Just Blame Me For Being Blind in the Beginning - Chapter 2

2 Dinner

Amidst the sea of unfamiliar faces, Pei Ying immediately spotted one man

Chen Sheng just called her directly. Seeing the name appear on the screen of her phone, Pei Ying quickly stuffed the rest of the bread in her mouth and swallowed it. She sat up from the sofa, “GM Chen.”

“Mm, Xiao Pei, there’s an idol web drama. Director Ceng Feiming needs a second female lead. They originally wanted to cast Tao Tao, but it might not fit in her schedule. Do you want to take it?”

Pei Ying blinked her long eyelashes twice. She figured that rather than not fitting her schedule, it was more likely that Tao Tao just didn’t want to be the second female lead. After all, the drama she was currently in was getting great ratings, and she was the most popular entertainer in their company right now. But in Pei Ying’s situation, it was always the work that came to pick her; she didn’t pick her work. So she held onto her phone and nodded, “I can do it.”

Chen Sheng said, “Then I’ll send your information to the production team. I’ll let you know if there’s any news. Although it’s the second female lead, this time she’s the female lead’s best friend. And the investment is bigger than in your last project.”

“Okay. Thank you, GM Chen.”

Chen Sheng said goodbye and hung up the phone.

Pei Ying thought it would take at least a day or two to hear back. She hadn’t expected that before she even finished eating another piece of bread that Chen Sheng would text her a reply. “Director Ceng’s having dinner with the production team and the investors right now. Head over.”

He’d attached the address at the end of his text.

Pei Ying thought for a moment, and then responded, “Okay.”

[Chen Sheng] I emailed you the info about the character. Take a look at it on your way to the restaurant. Make a good performance.

[Pei Ying] Okay.

Pei Ying put away her phone and walked up to Ren Shanshan. “Shanshan, I have to go meet the director now, so I won’t eat with you.”

Ren Shanshan raised her head, her eyes still glued to the laptop screen. “What director? What’s the rush? You didn’t even eat lunch.”

“There’s nothing else I can do. It’s not easy to get a job. Of course you have to be more active.” Pei Ying threw her purse strap over her shoulder, and without waiting for Ren Shanshan’s responses, she headed downstairs.

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After leaving the studio, she hailed a taxi and headed to restaurant. On the way, she checked the email Chen Sheng sent her. So this character was a rich girl, but she was also gentle and kind this time. She was the female lead’s close friend (Note: ‘as close as a cotton padded jacket’).

This kind of character wasn’t at all difficult for Pei Ying. Although she hadn’t been born into the same circumstances, she’d learned a lot of things in the past three years. Not only did she go to every single acting class her company arranged for her, she also gained experience at the filming site.

As she was getting a grasp on the character, the taxi pulled up in front of the restaurant.

It was a very upscale restaurant, the kind of place Pei Ying rarely went to. She told the host about her appointment and a waiter quickly arrived to escort her.

When the the waiter opened the double doors to the private room, Pei Ying let out a small breath.

Everyone looked over to the slight movement at the door.

Amidst the sea of unfamiliar faces, Pei Ying immediately spotted one man– The one who invested 2 billion into the entertainment industry, the third Song prince, Song Nanchuan.

He was wearing a light colored suit. When he turned slightly to look their way, his dark hair cast a slight shadow across his skin.

From that angle, Pei Ying saw that he had a light mole at the corner of his left eye. It was like the finishing touch (Note: ‘dotting the dragon’s eye in a painting’), too sexy to be ignored.

“Xiao Pei’s here,” the deep middle aged male’s voice called her attention back. She pulled back her gaze from Song Nanchuan and gave a greeting to the people in the room.

Director Ceng Feiming rose from his chair and gestured at Pei Ying to everyone else. “This is Pei Ying, the beautiful Lady Pei. GM Chen recommended her for the role of Tang Feifei, so I called her over.”

After that, he introduced the others. “This is Producer Yuan. This is CEO Zhu, our biggest investor. This is…” He gestured to Song Nanchuan with his entire hand. “I have to give him a grand introduction. The famous and talented young man, Song Nanchuan, CEO Song.”

