Chapter 6: Absolutely Not, Absolutely Not
After getting into the car, Dong Ling told the driver the coordinates and asked him to drive in that direction. When they passed a flower shop, she asked the driver to stop, bought a large bouquet of roses, and then headed to her destination, arms full of flowers.
Along the way, 021 continuously reported Song Mingzhi’s movements to her – she wasn’t moving at all.
Dong Ling was very relieved, but as she neared her destination, 021 started urging her.
[Girl, she’s moving, she’s moving. According to this trajectory, she should be heading out the door, hurry up, don’t miss her. If she gets in a car, it’ll be hard to catch up!]
Dong Ling was certainly aware of this. She urged the driver slightly, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Song Mingzhi walking out the door and down the steps through the car window.
Just in time.
Song Mingzhi finished handling the final matters of the equity transfer for Wang Buli and walked out of the main entrance of Purple Star Entertainment.
At this moment, she saw a Maybach drive up and stop in front of her.
The car window rolled down, revealing a familiar face. The person looked at her with a somewhat surprised expression.
“What a coincidence, running into you again.”
Dong Ling’s face showed a timely mix of surprise and shyness, portraying this purposeful pursuit as a chance encounter.
Her gaze drifted past Song Mingzhi to the name of the building behind her, and she felt a little puzzled. In the original novel, the female lead didn’t have an agency before signing the agreement with the male lead. The male lead gave her resources and set up a personal studio for her.
“What a coincidence.”
Song Mingzhi was also a little surprised. She had met this person three times in two days, this frequency was indeed too high and too coincidental, causing her to feel a little wary at first, but she quickly dismissed it.
Yesterday’s second encounter was indeed accidental. The other party shouldn’t have known she was in the villa next door, and if she hadn’t happened to see her through the telescope, she probably wouldn’t have.
As for today, her whereabouts were confidential, and this car had clearly just arrived. The girl in the car couldn’t have timed her exit from the building so precisely.
“Sorry about yesterday, it was a bit presumptuous. This flower is my apology.” Dong Ling smiled in a very friendly and harmless manner, blinking at her and saying, “If you’re free, it would be even better if I could treat you to a meal. After all, it’s fate that we keep running into each other like this.”
Dong Ling smoothly completed her task. She wasn’t planning to give the whole bouquet to her directly, Song Mingzhi would probably think she was crazy.
Only when the car window was fully down did Song Mingzhi notice the large bouquet of brightly colored roses in the girl’s arms.
She picked a flower at random, smiled, and handed it out the car window. Her wrist, fair and smooth under the autumn light, formed a stark contrast with the red of the rose, stimulating the eye.
Song Mingzhi curved her lips: “Thank you for the flower. I’ll definitely accept your invitation if I’m free another day.”
When Song Mingzhi took the rose, Dong Ling heard the system prompt in her mind indicating the task was complete.
[Main storyline progress: 0.4%.]
Hearing the main storyline progress and Song Mingzhi’s polite refusal, Dong Ling felt a pang of sadness. Why was it so easy for other domineering CEOs, while she struggled so much?
“Then can we exchange contact information? I’ll invite you when you’re free.”
Dong Ling shook her phone, expressing her desire to exchange contact information.
Song Mingzhi didn’t refuse, and gave her number.
“I’ve sent you a friend request. See you next time.”
Dong Ling knew when to stop, waved goodbye to Song Mingzhi, and after Song Mingzhi nodded, rolled up the window.
Song Mingzhi watched the luxury car drive away, looked at the delicate rose in her hand, and thought with amusement, what a rich and beautiful flower.
The reason she refused earlier was because such girls were never within her social circle, but when the other party offered to exchange contact information, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
Song Mingzhi put the rose in her coat pocket, took out her phone, looked at the name attached to the friend request, and inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity, but couldn’t remember where she had heard it before. She couldn’t recall anything after thinking about it carefully.
Dong Ling, she repeated the name in her mind, and clicked accept.
Having completed the task, Dong Ling was in a very good mood and told the driver to continue driving. She didn’t like leaving obvious loopholes in her actions. Since she came here to ‘run into’ Song Mingzhi, she wouldn’t let the driver think she came specifically for her. She planned to get out of the car at the next intersection and say she had an appointment with a friend.
But shortly after the car started moving again, Dong Ling heard the mechanical electronic voice of the task system again.
[Task: Personally invite the female lead to dinner…]
Dong Ling felt indignant: [Is this broken system messing with me?! I just left and it says this! If only! If only it had said it half a minute earlier!]
The word “personally” stunned Dong Ling. She could have just sent a message, did it have to be in person? Was this reasonable?
Would driving back now be like asking to be socially executed?! Why, why, why!
Amidst Dong Ling’s accusations, the task system finished the rest of the content: [Completing this will increase the task progress by 0.6%.]
Dong Ling paused, and said to the driver: “Stop, turn back.”
021: [Girl, you’re changing your tune too quickly.]
Dong Ling spread her hands: [No way around it, they’re offering too much.]
