Panda Cub – Chapter 7

Growing Wary

She wasn’t stupid, okay?

Their eyes met. She’d been noticed too. A smile slowly spread across He Ying’s face, yet it never reached her eyes.

            

She walked at an unhurried pace, threading through the many people between them to reach Jing Dan’s side, then stopped about a foot away and came no closer. The smile that had never reached her eyes faded a little more.

“Didn’t expect we’d run into each other here so soon.”

Her tone was light and distant, nothing like the way she’d constantly carried a smile last night.

            

Jing Dan picked up on it sharply — she was upset. But upset about what? They barely knew each other. What did she have to be upset about?

“Neither did I,” Jing Dan said flatly. She glanced at He Ying’s outfit, then looked in the direction she’d come from. A man still stood there, looking their way.

If she hadn’t misread it just now, He Ying had seemed to be on that man’s arm earlier.

            

Though it was only her hand resting on his arm.

He Ying glanced at Xu Zhihuan walking their way and didn’t say anything more, only murmuring, “Be careful.”

Then she turned and walked away.

            

Jing Dan: “???”

She’d come all the way over just to say that?

She was baffled. Then, in the blink of an eye, Xu Zhihuan was already beside her with two glasses of wine, offering one. “Have a drink?”

            

She looked at the glass. Under the lights, the liquid inside glimmered with shifting colors — it looked delicious.

But it was alcohol.

Aunt had told her never to drink carelessly when she was out.

            

“Miss Jing?” Xu Zhihuan called. Seeing her seem lost in thought, she couldn’t tell what she was thinking — there was something almost conflicted about her expression.

The smile in her eyes deepened. She felt she was one step closer to success.

Jing Dan snapped out of it. She accepted the glass but only held it in her hand, saying coolly, “I don’t feel like drinking right now.”

            

She decided to heed her aunt’s advice. Especially when dealing with someone as calculating as Xu Zhihuan, she couldn’t afford to let herself get foggy.

Hearing that, Xu Zhihuan didn’t press her. She stayed and chatted a little longer before someone called her away.

Jing Dan found it all rather dull. She didn’t understand why Xu Zhihuan had invited her here — she didn’t know any of these people.

            

Still…

Jing Dan turned her gaze to the crowd of entertainment industry people. Was there any chance she could poach a few for her own company?

But that was just wishful thinking. Her company was still a nobody in the entertainment world. Even as clueless about social dynamics as she was, she knew none of them would give her the time of day.

            

So what exactly was Xu Zhihuan’s purpose in inviting her? And why had He Ying told her to be careful?

Meanwhile, on the other side, He Ying had her eyes fixed on Jing Dan. She was half-distracted even while talking to the person beside her.

“Miss He, are you feeling unwell?” the man next to her asked gently.

            

He Ying pulled her gaze from Jing Dan and smiled faintly. “No, I just spotted a friend.”

The man looked up toward Jing Dan. The admiration in his eyes still hadn’t faded — he’d been watching her for quite a while now, and she only seemed to grow more beautiful the longer he looked.

“That young lady?”

            

He’d been surprised earlier when he saw He Ying walk toward her — he hadn’t known she was acquainted with someone Xu Zhihuan had claimed.

Thinking about how that was someone Xu Zhihuan had set her sights on, a hint of pity entered the man’s eyes. He said in a low voice to He Ying, “You know what kind of person President Xu is. If you can, you should warn your friend.”

This time He Ying gave him a surprised look. This man was her employer — he’d paid to have her as his companion for the evening. She’d assumed everyone in this circle was cut from the same cloth as Xu Zhihuan. She hadn’t expected him to say something like that.

            

Thoughtfulness flickered in her eyes. From the corner of her eye, she glanced toward Jing Dan and sighed inwardly.

Never mind — she’d better warn her, lest she actually get tricked.

Thinking about how she’d blushed last night — such an innocent kid. Getting tangled up with someone like Xu Zhihuan would bring no end of trouble.

            

Though she didn’t mix much in this circle, she’d still heard plenty of things big and small. Xu Zhihuan looked respectable on the surface, but she had the darkest proclivities.

After accompanying the man and mingling with others for a while longer, He Ying’s job was essentially done. The man paid without hesitation — on the spot, he pulled out his phone and transferred the remaining balance to her.

Looking at the account balance on her phone, He Ying sighed inwardly. She needed to work harder and earn more — this amount wouldn’t keep her dance troupe afloat for long.

            

After parting with the man, He Ying came over and sat down beside Jing Dan. She picked up the glass Jing Dan had left on the coffee table, lifted it to her nose, and sniffed. Her brow relaxed a little.

The drink was safe.

Jing Dan watched her movements quietly — especially when she picked up her glass and sniffed it, her eyes widened slightly.

            

“Something wrong with the drink?” Jing Dan asked quietly.

He Ying shot her a glance. Now she was being docile — where had that sour face of hers gone?

“No,” He Ying said flatly.

            

“Oh.”

