Chapter 207 - Signs Of Jealousy
Chapter 207: Signs Of Jealousy
Lu Shaoming was standing from a distance away. He had one of his hands in his pocket, and he used his other hand to press the button to shut the elevator doors.
The four of them did not speak at the star, but Xu Junxi was keen enough to notice that Ning Qing had a white bandage on her left hand. He immediately asked with concern, “Ning Qing, what is wrong with your hand? Did you get hurt?”
Lu Shaoming turned sideways, and his handsome back was gently leaning against the elevator wall. He turned to his side to look, and Ning Qing’s small hand had been hidden in the large sleeves of the wool sweater. Maybe she did intend to cover it up, and it was indeed hard for him to notice.
His expression in his eyes darkened. He did not need to ponder; he knew that it must be an injury that she got in Finland.
All Ning Qing could see in her line of vision was the man beside her turning his gaze around to look towards her. She smiled at Xu Junxi and said, “President Xu, its nothing. I fell down so I scraped my palm. It’s a small injury, and it will heal very quickly.”
While she spoke, she silently slid her small hand deeper into the sleeve.
It was easy for Xu Junxi to see through her subtle actions. He had heard that she went to Finland to look for Lu Shaoming; did she get hurt because of Lu Shaoming?
Was she concealing her own injury so the man beside her would not be able to see it? Was it because she was afraid that he would feel bad?
Xu Junxi looked at Lu Shaoming and said, “Young Master Lu, Ning Qing went to Finland two days ago. I heard that you were also there. Did you see Ning Qing there then? My guess is that you didn’t get the chance to do so, right? Based on the gentlemanly behaviour and upbringing of Young Master Lu, even from the position as a friend, you wouldn’t allow a woman to get hurt, or even worse, get hurt because of you, right?”
Lu Shaoming pursed his lips together lightly without saying a word.
The atmosphere instantly turned awkward.
“Haha, President Xu, the president of Island Wide Film and Media is already waiting inside the private room. How confident are you regarding the matter of our partnership?” Xiao Zhou swooped in to break the tense atmosphere.
Xu Junxi politely replied to Xiao Zhou with a few words.
The two of them were conversing, and the girl stood by his side silently. She seemed extra silent today. She did not speak much, and she was not willing to spare him a glance.
Lu Shaoming’s heart felt like it was being squeezed by a large hand, and he felt slightly out of breath. He did not like her being so cold towards him at all.
Did she injure her hand?
He felt bad for her injuries.
He wanted to hold onto her small hand to have a look.
Lu Shaoming sneakily withdrew his left hand from his pocket. The girl’s right hand was right by his side. He went a little closer to her, wanting to hold on to her small hand.
Ding! The elevator doors suddenly opened.
The girl lifted her feet and walked out of the elevator.
Xu Junxi and Xiao Zhou also walked out, and Lu Shaoming was left alone in the lift. Lu Shaoming looked at the girl’s lithe figure, and the pity in his eyes slowly turned into anger.
What did she want to keep up kicking up a fuss for?
Xu Junxi was her first love, and she should have known how much he cared about that.
But she was still angry with him now.
…
As they walked out of the elevator, President Li of Island Wide Entertainment Media welcomed them. “President Xu, Miss Ning, I have waited for a long time. It’s a pleasure to meet both of you.”
“President Li, how are you?” Ning Qing smiled.
“How are you, Miss Ning. It is true that a thousand words cannot match up to a meeting itself. I didn’t think that the newly made Director Ning would be so young and beautiful. The fact that you are interested in Island Wide itself is truly our honour. Let’s go, we will go in the private room to talk then.”
“Sure.” The group turned around.
But at this moment, Lu Shaoming also walked out from the elevator. President Li saw Lu Shaoming and was immediately joyous. He took quick steps forward and nodded his head while bowing down to greet him politely, “Young Master Lu, it is such a coincidence today to be meeting you here, are you here for business matters?”
