Chapter 8: All Presidents Have Their Own Tricks

Although only Ye Zhen was notified by Rongcheng Jue, since he was still under the name of inspecting the film crew’s work, it was natural for the crew to know what to do. For example, an exquisite welcome reception befitting the president’s status.

So on that day, the producer led the assistant director and about ten people from various departments of the crew to the bullet train station and waited in line with great enthusiasm.

All the passersby looked at them curiously.

As Ye Zhen mingled in a large group, she heard the excited chatter of Xiao Lin beside her. Ever since the Daily Report incident, this girl had been worshipping her as her sister with all her heart. “Sister Ye, I’m so excited, it’s my first time to see the President. I heard that he is so handsome!”

“Not too bad,” Ye Zhen said perfunctorily, “Haven’t you met some handsome young men in the crew?”

“How can that be the same? He is the president of Rongcheng Group. Super rich!” After saying that, she probably felt that her three views were a little skewed. Xiao Lin looked at Ye Zhen and hurriedly said, “Of course, money and handsome men are nothing in front of the sea of knowledge, hahaha!”

“…” Such an awkward conversation ah.

Ye Zhen coughed, raised her hand and took a sip of water to wet her throat. Xiao Lin took the opportunity to “escape” to other places. She put down the water bottle, fixed the frame of her decorative glasses, lowered her head, and carefully straightened her scarf, trying to raise it.

Although wearing a scarf on an April day was a bit strange, considering Rongcheng Jue’s “Internet celebrity” nature, Ye Zhen thought it was safer to cover her face in public. She just hoped that she was overthinking everything. The President was just here to inspect the work, and she was just here to buy soy sauce*.

[TL/N: An internet slang meaning “Don’t mind me, I’m a passerby, minding my own business.”]

However, things didn’t work out as hoped.

After Rongcheng Jue and his team received the big welcome, he didn’t care about the eager eyes and cell phone cameras of the audience. Immediately after greeting the producer, he looked left and right and asked, “Where’s Ye Zhen?”

The production team immediately pushed her out, “Here, here.”

Ye Zhen was about to greet Rongcheng’s staff as a sign of loyalty when Rongcheng Jue clasped her hands. Like a leader going to the countryside to send warm greetings, he excitedly expressed his concern and condolences, “Thank you for your hard work. How’s the work going? Are you used to it? If there’s any trouble in life, you must tell me. We at Rongcheng care about the physical and mental well-being of every employee.”

The onlookers: …..

How about this? Isn’t the style completely different from those flirtatious bitches in novels? Rongcheng Jue was very pleased.

“Thank you for your concern, President, but I’m sorry,” Ye Zhen looked down at her clenched hands and the bottle of mineral water in her hand and said calmly, “I’ve already drunk this bottle of water, so I can’t give it to you.”

Damn it, did he overdo it? Rongcheng Jue let go of her hands and hurriedly explained, “Ye Zhen, you misunderstood me. Actually, I was—”

“Oh, OH!” 

“Who is that woman?” 

The onlookers who overheard the conversation were immediately excited. 

“The President’s new target? Quick, take a picture!”

Click, click, click.

Realizing that his behaviour had caused her trouble, Rongcheng Jue stopped and gave Ye Zhen an innocent smile. He awkwardly took half a step back. Ye Zhen didn’t want to cause any more trouble, so she stepped aside and said, “President, please go first.”

Rongcheng Jue moved obediently and followed the movie producer and others to the underground parking lot while exchanging pleasantries. Ye Zhen breathed a sigh of relief and slowly fell behind the crowd. There were many people coming and going in the station, and soon the crowd dispersed. She was in no hurry, so she let a group of people get on the escalator before she got on.

As a result of staying up late for several night scenes, she didn’t get much rest. Now, she had just dealt with Rongcheng Jue. At this time, Ye Zhen’s head felt dizzy. As she was about to lean on the handrail to rest, she felt someone leaning behind her like a ghost. “Hey, are you Rongcheng Jue’s girlfriend? What’s your name? Hey, can you turn your head?”

Reflexively, Ye Zhen raised her hand to block the camera. The mineral water bottle in her hand clearly reflected the large professional camera behind her. It must be some gossip media who heard the news and wanted to make a scandal out of Rongcheng Jue. They must have been keeping an eye on her since the incident.

At this point, every word she said could be written into a long manuscript, and if she turned around, she would be photographed. The wisest choice was to keep her mouth shut and walk away. So she pretended not to hear anything behind her. Ye Zhen tried to find a gap in the escalator and climbed down, trying to get rid of the reporter behind her.

The reporter soon discovered her intention and chased after her with the camera. “Hey, wait! Don’t run away~” Maybe it was because he often fought with celebrities to capture exciting news, the reporter quickly caught up with Ye Zhen and turned around to intercept her. As Ye Zhen backed away and leaned on the railing, she suddenly felt a tightness in her neck, as if something was caught.

When the reporter saw that Ye Zhen was no longer evading, he immediately thought that he had seized the opportunity. The camera was almost pressed to her face, and the questions became straightforward. “Miss, may I ask if you have a romantic relationship with President Rongcheng? Are you avoiding the camera because he does not want to make your relationship public? Can you answer these questions?”

“It’s caught,” Ye Zhen immediately threw away the bottle of water in her hands and grabbed her scarf that was tightening around her neck, trying to untie it. “Let…..Open….”

“What did you say, Miss? Could you please speak a little louder?”

In response, Ye Zhen bowed in pain and leaned back. She never thought that one day her own cleverness would get her into trouble. It was impossible to hide it, but her life was in danger.

