Don't Compare Yourself to Li Ruobing

Welcome to Trapped in the Same Day for a Thousand Years, produced exclusively by Feilu Novel Network, written by Sang Ze and narrated by Wang Xiaomo and Lao He. "Boss, it's Tao Manying. She says she has an appointment with you."

The receptionist repeated herself in a very low, muffled voice. It sounded as though she had turned away from the visitor and cupped a hand over the phone.

"Are you sure?"

Li Ruobing did not know why she still found it hard to believe.

"I'm sure, boss."

The receptionist waited.

"I'll come down right away. Ask her to wait a moment."

Li Ruobing said nothing more, hung up, took a deep breath, and tried to contain her excitement. Then she glanced around the conference room and said, "Meeting adjourned."

Every executive froze and stared at Li Ruobing from their seats.

Why had she suddenly called off the meeting?

Li Ruobing said nothing more and walked straight out. Her secretary and assistants naturally followed. She had only one female secretary but several assistants; even Wu Chen was officially one of them, though his position was purely nominal and he rarely needed to come to the office.

He found her?

How did he find her?

How could he possibly have brought her here?

One day. He really brought her here in a single day!

How on earth did he do it?

What did he do?

Wasn't he playing games yesterday morning?

And didn't he go with A Tai to transfer the apartment yesterday afternoon?

As Li Ruobing led the group toward the stairs, those questions kept tumbling through her mind.

Li Ruobing knew that Li Ruotai had transferred the East Sea Splendor apartment to Wu Chen yesterday. Li Ruotai had told her himself.

Li Ruotai had called Li Ruobing shortly after the transfer was completed.

Tao Manying was the person Li Ruobing was about to meet, and she was vitally important to Illusion Fashion. Yet all Li Ruobing could think about was Wu Chen. She wanted to call and ask him directly, but Tao Manying was waiting downstairs.

Her company needed a spokesperson, too.

As a businesswoman, Li Ruobing knew what had to come first.

Li Ruobin went down to the thirty-first floor with her entourage. From a distance, she spotted Tao Manying.

Tao Manying had already put away her glasses and mask.

A group of young company employees surrounded her, asking for autographs. They had only recently arrived at work that morning.

"The boss is here! Get back to work! Go, go!"

No one could tell who shouted first, but the young employees instantly abandoned their requests. Heads down, they hurried away like mice spotting a cat.

Within seconds, the reception area was empty.

Tao Manying turned toward Li Ruobing. Li Ruobing had nearly reached her, and they extended their hands at almost the same time.

"Miss Tao, hello. Sorry to have kept you waiting. These past few days have been so hectic that I forgot to tell reception you were coming."

Li Ruobing gave Tao Manying a professional smile as they shook hands. She did not know why Wu Chen had failed to tell her, but she was certain he had brought Tao Manying here. She could not let an outsider see her caught off guard, so she needed to recover her composure.

"Not at all, President Li! Wow, you're beautiful. Your skin is incredible. I never imagined the president of a big company could work day and night and still have skin like that. I'm jealous! How do you take care of it?"

Tao Manying began praising Li Ruobing the moment she opened her mouth. It was not only because of Lei Cheng's instructions; Li Ruobing had genuinely dazzled her.

Both women were beautiful, but Tao Manying felt Li Ruobing's skin was much better than hers. In her eyes, the little differences stood out.

Tao Manying looked stunning on film, but she was too thin in person. Cameras made people look heavier, so to appear normally slim on screen, she had to be even thinner in real life.

Years of filming had taken their toll as well. Period dramas required frequent, heavy makeup, and even the best products were harmful when overused. Add in the long nights on set, and her skin really was a little worse than Li Ruobing's.

Her skin was still excellent. Li Ruobing's was simply better.

Their poise was harder to compare. They were entirely different types of women.

What truly struck Tao Manying at first sight was Li Ruobing's presence. Her aura was almost intimidating, more so than that of some older high officials' wives. She was effortlessly composed yet sharp. The moment she appeared, it felt as though she became the only person who mattered. That was where the difference between them was greatest.

"Miss Tao, you're too kind. You're the beautiful one. How could a businesswoman like me compare with a big star like you?"

"If your fans heard you say that, they'd never forgive me."

Li Ruobing smiled as she joked, but puzzlement rose inside her again. Praising Tao Manying was what a businesswoman ought to do in this situation. Why, then, had Tao Manying started flattering her the moment they met?

Here was a star who had spent years in relative obscurity before suddenly becoming famous. Not only had success not gone to her head, she was even more courteous.

"Miss Tao, please come upstairs."

After a few more pleasantries, Li Ruobing invited Tao Manying to her office.