He Ying downed the wine in one gulp, then looked up at Xu Zhihuan, surrounded by people in the distance. She frowned. “How do you know her?”

“Met her at a reception a couple of days ago.”

            

He Ying suddenly recalled — hadn’t Hu Tu mentioned that Jing Dan ran her own entertainment company? And Xu Zhihuan was in the same business.

She fell quiet for a moment. If they were both in the same industry, they were bound to cross paths plenty down the line.

“Keep your wits about you when you deal with her.” He Ying frowned, thinking about everything she knew about Xu Zhihuan. It made her irritated.

            

If she really got taken advantage of by Xu Zhihuan, the very thought was infuriating.

Sure, this person was always giving her attitude — but she didn’t want someone this decent to be ruined by Xu Zhihuan.

Jing Dan blinked. Did she look that stupid? Everyone and their mother was warning her about Xu Zhihuan.

            

Still, she wasn’t the type to fail to recognize good intentions. She’d take the advice to heart.

“Got it.” She nodded.

Seeing her nod so obediently, He Ying’s mind eased a little.

            

Just then, Xu Zhihuan emerged from the crowd and came over to Jing Dan.

She first cast a casual glance at He Ying — perhaps sensing something about her that was a little too similar to herself, she frowned slightly, instinctively disliking her.

She didn’t bother acknowledging He Ying, speaking only to Jing Dan: “Miss Jing, we’ll all be moving in the same circles from now on. I think it’s necessary that I introduce you to them.”

            

A soft, easy smile played on her lips. Her gaze toward Jing Dan was luminous, deep — as if it held only her.

It could easily give someone the impression of deep devotion.

Watching this from the side, He Ying rolled her eyes inwardly. This woman certainly knew how to put on a good front.

            

If she turned that kind of gaze on anyone else, they’d probably be blushing scarlet by now, heart pounding, convinced she was deeply in love with them.

But Jing Dan didn’t.

Her face remained cool, completely failing to receive any of the signals being sent her way. She nodded without a change in expression. “Then thank you, President Xu.”

            

Xu Zhihuan: “…”

Could this person really not see what she was getting at?

She gave a light laugh and extended a hand toward Jing Dan, as if to help her up. “You can call me Zhihuan, Miss Jing.”

            

Closing the distance between them naturally started with names.

Too bad — looking at Jing Dan’s face, she had a feeling Jing Dan wouldn’t be calling her by name this early.

He Ying: “…”

            

Jing Dan, expressionless: “No. ‘President Xu’ rolls off the tongue better.”

With that, she ignored the hand Xu Zhihuan had extended and stood up on her own.

He Ying listened quietly to their exchange, fighting back a laugh.

            

Jing Dan was like a dead zone — every signal bounced right off her.

But Xu Zhihuan was an old fox too. She smiled without a flicker of emotion and withdrew her hand without the slightest awkwardness.

“Fair enough. Call me whatever’s comfortable for you.”

            

She led Jing Dan to the crowd and introduced her with a smile: “This is President Jing — Jing Dan, CEO of Qingzhu Entertainment. We’ll all be in the same circle from now on, so I hope you’ll look out for her.”

In a single breath, she’d essentially claimed Jing Dan as one of her own.

The people below were all sharp operators. They smiled and agreed one after another, and some had already started making overtures of their own.

            

Jing Dan nodded at them, thinking to herself: anyone this eager to cozy up right now was absolutely not to be hired later.

They were only saying this to curry favor with Xu Zhihuan. They were probably her people to begin with — hiring them would just let Xu Zhihuan infiltrate her company.

She snorted inwardly. She wasn’t stupid, okay?

            

Still, looking at all the celebrities and artists before her, she couldn’t help but feel stunned. In just one banquet, Xu Zhihuan had summoned nearly half the entertainment industry.

But she didn’t quite like the atmosphere here. Something felt off.

Why were several people gathered around an actor, forcing drinks on them? The person was clearly unwilling — why keep pushing?

            

The downside of having excellent hearing was that she caught quite a few conversations she wasn’t meant to.

“You’d better think this through. Opportunities favor the prepared. Walk out that door today, and there’s no guarantee this role is still yours.”

“We’ve already told you — just show some sense, and the role is yours, isn’t it?”

            

“Don’t be ungrateful. You’re already here — you think you can still run?”

The conversation only got uglier from there. The more Jing Dan listened, the tighter her brow furrowed.

He Ying was right beside her and naturally heard the same things. Seeing Jing Dan’s tightly knit brow, she said softly, “Wherever there are people, there’s filth. Especially this circle — it’s practically rotted through.”

            

Humans always called demons cruel, savage, and greedy. But how were human hearts any better? They might be even greedier, even crueler.

Jing Dan looked up at her. Seeing the trace of pity on her face, she felt a moment of disorientation.

This circle was practically rotted through? Then why was she still here?

            

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The author has something to say:

Hehe: I’m telling you this — you got it? Now scram back to your baby bottle!

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