"Strange. Why is there one cup missing? I'm sure I brought four cups in just now. It's really creepy."
In the private room, the waiter who had just gone in to tidy up exclaimed. Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for Ouyang Mingqi, who was meeting with Secretary Liu, to hear.
"How could one be missing? Look for it again. Or did you just remember it wrong?" Another waiter said indifferently.
Just then, Ouyang Mingqi stepped back in. His phoenix - like eyes landed on the spot where he had been sitting. On the dining table, there were indeed only three cups, and the one that had been on his side had disappeared without a trace.
Ouyang Mingqi's face changed and instantly turned extremely gloomy.
"Sir, do you think we should still extend an olive branch to Xia Weilan?" Secretary Liu, oblivious to the situation, continued speaking to Ouyang Mingqi's back.
It wasn't until Ouyang Mingqi turned around. The look on his face made Secretary Liu shiver all over, and the words that hadn't been fully spoken got stuck in his throat.
Ouyang Mingqi walked out of the private room. With a frosty look on his face, he stared at the door, the direction where Xia Weilan had left just now. All the previous anticipation in his eyes was gone. Instead, his heart felt heavy and extremely stifled.
Meanwhile, Xia Weilan, who was seeing Han Yishi off, was in a great mood. She glanced at her bag and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up.
She never thought that someone like Ouyang Mingqi could be successfully tricked by her.
"Weilan, why on earth did you steal that cup? Is this some kind of hobby of yours? I think that cup was quite ordinary. There's nothing special about it!" Han Yishi was very confused about Xia Weilan.
"Don't you already know that your uncle's car was smashed? They still haven't found the real culprit, but they did extract some fingerprints from the car." Xia Weilan explained.
"Fingerprints?" Han Yishi pointed at the bag beside him in disbelief. "You mean..."
"Yeah!" Xia Weilan squinted her eyes. "It's just a guess. I still need to verify it."
"No way. Aren't you good friends?" Han Yishi found it hard to accept.
"Who said we're friends? We're enemies. You should stay away from him in the future." Xia Weilan warned Han Yishi as she glanced at him through the rear - view mirror.
Han Yishi was completely bewildered and couldn't figure out the ins and outs. He could only nod. "Okay, I got it."
There was a hint of disappointment in Han Yishi's tone.
Seeing his expression, Xia Weilan couldn't help but sigh.
Ouyang Mingqi was too shrewd. Han Yishi was no match for him at all.
The car fell into silence.
Xia Weilan thought that as soon as she dropped Han Yishi off at the venue, she would immediately take the fingerprints to Mo Beichen for comparison.
Han Yishi, on the other hand, would occasionally peek at Xia Weilan. His eyes kept darting around, as if he was doing some heavy mental reconstruction work.
Both of them were a bit absent - minded. So when the car finally stopped, Xia Weilan didn't notice the reporters waiting in the lobby. As soon as they saw the car arrive, they immediately swarmed towards it.
"Is that Han Yishi inside?" The reporters surrounded the car, craning their necks.
"It must be. I heard he got into a white sedan. This must be the one."
Xia Weilan never expected that so many people would show up before she even got out of the car. They were all holding cameras and microphones. Some even pressed their faces against the window to see what was going on inside. Fortunately, Xia Weilan's car windows were opaque.
"Weilan, the reporters are too crazy. Let's not get out for now." Han Yishi seemed much calmer than Xia Weilan. He wasn't scared at all. He just picked up his phone and called his agent.
"Where the hell are you? I'm being surrounded by reporters at the entrance. Hurry up and come solve this."
Xia Weilan had no choice but to wait in the car. It was impossible to drive away at this moment, and it wasn't a good idea to get out either.
Not long after, the agent arrived with more than a dozen security guards. The well - trained security guards blocked the reporters two meters away. Xia Weilan finally breathed a sigh of relief and said to Han Yishi,
"You should get out quickly and do your job well."
"You have to get out with me. The reporters obviously got some information before they came. I just heard them call your name. If you hide in the car now, people will surely make all kinds of speculations." Han Yishi was clearly very experienced in dealing with such situations.
The reporters outside were still pointing their cameras at the white car. Just then, the car door opened, and Han Yishi and Xia Weilan got out one after another.
"Miss Xia, it's said that you and Mr. Han often go to restaurants together. Are you in a relationship?"
"Mr. Han, it's quite unprecedented for you to be the jewelry spokesperson. Is there any special reason for this?"
The reporters immediately bombarded the two with sharp questions.
Xia Weilan stood there calmly and gracefully smiled at the reporters outside the security cordon. "Yes, it is indeed unprecedented for Han Yishi to be the spokesperson for our company this time. There's definitely a reason for it."
"Then may I ask what the reason is?"
"Yes, we're all very curious."
But Xia Weilan remained silent. Han Yishi took over. "It's because I've always admired the designs of Z Jewelry. Don't you think their designs match my taste perfectly? They're bold, innovative, and the designs are so novel. They're truly a dark horse in the jewelry industry. So, of course, I'm willing to be the spokesperson for Z Jewelry. And I also believe that with the cooperation between Xia's Jewelry and Z, Xia's Jewelry will surely go further in the future."
The reporters were originally expecting some explosive insider information, but instead, they were force - fed a wave of advertisements. They were momentarily speechless.
"Then, may I ask what's the relationship between Mr. Han and Miss Xia? Why do you often go out together?" The reporters asked persistently.
"Since we're in a cooperative relationship, isn't this very normal? I've been shooting advertisements recently. The Xia Group can't just ignore me. Naturally, they have to entertain me." Han Yishi answered without blinking an eye. He was so familiar with answering reporters' questions that it was as easy as eating.
The reporters fell silent again.
Taking this opportunity, Xia Weilan said, "Thank you all for your attention to Xia's Jewelry. We'll post the progress of our cooperation on the official website of the Xia family as soon as possible. Thank you all."
As she spoke, Xia Weilan generously led Han Yishi into the building.
Not long after, the reporters outside dispersed and went back to write their reports. The title was that Han Yishi was a fan of Z. No one dared to spread rumors about the relationship between Xia Weilan and Han Yishi.
At the entrance of the building, no one noticed that someone had sneaked into Xia Weilan's car and switched the cup in her bag.
Not long after, Xia Weilan came out of the building, got into the car, and drove to Mo Ying Group.
"What's this?" Mo Beichen looked at the cup on his desk, which was carefully wrapped in a bag by Xia Weilan.
"Fingerprints." Xia Weilan explained. "Aren't you trying to find out who damaged the car? Take this and compare it with the fingerprints on the car."
"Whose?" Mo Beichen raised his eyebrows.
Xia Weilan hesitated for a moment and then explained, "This belongs to Ouyang Mingqi."