Tong Yue originally thought that after she rejected Li Yuwen, the two of them would return to a nodding acquaintance state they had before, maybe even worse.
What she didn’t expect was to come into the office early and see him looking all cheerful, completely different from last night, and as he glanced over to her, he even gave her a smile without hesitation.
Is he so angry he’s gone mad?
She was about to walk past Li Yuwen back to her office when she was called.
Tong Yue had to stop, "Yuwen, what’s up?"
"Nothing, just wanted to say it’s a pity, sister Tong." Li Yuwen smiled meaningfully, "You and Jiang Lingxi have no idea what you gave up on yesterday."
Tong Yue was utterly confused, "Gave up, gave up on what?"
"Nothing." Li Yuwen just smiled at her, puffed his chest, and left with large strides.
Tong Yue: "...He’s sick."
When she got to the office, Tong Yue made herself a cup of coffee, then turned on her computer, logged into her email, and opened the inbox that was both beeping and flashing. After reading the email, she happily dialed Lu Zhengzheng’s number.
As for Li Yuwen’s bizarre behavior and words in the hallway, they were long forgotten.
"Zhengzheng, where’s your sister, Xixi?"
"She’s with Mr. Shen. I didn’t follow them; I was afraid of spoiling their time together, hehe."
Tong Yue: "...Hehe, you’re quite smart then."
"Of course, Sister Tong, do you need anything from Sister Xixi?"
"Never mind, I’ll hang up and call Xixi directly."
She didn’t want to disrupt them with a call, but time waits for no one!
When Jiang Lingxi received Tong Yue’s call, she had just stood up from the sofa, ready to leave. She sat back down as they connected, "Sister Tong."
"I just called Zhengzheng. She said you’re with Mr. Shen. Am I interrupting you guys?"
Jiang Lingxi: "...No."
They were just having a meal and sharing known information. Who knows what these two have imagined!
"It’s good if not. I have good news: the registration email from the ’Inheritance’ show has replied, registration is successful. The next step is to submit a project completed recently by tomorrow at five p.m. You can send the physical piece or a photo, but it’d be best to send the physical piece to the program team since we’re all in the Imperial City; it’s convenient. Should I come by and pick up your piece to send it over?"
Jiang Lingxi remained silent for a few seconds after hearing this, "No need."
She hadn’t created any work recently, and her home didn’t even have a complete set of brushes, ink, paper, or inkstone!
"I wouldn’t want to trouble you; I’ll have Zhengzheng send it over."
Tong Yue was just about to nod instinctively when a light bulb went off in her head, "Wait, you’re not planning on creating something on the spot, are you?"
"Congratulations, you got it right, Sister Tong."
Tong Yue raised her hand and knocked her forehead, "You, you..."
She could only stammer out a sigh and correct herself: "This isn’t a pleasant surprise; this is a shock. You have to give me your word, you can definitely finish it?"
"Sister Tong, I don’t do things I’m not confident about."
"I’ll trust you this time."
Though she said so, after hanging up the phone, Tong Yue couldn’t help but get up and pace around her office a few times before finally calming down.
"Still planning to participate in ’Inheritance’?"
Jiang Lingxi wasn’t surprised Shen Yunqing had overheard Tong Yue’s voice on the phone; she hadn’t intended to hide it from him either. She nodded honestly, "’Inheritance’s’ next episode is the Calligraphy and Painting Chapter. Someone previously wanted to use a job in Y Country to ask me to help get them into this program, but I had Sister Tong reject them. Now, I’m thinking of trying it myself. Compared to other programs, this one’s quite interesting,"
"Dimensional reduction attack?"
Jiang Lingxi gave him a sidelong glance, "Though I’m slightly better at chess than you, I’ll admit I’m not as good as you in calligraphy and painting. This world is full of hidden talent, how can my joining be a dimensional reduction attack?"
"I misspoke." Shen Yunqing admitted his mistake swiftly, "Then I wish you success, Ms. Jiang."
"I appreciate your kind words." Jiang Lingxi finally smiled, waved, and said, "It’s getting late, I need to go back and wait my turn. Don’t see me off!"
Shen Yunqing could only stand at the car door watching her leave, not closing the door until her figure disappeared from view. He then knocked on the glass partitioning the driver’s seat at the front.
Soon, a voice sounded inside the car.
"For the next episode recording of ’Inheritance,’ get me a ticket for the audience."
"Okay, boss, I’ll contact them right away."
He Zhu’s voice carried a hint of apology, "Boss, I’m sorry."
"The tickets are already sold out. I contacted them a little late; the last ticket was sold three minutes ago. I’m now trying to see if anyone is willing to transfer a ticket for a high price."
A few more minutes passed.
He Zhu further apologized, "Boss, I just found out that half of the audience tickets were given out and are non-transferable. The other half can be transferred, but I’ve contacted several people and no one is willing to do so. Apparently, there’s news that an important figure is appearing in this episode."
Shen Yunqing furrowed his brow slightly, "In that case, forget it."
If he couldn’t be a spectator, he’d find another way to gain access.
The ’Inheritance’ program group.
The new Calligraphy and Painting Chapter has been open for registration for several days now, and people nationwide, whether amateur celebrities or folk contestants, are eagerly signing up to seize the opportunity to appear on Upper Country’s show.
Some quick movers have already submitted or sent their works to the program team.
Li Wanxuan, as a specially invited critic for this phase, still had to serve as a preliminary judge before the program began recording. She was responsible for reviewing works that had arrived at the program team, selecting the most outstanding ones to make it to the show stage.
Mr. Shi, having nothing better to do, personally took his wife to the program team.
In the spacious room, the central air conditioning provided waves of coolness, and the previously clean three walls of the room were now filled with large and small works. The other wall was fitted with a high-definition LCD screen to display the works sent by contestants.
Mr. Shi followed behind his wife quietly into the room, maintaining silence to avoid disturbing her work.
"Mr. Shi is also here."
The two judges who had arrived early hurried over to greet them. Although they were also specially invited critics like Li Wanxuan this time, in the realm of calligraphy and painting, they were considered juniors compared to her.
In their line of work, juniors who don’t respect their seniors are asking to be criticized.
Li Wanxuan nodded at the two of them, "Already collected so many works? It seems our calligraphy and painting scene is still rich with talent." She spoke with some pride and glanced back at her husband.
Mr. Shi: "..." He had only mentioned during their journey that chess was ranked ahead of calligraphy and painting in the arts.
How come she remembered that!
"Yes, since the deadline is approaching, it should be the chosen works for those appearing on the show among these."
As soon as he said this, an internal voice spoke through the earpiece, and after listening, his expression turned slightly uncomfortable, "Uh, Mr. Li, the chief director of the show just said to reserve a spot."