although her neighbor had been inconsiderate, his cooking skills had earned him a measure of forgiveness.

Zhou Jingyu didn’t intend to stay longer in Wen Tang’s home.

But he didn’t expect Wen Tang to be so eager to have him leave. He raised an eyebrow, feeling like he was being discarded after use.

As Zhou Jingyu reached the door, he looked down at Wen Tang and asked, “What would you like for breakfast tomorrow morning?”

Wen Tang: “?”

She didn’t answer immediately, her exceptionally beautiful eyes filled with confusion.

He’s handled dinner, and now he’s asking about breakfast?

A moment later, Zhou Jingyu asked again, “Is there anything you’d like to eat?”

Wen Tang: “…”

She didn’t understand what Zhou Jingyu was up to, especially since he had previously been so dismissive of her, his disdain clear in his actions. She had no intention of overthinking it, especially since he hadn’t shown any additional courtesy despite her status as a celebrity.

Was he feeling sympathetic because she was being criticized online?

She hesitated for two seconds before casually naming two items.

“Just the red bean buns and porridge from Qinyuan.”

She wasn’t really craving them; she just wanted to see if he would actually bring them the next morning.

Zhou Jingyu nodded slightly. “Okay.”

After Zhou Jingyu left, Wen Tang intended to go to bed but received a call from Liu Meifen.

That night, due to the troubles caused by Wen Haifeng and Wen Anle, and Wen Tang’s response on Weibo, Liu Meifen and the entire company were in chaos.

Wen Tang, the person being criticized online, was just at home, seemingly unaffected by the commotion.

Liu Meifen called to ask Wen Tang not to post any more on Weibo and to inform her that the company had temporarily revoked her Weibo management rights, changed the password, and would consider restoring them after the situation settled.

Wen Tang didn’t care.

She had already done what she needed to do.

The previous night, Kexin and Yangyang, who had been kicked out of the house by Wen Tang, had stayed up all night battling online critics. They were so agitated they couldn’t sleep. The next morning, both showed up at Wen Tang’s apartment with dark circles under their eyes.

Wen Tang was still asleep, so they didn’t disturb her. Instead, they took out their phones and continued to follow the developments of the situation.

At eight o’clock, the doorbell rang.

Someone must have leaked the information, as many reporters had gathered outside the gate of Linjiang Mansion this morning.

Hearing the doorbell, Ke Xin and Yang Yang suddenly looked up, exchanging puzzled glances. The only people who usually came to Wen Tang’s place were those with permission, such as Liu Meifen and the cat nanny. How could reporters have gotten her door number and sneaked past the apartment security?

Ke Xin hurried to the door and looked through the peephole, only to see Zhou Jingyu’s handsome face in full view.

Ke Xin took a deep breath.

Without hesitation, she opened the door.

“Hello!” Seizing the chance to speak face-to-face with him, she was like a star-struck fan and stammered, “May I ask what you need?”

Zhou Jingyu had a good memory and recognized Ke Xin from when he had seen her follow Wen Tang in the elevator. He knew she was Wen Tang’s assistant.

Seeing her, he nodded slightly and handed over the breakfast he had just bought.

“This is the breakfast Wen Tang mentioned she wanted today.”

Ke Xin was very familiar with the breakfast packaging because she often bought it for Wen Tang. She knew Wen Tang liked this place and that getting food from there without waiting in line for at least half an hour was impossible.

Ke Xin’s eyes widened in shock, unable to comprehend the situation.

When they had met the previous morning, it had been tense and confrontational. Why was he bringing breakfast today?

Wen Tang had mentioned wanting to eat this yesterday?

They had spent the entire day with Wen Tang yesterday. How could they not know?

…

Overwhelmed by the surprise that Zhou Jingyu had queued for Wen Tang’s breakfast, Ke Xin forgot to take the breakfast at first. It wasn’t until Zhou Jingyu politely reminded her that Ke Xin snapped back to reality and hurriedly accepted the food.

After receiving the breakfast and watching Zhou Jingyu leave, Ke Xin drowsily carried it to the living room.

Yang Yang, who had been waiting in the middle of the room, asked with wide eyes, “What’s going on?”

Ke Xin held up the breakfast takeaway box in front of Yang Yang, her eyes filled with confusion. “… This is breakfast from the neighbor next door for Tang Tang.”

Gradually regaining her composure, she became excited, her eyes sparkling. “Yang Yang, do you think he might have an interest in Tang Tang? Otherwise, why would he bring breakfast out of the blue? My goodness, he’s incredibly handsome, way better-looking than Gong Yue. If Tang Tang ended up with him, ah, ah, ah… I think I could handle it!”

By the end, she was so thrilled that she jumped up and down, her imagination running wild with the idea of a potential couple.

Wen Tang, who rarely had any free time due to her busy schedule, had always dreamed of having a break. She recalled once being asked in an interview about her biggest wish.

Wen Tang had answered: “I want to rest and wake up naturally.”

Wen Tang was incredibly famous, and this status had lasted for years. Her days were packed, and vacations were scarce. Sometimes even a good night’s sleep was a luxury, let alone waking up naturally.

Thanks to the troubles caused by Wen Haifeng and Wen Anle, Wen Tang finally enjoyed an unprecedented long break.

Though it seemed like an undesirable situation.

This time, Wen Tang slept until 8:30.