On the thirty-third floor, Tao Manying saw bodyguards stationed throughout the corridor. A sudden pressure settled over her.

Bodyguards alone would not have affected her; she had plenty of her own, though she had not brought them today. She was not attending an event and naturally wanted to keep a low profile. But combined with Lei Cheng's earlier instructions, the sight made her feel the gap between them.

Women loved to compare themselves with one another, and beautiful women did so all the more.

When it came to family standing, Li Ruobing belonged to the Li Family. Tao Manying had heard of them. She did not know much, but she knew enough to realize she could not compete.

As for looks, Tao Manying had already said she fell a little short of Li Ruobing. It was not her features; her skin simply was not as good as it had been at eighteen or nineteen.

In sheer presence, Li Ruobing overwhelmed her.

Tao Manying did not know why she suddenly felt inadequate. Though she was a star, she felt as if all she had was a pretty face, and that her looks were all anyone cared about.

With Li Ruobing, beauty seemed like an accent, just one source of her radiance rather than the whole of it.

Her bearing and her presence were enough. Simply standing there, she gave people the sense that she was formidable—and impossible to overlook.

If Wu Chen had been there and known what Tao Manying was thinking, he would probably have advised her not to compare herself with Li Ruobing. That woman had far more than beauty. Above all, no woman her age could match the strength that radiated from her very bones. Comparing oneself with Li Ruobing was asking for misery, no matter how beautiful one was.

At the president's office, Li Ruobing expected Tao Manying to bring an assistant inside. Instead, Tao Manying entered alone.

An endorsement involved negotiating money, and going in alone could cause problems, especially for a celebrity.

The main reason stars needed agents was that there were things they could not say themselves without offending people. Yet Tao Manying had come in alone. She had not even brought an agent, and Li Ruobing had no idea why.

"Please, have a seat, Miss Tao." Li Ruobing asked her secretary to bring coffee.

After the secretary left, only Li Ruobing and Tao Manying remained in the office.

Li Ruobing sat behind her desk and smiled at Tao Manying, signaling for her to wait a moment. She took out her phone and called Wu Chen. He answered almost immediately.

"Darling, Miss Tao is here. I thought I'd let you know."

Li Ruobing sounded just like a lovestruck woman. But Wu Chen knew her well enough to hear more than an act put on for Tao Manying. There was a question hidden in her tone.

"Oh," Wu Chen replied blandly.

Li Ruobing really wanted to ask Wu Chen why he had not warned her in advance. Because Wu Chen had said nothing, Tao Manying had been stopped at reception, and Li Ruobing had nearly missed her altogether.

She could not question him outright with someone else present. Wu Chen surely understood why she had called, yet all he gave her was an "oh."

Used on its own, the word might have sounded normal a dozen years ago. Now it was infuriating.

Li Ruobing's brow twitched. As if she had heard Wu Chen say something, she continued, "Mm, all right, darling. I'll get back to work."

She hung up naturally and looked as though their conversation had left her in a wonderful mood.

"You and your husband are so affectionate, President Li. I'm envious."

Tao Manying chose her moment to speak.

Of course, she did not know whether Li Ruobing was married. She did not even know who Li Ruobing's man—the man her godfather Lei Cheng called a good brother—was.

Yesterday, Lei Cheng had told her only that the company belonged to his good brother's woman. He had not explained much, just what he wanted her to do. He had not even asked her to stay the night. Everything had been rushed, as though he had something urgent to handle.

After meeting Li Ruobing today, Tao Manying could tell that a woman like her would not be easily won over. She also came from the powerful Li Family. She could hardly be someone's mistress.

So Tao Manying assumed the man who had asked her godfather for help was Li Ruobing's husband.

She did not think he was merely a boyfriend. Her godfather's brother could not be that young—surely he was in his thirties. Li Ruobing herself was only a few years from thirty. They could not still be dating, could they? Marriage seemed more likely.

Their circles were different, so Tao Manying knew little about the Li Family or Li Ruobing beyond what she had heard. Li Ruobing looked surprised by "husband," then her expression turned odd, as if something had occurred to her. "You misunderstand, Miss Tao. We're not married. We're dating."

Tao Manying apologized, realizing she had misunderstood. "It's fine. We're very happy together. Marriage will come sooner or later."

Tao Manying apologized for her mistake. "It's fine," Li Ruobing said. "We're very happy together. Marriage will come sooner or later."

Then Li Ruobing asked, "By the way, I haven't asked how you met my boyfriend."

Wu Chen had said yesterday that he did not know Tao Manying. Li Ruobing now thought he had lied. If he did not know her, how had he brought her here from Thailand in a single day? Was he some kind of miracle worker?

