Chapter 22

Chapter 22 Rose x Kiss

After confirming that they would go to the private hot spring winery this weekend, Ji Mingzhu excitedly picked out a ski suit for herself.

Actually, the ski resort would definitely provide rental points, but she had always customized styles she liked, so in this regard, it was understandable.

Specifically, after all the running around these days, plus a string of busyness, Ji Mingzhu had almost forgotten what relaxation and leisure felt like.

Of course, excluding the time she stayed at Boyue Mansion before, staying at home and traveling, although neither involved physical or mental exhaustion, were ultimately two completely different experiences.

But speaking of arrangements, Ji Mingzhu still called Ji Shaoyan.

He had indeed thought a lot for her. Once she officially entered the Ji Corporation to assist him, in the relatively early stage, it was very likely she wouldn’t have a three-day-two-night vacation like this.

In other words, this was also Ji Shaoyan’s consideration.

Ji Mingzhu thanked him in a few words, and a few flattering remarks made him feel elated.

After choosing the ski suit, Ji Mingzhu took some time to go again to that clubhouse she had visited before—the one with the rather improper name—Huangshang Jiahuang.

Last time she came to meet Lian Tang; this time, she came to meet the upcoming collaborator.

Actually, before Ji Mingzhu brought her traffic to Weibo and kept everything gathered on overseas platforms, she already had many local fans.

At that time, many brands wanted to collaborate, which was also a customary rule in this circle.

Looking across the entire internet, whether beauty, mukbang, comedy, and other categories, all had their own forms of collaboration with advertisers or brands. How it appeared in the video depended on each blogger’s style.

Previously, Ji Mingzhu never accepted any advertisements, and collaborations were rare. It wasn’t some rule she set for herself—she just naturally did so.

Part of it was that she didn’t care much about monetizing traffic, and part was that those partners simply didn’t attract her.

As her fame rose and a large number of fans poured in, later on, some partners she preferred did come to her.

But this also depended on fate.

Ji Mingzhu’s selection in this regard was very casual, because she had no team, didn’t check private messages much, and her business email was checked only sporadically. After logging in once in a while, she would casually pick and choose.

After extending an olive branch to her, whether she even saw it, let alone personally replied, was like searching for a needle in the sea.

This time Ji Mingzhu contacted a collaborator related to indoor greenery planting. She privately looked at the fax sent by the other party; the content was indeed interesting and novel.

There were too many cookie-cutter styles. What could catch Ji Mingzhu’s eye were mostly things either quirky or cute. Her own editing style was already unique, so this cooperation would be icing on the cake.

Sometimes, she also wanted to convey what she wished through her videos to the public and fans. At first, she just wanted to record her daily life, but as the intensity of this interest gradually increased, there would be more to develop.

After meeting Ji Mingzhu, the collaborator went straight to the point. “Miss Ji, if you don’t want to talk about payment for this cooperation, in what other way should we compensate you?”

“Ah, that’s not necessary.” Ji Mingzhu shook her head slightly. “You don’t need to buy promotional exposure either. I’m very confident in my own videos. Aside from exclusive cooperation, I don’t have any other requirements.”

“Alright, what we’re giving you is indeed exclusive.” The collaborator smiled. “This time, we’re basically stacking all our chips on you.”

Ji Mingzhu’s video views consistently ranked at the top. Occasionally, a dark horse video would break through and rush to first place, but within a few days, it would be pushed down again.

Not to mention her videos were posted only occasionally; the collaborator valued her enduring popularity.

“You saying that makes me feel a bit pressured.” Ji Mingzhu laughed. “But I really like your design concept—the idea of integrating indoor greenery with electrical appliances is very fresh.”

In recent years, health preservation and green ecology had become trendy themes.

The older generation had begun planting succulents, potted plants, balcony vegetable patches, and so on indoors.

How to place them and integrate greenery seamlessly into home décor became a new emerging small industry.

Ji Mingzhu was very happy that the collaborator found her and directly offered exclusivity without hesitation.

“Exclusive” meant the uniqueness of her video this time—and paired with a brand she appreciated, it couldn’t be better.

…

Before the weekend arrived, Ji Mingzhu arranged her upcoming filming tasks and collaboration projects in advance.

This trip would last three days and two nights. Bringing too much equipment wasn’t realistic, so she simply brought only one camera and didn’t even pack extra memory cards.

After all, fun came first, filming second.

Jiang Ji went to the Jiang Corporation on the day they were leaving. After Ji Mingzhu waited for him to return, the two of them set off.

The hot spring winery was neither very far nor very close; driving would take at least four or five hours.

Jiang Ji had originally worn a light gray suit jacket outside, but the car heater was warm, so he was left with only the pale blue shirt inside.

Because his complexion was cold and fair, he looked even more aloof and detached.

Ji Mingzhu sat in the passenger seat, playing with a handheld game console. After a while, she found the trip increasingly boring and simply stared at Jiang Ji for a bit.

Not long after, she pressed the radio to play, and at the same time supervised Jiang Ji’s driving.

However—

It had to be said, Jiang Ji’s psychological endurance was strong. Even after being stared at for so long, he didn’t give her a single glance, eyes fixed ahead, looking completely focused.

They stopped midway at a gas station. The car slowly pulled aside, where there were small stalls set up.

Ji Mingzhu’s gaze immediately stuck to the side as if glued, landing on the sizzling grilled sausages.

She hadn’t eaten these roadside snacks for a long time. They were almost nonexistent abroad, and in domestic city centers, if you didn’t go strolling, it was hard to encounter them.