Lu Shaoming had both of his hands stuck in his pockets while he unintentionally glanced at Ning Qing, and he replied, “No, I am here to have a meal.”
Ning Qing heard his reply and could not help herself but look at him. He said that he was here to “have a meal”; could President Li not understand the intention behind his words?
When was he so free that he could come here to spend his time?
Or was it because she was present here?
As expected, President Li laughed heartily and said, “Well this is just perfect! if Young Master Lu does not mind, then would you give us the honour of eating with us? I have reserved a private room for us, and President Xu of Emperor Entertainment Group and new director Miss Ning are here. Let us all get to know each other.”
“Sure.” Lu Shaoming agreed in a heartbeat.
At this moment, Xu Junxi laughed while he said, “Young Master Lu, it is really such a coincidence today, we came to this hotel, and Young Master Lu also came here. Now that we are here to have a meal with President Li, Young Master Lu is also here to have a meal with us.”
Lu Shaoming understood Xu Junxi’s mocking words. Was he was saying that he was behaving like a stalker?
Lu Shaoming had both hands in his pockets. Both of his legs were long and straight. He was dressed in a classic white shirt paired with black trousers, and it made him look elegant and poised. His dark and mature eyes lightly glanced towards Xu Junxi, and he said slowly, “That is right. If it is not a coincidence, how would President Xu’s first love become someone else’s woman?”
Once he let those words out his mouth, the atmosphere became tense once again.
Xu Junxi glared at Lu Shaoming, and Lu Shaoming boldly stared back at him.
President Li came to calm the atmosphere down and he said, “Haha, that is enough. Let us not stand here to continue chatting. Let’s go, let us enter the private room.”
….
After entering the private room, Lu Shaoming was naturally invited by President Li to sit in the main seat. He squinted and looked towards Ning Qing.
Ning Qing’s expression was normal as she sat opposite Lu Shaoming. She was quite a distance away from him, and both Xu Junxi and Xiao Zhou were seated beside her.
Lu Shaoming’s gaze was icy cold. Numerous years of elite education could not stop the urge to tear him up. She would not have not known that he wanted her to sit beside him, right?
She still insisted on sitting together with that irritating Xu Junxi whom he hated.
What did she mean exactly? When she wanted him, she would tease and play with him, and now when she had him in her hands, she felt bored, and wanted to distance herself as far as possible away from him?
Lu Shaoming felt it difficult to contain his anger.
The waiter served the dishes, and Xu Junxi said, “President Li, we are here today because we want to talk about Ning Qing investing in Island Wide Entertainment Media. With Ning Qing’s popularity and value right now, she has chosen your company among a long list of other entertainment companies, as she is sincere in collaborating with you. At the same time, it is also fated opportunity to do so with Island Wide.”
“That’s right.” President Li nodded his head immediately and continued, “Director Ning is at the top of the entertainment industry. If she invests in Island Wide, the share prices of Island Wide will definitely rise significantly. I have already tasked my secretary to draft a contract, and if Director Ning chooses to work with Island Wide, the conditions that I have given are the best conditions that I can give in all aspects.”
President Li handed the contract over to Ning Qing.
Ning Qing took the contract into her hands, and just when she was about to open the contract, a deep voice rang out in the air with vague happiness in his tone. “Miss Ning wants to invest in Island Wide? It is such a coincidence, I also have plans to invest in Island Wide.”
With his words, everyone present on the scene froze in their tracks.
President Li looked at Lu Shaoming in disbelief. If he did want to invest in Island Wide, with this man’s wealth and power, if he thought of doing so, he would be able to purchase Island Wide with a mere sentence.
Ning Qing also looked towards Lu Shaoming, puzzled; she had never thought that this man would invest in Island Wide.
Lu Shaoming welcomed her gaze and he laughed coldly in his heart. Heh, she knew how to look at him in the eyes now. She was treating him like a ghost for the entire day. What was he doing now?
At this moment, Lu Shaoming said casually, “President Li, if I invest in Island Wide, I would think that Island Wide does not need another investor, right?”
