248 Shanghai Fest Arc (2) : The seminar schedule
It was quite an ugly confrontation between Jun and Nian over the phone. It was actually ugly only on Jun’s side. Nian was laughing without a care in the world.
Yunru sighed. “Ah. Bro Nian is gonna be buried in hell. Bro Jun will make sure of it.”
Xing Bi raised her hand. “I am all in favor of that! How dare he stalk me?”
Nian came back all cheery after talking to Jun and handed the phone back to Ai. “Done!”
“What did he say?” She asked.
“What will he say? What can he say? I am staying right here,” Nian winked. “You see, dear sister-in-law. People often forget that I am the elder brother here~”
“That’s because you mostly don’t like one in anybody’s eyes,” Ai mercilessly stabbed his little heart.
“…”
Yunru laughed hard. “Ahahaha! That was cool!”
“Shut up, Yunru! You want me to beat you up?” He grabbed him by his neck.
“Ah, ah! This is violence!”
Xing Bi felt her soul leave her body.
It’s gonna be a tough three days…
“Xing Bi, it’s gonna be an awesome three days! I will definitely make you love me back!” He declared. “Just wait and watch.”
—
They stepped into the GrandCastle hotel where The Creative Sense had already made reservations for their stay. Normally, Xing Bi and Ai would have shared a room but with Jun coming later, it was pretty much obvious that he and Ai would stay together.
Ai put her luggage on the side and went to the bathroom to freshen up. Patting her face with the soft, moist towel, she sat on the bed and unlocked her phone. She contemplated for a moment and then grinned as she raised her phone up.
*Click*
She clicked a selfie, showing the room in the background and put the caption, ‘This will be our room for the next three days. It’s so pretty.”
“And send.”
It was hardly fifteen seconds later that Jun already replied. ‘I see pretty comfortable spots there for making out~’
Ai choked in her throat and coughed hard. Her ears turned red, and she swiftly pressed her fingers on the keyboard.
‘You…We are here for work.’ She conscientiously nodded to herself.
*Ding*
‘My girlfriend who was openly seducing me at her mother’s house hardly has any right to speak righteously.’
“…”
She could imagine the sneer on his lips as he must have replied.
‘Don’t worry. We will have all our fill here which we couldn’t do over there.’
The redness from her ears spread to her neck. She thought that making love in a hotel room would be a different experience, and her mind wandered off to not so innocent thoughts.
Ai pursed her lips and typed in complaint. ‘Don’t corrupt me. I need to go now. Bye!’ She softly harrumphed.
She stepped out of her room where Xing Bi, Yunru and Nian were already set to leave.
Xing Bi’s gaze glimmered with excitement
“Let’s go! The car is all ready to take us to The Creative Sense! There, we will get your schedule too. Ah, I cannot wait.”
Yunru quickly said, “Wait, wait! I will be back in a moment.”
He quickly walked towards the reception desk and spoke to the receptionist for a minute. Then he nodded and came back.
Nian raised his brow. “Hooo. What’s with this secret talk? Let me in too!”
He coughed. “It’s nothing.”
Nian strangled his cousin. “Don’t dare to hide anything from me. I am your big brother!”
“You will…kill me!” He breathlessly complained. “Well…I cannot reveal it now. Somebody else is coming to Shanghai too, and he will come out on his own once his work is done.”
Ai’s ears perked up in curiosity. “Oh? Is it a surprise?”
He scratched his chin. “Even I don’t really know. Br- *cough cough!* I mean he didn’t give me much information. But, he is definitely excited about it.”
“Spill out the name!” Nian smacked him hard on his head.
“I promised him I won’t! I won’t bend to your tyranny, Bro Nian!”
Xing Bi separated them. “Oof! Let him do as he pleases. If he has promised, then it’s not good to break it. Now, let’s go. The driver is waiting for us!”
—
The Creative Sense was a huge skyscraper building which made Ai feel as if it touched the sky. She felt dizzy with the height illusion and quickly looked away.
As they stepped inside, they witnessed a sea of people darting from one place to another. Some had a guitar case on their back or holding some sort of a musical instrument while some carried a drawing case. At one corner, there was a whole setup of cameras and shooting equipment where people were posing and reciting lines. The place was bright, colorful and cheery and filled with artistic enthusiasm and vigor.
Xing Bi collected a file from the organizing committee and eagerly brought it forward. “Hmm. Let’s see…” she scanned through the pages and found the section for The Writer’s House. “Got it. Ai’s seminar is tomorrow! That means, today you are free!”
Yunru beamed. “Cool. Then today is a fun day!”
Nian nudged his arm on her elbow. “That means today is our date day!”
“No. Today is your funeral day,” she shot back.
“…”
Xing Bi randomly flipped the page and widened her eyes as she recognized a name on the list too. “This…”
Ai asked, “What happened?”
“Cai Guiying’s name is also here.”
“Huh? Guiying?”
“Yeah. It says here that CherryBlossom will also give a seminar. That will be on the third day. I guess she was also invited then…” she felt a little bitter about that though she didn’t have any personal beef with her.
Did Zhan Yahui play some connections from the back?
Ai scrunched her brows. As far as she remembered, only the Summit’s winner was invited in the past life. But this time, it changed.
“I see.”
Nian frowned. “Oh. So that other author and that other editor is also here? Xing Bi. You stay by my side. I didn’t like the way the other editor talked to you that night. So, I will protect you!” His eyes sparkled.