My Paranoid Girlfriend Asks Me to Be Her Kept Woman (Rebirth) - Chapter 11

Yes, Zhao Qi herself was not particularly fond of Western food. Compared with Western cuisine, Chinese food suited her appetite better.

The reason she chose this Western restaurant today was because she had come here to “coincidentally” run into Jianming’s chairman.

As they said, the business world was like a battlefield.

She had originally thought that with Chairman Li’s son, Li Junhao, getting into trouble this time, Jianming would at least suffer a serious blow. That way, Zhao Group’s cultural and entertainment territory would be able to gnaw off a hard piece of bone. After all, Jianming currently occupied a large share of the entertainment market.

Of course, swallowing Jianming whole was unrealistic, but they should at least have been able to get a few meaty bones.

Unexpectedly, even a tiger would not eat its cubs, yet Chairman Li’s method of painfully cutting off what he loved was indeed brilliant.

He let his beloved son take full responsibility, and Jianming’s foundation was not shaken at all.

But.

Zhao Qi looked at Lin Yi, whose face was full of smiles, and felt slightly apologetic.

Chairman Li’s lawful wife did not think that way. She was also Jianming’s only opening.

That woman was impulsive and irritable, and when it came to her son, she had no rationality at all.

Although she and Chairman Li had risen from humble beginnings together, she had not learned any of Chairman Li’s methods.

Lin Yi was still immersed in the atmosphere the woman had created and did not notice the changes in the surroundings.

As soon as Chairman Li entered the restaurant with his wife, he saw the young girl from the Zhao family.

This year’s changes were truly great. Huaicheng’s top aristocratic family, the Zhaos, had suddenly decided to enter the cultural and entertainment industry to take a slice of the pie, and they were coming in aggressively. He had heard they were about to launch a variety show with a major platform. Jianming, meanwhile, had only just run into trouble and now had to avoid the limelight for the time being.

He brought his wife over to exchange greetings with Zhao Qi.

“Young friend? You’re here for dinner too?”

Zhao Qi stood up and replied appropriately, “Chairman Li, the steak here is quite good.”

Beside Chairman Li, his wife was smiling, but when she glanced at the person sitting across from Zhao Qi, her smile froze completely on her face.

Her eyes widened as she stared gloomily at Lin Yi, her face full of hatred.

Lin Yi stood up with Zhao Qi and obediently stood beside the table, listening as Zhao Qi exchanged greetings with acquaintances.

She had not yet realized who the people standing before her were. She only felt they looked somewhat familiar.

Then she heard the woman beside him sneer coldly. “Miss Zhao, the little girl standing beside you is not presentable enough to appear in proper company.”

Zhao Qi pretended to be surprised. “Madam, what do you mean by that?”

The woman’s attitude was unfriendly, her eyes sinister and strange. “This one is an ungrateful thing who eats from the inside and helps outsiders. Miss Zhao, be careful not to be schemed against.”

Zhao Qi’s composure remained steady. She took Lin Yi’s hand and said, “Madam may have misunderstood. She would not do that.”

Chairman Li glared at his wife and said politely, “We won’t disturb your meal, young friend.”

“Take care, Chairman Li,” Zhao Qi said beside Lin Yi, seeing them off with courtesy.

Seeing Lin Yi’s face, which she hated to the depths of her heart, Madam Li’s eyes reddened from holding it in. Completely disregarding the setting, she picked up the red wine on the table and poured it over Lin Yi’s head.

She said hatefully, “Don’t think that just because you’ve climbed up to the Zhao family, I’ll let you off!”

“What are you doing?!”

“Madam Li!”

Lin Yi sucked in a breath. The red wine instantly poured down from the top of her head, soaking through her clothes.

Zhao Qi stood in front of Lin Yi with a cold face. “Could it be that Madam looks down on our Zhao family? Are you deliberately making things difficult for a guest of the Zhao family?”

Chairman Li was furious, not knowing what madness had seized this woman again.

He tried to smooth things over. “Young friend, of course not. This was my wife’s fault.”

“This young lady? Whatever she buys at the mall later will be covered by me.” Clearly, he wanted to settle things with money.

“Cover what?!” Madam Li looked as though she wanted to devour Lin Yi right then and there. “She’s the one who harmed our Xiaobao!”

Lin Yi wiped the wine from under her eyes. Her small face was deathly pale. She had also recognized the two people before her as Li Junhao’s parents, the true people in charge of Jianming Entertainment Media.

Chairman Li fell silent and sized up this “little person” who, strictly speaking, was insignificant but had almost shaken their foundation.

Zhao Qi snorted coldly. “Your honorable son’s mess was entirely his own fault.”

“Besides, wasn’t the one who gave up on your honorable son Chairman Li himself?” She poured another bucket of hot oil onto the flame that was about to explode. With a roar, the fire burst apart.

