The next day, Yun Daixi was having lunch downstairs at her company when she received a call from Jessica. Jessica informed her that the company had approved Lin Suihuan's participation in the dinner party and told her to borrow a formal dress in advance to prepare.
She put down her fork: "As for the clause about Jiang Xianxian attending an additional offline event, I'll ask the legal department to draft a supplementary agreement later and send it to you."
Jessica agreed, and before Yun Daixi could thank her, she hurriedly hung up the phone, as if deliberately avoiding something.
Yun Daixi didn't press further.
There must be something that benefited both parties. Since the opportunity was given, she would seize it with both hands.
She took a few hasty bites of the salad in her bowl, then picked up her bag and went upstairs. She told her assistant to confirm a convenient time with Director Liu on Lin Suihuan's side and call back—there was something important to discuss.
Fortunately, the movie Lin Suihuan was filming recently was a pure popcorn flick that didn't require much emotional investment, making it easy for her to take time off.
When signing the contract earlier, Yun Daixi had specifically added a clause allowing Lin to leave the set for events.
Upon receiving Director Liu's call back, Yun Daixi smiled apologetically and said there was an unavoidable dinner party recently that required borrowing Lin Suihuan for a few days.
Although Director Liu was quite dissatisfied, he had to agree to reschedule her scenes for those days due to the contract clause.
It was like a weight lifted off her shoulders.
She then told her assistant to hurry up and contact the high-end custom dress designer.
The theme of this year's Mercury Jewelry Dinner emphasized public welfare.
Celebrities from all walks of life were invited, and the main program was an auction of several luxury jewelry pieces sealed by Mercury for years, with the proceeds going to fund children with visual impairments.
The brand had previously requested that all guests attending the dinner must wear black.
The invitation stated the reason: "As the messenger of Mercury, Mercury Jewelry prays to help children living in darkness."
Regardless of how high-sounding the reason was, Yun Daixi let out a sigh of relief.
While others might not look stunning in black, it was the most flattering color for Jiang Xianxian.
Among a crowd of dresses in the same color, it was the true aura of a person that stood out.
The PR article about Jiang Xianxian outshining everyone was destined to go viral.
---
On the night before the Mercury Dinner, renowned producer Li Lifei invited a group of friends to a gathering at his villa in the suburbs.
Few agents could break into this circle.
Maintaining good relationships with producers was a crucial ticket for their artists to get roles.
Yun Daixi was acquainted with Li Lifei through the connections of her mentor who had discovered her—Sai Jinhua. Before retiring, Sai had passed on almost all her resources to Yun.
When leaving, she only patted Yun Daixi's shoulder gently: "I will never have children. The more I see of the business world, the more I yearn for a quiet life of leisure. Looking at you, I see my younger self."
Yun Daixi understood the implication.
Although she knew the pressure would be enormous, she didn't hesitate for a moment and replied: "I'm willing."
She had never been able to tolerate letting opportunities slip away.
Sai Jinhua laughed: "You're not polite at all—you don't even pretend to decline."
Yun Daixi immediately pulled Sai Jinhua up from the CEO's chair and sat down herself.
In a coquettish tone, she said: "Master, look at how I carry myself sitting here—how much of your charm do I have?"
Most of the people at Li Lifei's drinking party today were acquaintances, and everyone called him Uncle Li.
Yun Daixi went in as usual and greeted everyone one by one, navigating the social situation with ease.
Once in such an environment, her social instincts were naturally aroused.
But once she left these glamorous occasions, she would immediately collapse, feeling drained of energy, lying on the sofa like a lifeless person.
Later in the evening, Li Lifei introduced a new person to everyone.
"This is Cheng Wei, Executive Director of Rongteng Company. I'm hosting this party for him today, and there should be many opportunities for cooperation with everyone in the future."
Although no one had heard of Rongteng Company before, anyone who deserved Li Lifei's endorsement and a private reception at his home must have an impressive background.
The people present immediately erupted in cheers.
Cheng Wei was wearing a linen casual suit with a floral pocket square in his chest pocket. His hair was slicked back, and he looked around forty years old.
None of his attire had any logos—everything was custom-made by hand.
He leaned forward and bowed to everyone: "I'm just a businessman who has never entered the artist circle. I hope you will give Rongteng an opportunity to invest in good scripts in the future."
Naturally, everyone present understood that the man in front of them was a major investor.
As soon as he was introduced, he was surrounded by executives from several upstream companies eager for investment.
