Nepotism Runs the World

The girl assigned to her, though must have felt that her skin was oily. The woman dabbed at her forehead with powder. Yun Qian Meng gave the woman a small smile, trying to hide her irritation. The girl must have understood and moved away.

"Thank you," she said, earning a curt nod from the girl.

Yun Qian Meng was the owner of a luxury skincare company and she championed her products. If there was any sheen on her face, it was clearly healthy and pretty looking. And she really didn't like putting on too much powder on her face. It made her look like a baked ghost, unfortunately.

"Golden Gate Palace, right?" Mo Qingchen said suddenly. When she turned to look at him, she saw that he had a smirk on his face as he readjusted his tie. She tried not to cringe at the sight. He clearly wasn't used to wearing suits. He was pulling it a little too tight, ruining the symmetry.

Not that she was going to help him with that.

"Sorry?"

"You live in Golden Gate Palace, right? If I remember correctly, Politician Han lives in the same complex," Mo Qingchen said smugly.

"Do you want an award for that?" Qian Meng muttered, shifting on the stool.

His smirk widened. "It's convenient. Neighbors helping each other out, helping put money in each others' pockets. How fun are the meetings?" Qian Meng wanted to laugh.

"Rich coming from Mo Building Solutions. Isn't Politician Li your mother's cousin?" She spat back. "Nepotism is living well in our society, especially on your side of the world." She would have glared at him.

"Says the woman who used money from her family to start her own company," he replied.

"Thirty seconds," someone called from the darkness, stopping Qian Meng's reply short. She frowned with dissatisfaction. Su Jin tapped her index finger.

Point for Mo Qingchen.

Qian Meng glanced towards the wings to see her assistant, Li Min, giving her a thumbs up and showing her the illuminated cellphone.

"I spoke too soon," he commented suddenly. She didn't turn to him as she replied.

"Or too much," she muttered, straightening her spine as the cameraman announced that only ten seconds were left. At that time, she tried to ascertain which camera would take the first shot.

"It would have been great if you weren't a Yun. I would have hired you," he continued, lowering his voice and ignoring the countdown.

She barely noticed the red light on the camera blink as her head snapped towards him. Her eyes narrowed in a glare but she forced her mouth shut when she saw him smile angelically at the camera as Su Jin welcomed the viewers back.

The anger in her blood seemed to raise her body temperature and she willed her skin not to flush and show her emotions. From the twitch of his lips, she surmised that Mo Qingchen was trying his best not to show his smug grin and let the world know that he had intentionally infuriated her.

"Mr. Mo, there has been a lot of speculation about the bill, a lot of promises made to citizens and noise. Can you summarize what Politician Li wants to achieve?" Su Jin's voice was so irritating that Qian Meng wanted to bite her head off. Seeing the host's smile, she felt the irritation worsen. The odds seemed to be stacked against her.

She pretended to look interested in his answer, but in reality, she was wondering how expensive Qingchen's tie was and whether or not she could use it as a noose to hang him. When he started talking, she changed her thoughts. It would be better to gag him.

He had a velvet-smooth voice that tickled her mind. The feeling it evoked? She didn't understand. Neither did she want to.

"Politician Li is committed to bringing glory to the country like it was in the past," Mo Qingchen finished. Qian Meng knew that Su Jin wouldn't direct the next question to her so that she could refute the comment. As the conversation shifts to particular clauses in the bill, Mo Qingchen cuts off her sentence.

Qian Meng shoots a pointed look at Su Jin, the moderator, asking her why she wasn't stopping this from happening when it was her turn to speak. This blatant favoritism. Su Jin's eyes, though, were trained on Mo Qingchen, and she looked like she wanted to mount him. Forget about silencing him and giving Qian Meng a chance.

"I think you are getting this wrong," Qian Meng said to him, who was now leaning forward.

"The promises made by your side have never been kept. Your candidate promised a lot of things. Did he forget them?" he said.

"He didn't forget," she snapped, then willed her impenetrable poker face to come back. She couldn't allow this man to crack the facade of professionalism she had carefully built over the years. A snide comment never plays well on-air, so she kept her thoughts to herself.

"Doesn't seem like it." Mo Qingchen leaned back in the chair, once again shrugging casually.

As the conversation moved on, the tone remained the same. They bit at each other, igniting the viewers.

Despite having a sound argument and arguing coherently with him (earning loads of points for their side), Mo Qingchen's smile didn't slip even for a second. If Qian Meng thought she wanted to strangle the man before, it was nothing like the overwhelming desire she felt at that moment.