He had a hint of threat in his words, and he asked President Li to totally ignore Ning Qing.
“This…” President Li was in a daze. He looked at Lu Shaoming and then looked at Ning Qing again. What were these two people up to right now? He was in a dilemma – stuck between them.
Ning Qing raised her hand to tuck some hair behind her ear. She lifted her eyebrows while she said to Lu Shaoming, “Young Master Lu, you want to invest in Island Wide, but you also have to also stand in line, right?”
“Stand in line? There is no such thing as taking turns in the corporate world. There is only ability itself. Miss Ning wants to compete with me, okay then, let us see who has more money then. The richer party would be able to gain shares in Island Wide then.”
Ning Qing stopped speaking. She raised her eyebrows slightly, and her eyes were cold and calm as she looked towards Lu Shaoming.
President Li quickly spoke to soften the atmosphere in the room. “Young Master Lu, Director Ning, we are able to discuss this peacefully. Everyone is a friend here. A period of time ago, Young Master Lu still selected Director Ning to endorse Cabbage Plume in advertisements. Director Ning also complimented Young Master Lu during the Golden Lightning Awards, this…”
“Miss Ning, those words that you said during the awards presentation ceremony, were you being sincere then?” Lu Shaoming interrupted President Li,. He welcomed Ning Qing’s quiet eyes, and asked her the question directly.
Ning Qing knew the meaning behind his eyes. He wanted her to bow down to him, and he wanted her to take the initiative to apologize to him. He wanted her to grovel and say that it was true so that he would not participate in the matters regarding Island Wide Entertainment Media.
Yes, Ning Qing said “yes” deep inside. She had been a logical person all along. In times like this, if she nodded her head, and said what she said was true, everything would turn out fine.
Furthermore, the man opposite her was the man she loved. She always thought that women should look proper in front of their men. They should be able to put down their façade, and need to use their gentleness to win over the man’s strength.
But at this moment right now, she did not want to be gentle anymore.
Did he hear what she had said during the awards presentation ceremony?
That was the most sincere and warm love that she had given him.
He could choose not to accept it, but there was no need for him to threaten her with it on the dinner table.
Just because she loved him, it was not right for him to do so as he pleased.
Ning Qing curled her lips into a mesmerizing smile, and she said, “Young Master Lu, some parts of what I said during the awards presentation ceremony were sincere, but it was mostly just to entertain the crowd.”
Lu Shaoming heard her words and his handsome features turned cold. His large hand that he placed under the table balled up into a tight fist.
At this moment, Xu Junxi said, “Since the business deal cannot go through, forget it then. Young Master Lu, President Li, let us enjoy our meals then,” Xu Junxi said as he gently placed a pair of chopsticks in Ning Qing’s small hands. As if there was nobody beside them, he gently said, “Ning Qing, I think that you should invest in other entertainment companies then. Isn’t my Emperor Entertainment good? I can protect and assist you throughout the entire process.”
Ning Qing lowered her gaze down and did not speak. Xiao Zhou put a crispy and fragrant butterfly biscuit into Ning Qing’s small bowl. Ning Qing had not eaten it yet, and merely by having a whiff of its smell was enough to make the acid in her gut come rushing up, making her want to puke.
She quickly used her small hand to cover her mouth, and swallowed the acid down.
“Ning Qing, what is wrong with you?” Xiao Zhou noticed her behaving abnormally and with panic, asked, “Do you not have an appetite? In the past, you would take two bites of this butterfly biscuit. You liked it very much in the past. Why do you not like it now? Other than drinking some porridge after coming back to the country last night, you haven’t eaten anything else, Have some more food, I have noticed that you’ve become quite slim recently.”
Lu Shaoming lifted his gaze to glance at her. She had foundation on her face, and now, even the foundation was not able to cover the paleness on her face. She was probably very uncomfortable, and her long lashes that were like butterflies’ wings were quietly drooping downwards, and her eyelashes seemed to have a stain of tears.