She suspected not only that Wu Chen had lied, but that he had set a trap to get her to take the bet. She would accept losing; twenty million was worth paying for her company's sake. She certainly would not be jealous—they were not really dating. But they had raised the stakes once. If she lost, she would have to kneel and admit she was wrong.

That was why Li Ruobing wanted to draw the truth out of Tao Manying. If she could prove Wu Chen had lied, she could void the bet. She would still give him the money. She simply did not want to kneel.

Li Ruobing was not someone who reneged on a wager. She just felt certain Wu Chen had deceived her.

"Met him?"

"We haven't."

Tao Manying looked at her.

Li Ruobing's expression changed at once. "You haven't? Wasn't he the one who asked you to come?"

Li Ruobing's expression changed at once. "Well, in a way. My godfather asked me to come."

"Is your boyfriend a brother of yours, President Li?"

"He contacted my godfather, and my godfather sent me."

Tao Manying had risen to fame with Lei Cheng's financial backing. Given their age gap and the need to avoid scandal in the entertainment industry, she referred to him publicly only as her godfather. At that, Li Ruobing knew exactly whom she meant. She knew Lei Cheng existed and that he was Tao Manying's patron.

To people with enough power, that relationship was no secret. It was not even much of a secret in the entertainment industry. Few stars were entirely untouched by such arrangements, and Lei Cheng could hardly have promoted her while keeping his involvement hidden.

"Yes, him."

Tao Manying nodded. Li Ruobing frowned slightly. Wu Chen knew Lei Cheng? They were even brothers? Since when?

Li Ruobing had never dealt with Lei Cheng, but she knew who he was: the younger son of Lei Zhenhui, the Lei Family's red-haired second son. After losing an internal family struggle, he had left for East Sea.

As far as Li Ruobing knew, Lei Cheng was an extremely private tycoon who rarely socialized. He was difficult to approach; anyone who tried usually aroused his suspicion.

Rumor had it that his elder brother had once plotted against him and nearly got him killed. He had lived cautiously ever since.

"President Li, your boyfriend's surname is Wu, isn't it?"

Seeing Li Ruobing's expression, Tao Manying took the initiative and asked.

She did not know Wu Chen's full name, but Lei Cheng had called him "Brother Wu" while giving her instructions. Li Ruobing nodded. That settled it.

Tao Manying smiled. "You don't seem to know how your boyfriend reached me. Perhaps Mr. Wu wanted to surprise you."

Li Ruobing smiled too.

Li Ruobing smiled too.

She had called it a surprise, and it was one. But it had also given her quite a shock.

For nearly an hour afterward, Li Ruobing stopped trying to draw answers out of Tao Manying. She would have to ask Wu Chen later. For now, business came first.

For nearly an hour afterward, she stopped trying to draw answers out of Tao Manying. She would question Wu Chen later. The business at hand came first.

Li Ruobing introduced the company and its upcoming product launch, then asked about Tao Manying's schedule. If future promotions conflicted with her commitments, Illusion Fashion could adjust its plans.

To Li Ruobing's surprise, Tao Manying agreed to everything. Illusion Fashion did not need to change its schedule; she would cooperate fully.

Even when Li Ruobing brought up the endorsement fee, Tao Manying refused to name a figure. She asked Li Ruobing to make an offer, saying they were friends, that a token fee would do, and that her godfather would scold her if she accepted too much.

Li Ruobing was stunned. Just what kind of brothers were Wu Chen and Lei Cheng?

Blood brothers? The negotiations and signing went remarkably smoothly. Before ten that morning, Tao Manying had formally signed an endorsement contract with Illusion Fashion.

Li Ruobing had wanted to pay her the full fee. The favor might have come through Wu Chen, but if she accepted it, she would owe him. Tao Manying would not agree to take that much. In the end, her fee matched that of an ordinary A-list actress—far below what her current popularity commanded.

Tao Manying had a flight to catch back to Thailand for filming, so she left after signing.

Li Ruobing personally escorted her downstairs. They agreed that Tao Manying would return in a week to shoot promotional materials and a video before the launch. She would also attend the event to support Illusion Fashion.

After seeing Tao Manying off, Li Ruobing hurried back to her office. The moment she sat down, she called Wu Chen. He answered after more than ten seconds.

"Where are you?"

Li Ruobing said bluntly, "Can you come to the office?"

Li Ruobing got straight to the point.

"I'm busy. No time."

Wu Chen's breathing sounded strangely uneven.

"Hm?"

Li Ruobing asked again.

Just then, Li Ruobing faintly heard a woman's voice in the background on Wu Chen's end.

"Does that feel good, sir?"

Li Ruobing stood up abruptly and asked again, "Where exactly are you?"

That concludes this installment. Please keep listening!