When Lu Jing first arrived, Zhu Shuangyao didn't feel anything. But as soon as he sat down, Zhu Shuangyao immediately felt like a glaring light bulb.
She made up her mind to take a few hasty bites of food and then leave. If she left as soon as Lu Jing came, it would be too obvious, making it seem as if she had an issue with him.
Unfortunately, before she could finish her meal, there was a commotion at the door. Zhu Shuangyao turned around and saw several people entering with cameras. At the front were a few fair - skinned and good - looking men and women.
Zhu Shuangyao turned to Cen Yun and asked in a low voice, "What are they filming?"
Cen Yun was always a master of surfing the Internet. Hearing Zhu Shuangyao's question, she knew who those people were without even looking. She whispered some information to Zhu Shuangyao, her eyes shining with excitement. "I never expected to meet them here!"
By now, everyone else had also noticed. The onlookers let out excited exclamations.
"It's Zhang Minxing! The actress who became famous for her performance in the poetry duel! She played the imperial concubine!"
"Oh my god, and Jiang Jing, who played Emperor Dexuan!"
"Are they filming *Beautiful Sprint*?"
"Yes! The live - stream is here! It's *Beautiful Sprint*!"
Cen Yun also said they were filming *Beautiful Sprint*. It was a rural variety show where the main premise was that celebrities had to complete tasks to earn money. It was very popular because people liked to see the usually glamorous celebrities go through hardships.
They were currently in the last task. They had to randomly choose a store and collect fifty blessing notes from the customers in the store. They brought the notes themselves, and the customers just needed to write on them.
Coincidentally, they had chosen this hot - pot restaurant. The owner was overjoyed, like he had just won the lottery.
Zhu Shuangyao touched her nose. This was a live - stream, and she didn't want to be on camera. She whispered to Cen Yun, "I don't want to be on camera. I'll sneak away first."
Cen Yun was quite enthusiastic, but seeing Lu Jing's pouting look and remembering that they had just reconciled, she thought for a moment and decided to pull Lu Jing along to leave with Zhu Shuangyao.
But could they really leave smoothly?
Of course not.
Zhang Minxing's target was Zhu Shuangyao. She had gone through a lot of trouble to find out Zhu Shuangyao's schedule after her vacation through a complicated web of connections. Participating in this show was a gamble. It would be great if she could meet Zhu Shuangyao; if not, she would find other ways.
Meeting her on the show was the way least likely to arouse Gong Wushang's suspicion.
Zhang Minxing kept a close eye on Zhu Shuangyao. Seeing that she seemed about to stand up, although she didn't know what Zhu Shuangyao intended to do, Zhang Minxing decided to nip all possibilities in the bud.
She smiled at her partner and said, "Why don't we split up to collect the blessing notes? It's going too slowly like this."
Her partner was a gentle, elegant, and dignified actress named Wen Wen. She was also very kind - hearted. Hearing Zhang Minxing's suggestion, she agreed. The others also thought it was a good idea, so they split up to collect the notes.
Coincidentally, Cen Yun and the others were sitting in the aisle on Wen Wen's left. If Zhu Shuangyao wanted to leave, she would definitely run into them. Seeing this, Cen Yun and Zhu Shuangyao exchanged a look and silently sat back down.
Cen Yun let go of Lu Jing's hand, but Lu Jing grabbed hers back. Cen Yun looked at their intertwined hands and said coldly, "How can I cook the hot - pot like this?"
Since they were doomed to be on camera and couldn't leave, they might as well enjoy the hot - pot. Hearing this, Lu Jing reluctantly let go of her hand.
Compared to Wen Wen, Zhang Minxing was much faster. She was actually very eager inside, but she didn't dare to show it because the camera was on her. The camera was like a microscope, and every expression under it could be interpreted in different ways.
According to Gong Wushang, Zhu Shuangyao was a scheming and calculating woman. But Zhang Minxing had analyzed Gong Wushang thoroughly. She first noted down everything he said and then looked for evidence to corroborate it.
Although she was one of Gong Wushang's favored lovers, she knew that in his eyes, a woman who was easily obtained was no match for his unattainable white - moonlight, Luo Yingying. So he didn't keep a close eye on her, which gave Zhang Minxing some room to maneuver.
She hired a reliable private detective to investigate Zhu Shuangyao, but the information she got disappointed her greatly. The data said that Zhu Shuangyao was a vain and shallow - minded woman, which contradicted what Gong Wushang had said. Zhang Minxing noticed the discrepancy and asked the private detective to find out who Zhu Shuangyao had met in the past few months.
During this time, Zhang Minxing didn't slack off. She asked the private detective to create an account and infiltrate the school's internal forum. Since only students from S University could log in with their student IDs, Zhang Minxing couldn't use the account for long. But this short period was enough because she found something that made her take a gamble.
She discovered that Zhu Shuangyao had been involved in the recent and widely - reported medical - dispute incident. She was one of the heroes, but her face had been blurred to protect her. However, no one at S University believed it, and the post was quickly deleted. But Zhang Minxing was quick - eyed and managed to save the evidence.