Taking the opportunity, Uncle Li called Yun Daixi to the study.
She had been here once before, to deliver a personal letter on behalf of Sai Jinhua.
It was inconvenient to go to his daily residence, and even less so to meet outside, so this place was chosen in the end.
Uncle Li stood with his hands behind his back. Nearly sixty years old, he still had a tall and straight figure and sharp facial features—evidently, he must have been a handsome young man in his youth.
Yun Daixi could guess the intense romance between him and Sai Jinhua when they were young.
But since he was already married, she naturally didn't ask any more questions.
Uncle Li pointed in the direction of the door, his words as concise as ever: "The man outside is not someone to be trifled with."
Yun Daixi was also curious: "What's his background?"
Even though they were in the second-floor study, the most secluded place, Li Lifei still lowered his voice slightly: "He's Mr. Gu's man."
It was that Mr. Gu again.
"Do you mean Mr. Gu, the president of Mercury Jewelry?"
"Yes. That's why I specifically called you up. He has been lying low for many years and is extremely patient."
He turned around, picked up a document, and handed it to Yun Daixi.
"He's been acting abnormally lately, frequently appearing at Mercury Jewelry's office building. I heard it's to attend tomorrow's dinner party."
This news took Yun Daixi by surprise.
He had been so angry the other day just because a few people saw him in the elevator hall—how could someone like him be willing to appear at a public dinner party?
She carefully flipped through the document in her hand—it was a cooperation agreement.
It reserved cooperation for the next ten films produced by Uncle Li, with the funding amount left blank.
"Does this mean he's letting you name your price?"
Uncle Li nodded: "An investment company that has never touched the film and television industry wants to invest in ten movies in one go without any scripts or main creators. You have to know that the market isn't as good as it used to be."
Yun Daixi had always known there was no such thing as a free lunch: "I'm afraid he's after the resources in your hands that money can't buy."
Uncle Li lit a cigarette, his tone calm and neutral, neither praising nor criticizing: "You little girl."
"Will you sign it?"
This time, Uncle Li let out a laugh: "Do you think your Uncle Li is worth that price? I wouldn't dare sign it even if I could."
It seemed that this gathering was a gesture of goodwill after declining the offer—even if the deal fell through, friendship remained.
"Tomorrow's dinner party—I'm afraid something might happen. You must be careful, especially since it's his first public appearance."
Uncle Li crushed his cigarette in the ashtray and warned again: "When the storm comes, no one will care about the small fish and shrimp."
Yun Daixi understood what Uncle Li meant and asked another question: "How do you know that the capital behind Rongteng is this Mr. Gu?"
"He came in person on the day we discussed the cooperation."
Silence fell over the room instantly.
It was as if his presence alone brought an overwhelming sense of oppression.
Yun Daixi was naturally curious, but Uncle Li had already said enough. Since he didn't take the initiative to say more, she shouldn't be greedy.
Uncle Li sighed: "Let's go downstairs."
Downstairs, Cheng Wei was still surrounded by a group of people.
Yun Daixi also went over to toast him, making an appearance out of politeness.
As for the rest, she could wait until she found out more about the relationships before taking action.
---
The Mercury Jewelry Dinner was held as scheduled at a top luxury hotel in the capital.
The weather had just turned autumn—a rare comfortable season for female celebrities to wear formal dresses on the red carpet.
As the highest-status global spokesperson, Jiang Xianxian ignored Yun Daixi's instructions and still wore a pair of over ten-centimeter high heels, determined to grab the headline of outshining everyone today.
Yun Daixi had to carefully support her all the way.
Jiang Xianxian made a grand finale appearance, and by the time she entered the banquet hall, most of the guests had already arrived.
She was seated at the main table in the front row, where CEO Mike and Jessica were also sitting.
Yun Daixi led Jiang Xianxian over and greeted everyone one by one.
Her eyes lingered on the empty seat.
She covered her mouth and whispered to Jessica: "Is this seat reserved for Mr. Gu?"
Jessica also covered her mouth and replied: "Mr. Gu is sitting at that table. He hasn't arrived yet, but he should be here soon."
The large round table over there was arranged parallel to this one, with only two sets of tableware.
Unlike the intricate floral arrangements throughout the hall, that table was only simply decorated with single-color Juliet roses.
Its simplicity was too striking.
Yun Daixi pretended to mutter casually: "This is the first time I've seen the organizer sitting at a separate table. Who is the other set of tableware for?"
