:
At seven o'clock in the morning, Su Lanqiao woke up naturally. Thinking that the show in the evening required an early rehearsal, he left without saying goodbye to Chu Cheng.
This time, he was a bit more obedient, leaving a WeChat message for Chu Cheng to avoid any grudges.
In the dressing room preparing for the upcoming fashion show, the brand show had started half an hour ago. He looked around backstage, but didn't see Chu Cheng.
In fact, he wasn't disappointed. He took it in stride, knowing that Mr. Chu was always very busy and his absence was normal.
However, after last night, Chu Cheng did indeed become much gentler in the later part of the night, trying not to leave any marks, even his movements became delicate, as if the two of them truly had feelings for each other, sleeping together out of affection.
This illusion was hard to resist, leading to moral decay.
Sulan Qiao pursed his lips and waited for the stylist to finish his final hairstyle. He took a selfie and posted it on Weibo.
@Sulan Qiao: Looking forward to tonight's show.
This was just the usual business on Weibo. Within five minutes of posting the picture, there were only about ten comments, mostly praising the handsome model.
As a relatively unknown model, his popularity was not high, and the comments were like the water army hired by Yue Xi, so he didn't pay much attention to it.
"Quick, help me with my makeup and hair." A loud voice rang out in the dressing room as Xia Ran swaggered in and glanced at Sulan Qiao, "This show is too low-grade. How come anyone can share a room with me?"
"Xian Ge, I'm sorry, but please go change your clothes first," the makeup artist's voice lowered, "we're running out of time, please hurry."
Sulan Qiao looked up and said calmly, "You're late and still acting so arrogant. Xia Laoshi, you really have a lot of face."
"Ah? Who's talking? Why are the mosquitoes here so noisy?" Xia Ran rolled his eyes and turned to look at the onlookers, "Where are the clothes?"
The costume designer quickly led Xia Ran to the side to change, using the opportunity to advise Sulan Qiao in a low voice, "You're a newcomer, don't confront Xia Ran too much. You'll end up at a loss."
The makeup artist quite liked Sulan Qiao. When the handsome young man arrived, he brought a cup of milk tea for the staff, appearing aloof, but understanding the ways of the world. He was also dedicated, arriving first for the noon rehearsal and diligently walking the runway multiple times. He didn't want this promising young model to be stifled at the start of his career.
After all, in the entertainment industry, there were quite a few people like Xia Ran, who let their success get to their heads. It was rare to find someone with a good personality, so they had to take care of him.
Sulan Qiao looked at the mirror and exchanged a smile with the makeup artist. "Thank you for the reminder, teacher."
The feud between him and Xia Ran had started when they clashed over modeling endorsements. It was inevitable for them to have quarrels.
The stage manager called out, "Group five, get ready to go on stage."
Sulan Qiao stood up and adjusted his clothes slightly, following the arranged formation.
Today's show was not very big, but there was still a lot of work. There were a total of six new outfits to be presented.
The main theme of the front runway had already been displayed. Sulan Qiao stood at the backstage behind the group, replaying the pre-arranged movements in his mind. He wasn't feeling nervous.
As the music started playing on the stage, the energy immediately took over.
He walked confidently towards the center of the T-stage, with a crowd of people on both sides, clapping and cheering, but their faces were not visible.
In the front row on the side, there was an empty seat reserved for Chu Cheng.
But he didn't come. Sulan Qiao sighed quietly in his heart, but his expression remained composed as he earnestly completed his debut performance.
His features were deep, and he didn't lose out in this mix of Chinese and foreign models. The deep blue light illuminated his face, presenting his features perfectly. Sulan Qiao was born for this line of work.
After making a round on the T-stage, he went back to the backstage, where the assistant quickly helped him change into the next outfit.
The first five outfits were all casual coats, covering him up tightly.
The last outfit was a suit with no inner layer, revealing the model's abdominal muscles.
The backstage assistant poured oil on him and massaged it evenly to enhance the appearance of his muscles. When she reached his lower back, she suddenly exclaimed, "Why is your lower back a bit red?"
"Maybe I accidentally hit it somewhere," Sulan Qiao responded offhandedly, even though it was actually from the night before when Chu Cheng had been pressing down hard on it. Luckily, the mark was not visible on his lower back, or else it would have been hard to explain.
