Xu Ping stood before Li Yu's office desk. Seeing the fury written on the latter's face, she felt helpless as well. When she was unable to contact Xu Jiaojiao, she even made a trip down to Golden Millet Garden but proved to be in vain.

She heard that Jiaojiao and her boyfriend, Mr Shen, had left the country.

As for their destination, did it matter? To her, she only knew that her artist, Xu Jiaojiao, had an extremely positive state of mind. Even when faced with such horrible circ.u.mstances, Xu Jiaojiao's mentality remained unwavering and even had the mood to go on a lovers' trip.

Li Yu tapped his fingers on the tabletop and said, "We originally planned to shoot Season 2 of Redeeming My IGD Boyfriend with the original cast, but with this controversy surrounding Xu Jiaojiao, the drama series wouldn't be able to pa.s.s the first round of screening if she remains as the female lead. We cannot allow all the money we have invested to go to waste. So, we will choose another starlet to replace her in Season 2."

He was merely notifying Xu Ping; it was not a discussion. The reason he bothered to notify Xu Ping was so that the latter would convey the message to Xu Jiaojiao after seeing her, lest Xu Jiaojiao had a pillow talk with his boss.

Xu Ping sighed, she had no solutions as well. With how things were going, she felt that whatever she did would also be unfruitful. Luckily, Jiaojiao didn't rely on acting for a living. Leaving the entertainment industry wouldn't impact Jiaojiao that much. On the contrary, she would most likely lose her job.

Liang Shuangyi posted her apology letter. However, over the past few days, everyone was convinced of the 'fact' that Xu Jiaojiao had pushed her pregnant cla.s.smate, resulting in a decrease of followers. Those who saw it initially thought that it was Xu Jiaojiao's management company's attempt to salvage her name. They even left cynical and sarcastic comments with some asking if her account had been hacked and some asking how much she was paid to post the apology.

Seeing such responses, Liang Shuangyi was happy and anxious at the same time. On the one hand, she was glad that Xu Jiaojiao's reputation had been completely tarnished; on the other hand, she was worried that the powerful figure behind Xu Jiaojiao would fault her for Xu Jiaojiao's tarnished reputation and start to find trouble with Wei Family. That would then make her life tougher in the Wei Family.

As for the 'protagonist' of this controversy?

Sheng Jiaoyang was currently backstage readying herself for the runway.

That was right, she was already in a distant western country and was invited to walk her first fas.h.i.+on show of the year.

There were also other models who were making preparations backstage. Other than Lina, there were two slightly familiar faces; they were the regular models for this designer.

Sheng Jiaoyang and Lina, who hadn't seen each other for some time, were seated next to each other and allowed the makeup artists to work their magic on their faces while they communicated in Mandarin. Others didn't understand, so they were able to exchange secrets with each other.

"Lin Yan went to look for you a while ago?" Lina asked.

"Yeah," Sheng Jiaoyang paused, "The second male lead didn't turn up so the director got Lin Yan to fill in."

"He acted?" Lina was very surprised.

"In person."

Lina let out a chuckle, "He's sure willing to go all out now. He used to worry about this and that."

"Mei Niu, I have told Shen Zhining the truth."

"So soon? Does that mean that you are certain he's the one?"

"Yeah."

Lina looked happier than Sheng Jiaoyang. "No wonder the Demon King personally escorted you here this time. Great. Does that mean I get to attend your wedding soon?"

Sheng Jiaoyang was amused by Lina's words and said, "Speaking of attending a wedding, I should be attending your wedding with George first. I have just turned eighteen and is nowhere near the legal age for marriage."

"Indeed. You will be able to attend my wedding soon," Lina's voice was filled with overflowing bliss.

Sheng Jiaoyang turned her head in surprise, the eyeliner almost poked her in the eye. The makeup artist chided Sheng Jiaoyang to not move and the latter took a glance at Lina before she turned her head back, "Is the date confirmed?"

"The exact date isn't confirmed yet. George and I will be going for our pre-wedding shoot next month first."

Sheng Jiaoyang was truly happy for Lina; their relations.h.i.+p had finally come into fruition.

"No matter how busy I am then, I will come and be your bridesmaid," said Sheng Jiaoyang.

"I don't need you to be my bridesmaid; I have already asked some people. I just need you to be the maid of honour."

Sheng Jiaoyang smiled in response.

"By the way, did you tell Lin Yan that you are together with your Demon King?" Lina asked all of a sudden.

Sheng Jiaoyang was taken aback. "Not yet. I haven't initiated contact with him. He hasn't contacted me recently as well."

"He definitely doesn't have the time to look for you nowadays. Julia has been pestering him to no ends, how would he dare to look for you before he manages to settle Julia?"

"Didn't he break off his engagement with Julia? I didn't see Julia pestering him before, why is she doing that now?"

Lina sneered, "That woman, Julia, is very confident of herself. When they just broke off the engagement, Julia thought that Lin Yan will surely regret and will come back begging for her. But Lin Yan was so happy, how would he regret it? That woman then dated other men but in the end, she still felt that Lin Yan was the best and hence started pestering him again."

Sheng Jiaoyang kept quiet, she was in no position to make any comments.

