Chapter Ninety

Since that night of drunken nonsense after meeting the families, Huo Lingtian had never again brought up anything as alarming as setting a date or proposing. As the production team worked through the night to keep filming ahead of schedule, The Transformation of Miss Y was drawing to a close. The weather had turned steadily colder; the northern wind was sharper than the south’s, and had its own distinct charm.

Rong Qing stepped out of the air-conditioned car, and the biting wind cut straight to the bone. She pulled up her hat, tucked her hands in her pockets, and ran all the way into the café where she had arranged to meet them. She let out a breath of cold air, and then heard Meng Lin’s voice.

“Qing—over here.”

The sweet, sticky call made Rong Qing shiver. She had known from the start that this little girl was not acting normally today. If she had not truly taken a fancy to someone after waiting so long to meet him, she would never have introduced him to her. Rong Qing looked over and saw a man in a suit sitting beside Meng Lin. Because his back was to them, she could not make out his face.

First impression: full of himself and begging for trouble.

Rong Qing sat down opposite them. Her broad black-rimmed glasses and the longer fringe falling over her forehead concealed most of her face. Her fame was no longer what it once had been; if she did not want to be swarmed by fans and paparazzi whenever she went out, she had to make some changes.

Meng Lin’s boyfriend glanced at her. Behind his frameless lenses, a look of disdain flashed by. Rong Qing’s heart sank.

“Qing, this is the man I told you about. My boyfriend, Meng Jie.” Meng Lin sounded thrilled, like a happy little bird chirping away in introduction. Both her hands were wrapped around Meng Jie’s arm, intimate and affectionate.

“Miss Rong, hello. Meng Lin has mentioned you to me.” Meng Jie lightly touched her hand; it barely counted as a handshake. As he spoke, he took out a handkerchief and casually wiped his palm, as though it had been soiled.

“What does Mr. Meng do for a living? You seem to have quite a distinguished background. I suppose Meng Lin is reaching rather high for you,” Rong Qing said, her words edged with sarcasm. From the moment they met, his lack of manners and his haughty air had made her determined to find out the true nature of this pretentious man.

“I’m the marketing manager at the Huo Corporation, and also the spokesperson for the entire Asian special zone.”

“Uh… cough, cough, cough…” Rong Qing nearly sprayed out the water she had just swallowed. So he was an employee of her man’s company, and yet he could still be this impressive.

“Miss Rong, is there a problem?” Meng Jie looked at the droplets from her coughing with clear distaste, and in his Armani suit he kept edging farther away. He even held a handkerchief over his nose, as though she carried some plague.

“No… no problem.” Rong Qing gave an awkward smile, though her expression was growing colder by the second. She shot a glare at the lovestruck fool beside her. You’ve really lost your mind, finding a man like this—with a nose so high in the air! Are you planning never to live peacefully again?

Meng Lin blinked at her with a face full of grievance. After all these years and after who knew how many blind dates, she had finally found such an outstanding, high-quality man. How could she bear to give him up? She placated Rong Qing with a look, and the two exchanged expressions back and forth, communicating a hundred unspoken things.

Rong Qing was softened by Meng Lin’s pitiful little look. Since it had not been easy for her to find someone she liked, Rong Qing could not go and spoil it. She would just see what other tricks this man could still pull.

“Meng Lin, what would you like to drink? The mocha here is quite good.” Meng Jie had already taken the menu. He did care about Meng Lin in his way. Although his manner remained arrogant and superior, in front of her he shed some of that superficial flashiness and showed a little sincerity. His affectionate interaction with Meng Lin made the two of them, who should never have seemed well matched at all, look surprisingly harmonious and close.

They chatted and ordered their drinks. Then the pretentious man resumed his lofty expression. The café was famous, even the cheapest cup costing over a hundred, and Meng Jie directly chose a latte of no low price for Rong Qing, wearing a look that said: since it’s your first time here and you’re unfamiliar with the place, I’ll order for you. So considerate.

Damn it—Rong Qing’s little bit of goodwill immediately dropped below zero. Meng Lin smiled awkwardly from the side, trying with her eyes to cool Rong Qing’s anger.

After the coffee came, Meng Jie handled the irritation, while Meng Lin smoothed things over. The couple worked in perfect coordination, leaving Rong Qing to take the full brunt of it alone. There was nothing she could do; she could hardly grab the pretentious man by the ear and shout, I’m rich, and your boss is my man!

“Ah… Qing, is your man here this early to pick you up?” Meng Lin said. If she had not spotted the shining, dazzling figure of the big boss through the floor-to-ceiling window, she would never have noticed him.

Rong Qing glanced at her watch. Sure enough.

She did not know whether the man’s company had gone bankrupt, but no matter what time it was, or what part of the day, he always had time to come and pick her up. Yet in her own time, the words busy and unavailable simply did not exist.

Rong Qing picked up her handbag and said goodbye to Meng Lin. She went around the counter to settle the bill, then turned and walked out.

Meng Jie stared after her for a long while, dazed. The glittering brand logo on the handbag was blinding. If he had not been blinded by his own preconceived notions, he would never have realized that the outfit worn by such a young girl could cost no less than his own.

Then he saw Rong Qing get into a luxury car, and the man behind the wheel looked so much like the president of the Huo Group, his direct superior—Huo Lingtian.

