Before the results of her scheming came out, she didn't want anyone to know her plans.
If she failed, it'd be a secret of her own.
If she succeeded, it'd be the best thing she could do in return for his sacrifices.
At that thought, Ji Yi couldn't help but tighten her fingers around her phone.
Man proposes, God disposes. She only wished God would care a little more for her tonight.
He Jichen must've been collecting his baggage, so he didn't reply to Ji Yi's message.
Ji Yi brought herself back from her wandering thoughts and raised her head from her phone screen. She glanced at the big stage in front of her and happened to hear the presenter say, "Coming up next on our show is what many people have long been waiting for."
"However, before the show starts, I first have something I regret to say."
"We're terribly sorry. Half an hour ago, we just got news that Cheng Ke had no choice but to pull out of tonight's charity gala at the last minute due to personal circumstances."
"Just before Cheng Ke left, he asked us to offer his sincere apologies. From our understanding, if it hadn't been an emergency, Cheng Ke wouldn't have suddenly left."
As the presenter said this, he pulled the stern, imposing expression on his face then reverted back to his bright smile to present tonight's show. "Alright, now let's get back to the show. Please enjoy a song brought to you by Qian Ge."
As the presenter's voice dropped, he made a hand gesture to "welcome" her on the stage.
The lights on the stage were instantly turned off.
After about a minute later, the lights lit up. Qian Ge raised her mic and stood at the center of the stage.
The instant the music started to play, Ji Yi withdrew her gaze from the stage and quietly glanced down at her phone screen.
Zhuang Yi turned her head, edged closer to Ji Yi's ear, and whispered, "How could Cheng Ke suddenly leave? It was a show booked in advance; it's all been paid already. He has to pay a compensation fee for dropping out. He couldn't really have had an emergency as they said in their official announcement, right?"
Ji Yi knew deep down that Cheng Ke only left at the last minute because of what she said before the charity gala started.
But they were surrounded entirely by other people. Even if they spoke quietly, it didn't mean nobody would hear them, so Ji Yi pretended to not know and shook her heard at Zhuang Yi. "Not sure."
"Who cares. All in all, it was a good thing. You know Qian Ge always wanted to piggyback off of Cheng Ke's popularity, secure promos with him and boost her public character. At first, I was worried that if investors saw the two on stage together tonight, Qian Ge would get offer after offer and have money thrown at her. I never imagined that something like this would come up in the last minute. To think how she screwed us over on the red carpet... this is awesome!"
Ji Yi smiled at how Zhuang Yi was clearly trying to suppress her words. She lowered her head and looked over at her vibrating phone - it was a message from He Jichen.
"I've already left the airport and got a call from Han Zhifan. There's an important meeting at the Golden Lounge, so I probably have to rush over."
When Ji Yi saw the three words "Han Zhifan," she thought back to what Cheng Weiwan told her a few days ago.
Ji Yi suddenly typed a single line on the screen and sent it to He Jichen. "Wanwan gave into Han Zhifan's pursuit. Did you know?"