Chapter 282: Chapter 282: Back to 20 Years Ago (17)

Lin Xu’s heart skipped a beat upon seeing Wen Li; she had not expected to encounter her here.

Lin Xu glanced at Ji Zeqiu and then at Wen Li, feeling uneasy.

Could her son be entangled with Wen Li again?

“It was just someone I accidentally bumped into just now, not any girlfriend,” Ji Zeqiu explained to her.

However, before Lin Xu could relax from the tense breath she had been holding, she heard Wen Li’s surprised voice, “Mr. Ji?”

She looked towards Ji Tingyang, feeling somewhat astonished, “What a coincidence, to meet you again.”

Ji Tingyang gave her a brief glance with a detached expression and replied tersely.

Shock suddenly overtook Lin Xu’s face.

For twenty years, she had carefully arranged for her three children to attend schools far from the male and female leads, dreading the possibility of them meeting Wen Li and Xiao Yu and turning into villains like in the novel’s plot.

Throughout the years, the events written in the plot had never transpired, and Lin Xu thought she had successfully steered her three children away from becoming antagonists. However, unbeknownst to her, they had once again encountered Wen Li.

Just the thought of her two sons becoming enemies over Wen Li, as she had seen in a future vision, sent shivers down her spine.

“Tingyang, do you know her?” Lin Xu asked anxiously.

“We don’t know each other; we’ve just crossed paths a few times,” Ji Tingyang responded indifferently.

As Lin Xu was pondering, Wen Li glanced at the time, her expression turning frenzied, “Um… I have to go pick up a friend, so I need to leave now, goodbye.”

She seemed to be in a hurry and, without looking back, she left.

Lin Xu took a close look at Ji Tingyang, who seemed utterly indifferent to Wen Li’s departure. His cold and detached face did not betray any signs of affection for Wen Li.

“What is it, is there something on my face?” Ji Tingyang wondered, touching his cheek.

“Yes, your face has a few words written on it,” Ji Zeqiu countered for Lin Xu.

Ji Tingyang turned towards him.

“It reads…” Ji Zeqiu drew out the suspense, as if to whet one’s appetite, “‘Bastard,’ three letters.”

Ji Tingyang gave him a cold look and diverted his gaze, as if too lazy to converse with him.

Ji Lanyue, however, couldn’t help but cover her mouth and giggle.

“Mother, what is it?” Ji Tingyang asked again.

“It’s nothing, just…” Lin Xu cleared her throat, her demeanor somewhat awkward, “just… do you have someone you like?”

Ji Tingyang looked puzzled, not understanding why she would bring this up, but he answered honestly, “No.”

“What do you think of the girl just now, is she your type?”

Ji Tingyang’s expression instantly turned strange, “You don’t mean to urge me to marry, do you?”

Many of his friends were already being pressured by their parents to marry, and he had previously been grateful that Lin Xu and Ji Yanli never bothered with such matters, earning the envy of his friends.

Was his mother starting to push for marriage now?

“Of course not, I just thought you might like that type of girl, so I asked. Maybe I could even introduce you two,” Lin Xu finished speaking, but inwardly she pledged, there’s absolutely no way I’m introducing them!

“I don’t like it,” Ji Tingyang answered and then, as if worriedly adding an assurance, “don’t set me up.”

Lin Xu looked towards Ji Zeqiu, and as she was about to open her lips, she heard him preemptively answer, “I don’t like it either, don’t set me up.”

“Really?” Lin Xu was skeptical.

“Really!” Ji Zeqiu’s head nodding was so rapid it almost left an afterimage, and to bolster his persuasiveness, he resorted again to that familiar argument, “I am a big star. If I were to date or get married at the peak of my career, my fans would kill me!”

Lin Xu then turned her gaze to Ji Lanyue, “And you…”

Ji Lanyue hooked her arm and coquettishly said to her, “I don’t want to get married either, I want to always stay as mom’s little princess.”

Lin Xu smiled and rubbed her head, “Whether you want to get married in the future or not, your father and I won’t interfere, but even if you get married, you are still my little princess, you know.”

…

Ji Zeqiu’s drama had been filming for two months, and after wrapping up, he wanted to take a break for a while. His agent didn’t book any new dramas for him, but instead got him a gig on a variety show as a guest star.

Guest starring only required a simple two- or three-day shoot, which was much more relaxed compared to filming.

Ji Zeqiu accepted without a second thought, but he hadn’t expected to run into Shen Qingtang again on the variety show.

Shen Qingtang, like Ji Zeqiu, was invited as a guest star.

However, she was still rather unknown in the entertainment industry, so while no one dared to prank Ji Zeqiu, all the pranks fell on her.

When Ji Zeqiu lost in a game, he only got flicked lightly on the forehead. But when it was Shen Qingtang’s turn to lose, a bucket of cold water was dumped over her.

Her clothes were completely soaked, her hair a mess, and in the chilly autumn weather, she couldn’t stop shivering and sneezing over and over, looking utterly pitiful.

Laughter from the other artists and staff members filled the air. Shen Qingtang hugged herself, wishing she could vanish into thin air.

Right when she sneezed again, a large coat landed on her shoulders.

“Put this on for now, and you can change after we finish recording,” Ji Zeqiu offered her his coat.

Shen Qingtang fell silent and put on the coat.

The coldness of her body was instantly enveloped by a warm sensation, and she could even detect the cool pine scent on the clothing that had rubbed off from Ji Zeqiu, her ear tips reddening quietly.

“Didn’t expect Teacher Ji to be so compassionate,” teased another artist.

While Shen Qingtang was flustered, Ji Zeqiu easily brushed the incident aside, steering the conversation back to the variety show.

The recording of the variety show progressed smoothly.

Yet, no one had anticipated that on the last day of recording, the incident of Ji Zeqiu hitting someone would explode onto the hot search.

Inside the president’s office of Ji Group.

Ji Tingyang stood with his arms crossed and gave the man in front of him a cold glance, “Tell me, what was it this time?”

Since his debut, Ji Zeqiu had appeared on the hot search more times than one could count, sometimes for ditching media interviews in a diva-like manner, other times for suppressing newcomers…

But each time, when Ji Tingyang asked him about it, Ji Zeqiu always had an excuse.

Either that media outlet liked to maliciously edit his responses to create gossip-worthy scandalous rumors, or that newcomer mocked him in private, saying he was a soft rice man who entered the circle by relying on a sugar daddy, and he couldn’t hold back his anger…

Gradually, Ji Tingyang had become numb to it all, privately still having to cover for him.

Ji Zeqiu curled his lip carelessly, “That director was harassing artists behind the scenes. I couldn’t stand it and hit him.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com