Before Wen Ying could probe further, Zhuo Yue proactively launched into a detailed discussion of the plot of *Teen Idol*, proving she wasn’t just pretending to be a fan; she had genuinely read the book cover to cover.
If she hadn’t reread *Teen Idol* several times, she wouldn’t be able to recall those details.
Wen Ying listened with a beaming smile, but inwardly she was anything but calm.
This Zhuo Yue was seriously cunning!
Not only had she paid a waitress to gather intel on Wu Chunqin’s family, she had actually studied all three of Wen Ying’s published novels multiple times.
What was Zhuo Yue trying to do? Analyse Wen Ying’s personality from her books?!
“Thank you for liking them.”
Zhuo Yue might be scheming, but Wen Ying wasn’t exactly helpless. Apart from being intellectually overshadowed by Xie Qian’s academic aura, she had never lost to anyone her age. If she couldn’t handle even Zhuo Yue, then her two lifetimes would have been wasted!
Since Zhuo Yue wanted to play the devoted reader, Wen Ying would play the oblivious author.
As a bestselling writer, she was used to fans declaring their love. All she had to do was graciously accept it, and most fans would be over the moon.
Zhuo Yue didn’t plan to cling forever either. She was afraid of being recognised, yet also afraid of not being recognised. Before leaving, she deliberately said, “My name is Zhuo Yue.”
Then she stared at Wen Ying, unwilling to miss even the tiniest flicker of expression.
Wen Ying smiled and nodded. “A lovely name.”
Zhuo Yue felt a twinge of disappointment.
Did Wen Ying genuinely not recognise her?
Zhao Dong had said Wen Ying and Xie Qian were close, and Zhuo Yue believed it.
If Wen Ying really was Xie Qian’s girlfriend, she should have heard about the family situation from him!
Zhuo Yue was still too young. Coming here to test Wen Ying had yielded nothing, and instead she ended up confused by Wen Ying’s flawless performance.
From a distance, Xie Qian, who had been stuck talking to President Ran, lost focus the moment Zhao Dong appeared. When he saw Zhuo Yue walking towards Wen Ying, he nearly abandoned Ran mid-sentence. He forcibly suppressed the urge.
It was just Zhuo Yue.
If it were Sara Zhuo, he would worry Wen Ying couldn’t handle her. But Zhuo Yue was only a teenage girl.
A scheming teenage girl was still just a teenage girl.
Wen Ying might lack talent for homework and exams, but dealing with girls like this? Piece of cake.
He had skipped the red carpet to stay under the radar, but now that Zhao Dong had shown up with Zhao Qian and Zhuo Yue, there was no point hiding. Deliberately distancing himself would only make Zhao Dong more suspicious.
They weren’t lovers, but they were friends and classmates.
President Ran happened to be at the part where he wanted to introduce his daughter. “She just returned from studying composition in the UK. Young people like you will definitely have lots in common.”
Xie Qian was speechless.
What common ground could he possibly have with someone who studied composition?
If she had studied maths or physics, he might have been willing to chat.
Straight-arrow Xie Qian told him he had spotted a friend and had to excuse himself. President Ran laughed heartily. “Go ahead, go ahead. As long as you stay in this industry, there’ll be plenty of chances to meet.”
After Xie Qian left, others crowded around President Ran.
They had assumed Xie Qian was a new talent signed by Ran’s company and praised his eye. Xie Qian was so handsome he could become famous just on looks alone.
President Ran chuckled. “If only I were that lucky to sign him as an artiste. He’s… you’ll find out soon enough.”
He deliberately left them hanging, earning a collective eye-roll.
Just tell us who he is!
Wen Ying and Zhang Guangzhen were constantly approached, and Xie Qian was no exception.
After escaping President Ran, three self-proclaimed directors shoved business cards at him, and two agents asked which company he was signed to and whether he was considering a move.
By the time he finally fought his way to Wen Ying’s side, he looked a little dishevelled.
One particularly persistent agent chased after him, determined to force a card into his hand. Wen Ying held back laughter and rescued him. “He’s with our Tianjiao. No plans to jump ship.”
The agent’s alarm bells rang. “Which Tianjiao?”
“The exact Tianjiao you’re thinking of!”
The agent fumed. “You people are way too greedy!”
Outrageous. Absolutely outrageous.
Didn’t they already have Li Mengjiao, Yun Chen, and Zhang Yangning?
All of them massively successful and raking in cash. They had eaten all the best meat and wouldn’t even leave soup for anyone else!
The poaching agent was furious but didn’t dare argue publicly with Wen Ying.
Scold the junior now, and the senior behind her (Yuan Fenghui, whose fearsome reputation was well-known) would make his life hell. He really couldn’t afford to offend her.
Watching the agent storm off in a huff, Xie Qian finally smiled.
The little hamster still had energy to joke around. As expected, she hadn’t suffered at Zhuo Yue’s hands.
Boss Jin glanced between Xie Qian and Wen Ying.
Standing together, they really did look like a perfect match made in heaven.
Boss Jin reached out with the hand wearing the huge tourmaline ring, slung an arm around Zhang Guangzhen’s shoulders, and forcibly dragged him away. “Teacher Zhang, I genuinely want to buy a script from you. You’ve already won awards for TV dramas; ever thought about writing a film screenplay…”
The innocent, clueless Zhang Guangzhen was hauled off, bodyguards in tow.
Wen Ying and Xie Qian locked eyes. The atmosphere was… rather delicate.
Mindful that Zhao Dong and company were still at the party, Xie Qian didn’t dare make any intimate gestures. He simply asked what Zhuo Yue had said.
Wen Ying sighed. “The big Zhuo is a vixen, and the little Zhuo is no pushover either. She came over claiming to be my reader and even discussed plot points with me. Honestly, does she have nothing better to do?”
So young and already this scheming. Clearly she had too much free time.
If she were an ordinary family’s child, at Zhuo Yue’s age she’d be buried under mountains of homework and exams. At most she’d secretly date someone at school or fangirl over celebrities. She wouldn’t spend her days plotting against people. In the end, it all came down to that scumbag father who had provided the Zhuo women with an excessively comfortable life all these years!
No survival pressure meant plenty of time to stir up trouble.
At that moment, Xie Qian’s resolve hardened once more: he absolutely had to make that Zhuo woman cough up every penny she didn’t deserve!
Even if the Zhuo siblings really were his father’s biological children, money that wasn’t rightfully theirs could not stay in their hands.
Without the cushion of wealth, whether big Zhuo or little Zhuo, they would both have to learn to live a “back-to-basics” life.
Xie Qian changed the subject. “I heard from Cousin Lin Lin that most of our classmates have already estimated their scores. How many marks do you think you got?”
“…?!”
Wen Ying was completely blindsided.
Xie Qian’s train of thought jumped like a kangaroo.
This was the Magnolia Awards after-party! Suddenly bringing up gaokao score estimates was just too jarring!
Wen Ying genuinely hadn’t estimated her scores after the exam. She felt she had done well and remembered last lifetime’s Sichuan Province science cut-off for top-tier universities. She was confident her application to Shanghai’s elite schools was rock-solid.
Now that Xie Qian asked, her previous certainty wavered. “…Should I estimate now?”
