A Love Letter Written to You - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

“Ren Meng and her agent,” Secretary Xiao Zhe replied—just as Ji Yu had expected.

She had seen Ren Meng before—in news reports related to Leng Ying. That name had appeared next to Leng Ying’s more than once.

But if you asked Ji Yu, the netizens really had poor taste! What made Ren Meng better than her? What made her more suited for Leng Ying?

Well, that wasn’t exactly their fault.

She simply hadn’t had many public appearances with Leng Ying before. Unlike Ren Meng, who was both an actress and a singer, Ji Yu had only ever been the inspiration behind Leng Ying’s work—never the voice performing it.

Still—

Ji Yu kept questioning: “Why are they here?”

Secretary Xiao Zhe caught the subtext and made a mental note to investigate Ren Meng more thoroughly later. Out loud, he shared what he currently knew: “She’s being considered for Aureline’s brand ambassadorship. Two other candidates are competing with her. I can send you their profiles later?”

“No need,” Ji Yu said thoughtfully. “I’m new here—I won’t interfere in personnel decisions.”

Aureline was a new jewelry line from the group in recent years, but Ji Yu’s design work wasn’t in that direction.

“For the China region only?”

“Yes,” Xiao Zhe nodded. “There are no current plans to appoint a global ambassador for Aureline.”

He chose his words with great caution.

Did this Miss Ji value Ren Meng, or not? He couldn’t quite get a read on her.

The elevator reached the top. Secretary Xiao Zhe guided Ji Yu to a transfer point. This ride only took about a minute and a half.

He Qiang (He Ruixiang) was waiting for them outside the elevator.

Xiao Zhe stepped aside after bringing Ji Yu over.

“Uncle He,” Ji Yu greeted with a smile. “Long time no see.”

There was no sign now of the way she casually referred to him as “Old He” in bed last night with Leng Ying.

Today, He Ruixiang wore a traditional Tang-style jacket. “We just met last year when I went back to report to HQ—it hasn’t been that long. I didn’t expect you to be joining me here as a comrade-in-arms.”

“I’m here to learn,” Ji Yu replied. “I want to focus on my design work. As for the company business, I trust Uncle He to handle it.”

He Ruixiang smiled and motioned for her to follow him into his office. “Come in and we’ll talk.”

Secretary Xiao Zhe stayed behind—his desk was also on this floor, just outside He’s office, in the executive secretary area. He was the head secretary, managing a few younger assistants beneath him, both male and female.

They all loved gossip.

As soon as Ji Yu and He Ruixiang disappeared behind the heavy office doors—soundproof both ways—a young woman asked Secretary Xiao Zhe, “Brother Zhe, what’s Miss Ji like? Easy to get along with?”

Xiao Zhe kept a neutral expression, mysterious: “Hard to say.”

They had just met—he still hadn’t figured her out.

“I heard Miss Ji was sent here from HQ just to get some executive experience?”

“Not just that,” someone else chimed in, showing a phone screen. “I found a news article via VPN. Long story short—our group’s heir has returned to China. What are the odds?”

“One thing’s for sure—Miss Ji is really cool-looking. But…” the young woman hesitated, “but she gives off this really aloof vibe.”

“I’d call her look today ‘minimalist corporate cool.’ Different outfit and she’d probably give off a different vibe.”

Xiao Zhe cleared his throat loudly: “Are the materials for the meeting in 30 minutes ready? Have you finished tomorrow’s report drafts? The progress reports from last week—everyone will go over them one by one shortly.”

“……”

“……”

“…………”

“Don’t look at me like that,” Xiao Zhe said calmly. “Leadership just arrived. You don’t want to leave a bad impression, do you? Get moving.”

He sat back at his desk and began pulling up internal documents related to Ren Meng. As He Ruixiang’s chief secretary, he had high-level access to most of the internal system.

Meanwhile, having just left the Youli Group building, Ren Meng’s agent was also discussing Ji Yu with her.

“Mengmeng, why didn’t you speak up just now? That must have been the new VP from HQ. If she has a good impression of you, it could increase your chances of getting the Aureline deal.”

“I thought we were just here to try things out—it’s not a big deal if we don’t get it.”

“…Seriously?” The agent was exasperated. “I was just trying to comfort you! We’re already here—how can we not fight for it?”

