Thousands of Heartbeats

Chen Lunan glanced at her and then, after seeing the surprise in her eyes, he turned his head and looked inside.

Inside the private room, everyone was momentarily stunned, surprised by Yan Qiuzhi's attitude, as well as the unexpected appearance of Chen Lunan.

The brand representative had a noticeable change in expression the moment he saw Chen Lunan.

"Teacher Chen?" The person quickly walked to the door, extending his hand for a handshake.

Chen Lunan paused slightly, tilting his body slightly to block Yan Qiuzhi behind him and shook hands with the man lightly, "Hello."

The brand representative was surprised and asked, "Teacher Chen, what are you doing here?"

As he spoke, he glanced at Yan Qiuzhi who was standing behind Chen Lunan. They had all heard Yan Qiuzhi's earlier tone.

Chen Lunan, in an indifferent tone, replied, "Just passing by."

The brand representative was puzzled by Chen Lunan's unenthusiastic response, but he didn't show it.

He smiled and suggested, "Teacher Chen, would you like to join us for dinner?"

"No," Chen Lunan replied coldly, "I have other matters." He paused for a moment and looked at the person behind him. "Who is this?"

Yan Qiuzhi was momentarily distracted, looking at the broad shoulder blocking her view.

The brand representative smiled faintly and said, "A somewhat uncooperative artist."

Chen Lunan nodded in understanding but didn't comment.

Yan Qiuzhi came back to her senses, gazing coldly at the two of them. She said in a chilly tone, "Sorry, I'm leaving."

With that, she grabbed her bag and walked out without looking back, making it clear that she had no interest in the endorsement anymore.

The people in the room exchanged glances, amazed by Yan Qiuzhi's attitude, but at the same time, they couldn't help but admire her courage. Most people wouldn't have the guts to do what she just did.

The brand representative wore an embarrassed smile as he faced Chen Lunan. He was itching with frustration but couldn't do anything.

"Yan Yan."

Suppressing her anger, Yan Qiuzhi was heading out, when she unexpectedly heard a familiar voice.

She turned and met two smiling faces.

"Why are you—" she began, then stopped herself.

Since the man was here, it was normal for the two of them to appear as well.

Jiang Chen smiled and teased, "We were waiting for you."

Yan Qiuzhi stood in place, her expression calm. Perhaps it was the result of spending a long time together with her husband, but right now, she looked quite similar to Chen Lunan when he wasn't speaking.

"Why were you waiting for me?" she asked.

Cheng Zhan smiled and was about to respond when Chen Lunan walked over from around the corner. His expression was indifferent as he lowered his head to look at Yan Qiuzhi. In a low voice, he asked, "Would you like to have dinner together?"

"......"

After entering the private room, Yan Qiuzhi looked at the four people present.

"Everyone's here," she remarked.

Jiang Chen proactively poured her a cup of tea, smiling as he said, "Yes, let's take a moment to cool down, Yan Yan."

Chen Lunan cast an indifferent glance at him.

Yan Qiuzhi looked at the tea offered to her and finally began to feel a bit more relaxed.

She wasn't angry at Chen Lunan's attitude earlier. When they got married, they set a rule that their relationship should not be exposed in public. By that logic, she only knew Chen Lunan because he was a big movie star, but as for Chen Lunan, he would naturally not know her, a low-level actress.

After taking a sip of hot tea, Yan Qiuzhi chatted with Jiang Chen and the others for a while. No one noticed when she extended her foot and lightly kicked Chen Lunan.

Chen Lunan looked at her.

Yan Qiuzhi brushed her hair behind her ear, revealing her slender neck, which looked dazzling under the warm light in the private room.

"How did you know I was there?" she asked.

Chen Lunan's gaze briefly scanned the skin on her neck. He took a sip of tea and said, "Cheng Zhan mentioned it."

"Ah?"

...........

About fifteen minutes ago, when Chen Lunan had just arrived, Jiang Chen had filled his glass with two glasses of wine.

Chen Lunan frowned slightly and asked in a deep voice, "Why did you arrange to meet around noon?"

Jiang Chen chuckled and explained, "One of us is leaving the country later, and the other is always busy with work. If we didn't arrange to meet at noon, when else would we meet?"

Hearing this, Chen Lunan raised an eyebrow but chose not to argue with them.

He looked around and noticed that only three of the four friends had arrived, "Cheng Zhan hasn't come yet?"

Jiang Chen nodded, but before he could speak, Cheng Zhan pushed open the door and entered.

Cheng Zhan was dressed in a black shirt, looking elegant. He had a different appearance from Chen Lunan; he wore a pair of glasses on his nose, which added a touch of sophistication to his look.

His narrow, long eyes made greetings to the three people, and then he casually took a seat.

Jiang Chen couldn't help but chuckle as he watched him, "You're late; have a drink."

Cheng Zhan smiled and drank two cups without hesitation. Afterward, he clinked glasses with Chen Lunan and asked, "Did you choose this place?"

Chen Lunan replied indifferently, "No."

Cheng Zhan raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Really?"