"Be careful. This is your bread and butter. Wait a moment, you need to change into a different pair of shoes for this outfit," the assistant warned.
Sulan Qiao leaned against the wall, feeling the new pair of shoes that had been brought over. He hadn't tried them on during rehearsals, and now he felt they were a bit too small, causing a slight pain in his heels. But there was no time to make adjustments as he was due on stage soon.
He furrowed his brow and took a few steps to test the shoes. The material of the sole felt odd, as if it didn't provide a stable balance when walking.
"Stop dawdling and get up there," the assistant urged him from the side of the stage.
Sulan Qiao endured the discomfort and walked onto the stage. The hard leather heels scraped against his heels with each step, causing him intense pain.
He maintained a stoic expression as he stepped onto the T-stage, the open suit coat lifting slightly, exposing his abdominal muscles and the V-line, a captivating sight.
This was a standard procedure to preserve the attractiveness of the clothes, opting for direct exposure.
As he was about to reach the center of the T-stage, Sulan Qiao noticed someone in the audience, seated there at some point.
The person wasn't sitting in the seat assigned to him, but was in the center, wearing a black long coat and the usual black suit, looking at him with an impassive expression.
Chu Cheng raised his eyes slightly, watching as the person approached him. The model had light makeup on today, and his strong eyebrows looked even more handsome, his features meticulously refined, with an impeccable appearance.
However, at this moment, he appeared aloof and unapproachable, distant from the chatty little cat from last night.
Their eyes met briefly, and Sulan Qiao's eyes sparkled.
He came, after all. A hundred butterflies fluttered in his heart.
But as the pain in his feet intensified, spreading like a raging fire, the soles of his shoes felt thinner and less supportive, making it difficult for him to walk steadily.
As he turned to go back, his left foot found almost no support, causing him to lose balance and kneel forward, then fall to the ground.
"Oh, the model's fallen!" a gasp came from the front row.
An ordinary show suddenly turned exciting. The audience, as if waking up, began murmuring, taking out their phones to capture this unexpected moment.
Watching the scene, Chu Cheng's gaze darkened, and he furrowed his brow, his expression unreadable as he observed the small model on the stage, looking quite pale.
In theory, he had signed up to tease the model, so he should be enjoying the show right now.
But at this moment, looking at the disheveled Soloan Qiao, there was a moment of pain in his heart.
He turned to greet Lingfeng, who was sitting next to him, "Go backstage and see what the situation is."
"OK, Mr. Chu." Lingfeng immediately got up and walked towards the backstage from the nearby aisle.
On the stage, Soloan Qiao felt unbearable. It was his first show in front of the person he liked. He had taken it so seriously, yet it ended in such a mess. At this moment, he just wanted to find a crack and bury himself.
But this was not the time to consider these things. He braced himself against the ground, enduring the pain in his ankle, and stood up to walk back.
The rhythm of the music had already been disrupted, so he quickly cleared the designated spot for the next person. In a matter of seconds, the attention of the audience had been diverted by this unexpected fall.
After the fall, Soloan Qiao felt that the soles of his shoes seemed completely slippery. Every step he took looked awkward and comical. He could only grit his teeth and make a difficult and disjointed move down from the stage, now drenched in cold sweat.
The show assistant saw him coming down the stairs and hurried over to support him, partly scolding, "How did you fall? Can't you even walk on level ground?"
There had been models who fell before, but they were all women in high heels with unstable heels. It was the first time that someone had slipped like this while wearing flat shoes.
"The soles are too slippery." Soloan Qiao pulled out a chair and sat down, leaning weakly against the back of the chair. He took off the shoes and turned them over for a look. The soles were a mess, with the thin layer covering them now worn out in various places.
This was probably the work of someone tampering with his shoes - removing the anti-slip surface layer, then pretending to cover it with a textured pattern.
It was a complicated process, done deliberately.
"Alright, the show is over. Go back and rest early." The show assistant also sensed that something was amiss and lightly patted his shoulder before swiftly taking the shoes away.
This matter could potentially harm someone if it were exposed, and the situation would then be truly unmanageable.
