Chapter 887 - 886: If I Were Qing Rong, I’d Have Died of Anger by Now

"You don’t want to date someone from the entertainment industry, so would you consider dating your boss?"

Relationships in the entertainment industry are quite troublesome, but office romances are equally complicated.

Mu Qiu was seriously asking, regardless of how difficult the process might be or what she thought of the two men, she was only choosing between a "relationship in the entertainment industry" and an "office romance."

If she felt office romance was acceptable and had some feelings for that boss, then she might as well start acting on it—that’s how she saw it anyway.

But Zhao Yu was clearly less straightforward.

"Both are troublesome... No, a boss is just a boss, don’t overthink it!"

Mu Qiu pursed her lips, "Are you sure? When you were in the country, he helped you with your funds and stocks, he invited you when he went abroad, and even now, he’s still concerned about you... Well, maybe he really has no interest in you, and you guys are just in a superior-subordinate relationship. He simply thought you looked so pitiful, pale like a ghost being alone abroad, so he asked you out of pity, is that it?"

Zhao Yu: "....Why am I so unwilling to accept this when you put it that way? Maybe he’s actually interested in me."

"A woman’s heart is like a needle in the sea. Maybe at first he just felt bad seeing your fund all in the red, so he guided you a little," Mu Qiu countered.

"No, I now think he wasn’t looking for funds, he had his eye on this good stock—me!"

Mu Qiu: "...Get a grip. From what you’re saying, you don’t think much if Shen Zhousong tries to flirt with you, but when your boss tries, you get all excited. Looks like you really prefer office romances."

"That’s not the case at all, you’re overthinking this. I’m just grateful that my boss woke up my fund potential, allowing me to envisage prosperity. Any boss who can make me see riches is a great person. My admiration for him is like the Yangtze River, flowing endlessly!"

"You must be the one sending all the cattle to the sky with your boasting," she rolled her eyes.

Zhao Yu laughed sheepishly and didn’t dwell on Shen Zhousong or her boss but rather asked about her relationship.

"How have things been for you lately? I see online that news about you guys hasn’t stopped, the rumors are so detailed that it feels like the paparazzi are living in the same room with you."

Mu Qiu leaned against the table, lazily asking, "What rumors? Rumors that can only be known by living in the same room... Is there talk of true couples making lewd jokes online?"

"...Then it’s not the same room, they’d be sleeping under your bed! You and that friend of yours, the really handsome one, what’s his name again, Qing Rong, right? Are you still in contact?"

"Yeah, we just talked on the phone a few days ago."

"Still in contact?!" Zhao Yu exclaimed in surprise, "I see online people saying you’ve both met each other’s parents with Cheng Zhirang, doesn’t he mind?"

Mu Qiu: "A phone call is just a phone call, but it depends on what it’s about. I’m not hiding anything, and I’ve honestly confessed. Besides, I’ve solemnly informed Brother Cheng that I actively discouraged Qing Rong. He found it quite satisfying."

"Actively discouraged Qing Rong?" Zhao Yu was bewildered, "How do you go about actively discouraging someone?"

She extended her voice leisurely, "I said, Cheng Zhirang is my heart, my soul, my three-quarters, and told him that there’s no boundary in the sea of bitterness, turning back is the shore. I feel like I could go be a motivational speaker, guiding the many poor souls lost in romantic turmoil onto the right path."

For a while, only the sound of breathing could be heard from the other end, not normal breath sounds, more like someone intending to speak but closing their mouth again.

Only after a long pause did Zhao Yu say, "If I were Qing Rong, I’d already be infuriated to death by you."

Qing Rong would indeed be infuriated, but not because of that comment.

"Well, I also told him something. He said he likes me because the first time we met, my outfit caught his eye, and I told him that dress was chosen by Cheng Zhirang; if he wants to like someone, he should like Cheng Zhirang."

Zhao Yu was shocked, "You blurted out something like that, didn’t he cuss you out for being crazy?"

"He said talking to me was making him furious."

Zhao Yu: "He should be furious. Someone petty might even start hating you out of love and hate. This move is just too vicious. You’re quite ruthless."

Mu Qiu touched her nose and said nothing.

The two chatted for quite a while; Zhao Yu was eating fast food while on the call, and by the time she finished her burger and coffee, the call was also wrapping up.

With the lively conversation fading, the small villa returned to silence.

Living alone was indeed much quieter because you couldn’t talk to yourself—it’d be creepy. The only option was to turn on the TV or play some music, usually the latter.

Light music flowed through the living room, she hummed while washing the dishes, cleaned up the kitchen, and then went up to the small balcony on the second floor.

The solo life began again.

Friday.

Only one day left until the last episode.

The director had already informed the group early about the preparations for this episode in the show’s group chat—bring things.

Apart from their luggage, they could bring anything for use, eating, or playing. There was an additional note about bringing untreated ingredients if opting for food items.

So there was a segment involving cooking their own meals. Other items might also serve as farewell gifts.

Farewell—

The tenth episode arrived too soon. She hadn’t completely snapped out of the amazement of her variety show script being adapted, and the show was already nearing its end, leaving her quite sentimental.

No one knew what format the final episode would take. Guan Yu said it would be more emotional; could they really be asked to deliver an 800-word reflection each?

She opened her suitcase and placed it in the middle of the living room, carefully pondering what to bring along.

Oh right, she still didn’t know where they were going; Cheng Zhirang and Assistant Liang had already left, so she needed to figure out how to get to the destination herself this time.

Mu Qiu reached for her phone, checked online, and found the official Weibo account had already posted about the latest episode.

["Different Variety Show" Official Weibo V: Last episode, back to basics, a fun group outing!]

With that brief description, apart from knowing it’s a group outing, everything else was uncertain.

She ran over to the group chat to ask Guan Yu.

[Mu Qiu: Sister Guan Yu, can all those gift boxes you’ve given get exchanged for more useful information?]

[Guan Yu: Don’t say nonsense, what gift boxes—I didn’t send any gifts]

[Guan Yu: Oh, this isn’t the official group chat, I took a wrong look. What info do you want?]

[Shu Ran: Signature skill eye-roll.jpg]

[Li Yang: Where are we going?]

[Guan Yu: I asked, the director is editing the text and will send it to the group soon. Middle-aged folks have slower typing speeds, it’s just the way it is]

[Guan Yu: Here, I’ve copied it—Dear guests, the location for the last episode is Island Mountain City Villa. Please arrive at Linhai Airport by 10 AM tomorrow. If you’re having travel issues, inform the team promptly.]

By 10 AM at Linhai Airport? It’s a two-hour trip from Hai City Airport. Mu Qiu set aside her suitcase and booked a flight for 7 AM.

Linhai Airport, Island Villa—that’s a place with a sea area.