Lin Zhao had been left waiting in the living room of the mansion's inner courtyard until the early hours of the morning. Finally, Jiang Shanwu, her face glowing, reappeared with Sister Yan. Without much explanation, she instructed Sister Yan to take Lin Zhao home.
Lin Zhao stood up woodenly, about to speak, but Sister Yan had already taken her arm and whispered, "Ms. Chen has agreed. Let's go back."
In a daze, Lin Zhao allowed Sister Yan to guide her out of the mansion and into the Mercedes that had been waiting outside. Sister Yan started the car and left Mao'er Hutong. Only then did she glance at the still-distracted girl in the back seat and, after a pause, said softly, "Lin, don't blame Ms. Chen. She has a lot on her plate and can't handle everything."
Lin Zhao paused, realizing Sister Yan was speaking to her, and shook her head gently. "Sister Yan, I don't blame her."
She was actually grateful that Chen Qing had agreed to help. She wasn't the type of person who thought that just because someone was wealthy, they owed her anything, or that power should automatically be used to help her. That wasn't how things worked.
Seeing that Lin Zhao didn't seem inclined to talk, Sister Yan didn't press further.
When they returned to the courtyard by the south bank of Houhai, Sister Yan thought the day would finally quiet down. However, before the car could enter the underground parking lot through the side gate, three people emerged from a Santana parked at the corner of the street and hurried over.
Sister Yan had no choice but to stop the car. As Lin Zhao was about to get out, Sister Yan stopped her. "Lin, maybe I should talk to them?"
Lin Zhao hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Thank you, Sister Yan."
Sister Yan got out of the car and approached the three.
Lin Dachang, seeing that his daughter hadn't come out but the driver had, immediately asked, "Where's my daughter?"
Sister Yan ignored the middle-aged man she found repulsive and instead addressed the deputy mayor, Jiang. "Sany Group from Changsha will be conducting an inspection of your casting factory. If it meets the standards, they'll place some orders with you. If you run into funding issues, you'll have to secure loans yourselves."
Lin's father, not noticing the deputy mayor's eyes light up at the mention of Sany, frowned in dissatisfaction. "What do you mean, orders? If we could get loans, why would we come to Beijing?"
Sister Yan finally lost her patience and glared at Lin's father. "You need to know when to stop!"
Lin Dachang was taken aback by the driver's audacity. He felt a pang of guilt but quickly tried to brush past her. "I'm not talking to you. I want to speak to my daughter."
This time, it was Deputy Mayor Jiang who grabbed Lin's father and bowed slightly to Sister Yan in apology. "Ms. Yan, I'm sorry. We understand."
Lin's father, who looked down on Sister Yan, was very sensitive to Deputy Mayor Jiang's attitude. Seeing him show such respect to the driver, he immediately shut his mouth.
Seeing Lin's father quiet down, Sister Yan couldn't help but vent a little. She stared at the middle-aged man and said, "Lin got this for you after standing in the cold all night. It wasn't easy for her. Also, this is the capital. Don't act recklessly here. If no one holds you accountable, consider yourself lucky. But if they do, you'll be in deep trouble."
Even as Deputy Mayor Jiang held him back, Lin's father couldn't help but feel embarrassed by the scolding. After all, this was just a driver. He retorted, "How dare you speak to me like that?"
Sister Yan didn't back down. "You should be glad it's just me, a driver, saying this."
Lin's father tried to push past her again. "Let me talk to my daughter. I'm not talking to you."
Sister Yan stood her ground, watching as Deputy Mayor Jiang pulled Lin's father back again. She said coldly, "Go back. Have some dignity and leave yourself some room."
As Sister Yan was about to turn away, Lin's father remembered something. "What about my son? And that movie?"
Sister Yan looked at Deputy Mayor Jiang.
Deputy Mayor Jiang immediately dragged Lin's father back, saying, "Enough, enough." He turned to Lin's father, his tone suddenly stern. "Old Lin, stop making a scene. Listen to me. Let's go!"
