A Love Letter Written to You - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

That afternoon, Ji Yu went to visit the business division she would be overseeing and met with the department head as well as some of the younger team members. Everyone was still a bit reserved toward the newly arrived “Director Ji.”

So she decided to use the evening to invite them all to dinner.

Meals were a great way to talk business.

And even better for building rapport.

Ji Yu chose a private kitchen-style restaurant recommended by He Ruixiang, had some alcohol served at the table, but didn’t push anyone to drink. Those who wanted to drank; others could just have juice or soda.

Midway through the meal, after chatting a bit about work, the team started realizing: this new boss of theirs was actually pretty great! Cheerful, open-minded, easy to talk to—and she’d been transferred straight from the group headquarters. During the morning meeting, she seemed to have a good relationship with Director He, who didn’t act at all defensive about a newcomer being brought in…

And she was young!

Ji Yu helped one colleague solve a design issue. Amidst the daggered glances thrown by the others (resenting the overachiever), the colleague said smugly,
“You don’t get it! Director Ji is super famous at the headquarters!”

Ji Yu raised an eyebrow.
“You know that?”

“Huang Huang did an exchange stint there,” another colleague chimed in.

“Yeah! Too bad it was just a short-term program, I never got to join your personal brand’s design line,” Huang Huang said with some regret.
“But I did make a friend who was one of your designers.”

Ji Yu nodded.
“Small world.”

Huang Huang added,
“But you’re totally different from how he described you!”

Ji Yu gave a subtle laugh.
“Obsessive clean freak, control maniac, draft tyrant?”

“…………”

The table fell silent.

Huang Huang broke into a cold sweat.
“Uhh… well…”
Sure, her friend had said those things… but selling him out felt wrong…

Sensing the awkwardness, Ji Yu gave a small laugh to ease the tension.
“I know that’s how they talk about me. As long as the work gets done right, I don’t care.”

“Director Ji is so magnanimous!” Huang Huang quickly praised.

But Ji Yu really didn’t care.

The final product was what mattered most—what people said didn’t bother her.

Still…

Since returning from abroad, she seemed more easygoing than before. All those little perfectionist habits she used to have had quietly faded away.

After that, the group felt more relaxed—

The younger team members started joking and chattering again.

Ji Yu sat at the center of it all and suddenly, overwhelmingly, missed Leng Ying.

She wanted to see her so badly.

“…I saw it on my feed too… Is Leng Ying really going? Kinda looks like marketing hype…”

“Hmm?”

Ji Yu caught someone mention Leng Ying’s name.

She turned toward the voice.
“Leng Ying?”

Zhou Zhou had been gossiping with her friend during a lull in the dinner chatter. Caught off guard by the boss suddenly asking, she froze for a moment before realizing Ji Yu was speaking to her.

“Yes, Leng Ying—the really famous Chinese lyricist-composer,” she explained.

“I’ve heard her songs before.”

We’re still the closest of friends, Ji Yu added silently in her mind.

She asked again,
“What were you saying about whether she’s going?”

“Oh, it’s a variety show!” Zhou Zhou excitedly explained.
“It’s called Our Life, and they’re currently inviting guests. Super entertaining.”

Zhou Zhou’s eyes drifted up to Ji Yu’s hair.

Wait a minute—Director Ji’s hair color looks just like that mystery person from the airport video!

That thought hit her suddenly, and she began spacing out.

“Yeah, yeah,” the friend added.
“A photo of the show’s director and Leng Ying’s agent together went viral, and now all these gossip accounts are saying she’s one of the invited guests.”

When Ji Yu was with Leng Ying, she rarely checked her phone.

So she had completely missed the viral rumors.

She nodded thoughtfully.
“I see.”

…

They’d had alcohol at dinner, so Ji Yu had her driver come pick her up.

“Miss, are we heading back to Jingming Residence?”

“No.” Ji Yu sent over a new address.
“Go here.”

She was going home—to see Leng Ying.

She cracked the window slightly, letting the night breeze drift in.

Ji Yu opened Weibo and searched for the show Zhou Zhou had mentioned:

Our Life.

The search auto-filled with Our Life Season 4, and Ji Yu tapped in.

Her brows furrowed.

There was a long list of rumored guest names, but Ji Yu only saw two that stood out: Leng Ying and Ren Meng.

What was that supposed to mean?

She dug a little deeper and found a post clarifying that this season’s theme was “Friends.”

“……”

She got even more annoyed.

These marketing accounts were just making things up.

Putting down her phone, Ji Yu thought back to her recent days with Leng Ying…

Leng Ying hadn’t mentioned the show at all.

So—was she planning to decline? Or had she already said no?

Remembering how they first met, Ji Yu felt that Leng Ying not doing a reality show would actually be a good thing.

But…

Seeing Leng Ying and Ren Meng’s names listed together still made Ji Yu uneasy.

Why did people assume they were such close friends?

There were even CP (couple pairing) fans!

And a lot of them.

Following the trail of linked posts, Ji Yu ended up in a super-topic forum—and only had to scroll a few posts before she was absolutely boiling inside.