LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 107 - 107: It's Okay Not to Come Back
Chapter 107: Chapter 107: It’s Okay Not to Come Back
Ji Zeqiu gave his agent a glance and spoke indifferently, “What do I have to regret?”
Having said that, he entered the interview room.
The agent shrugged indifferently and followed him in.
The interview went very smoothly, and after that, they took a few sets of photos. With that done, their work for this time was complete.
“Once the video from the interview is edited, I will send it along with the photos for your review. If there is a chance to collaborate again in the future, I hope Teacher Ji will take good care of us,” the staff member shook hands with Ji Zeqiu cheerfully.
Ji Zeqiu had a gentle smile on the corner of his lips as he bid farewell to the staff members.
Just as he stepped out, his agent approached him slyly. “I just found out for you that Shen Qingtang is filming an interview in Hall 2. It should still be going on. Do you want to go have a look?”
Ji Zeqiu gave him a glance, “If you have nothing better to do, go keep an eye on a couple more artists.”
“Really not going?”
“I’m going home.”
Ji Zeqiu turned and left.
His mother was still at home, and Ji Tingyang might have sneaked her out to play by now. He needed to hurry back.
It’s not unusual to bump into each other at work in such a small entertainment circle.
So Ji Zeqiu didn’t take today’s encounter with Shen Qingtang to heart, but unexpectedly, the very next day, they met again.
He and Shen Qingtang, as temporary guests, participated in the recording of a variety show together.
Because they were only temporary cameo guests, the content they needed to record wasn’t much, and it was completed in one day.
When dinner time came, Ji Zeqiu and Shen Qingtang were dragged by other artists to have dinner together at a restaurant.
Shen Qingtang sneaked a glance at Ji Zeqiu and, seeing him nod, also agreed to go along.
During the meal, a staff member ordered a few bottles of alcohol and walked around with a glass, toasting people here and there.
As the biggest celebrity among them, Ji Zeqiu was approached for a toast. After he gently declined, no one dared to press him, and their gaze wandered around the private room, looking for the next target to toast.
If it had been in the past, as an eighteenth-tier nobody, Shen Qingtang wouldn’t have been noticed by anyone.
Nobody would have gone out of their way to chat with her, let alone toast her.
However, Shen Qingtang had been appearing frequently on the screen recently with the many resources Ji Zeqiu had given her, and even her fame had increased considerably.
She was already considered an actress with a bit of a reputation.
For this reason, other artists came over to Shen Qingtang to exchange pleasantries and offer her a drink, hoping to build a good relationship with her.
Who knows, she might become a big shot in the future.
“Qingtang, come on, eat more, you’re so thin now,” a woman earnestly piled food on her plate.
“Mr. Shen, come on, let’s have a drink,” a staff member came up to Shen Qingtang with a glass of alcohol, almost lifting it to her face.
With so many people watching, Shen Qingtang could not afford to embarrass him publicly, so she had no choice but to stiffly drink it down.
Glass after glass.
Person after person came to offer a toast.
Shen Qingtang wasn’t a heavy drinker to begin with, and it didn’t take long before she became dizzy.
“Mr. Shen, our show crew has a room at a nearby hotel. Seeing you like this, it would be dangerous to go back alone. How about I help you rest at the hotel first?” At the end of the gathering, a male artist took the initiative to support her and suggested.
“No need,” Shen Qingtang managed to cling to her last shred of sanity and pushed away the man’s hand, “My agent is coming to pick me up soon, she’ll take me home.”
“You can rest at the hotel and wait for her. When your agent arrives, let her come and get you,” he said.
“I’ll just wait here; there’s no need for all that trouble,” said Shen Qingtang, who had seen too many hidden rules in the industry. She dared not follow a man after drinking.
The man was still trying to persuade her.
Shen Qingtang felt a rising panic inside her as she incessantly scanned her surroundings for a familiar face to help.
But the people from the dinner party had mostly dispersed, and despite her anxious waiting, she saw no one else coming out of the restaurant.
As she was about to be pulled away, a familiar figure broke into her line of sight.
Shen Qingtang staggered over and clutched his arm.
“Can you take me home?”
Ji Zeqiu looked up and saw the plea and urgency in her clear eyes.
Even though there was no longer a transaction or relationship between them, Shen Qingtang still subconsciously relied on him when she saw him.
“Ah, Teacher Ji, you haven’t left yet?” The man seemed surprised, then pointed to Shen Qingtang, “Mr. Shen has had too much to drink; I was just about to take her to the hotel to rest.”
He explained what he had been doing.
Shen Qingtang’s mind was already fuzzy; she gripped Ji Zeqiu’s hand and exerted a slight force, “I don’t want to go to the hotel, I want to go home…”
Ji Zeqiu immediately understood her concerns, steadied her swaying body, and said to the man, “There’s no need for a hotel, I’ll take her home.”
“But…”
The man was about to say something more when Ji Zeqiu had already left with Shen Qingtang in his car.
The traffic was a bit congested on the road, the car kept stopping and starting, and they weren’t moving quickly.
Shen Qingtang lay on the passenger seat, her voice murky as she answered her agent’s call, “Sister Han, a friend is already taking me home, don’t worry…”
“Mhm… just turn around and go back…”
“Mhm, mhm…”
She closed her eyes, as if unconscious, repeatedly murmuring “mhm” while she was already comfortably asleep.
After arriving at the entrance of Shen Qingtang’s residential building, Ji Zeqiu called out to her a few times, “You’re home.”
Shen Qingtang opened her eyes groggily, and as soon as she got out of the car, a wave of nausea surged up in her stomach, and she clung to a nearby pillar to vomit.
She squatted on the ground, unable to move.
It seemed she didn’t even have the strength to walk upstairs to her home.
Ji Zeqiu sighed, went over to pick her up, and frowned in warning, “Don’t throw up on me.”
Shen Qingtang made a few hums, unsure if she heard his words.
Standing at the door of her apartment, Ji Zeqiu looked at the tightly shut door and wanted to ask for her password, but she was so drunk that her words didn’t make sense. He simply couldn’t ask.
He pursed his lips and, taking a chance, tried the old door code.
When the door opened, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.
He hadn’t expected Shen Qingtang to have not changed her password.
That was far too unsafe.
Ji Zeqiu casually placed her on the bed and was about to leave when Lin Xu’s call came in.
“Zeqiu, didn’t you say you were on your way home? Why haven’t you arrived yet? You also haven’t been replying to my messages. Is everything alright?”
Hearing Lin Xu’s concern, Ji Zeqiu’s mood of frustration for being delayed brightened considerably.
“I got a bit held up just now, but I’m coming back now!”
Just then, a hand held him back, and a soft voice spoke up, “Don’t go…”
On the other end of the phone, Lin Xu fell silent for a moment, remembering that her own son had grown up, “Forget this phone call, I didn’t ask anything, and it’s fine if you don’t come back.”