Rebirth: I Became Mr.President's Beloved-Chapter 1016: Your Excellency’s Neglect of Duty
The one Ji Ming refers to as ’Mr.’, must be Song Baiyan.
Tang Li stopped focusing on the script, put down her highlighter, greeted Yu Sui, donned a mask and left the set.
At this hour, the sky began to darken.
The streets where city lights first appeared were different from the bustling inner ring, with occasional vehicles extending along the neon-lit path.
A journey that should have taken seven or eight minutes on foot only took Tang Li a little over three minutes.
Over the lake square, cheerful dance music lingered.
Countless older couples embraced and danced.
Those playing on skateboards and practicing roller skating occupied the open space beside the fountain.
Tang Li maneuvered through the crowd, searching for the familiar figure in a relatively quieter spot, but after circling most of the area, she was still unsuccessful.
Ji Ming sent her both multimedia messages and texts; it couldn’t be just for the sake of commentary.
As she was about to reply to Ji Ming’s message, her peripheral vision caught a tall figure by the lakeside ahead.
Tang Li didn’t continue editing the message but stood still.
The man she had originally seen standing before the railing turned around just then.
Today, Song Baiyan wore a light blue shirt and black trousers. The lake water shimmered under the moonlight, the reflected glow combined with the streetlight highlighted the man’s body, drawing a silhouette of his tall posture, carrying a mature and charming aura.
Where Tang Li stood was right under a street lamp.
Therefore, when Song Baiyan turned around, he immediately saw her. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
From Song Baiyan’s expression, it was evidently unexpected for him to see her there.
Tang Li, however, had no time to ponder these things, suppressing a bit of joy inside her, regardless of whether Song Baiyan recognized her, she ran towards him, cellphone in hand.
Seeing Tang Li approaching, Song Baiyan, who initially had his hands clasped behind his back, brought them to the front when Tang Li locked his shoulders with her hands, his left hand with a steel watch enveloped the slightly thin back of the girl.
As Tang Li was wearing flat shoes, the height difference between them was apparent.
Seemingly to accommodate her, Song Baiyan leaned slightly forward, then asked, "Why aren’t you in the crew rehearsing lines and running over here?"
"Then why are you here?" Tang Li didn’t let go, echoing his words back at him: "Why come here?"
Song Baiyan seemed to smile briefly, then said, "Did Ji Ming tip you off?"
Tang Li didn’t betray her friend, knowing she’d rely on them to relay messages next time, "I just came for a stroll after dinner, who knew I’d bump into you."
After saying this, she released his shoulders.
Yet her whole body remained nestled within Song Baiyan’s embrace.
Her hands changed to grip the shirt on Song Baiyan’s chest.
"Lucky it’s me who ran into you; anyone else might think you’re neglecting your duties."
Song Baiyan let the girl babbling in his arms, only answering after she had spoken: "Since you know it’s not good to be seen like this, why didn’t you bring me a mask?"
His words carried a hint of teasing.
Tang Li toyed with his shirt button, looking up: "If you cover your face, what do I look at?"
That cheeky tone actually drew a slight smile from Song Baiyan.
Tang Li’s heart skipped a beat, although quickly returning to normal, her earlobes still flushed when Song Baiyan looked at her, she pretended to turn her head, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"Where are the bodyguards?"
She asked casually, but didn’t seem overly concerned.
In the next second, the large hand on her waist tightened slightly.
Song Baiyan’s playful remark followed: "Last night, did you cry under the covers?"
"..." Tang Li quickly understood that Song Baiyan was referring to the less than ideal premiere ratings of "The Brightest Star."
After a while, she turned her face back: "It’s just the premiere not meeting expectations, no big deal, only kids cry secretly."
Song Baiyan listened, a smile appeared on his face.
--As though he didn’t believe her words.
Tang Li, in order to prove her point, brought up the online streaming data: "These days, ratings don’t mean everything; as of 7 o’clock tonight, our show ranked first in views on major video platforms. Have you seen any show getting over 3 billion views within days of its release?"
"It’s good you didn’t cry." Song Baiyan’s eyes revealed indulgence, "If you did, it’d probably flood Tan Palace."
Tang Li felt warm, wanting to say she wasn’t as fragile as he thought.
Just as the words were about to leave her lips, she remembered the reason "The Brightest Star" had surged in online streaming numbers.
Wasn’t it because of Song Jingtian’s live broadcast?
The little guy even flaunted Song Baiyan’s name, boosting the drama, making people curious to follow after learning the President was watching "The Brightest Star".
Afterward, Tan Palace’s official blog didn’t issue any statements.
Even the live broadcast playback wasn’t removed.
Thinking of all this, Tang Li didn’t have the heart to burn bridges.
"Yesterday when recording in Gaozhou, did anything unpleasant happen?" Song Baiyan asked her again.
"No." Tang Li replied: "I even met your cousin at the recording site, he was quite unlucky, accidentally falling into a piranha pool, got his butt bitten."
As for Meng Shu trying to sow discord, Tang Li didn’t plan to mention.
Just as she hadn’t told Song Baiyan, it was she who kicked Meng Shu into the pool.
Not that she wanted to cover for Meng Shu.
It’s just the timing isn’t right now.
She never expected Meng Shu to say those things beside the fish pool, or she would have prepared a recorder.
Moreover, from the family dinner that night, Tang Li had observed that the relationship between the Song and Meng families was quite close.
If she were to complain to Song Baiyan, saying Meng Shu harassed her multiple times, Song Baiyan would believe her, but what about others?
Once such a matter is brought up publicly, it’ll demand undeniable evidence. The problem is--would Meng Shu admit his words and deeds in public?
Song Baiyan is her husband and the head of a family.
This is something Tang Li always keeps in mind.
"According to the director, it seems his butt will scar." Song Baiyan said: "For a girl, why talk about a man’s butt so freely."
"Then let’s stop mentioning your cousin’s butt." Tang Li obediently shut her mouth.
Song Baiyan was tickled by her cooperation, using his large hand to brush back a few strands of her hair blown astray by the night breeze: "That night in Tan Palace Garden, did Meng Shu offend you?"
"..." Tang Li didn’t expect Song Baiyan to ask this.
The rift between Meng Shu and her didn’t it start from their first meeting at the family dinner that night.
"Not really offended, just felt he’s very oily." Since Song Baiyan brought it up, Tang Li felt she owed it to herself not to whisper some pillow talk: "Every time he talks to me, it feels like facing a deep fryer, especially when he smiles at me, I can almost feel the oil sizzling and splattering on my face."
This metaphor was something Song Baiyan had never heard before.
Tang Li fiddled with his shirt button: "Perhaps saying this is a bit exaggerating, but I really don’t want to see him in Tan Palace again."