Once Deputy Mayor Jiang lost his temper, Lin's father immediately wilted. He glanced back at the Mercedes, resentful that his daughter hadn't given him any face, but allowed himself to be pulled back to the Santana parked at the end of the alley.
Once in the car, Deputy Mayor Jiang instructed the driver to take them back to the guesthouse. Ignoring Lin Dachang beside him, he began to get excited.
It was Sany, after all.
Earlier in the year, the merger of Sany and Zoomlion, two rival companies in the province, had caused quite a stir. But in the end, the integration was completed, and they became the largest construction machinery giant in Hunan. A company like that could easily throw some scraps their way, and it would be more than enough to keep Lin Dachang's struggling casting factory afloat.
Deputy Mayor Jiang quickly had an idea. He should contact the city government immediately and discuss integrating other related businesses in the city to become suppliers for Sany.
If he could pull this off...
Deputy Mayor Jiang felt that it would be easy to remove the "deputy" from his title in the next few years.
He glanced at Lin Dachang, who still hadn't recovered, and began to think. If they really did this integration, it would be a shame to let such a big opportunity fall into this fool's hands. But there was no helping it. He had a good daughter. If the city tried to cut him out, this idiot might just quit, and that would be counterproductive.
Of course, they couldn't let him have free rein either. It would be best to send a capable assistant to prop Lin Dachang up while keeping him in check.
Someone this stupid should be easy to manage.
Deputy Mayor Jiang grew more and more excited. This was the quickest and most direct way to achieve political success. Compared to this, failing to secure the film project to boost tourism was nothing. He wasn't in charge of that area anyway. Even if it succeeded, he would only get a small share of the credit.
On the other side.
After the day's chaos, Lin Zhao entered the mansion. Following Jiang Shanwu's earlier instructions, Sister Yan called for a maid to help Lin Zhao take a hot bath and had the chef prepare some ginger soup to ward off the cold. Only after confirming that Lin Zhao had recovered somewhat after drinking the hot soup did Sister Yan leave to rest.
She couldn't help but think that it was all a matter of fate.
Some people were born to be ladies, while others could only be maids.
But Sister Yan didn't hold any resentment. She could tell that among the group of girls in the mansion, Lin Zhao, despite her proud appearance, was actually the kindest.
It was also a bit of a pity.
Good people were often taken advantage of, especially by their own families, which was even more heartbreaking.
In the suite shared by Lin Zhao and Xia Panxi, after everyone else had left, Xia Panxi thoughtfully continued to busy herself until Lin Zhao had changed into her pajamas and gotten into bed. Only then did she go to wash up.
Compared to the other girls in the mansion, Xia Panxi, who had borrowed ten thousand yuan, had a rough idea of what had happened that day.
She felt a little hopeful.
Because of her different life experiences, she could understand how family matters could wear a person down, even destroy them. Among the nine girls in the mansion, her roommate was not only clearly favored by Ms. Chen but was also the only one who had met the big boss. Her advantage was too great.
If only... she could immediately eliminate her strongest competitor.
That would be so good.
At Mao'er Hutong.
Chen Qing woke up in her suite on the underground floor, feeling a bit guilty as she noticed Wei Mu and Zhang Aicao on either side of her.
Had she just outdone her boss in terms of recklessness?
She instructed Jiang Shanwu to quietly send the mother and daughter back to Wenyu River. After her workout and shower, Chen Qing sat down in the dining room. When Jiang Yuancheng mentioned that Zhu Momo and Mo Yiling had moved back in last night, she had them called over for breakfast to discuss some matters.
Zhu Momo arrived in the inner courtyard, looking quite spirited as she greeted Chen Qing.
Her mother had only stayed in Beijing for a day, having dinner with her and her aunt before returning to Suzhou. The fact that she hadn't mentioned anything about the situation here was a good sign.
Zhu Momo wasn't stupid.
There were only two possibilities: either her mother really didn't know, which Zhu Momo thought was unlikely, or she was tacitly allowing it. Given her mother's wisdom, the latter seemed more plausible.
If that was the case, it meant her mother had tacitly approved of her relationship with Simon.