Lingfeng happened to enter the waiting room from the other side and, upon seeing the situation, understood it quite well. He sent a message to Chu Cheng, "Soloan Qiao was probably sabotaged. Should I investigate?"
"Check." Chu Cheng only replied with one word, but it gave Lingfeng a sense that a storm was about to break loose.
Soloan Qiao still sat listlessly in the chair, recalling the scene just now with a slight hint of redness in his eyes.
What had Chu Cheng's reaction been at that moment? Did he also join in with everyone else to laugh at him?
This damn bastard, ninety percent of it was probably Xia Ran's doing, trying to pull off these little tricks on his first appearance.
He looked up at Lingfeng standing at the door, his lips moving slightly but remaining silent, lips pursed.
If today had gone smoothly, he would have been eager to go to Chu Cheng and boast a little. But in his current state, he wished that Chu Cheng hadn't come today.
The other models started to come down one by one and change their clothes. A few of them, with good personalities, came up to ask a few questions, but most of them just changed and left without much concern.
Soloan Qiao took off his clothes and left them on the nearby hanger, letting the assistant take them away, and slumped back into the chair. The waiting room was now empty.
Falling down is not a big deal.
He took out his phone from his coat, and Yue Xi had messaged him, "Xiao Qiao, the company has bought a trending topic for you, saying it will spin this incident positively, increase your popularity and exposure. But some mocking posts have suddenly appeared online, you need to be mentally prepared."
He rubbed his temples with his hand, sighed, and opened Weibo. The hashtag #weirdfall# had already surpassed #SoloanQiaoFalls# and jumped to the second place. This topic was definitely not bought by the company.
Under the topic, the most popular post was a gif made by a netizen. It turned the moment he fell into a weird, humorous clip, with the background music being a continuous crowing of a rooster—very poisonous. The comments had already exceeded ten thousand.
["OMG, this old lady is so wicked, haha, this crowing is so spiritual"]
["Although it looks pitiful, what can I do? I want to laugh"]
["The company still wants to buy a trending topic to garner sympathy, ha ha, an online car flip"]
["This excellent netizen, sit down please"]
["Are you afraid of being sued? Haha, too cheap"]
["Falling on level ground, is this guy a fool, haha"]
["Today's best, haha, the prince of falling on flat ground is born"]
......
Using this method, a newcomer truly became a hot topic. Soloan Qiao's name was explosive on Weibo, he had truly become a sensation.
Tears welled up in Soloan Qiao's eyes. He clenched the edge of his phone, feeling a sense of helplessness in his heart.
He knew that the entertainment industry was like this, and he was well aware of these rules. No one knew about the twists and turns behind the scenes; everyone was just there for the show, entertaining the public.
"It's okay, don't worry about me." Soloan Qiao typed slowly and sent a message to Yue Xi.
"What are you sitting there for? Are you stunned from the fall?" Chu Cheng's voice came from the doorway as he entered the waiting room, pushing the door closed behind him.
Soloan Qiao's mouth turned down slightly, and he turned his face away softly. "You've come to laugh at me too."
"I saw it from the audience, do I need to come over here just to humiliate you again?" Chu Cheng's face showed no expression. His gaze fell on Soloan Qiao's ankle. Apart from the blisters from the heel, there were also some scrapes on his calf from the fall, with a hint of blood.
"Sorry, you don't need to be on par with me. I'm not feeling great." Soloan Qiao rested his chin on his knee, sounding resentful but weak. "Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to come here."
Chu Cheng lifted the hem of his coat and brought a stool over to sit down, pulling Soloan Qiao's ankle onto his lap. He carefully inspected it. "Is it painful?"
"Yes." Soloan Qiao seemed to have found a haven at this moment. His voice softened, with a hint of a sob.
While everyone ridiculed him, he could endure it, but as soon as someone showed care, it was as if the floodgates had been opened, tears began to flow.
With red eyes, Soloan Qiao began to complain in a rambling manner, "Someone is deliberately mocking me, tampered with my shoes, I..."
My professional skills are not bad either, he's afraid that Chu Cheng will look down on him.
"I know." Chu Cheng casually interrupted him, "I had Ling Feng buy some ointment, it'll be here in a few minutes."
