The Phantom's Heartbeat in the Limelight Chapter 4

The celebration of Yaoxing Entertainment's 15th anniversary was very grand. Countless celebrities and directors, both big and small, came, and all the media were present. The venue was blocked by many fans who came to hear the news, and a red carpet was laid. Every time someone walked by, there would be a burst of screams. Of course, the loudness of the screams, or who screamed louder when they walked by, depended on who was more popular.

Blake Ji was not on the invitation list. He came here with Ryan Shen. Ryan Shen is the male lead in Yaoxing's next major investment movie. Although the news has not been announced to the public, it does not prevent him from coming to support Yaoxing.

The car was still stuck in traffic. Blake Ji and Ryan Shen, who were sitting in the back seat, were chatting casually. Ryan Shen came alone without even his agent. Say, who came with him, was a little unhappy. He did not approve of Blake Ji and Ryan Shen coming to participate in this event together. Not to mention that he and Ryan Shen were rumored to have an ambiguous relationship, Blake Ji tagged Yaoxing's boss on Weibo for no reason two days ago, which made people think a lot. He really didn't want to see more bad rumors pop up at this time.

However, Blake Ji disagreed with this, saying that this was also a good opportunity for publicity and hype. Being able to appear with the great actor Shen was something that others would beg for, and only a fool would refuse.

As expected, as soon as the two of them got out of the car, they instantly became the focus of everyone's attention. The fans' shouts were deafening, the cameras were clicking one after another, and the flash lights were as bright as day.

Blake Ji smiled as she and Ryan Shen walked side by side on the red carpet. Someone exclaimed, "They are couple outfits." The flash lights were even brighter. The two people wearing the same black and white suits really matched well in the eyes of others. Even their looks matched perfectly. Blake Ji smiled and approached the people around him: "I'm going to be scolded by your fans for sticking with you again."

"Same here."

******

After entering the venue, Blake Ji and Ryan Shen separated. Most of the people who came to participate in this anniversary celebration had various purposes. Showing support was one part of it. With so many big-name directors and producers gathered here, it would be stupid not to take the opportunity to get some resources and build some relationships.

Blake Ji also had other intentions. He had only one target, Alex Xia, who was not far ahead talking to Derek Deng, the director of the movie that Ryan Shen was about to act in.

Blake Ji stood far away and watched. It was still the same expressionless face that was extremely handsome in Blake Ji's eyes. The habit of slightly frowning while speaking was the same as before. He seemed to be in a good mood. Although he still hadn't smiled, Blake Ji, who knew him even better than himself, could tell just by looking at his subtle expressions when he talked to others.

Blake Ji was also in a good mood. The reason was that although the goddess Zhang also came, she did not come as Alex Xia's female companion. She came alone, which was completely different from the previous speculation of the outside world that she came as the hostess to welcome guests with Alex Xia. It could be seen that although she forced a smile, she seemed very embarrassed, so Blake Ji felt that he was very comfortable.

When the meeting was almost over, Alex Xia went to the bathroom. As soon as he walked in, he saw another person inside. After thinking about it, he remembered that it seemed to be a little star he had seen on TV before. When he went back later that day, he casually asked his assistant about it and found out that it was a vase idol who was currently popular but not very well-known. He just didn't expect to meet him at his company's celebration party.

Alex Xia knew how many invitations the company had sent out. Blake Ji was obviously not among them, but the number of people who came today was far more than they had originally invited. Almost all of them came to take advantage of the opportunity to gain some attention, so they naturally wouldn't turn anyone away. It went without saying that the person in front of him had the same purpose.

Therefore, Alex Xia had no intention of greeting him and walked straight to the sink and turned on the water. He looked up inadvertently and saw another person behind him looking at himself in the mirror.

When their eyes met, Blake Ji's lips curled up, her beautiful eyes slightly raised, and she threw him a seductive glance.

He often makes this kind of expression on stage, and each time it is met with heart-wrenching screams and shouts. His fans call him a goblin and a monster because of this, but this is the first time he has made this expression in front of someone in private.

Making sure that he was not dazzled, and that the actions of the little star behind him just now were indeed meant to seduce him, Alex Xia's face darkened. He took a piece of paper to wipe his hands, turned around and wanted to leave, but Blake Ji stepped forward and stopped him at the door.

"Boss Xia, do you still remember me? Give me some face and go out for a drink, how about that?"

"Step aside."

The strong smell of perfume on Blake Ji made him feel uncomfortable. His frivolous attitude and words made Alex Xia inexplicably irritated, and his voice unconsciously became cold.

"Don't be so stingy," Blake Ji smiled and leaned against him, one hand even touching his chest restlessly: "Please give me a favor, Mr. Xia, I will make you satisfied."