Who was Zhang Minxing? She was an actress. Actors recognized people not by their faces but by their body language and posture. Zhu Shuangyao was known as the hidden campus belle of S University, and there were countless videos of her on the forum. Zhang Minxing compared several videos and finally confirmed that Zhu Shuangyao was indeed one of the heroes.
Not long after, the private detective finally gave her the investigation results. Zhu Shuangyao's background was kept secret, and her information had been modified. But the people she had met were real. Zhang Minxing found that although Zhu Shuangyao's social circle was simple, most of the people in it had powerful backgrounds.
Among them, Lu Jing stood out the most. At first, Lu Jing didn't even like Zhu Shuangyao and had even played some tricks on her. But today, they were having dinner together.
Due to insufficient information, Zhang Minxing couldn't figure out any hidden secrets. But she knew that Zhu Shuangyao was definitely not as described in the data. Moreover, Zhu Shuangyao had once ruined her plan but also saved her.
She should have hated Zhu Shuangyao for ruining her plan. But she still remembered the look in Zhu Shuangyao's eyes when she peeked out from her coat. There was no pity, no condescension, only gentleness, like warm water or a gurgling stream, gently enveloping her.
This filming was an opportunity she had been planning for a long time. Success or failure hinged on this.
Zhang Minxing walked up to Zhu Shuangyao, smiling brightly. "Miss, we're from the *Beautiful Sprint* production team. We're doing a task and need to collect fifty blessing notes from the customers in this store. Would you be willing to write one for us?"
Only then did Zhu Shuangyao recognize Zhang Minxing as the young actress who had been deceived by those playboys. She had watched her wake up, but in order to catch those people for good, she hadn't comforted her, only giving her a reassuring look. Even so, it had made Zhang Minxing nervous for a while.
The difference between Zhang Minxing with and without makeup was huge. Without makeup, her features were as delicate as a lily. With makeup, she became a gorgeous peony with a touch of heroism. Their temperaments were so different that it was no wonder Zhu Shuangyao hadn't recognized her until now.
Although Zhu Shuangyao knew that Zhang Minxing was Gong Wushang's lover, she thought it must be tough for her to be with a man like Gong Wushang. She didn't need to make things difficult for her in front of the camera.
But Zhu Shuangyao didn't want to have too much contact with Zhang Minxing, while Zhang Minxing was determined to interact with her. Zhu Shuangyao lowered her head to write the blessing note, and Zhang Minxing stood beside her, smiling as she watched.
Just then, Wen Wen accidentally bumped into Zhang Minxing. Zhang Minxing was knocked forward and fell straight into Zhu Shuangyao's arms. Zhu Shuangyao instinctively caught her and asked, "Are you okay?"
Zhang Minxing hadn't expected this. She had planned to let Wen Wen frame Zhu Shuangyao, and then she would clear Zhu Shuangyao's name!
Who would have thought things would turn out like this? She absolutely couldn't let Gong Wushang find out that she had even the slightest bit of affection for Zhu Shuangyao. It would only harm her.
Zhang Minxing showed a subtle look of disgust and annoyance, which was "coincidentally" caught by the audience.
When the camera turned to Zhu Shuangyao and the others, the comments on the live - stream exploded.
"Wow, two beautiful ladies and a handsome guy!"
"They have the looks to debut!"
"Which company do these two beautiful ladies belong to? I'll vote for them right away and crowdfund for their debut!"
"Guys! Have you noticed that there's a very familiar face among this group of good - looking people! Look closely at that man! Doesn't he look like the CEO of the Lu Group?"
"You're dreaming. Mr. Lu is in City C. How could he be in this ordinary hot - pot restaurant!"
Zhu Shuangyao and Cen Yun were both very beautiful, but their beauty was different. The comments on the live - stream immediately started asking who these two amateur ladies were. Then Wen Wen caused this commotion, and everyone started spamming the comments. The topic about Lu Jing was quickly buried.
"… Is it just me?"
"Probably not. That lady is really..."
"Super cool..."
"Lesbian vibes..."
"Lesbian vibes..."
"Is it just me, or does it seem like Zhang Minxing showed a look of disgust?"
"You're seeing things! Our Minmin is well - known for being gentle. How could she show a look of disgust?"
"You really are seeing things. Minmin would never show such a look."
Zhang Minxing would never have thought that her well - planned scheme would fail because her previous persona had been too successful.
Wen Wen also realized her mistake and quickly pulled Zhang Minxing up. Zhang Minxing showed a professional smile and thanked Zhu Shuangyao. Zhu Shuangyao immediately declined politely, "It was nothing. Just a little help."
Zhang Minxing had achieved her goal, so she didn't say anything more and went to ask others for blessing notes. When the camera left, Zhu Shuangyao couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
This ambiguous scene quickly became a trending topic on the Internet.
Taking advantage of the fact that the camera had left and no one was paying attention to them, Zhu Shuangyao and Cen Yun looked calm on the surface but quickly packed up their things. After they left the hot - pot restaurant safely, they looked at each other and smiled.