Su Lanqiao nodded slightly, his foot still resting on Chu Cheng's leg, against his suit trouser, feeling the warmth of his palm.
Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Su Lanqiao said, "I should probably put my foot down now."
"Hmm?" Chu Cheng didn't release his hold on the foot, even running his fingers over the uninjured area, nonchalantly leaning back in his chair. "You were holding my waist last night, now you're shy?"
What the hell was going on??? Su Lanqiao realized that Boss Chu's suggestive remarks made his own plain and direct response seem childish and feeble.
He opened his mouth, then thought better of it. Best to keep quiet.
There was a knock at the door, and Ling Feng's voice came through, "Chu Zong, I've got the things, I'm back."
"Come in."
Ling Feng pushed the door open, and seeing Su Lanqiao's pale foot on Chu Cheng's thigh, blushed, then pulled out a plastic bag from his pocket, "Do you need the medicine right now?"
Chu Cheng raised an eyebrow, took the medicine and disinfected it with a cotton swab, then sprayed it on the injured area.
"Ouch..." Su Lanqiao couldn't help but exclaim as the medicine seeped into the wound, causing a stinging sensation.
"Endure it." Chu Cheng's movements didn't stop, changing direction and spraying it a few more times, his actions becoming much gentler. "You can take the medicine with you later."
Su Lanqiao had many questions for Chu Cheng but held them back.
Why did he come over today?
Why did he buy medicine for him?
Why is he being so kind to him?
With Ling Feng there, he couldn't ask these questions, feeling it would be unseemly to take advantage of the situation.
Enduring the pain, he looked down at Chu Cheng, his gaze inevitably becoming fixated. This man, despite his rugged appearance, exuded an unexpected gentleness, making his heart almost leap out of his chest.
Ling Feng, unable to bear the cloying atmosphere between the two on the chair, broke the silence, "Chu Zong, I took the liberty of requesting the surveillance footage from the corridor. Something quite convenient has happened."
"Hmm?" Chu Cheng didn't lift his head, his gaze still on the injured ankle.
"We happened to find that the surveillance camera in the waiting area malfunctioned, and the footage was erased."
At seven o'clock in the morning, Su Lanqiao woke up naturally. Thinking that the show in the evening required an early rehearsal, he left without saying goodbye to Chu Cheng.
This time, he was a bit more obedient, leaving a WeChat message for Chu Cheng to avoid any grudges.
In the dressing room preparing for the upcoming fashion show, the brand show had started half an hour ago. He looked around backstage, but didn't see Chu Cheng.
In fact, he wasn't disappointed. He took it in stride, knowing that Mr. Chu was always very busy and his absence was normal.
However, after last night, Chu Cheng did indeed become much gentler in the later part of the night, trying not to leave any marks, even his movements became delicate, as if the two of them truly had feelings for each other, sleeping together out of affection.
This illusion was hard to resist, leading to moral decay.
Sulan Qiao pursed his lips and waited for the stylist to finish his final hairstyle. He took a selfie and posted it on Weibo.
@Sulan Qiao: Looking forward to tonight's show.
This was just the usual business on Weibo. Within five minutes of posting the picture, there were only about ten comments, mostly praising the handsome model.
As a relatively unknown model, his popularity was not high, and the comments were like the water army hired by Yue Xi, so he didn't pay much attention to it.
"Quick, help me with my makeup and hair." A loud voice rang out in the dressing room as Xia Ran swaggered in and glanced at Sulan Qiao, "This show is too low-grade. How come anyone can share a room with me?"
"Xian Ge, I'm sorry, but please go change your clothes first," the makeup artist's voice lowered, "we're running out of time, please hurry."
Sulan Qiao looked up and said calmly, "You're late and still acting so arrogant. Xia Laoshi, you really have a lot of face."
"Ah? Who's talking? Why are the mosquitoes here so noisy?" Xia Ran rolled his eyes and turned to look at the onlookers, "Where are the clothes?"
The costume designer quickly led Xia Ran to the side to change, using the opportunity to advise Sulan Qiao in a low voice, "You're a newcomer, don't confront Xia Ran too much. You'll end up at a loss."
