Searching for Treasures in the Clouds

The man seated at the head of the table wore a high-quality, bespoke white suit. His features were exquisitely handsome, his appearance unparalleled. He exuded an air of nobility, yet possessed a gentle, refined charm. Of all the so-called important figures she had ever met, she had never seen a man like him. His eyes held not a trace of the sleazy, objectifying gaze one might expect of a woman. Most importantly, this man was undeniably handsome, so handsome that words failed her. She was momentarily stunned, completely mesmerized.

That's why she overlooked the fleeting murderous intent that flashed in Yun Jixing's eyes.

While she was still in a daze, Wen Yuqiu gently patted her arm, "Yaoyao, Yaoyao. I know Young Master Yun is very handsome, but you can't just keep staring at him like that. Why don't you say hello to Young Master Yun?"

"Young Master Yun is so handsome, it's only natural that people would be stunned by his appearance."

"Yes."

"You're lucky today, young lady, to get to meet Young Master Yun."

……

The others around them started making jokes.

Amidst the chatter of others, Zhang Yaoyao gradually came to her senses, realizing that her behavior had been somewhat rude. Coupled with the teasing from those around her, she blushed instantly. She looked at Yun Jixing with affectionate eyes and said in a coquettish voice, "I...I'm sorry, Young Master Yun, I feel that you are even more handsome than those big stars. I have never seen anyone as good-looking as you, so I...I was stunned."

Yun Jixing smiled. "It's alright, have a seat."

There was a small stage, microphone, and sound system in the private room. After Zhang Yaoyao sat down, Yun Jixing got straight to the point, telling her to go up on the stage and sing. Having seen Yun Jixing's handsome face, Zhang Yaoyao was no longer uneasy or nervous. She followed Yun Jixing's instructions and walked confidently onto the stage.

Wen Yuqiu and several other leaders working at the company quickly arranged for her assistant to adjust the sound system for her. After the preparations for singing were completed, Wen Yuqiu got up and walked to Yun Jixing before handing him a booklet, "Young Master Yun, this is the song list, all of which Yao Yao can sing."

Yunji Xing quickly browsed through the song list and picked the one that required the most skill.

Zhang Yaoyao began to sing. Standing center stage, she gripped the microphone and sang earnestly, her eyes occasionally glancing towards Yun Jixing. Unexpectedly, Yun Jixing was also watching her. This discovery made her heart pound and her ears burn. She forced herself to remain calm, but still made a mistake—she suddenly forgot the lyrics.

With that sudden stop, she couldn't continue singing. Standing in the center of the stage, she looked helplessly at the audience, "I..."

At this moment, the assistant playing the accompaniment noticed that something was wrong and pressed the pause button.

The others all looked at Yun Jixing's expression. Yun Jixing remained calm, her emotions unreadable. "It's alright. It's normal to make mistakes when there are many people around. Let her drink some water, and we'll change the song later."

"Okay, okay." Wen Yuqiu breathed a sigh of relief and quickly went up on stage to bring Zhang Yaoyao down.

He suppressed his anger towards Zhang Yaoyao and pretended to be nonchalant, instructing his assistant to pour a drink for her. The assistant looked down at the table; there was no water, only alcohol and tea. However, the tea was placed in front of Yun Jixing, so she didn't dare go over and instead took the nearest alcohol to pour it.

Seeing this, Yanzi saw an opportunity and stepped forward, saying, "Hey, Ms. Zhang is going to sing later, so let's not make her drink alcohol. Let her have tea instead. My young master just brought over a pot of fine tea and would like to invite all the bosses to taste it together."

After saying that, Yanzi strode to the corner and brought back a pot of tea. Xiao Niu followed closely behind, took out a basket of cups, and picked out a few to place on the table for Yanzi to pour tea.

This pot of tea was brewed in advance by Yun Jixing, and he also brought the teapot. The teapot has a little trick: there's a button on the handle. If you don't press it, it pours out normal tea; if you press it, it pours out poisoned tea, specially made for Zhang Yaoyao. Zhang Yaoyao can drink a few more cups today without any problems, but after the three-day incubation period, her throat will have issues. It won't actually make her mute, but her voice will most likely become very unpleasant.

Xiao Niu persuaded Zhang Yaoyao to drink two cups of tea in a row. Zhang Yaoyao didn't think much of it and didn't dare to refuse. Xiao Niu made her drink two large cups, so she obediently drank them both. The tea entered her mouth...

It had a slightly bitter taste and an indescribable strange flavor, but after swallowing it, it was incredibly refreshing and instantly soothed her throat. Therefore, she even drank half a cup more.

After having tea and exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Yaoyao continued singing. This time, she didn't make any mistakes and sang the entire song perfectly.

After finishing the song, she looked at Yun Jixing expectantly and said, "Young Master Yun, what other songs would you like to hear? I'll sing a few more. I wasn't in the right state of mind at first, but now I'm all set, so I can sing anything."

Yun Jixing ignored her and turned to have Xiao Niu beside him bring over a microphone. He coughed twice, cleared his throat, picked up the microphone, and said, "Miss Zhang, do you have a professional sound engineer with you?"

Zhang Yaoyao was stunned, unsure what Yun Jixing meant by asking this. She instinctively looked at her company's leaders, hoping for a hint. The leaders all understood the implication: Yun Jixing was implying that Zhang Yaoyao sang poorly and was dissatisfied with her.

Seeing that Zhang Yaoyao looked like she hadn't heard clearly and didn't understand, the atmosphere became increasingly quiet and awkward. Wen Yuqiu quickly stood up to smooth things over. "Yaoyao, Young Master Yun asked if you have a sound engineer with you. Just answer truthfully."

Zhang Yaoyao glanced at Wen Yuqiu, then looked at Yun Jixing, "Young Master Yun, I... I have a sound engineer with me."

Yun Jixing smiled and nodded, "Then the sound engineer next to you is quite skilled. He sounded okay online, but his live performance was so awful that he was able to bring your singing back to life. That's really impressive."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yaoyao's smile slowly faded, and her body felt hot and stiff from head to toe. Before she could react, Yun Jixing's mouth, which had uttered those embarrassing words, said again, "Let's stop here for today. If you keep listening, you might get an otitis externa."

After saying this, Yun Jixing turned to Wen Yuqiu and said, "President Wen, are there any other people who can sing? I love a song called 'Love Again in the Next Life.' It sounds better sung by a male voice. Let's call a male singer."

"Yes, yes, Young Master Yun. Please wait a moment, I'll go and call someone right away."

After the meeting ended, Wen Yuqiu spoke with Zhang Yaoyao in the next room. Zhang Yaoyao was one of his subordinates, and she had messed up the singing event. Even though Yun Jixing seemed quite happy afterward, he couldn't escape being blamed by his boss.

The thought of potentially having his salary docked, being transferred, demoted, or even fired made Wen Yuqiu's face darken. He immediately walked up to Zhang Yaoyao and slapped her. "What are you good for? It's one thing to sing badly the first time, but how come you sang badly the second time too? Doesn't the company have singing teachers? Did you even bother to learn properly?"

“I…” Zhang Yaoyao had never suffered such grievances in her life. Even though her voice was choked with sobs, she still tried to speak loudly and retort, “Boss, it’s not my fault. I didn’t even want to come. It was you who made me come. Besides, there was nothing wrong with my second performance. It was that Young Master Yun who was too picky. It was his problem.”

Wen Yuqiu glared at him angrily, "Shut up! If you dare to speak ill of Young Master Yun behind his back, you'll be sorry you won't even know how you died."

……