The Stand-In, Ah Zhao (GL) - Chapter 2

Her assistant, Ji Mingshu, knocked on the door. Standing by the window, Song Ling said quietly, “Come in.”

Ji Mingshu pushed the door open and saw that Song Ling had changed dresses. The long, bright red one she had worn earlier had been replaced by a black dress.

As far as Ji Mingshu could remember, her boss only ever wore those two colors.

Red and black, both rich and striking.

“Boss, there’s been an incident at the Jinji Hotel,” Ji Mingshu said.

Song Ling drew her gaze back from the window and turned around, her expression calm. “What happened?”

“One of the guests is an entertainer. That hailstorm earlier damaged the hotel’s water supply system. Maintenance has already fixed it, but she keeps pressing the staff and demanding compensation.”

Song Ling barely reacted. “Where’s the person in charge?”

The Jinji Hotel was one of the Song Group’s properties. The group had interests in a wide range of industries, and Song Ling rarely concerned herself with hotel matters.

“Manager Tang, who’s in charge of the hotel, happens to be on leave today,” Ji Mingshu explained. “Because the guest is a public figure, she’s making quite a scene. The floor supervisors reported it up the chain for you to handle.”

Outside, the sky was growing dark. The rain had stopped long ago.

Song Ling picked up the jacket draped over the back of her chair and headed for the door. “Let’s take a look.”

Ji Mingshu followed her, and they drove to the hotel together.

Even from a distance, they could see a crowd of reporters gathered at the entrance.

Access was restricted, so everyone had crowded into the hotel lobby. It was in chaos.

As soon as Song Ling arrived, several supervisors got word and hurried over to greet her.

Walking in her heels, Song Ling asked, “What exactly happened?”

Although the Jinji Hotel belonged to the Song Group, its size, profits, and other aspects were all unremarkable. In the group’s eyes, it barely counted for anything.

But it was close to Song Group headquarters, and the incident involved an entertainer, which meant it could affect the group’s reputation. The staff below weren’t sure how serious the matter might become and didn’t dare handle it themselves, so they had reported it to Song Ling.

Song Ling was the sole heir of the Song Group’s chairperson. For years, she had handled matters large and small throughout the company.

Everyone in the Song Group knew that Miss Song was proud and aloof, and decisive in the way she conducted business. Anyone dealing with her had to be exceptionally careful.

A department manager followed Song Ling toward the elevator, stealing glances at her expression as she walked. Hoping to shift the blame elsewhere, she explained, “The guest is a popular online influencer, though her reputation isn’t very good. Most of the news about her involves scandals and attention-seeking antics. This time, she deliberately used the Song Group’s name to draw all those reporters here.”

They entered the elevator and headed for the eleventh floor.

Song Ling understood. It was just an influencer stirring up trouble for publicity.

“Get those reporters downstairs out of here first. No photos are to be published without permission. Otherwise, the Song Group’s lawyers will be in touch with their magazines and newspapers.” Song Ling paused, then added, “Call Lawyer Wang.”

Behind her, Ji Mingshu understood immediately. Lawyer Wang was her boss’s personal attorney.

Once he was involved, there wasn’t a case he couldn’t settle.

“Yes,” Ji Mingshu said with a nod. She made the call.

The elevator stopped on the eleventh floor. The entire floor was made up of themed suites.

There weren’t many rooms, but they were beautifully decorated.

At the far end of the corridor, several supervisors and department managers were gathered outside a room. Even before Song Ling reached the door, she could hear them apologizing to the guest with painstaking courtesy.

“We’re terribly sorry, Miss Jiang. Under the contract, this falls under force majeure. The hailstorm was unexpected, and there was no way for us to prevent it. Our maintenance department repaired the problem as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience…”

Before the woman could finish, she caught sight of Song Ling approaching from the corner of her eye.

She had never seen Song Ling in person, only in photographs. Even so, one glance at her was enough to leave an impression.

The manager stopped speaking and greeted her respectfully. “Miss Song.”

Song Ling gave a faint acknowledgment and glanced into the room.

The influencer was still in her pajamas, sitting on the sofa. Her manager stood beside her, bent deferentially toward her. He didn’t look like someone capable of making decisions for himself.

Song Ling walked in. Her heels made her appear tall and slender, and the black dress gave her an elegant bearing. There was an intangible pressure to her presence.