This was 0.6%, double that of yesterday’s “I’ll give you my life” task. Anyone who didn’t do it would be a fool. And turning back now would also save the 0.1% for checking the location later. Although her company hadn’t started yet, Dong Ling, who already considered herself a capitalist, wouldn’t miss this opportunity.
This wasn’t a main road, so turning back was perfectly fine.
Song Mingzhi was about to find her car and drive away when she saw the Maybach, which had already disappeared from view, slowly reversing and reappearing within her line of sight.
A question mark slowly appeared in her mind. She stopped and decided to see what the girl was up to.
The car window slid down, revealing the girl’s pretty face again.
She leaned on the window and looked at her with wide eyes, asking: “Are you free this afternoon? I’d like to treat you to dinner. I know a really good private restaurant.”
Dong Ling stared expectantly at Song Mingzhi, pleading with her to agree in her mind. This was 0.6% progress,wuwuwu, sister, please agree to have dinner with me to save the world, please!
Song Mingzhi thought that she should be working overtime this afternoon, and planned to just grab a quick bite for dinner. But looking into Dong Ling’s eyes, her eyelids drooped slightly, then she looked up and said: “Then I won’t stand on ceremony.”
[Task complete, main storyline progress: 1%.]
021’s voice was excited: [Girl, you’re really promising, you’re amazing!]
Dong Ling’s smile was radiant, blooming like a flower on her face, as she said to Song Mingzhi: “Then it’s settled. I’ll send you a message in advance. See you this afternoon.”
Sensing Dong Ling’s joy and lightheartedness, Song Mingzhi’s mood was affected, and she couldn’t help but smile.
This time, the task system didn’t have any additional comments. Dong Ling was happily freed, got out of the car at the next intersection, and planned to call and make a reservation.
The private restaurant she mentioned was much better than the one they went to at noon today. The food wasn’t necessarily much better, but the atmosphere was definitely cleaner.
After making the reservation, Dong Ling called Freya and asked if she had contacted Tang Nuo.
“The termination procedures have been completed. So fast? Where does she live?… Take her to No. 30 Qingbai Road first. We’ll meet later.”
Freya’s work efficiency was truly amazing. Dong Ling hung up the phone and took a taxi to Qingbai Road.
Qingbai Road was full of detached houses. Dong Ling had a three-story house with a garden here, and occasionally stayed there. A housekeeper regularly cleaned it. There were many rooms, so it was no problem to use it as a temporary staff dormitory.
Tang Nuo felt like she was dreaming this afternoon. One moment she was being pimped out by her unscrupulous company and forced to sleep with a greasy man, the next she was rescued by a beautiful, rich second-generation boss. Tang Nuo felt incredibly refreshed when the penalty was paid, and secretly vowed to work hard and not let down the boss’s 500,000.
At this moment, she sat on the sofa with her suitcase, a little uneasy. She had a friend who was a real estate agent and had told her the current market price of houses on Qingbai Road. This house was now worth at least five million. Tang Nuo felt a lump in her throat and decided to set a small goal, which was to be able to afford the toilet in this house.
When she saw Dong Ling walk in, Tang Nuo quickly greeted her.
Dong Ling nodded to her, motioning for her to sit down, and said: “You’ll live here for now. I’ll show you the contract after everything is finalized. There’s a housekeeper here who prepares three meals a day and does laundry. Don’t run around during this time.”
“Okay, boss, I definitely won’t run around. I’ll concentrate on honing my acting skills and strive to shine!”
Tang Nuo nodded like a pecking chicken, trying to appear more well-behaved.
Dong Ling nodded and looked at Freya.
Freya was a very typical career woman. She wore gold-rimmed glasses and started reporting the afternoon’s agenda after seeing the boss’s daughter.
She simplified the processes as much as possible, and the matters were well-organized. Dong Ling had a general outline in mind and got into Freya’s car.
By 5 pm, some necessary procedures and formalities had been completed, and Dong Ling’s Canghai Entertainment was born.
Dong Ling also sent a message to her brother, receiving a five million investment. She happily accepted it, planning to go for a spa to be in the best condition for dinner with Song Mingzhi. But at this time, the system issued another task.
[Task: Personally cook a meal for the female lead.]
Dong Ling took a deep breath and asked 021: [Why is this task system so stupid? Is it seriously ill? Why couldn’t it have said this along with the last one?!]
021: [Girl, calm down. It issues tasks based on the original male lead’s actions. The male lead decided on the spur of the moment to cook himself.]
Dong Ling’s heart sank. How could she be in the mood for a spa now? She had to find a cook to teach her a couple of simple dishes so she could cope. She had never cooked before!
She really didn’t want to do this anymore! Really!
[Completing this will increase the task progress by 1%.]
Dong Ling immediately made a phone call: “Auntie Liu, are my parents and brother coming home for dinner tonight?”
“Oh, they’re not. That’s just as well. Come to Qingbai Road, I promised a friend I’d cook personally, come and teach me a couple of simple dishes.”
What else could Dong Ling do? She didn’t want to, but the system was offering too much, so she could do it.
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