[Two weeks ago—that’s much earlier than the chat log’s timeline. So, it’s definitely not He Yan stealing the endorsement.]
[So, the chat log was fabricated? Who made it? Meaningful.jpg]
[Two possibilities. One: the chat log is real, which means Lin Jiajia tried to steal the endorsement midway and is now playing the innocent victim. Two: the chat log is fake, which means its release only benefits Lin Jiajia, and she’s already gotten personally involved. You know what that means.jpg]
[Seriously? After all this, Lin Jiajia is the scheming one?]
[These two just keep flipping and flipping. I’m done trying to follow this drama. I’m out.]
[I noticed it when watching the variety show. Lin Jiajia is no good. She specifically targeted He Yan.]
[Wuwuwu, my heart aches for Yan Yan.]
It wasn’t until after He Yan finished shooting the ad that she learned the whole story from Sister Jingyi. She could easily imagine Lin Jiajia angrily punching the walls.
Hah, who told you to stir up trouble? You’ve brought a rock crashing down on your own foot!
Lin Jiajia was absolutely furious. She had thought the plan was foolproof, but instead, she had ended up shooting herself in the foot.
Netizens had turned on her completely, flooding her with insults. Her follower count kept dropping, and the mockery was relentless.
Just as she was seething with anger, her uncle called and told her to stop provoking He Yan and not to cause any more trouble.
She was so angry she felt like coughing up blood, but her uncle absolutely refused to tell her why she shouldn’t mess with He Yan. He only said that He Yan had backing.
Lin Jiajia ground her teeth in frustration. He Yan definitely had some dirty secret!
As for He Yan, who supposedly had a dirty secret, she had just received a notification from Sister Jingyi. The luxury brand Amour had invited her to a jewelry exhibition in France, and she needed to shoot a few promotional photos in the coming days for subsequent publicity.
He Yan agreed to everything.
This brand endorsement was very important to her. If the campaign went well, it would elevate her status in the fashion world by several levels.
He Yan meticulously studied the brand’s history and design philosophy, watched many of their previous ads, and familiarized herself with the brand’s general style.
Following the brand’s arrangements, He Yan shot multiple sets of promotional photos, and the brand quickly released official announcements.
The news immediately caused a stir.
[What the hell? He Yan can endorse Amour? Is the brand lowering its own standards?]
[No way. Is He Yan really at a level where she can land such a high-end endorsement now?]
[The last spokesperson was an Oscar-winning actress, right? He Yan… emmm… something’s fishy, isn’t it?]
[Putting aside everything else, these photos are really high-class. I love that ruby.]
[He Yan’s collarbone is absolutely stunning. I can’t tell if I should envy the jewelry or envy He Yan.]
[To be fair, based on these photos, He Yan looks really sophisticated. She has a kind of royal aristocratic feel.]
[Aaah, I’m a fan now. This woman is so captivating!]
Of course, He Yan landing such a good brand, far above her original status, was bound to provoke jealousy. So many stars at her level started buying bots to sling mud at her.
Most of the bots simply said that He Yan’s endorsement came suspiciously and that there had to be something fishy behind it.
Between the lines, they were all implying that He Yan had connections.
He Yan’s team quickly issued a new announcement, thanking Amour for the collaboration offer and revealing that He Yan would attend the exhibition in France.
They also used bots to start controlling the comments, steering the public opinion in a positive direction.
After all, bad publicity would surely displease the brand.
That evening, He Yan told Jiang Mingcheng that she was going to France for the jewelry exhibition.
“Amour’s exhibition? I received an invitation too,” Jiang Mingcheng said calmly.
“Ah? So, you’re going too?”
Jiang Mingcheng glanced at He Yan. Truth be told, he rarely attended such brand exhibitions. But he thought about He Yan being alone in a strange place. If she got bullied again, the young girl wouldn’t have anyone to help her.
She was, after all, his wife. He ought to look after her a bit.
With that thought, Jiang Mingcheng nodded. “Yes, I’ll go.”
After a pause, he added, “You can come with me.”
“No, no, no. The brand arranged for staff to accompany me,” He Yan quickly waved her hand.
Jiang Mingcheng nodded.
A few days later, He Yan flew to Paris, France, and checked into the hotel arranged by the brand.
Sister Jingyi had wanted to come along, but there was only one invitation, and it wasn’t appropriate to ask the brand to add an extra spot. So, she had no choice but to ask the brand to take extra care of He Yan and let her go alone.
Just as He Yan finished putting away her luggage, Jiang Mingcheng called.
“You’ve arrived?”
“Yes, just got here.”
“Which room?”
“1201.”
“Okay. I’ll come find you. We’ll have dinner together later.”
“No way! If I’m seen with you, it’ll be trouble!”
“It’s fine. No one in the hotel would dare take a picture.”
“No!”
Jiang Mingcheng: “…Fine.”
He hung up the phone and lowered his gaze.
She seemed particularly afraid of anyone finding out about their relationship.
He Yan curled up on the sofa and texted Xia Yin:
[I’ve arrived in Paris. Let me know when you get here.]
Xia Yin had contacted her when she saw the news that He Yan would be attending the Amour exhibition, saying that she would be coming too. The two had agreed to explore Paris together.
