Chapter 182 First Meeting

Chapter 182: Chapter 154: First Meeting

Lin Zhengran looked up, slightly surprised to see Jiang Jingshi’s expression was a little different from usual.

He nodded, though. As long as she was willing to listen, that was all that mattered.

After the massage, Lin Zhengran sat at his desk and reviewed the profiles of all the company’s singers. He also briefly listened to each of their songs to gauge their skill level for the afternoon meeting.

During this time, Jiang Jingshi sat on the sofa. Since Lin Zhengran had told her to get more rest, she didn’t have much else to do.

After the ankle massage, however, a faint blush appeared on Jiang Jingshi’s cheeks as if she were lost in a memory. She would occasionally glance over at Lin Zhengran’s busy form, her lips pressing together silently.

Before lunch, Lin Zhengran said goodbye to Jiang Jingshi and went to find Jiang Xueli.

In the studio, he watched as the young woman filmed the music video for her song, "You Are My Star," with the help of the production crew.

Jiang Xueli, of course, spotted Lin Zhengran watching from the side. The sight of him made her space out and miss a cue, prompting a reminder from the director, "Lili, don’t space out!"

Jiang Xueli called out in acknowledgment and, flustered, quickly resumed singing and performing the choreographed moves.

Her heart raced. ’I can’t look at Lin Zhengran,’ she thought, ’or I’ll get nervous.’

After they finished filming for the morning, Jiang Xueli walked over, her hands clasped behind her back. "How was it, Zhengran? Was it okay?"

Lin Zhengran nodded seriously. "Aside from spacing out sometimes, the rest was pretty good."

"What do you mean, ’spacing out sometimes’? I was spacing out because..." Jiang Xueli blushed and looked away. ’Isn’t it your fault I was spacing out? I knew you were watching, and I just lost focus!’

"Because of what?" Lin Zhengran asked.

Jiang Xueli shook her head frantically. "Nothing, nothing."

"Let’s go get lunch together. I heard the cafeteria menu was personally overseen by Wang and that the food is great."

"They serve food here? Wang’s old studio never served food."

As they walked toward the cafeteria, Lin Zhengran explained, "Wang had limited funds on her own. Her old studio wasn’t profitable, so providing meals would’ve made it impossible to operate. The person in charge has changed, the company has money now, and that’s why they added lunch."

Hearing this, Jiang Xueli was once again reminded that Lin Zhengran was the boss.

Walking beside him, she was still amazed. ’Zhengran is a boss now? The difference in our status is so huge, I still haven’t fully processed it all morning.’

However, after the two left, neither of them noticed Jiang Jingshi and Pan Lin standing at the entrance to the studio.

The reason they were there was that it was lunchtime, and when Jiang Jingshi saw that Lin Zhengran hadn’t returned to the office, she thought she’d come over and personally invite him to eat with her.

But who would have thought that upon arriving, she would find him chatting with Jiang Xueli? The two of them were talking and laughing as they headed to the cafeteria together.

Her secretary, Pan Lin, saw it too. She blinked, slightly shocked, then glanced at President Jiang to gauge her reaction.

Just as she expected, Jiang Jingshi’s happy expression faltered. Her eyes, usually so gentle and alluring, now held a trace of disappointment.

Her gaze remained fixed on the direction where Lin Zhengran and Jiang Xueli had disappeared.

Trying to smooth things over, Pan Lin whispered, "President Lin is here for the first time today. Maybe he just wanted to see what the employee cafeteria food tastes like and went with Jiang Xueli."

Jiang Jingshi glanced at Pan Lin.

Pan Lin swallowed silently, feeling a prickle of fear.

’I’ve said too much.’

But Jiang Jingshi simply said, "Is that so?" She showed no anger, smiling instead. "Then let’s go back to the office to eat, too."

Pan Lin nodded blankly. "Okay, I’ll go get your food then."

Jiang Jingshi turned and headed back toward the second floor.

Pan Lin watched Jiang Jingshi’s retreating figure. She had been with President Jiang for many years and had seen her through all sorts of emotions—anger, sadness, excitement. But the micro-expression on her face right now was one she had only started seeing recently.

It was a strange expression. On the surface, she looked no different than usual, yet there was a faint, indescribable air of loneliness about her.

During lunch, Jiang Xueli, Lin Zhengran, and all the other singers had plates filled with three dishes and a soup—a very hearty meal.

Jiang Xueli sat across from Lin Zhengran and exclaimed, "The food here is so good!" She picked up a piece with her chopsticks and tasted it. "It’s so much better than the school cafeteria! Zhengran, you have to try it!"

Lin Zhengran took a couple of bites and had to agree that it was better than the school cafeteria by a long shot. It was clear that Jiang Jingshi had put a lot of thought into these small details.

After lunch, Jiang Xueli continued shooting the indoor scenes for her MV.

Lin Zhengran, meanwhile, went to the main hall, where about a hundred singers and Wang were already seated.

Lin Zhengran started the meeting by announcing that he would hold a group coaching session for everyone that afternoon. Afterward, he would also individually address the specific issues each of them had with their singing.

He wanted to raise the overall skill level within the company as much as possible in the shortest amount of time.

Just at that moment, as Jiang Jingshi was thinking of going downstairs to observe, she received a phone call. It was from the Jiang Group, requesting her to return to the company for an urgent matter.

Jiang Jingshi wanted to refuse, because Lin Zhengran was only here for these two days out of the whole week.

This time, however, it seemed very important, leaving Jiang Jingshi with no choice but to go.

She had to find Lin Zhengran. "Zhengran, something came up at the Jiang Group, so I have to head over. I won’t be able to stay with you this afternoon."

Lin Zhengran acknowledged her. "Go on and get busy, Jiang. But don’t forget what I said this morning. Make sure to get plenty of rest."

Jiang Jingshi smiled gently. "Of course. I’ll remember."

After a brief exchange, Jiang Jingshi left with Pan Lin, and Lin Zhengran officially began his class for the singers.