Taming a Wild Rose - Chapter 5

Although she had scolded the photographer, it seemed that she knew she was in the wrong and didn’t make any trouble. The magazine still managed to publish Li Ji’s photos, and the photos showed him dressed in black, his bangs slightly covering his dark eyes. The background was a dark grey, and the deep shadows in his eyes were attractive.

The response to this issue of the magazine was quite good. Most of the comments were excited for Chen Shuoxing’s interview, but there were a few people who were curious about the beautiful man on the cover. Even Li Ji’s newly opened Weibo account gained a lot of followers, which surprised him.

Even though there were only a few photos on his Weibo account, there were still many comments.

“Brother, you’re so handsome, I can’t wait for more work.”

“Do you have other photos? I can eat while looking at these.”

“Brother, you’re so pretty. What skincare products do you use? Please recommend some.”

Something like that.

Li Ji’s face was impassive, even more so than usual. But he read the comments over and over again, a faint smile creeping up at the corners of his lips.

Sheng Zhao knew what he was feeling. She narrowed her eyes with a smile. “You must be happy. A lot of people are starting to like you.”

Li Ji paused, then suppressed his smile. His lashes covered the emotions in his eyes as he made a soft sound of assent. Only after a long while did he say under Sheng Zhao’s gaze, “…No one used to like me.”

Sheng Zhao didn’t understand his mood again. His emotions were all over the place. Now his eyes seemed deep and calm. She crouched down to look him in the eye, staring at his sharp features, and said softly, “But at least I like you.”

Li Ji’s heart suddenly trembled. He swallowed, pressed his lips together, and looked away.

He didn’t say anything else, but his expression softened slightly. Perhaps it was because of some indescribable emotion in his heart, but beneath Sheng Zhao’s smile, his chest throbbed with a burning sensation.

…How strange.

He thought Sheng Zhao was a strange person.

She looked at his gentle and kind expression, but she was still a little stunned. He was clearly young, but he was unexpectedly dependable.

Sheng Zhao was very sensitive to emotions and knew that this would calm him down. She also knew that Li Ji wouldn’t tell her about his past unless she asked.

She didn’t have much curiosity and respected Li Ji’s feelings.

She looked at Li Ji’s deep and mysterious eyes and could guess that he didn’t have many good memories from the past.

Although he had successfully completed his first job, Li Ji’s professional foundation was still far behind that of a proper model or idol. He still needed training in singing, dancing, and other basic courses.

Sheng Zhao arranged for him to attend the Huanyun Entertainment Company’s training classes. Sheng Zhao didn’t come with him, so Li Ji felt a little uncomfortable. He had mostly worked at night in the past, so seeing so many people during the day made him feel like he was sitting on a needle.

Sheng Zhao told him that she needed to go out to find more jobs for him, so she couldn’t come with him.

Li Ji didn’t object to this, but without Sheng Zhao by his side, he didn’t know anyone else. He could only put on a mask of indifference and stand tall with his shoulders wide and waist narrow. His cold and expressionless face frightened the other trainees, so no one came up to talk to him.

He had just finished a dance class. Huayun Entertainment was indeed a giant in the entertainment industry, and their classes were so intense that even someone with good physical fitness like Li Ji was left panting and exhausted. He wiped his hair while sending a message to Sheng Zhao. They had been together for most of the past few days, so this sudden separation made him feel a little uncomfortable.

The water droplets on his hair slid down his smooth neck and disappeared into his collar, looking quite sensual.

Li Ji: I’ve finished the dance class.

Sheng Zhao: [Great]

She sent a small cat emoji with a wide grin, looking silly but making Li Ji’s lips curl up slightly.

He dried his hair and walked toward the practice room where the trainees rested. There were snacks, cakes, and coffee inside, but the male trainees who were extremely strict about their bodies only looked at them and suppressed their desires. Instead, they chatted with those around them.

Li Ji also glanced over the snacks and cakes. He had been eating apples for dinner for a whole week because of his diet and didn’t want to suddenly give in to temptation, so he only poured himself a cup of coffee. Before he could finish, someone stumbled and accidentally bumped into him. If he hadn’t been quick, the coffee would have spilled on him.

“Ow—”

“Sorry, are you okay?”

The man quickly apologized.

“I’m fine.”

Li Ji didn’t want to talk to others. He simply accepted the apology.

The man in front of him was dressed in a tailored suit that accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist. His face was handsome and cold, but it also carried a hint of remorse and worry. The rims of his eyes were dark under his gold rimmed glasses; he clearly hadn’t slept well for days and relied on coffee to keep himself going.