There was still no word from Xia Yin—probably still on the plane.
Amour had arranged accommodations for only some of the invitees, all concentrated in this hotel. Dinner was served as a buffet in the first-floor restaurant.
Unable to wait for Xia Yin’s reply any longer, He Yan got up and headed to the restaurant.
In the elevator, she received a message from Jiang Mingcheng: [Where are you eating?]
He Yan replied: [The first-floor restaurant. Free dinner, yo~]
After receiving He Yan’s message, Jiang Mingcheng turned down several brand representatives who had come to invite him to dinner. Amid their disappointed looks, he got straight on the elevator and also went to the first-floor restaurant.
He spotted He Yan, who was frowning, at a glance.
He walked over quickly and leaned slightly closer to He Yan. “Don’t like it?”
He Yan hadn’t expected Jiang Mingcheng to suddenly appear and was startled, but she quickly recovered and pouted. “No. I just looked at all this food and didn’t have much of an appetite.”
“Want Chinese food?” Jiang Mingcheng lowered his head slightly, moving closer to He Yan.
He Yan shook her head and picked up a few pastries. “No, I can eat anything.”
Jiang Mingcheng looked at the young girl’s still-furrowed brow and didn’t think so.
Over this period, he had learned some of He Yan’s habits and preferences. This young girl was actually very picky. When she ate something she liked, her eyes and brows would curve into a smile. When she ate something she didn’t like, she would frown slightly.
But she never mentioned it to any of them.
At home, he would instruct the chef on which dishes to make more of and which to avoid, so the young girl especially loved coming home to eat. Even when she was busy with work, she would time her return around mealtimes, eat, and then leave afterward.
“I’ve ordered a table of Chinese food. Will you eat with me?” Jiang Mingcheng really didn’t want to see He Yan frowning.
“No way! What would it look like if someone saw us?” He Yan lowered her voice.
Jiang Mingcheng found it both exasperating and amusing. What would it look like? Him having dinner with his wife?
But the young girl was insistent. Helpless, he said, “Then let’s eat in my room. No one will see us. Trust me.”
Only then did He Yan look up at Jiang Mingcheng. She trusted his character, and she really didn’t want to eat the food downstairs. So, tempted by the prospect of good food, she agreed.
“Fine. But you go first. I’ll wait a few minutes before going up, so no one gets suspicious.” He Yan lowered her voice even more.
Jiang Mingcheng had no choice but to agree. He took the elevator back to his room. A few minutes later, he heard a knock on the door.
He opened the door, and He Yan ducked under his arm and slipped inside, then turned around and closed the door behind her.
He Yan leaned against the door, took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and then, as she relaxed, suddenly burst out laughing. “Why does this feel like we’re sneaking around?”
The moment the words left her mouth, He Yan immediately covered it.
Why did she say that!
She looked up at Jiang Mingcheng guiltily.
Jiang Mingcheng hadn’t expected her to say such a thing either, and for a moment, he was stunned. But he recovered quickly and, without changing his expression, turned and walked toward the dining area. “Let’s eat.”
He Yan breathed a sigh of relief and also pinched herself as a reminder not to speak carelessly.
The two sat in the dining area of Jiang Mingcheng’s suite, eating the Chinese food he had specially instructed the chef to prepare.
As she ate, He Yan glanced around Jiang Mingcheng’s room.
“Was this room arranged by the brand?”
“Yes,” Jiang Mingcheng nodded, simultaneously pushing the dishes He Yan liked toward her.
“Your room is so much nicer than mine,” He Yan remarked.
“Don’t like yours? I’ll have someone switch you to a different one.”
“No, no, no. Mine is fine too. I was just a bit surprised when I saw yours.” He Yan quickly waved her hand. She realized Jiang Mingcheng’s thought process was a bit off—she could just ask a couple of questions, and he’d jump to her not being comfortable or not liking something.
She wasn’t that delicate.
After finishing the meal, He Yan wiped her mouth contentedly, sincerely thanked Jiang Mingcheng, and stood up to head back to her room.
“I have a media room here. You can watch a movie.” Jiang Mingcheng remembered that He Yan particularly enjoyed watching movies. At home, she often stayed in the media room.
He Yan was tempted. She walked into the media room but found only one seat. She waved her hand again. “Never mind. There’s only one seat. You watch it.”
“I won’t be watching. I have work to do.” Jiang Mingcheng said, pointing toward the study.
He Yan understood. So, she sat down in the single luxurious seat without worry and started a romantic French film.
But whether it was because French movies are slow to build, or because the seat was too comfortable, or because she was simply too tired today, He Yan slowly drifted off to sleep.
During a break from work, Jiang Mingcheng went to check on the media room and found this scene.
He walked in slowly, half-squatted down, and carefully observed the young girl’s sleeping face.
Her skin was fair and clean, like a porcelain doll. In sleep, a hint of rosiness showed through. Her cherry-like lips were moist and lustrous.
Jiang Mingcheng’s eyes darkened slightly. He reached out, gently picked up He Yan, placed her on his bed, tucked her in, and returned to the study to work.
**