The aroma was too tempting. Ji Mingzhu’s concentration was quickly noticed by Jiang Ji.

“Want to eat?”

While waiting for the car to refuel, Jiang Ji looked over faintly.

Ji Mingzhu held back for a moment, then finally nodded. “Mm, really want to. Unlock the door, I’ll get out to buy.”

This time Jiang Ji didn’t stop her and let her go.

Ji Mingzhu felt a bit embarrassed midway, because she couldn’t communicate with the old man at the stall, gesturing for quite a while.

But fortunately, her expression was vivid—every frown, smile, and movement was convincing. What she wanted to express came out through gestures and broken words. In the end, she held two sausages and returned.

When Ji Mingzhu came back holding the sausages, she found that Jiang Ji had lowered the car window at some point. Though his gaze was partially hidden by the rearview mirror, it still drifted over.

Ji Mingzhu got into the car, raised one of them, and handed it to him. “Here, this one’s for you.”

Jiang Ji glanced at it, then shook his head. “I don’t eat.”

Her goodwill rejected felt like being drenched in sudden rain.

Ji Mingzhu silently muttered “eat it or not,” and decided to enjoy both sausages herself.

When she ate, her manner was elegant, but when focused, she was also like a squirrel, bite by bite, chewing quickly.

The car interior filled with the scent of barbecue, growing stronger and lingering.

An employee from the gas station came over, bent down at Jiang Ji’s window, and informed him the tank was full.

Jiang Ji nodded, then turned his face slightly. “Finished eating?”

As he spoke, his gaze paused.

On the skewer Ji Mingzhu held, slick oil dripped down. When she reached for tissues, she could only free one hand, unable to deal with anything else. The bite of sausage she hadn’t taken yet was instead greedily wrapped in her mouth.

Hearing Jiang Ji’s words, Ji Mingzhu raised her head slightly. Their eyes met, and for a moment, neither spoke.

Jiang Ji’s gaze fixed on her red lips. Her rosy lips wrapped around the glossy sausage, and at that moment her eyes were extremely innocent, like a deer in the morning.

He quickly withdrew his gaze, his eyes darkening.

“Hurry up and eat. I’m going to drive.”

…

After Ji Mingzhu finished the sausages, whether intentionally or not, Jiang Ji even turned on the air freshener.

She thought it over and decided this dog of a man must be doing it on purpose. If he disliked it so much, why let her eat?!

With that thought, when Ji Mingzhu arrived at the hot spring winery, she still looked bright and charming, but she ignored people.

She crossed her arms, her neck lifted into a straight line, like an elegant little peacock, arrogant and untouchable.

Jiang Ji, after arriving, handed the luggage and the car over to the hotel butler here, then went to the front desk to handle the check-in.

Ji Mingzhu sat alone in the lobby, bored.

She propped her head with one hand, and as her gaze wandered, it eventually turned toward Jiang Ji standing not far away.

This man had a slender figure, broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and his butt was… quite perky.

She was watching with great interest when Jiang Ji suddenly turned his face, and even seemed to point in her direction.

Ji Mingzhu didn’t react at first; when she snapped back to her senses, she casually picked up a magazine and silently covered her face.

“Let’s go, upstairs.”

Jiang Ji finished everything before coming over to call her into the elevator.

“What were you saying at the front desk? You stayed there so long.”

“Registering.”

The lobby here was magnificently decorated, mostly presenting dazzling brilliance, and underfoot was fine-grained marble from Italy.

Even the elevator was no exception.

After entering the elevator and watching the doors slowly close, Ji Mingzhu suddenly remembered something.

“…We’re two rooms, right?”

Jiang Ji’s coat hung over his arm. He looked at her meaningfully. “Right.”

Ji Mingzhu hadn’t gone with him to handle the check-in; Jiang Ji handled everything himself, so she didn’t know the specifics.

That was why she only now remembered—such an important matter as room allocation.

When the elevator slowly reached their floor, Ji Mingzhu followed closely behind Jiang Ji to the end.

She looked around; it was silent, no one in sight.

And on the wall they approached, from the beginning until now, Ji Mingzhu only saw one door.

She looked down the corridor—completely empty.

Just then, with a “beep,” accompanied by the sound of an automatic chain releasing.

Ji Mingzhu turned back, and the dark brown door slowly opened a crack.

Jiang Ji half-withdrew the room card, his hand on the handle, slowly pushing inward.

He stepped halfway inside and looked at Ji Mingzhu still standing outside. “You’re not coming in?”

“I’m coming in too?” Ji Mingzhu asked back.

“…Didn’t you say two rooms?”

Jiang Ji neither confirmed nor denied, nodding toward the interior with his chin. “Isn’t this?”

Hearing this, Ji Mingzhu’s premonition grew stronger. As her view fell inside, the guess was immediately confirmed.

She followed him in and looked—there were indeed two rooms…

Except they were two adjacent rooms inside a presidential suite.

Arched doorway design, very close—lower your head and you see each other, raise your head and you see each other.

Author’s Note: 【Mini Theater】:

Jiji: I’m going to drive.

Zhuzhu: Mm, you drive.

Two hours later—

Zhuzhu: Not this kind of driving! qaq

From the essence of it, the girl goose was, after all, raised pampered, still a bit naïve inside; on the contrary, that Jiang person—tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk.

【Second update】got, asking for praise! Still twenty-five words for a red packet! The ones previously delayed, I’ll send them all out ^ ^