It was a mother with a child nearby who turned her head and noticed something was wrong. She cried out, “Oh my God, help her! The scarf around her neck is caught in the handrail!”

Rongcheng Jue, who had already left the escalator, unconsciously turned around and saw a scene that tore his liver and guts apart*, “Ye Zhen-“

[TL/N: 肝胆俱裂 – overwhelmed by grief or terror.]

The following actions of the President were purely instinctive.

According to onlookers, at the critical moment, President Rongcheng went against the tide with unstoppable momentum. He broke through the crowd left and right, jumped up and down, and finally leaned on the handrail and performed a beautiful “eagle roll”* like a god descending in front of the girl.

[TL/N: 鹞子翻身 – a Chinese phrase that literally means “hawk turning over” or “eagle rolling,” referring to a quick and agile movement made by a hawk or eagle in midair. The phrase is often used to describe a person’s swift and nimble action, especially in a dangerous or critical situation.]

He had the aura of an overbearing CEO, and it was obvious that he’s the sort that practises these beforehand.

Unfortunately, his brilliant and handsome demeanor ended there and then—

The CEO hugged his sweetheart tightly and raced down the escalator, shouting, “What’s wrong with you, Ye Zhen? You can’t die!” His actions were so intense and his words so exaggerated that the crowd of onlookers were stunned for a full five seconds before they remembered to remind him, “Hey, what are you doing? First, take the scarf off the girl’s neck!”

In front of the crowd’s cameras, Rongcheng Jue wiped away a tear with his elbow, “….Oh”

“……”

After being tossed around, Ye Zhen couldn’t speak when the scarf was finally untied from her neck. It wasn’t because she was suffocating or lacking oxygen, but because the scarf had strangled her throat.

Rongcheng Jue carried her all the way to the car and wanted to continue holding her. Sensing this, Ye Zhen raised her head and looked at him blankly. Rongcheng Jue withdrew his hand, feeling wronged. Then he patted his own shoulder and said, “Then just lean on me. Don’t hold back if you feel uncomfortable.”

Without waiting for Ye Zhen’s answer, he ordered the driver, “What are you waiting for? Hurry to the hospital!”

After being injured like this, Ye Zhen naturally had no objection to going to the hospital. However, it was unnecessary for the president to accompany her. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself in the hospital, so she took out her phone and wrote a heartfelt message to Rongcheng Jue, asking him not to delay his work. The entire cast and crew were eagerly awaiting his arrival and inspection, and he was the star of tomorrow’s wrap party (exclamation mark added here).

After reading the message, except for taking the liberty of scanning Ye Zhen’s WeChat QR code and adding her as a friend, which he did without consulting her, Rongcheng Jue was very cooperative. As soon as they arrived at the hospital, he put on sunglasses and got out of the car without looking back. Ye Zhen thought he had really gone to do what she had told him. However, when the hospital staff had them checked in and led them to a fairly decent double room, she pushed open the door to find Rongcheng Jue sitting there with one leg wrapped in a bandage. However, this did not seem to affect his ability to shake his leg with ease.

“You’re here,” said Rongcheng Jue, unaware that he had been exposed. Seeing Ye Zhen enter the room and stare at his “injured leg”, he immediately increased his acting skills by slowly putting down the crutch and showing a steady and gentle expression. “It’s no big deal, I just twisted my foot when I ran too fast while carrying you. I have to stay in the hospital for one night for observation. Don’t worry about me. Ahem, I’ll stay in the bed next to yours tonight.”

“…..” Looking at her medical record, Ye Zhen felt a bit suspicious if the diagnosis of her needing to stay overnight in the hospital for observation was the work of a certain person.

“Are you hungry?” said Rongcheng Jue, feeling guilty as he rubbed his nose and quickly changed the subject. “The doctor said your throat was sore today and you can only drink porridge.” He pushed the porridge towards Ye Zhen. “Drink it. I personally went to the hospital cafeteria to buy it for you.” The tone of his voice contained a hint of taking credit.

She couldn’t hit the smiling face. Besides, Ye Zhen couldn’t argue with someone who was clearly trying to be friendly, and she didn’t have the energy to do so with her voice still hoarse. So Ye Zhen just drank the porridge and pushed the bowl back to a certain person.

The certain person immediately said, “I’ll wash it, I’ll wash it.”

It was just a disposable plastic lunch box, so Ye Zhen couldn’t stop him if he wanted to wash it. When he finished washing it, Ye Zhen directly opened the door and gestured for him to go out.

“I injured my leg, how can you be so heartless? Besides,” Rongcheng Jue said, picking at the door frame and looking very pitiful, “there are reporters outside now, I really do not dare to go out…”

Hoho, who’s to blame?

With an expressionless face, Ye Zhen pointed at the hospital gown on the bed and said: I want to wash up.

Rongcheng Jue loosened his grip and said, “Oh…..”

Half an hour later, Rongcheng Jue was let into the room. Ye Zhen had finished getting ready for bed and was ready to turn out the light and go to sleep.

“You go to sleep, good night,” Rongcheng Jue said hurriedly. “I’ll sleep soon too, I won’t disturb you.”

Ye Zhen’s response was to pull up the curtain of the bed, perfectly cutting off the space between the two of them.

On the other side, Rongcheng Jue stubbornly said the necessary lines of the male lead, “Don’t be afraid tonight. I’ll be here with you.”

Heh, anyway, the emergency button to call the doctor is right next to the bed, what does she have to be afraid of~.