Check In

Jiang Xiao held her temple, watching the man return from the convenience store with bottled water.

He wore a simple white t-shirt that accentuated his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs. Walking under the blazing sun, his slender eyes squinted slightly as he shielded himself from the glaring light with his hand.

Inside the car, a faint, elegant fragrance lingered, drifting into her nostrils with a refreshing coolness, likely some kind of woody aroma, pure and natural, very pleasant, just like the scent on Zhou Qishen.

Just as Jiang Xiao was lost in thought, the door on her left suddenly opened, and a tall figure stepped inside.

Zhou Qishen exuded a strong aura, refreshing and casual, which subtly exerted pressure, making even the spacious interior feel somewhat cramped.

For no reason, Jiang Xiao straightened her back, her gaze flickering a few times before she shifted her eyes from him to the greenery not far ahead.

Unperturbed, Zhou Qishen slowly lifted the lid of a bottle and handed it to her, “Don’t drink too quickly.”

“Oh, okay.” Jiang Xiao’s bright eyes blinked as she took it and sipped twice. The icy liquid flowed down her throat, instantly relieving some of the heat.

After a while, Jiang Xiao casually asked, “Is Assistant Chen on his way?”

“Yeah, he should be arriving around the same time as us,” Zhou Qishen replied, reaching for his seatbelt and securing it around his waist.

After finishing her water, Jiang Xiao twisted the cap back on and suddenly turned to him, tugging at the corner of her lips, “The date you signed the contract with Paul happened to be the same day as my filming date. The more I think about it, the more I think it’s a coincidence, right?”

Zhou Qishen met her gaze calmly, “Quite a coincidence indeed.”

Jiang Xiao stared at him and asked bluntly, “Are you sure it’s not deliberate?”

Zhou Qishen just smiled, without denying it. He had indeed scheduled his contract signing with Paul for today with some ulterior motives. Since learning in Suzhou that Jiang Xiao was working with Zhou Wenting, he couldn’t help but feel a hint of nervousness.

The word “ex” is always like a knife across the current partner’s heart. It hurts when it falls, feels uncomfortable when it goes up, and feels awkward when the current partner is ignored. In short, the existence of this person is a weapon that moves the current partner.

After much thought, he had decided to play a little trick—to schedule his signing with OmegaRice on the same day Jiang Xiao was shooting a commercial. This way, he had a reason to chauffeur her and even discreetly observe the shoot.

Jiang Xiao could see through his intentions of “checking in,” but she didn’t confront him directly. She liked it when others put thought into her, even if it was somewhat deliberate. This arrangement suited her just fine.

The black McLaren wheels rolled through the city and soon parked in a roadside spot.

Zhou Qishen took out a brand-new mask from the car’s storage box and handed it to Jiang Xiao, “Put this on.”

Jiang Xiao paused at the action of opening the car door, surprised at his thoughtfulness. Although she had one prepared in her bag, having one ready-made spared her the trouble of rummaging through her things.

“See you later,” she said and got out of the car on her own.

Zhou Qishen watched her walk away, putting on the mask and hat, fully geared up. Following closely behind in the nanny car were two people, disappearing with Jiang Xiao into the domestic headquarters of Omega.

After sitting in the car for a few minutes, Zhou Qishen estimated the time and received a call from Assistant Chen, indicating that the Zhou Group’s staff had arrived.

Looking through the rearview mirror, Zhou Qishen saw the Zhou Group’s car following behind Jiang Xiao’s nanny car.

“Wait a moment, I’m coming,” Zhou Qishen said, grabbing his navy blue suit jacket and pushing open the car door to step out.

*

“Miss Jiang, this way,” Paul’s female secretary came over personally to greet her, leading them to the shooting location.

Walking behind her were Jiang Xiao, Liang Cheng, and Xiao Zhang. Before long, Liang Cheng’s low voice came from beside her, “President Zhou seems really worried about you. He actually came in person.”

“What? I didn’t catch that,” Jiang Xiao pretended not to understand Liang Cheng’s teasing tone, not even turning her head.

Liang Cheng tilted her head to sneak a glance at Jiang Xiao’s profile and shook her head with a smile. Who would have thought she’d be so puzzled yesterday when Zhou Qishen mentioned wanting to personally escort Jiang Xiao here?

One was going to sign a contract, the other to shoot, even though they were heading to the same destination, the two groups of people were entirely different. Was there really a need for them to travel together? Besides the inconvenience, it also raised unnecessary suspicion, making their separate actions seem overly complicated.

But unfortunately, the parties involved insisted, so she had no choice but to compromise.

This morning, when she went to pick up Jiang Xiao at her home, as usual, she walked straight into Jiang Xiao’s large gate and unexpectedly found Zhou Qishen sitting on the sofa, grooming Wangcai.

