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Chapter 48: My Patience Is Limited

All the scenes for the afternoon were finished filming, and Yan Man went to rest in her trailer.

That scene earlier had been a bit too forceful—there was still a mark left, even a bit of bruising.

She was in the middle of applying ointment when she suddenly heard Shen Jie ask,
“Man-jie, don’t you think Lin Yiyang treats you a little differently?”

Yan Man’s hand froze mid-motion.

Even someone slow could tell Lin Yiyang acted differently toward her—his face always flushed when he looked at her.

But when it came to Lin Yiyang, what she thought of most was the night he brought her a late-night snack—and Tan Qishen got jealous.

Ever since that night, Yan Man hadn’t dared to look Lin Yiyang in the eyes directly.

She didn’t respond, but Shen Jie continued,
“I think he definitely likes you. Honestly, Lin Yiyang’s quite good…”

Better than President Tan, at least.

But Shen Jie left that part unsaid.

Yan Man chuckled. “Aren’t you his fan? Didn’t you call him your husband?”

Shen Jie’s face flushed bright red. “I… I’m more of a fan of his career.”

Yan Man burst out laughing, just about to say something when a knock came at the door.

“I’ll get it.”

Shen Jie opened the trailer door, surprised by who she saw.
“Director Hu?”

“Man-jie, it’s Director Hu.”

Shen Jie warmly welcomed her inside, then tactfully closed the door behind her.

Yan Man stood up to greet her. “Director Hu, what brings you here?”

“I saw that you took quite a hard hit earlier. This ointment is commonly used in action scenes for bruises and injuries—it should help.”

Hu Suling handed over a tube of ointment.

“Thank you, Director Hu, I appreciate it.” Yan Man took it and invited her to sit down.

Delivering ointment was only one reason for the visit—Hu Suling had something more important to discuss.
She asked, “You and Yiyang aren’t scheduled to film tomorrow night—interested in attending a gala with me?”

Hu Suling had received an invitation to a Huayi Group gala.

Huayi Group was a well-known entertainment company in Beijing, with countless big-name directors and A-list stars. It was one of the few companies that could compete with Senlai, a branch under the Tan Group.

Bringing Lin Yiyang and Yan Man along was her way of introducing them to top directors.

Connections like these couldn’t be bought.

Hu Suling was practically Yan Man’s mentor in her acting career.

Yan Man was grateful and nodded.
“Of course I’m interested.”

Hu Suling smiled. “I had a few gowns tailored to your size and delivered to your room.”

Yan Man was surprised—she hadn’t expected even that to be taken care of.
“Thank you, Director Hu. That’s very kind of you.”

——

Top Floor, Tan Group Headquarters

Wen Bo, neatly dressed in a suit, stepped out of the elevator and noticed a line of secretaries standing outside the CEO’s office.
“What are you all doing here?”

As he lifted his hand to knock, several secretaries stopped him.

“Assistant Wen, could you come here for a moment?”

Each of the female secretaries was holding a file, and it wasn’t clear how long they’d been waiting.

Wen Bo was confused, until the most sociable secretary, Lucica, asked,
“Assistant Wen, did President Tan recently break up?”

“Nonsense…”

Wen Bo got flustered. Realizing they were right outside the CEO’s office where someone might overhear, he quickly lowered his voice.

Frowning, he asked,
“What nonsense is that? Of course not.”

Then paused.
“Wait—how do you all know President Tan was dating someone?”

He’d been getting chewed out by Tan Qishen so much lately that his brain had slowed. He’d only now picked up on their implication.

The secretaries hesitated, unsure how to answer.

They’d seen a photo of Tan Qishen with a visible hickey in a large, unofficial employee group chat.

“Keep this strictly confidential,” Wen Bo said sternly.

“Of course.”

They were just gossiping—they would never leak it.

“Assistant Wen, are you going into President Tan’s office?”

Lucica asked.

Wen Bo nodded.

“Could you please bring these documents to President Tan for his signature?” Lucica quickly followed up.

“…”

Wen Bo’s face stiffened. “Absolutely not!”

“Please, Assistant Wen! You know what President Tan’s temper has been like lately. Yesterday Peggy came out of his office in tears—she hasn’t even shown up to work today.”

“…Peggy had a family emergency,” Wen Bo replied.

“And the way President Tan blew up at the board meeting yesterday—that wasn’t fake,” another secretary chimed in.

“That was because the shareholders were too greedy. His reaction was understandable.” Wen Bo tried to defend him.

“Assistant Wen…”

The secretaries pleaded, looking miserable.

Wen Bo shook his head. “No way. No matter what you say!”

Didn’t his life matter?

Besides, he had something very important to report to President Tan.

“You’re the executive assistant! Our superior!” Lucica said, pushing the documents into his arms and patting his shoulder firmly. “We believe in you!”

“Thank you so much, Assistant Wen!”

“And this one’s mine.”

“Sorry for the trouble.”

…

And that’s how Wen Bo ended up holding a huge stack of documents, knocking on the CEO’s office door.

After hearing a response, he entered.

Tan Qishen stood facing the window, on the phone. He gestured for Wen Bo to wait.

Wen Bo didn’t dare sit—he stood beside the desk until Tan Qishen ended his call.

Tan Qishen sat down, rolled up his sleeves, and looked at him.

“These are the documents that need your signature,” Wen Bo said.

He stacked the mountain of files on the desk—nearly as tall as a computer monitor.

Tan Qishen frowned, but said nothing. He picked up the top file and began flipping through it.

Half a minute passed, and he noticed Wen Bo still standing there.

He looked up and asked in a low voice,
“You have something else?”

Wen Bo exhaled silently, gave himself a mental pep talk, and said,
“This is the invitation for tonight’s Huayi Group gala—personally signed by President Chen.”

“I told you to decline it.”

Tan Qishen’s brows knit tighter as he looked at Wen Bo in displeasure.

“I did, but President Chen sent it again. And…”

He paused, unsure if he should say what came next.

“My patience is limited.”

Tan Qishen’s voice was low and calm as he held up three fingers, signaling that Wen Bo had three seconds to speak.

“Director Hu will be bringing Miss Yan along.”

Wen Bo said it fast—but Tan Qishen heard every single word clearly.

Tan Qishen’s brows lowered slightly, his dark eyes fixed on Wen Bo with a hint of cool arrogance.

His voice hoarse and low, he asked,
“So what?”

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