Chapter Ninety-Five: Something Was Not Right

Seeing the puzzled look in Miss Jin's eyes and the nervousness on Zhou Chaolin's face, Gu Jing smiled and said, "Oh, I mixed it up. What I was just thinking of was something I meant to discuss with another client."

It was only after they stepped out of the reception room that Zhou Chaolin finally let out a true sigh of relief.

Jin Xi watched the beads of sweat gathering ever more thickly on his forehead and, despite Zhou Chaolin's refusal, insisted on taking him to the hospital for a checkup.

Inside the reception room, Qin Miaoyu asked, "Why didn't you tell Miss Jin the truth outright?"

She had assumed that, given Gu Jing's personality, she would have spoken with blunt clarity from the very start.

That had indeed been Gu Jing's original plan, but seeing how utterly convinced Miss Jin was in Zhou Chaolin, she changed her mind.

"Looking at Miss Jin now, if I told her directly, she definitely wouldn't believe me. She might even think I'm slandering him because I can't accept breaking up with Zhou Chaolin."

So rather than that, it would be better to let Miss Jin discover the truth little by little herself. Only when the truth was fully laid bare before her would she truly believe just how vile Zhou Chaolin's real face was.

Xu Xiaoqi and Pei Yixue could tell that there seemed to be something between Gu Jing and Zhou Chaolin, so they suppressed their curiosity.

Though all of them were in the reception room, they did not know that someone outside the half-closed door had overheard everything they said.

Having already met the person at the studio, Gu Jing did not continue going there. Instead, she made plans with old friends and classmates from Jincheng, going out to gatherings day after day and enjoying herself to the fullest.

But Qin Miaoyu felt strongly that something was off about her state, and could not help thinking that Lu Qian'an was far too inefficient. It had been several days, and he still had not found out anything!

Just after she finished complaining inwardly, a message came through on her phone. It was from Lu Qian'an!

Feeling a bit guilty, she opened it, only to find that it really was about this matter.

"[LAQ: Miaoyu, the matter involving my little uncle was a misunderstanding. He was called over by another friend, and only after arriving did he realize his ex-girlfriend was there too. They barely exchanged a few words. My little uncle sat there for just a few minutes before leaving.]"

"[QMY: Then what about the photos? Some of the photos the other side sent looked a little off!]"

"[LAQ: I showed the photos to my little uncle. The other party deliberately took them from a certain angle. In reality, they were all the same as the first one: the two of them were far apart.]"

Qin Miaoyu still believed Lu Qian'an's explanation, because the vaguely suggestive photos, if examined closely, actually looked all right. If they had been taken from a deceptive angle, that would explain why they looked a little awkward.

Just as she was about to tell Gu Jing about it, Gu Jing had already changed clothes and was preparing to leave.

So Qin Miaoyu set the matter aside for the time being, planning to wait until Gu Jing had finished having her fun before bringing it up.

The studio had been a little busy these past two days.

The front desk had received quite a few calls inquiring about wedding planning, but according to the receptionist, the other side would ask only a few questions before hanging up, giving the impression that they were not really there to consult at all.

"How is it that our little studio has only been open for a few months and someone is already coming after us?"

Qin Miaoyu felt that something was wrong. Could it really be because of this?

But before she could think further, a new order came knocking, and she had no time to dwell on it.

As for Miss Jin's side, since there would probably be no more news from Zhou Chaolin, they focused these days on finding new orders, especially since things with Mrs. Wang were also already nearing completion.

The new order came quickly: it was a client who called the studio on their own to inquire. After asking about all the details, they finalized the job.

"The venue over there isn't big, so half the studio staff will be enough," Xu Xiaoqi said. "And there's also an interested lead; let's follow up on that one too. If we can secure it, that would be best."

Pei Yixue kneaded Xu Xiaoqi's shoulders. "Oh, look at our Manager Xu working so hard!"

"Ah, speaking of hard work, the front desk has actually had it a bit rough lately. It feels like someone is deliberately causing trouble, calling in just to ask a couple of questions and then hanging up. It's been like this all along, and the reception desk is getting exhausted answering calls, while real clients might miss us because they can't get through to the studio..." Qin Miaoyu suddenly remembered this matter.

"But we've only just started in this line of work. Most of our orders come from acquaintances' referrals, and our name hasn't even spread yet. It shouldn't be competition from within the industry," Xu Xiaoqi said, sitting up straighter as well.

"I don't think that's very likely either, but what would their purpose be in doing this? Have we offended anyone lately?" Pei Yixue asked, shaking her head.

"I haven't. For the sake of our business, I've been speaking pleasantly even to those plastic friendship girls of mine lately. I'm just hoping they'll come to us when they get married," Pei Yixue said.

Xu Xiaoqi thought for a moment. "Neither have I. I only have that one sworn enemy, and he doesn't have the time to come here and make this kind of trouble."

Qin Miaoyu also could not think of anyone she had offended recently, except...

"You forgot about Miss Jin and her celebrity."

Pei Yixue slapped her thigh. "Right! If we're talking about recent offenses, it's those two. But Miss Jin probably wouldn't do something like this, and that male celebrity—would he dare?"

Just from Zhou Chaolin's condition that day, one could tell that he must have some leverage in Gu Jing's hands. At a time like this, if he stirred up trouble, wasn't he afraid that the leverage would be exposed later?

Qin Miaoyu could not be completely certain about this, but based on the things Zhou Chaolin had done before, she inferred that he was very likely behind this incident.

After asking Gu Jing about it and learning that Miss Jin had already discovered some problems on her end, she could basically confirm it was Zhou Chaolin!

"He wants to warn us and tell us not to do anything else." Gu Jing's tone was light.

"Tch, just like back then when he wanted to get you kicked out of the student council."

That was also one of the reasons Qin Miaoyu had suspected Zhou Chaolin before. He had done such things more than once.

"I have a big piece of dirt on Zhou Chaolin. I'll leak a little of it to Miss Jin, and then he'll have no time to cause trouble."

Whether or not Gu Jing's method worked, the calls coming into the studio's front desk became much more normal.

The previously mentioned interested lead also turned into a signed contract. Since both were small jobs, handling them simultaneously posed no problem at all. Qin Miaoyu even found herself with spare time to rush to a bar and fetch the thoroughly drunk Gu Jing.

The dim lights and piercing noise inside the bar made Qin Miaoyu somewhat uncomfortable.

She threaded through the crowd and walked straight up to Gu Jing.

The person beside Gu Jing seemed vaguely familiar to Qin Miaoyu; he had been in the school student council back then.

She gave a brief greeting and asked, "How did she end up drinking like this today?"

The other person shook his head. "No idea. At first she was fine. Then I don't know what she saw, but all at once her mood soured and she started drinking heavily..."

Seeing that she could not get any more information, Qin Miaoyu let it go and bent down to help Gu Jing to her feet.

But a person who was completely drunk was hardly cooperative. The more Qin Miaoyu tried to help her up, the more she dodged away.