Since Jessica was in charge of all arrangements, she should know something.
But Jessica unexpectedly widened her eyes, almost reaching out to cover Yun Daixi's mouth: "Oh my goodness, please don't ask so many questions."
As they spoke, a group of people arrived late at the main entrance of the banquet hall.
The man leading the group had an unmistakable aura—it was the same person she had met in the elevator the other day.
Today, he was still wearing an all-black suit.
In the dimly lit hall, the light from the crystal chandeliers exuded an air of extravagance, yet it couldn't conceal the inexplicable coldness about him.
It made him seem as if he was in a different world from the people around him.
Amidst the awe and curious stares of everyone, he walked straight towards the other main table adorned with Juliet roses.
By his side stood the elderly man who had scolded Mike the other day.
He didn't bring a female companion, so the owner of the other set of tableware remained a mystery. Perhaps, as rumored, Mr. Gu was someone who never got emotionally involved with anyone he met.
As the global spokesperson, Jiang Xianxian was seated at the main table on this side, directly parallel to his. The rest of the guests were seated in order of their status in the industry, row by row behind.
After he sat down, he propped his head up with one hand, and someone immediately brought him a glass of water.
From this angle, most of his face was obscured.
All that could be seen were his long, slender fingers with distinct knuckles and the high bridge of his nose peeking out from the edge of his palm.
The skin on the back of his hand was the same as his face—an translucent apricot white.
He wasn't wearing any watch on the hand propping his head, revealing a section of his fair wrist, which unexpectedly exuded a sense of asceticism.
Yun Daixi wasn't sure if it was an illusion.
Just now, when she glanced sideways at him, it seemed as if he was looking back at her.
Even from a distance, she could feel that his expression wasn't as cold as it had been that day.
She had to admit that being able to capture even such subtle changes was the reason she had survived in this circle.
After instructing Jiang Xianxian on what to pay attention to when going on stage later, she glanced in his direction again.
Their eyes met—his gaze was distant and detached.
Like a frozen lake stretching for miles, which had rarely cracked open today, all his emotions were hidden in his pitch-black pupils.
They were so dark that it felt like stepping into an abyss that swallowed everything, giving Yun Daixi a sense of weightlessness as if she was falling. She knew she couldn't reach the bottom, making the fall even more terrifying with uncertainty.
"Daixi姐 (Sister Daixi), are you cold? I see goosebumps on your arms." Jiang Xianxian quickly draped the blanket from her lap over Yun Daixi.
Yun Daixi was pulled back to reality.
She had wanted to nod in his direction as a gesture of politeness, but when she looked again, he had already turned his head to face forward.
For a moment, Yun Daixi even began to doubt if that gaze had been an illusion.
More and more people were looking in his direction, but no one dared to approach him to say hello.
Yun Daixi pulled Jiang Xianxian up from her seat, adjusted her hair, and asked Mike: "Would you mind introducing Xianxian to Mr. Gu to say hello?"
Logically, this was basic etiquette at a dinner party, but with Mr. Gu, it was better to confirm first.
He hesitated for a moment, then nodded, stood up, and signaled for them to follow him.
At this moment, the eyes of the entire banquet hall were probably fixed on Jiang Xianxian and her.
Yun Daixi had already prepared countless contingency plans in her mind for how to handle the situation if he responded coldly.
But she never expected that when they approached, before they could get close, he had already stood up politely, holding his glass of water and waiting.
Mike introduced: "Mr. Gu, this is Ms. Jiang Xianxian, Mercury's global spokesperson, and this is her agent, Ms. Yun Daixi."
He smiled politely and gracefully: "I should be the one coming over to toast you both. Please forgive my rudeness."
Jiang Xianxian was also an expert in social situations and replied politely: "It's us who are disturbing you, Mr. Gu, since you just arrived."
His smile remained on his face, but Yun Daixi could see clearly that it was seven parts pretense and three parts genuine—exactly like herself when dealing with social occasions.
Gu Li'an raised his glass: "I'm sorry, I never drink alcohol. Please allow me to toast you both with this instead."
After drinking the water in his glass, he lowered his head, his gaze as cold as frost and snow.
Yun Daixi froze.
On his right eyelid, there was a light brown mole.
It was so faint that if she hadn't been this close and in such a position looking down at him, it would have been completely hidden in the creases of his eyelid.
She had an almost identical mole in the same position on her left eye.
It had been exactly ten years since she last met someone with such a mole.