My girlfriend is from the future!

"Beep, beep, beep, hello..."

“Cao Ai…”

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The carrier's notification tone on the phone was harsh and cold, but Wen Liang felt a sense of relief, as if she had relaxed a lot.

Perhaps because of all that happened today, the girl was only holding on by sheer willpower. Admittedly, this willpower supported her as she charged forward, but having this kind of drive does not mean that she was fully prepared to deal with all situations. And among them, her conversation with that woman was an exception among exceptions.

"Ha, why would I be nervous? I'm not afraid of her at all..."

Relieved, Wen Liang immediately noticed her own strange behavior. She then chuckled self-deprecatingly, muttered something, and drove to the place where she was to have dinner with Bai Lingye.

……

……

About fifty minutes later, Wen Liang arrived at the agreed location, a small Japanese restaurant located on a bustling street in the Jiangnan District. The storefront was minimalist, with only a noren curtain and a dimly lit lightbox displaying a Japanese kanji character that no Chinese person could possibly find in a dictionary. The girl lifted the curtain and entered, where she was greeted by Japanese-style decor made of walnut wood. Low-key jazz music played in the background, and the most eye-catching feature was the combined kitchen and dining area bar, which had only eight or nine seats.

The female apprentice in charge of assisting us welcomed Wenliang to sit down, served her a cup of genmaicha (brown rice tea), and after confirming that she was a guest with Bailingye, inquired about her dietary restrictions before leaving to go to the bar to prepare ingredients with the master chef.

Japanese cuisine is indeed the marketing god of the catering industry. This restaurant is by reservation only, and it is only open for one time a day, serving no more than ten customers. The so-called Omakase is just a kind of "what to eat today" Japanese food blind box. In short, you eat whatever the chef makes, as long as your wallet and mind are prepared in advance.

Twenty minutes later, Bai Lingye, wearing sunglasses, finally arrived late.

"Looks like you arrived first but still can't eat. You have to follow the chef's serving hours to eat this."

Starting with a joke, Bai Lingye sat down next to Wen Liang.

Once all the customers had arrived, the female apprentice walked out from behind the bar and closed the shop door.

This has nothing to do with the fact that two female celebrities are dining today. It's just a deliberate attempt to create a sense of ritual under the guise of packaging. In industry terms, it's something like, "Dining is a very private matter, and you need to quietly appreciate the ingredients," and so on.

But it's good, for public figures like them, such occasions are private enough.

"I remember when I first signed with the company, I took my parents to Tokyo for a trip. We ate this in Roppongi, and my dad very accurately summed it up in one sentence—"

"Instead of giving money to the chef, you should give it to your mother. For over twenty years, we've always eaten whatever she cooks. Besides, your mother is more sophisticated. At least we can tell what a chef's food is, but even if she tells us the name of your mother's dishes, we might not be able to tell what they are."

Wen Liang took a sip of genmaicha and told the amusing story, which made Bai Lingye and the female apprentice burst into laughter. Only the chef behind the bar, who looked to be in his seventies or eighties, remained expressionless and meticulous throughout.

Bai Lingye took off her sunglasses and laughed, "Actually, it's not like I'm just eating randomly. I asked about the ingredients a week ago and specifically ordered it for today."

Is there anything special today?

"Today's menu theme is pufferfish."

The female apprentice chimed in for Bai Lingye, who then gave Wen Liang a defiant eyebrow raise:
"How was it? Have you tried it before?"

Pufferfish, a dangerous yet coveted ingredient, is renowned in my country as "the most delicious of the three delicacies of the Yangtze River." However, the amount of toxin contained in a single pufferfish—enough to kill thirty adults—makes countless gourmets hesitate to consume it.

"This is the first time I've had a poisonous one. I've eaten farmed, non-toxic ones before. What's the difference?"

"It might be... the difference between free-range chickens and broiler chickens? I can't really describe it, you'll know once you try it."

The chef handed two slightly warm, damp towels to the two guests, then quickly sharpened his knife and began preparing the pufferfish in front of the two girls. At the same time, the female apprentice served two plates of cold-dressed firefly squid as appetizers, marking the start of the meal.

"I never expected that when you were discussing the contract with Director He, you would invite him to eat pufferfish. Did you plan to poison him because he didn't agree to your terms?"

Wen Liang picked up her chopsticks and made a joke, but Bai Lingye complained about it:

"Don't even mention letting him eat pufferfish. I feel like he's a pufferfish. He looks like he's eating delicious meat, but in reality, he's covered in thorns and poisonous all over."

"Senior, it sounds like you're implying something."

"Hehe, I'm just leaving. I wanted to remind you not to get completely devoured and left with nothing but bones."

Wen Liang was taken aback. "You're leaving? You're not planning to renew your contract with the company? I felt like you and him were having a pretty good chat when we were together today?"

“It was just an act…” Bai Lingye picked up a piece of squid, put it in her mouth, chewed for a few seconds, swallowed, and then put down her chopsticks: “I was still hesitating before today, but I made up my mind after I saw him get into that actress’s car…”

Wen Liang smiled and said, "The way you put it makes it sound like he abandoned you."

