Chapter 14: Barging Into the Dressing Room as She Changes  

Su Jin continued to hand out arguments in favor of Mo Qingchen, never giving Yun Qian Meng a fair chance. Despite this, she remained strong and navigated through dangerous waters. She could imagine her father and Politician Han pacing in their respective offices as they watched the live broadcast, wondering how they could help the situation.

If Qian Meng had a say in the matter, no one from their side of the aisle would come on Su Jin's show ever again.

As the segment wound down, both Qian Meng and Mo Qingchen summarized their arguments, speaking about the cause and the timeline. The cameraman soon announced that the coast was clear, making Qian Meng rise from her seat immediately and depart from the stage without so much as a goodbye or glance backward.

Li Min was already gone, presumably to bring the car. Qian Meng went to the changing room to wipe off the powder the crew had used on her and use the washroom.

She barged into the guest's dressing room, throwing the door behind her and immediately turned back when the door didn't slam close. Mo Qingchen was standing in the doorway, his long fingers curled around the edge of the door.

"Excuse me, I am using the changing room," she sneered, knowing that she didn't need to pretend any longer.

"This is a shared dressing room for the guests. Last time I checked, I was also allowed to be here." He smirked.

"Fuck you," she spat and watched as his face stretched into a grin.

"Be careful of what you wish for," he taunted. Was this really the cold Master Mo that everyone feared? He had the audacity to act like a pig in front of her.

"So this is what lurks underneath of cold face you put on." Qian Meng crossed her arms over her chest. "What do you want?"

"A handshake," he replied, stepping into the room, entirely unfazed by her insult. The confusion on her face prompted him to continue. "It's a custom where opponents shake hands after a spar to show respect to one another."

He took another step forward. Qian Meng fought the need to step back. She looked down at the hand held out in front of him.

"I only shake hands with those I cooperate with and benefit from. You. You are not on that list," she said, eyeing the hand with what she hoped was a look of utter distaste. He remained unfazed, a sign that he was retreating into his usual shell.

"A shame. I would have loved to cooperate with you." His eyes dropped to her stance and then he shook his head. She tilted her head to the side, wondering what he meant by that.

"Get out. And about the respect clause... I don't want to be deceptive."

Mo Qingchen frowned momentarily as he deciphered the words. His eyebrows hitched up and amusement filled his eyes. "You don't respect me?" Qian Meng wanted to scoff.

The man was too entitled to act surprised by the revelation. Qian Meng rolled her eyes.

"Hard to respect someone like you who is pretentious and condescending. Moreover, I disagree with everything you stand for," she replied.

"For example?" he pressed, his hand now inside the pocket of his pant.

"You lack empathy for employees and squeeze every ounce of benefit you can get from them without considering their wellbeing," she said. That was the first thing that came to her mind. Apart from that, she had a long list of things that she didn't like about him.

Mo Qingchen sighed and shook his head. "I don't believe in that." She was just about to leave when he snagged her arm.

She spun to face him and watched his eyes change. She felt as if everything she had known about him had reversed. If she had more sense, she would have remembered everything else she didn't like about him. She tried to shrug him off.

"What?" she hissed.

"I actually neutral in this regard and lean to the left when it comes to employment laws and benefits."

Qian Meng shakes her head. "Then why..." she trails off.

"I was asked to help," he said. "My father asked me to help his cousin. I was a good candidate because I knew what you would bring to the table."

"What does that mean? Are you saying I am predictable?" She sounded offended and Mo Qingchen was a little taken aback by the turn of events.

"No," he firmly retorted. "We have similar views, I just did as I was asked. Come to think of it, if you had done your research, you would have known this about me." He threw her a calculative look.

She feels her headache at the insinuation that her staff was less than competent, particularly considering that all the information she had was well put and meticulous. She went back and thought about what Li Jun had said about Mo Qingchen. It had been a while since she got his portfolio. Maybe she would ask him again.

"So you are saying that you speak for things that you don't believe in?" she asked, feeling disgruntled.

He shrugged. "Not really. I am more inclined to the strand of thought you align with but there are points in them that I don't stand by. I am helping my family and extended family because I care about them and it will bring us benefits in the future."

"Ah, yes, Your family," she commented with a scalding smile.

"I'd be happy to introduce you to them," he said good-naturedly.

"Oh, I've met them. You seem to have forgotten that I went to university with your sister and frequented your house during our friendship." She was clinging to sarcasm. "The copious number of parties didn't help either."