She would have liked to sleep more, but her busy lifestyle had set her biological clock, so she woke up at the usual time and couldn’t go back to sleep.

When Wen Tang emerged from her room, she was greeted by two pairs of extremely curious, sparkling eyes.

“Tang Tang!” Ke Xin, full of curiosity and excitement, cast aside everything else and ran to Wen Tang with the breakfast Zhou Jingyu had brought, “Look, what’s this?!”

When Wen Tang saw the takeaway packaging, she immediately knew it was from the neighbor next door. She raised an eyebrow in confusion and asked, “Did he really go to buy this?”

Ke Xin and Yang Yang: “!”

Even Wen Tang didn’t know?

They were unaware that Wen Tang had merely mentioned it casually the night before, not expecting Zhou Jingyu to actually get it.

Ke Xin said, “He delivered it at eight this morning! Based on my experience buying this breakfast for you, it takes half an hour to drive to Qinyuan, and with the breakfast rush, you’d need to queue for at least half an hour, so that’s about an hour and a half total. If he delivered it at eight…”

“Doesn’t that mean he must have gotten up at least by six-thirty to buy it?!”

A man willing to spend an hour and a half just to buy breakfast for a woman—that’s love!

Realizing this, Ke Xin’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

At this moment, she had completely forgotten about the Tang Yue CP she had been shipping for nearly a month. Compared to the handsome neighbor, Gong Yue seemed insignificant. The neighbor was not only handsome but also had an impressive demeanor.

Ke Xin and Yang Yang had seen Gong Yue’s attitude toward Wen Tang during the online bullying incident and felt he was unworthy of Wen Tang’s help and affection.

If it weren’t for Wen Tang, Gong Yue wouldn’t even have been cast in the show—he’d have been replaced long ago. Yet, he hadn’t even said thank you, and his attitude had been so dismissive!

Even towards someone who had merely helped him, Gong Yue should have shown more respect. Moreover, Wen Tang had spent so much time and emotion talking with him every day! Although Gong Yue was unaware of Wen Tang’s feelings, people naturally have biases. Kexin and Yangyang were firmly on Wen Tang’s side. They believed she couldn’t be wrong, and everything was Gong Yue’s fault!

“Tang Tang… Do you think the handsome neighbor might be…” Ke Xin had a bold guess but was stopped by Wen Tang’s glance.

“Stop it, don’t say more than necessary.” Wen Tang gave Ke Xin a sideways look, her attitude relaxed and indifferent. “It’s just breakfast. There’s no need to read too much into it. If you’re so good at analyzing things, why not become a screenwriter instead of being my assistant?”

Although she had eaten late last night, Wen Tang had a small meal and felt a bit hungry when she got up.

Ke Xin opened the breakfast bag and handed Wen Tang the buns.

Ke Xin had also bought breakfast for Wen Tang that morning, but it was nothing compared to the thoughtfulness of the neighbor’s breakfast. So, the breakfast Ke Xin had brought was consumed by her and Yang Yang, leaving them feeling a bit full.

“How’s it going today?”

Wen Tang sat on the sofa, crossed her legs, leaned back on the cushion, took a bite of the bun with her right hand, and opened Weibo with her left hand.

She was referring to the trouble caused by Wen Haifeng and Wen Anle. Yang Yang said, “After you posted on Weibo yesterday, it caused a huge uproar.”

Not just an uproar—the discussion on Weibo had been non-stop, with high engagement. Yang Yang had battled with the critics until three in the morning, feeling overwhelmed.

Wen Tang’s post had been quickly deleted by the company. However, it was a huge taboo for any celebrity to delete a post so soon. The internet was abuzz with all kinds of speculation and harsh comments.

Wen Tang looked at her Weibo. Her latest post had thousands of comments. Having been in the public eye for so long, she had experienced it all and maintained a solid psychological state, eating buns while browsing through the comments.

“Tang Tang, what should we do now that it’s blown up like this?”

Unlike Wen Tang’s calm demeanor, Ke Xin and Yang Yang were deeply worried.

After finishing the buns and a bowl of porridge, Wen Tang said, “Don’t worry. As long as it’s not a major principle violation with personal blame, the worst-case scenario is losing some contracts and endorsements.”

Furthermore, until the situation was resolved, it was best to avoid appearing in public.

In other words, Wen Tang was completely free for the next few days, able to do whatever she wanted as long as she avoided being photographed by reporters.

In essence, Wen Tang had a relaxed attitude towards the industry’s affairs. No one could stay at the top forever, and she had already earned enough money. Losing a bit of money from a breach of contract was nothing compared to having a rare chance to rest.

Wen Tang’s laid-back attitude had a direct impact on Ke Xin and Yang Yang, who looked much more relaxed after hearing her words.

Yang Yang then remembered another issue. “Tang Tang, when we came here, there were so many reporters waiting outside. I don’t know how they found out where you live.”

Ke Xin added, “Yes, Tang Tang, they recognized your car and us. We were almost blocked at the door. Tang Tang, you should avoid going out for the next few days.”

Upon hearing this, Wen Tang laughed.

Was she afraid of too many reporters?

After finishing breakfast, Wen Tang went back to her room to change clothes and put on makeup.

Ke Xin and Yang Yang saw her preparing to go out and were stunned. “??? ”

Wen Tang stopped, turned calmly, and asked, “Do you know which hospital the patient is in?”

“I’m going to visit.”