The makeup artist quite liked Sulan Qiao. When the handsome young man arrived, he brought a cup of milk tea for the staff, appearing aloof, but understanding the ways of the world. He was also dedicated, arriving first for the noon rehearsal and diligently walking the runway multiple times. He didn't want this promising young model to be stifled at the start of his career.
After all, in the entertainment industry, there were quite a few people like Xia Ran, who let their success get to their heads. It was rare to find someone with a good personality, so they had to take care of him.
Sulan Qiao looked at the mirror and exchanged a smile with the makeup artist. "Thank you for the reminder, teacher."
The feud between him and Xia Ran had started when they clashed over modeling endorsements. It was inevitable for them to have quarrels.
The stage manager called out, "Group five, get ready to go on stage."
Sulan Qiao stood up and adjusted his clothes slightly, following the arranged formation.
Today's show was not very big, but there was still a lot of work. There were a total of six new outfits to be presented.
The main theme of the front runway had already been displayed. Sulan Qiao stood at the backstage behind the group, replaying the pre-arranged movements in his mind. He wasn't feeling nervous.
As the music started playing on the stage, the energy immediately took over.
He walked confidently towards the center of the T-stage, with a crowd of people on both sides, clapping and cheering, but their faces were not visible.
In the front row on the side, there was an empty seat reserved for Chu Cheng.
But he didn't come. Sulan Qiao sighed quietly in his heart, but his expression remained composed as he earnestly completed his debut performance.
His features were deep, and he didn't lose out in this mix of Chinese and foreign models. The deep blue light illuminated his face, presenting his features perfectly. Sulan Qiao was born for this line of work.
After making a round on the T-stage, he went back to the backstage, where the assistant quickly helped him change into the next outfit.
The first five outfits were all casual coats, covering him up tightly.
The last outfit was a suit with no inner layer, revealing the model's abdominal muscles.
The backstage assistant poured oil on him and massaged it evenly to enhance the appearance of his muscles. When she reached his lower back, she suddenly exclaimed, "Why is your lower back a bit red?"
"Maybe I accidentally hit it somewhere," Sulan Qiao responded offhandedly, even though it was actually from the night before when Chu Cheng had been pressing down hard on it. Luckily, the mark was not visible on his lower back, or else it would have been hard to explain.
"Be careful. This is your bread and butter. Wait a moment, you need to change into a different pair of shoes for this outfit," the assistant warned.
Sulan Qiao leaned against the wall, feeling the new pair of shoes that had been brought over. He hadn't tried them on during rehearsals, and now he felt they were a bit too small, causing a slight pain in his heels. But there was no time to make adjustments as he was due on stage soon.
He furrowed his brow and took a few steps to test the shoes. The material of the sole felt odd, as if it didn't provide a stable balance when walking.
"Stop dawdling and get up there," the assistant urged him from the side of the stage.
Sulan Qiao endured the discomfort and walked onto the stage. The hard leather heels scraped against his heels with each step, causing him intense pain.
He maintained a stoic expression as he stepped onto the T-stage, the open suit coat lifting slightly, exposing his abdominal muscles and the V-line, a captivating sight.
This was a standard procedure to preserve the attractiveness of the clothes, opting for direct exposure.
As he was about to reach the center of the T-stage, Sulan Qiao noticed someone in the audience, seated there at some point.
The person wasn't sitting in the seat assigned to him, but was in the center, wearing a black long coat and the usual black suit, looking at him with an impassive expression.
Chu Cheng raised his eyes slightly, watching as the person approached him. The model had light makeup on today, and his strong eyebrows looked even more handsome, his features meticulously refined, with an impeccable appearance.
However, at this moment, he appeared aloof and unapproachable, distant from the chatty little cat from last night.
Their eyes met briefly, and Sulan Qiao's eyes sparkled.
He came, after all. A hundred butterflies fluttered in his heart.
But as the pain in his feet intensified, spreading like a raging fire, the soles of his shoes felt thinner and less supportive, making it difficult for him to walk steadily.
As he turned to go back, his left foot found almost no support, causing him to lose balance and kneel forward, then fall to the ground.
"Oh, the model's fallen!" a gasp came from the front row.
An ordinary show suddenly turned exciting. The audience, as if waking up, began murmuring, taking out their phones to capture this unexpected moment.