"Humans have a tendency to do something even though they know that it is wrong and will get hurt from it, and they have to lose something to cherish it. But Jiaojiao, you made a wise decision. If you chose Lin Yan, you would be facing countless troubles like Julia. Look at your Demon King, he doesn't have all these b.u.t.terflies fluttering around him."

Personality determined all.

Though Lin Yan's personality wasn't like that of Lin Yu where he sincerely treated everyone with tenderness, the overwhelming tenderness of an Italian man flowed within his blood. He might love you with all his heart, but he wouldn't go out all the way to keep a distance from others and stay away from other opposite s.e.x. Towards women, he would subconsciously become more gentle. Even if it was a woman he didn't like, he wouldn't express his disdain as well.

But Shen Zhining was totally different. It could be seen in his att.i.tude towards Daisy or Sheng Jiaoyang wouldn't have misunderstood that Shen Zhining was interested in men. This was also the reason why she felt more a.s.sured being together with Shen Zhining.

"The show's about to begin, hurry up and change into your clothes!" At this moment, someone came into the makeup room and shouted in English.

The makeup was almost done. Sheng Jiaoyang and Lina exchanged glances and stood up to change their clothes.

It was always hectic at the backstage of a fas.h.i.+on show. Models would inevitably encounter some minor issues when they changed their clothes. The designer and his a.s.sistants were like busy bees going around. Only when everyone stood in line at the entrance of the runway, did those at the backstage heaved a sigh of relief.

Shen Zhining, who escorted Sheng Jiaoyang over, was seated beside the runway along with the director.

The people around him were looking at him. They didn't know when such a nouveau riche had emerged in the fas.h.i.+on industry and were secretly guessing his ident.i.ty.

When the background music sounded and the first model strutted out her moves and entered the audience's eyes, the whispering crowd stopped talking and all eyes turned to the stage.

The fall/winter fas.h.i.+on show was not as popular as the spring/summer fas.h.i.+on show. There were some designs that exposed long legs, but overall, there wasn't much skin exposure. Designers nowadays also placed more emphasis on the practicability of the design, such as thermal insulation and being able to tolerate the cold. Hence, the moment these pretty and practical styles were released in the market, it would rouse women's desire to buy them.

"Is this your girlfriend?" The director looked at the first model to make the walk with silver hair and a gorgeous face and asked the man next to him.

"No, she is oriental."

The director swore that this was the only show he had ever watched so attentively. When the fifth model came out, it was finally a model with an oriental face. He immediately turned to look at Shen Zhining and saw the latter looking at the model with an intense gaze. The director knew at once that this was the one and immediately turned his head back. He even took up his gla.s.ses and put them on to scrutinize the oriental model.

She was wearing a medium-long sweater that reached the knees. The designer had designed holes on the shoulders, exposing the model's round shoulders, which eluded a tint of seduction embedded in niftiness. At the hem of the sweater were weighted ta.s.sels and below it was a pair of woollen knee-length boots. The ta.s.sels swayed as she strutted, her slim, long and white thighs were partially hidden and partially visible.

Her outfit wasn't too overly exaggerated. It looked simple and pretty warm - simple yet stylish design. The model had a good disposition and was able to carry the outfit well.

When Sheng Jiaoyang stepped on the runway, she noticed Shen Zhining at a glance as the latter was sitting at a conspicuous position. When she got closer, she winked at the man who was staring at her without halting her walk. She continued her walk down the runway and back before disappearing from the stage.

"Your girlfriend is adorable," the director said to Shen Zhining.

"I have the same sentiments," Shen Zhining frankly accepted the other party's praises.

Her s.h.i.+ning aura was even more evident under the limelight. She eluded confidence that came from within her and was high-spirited as though she had a halo.

When Sheng Jiaoyang appeared on stage the second time, she was wearing an embroidered long overcoat. She looked as though she was attending a ball. She had a similarly embroidered satchel hung on her wrist, and both her hands in her coat pockets. She sashayed down the runway along to the beat of the music. She only took out her hands when she was halfway down the runway. Then, she took her time to undo her belt as she walked. Reaching the very front of the runway, her belt was completely undone and she tossed her hands and made a turn, the hem of the overcoat flying up like the hem of a skirt and made a majestic arc in the air.

If her entrance was like a budding flower, reserved and elegant, then her walk back was as though her aura was at its peak - amazing like an unfolding flower bud. She was like a queen touring her territory, commanding servitude. Every step of hers was like a tap on the heart and made the audience couldn't help but allow their eyes to trace after her.

"Wow! Wow!" The director let out successive exclamations.

Hearing all the exclamations around him, a smile appeared on Shen Zhining's face. His gaze followed after Sheng Jiaoyang until she went out of sight.

“Your little sweetheart is really awesome!" The director said in an affirmative tone.

Little sweetheart? Shen Zhining's smile widened. He really likes this pet name.

"She looks extremely young, but her aura is incredible," the director added.

Shen Zhining gave a portentous nod and replied, "In China, she is already a celebrity with tens of millions fans."

"Wow!" The director exclaimed again before he had a thought and said, "Her disposition is very much in line with our brand philosophy and style. Can we invite her to be our Asia amba.s.sador?"

"You have to ask my little sweetheart about that. I respect all of her choices."

Such a doting tone. Tsk tsk. If Sheng Jiaoyang was here, she would definitely have felt honey flowing through her.