“Hello, CEO Song.” Pei Ying politely nodded towards him in greeting, her voice carrying a slight nervousness that only she noticed.

Song Nanchuan’s thin lips raised up and he returned her nod.

“Didn’t we discuss having Tao Tao for the part? Why the change?”

It was CEO Zhu who just spoke. He was already more than 40 years old this year, a plump man with the signature middle aged beer belly. Pei Ying glanced at him and noticed that sitting next to him was Xie Han. That’s right, the very Xie Han who was ‘caught acting intimate’ with Song Nanchuan yesterday.

Pei Ying’s eyes glimmered slightly. Xie Han was currently in the arms of CEO Zhu, her expression rather unnatural.

Of course Pei Ying understood the situation at hand. While she was looking over the information, she’d already seen that Xie Han was this web drama’s female lead.

“Tao Tao can’t fit the filming into her schedule, so GM Chen suggested Pei Ying for the part instead,” Ceng Feiming answered CEO Zhu. CEO Zhu’s eyes swept over Pei Ying and he smiled so much that his eyes nearly disappeared. “Ms. Pei is better than Tao Tao. I like you.”

Pei Ying’s mouth twitched, but she still held her smile. Ceng Feiming waved his hand at her and said, “Come on, give a toast to CEO Zhu.”

Pei Ying walked over and looked at the baijiu (Note: ‘white liquor,’ a strong distilled spirit) he handed to her. With some difficulty, she said, “I’m a really bad drinker, so I don’t dare touch baijiu. Can I drink red wine instead?”

Before Ceng Feiming could respond, Xie Han in CEO Zhu’s arms smiled and said, “CEO Zhu likes that your alcohol tolerance is low.”

CEO Zhu laughed out loud as Pei Ying looked silently at Xie Han. She knew that Xie Han was clutching at her to save herself. If she went over, she figured she might be able to get away.

But Ceng Feiming handed her a glass of red wine instead. “Red wine it is. The intent is the important part.”

Pei Ying looked at him gratefully and then clinked glasses with CEO Zhu. She gulped down the small glass of red wine in one sip. CEO Zhu clapped from her side. “Refreshing. Xiao Pei, come sit next to me.”

No one said anything, and it wasn’t a good idea for Pei Ying to step all over his face (Note: metaphorical face, that is). She pulled out the chair next to him and took a seat. Everyone quickly started chatting at the table. In the midst of the party, Pei Ying felt CEO Zhu’s hand land on her thigh.

She moved to the side and tried to turn away and avoid his hand. But soon, CEO Zhu’s hand landed back there again, and this time, he was a lot more presumptuous. Pei Ying frowned visibly. Although she knew that being on good terms with CEO Zhu would be helpful to her getting the role, everyone had a different bottom line. There were just some things she couldn’t do.

She shifted and turned away again, planning to make a getaway by saying she wasn’t feeling well.

Just as she put down her chopsticks, a heavenly voice, melodious like a violin, came from the other side of the table. “Having Ms. Pei just toast CEO Zhu, that’s not too good, is it?”

Song Nanchuan.

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His voice made Pei Ying’s spirit float off in an instant. Once again, it was Ceng Feiming who called her back to her senses. “It’s my fault, my fault. I was being negligent. Xiao Pei, hurry and give a toast to CEO Song.”

“Oh, okay.” Pei Ying stood up and carried her glass over to Song Nanchuan. “CEO Song, cheers.”

Song Nanchuan picked up his glass and lightly touched it to hers, the glass ringing faintly as if knocking onto the tip of her heart. “Are you planning on downing it in one shot again? That’s not how you drink red wine. Sit down and enjoy it slowly.”

To prove his argument, he took a small sip of his own red wine and made an arc towards Pei Ying.

Pei Ying stared for a second, and then followed his actions a bit blankly. Then she sat down beside him.

The atmosphere changed again and CEO Zhu’s expression soured a bit. But no one said anything, until Xie Han suddenly stood up with her glass. “Then I should also toast to CEO Song.”

As she was about to head over, CEO Zhu pulled her back. “What are you doing? Since CEO Song’s handsome, you’re all running to him?”

Xie Han gave an awkward laugh and sat back down. “What are you saying, CEO Zhu. This toast is for you, as an apology.”