Watching the scene, Chu Cheng's gaze darkened, and he furrowed his brow, his expression unreadable as he observed the small model on the stage, looking quite pale.
In theory, he had signed up to tease the model, so he should be enjoying the show right now.
But at this moment, looking at the disheveled Soloan Qiao, there was a moment of pain in his heart.
He turned to greet Lingfeng, who was sitting next to him, "Go backstage and see what the situation is."
"OK, Mr. Chu." Lingfeng immediately got up and walked towards the backstage from the nearby aisle.
On the stage, Soloan Qiao felt unbearable. It was his first show in front of the person he liked. He had taken it so seriously, yet it ended in such a mess. At this moment, he just wanted to find a crack and bury himself.
But this was not the time to consider these things. He braced himself against the ground, enduring the pain in his ankle, and stood up to walk back.
The rhythm of the music had already been disrupted, so he quickly cleared the designated spot for the next person. In a matter of seconds, the attention of the audience had been diverted by this unexpected fall.
After the fall, Soloan Qiao felt that the soles of his shoes seemed completely slippery. Every step he took looked awkward and comical. He could only grit his teeth and make a difficult and disjointed move down from the stage, now drenched in cold sweat.
The show assistant saw him coming down the stairs and hurried over to support him, partly scolding, "How did you fall? Can't you even walk on level ground?"
There had been models who fell before, but they were all women in high heels with unstable heels. It was the first time that someone had slipped like this while wearing flat shoes.
"The soles are too slippery." Soloan Qiao pulled out a chair and sat down, leaning weakly against the back of the chair. He took off the shoes and turned them over for a look. The soles were a mess, with the thin layer covering them now worn out in various places.
This was probably the work of someone tampering with his shoes - removing the anti-slip surface layer, then pretending to cover it with a textured pattern.
It was a complicated process, done deliberately.
"Alright, the show is over. Go back and rest early." The show assistant also sensed that something was amiss and lightly patted his shoulder before swiftly taking the shoes away.
This matter could potentially harm someone if it were exposed, and the situation would then be truly unmanageable.
Lingfeng happened to enter the waiting room from the other side and, upon seeing the situation, understood it quite well. He sent a message to Chu Cheng, "Soloan Qiao was probably sabotaged. Should I investigate?"
"Check." Chu Cheng only replied with one word, but it gave Lingfeng a sense that a storm was about to break loose.
Soloan Qiao still sat listlessly in the chair, recalling the scene just now with a slight hint of redness in his eyes.
What had Chu Cheng's reaction been at that moment? Did he also join in with everyone else to laugh at him?
This damn bastard, ninety percent of it was probably Xia Ran's doing, trying to pull off these little tricks on his first appearance.
He looked up at Lingfeng standing at the door, his lips moving slightly but remaining silent, lips pursed.
If today had gone smoothly, he would have been eager to go to Chu Cheng and boast a little. But in his current state, he wished that Chu Cheng hadn't come today.
The other models started to come down one by one and change their clothes. A few of them, with good personalities, came up to ask a few questions, but most of them just changed and left without much concern.
Soloan Qiao took off his clothes and left them on the nearby hanger, letting the assistant take them away, and slumped back into the chair. The waiting room was now empty.
Falling down is not a big deal.
He took out his phone from his coat, and Yue Xi had messaged him, "Xiao Qiao, the company has bought a trending topic for you, saying it will spin this incident positively, increase your popularity and exposure. But some mocking posts have suddenly appeared online, you need to be mentally prepared."
He rubbed his temples with his hand, sighed, and opened Weibo. The hashtag #weirdfall# had already surpassed #SoloanQiaoFalls# and jumped to the second place. This topic was definitely not bought by the company.
Under the topic, the most popular post was a gif made by a netizen. It turned the moment he fell into a weird, humorous clip, with the background music being a continuous crowing of a rooster—very poisonous. The comments had already exceeded ten thousand.
["OMG, this old lady is so wicked, haha, this crowing is so spiritual"]
["Although it looks pitiful, what can I do? I want to laugh"]
["The company still wants to buy a trending topic to garner sympathy, ha ha, an online car flip"]
["This excellent netizen, sit down please"]
["Are you afraid of being sued? Haha, too cheap"]
["Falling on level ground, is this guy a fool, haha"]
["Today's best, haha, the prince of falling on flat ground is born"]
......
