She quickly got out of bed and got dressed, rushing to the magazine office.
The receptionist saw her: "Xingyu, you finally made it. Ling Weilong is asking for you in the meeting room number three."
She thanked the receptionist and knocked on the door of meeting room number three. Everyone inside had already arrived, seated on either side of a long, spacious conference table were Mr. Sun from "Illusion Dream" magazine, Mr. Liu, Mr. Zhao, and Ling Weilong; from Qin Corporation were Qin Mu and Su Xingqi; and two others she didn't know, likely representatives from Huadie Clothing.
Her gaze paused for a moment on Qin Mu and Su Xingqi.
Today, Su Xingqi was dressed very beautifully, with alluring smoky makeup, a unique dress, and meticulously manicured nails that gleamed on the dark meeting table. Her body was dangerously close to Qin Mu, almost crossing the boundary of public decency. Her charming eyes held a bit of a hidden challenge as she looked at Su Xingyu, a malicious smile hovering at her lips.
Qin Mu, on the other hand, was frowning at Su Xingyu, lost in thought.
Su Xingyu quickly shifted her gaze; the entanglements between her and Qin Mu had long dissipated with that slap at her sister's coming-of-age ceremony. Now they were just strangers. What mattered most to her now was doing her job well.
She looked around the meeting room, then bowed her head apologetically: "Sorry for being late."
She then naturally took a seat next to Ling Weilong.
Ling Weilong gave her a light glare, as if to scold her for being late, but with so many people present, he didn't really say anything. On the contrary, Su Xingqi couldn't hold back and sneered: "Wow, you've got quite the attitude. Qin Mu and Mr. Sun have been here forever, and you come strolling in late. People who know you understand you're just a little assistant, but those who don't might think you're someone really important."
Su Xingyu didn't want to engage with her, but given the presence of so many important people, she explained out of courtesy: "I left work late yesterday and overslept this morning, sorry everyone."
Su Xingqi continued to toy with her shiny nails, her voice sweet and pleasing, yet laced with a hidden edge: "Don't make it sound so pitiful, like you're the only one working hard. Who here isn't working harder than you?"
Su Xingyu just smiled and ignored her.
The reason was already explained; any further bickering with Su Xingqi would only make her seem childish.
Maybe Su Xingqi had Qin Mu backing her up, so her childishness could be seen as the spoiled innocence of a beloved girl, but Su Xingyu didn't have the luxury of immaturity. No one would be there to clean up her messes in this world. Lu Shifeng didn't count; their relationship was too complicated, and she didn't want to owe him anything.
She had to hold back in every way.
Seeing her silence, Su Xingqi smiled smugly, her smile arrogant.
Ling Weilong couldn't stand it anymore and slammed his teacup down: "I mean, Mr. Qin, you're here for a meeting, so there's no need to bring along irrelevant people, right? This is a meeting between the magazine and brand representatives. What's with bringing a little model into this? A mistress, perhaps?"
His words were loud and harsh, and Su Xingqi's face changed on the spot: "What did you say?!"
"I said, are you a mistress or what?" Ling Weilong feared no one, and he didn't care, "Look at which model attends these kinds of settings. If it weren't for your relationship with Mr. Qin, do you think you could have come in?"
"You!" Su Xingqi was both embarrassed and annoyed, turning to Qin Mu with a pitiable look, "Qin Mu!"
Beside her, Qin Mu frowned, seeing Ling Weilong speak up for Su Xingyu like a protector, feeling an inexplicable irritation rising within him. He spoke deeply: "Su Xingyu, don't target Qiqi like that. She's innocent; don't let your bias against her interfere with work."
Su Xingyu found it strange. Clearly, it was Ling Weilong doing the scolding, what did it have to do with her?
"How am I targeting her?"
Qin Mu frowned and said: "Unless you said something bad about Qiqi to Mr. Ling, why would he think Qiqi is a mistress?" The hurt and angry glances from Su Xingyu at Su Xingqi's coming-of-age ceremony still lingered in his mind. He guessed Su Xingyu must still be hung up on him and was taking it out on Su Xingqi, talking badly about her everywhere.
Su Xingyu was amused and almost laughed from anger; this was truly a case of giving a dog a bad name with no evidence.
She spoke coldly: "Qin Mu, you're really full of yourself, aren't you? Not everyone sees you and Su Xingqi as treasures. Also, this is a meeting room, not your backyard. Please stop bringing up unnecessary things and focus on the meeting."
Qin Mu's face turned red then white in succession.
He found himself increasingly unable to recognize Su Xingyu. She used to be so gentle and obedient to him, she wouldn't even raise her voice. Now, every word he said was met with resistance and not a single pleasant expression.
Somewhere inside, he felt a vague sense of loss.
Ling Weilong gloated: "Hear that, Mr. Qin? My assistant made it clear, don't take yourself too seriously! And please, let's clear the room, thank you. This meeting involves the 'Illusion Dream' Autumn/Winter fashion week cover. It's a serious matter; there's no need for unrelated people to be sneaking looks at the cover photos. Who's going to answer if it gets leaked?"
"Who are you calling unrelated?!" Fuelling her anger further with his repeated use of the term, Su Xingqi's fury surged. She glared menacingly at Ling Weilong but quickly realized he was no pushover, so instead, she went for the easier target. "If anyone should leave, it's Su Xingyu! I'm a renowned model, and she's just a mere assistant. Who really lacks the qualifications to be in this meeting?"
Ling Weilong sneered, sharply retorting: "How can my assistant be considered irrelevant? She made significant contributions to the advertisement for Huadie Clothing and later needs to explain the shooting concepts. But you... a renowned model? Heh, Su Xingqi, are you a supermodel or universally known? Even if you were, a supermodel wouldn't necessarily have a say in magazine decisions!"
Su Xingqi was so angry, her chest heaving as if a gush of blood was stuck in her throat, almost ready to be spit out.
This Ling Weilong, he really knew how to hit where it hurt!
Though she was somewhat renowned, she wasn't an international supermodel, nor ranked among the top domestically, and there were even disputes within the industry about whether she was truly a renowned model. Ling Weilong's words were deliberately meant to embarrass her!
"Mr. Ling, you're going too far!" Qin Mu couldn't hold back anymore.
Ling Weilong fearlessly met his gaze: "Keep your woman in check; connections are connections, don't go picking a fight with my assistant! My assistant earns her keep, works diligently, unlike your woman, who relies on her background and can muscle her way into legitimate settings, stirring up trouble everywhere!"