Alex Xia's face became even gloomier. It turned out that the rumors about the man in front of him being immoral and being kept by someone were true. He always knew that this circle was chaotic. With someone like him, all kinds of men and women kept throwing themselves at him every day. Alex Xia was used to it but always looked down upon it. But today, even he himself didn't know why, the handsome man in front of him did the same thing, which made him angry and annoyed.

Taking a step back, Alex Xia's face was as cold as ice, and he spoke word by word: "I said, get out of the way."

Blake Ji's hand froze in mid-air, then drooped down unhappily. He lowered his eyes and remained silent for a moment. When he looked up again, the cynical smile in his eyes had faded, but he still stared at Alex Xia in front of him without blinking: "Do you hate me?"

His eyes were half lowered and half closed, exactly the same as the way he looked at her when he was singing that day. Alex Xia felt panic in his heart and looked away: "No, but please respect yourself."

Blake Ji finally made way, and Alex Xia pushed the door open and went out. The voice of the man behind him with a frivolous smile sounded again: "Boss Xia, you are back from abroad. I didn't expect you to be so conservative."

The answer to him was Alex Xia's back as he walked away.

Blake Ji sighed lightly. In fact, if Alex Xia was really seduced by him and took him away, then he would really have to consider whether it was worth it to go to great lengths to win this man back. Now his performance made Blake Ji quite satisfied.

The phone rang urgently. It was Say calling: "Where the hell have you been? You're walking around in someone else's territory. Do you know what propriety is?!"

"I'm so annoyed. I just need to go to the bathroom."

"It's almost over. Mr. Shen is leaving. You should come out quickly."

Seeing Say standing there with a gloomy face waiting in the underground parking lot, Blake Ji walked up to him with a smile, patted him on the shoulder, and climbed into the car.

Ryan Shen turned around and asked him with a smile: "What? Didn't you succeed in hooking up?"

Blake Ji tapped his chin and told Ryan Shen what had just happened in the bathroom. Ryan Shen listened and shook his head sympathetically: "How embarrassing."

"What's there to be ashamed of?" Blake Ji smiled complacently, "You are worthy of being my man. You are indeed a gentleman. You can remain calm in the face of beauty and remain unmoved by praise or criticism."

Ryan Shen and Say were both upset, and Say even reminded him unhappily: "When did Boss Xia become your man? I don't think he's interested in you at all."

Blake Ji shrugged: "We'll see, it will happen sooner or later."

******

It was already late at night when Alex Xia left the venue and returned to his apartment. Before that, he had to send Claire Zhang back first.

The two were silent the entire way. Alex Xia was a taciturn person, and he really lived up to his name. Every time he went on a so-called date with Claire Zhang, it was always the woman who found topics to talk about. But today, Claire Zhang was obviously also in a bad mood and sulking. Alex Xia didn't know whether he didn't notice or didn't want to coax her even if he noticed. He concentrated on driving, not caring what the people around him were thinking.

The car stopped at the bottom of Claire Zhang's apartment building, but she didn't unbuckle her seat belt and said to Alex Xia the first words she had spoken to him tonight: "I don't want to go up, I want to go to your place."

"Go back," Alex Xia said coldly, "It's getting late. Go to bed early. You still have to work tomorrow."

As he was talking, he had already helped her unbuckle her seat belt. Claire Zhang was annoyed and raised her voice: "Let me ask you? Where do you put me?! What do you want me to do to look at you?!"

Alex Xia frowned slightly. He was very tired after working all night and really didn't want to quarrel: "Go back."

"I'm not going back! You and I are already engaged! We're getting married soon! How long are you going to keep your distance from me?! Why can others openly announce their love and marriage in public, but you are so stingy as to not even respond to me?! Everyone thought I would attend today's celebration as the hostess of Yaoxing, but you wanted me to go alone! Do you know that the way those people looked at me tonight was like a slap in the face, making me feel ashamed!"

"I never agree to announce the engagement to the public. Not only did you announce it without my consent, but you also deliberately hyped it up and made a big fuss about it," Alex Xia said, closing his eyes and trying to hold back his last bit of patience: "Go away, I don't want to quarrel."

Just one sentence made Claire Zhang's eyes red and tearful in an instant. She looked pitiful but could not arouse any sympathy from Alex Xia. She bit her lip and looked at Alex Xia's cold face, as if he thought it was unnecessary to even look at her one more time. Finally, she pushed open the car door angrily and got out. The next second, Alex Xia's car sped away.

Claire Zhang, who was standing there in a daze, clenched her fists tightly, her fingertips almost digging deep into her palms. For seven years, she followed him from Spain to the United States and then here. No matter what decision she made, she always put him first, but she could not really get even the slightest love from him. Even the engagement was proposed by her and then facilitated by his parents. Outsiders thought that they were a couple who had been in love for many years, but in fact, Alex Xia didn't even want to touch her hand. No matter how she lowered herself and threw herself into his arms, he was dismissive and pushed her away coldly. They were a fake couple for seven years. She tried everything, but she could never get into his heart.