At only one casual glance, Meng Jie broke out in a cold sweat.

“Je-Jie… what’s wrong?” Seeing her boyfriend freeze and fall into thought, Meng Lin thought he had discovered Rong Qing’s identity. She pressed her hands together and explained apologetically, “Jie, it’s not that I meant to hide it from you, it’s just… Qing’s identity is rather special.”

Meng Jie came back to himself and asked stiffly, “Special?”

“Yes. She’s an internationally renowned film star. Her fan base is enormous, so she has to disguise herself when she goes out. Jie, don’t blame me for hiding Qing’s identity…”

Meng Lin spoke in a coaxing tone. The man before her was proud and arrogant, but he was different in front of her—real and warm. That was why she was willing to tolerate him, even if his personality looked so terrible in front of her best friend and made him seem completely worthless.

“Oh.” A drop of cold sweat slid down Meng Jie’s forehead. Thank heavens she was only a celebrity. Maybe he had mistaken someone else.

Inside the car, Rong Qing stared fixedly at the president of the Huo Group. Was it that all the employees of the Huo Corporation were so nose-in-the-air and bossy? They were even wearing the same Armani. Indeed, the essence of the Huo family as upstarts never changed.

Huo Lingtian grew uneasy under her gaze. A strange tension began to spread through him.

“Qing… are you dissatisfied with him?” Huo Lingtian asked carefully. He had heard that Meng Lin had brought her boyfriend to introduce him to her, and his darling had been excited all night, imagining a man with the air of a scholar, gentle and refined, perhaps even a handsome blond with blue eyes and so on. Looking at things now, those fantasies were probably shattered, and the fire was about to burn back onto him.

“Do the Huo Corporation’s employees earn very well?” Rong Qing asked casually.

Huo Lingtian, keenly observant as ever, immediately grew alert and answered cautiously, “Not bad. The annual dividends are a little better than those of other companies.”

In truth, his answer understated things a little. If it were only “a little better,” there would not be so many university graduates rushing in droves to submit resumes to the Huo Corporation every year.

“Oh, so the marketing manager is not that rich, then.” Rong Qing was full of disdain. Hmph.

How could the clever young master Huo fail to hear the hidden meaning in his darling’s words? Presumably the Huo Corporation’s marketing manager had given her a hard time. Huo Lingtian’s expression changed, becoming sharp and decisive.

“You mustn’t go too far. He is my Meng Lin’s destined man. But a warning strike is still fine.”

Although Meng Jie was good to Lin, his pride was too great. If he was not warned, Meng Lin would eventually suffer for it.

“Understood!” Huo Lingtian kissed his darling’s cheek, overflowing with delighted happiness.

The next day, Meng Jie, who had long held the position of marketing manager at the Huo Corporation, was summoned by the president. The employees around him were all envious and jealous, congratulating him on his rise in status and fortune. Only Meng Jie himself knew what was coming, and his already uneasy heart grew even more hollow.

As he entered the highest-level president’s office, the hall he had once dreamed of visiting, each step now felt heavy.

Meng Jie stood there sweating for who knew how long, yet the man in the president’s seat never once looked at him. The fear in Meng Jie’s heart deepened. He had relied on his own efforts to climb to this position, never imagining that his arrogance and self-importance would one day cost him everything. He had only stood for half an hour, but it felt like an eternity.

“The marketing department… sales have been slipping lately,” Huo Lingtian said lightly.

The standing Meng Jie seemed to face a great enemy. His whole body went rigid, as if his blood had begun to flow backward.

“I have let down Mr. Huo… I… I am willing…” To be dismissed. He was already preparing for the worst.

“Then halve the annual dividends. People need a sense of crisis even in times of peace, so they’ll do their work properly.”

Huo Lingtian made the decision at once. In any case, reducing dividends was only a matter of a single word from the big boss; there was no need to go to such lengths to summon him. But to suppress a person’s pride and confidence—now that was interesting.

As expected, Meng Jie was instantly moved to tears of gratitude. Even if his salary had been docked, he still felt the world had been far too merciful to him. He would work hard from now on to repay Young Master Huo for the favor of recognizing his talent.

A devoted fan had been thoroughly brainwashed.

Meng Jie left and returned from the president’s office in a dazed state, and as a person he changed. No longer ostentatious or arrogant, he became steady, hardworking, and low-profile. From that day onward, his relationship with Meng Lin advanced by leaps and bounds. His sincerity toward her, his thoughtfulness and care, made him increasingly mild and warm to everyone else as well.

By now, Rong Qing’s value had risen day by day. Advertisements featuring her could be seen on every street and in every alley. With her growing star power, more and more companies sought her endorsement, including many world-famous international brands. But those who knew her well all understood that her first choice for endorsements was always the Huo family’s industries, spanning from the low-end to the high-end, almost entirely under her command. Because of her involvement, the Huo family’s businesses increased their share of the global market by two-tenths of a percent, amounting to tens of billions in worldwide sales.

Such a girl—Rong Qing, an ordinary yet brilliant name—used her unique charm to influence the direction of fashion, create a buying frenzy, and win praise by the thousands. She would, with that same distinctive allure, bring The Transformation of Miss Y once again to the wider audience, allowing everyone to experience the many sides of Rong Qing’s image.

Let everyone wait and see.