I Am Rich

6

After the door shut, the elevator started descending.

Qi Chengyan looked at Guan Zhiyi, who remained still beside him, then took the coat off her.

"He's grown so much, but it seems like your brother still has the same problem." 

Guan Zhiyi snorted softly, "You also know that he has a bad temper."

"Is he?" Qi Chengyan smiled.

Guan Zhiyi nodded firmly.

Her cheeks were flushed from being enclosed, and her hair was a bit messy.  

Qi Chengyan was fascinated, he reached out his hand to pat her head.

"Ah, why are you hitting me?"

Seeing her aggrieved look, Qi Chengyan eased his strength. His fingertips lightly brushed over her messy hair, "Big star, don't you want to tidy up your appearance?"

He was teasing her, but his touch was gentle, only tugging at the roots of her hair.

Guan Zhiyi stared at him, she seemed to caught an extremely faint scent coming from his sleeve.

Her heart skipped a beat inexplicably, she hastily reached out to straighten her hair, "It's okay... No one will photograph me anyway."

"So unconfident?"

"It's not that I don't have confidence, but I'm really still not that popular yet." Guan Zhiyi said,"Thank you for today, brother. I'll treat you to dinner next time."

"Okay, I'll remember that."

"You must remember." Guan Zhiyi smiled, "The elevator is here, I'll go first."

"Wait."

"Ah?"

Qi Chengyan asked, "Did you come here with your manager?"

"Yeah."

"So how are you going to get back alone now?"

"Um ......a taxi."

Qi Chengyan gave her a strange look, "I'll send you."

"No, if you are busy--"

"Not busy, there is still time to send this little kid."

"……Oh."

It didn't seem to change, but it also seemed to have changed a lot.

As the car moved along the road, light scattered and flickered. 

Guan Zhiyi glanced quietly at the man next to her. At this moment, he was leaning back on his seat, looking out the window with his head tilted, he appeared a little tired.

He must have quite a few drinks tonight. Although he was not drunk, she still could smell alcohol on him.

In fact, his appearance at the dinner table was very unfamiliar to her. Qi Chengyan, known in the business world, was not the same affable older brother she remembered. However, it was this unfamiliarity that piqued her curiosity. What kind of life had he been leading all these years?

The car stopped, the assistant turned around to say,"Mr. Qi, we have arrived."

Guan Zhiyi pushed open the car door, "Then I'll go first."

"Alright." Qi Chengyan glanced back and noticed that the community was well-lit, with a guard stationed at the entrance.

Feeling reassured, he said, "Take care and let me know when you reach home."

"Okay."

Guan Zhiyi stepped out of the car and made her way towards the community. After taking a few steps, she turned back and waved at him from a distance.

Qi Chengyan found her actions amusing, and a slight smile formed at the corners of his mouth.

The assistant glanced at him through the rearview mirror and couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Qi, is she Mr. Guan's sister?"

"Yes."

"I didn't expect you to have such a close relationship with her as well."

Qi Chengyan replied, "I have been looking after her since we were young."

"No wonder, I can see that you treat her much better than your other brothers and sisters."

Qi Chengyan lowered his eyes, "Is that so?"

"Yes."

Qi Chengyan didn't say anything more, because that was indeed the truth.

Apart from Hua Hongxi, he was not on very good terms with his blood relatives. Especially with his cousins, keeping peace with them on the surface was already a rare occurrence. As a result, his apparent relatives were naturally not as close to him as Xiaowu, who he doted on.

Despite being aboard and not being able to return for many years due to work and family. For this little girl, his memories and feelings are still very deep.

***

After returning home, Guan Zhiyi sent a message to Qi Chengyan and her manager to let them know she was safe. Within minutes, her manager called her directly.

The moment Guan Zhiyi answered the phone, Liu Yun's excited voice came through, "You're really home?"

Guan Zhiyi knew what Liu Yun was thinking, "I'm really at home, Sister Yun, don't get the wrong idea."

"Where am I getting the wrong idea, if I am, then so did everyone else in the room." Liu Yun replied, "Anyone with a discerning eye can tell that Qi Chengyan is interested in you."

"Oh..... actually we just talked about the drama, and after a short conversation, he sent me back." Guan Zhiyi lied stiffly.

Liu Yun thought for a moment and said, "It seems that Qi Chengyan is not someone who rushes into things. He likes to follow the rules."

Guan Zhiyi frowned, "Sister Yun, I think it's besy if we don't look too much into it."

"Tsk, what do you want me to say about you." Liu Yun said, "This is a great opportunity right before your eyes. You have to know how to seize it. Don't you want the role of Zhaoyang? If Qi Chengyan speaks up, you won't have to worry about not getting the role. Wait... Did you mention this to him just now?"

"Princess Zhaoyang, I did mention it, but…"

"That's right!" Liu Yun said excitedly, "I didn't expect you to know, I guess I've underestimated you all along."

"..."

"The audition is next week, by that time, there will definitely be news from Mr. Zhao's side." Liu Yun laughed, "This role is definitely ours."

Guan Zhiyi opened her mouth, but she didn't have the heart to break Liu Yun's fantasy.

"Um, so can I really go to the audition next week?"

"Of course, you should definitely try. Although we have a full assurance now, you still have to go through the audition, we should not be too arrogant."

"……OK."

"Then you prepare well, I'll send you the script for the audition tomorrow."

"Alright."

Liu Yun was full of confidence, and not just Liu Yun. After that night, rumors began circulating throughout the company:

President Qi didn't even smile when he saw Zheng Yitong approach him, but he fell in love with the little-known Guan Zhiyi at first glance!

Zheng Yitong's position in the company is now uncertain.