Now recalling his relaxed demeanor as if he belonged in her home, Liang Cheng couldn’t help but suspect her cabbage had already been harvested. Although she vaguely felt it was inevitable sooner or later, she didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.

Not long ago, Jiang Xiao was agonizing over whether to accept the gift Zhou Qishen wanted to send her. Now, how much time had passed before things had progressed to such an intimate stage?

Lost in thought, Liang Cheng followed the secretary into the indoor shooting location. Just as she lifted her gaze, she spotted two familiar figures in the crowd.

After a brief scan, Liang Cheng confirmed their identities and couldn’t help but chuckle, “Oh wow, looks like more than just President Zhou is worried.”

Without Liang Cheng’s reminder, Jiang Xiao also noticed the two figures standing and sitting not far away. The former was dressed strikingly in Omega’s autumn-winter runway fashion, more eye-catching than the official models.

The latter sat on a chair with a backrest, dressed simply and loosely, wearing a mask and hat that obscured her face entirely, making her look no different from ordinary staff at first glance.

But with her glossy hair and unmistakably good figure, it was clear she was a beauty deliberately hiding her presence.

Who else could they be if not those two troublesome individuals?

Before coming here, Jiang Xiao had learned that Zhou Wenting had already shot solo scenes earlier, and now they were preparing for the duo and her solo shots. So Jiang Xiao could afford to arrive about an hour later than scheduled.

Seeing the staff busily changing the shooting background, Zhou Wenting must have finished one look and was preparing for the second.

She never expected Zhou Wenting to be so bold as to bring Lin Qianyu to work. When they were together before, he had always kept her away from his work. Even visiting the set was something he strongly resisted, appearing very unwilling for their relationship to be exposed. Therefore, it was usually her acting on her own, sneaking away without his knowledge, which often resulted in subtle complaints.

She never thought that with someone else, he would be willing to do anything and not care about anything anymore.

Perhaps because of the noisy surroundings, the two engrossed in chatting didn’t notice their arrival just now, not even glancing in their direction.

The secretary patiently waited for a while before speaking, “Miss Jiang, you can start with the styling now.”

Jiang Xiao’s gaze finally moved away from Zhou Wenting and Lin Qianyu, feeling different from the mixed feelings she had last time she saw them. This time, strangely enough, she felt completely indifferent, as if whatever happened between them no longer concerned her.

On the way to the dressing room, Liang Cheng couldn’t help but speak again, “Is this some kind of magic?”

Liang Cheng originally thought that after finishing “Unforgettable Love” Jiang Xiao would have little to do with those two again. She didn’t expect fate’s gears to turn so nastily, bringing them back into contact.

Like Jiang Xiao, Liang Cheng still remembered Zhou Wenting’s adamant stance about not letting personal feelings affect work. How long has it been? Doesn’t his face hurt?

“That damn scumbag…”

Just as Jiang Xiao sat down on the makeup chair, she heard Liang Cheng’s outburst. She couldn’t help but speak through the mirror, gently interrupting, “Sister Liang.”

Hundreds of curse words flooded Liang Cheng’s mind, but before she could vent them, Jiang Xiao’s soft voice cut her off.

Liang Cheng realized her outburst was inappropriate in her anger, and immediately restrained her expression, changing the subject, “Haha, I’ll take a call outside. Xiao Zhang, watch over here, okay?”

The rest of the group tacitly pretended not to hear Liang Cheng’s foul language—everyone present was female, and no one would take it personally. Based on workplace etiquette, feigning ignorance was often the best policy, less trouble than making a fuss.

Seeing this, Jiang Xiao quietly breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t a big deal to her in the first place, so she quickly turned her attention to the intense makeup process. The professional team worked efficiently, and it didn’t take long to complete.

Because she arrived earlier than expected, Jiang Xiao had to wait a while after changing into her clothes. Zhou Wenting’s shoot hadn’t ended yet, and she needed to wait until he changed his clothes and touched up his makeup before they could begin the next round of shooting.

During this gap, the staff briefed Jiang Xiao again on the shooting process and showed her several poses for the duo shoot. Of course, these were not final drafts but meant to inspire the models for a smooth shoot.

After the final pose was settled upon and how the models cooperated and sparks collided in the scene were seen, Paul’s secretary smiled and said after their conversation, “Miss Jiang, our director is finally done with his work. He said he’ll come over later to greet you.”

At these words, Jiang Xiao’s hand holding the tablet paused. She immediately thought of Zhou Qishen—if Paul was done, it meant he was also free now. Based on his unusual behavior these past two days, he might very well come over with Paul.

However, her guess did not come true. Among those who came with Paul, there was no sign of Zhou Qishen.