Chapter 431: Chapter 341: I’m Back
During this time, Meng Ran hadn’t contacted her again.
Zhou Yun was happy to eat her meal in peace.
She actually loved to try all kinds of delicious food, but previously, due to financial constraints, she couldn’t eat whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. Sometimes, if there was a particular restaurant she longed to visit, it took a lot of contemplation before she could afford to dine there once.
Now, even though she had money, her public figure status and time constraints still prevented her from indulging in whatever eateries she fancied.
Especially now, as she was filming, she needed to watch her weight.
Zhou Yun looked at Zheng Xiaojue enjoying her meal with gusto, with her mouth full of oil, and felt a heartfelt happiness.
Perhaps those who love to eat all share this sentiment; seeing someone eating joyfully makes themselves feel happy too.
Compared to Zheng Xiaojue, Cao Jun, a robust man, ate with much more refinement.
Zhou Yun served herself a bowl of soup, reminding herself to sip it slowly with a spoon.
Zheng Xiaojue, with eyes wide open, asked, "Sister Xiao Yun, why do you drink soup so elegantly?"
Zhou Yun said, "Because this outfit is very expensive, I don’t want to spill on it."
Hearing this, Zheng Xiaojue looked down at her own clothes after a startled glance, then let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness I’m just wearing a sweatshirt."
Zhou Yun smiled.
It was at this moment that Zhou Yun’s phone rang.
Unexpectedly, Meng Ran was on the line.
Zhou Yun was surprised and answered, "Hello?"
"Sister Xiao Yun," Meng Ran’s voice carried a cautious plea, "are you still at Butterf?"
Zhou Yun replied, "Yes, what’s up?"
Meng Ran asked, "Could I ask a favor of you? I really don’t know what to do..."
...
Zhou Yun and Zheng Xiaojue arrived at the entrance of the "Peach Blossom Brew" private room.
Sure enough, as Meng Ran had mentioned, two men wearing duckbill caps stood at the door, both with cameras hanging around their necks.
One of them was knocking on the door and saying, "Meng Ran, stop hiding; we know there’s another man inside. There’s no use hiding."
"I advise you to open the door sooner. It doesn’t do you any good to lock yourself inside, what’s the point in dragging this out?"
Zhou Yun’s eyes widened in shock.
She couldn’t believe that paparazzi had the audacity to yell at the doorstep like this.
Zhou Yun and Zheng Xiaojue exchanged glances.
Zheng Xiaojue was still confused and asked in a low voice, "Eldest Sister Yun, what should we do next?"
Zhou Yun said, "Just follow me in."
Zheng Xiaojue acknowledged with an "Oh."
Hands in her pockets, Zhou Yun walked towards the entrance of "Peach Blossom Brew," projecting an aura of unapproachability as she sauntered over.
"Who are you two? What are you doing standing here?" Zhou Yun jabbed a finger in front of the two paparazzi, her commanding presence as tall as one meter eighty.
The two paparazzi were startled by Zhou Yun’s approach, their eyes bulging as one of them stuttered, "Zhou... Zhou Yun, you..."
"What ’you’?" Zhou Yun’s face stern, "I just went to use the restroom, and I come back to see the two of you skulking around here. What are you up to? What’s your business here?"
The two paparazzi didn’t know how to respond.
They certainly couldn’t tell Zhou Yun that they were there to sneak photos.
"Are you with Meng Ran?" the other man asked with a mix of surprise and suspicion.
Zhou Yun lifted her eyelids and retorted, "Otherwise?"
The two exchanged glances, bewildered.
Zhou Yun knocked on the door and said, "Xiao Ran, I’m back."
After a while, Meng Ran opened the door from inside.
Before Zhou Yun entered, she turned to look at the two paparazzi and said, "Aren’t you leaving? Do you want me to call security?"
The two paparazzi looked at each other again, bewildered.
A look of resignation crossed Zhou Yun’s eyes as she said to Zheng Xiaojue, "Xiaoju, go find the restaurant’s security and ask what these two mean by lingering at the door of our private room."
Zheng Xiaojue immediately responded, "Alright!"
"Wait, wait, wait, let’s talk this over!" The opposite party suddenly panicked.
Mainly because Zhou Yun’s calm and composed aura made them involuntarily doubt whether their own intelligence was wrong.
Their information said that Meng Ran had a boyfriend and they were dining together at Butterfly tonight, they were even told the private room number.
Who knew that when they rushed over to confront, they would also run into Zhou Yun?
From the current situation, it seemed the intelligence was incorrect.
Even if there was a man in Meng Ran’s room today, taking a picture like this wouldn’t be Meng Ran on a private date with a strange man.
Not capturing photos of a private date would significantly decrease the value.
In the end, the two still didn’t want to escalate the situation and, albeit reluctantly, left.
Zhou Yun and Zheng Xiaojue entered the private room.
Meng Ran hastily shut the door and sighed with relief, looking at Zhou Yun apologetically.
Zhou Yun’s gaze swept around the room.
She noticed a familiar figure.
The photography assistant from "Warm Little Horse," Xu Caisheng.
Zhou Yun had seen pictures of Meng Ran kissing him before.
But Meng Ran was unaware that Zhou Yun knew about their relationship and somewhat embarrassingly stammered, "Sister Xiao Yun, thank you for coming to help. If they had taken pictures of me and him, who knows what kind of rumors they would spread."
"Spread rumors?" Zhou Yun looked at Xu Caisheng with a smile that was not quite a smile.
The young and handsome boy sat on the chair, his cheeks flushed as if he was feeling somewhat embarrassed, shy.
"He’s Xu Caisheng," Meng Ran attempted to introduce him to Zhou Yun.
Zhou Yun raised her hand, indicating that Meng Ran didn’t need to continue.
"I know him, I’m aware," said Zhou Yun, "our film’s photography assistant."
Xu Caisheng looked at Zhou Yun with surprise.
Zhou Yun continued, "I also know that you two are a couple and that tonight you have likely come here for a secret date, avoiding others."
Upon hearing this, Meng Ran’s face turned ashen, and as she started to speak, "Sister Xiao Yun—"
Zhou Yun cut her off bluntly, "No need to explain, and there’s no need to tell me you’re just friends. All these words are unnecessary, I’ve seen you two kissing on set, I know what your relationship is."
One could imagine the look on Meng Ran’s face.
She and Xu Caisheng were like being struck by lightning, utterly at a loss, unable to utter a word.
Zhou Yun asked, "Meng Ran, I suggest you contact your agent right away to make preparations."
"No, I can’t," Meng Ran shook her head, her eyes reddening, "They won’t allow me to date. Sister Xiao Yun, please keep this a secret for me. If my agent finds out, they won’t let me see him again."
Zhou Yun looked at her incredulously, asking, "Did you sneak out today without telling your agent?"