Guan Zhiyi's resources will certainly change by leaps and bounds.

It turned out that the big brother liked this type, huh?

………

The gossip, through word of mouth, is getting more and more outrageous.

After Song Qiaofei returned from the company's training room, she slam open Guan Zhiyi's door.

"My precious Zhiyi! You truly are a sage present as an ordinary person**, aren't you? Say! When did you start talking to Qi Chengyan?" As soon as the door opened, she couldn't contain her excitement and wanted to jump on her.

(**A truly talented individual does not vie for attention by showing off his skills.)

Guan Zhiyi hurriedly took a step back, "Qiao Fei, how come you also believed in what everyone is saying?"

Song Qiaofei hesitated. "What do you mean? Isn't it true?"

"Of course, it's not." Guan Zhiyi insisted,"After a few more words everyone will know the truth."

"But that's what everyone said. Besides, I run into Cheng Yitong today, and when someone mentioned the gossip about you and Qi Chengyan, she got really angry and stormed off. Her reaction made the gossip seem real."

"Alright, but me and... Qi Chengyan is not what you think."

Song Qiaofei looked at Guan Zhiyi's serious face and suddenly felt lost. She knew that Guan Zhiyi would not lie to her about something like this, "Are you sure there's no mistake? I guess I got excited for no reason."

"What were you excited about..."

"I almost thought that you were going to have an easy path to success. But, forget it. It seems like this kind of shortcut isn't suitable for us at all. Let's just freshen up and go to bed."

Guan Zhiyi was amused by her, "It's good that you understand. Alright, don't just stand at the door, come in. I just ordered takeout."

"Aren't you on a diet?"

"Can't I indulge in a good meal once in a while?"

…

Guan Zhiyi knew that there was no need to explain this matter, because time would eventually reveal the truth.

In the past few days, she has been happily learning the script. However, she received a call from her father, Guan Xinghuai, one day asking about her relationship with Hua Hongxi. It was at that moment that Guan Zhiyi remembered she still had this problem to solve! 

So she said a few perfunctory words, hung up the call and immediately sent a message to Hua Hongxi.

Although they had already added each other on WeChat way before their blind date, they had no communication other than the address they exchanged on the day of the blind date.

[Can we talk now?]

Hua Hongxi promptly replied: [What a coincidence! I was just about to message you!]

Guan Zhiyi: [What's the matter? ]

Instead of replying, Hua Hongxi called her directly.

Guan Zhiyi answered, "Hello." 

Hua Hongxi: "Zhiyi! The thing is, my mother called me today to ask how we're getting along."

Guan Zhiyi: "...so is my dad."

Hua Hongxi suddenly became nervous, "You, ehat did you say? I told my mother that we were doing well! You didn't mention that we left without eating and that we haven't contacted each other since, did you??"

"No, I also said that we got along pretty well."

Hua Hongxi let out a sigh of relief, "That's good then. I was worried that I said the wrong things." 

"I was also afraid that we would say different things."

Hua Hong was very relieved, "Hey, I can see that you're also being urged by your family. So, let's help each other and pretend to be together in front of our family."

Guan Zhiyi hesitated, "Uh, pretend how?"

"If our parents ask, let's say that we are together. Don't worry, I understand that you are a public figure. We don't have to tell anyone else. We just need to give our parents peace of mind. Besides, I know that you don't actually like me, you're just being forced by your family.And as for me, I haven't had enough fun, and I don't have any intention to get a girlfriend yet. So if you want, we can cooperate. "

Guan Zhiyi thought of her father's nagging and was slightly moved.

She knew that if she wasn't satisfied with Hua Hongxi it wouldn't be long before her father arrange the next one for her.

In that case, there'll be no end to it ...... she just wanted to film well without being disturbed.

"Will it work?"

"Yes, definitely." Hua Hongxi assured her, "As long as we don't say anything, they will definitely believe it and won't force us to have another blind date. Then, when the time is right, we can break up peacefully."

"That's not an unreasonable suggestion."

"Of course not! You agree, right? Then it's settled."

Guan Zhiyi hesitated for a moment. This could be a really good idea to help each other out and keep her father from bothering her anymore.

"Zhiyi, Zhiyi?"

"Ah?"

"What do you think?!"

Guan Zhiyi gritted her teeth and gave in, "Okay!"

Hua Hongxi quickly added, "But we have to keep this a secret. Don't tell anyone, especially my cousin!"

"Why?"

"If my cousin knows that I'm fooling around about this, he'll definitely tell my parents, and we'll both get into trouble,"

Guan Zhiyi hesitated.

She didn't want to deceive Qi Chengyan and always felt guilty about lying to him. But she was pressured by her family and felt like she had no other choice.

"Well, then I won't tell anyone."

"Great!"

After ending the call, Guan Zhiyi breathed a sigh of relief, she felt like she had overcome the hurdle of being urged to have a boyfriend.

But it was a little strange that at this moment, the only thing she felt uneasy about turned out to be, if Qi Chengyan found out that she and his cousin had been working together to deceive others, would he be angry? 

He shouldn't.....right?

Because this was not actually true nor real. She was just playing a little trick to keep going on her own path.

Guan Zhiyi frowned and pondered for a while, forget it...she would explain everything to him in the future, she believed that he would definitely be able to understand her. 

With that in mind, Guan Zhiyi put down her phone and went to the bathroom.

That night she took a bath and fell asleep early.

So she didn't expect that when she and Hua Hongxi were just about to start a fake relationship that was meant to be known only by their family. That evening on Weibo, there was a tag discussion that slowly rising. This tag started within her fan base but quickly caught the attention of other netizens, becoming bigger and bigger.

The tag: #GuanZhiyiBlindDate#