“But we’ve already left. Should I just turn around now and go cry in front of the new VP about how tough things are, hoping she’ll take pity on me and put in a good word?” Ren Meng scrolled casually through Weibo. “You want me to go or not? If so, tell Xiao Wang to turn the car around.”

“…Please stop being sarcastic.” The agent sighed. “Still no scripts you like lately?”

Ren Meng didn’t answer. Instead, she said, “I want to buy Leng Ying’s new song. Didn’t Sheng Jiaqun post about it on his Moments recently?”

Agent: “…I’ll ask him.”

“Even if you ask, she won’t sell it.” Ren Meng replied. “You’ve already been blocked by Sheng Jiaqun.”

Agent, awkward: “It was just a normal New Year’s greeting message…”

“Yeah, and she replied to you with a mass message.” Ren Meng was biting.

“…Alright,” the agent said again, defeated. “I’ll ask.”

“You sound like a robot.”

The agent changed the subject: “You saw the proposal for Our Life, right?”

“Yeah.” Ren Meng’s expression darkened. “You want me on the next season?”

The agent nodded firmly: “Yes.”

“I don’t have any real friends I can go on the show with.” Ren Meng was self-aware. “And if you mean faking it with someone for the cameras, no thanks. I can’t act that well.”

The agent smiled meaningfully: “Did you see the role breakdown?”

Our Life: Friends Season centered around the theme of “friendship.” Though unscripted and without assigned roles, each invited pair had to offer emotional resonance and discussion value to touch on core societal topics and generate buzz.

“I did.” Ren Meng recited, “Eight guests in total, four pairs of friends. One pair are long-estranged friends reuniting. One pair are genuine close friends. One pair are online friends matched by big data. The last pair are newly broken-up friends.”

After she said it, she felt a deep sense of absurdity: “You want me in the first group?”

The “long-lost friends” group.

The agent replied, “Why not? Your connection with Leng Ying wasn’t real—but her connection with that person is.”

“…Ha.” Ren Meng gave a cold laugh.

Utterly ridiculous.

“I’m not going to beg her,” Ren Meng said. “She wouldn’t agree to go on a show with me anyway.”

“That’s for the producers to figure out,” said the agent with a polite smile. “If you’re interested, I’ll have the team reach out to her and see if she’ll agree.”

“And if she says no?”

“Then you don’t need to go either,” the agent said. “Can’t be in a pair by yourself.”

Ren Meng scoffed again, “…Oh, so you do get it.”

The agent’s face remained full of innocent confusion, as though they didn’t understand what she was sarcastic about. Ren Meng lost interest: “I’ll think about it.”

“Sure,” the agent agreed, and added, “You’re not who you used to be. You’ve got a solid career now. Having a chance to reconcile with an old friend isn’t a bad thing. At the very least, you won’t leave things hanging forever. Plus, Our Life already has three seasons under its belt—it’s a good platform for exposure.”

Ren Meng didn’t give an immediate answer. “Let me think about it. I’ll give you my reply tomorrow.”

If she agreed too fast, it would look suspicious.

…

Youli Group, Top Floor Office

He Ruixiang poured a cup of hot tea for Ji Yu. “I’m getting old and can’t handle coffee anymore—just tea leaves here. If you want coffee, I can have Xiao Zhe make you a cup.”

“No need,” Ji Yu declined. “I don’t have a particular preference when it comes to drinks.”

“Easy to please, huh?” He Ruixiang joked—those were Ji Yu’s own words from childhood.

Ji Yu smiled. “That’s right, Uncle He. Can’t believe you still remember that childhood joke.”

“Of course I do,” He Ruixiang said. “You want to focus on design, but since you’re new here, you should meet the team. I’ve scheduled a meeting in half an hour with all mid- and senior-level staff. Just show your face so people can get to know you. How’s that sound?”

“I’m the new kid here—whatever Uncle He says goes.”

“Now you’re teasing me,” He chuckled. “You were making waves at HQ overseas. I was surprised when I heard you were coming back. Then I wondered—since you’re returning, does that mean you’re bringing your design brand with you too?”

He laid it all out, and Ji Yu responded just as directly. “Two reasons. First, I wanted to come back and see a friend. Second, I felt like I needed some local inspiration again. I’ve scrapped a hundred versions of my latest design draft, and I’m still not satisfied. I’m not here to seize power—no need for that. While I’m in China, I’ll be relying on your guidance.”