Jiang Chen sneered and couldn't stand Cheng Zhan acting like this, "I chose this place. I was also the one to pass along the messages in the group chat. How can you attribute all the credit to Ah Nan?"

Cheng Zhan remained unfazed. He calmly explained, "I just saw his wife a moment ago."

Jiang Chen was taken aback, "What?"

Cheng Zhan smiled and said, "Yan Yan was dining in the private room next to us."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow and looked at Chen Lunan, "You knew?"

Chen Lunan paused for a moment and said indifferently, "I didn't."

Cheng Zhan and Jiang Chen exchanged a glance, their expressions showing they didn't believe him. Jiang Chen asked, "Dining next door with the investors?"

Cheng Zhan replied, "Looked like it. Too many people and too chaotic. I happened to pass by and saw someone toasting Yan Yan."

Jiang Chen whistled and laughed, "With Yan Yan's personality, can she handle the alcohol?"

Cheng Zhan replied, "It's for work."

Their banter continued, but Chen Lunan looked as though he wasn't concerned with the subject at hand. It was as if the subject they were discussing wasn't his wife.

Suddenly, a cold voice interjected.

Fu Yanzhi, who had been silently looking at his phone, was even colder than Chen Lunan. His tone was clear and icy, tinged with a hint of doubt, "She can't handle alcohol, can she?"

...........

Chen Lunan withdrew from his thoughts and explained succinctly, "He just passed by and saw it."

Yan Qiuzhi raised an eyebrow at that and didn't say more.

Jiang Chen watched the way the husband and wife interacted and smiled before striking up a conversation with Yan Qiuzhi.

Yan Qiuzhi was talkative and could crack jokes in front of people she was familiar with. She could talk about anything and everything. She had known Jiang Chen and Cheng Zhan for a long time. As for Fu Yanzhi, she had only met him after she got married to Chen Lunan.

Fu Yanzhi was a doctor and rarely joined in the corruption of his other three friends. It was rare that he was here.

As the two chatted on the side, Yan Qiuzhi's momentary displeasure from earlier quickly dissipated.

Her eyes sparkled as she smiled, appearing stunning and captivating.

Cheng Zhan took a sip of tea and, with a quiet tone, remarked, "It's been a while, and you're becoming more and more beautiful, Yan Yan."

Chen Lunan, seemingly unbothered, quietly sipped his tea.

After having their meal, everyone dispersed. Earlier, Yan Qiuzhi's manager had dropped her off, so she was now left to return on her own.

"You didn't bring your assistant?" Chen Lunan asked.

Yan Qiuzhi replied with an En and said, "You can take me back."

She made the request to Chen Lunan without any hesitation or reservation. If she had an opportunity to take advantage of someone, she wouldn't be polite.

Chen Lunan checked the time on his wristwatch and didn't refuse the request.

After they got into the car, the driver glanced at them in the rearview mirror; an unusual silence filled the vehicle.

Yan Qiuzhi and Chen Lunan sat on opposite ends, both looking down at their phones.

Yan Qiuzhi had just left the lunch gathering, which left the brand representative fuming in anger. By now, rumors and trends about her actions had started to appear.

She looked at the messages sent by Zhu Zhu on her phone, her eyebrows furrowing.

Shortly after, her manager's call came in.

The ringtone was somewhat grating. Yan Qiuzhi didn't answer it immediately, causing Chen Lunan to glance at her.

After a moment, Yan Qiuzhi calmly answered the call, "Hello."

Upon hearing Yan Qiuzhi's cold tone, Sister Meng frowned and inquired with suppressed anger, "What did you do at the lunch gathering? Do you know that all the celebrities in the industry are gossiping about you?"

Yan Qiuzhi turned her gaze toward the window, where her reflection was visible. She stared at herself in the window for a moment, lost in thought. She was thinking about something unrelated—her eyebrows seemed to be poorly done today.

"Gossiping about what?" she asked.

Sister Meng held back and gritted her teeth, saying, "The things you said to the brand representative, you made it sound very special."

Upon learning about what had happened at the lunch gathering, Sister Meng was on the verge of having a heart attack.

She was about to be driven to the point of anger by Yan Qiuzhi.

Although she had always known Yan Qiuzhi had this kind of personality, it was still challenging to accept it.

Yan Qiuzhi nonchalantly responded, "Oh, it's not a big deal."

Sister Meng: "......."

"Are you trying to infuriate me today? People online are already discussing your high and mighty attitude!"

After listening to what Sister Meng had to say, Yan Qiuzhi hung up the phone.

Within moments, the discussion about Yan Qiuzhi's diva behavior was trending even higher.

Actually, the person who posted on Weibo didn't directly mention Yan Qiuzhi by name but left enough hints for netizens to decipher the target. The post alluded to a sexy female star who had acted rudely at a recent dinner, showing disrespect to the brand representative and other artists.

When Yan Qiuzhi opened Weibo, the netizens had already deciphered the target of the discussion.

