Falling into the Capital's Radiance - Chapter 47

Chapter 47

The next day, Shen Jingni went to work as usual.

Chu You brought her a cup of coffee, her face beaming with a smile. “Boss, good news.”

Shen Jingni looked up from a pile of documents. “Hmm?”

“The organizers of the Shanghai Youth Designer Competition called. They’ve agreed to our exclusive title sponsorship. What’s more, someone has already covered the sponsorship fee for us.”

Chu You’s gossipy eyes lingered on Shen Jingni’s face for a few seconds. She gave a fake cough. “Did you and Mr. Zhao make up?”

Although the organizers only said it was designated by a prominent figure without revealing a name, who else could it be but Mr. Zhao? Title sponsorship rights were notoriously difficult to obtain, let alone having someone casually foot the massive bill.

Shen Jingni took a sip of her coffee, unable to stop the corners of her mouth from turning up. A smile spread across her porcelain-white face.

That old man certainly knew how to behave.

Chu You continued, “I saw how angry you were before; I thought you’d return all those beautiful bracelets Mr. Zhao gave you.”

“Just thinking about it makes my heart ache for you.”

Shen Jingni raised the pen in her hand and tapped Chu You on the head. “What are you thinking?”

“Even if he and I had a falling out, I wouldn’t return those things.”

“I am beautiful, sweet-talking, and have a great figure. I’ve provided him with so much emotional value; it’s only right that I get some benefits.”

“A person needs a sense of deservingness. Otherwise, they’ll feel inferior wherever they go.”

If anything, she felt she hadn’t taken enough.

Chu You felt she had learned another lesson and nodded, though she only half-understood.

As the two were chatting, Qin Muhuan burst in, wailing like a banshee.

“Shen Miaomiao, you insidious villain! You’re a two-faced hypocrite!”

Miss Qin was clearly furious.

The last time she came, Shen Jingni had clearly said she didn’t care about that title sponsorship. Who would have thought that in just a few days, this little villain would snatch her exclusive sponsorship away!

No matter how much money Qin Muhuan offered the organizers or how many nice things she said, it didn’t work.

Qin Muhuan leaned her hands on the desk, staring at her with bloodshot eyes. “Spill it. What despicable methods did you use to steal my sponsorship?”

Shen Jingni leaned back, crossing her arms against the back of her chair with a smile in her eyes. “Take a guess.”

“Do you have some kind of dirt on the organizers?” Qin Muhuan began her wild analysis. “No wonder I haven’t seen you around lately. Were you in Shanghai playing detective?”

Aside from that, she really couldn’t think of any other reason.

Shen Jingni couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “I have to say, your pig brain has a very vivid imagination.”

“But why couldn’t you write a decent essay back in school? You’d have to make things up for half a day just to hit eighty words out of an eight-hundred-word requirement.”

Qin Muhuan felt deeply wounded. “Shen Jingni, why are you so vindictive?”

She had only mentioned once that Shen Jingni’s Chinese grades weren’t good back then.

Now, Shen Jingni took every opportunity to fire back.

Even after graduation, these two academic underachievers were still hurting each other.

Shen Jingni was in a good mood today, so she humored her with a few more words. “I’m just telling the truth. As for this sponsorship, I didn’t use any underhanded tactics. I’ve acted uprightly and honorably. If you don’t believe me, go check for yourself.”

She wouldn’t be able to find anything anyway, at most just the sponsorship amount.

Shen Jingni was actually quite curious herself.

Exactly how much money had Zhao Zonglan dropped for her?

Qin Muhuan gnashed her teeth in anger and started making meaningless threats again. “Just you wait. I’m going to find my dad.”

Watching her indignant retreating figure, Shen Jingni intentionally raised her voice: “Hey, Qin Cancan, are you a sore loser? Why are you running to tell your parents?”

Qin Muhuan turned back to glare at her, sounding perfectly justified. “I’m telling!”

***

Wangjing Tower reopened today.

Rong Heng invited a few brothers and made a special point to invite Zhao Zonglan.

Song Yanting and Wen Shuyi had gotten into a fight.

Regarding the incident where Shen Jingni was stranded on the highway, Wen Shuyi had repeatedly warned Song Yanting not to tell Zhao Zonglan.

Young Master Song had agreed, but who would have thought he’d run straight to Zhao Zonglan the first chance he got?

While his actions were understandable,

Wen Shuyi felt it was a betrayal.

If you can’t do it, don’t promise it.

