Chapter 301: Holding a Conversation
Xia Ling had been on numerous luxurious cars. In her last life, she was even a member of the city's Super Speed Club.
Just by scanning the inside of the car from the back seat, she could roughly make up the car owner's character. It was probably someone well-organized and particular about details, but also somebody who made things seem a little dull at times.
Generally speaking, he was somewhat like Pei Ziheng.
However, compared to this car, Pei Ziheng's Rolls Royce looked even more lifeless and boring. Eventually, she could not take it anymore and covered the built-in leather seats with rabbit prints. Since then, every time he sat in the car in his suit and tie, there was an inexplicable sense of joy.
Xia Ling smiled slightly as past memories flashed through her mind.
Rong Ping caught a glimpse of her smile. "You seem to be in a pretty good mood."
Xia Ling turned towards him, and the look in her eyes changed. "Why? Should I be in a bad mood instead?" The two of them were not considered close at all, but in this rather dimly-lit space, her beauty stunned him. He had seen plenty of pretty female celebrities, but never someone like her. Someone whose eyes looked so innocent and pure, almost as if they could speak. Someone whose inadvertent glance could make his heart skip a beat. All of a sudden, he somewhat understood now, the reason why Skyart Entertainment's Boss would chase her.
"I thought..." Rong Ping paused to think about his phrasing carefully, and continued with a gentle and casual tone, "Participating in this kind of show would make you feel stressed."
"Stressed?"
"You are someone with pursuers, you know that..." It was common to hear about young female artistes breaking up with their boyfriends just so that they could start scandals with some top-tier male celebrities for fame. But it was different for her. Even if she left Rong Ping for Li Lei, everyone would not be surprised.
"Oh, Li Lei wasn't unhappy." Xia Ling understood the meaning behind his words and replied casually. "You don't have to worry either." Just as what Boss Li had said the other day, Rong Ping was not of a standard that would make him feel threatened. If there was anyone, he would probably be more worried if it was Pei Ziheng. Was this why he would rather let her be involved in a scandal with Rong Ping, but never with Zheng Chenhao from Imperial Entertainment?
Xia Ling became a little distracted as she thought to herself.
Rong Ping stopped talking as well. It felt a little odd for him to be comforted and reassured by a girl instead. As a man, especially someone that was successful in his career, Rong Ping had a very strong sense of pride, despite his modest and humble disposition. He believed that he was at least on par with everyone else. However, it was obvious from her tone that she did not put him on the same level as Li Lei.
Granted, Li Lei was a Big Boss, while he was just an actor.
Yet, this only explained that Li Lei was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, it did not mean that he was any more capable. Rong Ping had received the Academy Best Actor Award twice consecutively and was currently working hard to get it for the third time in a row. His next goal would be to fight for the Academy Honorary Award. If he managed to attain all of these achievements, he would be considered an unsurpassable actor in his country for this era. He was already at the peak of his career. But what about Li Lei? Skyart Entertainment was no doubt an outstanding company. But, was Li Lei's company above the rest? Definitely not.
The only thing that could be said was that Li Lei and Pei Ziheng were equally competent.
Rong Ping felt slightly offended.
Xia Ling did not notice his discontentment. She liked things to be bright and lively, so the grey interior inevitably made her feel bored. She couldn't possibly cover everything with rabbit prints again, like what she did with Pei Ziheng's car in her last life. So she turned to look outside the window, at the city's scenery, and let her mind wander.
Jimmy noticed the silence and tried to start another casual conversation. "Miss Ye, you have a Porsche as well, right? What a coincidence, it's also silver in color, isn't it? What a match with Brother Rong's."
"Really?" Xia Ling collected back her thoughts and smiled. "I actually wanted to get a red one, but felt that it might be too striking." She was already being followed by many paparazzi and did not want to be the center of attention anymore with an eye-catching car. That said, driving a Porsche in itself was not the way to go in trying to be low profile, picking silver was just a way for her to feel better about it.
The two of them continued the topic of cars.
Lin Yunan and Rong Ping eventually joined in as well.
To everyone's surprise, Xia Ling knew a lot about cars. From engine power to fuel consumption, to speed performance... Her expertise in the field was even better than all three of them combined.
"What a surprise." Jimmy admitted his defeat. "I can't believe it, Miss Ye, you are actually an expert."
Only then did Xia Ling notice she had said too much, which did not seem to correspond to her background of an ordinary family. She pondered for a second and responded carelessly. "Well, I didn't know much at first too. But Li Lei likes cars, so I learned a lot when I chatted with him."
Boss Li remodeled his own SUV. He was, undeniably, a professional with cars.
Jimmy smiled after hearing that. As expected, this girl's relationship with Boss Li was not that straightforward. No doubt, it was unlike what the rumors had described, that Li Lei had dumped her. There was definitely a probability that she could get married to him , he thought. Once her scandal with Rong Ping was over, it would be easy to stir up some rumors about her romantic relationship with Li Lei. This would also be beneficial to Rong Ping and would bring up his status.
Jimmy felt a sense of assurance. He was right, Xia Ling was definitely the right choice amongst the three female celebrities.
Rong Ping furrowed his brows inadvertently as he felt even more annoyed. No one would be willing to hear their "girlfriends"— even if they were just a temporary scandal couple — praising another man, not in front of them or anyone else. It would be worse if the other man had a higher social status.
At this moment, even the slightest feeling that Rong Ping had for Xia Ling was replaced by a sense of annoyance.
Meanwhile, Xia Ling was oblivious to the situation and went on to tell them more. "Sometimes, Li Lei does not even seem like someone from a wealthy family. He likes to be his own driver, likes to cook for himself, there are even times that he will clean the house on his own... I seriously don't understand, what's the point of him earning so much money then? As someone had said before... I've spent so many years climbing to the top, only to have a taste of the grasses? That person was definitely referring to people like him."
Jimmy laughed for the occasion. Even Lin Yunan had a polite smile on his face.
Only Rong Ping was not in the mood to smile.
Xia Ling had always been thinking about Li Lei. For Jimmy, on the one hand, it was to maintain good terms with Xia Ling. On the other hand, it was to have a better understanding of Li Lei. He was the Boss of an entertainment company, it would definitely be beneficial to know more about him, just in case he needed his help in the future.
Rong Ping became more and more agitated, but he concealed his emotions quickly and joined in the laughter. After all, a Movie King like him could act even when there were no cameras around.