Madam Li wanted nothing more than to lunge over and tear Zhao Qi’s mouth apart. This was practically stabbing a knife into her heart.

Chairman Li was still rational. He held his wife back and saw that the restaurant’s attention had all focused here.

He lowered his voice and asked darkly, “Young friend, what are you trying to do?”

Zhao Qi pulled Lin Yi a step back. Madam Li was impulsive and irritable, and no one knew what she might do.

Zhao Qi raised her voice slightly, speaking steadily and clearly enough for others to hear. “Madam has insulted the face of Zhao Group. Zhao Group will definitely recover it!”

Chairman Li’s face darkened. He thought, what a newborn calf unafraid of tigers. She was clearly looking for an opportunity to clash head-on with Jianming! This was an open scheme placed plainly in the light! And if he did not accept now, he would not only lose face, but also lose Jianming’s momentum!

The man suddenly burst into loud laughter. “Good, Zhao Qi! Jianming accepts!”

Everything settled into place.

Lin Yi was pulled back like a puppet on strings.

She stood in the bathroom, turned on the shower, and water poured down like the emotions she was about to unleash.

But pitifully, she suppressed them again.

In their meeting in her previous life, they had simply appreciated each other—one had extraordinary musical taste, while the other needed to be recognized by someone.

A song had tied their fate together. From then on, their hearts had understood each other, and they had relied on one another for company.

Lin Yi choked once, forcing back the sourness in her heart, and let out a sob.

Zhao Qi sat on the sofa in the hall, somewhat restless.

Thinking about it, aside from having a glass of wine poured on her, Lin Yi had not really suffered any harm.

Lin Yi washed away the oppressive feeling on her body and sat by the bed, adjusting her emotions.

She heard the doorbell ring, the sound of footsteps in slippers, then everything returned to silence.

In the end, Zhao Qi could not sit still. The takeout she had ordered had been delivered for quite a while, yet there was still no movement from Lin Yi’s room.

She knocked on Lin Yi’s door.

Knock, knock—knock, knock.

Usually, whenever Lin Yi heard that knock, she would happily go welcome the woman.

But now, her emotions had nowhere to go, and she was not prepared yet.

Zhao Qi listened closely. Inside the room, it was quiet.

She knocked twice more and called, “Lin Yi?”

In the end, Lin Yi could no longer sit still on the bed. She slipped into her slippers and opened the door.

“Eat something.”

The person outside the door looked calm, as usual, and that made Lin Yi feel even more pitiful.

It also made her want to act recklessly.

Lin Yi threw herself at the woman fiercely and bit Zhao Qi’s lips.

“Mmph.” Caught off guard, Zhao Qi was pressed against the wall by Lin Yi.

Lin Yi bit her once, then, unable to bear it, began sucking gently.

Zhao Qi slowly closed her eyes and allowed the person against her to do as she pleased.

Sadness spread through Lin Yi’s eyes. She finally remembered that confession from that day, and the woman’s response.

“We can… try.”

She had thought Zhao Qi had accepted her confession, that in this life, they could continue the bond from their previous life.

But now, she clearly could not understand Zhao Qi.

Did Zhao Qi like her? Did Zhao Qi love her?

Why had she accepted her?

Chaotic voices crowded together in her head.

Lin Yi pried open Zhao Qi’s lips and tongue and kissed her deeply.

What would the answer to all of this be?

And what else was waiting for her?

Lin Yi did not know.

The kiss lasted a long time. When Lin Yi finally lowered her head onto Zhao Qi’s shoulder, Zhao Qi wrapped her arms around Lin Yi, her voice cool and clear.

“Have you calmed down?”

The white ceiling light shone into Zhao Qi’s eyes. The woman’s gaze was calm, and the elegant ends of her eyes revealed a trace of coldness.

Lin Yi hugged the woman tightly.

“Mm.”

Zhao Qi stroked Lin Yi’s hair. The soft, damp strands made her feel as if she were petting a little dog that had fallen into water.

“Dry your hair and eat something.”

Her voice softened as she comforted the person in her arms.

“Tomorrow, I’ll go with you to meet the people from Shanhai International.”

Lin Yi let go of Zhao Qi. “Aren’t you working tomorrow?”

Zhao Qi looked at her and smiled. The smile was faint and light, yet strangely soothed Lin Yi’s unease.

“Even if I’m working, I still have to accompany you.”

Lin Yi pressed her lips together and looked at the woman for a long while. After a moment, she smiled too.

“Okay.”

It seemed as if the matter had passed just like that. She did not ask, Zhao Qi did not explain, and it was as though the matter simply went by.

But the hidden unease might ignite again at some unknown time.

Perhaps tomorrow.

Perhaps in the near future.

No one would know.