Using this method, a newcomer truly became a hot topic. Soloan Qiao's name was explosive on Weibo, he had truly become a sensation.
Tears welled up in Soloan Qiao's eyes. He clenched the edge of his phone, feeling a sense of helplessness in his heart.
He knew that the entertainment industry was like this, and he was well aware of these rules. No one knew about the twists and turns behind the scenes; everyone was just there for the show, entertaining the public.
"It's okay, don't worry about me." Soloan Qiao typed slowly and sent a message to Yue Xi.
"What are you sitting there for? Are you stunned from the fall?" Chu Cheng's voice came from the doorway as he entered the waiting room, pushing the door closed behind him.
Soloan Qiao's mouth turned down slightly, and he turned his face away softly. "You've come to laugh at me too."
"I saw it from the audience, do I need to come over here just to humiliate you again?" Chu Cheng's face showed no expression. His gaze fell on Soloan Qiao's ankle. Apart from the blisters from the heel, there were also some scrapes on his calf from the fall, with a hint of blood.
"Sorry, you don't need to be on par with me. I'm not feeling great." Soloan Qiao rested his chin on his knee, sounding resentful but weak. "Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to come here."
Chu Cheng lifted the hem of his coat and brought a stool over to sit down, pulling Soloan Qiao's ankle onto his lap. He carefully inspected it. "Is it painful?"
"Yes." Soloan Qiao seemed to have found a haven at this moment. His voice softened, with a hint of a sob.
While everyone ridiculed him, he could endure it, but as soon as someone showed care, it was as if the floodgates had been opened, tears began to flow.
With red eyes, Soloan Qiao began to complain in a rambling manner, "Someone is deliberately mocking me, tampered with my shoes, I..."
My professional skills are not bad either, he's afraid that Chu Cheng will look down on him.
"I know." Chu Cheng casually interrupted him, "I had Ling Feng buy some ointment, it'll be here in a few minutes."
Su Lanqiao nodded slightly, his foot still resting on Chu Cheng's leg, against his suit trouser, feeling the warmth of his palm.
Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Su Lanqiao said, "I should probably put my foot down now."
"Hmm?" Chu Cheng didn't release his hold on the foot, even running his fingers over the uninjured area, nonchalantly leaning back in his chair. "You were holding my waist last night, now you're shy?"
What the hell was going on??? Su Lanqiao realized that Boss Chu's suggestive remarks made his own plain and direct response seem childish and feeble.
He opened his mouth, then thought better of it. Best to keep quiet.
There was a knock at the door, and Ling Feng's voice came through, "Chu Zong, I've got the things, I'm back."
"Come in."
Ling Feng pushed the door open, and seeing Su Lanqiao's pale foot on Chu Cheng's thigh, blushed, then pulled out a plastic bag from his pocket, "Do you need the medicine right now?"
Chu Cheng raised an eyebrow, took the medicine and disinfected it with a cotton swab, then sprayed it on the injured area.
"Ouch..." Su Lanqiao couldn't help but exclaim as the medicine seeped into the wound, causing a stinging sensation.
"Endure it." Chu Cheng's movements didn't stop, changing direction and spraying it a few more times, his actions becoming much gentler. "You can take the medicine with you later."
Su Lanqiao had many questions for Chu Cheng but held them back.
Why did he come over today?
Why did he buy medicine for him?
Why is he being so kind to him?
With Ling Feng there, he couldn't ask these questions, feeling it would be unseemly to take advantage of the situation.
Enduring the pain, he looked down at Chu Cheng, his gaze inevitably becoming fixated. This man, despite his rugged appearance, exuded an unexpected gentleness, making his heart almost leap out of his chest.
Ling Feng, unable to bear the cloying atmosphere between the two on the chair, broke the silence, "Chu Zong, I took the liberty of requesting the surveillance footage from the corridor. Something quite convenient has happened."
"Hmm?" Chu Cheng didn't lift his head, his gaze still on the injured ankle.
"We happened to find that the surveillance camera in the waiting area malfunctioned, and the footage was erased."