Neither of them were very sociable. But there were many people in the break room, and by coincidence, they sat at the same table. Neither paid attention to the other.

Yu Shiyun pushed up his gold rimmed glasses and drank a cup of coffee with a trembling hand. With his handsome yet cold face, he picked up his phone without any expression, as if he was sending a message to someone. He cursed under his breath in a cold voice, “Stupid boss, if you don’t come back soon, I’m gonna die.”

He didn’t care if his boss found out about this curse because his boss never read or responded to his messages.

Looking at the green chat window that didn’t respond, Yu Shiyun took a deep breath. His voice, slightly hoarse and mature, was on the verge of breaking down as he rubbed his temples. He murmured, “I want to die, I want to die… Even if I die, I’ll drag this stupid boss down with me.”

Li Ji thought this person was quite strange and asked what was wrong out of curiosity. Yu Shiyun seemed to have found an outlet to vent his frustrations. He looked up at Li Ji. “Are you a new trainee?” He rubbed his head. “This stupid boss has been on the run for over ten days now. All the work has been dumped on Xiao Sheng and me. It’s so painful, I want to die…”

He repeated himself in a low voice, his words filled with a thick layer of melancholy and coldness.

His words were completely at odds with his cold and aloof exterior. His skin was pale and cold, his expression gloomy and melancholic.

After a long while, he seemed to have realised something.

“Sorry, I lost my composure just now.”

Yu Shiyun paused for a moment, then fixed his glasses. The gloom from earlier had vanished, replaced by a cold and aloof expression. He reached out a hand. “Hello, I’m the president’s secretary, Yu Shiyun… Welcome to Huayun Entertainment.”

“The coffee machine upstairs is broken, so I can only get coffee from the trainee lounge. Sorry for bumping into you earlier; it’s good you didn’t get hurt.”

His words were courteous but distant. He clearly said sorry, but his gaze was colder than anyone else’s.

Li Ji paused for a moment before shaking hands with him. “Li Ji.”

Li Ji hadn’t expected the management of the entertainment industry’s leading company to be so chaotic. The president had run off, and the secretary had just been cursing the president. He raised an eyebrow slightly as he watched Yu Shiyun leave after finishing his coffee. He lowered his head to send Sheng Zhao a message, then began to complain about the man to her.

Sheng Zhao, who usually responded to him immediately, didn’t respond for a long time. Instead, she finally sent a message:

Hm… He’s such a strange person. It’s best not to get involved with him. Just avoid him. After all, there are many lunatics in this world.

Sheng Zhao looked at the complaints Li Ji had just sent her on WeChat and sat on the sofa, her eyes flickering guiltily.

She hadn’t gone out to find work as she said she would because she had already arranged for the next few days. She also hadn’t accompanied Li Ji to the company; she had simply stayed at home.

She felt the warmth and comfort of the sofa and then looked at the chat window with her secretary that had been blocked for a long time, which now has over 99 messages:

Boss, I only slept for two hours yesterday.

Boss, when are you coming back?

Boss, I’m so tired, there are so many files.

Boss, I’m in so much pain.

Boss, I want to die so much…

Then came a flurry of messages that sounded like he was on the verge of breaking down.

Boss, after I die from being so tired, you have to burn a house for me and my wages too…and the compensation money.

Boss, why aren’t you coming back?

Boss, I want to die so much.

Boss, I want to die so much…

Sheng Zhao guiltily wrapped herself in the blanket and thought for a long time with her lips pressed together. In the end, she carefully typed out a line of words and sent it over.

Don’t die yet.

Yu Shiyun looked at the four simple words from his boss who had disappeared for ten days. His heart finally died.

He lifted his head expressionlessly to look at Sheng Cehan buried in the pile of files. The tips of his fingers trembled slightly as he said, “Xiao Sheng, we’ve contacted President Sheng.”

Sheng Cehan’s head shot up. His tightly furrowed brow relaxed slightly, and his cold voice carried a wave of emotions as he asked, “What did she say? Where is she? Is she coming back?”

His gloomy mood for the past few days had brightened because of this “contacted.”

“No.” Yu Shiyun shook his head, his voice cold and calm. “President Sheng said we should not die yet.”

Sheng Cehan paused, pressed his lips together, and rubbed his temples. In the end, his eyes darkened, and he didn’t say anything. He only lowered his head and continued to look at the documents.

As Sheng Cehan’s mood in the president’s office grew more and more somber and the number of documents increased, Yu Shiyun’s calm expression remained unchanged. Then he typed out a line of words and sent it to Sheng Zhao:

Boss, I hate you.