Jiang Yan froze when she saw her. She considered herself a beauty, and after so many years in the industry, she had seen beautiful women of every kind.

But the woman before her had exquisitely refined features, finely arched brows, and red lips that drew the eye. Her cold, slightly upturned eyes brought a phrase unbidden to Jiang Yan’s mind: a beautiful viper.

She was beautiful, certainly, but hers was the kind of beauty that made a person’s heart tremble.

Jiang Yan straightened unconsciously against the back of the sofa. Of course she had heard of the Song Group, and she knew of the legendary Miss Song Ling.

She simply hadn’t expected Song Ling to come and deal with this herself.

All Jiang Yan had wanted was to borrow the Song Group’s name to get some attention. The group rarely made the news. If she could attach herself to this story, she was sure to make tonight’s headlines.

And now that the Song heiress had appeared in person, the whole affair was bound to pay off.

Jiang Yan was about to speak in a domineering tone when Song Ling’s assistant spoke first. “Boss, Lawyer Wang is here.”

Jiang Yan froze at her words.

Song Ling had brought a lawyer?

Before Jiang Yan could gather her thoughts, a man in a formal suit entered the room. He looked every inch an attorney.

Jiang Yan began to panic.

She had expected them to negotiate for a while. Who would have thought Song Ling wouldn’t even bother with the usual courtesies…

Ji Mingshu had already explained the situation to the lawyer before he arrived.

Lawyer Wang went straight to the point. “Under the relevant laws, where a force majeure event occurs under a contract, such as an earthquake, typhoon, flood, or hailstorm, a party may be exempt from liability for breach of contract. As for anyone who makes a scene and damages our company’s reputation, we will mobilize every available person and take every possible measure to seek a resolution. If those efforts fail, the person causing the disturbance will be taken to the public security office.”

The lawyer recited a long list of provisions. Jiang Yan barely listened. All she heard was the final line about being taken to the public security office, and her expression changed at once.

Song Ling noticed and gave a cold scoff. Her gaze flicked to the name badge on the nearby manager’s jacket. “Manager Xu,” she said coldly, “show her out.”

Jiang Yan rose in alarm and was about to argue, but her manager tugged at her clothes from behind and shook his head, signaling her not to cause more trouble.

Everyone in the industry knew what kind of person Song Ling was. There was a reason the Song Group never appeared in the news. It wasn’t that there was nothing to report; no one dared report on it.

Song Ling turned to leave. As she reached the doorway, the door of the room across the corridor suddenly opened, and she stopped short.

Shen Zhao and Rui Si’er were staying across the hall. They were about to go out. Rui Si’er had her back to the corridor, while Shen Zhao had both arms around her neck and was hanging off her. Her eyes curved with her smile as she kissed the woman in front of her, calling softly, “Si’er…”

Song Ling caught sight of those eyes again: dark, almond-shaped eyes glistening with moisture, as though Shen Zhao had just cried.

The love in them could not have been more obvious.

The rooms did not face each other directly, so neither Shen Zhao nor Rui Si’er noticed what was happening across the corridor.

Following behind Song Ling, Ji Mingshu sensed her moment of hesitation. She followed Song Ling’s gaze and caught sight of the face through the gap in the doorway.

Ji Mingshu froze too. The resemblance was only five or six parts out of ten, but the eyes were nine parts alike.

She stood quietly behind Song Ling and said nothing.

Song Ling lowered her gaze slightly, looked away, and left the room. Then she walked down the corridor.

After the rain, a faint coolness rode the night breeze through Jiangcheng.

Ji Mingshu drove, while Song Ling sat in the back.

The car moved slowly. The city’s neon lights streamed in through the window, shifting between light and shadow across Song Ling. They lent the quiet car an even lonelier, colder air.

Song Ling leaned back with her eyes closed, but the image of that woman kissing someone else filled her mind.

Those eyes, gentle and innocent, smiling and wet with tears…

Irritation rose in her. She abruptly opened her eyes, her long, curled lashes casting shadows under the passing lights.

Her low voice broke the silence. “Send me the information on every guest staying on the hotel’s eleventh floor.”

Ji Mingshu paused for a moment, though she seemed to have expected it. Without asking any questions, she replied respectfully, “Yes, Boss.”