“In a way, that’s how it is…” A hint of melancholy flashed in Bai Lingye’s eyes: “I’ve been in three TV dramas, had five endorsements, and completed seventy-eight commercial appearances in one year. My personal contribution to the company’s revenue is forty-two percent…”

She turned her head and looked directly at the junior student who was both her enemy and her friend.

"Wenliang, let me ask you this: if you were the boss, and after rejecting me twice, we finally both have time today, and I want to talk to you about renewing the contract, would you refuse me?"

"Whoosh—" The tip of the chef's knife pierced the pufferfish's lower jaw with precision. The chef used his middle finger to press against the back of the knife and applied force, and the skin and flesh separated smoothly, revealing the pearly white abdominal cavity. The internal organs slid out, and the whole room was filled with the smell of the sea tide and bile.

Although it's hard to admit, in terms of current commercial value, Bailingye is indeed a cut above Wenliang.

“I… will, and I will try my best to keep you here, but I think… even I understand this principle, He Tianran will not ignore it.”

Sometimes, the approval of your opponent is the highest praise.

Bai Lingye was very satisfied with the answer. She seemed to be full of confidence again in an instant, but the more confident she was, the more cautious Wen Liang became.

"I'll tell you two secrets."

"what?"

"My first hit drama was the same project as his first directorial work, which is very meaningful to me. When we were filming, I liked him."

"Tap, tap, tap—"

During the slicing process, the blade begins to contact the cutting board, and thin slices of sashimi, as thin as butterfly wings, fall and are gradually arranged on an indigo porcelain plate, appearing crystal clear.

If Wen Liang could still grit her teeth and admit that Bai Lingye was more successful than her in her career just now, she really couldn't... listen to this now.

"Wow... Hmm, hehe... That's definitely a secret, so what?"

Her expression became very subtle; she looked a little impatient, but deliberately pressed for an obvious answer.

"And then? Then I found out he had a girlfriend overseas, they were very much in love, and he was very devoted to her, so I quietly withdrew."

"They've really quit?"

Wen Liang was also a woman, and she could read the hidden meaning behind Bai Lingye's seemingly relaxed tone.

"What else? I thought our choices on the train explained the answer."

"But I always feel that you really had no choice but to give up. Senior, if this whole thing was just a charade as you say, then He Tianran is gone, so what? You don't care if there's a man or a woman in his car, you already have a way out. But the way you're holding a grudge now, is it because you're not satisfied with the renewal terms he offered you, or is it because of something else... Heh, I really can't say."

When it comes to being sarcastic and unsettling, Wen Liang is definitely a master.

She knew what Bai Lingye was worried about, but there were some things she couldn't say, so she waited for Bai Lingye to speak for herself.

The pufferfish sashimi was arranged by the chef into a blooming peony. He pushed the plate out with both hands, then took out a small hourglass, turned it upside down, and picked up a slice first, putting it into his mouth.

These toxic ingredients are always tasted by the chefs first, and only if the chefs are unharmed after eating them can they be served to guests.

The fine sand hanging down in the hourglass formed a continuous line. In this final minute of waiting for food, Bailingye finally revealed her true feelings of the day:
“Wen Liang, Director He has changed a lot in the past year…”

"I don't think so. He's always acting crazy, so why do you think he's changed?"

Wen Liang rested her chin on her hand, staring longingly at the plate of pufferfish meat.

"because of you."

The highest praise is the recognition of one's opponent.

But Wen Liang, who had never considered the other party a rival, remained unmoved and said:
"I wasn't the one who got into his car today."

"So I finally feel a little better."

"No, what exactly are you..."

"Alright, alright, alright, there's a second secret. Do you want to know it?"

Seeing that Wen Liang was finally about to lash out after being provoked, Bai Lingye, having won a little, quickly offered a few words of comfort to calm her down. She then stopped holding back and spoke frankly:
“Not long ago, I attended an event and afterwards I was harassed by a man. He was very powerful and pursued me very aggressively, but I didn’t know whether to tell the company first or Director He first.”

"Tell the company to arrange a few more bodyguards for you, and then block all of that man's contact information. If he still dares to threaten you, call the police and arrange for a lawyer to sue him. You told He Tianran about this, and he made the same arrangements. That should be enough. No matter how powerful the other party is, can he really go head-to-head with Shan Hai?"

It's not uncommon for celebrities to encounter obsessive fans or be harassed by admirers. Most large management companies have prepared corresponding countermeasures for such situations. Wen Liang was also quite puzzled. For a popular female artist of Bai Lingye's stature, this shouldn't be the first time she's encountered this. It's hardly a secret.

To everyone's surprise, the other party's next sentence truly astonished Wen Liang, who had seen many situations.

"But what if the other party is from the Shanhai Group? What if he is He Tianran's brother?"

"No...you mean...He..."

"He Yuanchong." (End of Chapter)