He Ruixiang cleared his throat. “You’re a little too direct.”

“But being direct makes things clear! We’re not enemies—no need to talk in circles,” Ji Yu smiled. “Uncle He, please take care of me. As for the brand—it’s my personal brand, of course it follows me. It’s an internal matter within the group, not worth overthinking.”

He nodded, understanding. “Alright, then once we finish this tea, let’s head to the meeting room. People are curious about this new ‘parachuted-in’ Executive Ji. Show your face and ease their minds.”

Ji Yu agreed. “Sure. But I won’t attend regular meetings after this one.”

“You’ll need an assistant though, right?” He Ruixiang asked. “You came back alone—it’s inconvenient otherwise.”

“Oh, your family already reached out to you?”

“…Yeah,” He admitted. “Didn’t plan on hiding it. Several people asked me to help with that.”

Ji Yu was puzzled. “I managed fine on my own overseas—why would coming back make them more worried?”

“There’s an old saying here: ‘When a child travels far, the mother always worries,’” He explained. “You’ve been away for years—things change fast here. Do you still recognize the buildings on the street?”

“Somewhat unfamiliar now,” Ji Yu admitted. “Okay, you can arrange someone. The assistant won’t have too much to do… Actually, better to set up an internal recruitment and interview process. I’ll personally interview the final candidates.”

He Ruixiang agreed to everything.

…

“T.T…”

A WeChat message from Ji Yu popped up, snapping Leng Ying out of her daze in the music room, where she had been “talking” to her instruments.

She messaged back with concern:
“Did the presentation go well?”

“Very well.”

Ji Yu followed with a crying emoji.
“So well I accidentally took on more responsibilities…”

She briefly explained everything that had happened. Leng Ying chuckled.
“Well, our Executive Ji should have a personal assistant.”

“What kind of executive doesn’t have an assistant?”

“…”

Ji Yu added,
“Yingying, you’re laughing at me!”

“^-^ I am not,” Leng Ying denied.
“Are you in a meeting right now?”

“Yes, they’re having a meeting, and I’m goofing off chatting with you,” Ji Yu replied.
“I won’t be back until tonight. Lunch meeting with them, then I’ll visit the department I’ve been assigned to this afternoon.”

After all, as a deputy general manager, she was given oversight of one business division. Ji Yu planned to delegate authority, but she wanted to at least meet the team first.

Leng Ying understood.
“Probably won’t be home until after dinner.”

“Exactly… T.T”

Ji Yu seemed a little anxious.
“I’ll try not to go in tomorrow.”

Leng Ying smiled slightly as she stared at the screenshot Ji Yu had just sent her.

“This is…?”

“A new contact I added today for work.”

Ji Yu replied naturally.
“Just reporting it to you.”

“…”

Leng Ying was silent.

But she couldn’t help the subtle happiness rising in her heart.

She hesitated for a moment and sent back a cute sticker of a little girl acting adorable.

Actually, she wasn’t trying to control who Ji Yu could be friends with.

She just instinctively didn’t want Ji Yu to get too close to people from her circle.

…It wasn’t that she didn’t want Ji Yu in her social life.

Leng Ying lightly tapped the piano keys.

What am I even thinking?

I instinctively rejected that group leader adding Ji Yu on WeChat, but in truth I do want my friends to know about Ji Yu?

…I just don’t want Ji Yu to get closer to them than to me. I don’t want them to know things about her that I don’t. I’m scared.

Just the thought of that kind of scenario makes my heart feel sticky and anxious, bubbling with unease.

Cracked open—what spills out is nothing but nervousness and fear.

The piano notes connected into a rhythm.

Leng Ying suddenly realized something. She wrote the melody down, then picked up her phone again and sent Ji Yu a message:

“Focus on your meeting.”

“T.T”

Ji Yu replied, disobedient even through the screen.
“Buyao (don’t wanna)”

“Woyaoyizhi keep in touch with you!”

Leng Ying frowned.

“Got called on suddenly to speak—scared me.”

Another message popped up as Ji Yu explained herself.
“Had no prep. Sunflower dehydrated -100”

“Water bottle.jpg”

Leng Ying replied with a photo.
“Mhm, watering you now.”

“Hehe, wait for me to come back and drag you out to breathe fresh air!”

“Cartoon sunflower spinning.gif”