When they argued, it was inevitable that old grievances would be dragged up. Since they knew each other so well, the fight had escalated.
Song Yanting didn’t dare speak harshly to her, so he could only let Wen Shuyi’s words pierce his heart.

“She said I don’t actually love her that much, and that I’ve just been unwilling to let go all these years.”

“I…” Song Yanting choked up, unable to continue, and could only resort to gulping down his drink.

As the host, Rong Heng had never been in a relationship and was like a blank sheet of paper in this regard. He offered some clumsy comfort. “Six years and you still haven’t married her into the family. It’s true you’d be unwilling to let go.”

Song Yanting: “…”

Another stab to the heart.

Xie Chengsui generally preferred casual flings over emotional investment; he found dating too troublesome. “If you ask me, the way you two are dating is pretty miserable. You’re better off breaking up early.”

Song Yanting: “…”

He’d rather die.

When Zhao Zonglan walked in, he heard Xie Chengsui talking about breaking up.

He handed his overcoat to Chang An, looked at the dejected Song Yanting, and asked tonelessly, “Broken up?”

“That’s a good thing. It was wrong to keep wasting her time anyway.”

Song Yanting: “…”

“No, why is it that none of you want the best for me?”

They were all taking turns stabbing him in the heart.

Xie Chengsui’s brow twitched. “Fifth Brother is right. Miss Wen has followed you for all these years and endured a lot of grievances. If you truly loved her, you wouldn’t have dragged it out until now.”

If it were him, he would have married her long ago.

Being part of a prestigious family, one had to be cold-blooded sometimes; being soft-hearted wouldn’t do.

Song Yanting fell silent.

It wasn’t that he didn’t have a plan; it was just taking a bit longer.

Rong Heng didn’t want Song Yanting to be too sad, so he changed the subject. “There’s an auction in Nancheng this weekend. Are you guys interested?”

“I heard there’s a very rare item this time.”

Xie Chengsui asked, “What is it?”

“A pearl and diamond pendant that belonged to the last queen of the French Bourbon dynasty. Many collectors, both domestic and international, want it.”

Xie Chengsui said he wasn’t interested.

Zhao Zonglan hadn’t seen Shen Jingni for the past two days and guessed she was still throwing a tantrum. He thought about buying that pendant to coax her.

She liked things that were beautiful and expensive.

Since it was worn by a queen, it shouldn’t be ugly.

Unexpectedly, Song Yanting spoke up: “Then I’ll have to go take a look.”

He could bid on it and give it to Shuyi.

Zhao Zonglan knit his brows in displeasure.

He let out a cold sneer. “You’re going alone?”

Song Yanting replied, “Yeah, why wouldn’t I?”

Without rushing to answer him, Zhao Zonglan leisurely lit a cigarette. A casual smile flickered in his deep eyes. “Oh. I’m going with my girlfriend.”

Song Yanting: “…”

Who the hell asked you?

For a moment, Zhao Zonglan suddenly felt quite satisfied.

However, he wasn’t sure if that little brat was willing yet.

With that in mind, Zhao Zonglan opened his phone and sent a message to Shen Jingni: [There’s an auction this weekend. Come with me.]

Shen Jingni happened to be free this weekend, so of course she was willing, but she remembered she was still angry with him. She replied with feigned indifference: [What if I don’t go?]

Zhao Zonglan: [Then you will lose out on many gifts.]

Shen Jingni: [I’ll consider it.]

Before Zhao Zonglan could even reply, she couldn’t wait to say: [I’ve finished considering.]

[Then can I do a ‘Lighting the Sky Lantern’ at the auction? (Well-behaved emoji)]

Since becoming an adult, Shen Jingni had attended many auctions and seen some of the wealthy businessmen in the circle ‘Lighting the Sky Lantern.’ She was incredibly envious and wanted to experience that prestige for herself.

Zhao Zonglan: [Yes.]

Shen Jingni pushed her luck: [Can I do it all night?]

Zhao Zonglan: [You can.]

Shen Jingni was so excited she almost dropped her phone.

Ahhh, her life was finally looking up!

This time, she didn’t bother typing and sent him a voice message instead. Her voice was sweet and coquettish. “Zhao Zonglan, how are you so good to me?”

Over on the other side, the guys were drinking when they heard Shen Jingni’s voice coming from Zhao Zonglan’s phone-sweet and cloyingly affectionate.

The man in question was smoking, his handsome, mature face showing a faint expression as he said calmly, “Sorry, I accidentally hit the speakerphone.”

Song Yanting: ? How childish.