After the toast, CEO Zhu’s expression returned to normal.

Pei Ying picked up the food in front of her, eating quietly.

Because all the parties around her all held loftier positions than herself, she didn’t feel right turning the table. (Note: This is the small rotating table / ‘Lazy Susan’ that sits on top of the actual table, used to share food dishes.) But the dishes in front of her kept changing. After eating a bit, she finally realized that it was Song Nanchuan.

Every time she reached out to get more food, she found that the rotating table in front of her stopped at a new dish.

This more or less trivial act easily touched Pei Ying to pieces. Although she didn’t show it on her face, her impression of Song Nanchuan skyrocketed.

Not only was he handsome, he even helped her out of a difficult situation earlier. And now, he was helping her turn the table. And most importantly, she’d been sitting next to him for a rather long time, but he didn’t make any movements and kept a polite distance.

Pei Ying thought, this was the son of an influential family. Polite, conservative (Note: or maybe more accurately, ‘has self-restraint’), and knows to respect women. It’s no wonder that when Xie Han was ‘acting intimate’ with him yesterday that her smile nearly reached the back of her ears. She had a very patient, enduring expression now as she sat next to CEO Zhu.

After she finished eating, Pei Ying finished the glass of red wine she was drinking and didn’t take any more alcohol. After paying the bill, CEO Zhu wanted to go to for a round of karaoke. He enthusiastically invited Pei Ying, “Xiao Pei, let’s go to KTV together.”

Pei Ying smiled at him. “I’m sorry, CEO Zhu. I still have some matters to take care of, so I won’t be going along to KTV. Enjoy yourselves.”

CEO Zhu laughed. “I’ve already extended an invitation. Won’t the beautiful Ms. Pei do me the honor of accepting?”

Pei Ying kept smiling. “I’m terribly sorry, but I really can’t go.”

CEO Zhu smiled coldly and pulled the unwilling Xie Han out the door. Pei Ying walked out of the restaurant, about to hail down a taxi to get home. Then a black Maybach pulled up in front of her.

Song Nanchuan, who had been speaking with Director Ceng, came out and walked up to Pei Ying. “Ms. Pei, if you don’t mind, I’ll send you home.”

“Ah…?” Before Pei Ying could register what happened, Song Nanchuan had already gotten into the car and was looking over at her.

It was that life-taking angle again. Under this lighting, the mole by his left eye was simply bewitching.

In Pei Ying’s mind, Song Nanchuan was a tall and genuine gentleman. So without any hesitations, she got into the car. “Thank you, CEO Song.”

Song Nanchuan smiled at her and gently closed the door (?).

It was very quiet inside the car, and Pei Ying couldn’t help feeling a bit awkward. She thought for awhile and then smiled at Song Nanchuan, asking, “CEO Song, you’re not going singing with Director Ceng and them?”

Song Nanchuan answered, “I can’t. I have some things to take care of as well.”

“Oh…” And their short conversation ended, the car falling into silence once more. Pei Ying racked her brains for something to talk about. After thinking for awhile, she came to the realization that she didn’t have anything to talk about with a company president worth hundreds of millions.

The silent Song Nanchuan chuckled lightly and then picked up the tablet to read the news.

Pei Ying glanced over at him. Was he trying to avoid the awkwardness between the two of them by reading the news?

In any case, because his attention was on the news, she really stopped feeling awkward. She turned her head and concentrated on enjoying the scenery outside the window.

When they arrived at her house, Pei Ying let out a gentle sigh. She unbuckled her seat belt and turned to Song Nanchuan. “CEO Song, I’ve arrived. Thank you for sending me home.”

Song Nanchuan looked up and glanced over at the apartment building outside the window. Then he smiled to Pei Ying. “You don’t have to call me CEO Song. Just call me by my name.”

Because of this sentence, Pei Ying’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest. She didn’t know what she should say, so she just smiled and said thank you again. She opened the door and got out.

The wind blew past. Pei Ying’s red skirt, which was even more eye catching at night, also flew up.

Sitting in the car watching her stepping on the petals and leaves on the ground as she walked away, Song Nanchuan couldn’t help raising an eyebrow and whistling. “They’re really a great pair of legs.”