【666 Sexy female star acting all high and mighty? That's too easy to decode.】

【YQZ, it must be her. Her temper is notorious.】

【The hints are pretty obvious. Who else but Yan Qiuzhi could it be?】

【I actually... want to know how Yan Qiuzhi acted high and mighty.】

【Yan Qiuzhi acting like a big shot? No way.】

【Yan Qiuzhi has always had a bad temper. Remember that time when someone exposed her for insulting fellow artists?】

For a while, Weibo comments kept pouring in.

People loved watching a show, especially when it involved beautiful female celebrities. With someone pushing the waves behind the scenes, the topic [Yan Qiuzi Acting High And Mighty] quickly entered the top ten.

Yan Qiuzhi looked at the rapidly rising trending topic and surprisingly didn't get angry.

She could easily guess who was behind this. While she was thinking about it, a deep voice came from beside her, "Need any help?"

"No need," Yan Qiuzhi refused without hesitation. "I'll handle it myself."

Then, feeling she might have been too hasty in her refusal, she quickly added, "I'll come to you if I can't handle it."

Chen Lunan remained silent.

At the moment, Yan Qiuzhi wasn't in a hurry to confront the situation. Although the target was apparent, the Weibo post hadn't explicitly mentioned her by name.

For a while, she was somewhat conflicted about how to resolve this issue.

While she was contemplating, Sister Meng sent her a message asking Yan Qiuzhi to temporarily ignore the comments and wait for the company to handle it.

Yan Qiuzhi pondered for two seconds and then poked Chen Lunan's arm.

Chen Lunan lowered his head.

Yan Qiuzhi blinked her eyes, her big eyes shining like glass beads, making her look exceptionally beautiful.

"My manager suggested that I shouldn't interfere for the time being. What do you think?" she asked.

Chen Lunan glanced at her phone and casually took it from her. Yan Qiuzhi's phone screen was still displaying the Weibo comments.

He saw some of the unpleasant comments and frowned. Then he returned the phone to her, "Would you listen to your manager?"

Yan Qiuzhi: "......"

Of course not!

Yan Qiuzhi's eyes brightened as she took back her phone and started typing. When she was halfway through her message, she lowered her gaze and playfully turned her eyes toward the man beside her, looking mischievous.

"What if I make things worse?" she asked. She intentionally leaned closer to Chen Lunan, smiling radiantly, and inquired, "Will you help me clean up?"

Chen Lunan, aware of her little schemes, casually responded, "Yes."

They were a married couple, after all. It was his responsibility.

Hearing his response, Yan Qiuzhi smiled happily.

She didn't need to be polite with Chen Lunan. They each took what they needed from the relationship, and if there need for it, she wouldn't mind asking him for help.

Thinking about it, Yan Qiuzhi felt more confident.

But before she could post her Weibo, a message from Shen Muqing popped up, accompanied by a string of hahahaha.

Shen Muqing: 【Hahaha, hahahahaha, what on earth happened today? Did you really roast the brand spokesperson like that? You're quite daring.】

Yan Qiuzi: 【???】

Shen Muqing: 【I sent you a link. Go check it out.】

Yan Qiuzhi clicked the link Shen Muqing sent. Although the video was somewhat unclear, the words spoken in the video were crystal clear.

The video was from the lunch gathering in the private room a moment ago; the included the dialogue between the brand representative, Guan He, and Yan Qiuzhi.

As soon as this video was released, someone managed to get it trending in the top five within moments.

Netizens who were in the midst of following the drama quickly changed their stance after watching the video.

【OMG!! Suddenly mastered the art of roasting? How do we handle this?】

【Hahaha, hahahahaha, I'll accept your toast by drinking juice. You can drink the alcohol. Damn, Yan Qiuzhi is so bold?】

【Wow, I suddenly like this fierce Yan Qiuzhi. She's so much fun!】

【Ahhh, this version of Yan Qiuzhi is so cute!】

【Hahaha, with this comparison, we can determine that Guan He is such a two-faced person, while Yan Qiuzhi is so straightforward!】

【Even though it's funny, I'm starting to feel worried about the pretty sister... She probably lost the endorsement.】

Yan Qiuzhi looked at the comments that had shifted in her favor, and suddenly, she felt a bit embarrassed.

As she was reading the comments, she heard a soft chuckle from the side.

Startled, she lifted her gaze and met Chen Lunan's eyes, which had a hint of a smile. Yan Qiuzhi was momentarily stunned.

Chen Lunan was handsome, with sharp features, but not in a vulgar way. His good looks were enhanced by his well-proportioned facial features. Especially when he smiled with a hint of mischief, his eyes shimmered, leaving a deep impression.

One of the reasons Yan Qiuzhi had initially agreed to marry him was his good looks and beautiful eyes.

In an instant, she regained her senses and felt her face flush. A bit embarrassed, she asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Chen Lunan paused for a moment and then asked, "Do you still need my help?"

Yan Qiuzhi: "......"

She glared at Chen Lunan, feeling that he was making fun of her, and retorted, "No need. You, as a husband, are just a decoration. Netizens are more useful than you."