Chapter 5.2

Contrary to her expectations, Gong Yue’s Moments didn’t have much relation to Jiang Qianya—just that single post. His Moments were sparse, with only a few posts over several months, with gaps spanning a year or more in between.

Clearly, he wasn’t someone who enjoyed sharing his life frequently.

However, Wen Tang was delighted to find that his past posts were all about his cat—a stunning white Ragdoll.

Wen Tang found herself mesmerized by the cat’s beauty, repeatedly scrolling through the few photos with a strong urge to swipe and like.

A boy who loves cats can’t be all bad.

Reluctantly leaving the cat photos behind, Wen Tang liked Gong Yue’s post about Jiang Qianya.

She quickly switched to the WeChat chat window.

Remembering her intended persona from when she added Gong Yue, she typed:

[ Candy]: Senior Brother~

[ Candy]: Senior, I see you’re a fan of Jiang Qianya too?

[ Candy]: Me too!!!

[ Candy]: I think we’re really destined to meet!

Wen Tang said this grand lie about being a Jiang Qianya fan without a flicker of hesitation.

She sent several messages and then waited eagerly for a reply.

After a week of filming, Wen Tang’s scenes had moved into the emotional segments, which she struggled with without external stimulation. Looking around the set, there was no one who particularly attracted her, and Gong Yue’s Ragdoll cat had completely captured her heart.

If she could hold and pet that cat again in the future, she would be utterly satisfied.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of Sheng Ling Group, a surprising visitor had arrived half an hour ago—Hengxin Group’s second son, Lu Yi.

Lu Yi’s grandfather, Lu Heng, and Zhou Jingyu’s grandfather, Zhou Donghai, had been long-time friends. Lu Yi and Zhou Jingyu were the same age and had attended the same school from elementary through high school, maintaining a good relationship even after Zhou Jingyu went abroad at eighteen.

Lu Yi was thrilled by Zhou Jingyu’s return to the country. Unlike Zhou Jingyu, who was a powerful and influential young executive at Sheng Ling Group, Lu Yi was the second son with little responsibility at Hengxin Group. He had a reputation for living a carefree life, enjoying leisure without ambition.

Lu Yi had been chasing after the popular star Jiang Qianya for nearly six months. Although Jiang Qianya was not the most beautiful among his past girlfriends, her gentle and considerate nature, along with her difficult-to-pursue attitude, made her particularly appealing to Lu Yi.

Lu Yi was deeply infatuated with Jiang Qianya.

The film Jiang Qianya had recently announced was a result of Lu Yi’s efforts to connect and provide financial support. To pursue her, Lu Yi even became involved in Jiang Qianya’s fan support team, organizing promotional activities like the one asking for likes and offering posters.

Such activities were generally organized by fan clubs rather than official channels.

Lu Yi, as the unofficial head of Jiang Qianya’s fan club, used his wealth to sponsor these events.

Today, Lu Yi’s visit to Zhou Jingyu was initially for a different matter. Their high school classmates in Lingcheng had heard about Zhou Jingyu’s return and wanted to organize a reunion to welcome him back. The school they attended was an elite institution where students were either rich or influential, and many of them had been in the same class from elementary through high school, creating strong bonds.

Zhou Jingyu had always been the outstanding figure in their class, and his return had caused a stir in their class group chat. Among everyone, Lu Yi, being the closest to Zhou Jingyu, was naturally chosen to extend the invitation.

Zhou Jingyu had accepted without hesitation.

After discussing the main topic, Lu Yi brought up the promotional activities for Jiang Qianya’s film. Unlike Lu Yi, who was known for his social activities, Zhou Jingyu held significant power, managing Sheng Ling Group. His contact list was full of influential figures.

If Lu Yi could use Zhou Jingyu’s connections to promote Jiang Qianya’s film among these influential people, it would be a great opportunity.

Thus, Lu Yi persistently insisted that Zhou Jingyu share his promotional post asking for likes.

Lu Yi, having sent out the promotional post using Zhou Jingyu’s phone, was quite pleased with himself. He handed the phone back to Zhou Jingyu and suggested, “There’s a new private club in Lingcheng with unique decor and activities. How about we go check it out together?”

Zhou Jingyu, without a second thought, declined. “No, thanks.”

“I’ve got something to do tonight,” he added.

Lu Yi, surprised, probed further, “You, a perpetual single, what could you possibly have to do?”

Zhou Jingyu glanced at Lu Yi with a hint of annoyance and replied calmly, “Moving.”

Lu Yi realized with a sudden clarity, “Oh… so you’ve finally decided to move out of that dreadful place!”

A few minutes after Lu Yi left, Zhou Jingyu too departed from the company. In fact, he had already moved his belongings into his new apartment, but with his busy schedule and frequent travels, he hadn’t yet had the chance to settle in. His refusal to dine with Lu Yi was purely because he found him annoying.

Zhou Jingyu, accustomed to driving himself while abroad, continued the habit after returning. As he descended the elevator to the basement, his phone chimed with a message notification.

He seldom added strangers on WeChat, so he was intrigued to find four messages from an unfamiliar contact.

His WeChat friends, aside from Lu Yi, were typically reserved and concise in their communication, seldom sending more than two messages at a time. Zhou Jingyu, who had few friends on WeChat due to his long stay abroad, couldn’t even recall the last time he was bombarded with so many messages.

Staring at the two profile pictures featuring cats, it took Zhou Jingyu a moment to recall who this person was—one of the blind dates his grandfather had introduced.

They had connected on WeChat a week ago but had not communicated since. Opening the chat, Zhou Jingyu was greeted by four lines of text that left him in silence.

…Jiang Qianya?

But who was this person?