No more sneaking around, being cautious, or feeling anxious.
Ah, so good.
Mo Wuling was also relieved. With so many siblings in her family, her eldest sister had always had a profound influence on her, to the point where her personality had been shaped in imitation of her sister's.
But she knew it was just an imitation.
Like countless cases throughout history where strong fathers had weak sons, because the father was too dominant, the sons often turned out weaker. In their Mo family, because the eldest sister was so dominant, the younger siblings inevitably had weaker personalities. She, the youngest sister, was actually one of the better ones. Her second and third sisters were like quails in front of their eldest sister.
With everyone in a good mood, the breakfast atmosphere was even more relaxed.
During breakfast, Chen Qing had the maid play two recently recorded songs that had been brought back from Jinshu the day before: "Youth Without Regrets" and "You at the Same Table."
Zhu Momo, the academic underachiever, simply thought they sounded nice. Mo Wuling, who had just graduated from university the previous year and had a high level of cultural literacy, felt much more deeply. Listening to the poetic lyrics of "Youth Without Regrets," she was reminded of her experiences in university, high school, and even middle school. She even felt her nose tingling, on the verge of tears.
So good.
Then she realized something and tentatively asked Chen Qing, "Sister Chen, these two songs... they weren't written by him, were they?"
Chen Qing smiled and countered, "Who's 'him'?"
Mo Wuling, sensing the teasing in Chen Qing's tone, felt too embarrassed to press further.
Zhu Momo, however, had no such reservations. Her eyes widened. "These two songs were written by Simon too? Simon is amazing."
Chen Qing nodded with a smile, then turned to Mo Wuling, who was clearly listening intently. "Actually, these are theme songs the boss prepared for a movie. Since you're interested in writing scripts, maybe you could give this a try. The boss has already named the movie 'To Our Youth That Is Fading Away.' After breakfast, I'll have Shanwu give you the materials."
Before Mo Wuling could respond, Zhu Momo remembered "Yu Xi Tan" and asked, "Sister Chen, have you read my aunt's script?"
Chen Qing nodded without hesitation. "It's too literary, but there are many ideas in it that could be useful in the future. That's why I want Wuling to write 'To Our Youth.' This story needs a more literary touch. By the way, Wuling, you don't mind if only part of that script is used, do you?"
"Sister Chen, I don't mind."
Mo Wuling quickly shook her head, then realized that might not be the right response and nodded instead. In the end, she decided not to overthink it. She had only been testing the waters with her writing and hadn't expected much. If some of it could be used, that would be great.
However, Mo Wuling couldn't help but think of Ren Jingxi again and felt useless.
They had started from similar places, but Jingxi had already completed a TV series and was preparing for her second project. Meanwhile, she was still writing scripts. In fact, she had tried writing several scripts, not just the one about the Chu-Han contention in "Yu Xi Tan," but none had gone anywhere.
Maybe she was just one of those people who were all talk and no action, never able to accomplish anything.
Or maybe her life was just too comfortable now.
Chen Qing smiled slightly, feeling a bit mischievous. Neither of the two girls seemed to have noticed that they were both calling her "Sister Chen."
In terms of age, that was correct.
She was older than both of them.
But in terms of seniority, it was a bit off.
Of course, she wouldn't point that out. Instead, she continued, "In that case, Wuling, do you want to give 'To Our Youth' a try?"
Mo Wuling hesitated for a moment but quickly made up her mind. "Sister Chen, this time... can you let me handle it completely?"
Regarding "Yu Xi Tan," she knew that because it had been assigned by someone important, Jinshu had taken it very seriously, inviting a group of famous writers and screenwriters to collaborate on it.
Mo Wuling didn't dare hope for much with "Yu Xi Tan," but this time, after hearing the poetic "Youth Without Regrets" and drawing from her own experiences, she felt that she might... have a good chance of doing well.
Chen Qing didn't hesitate much. "Sure," she said, adding, "If you do a good job, you could even take on the role of producer and do more in the future."
Mo Wuling nodded. "Sister Chen, I'll do my best."
Chen Qing then turned to Zhu Momo. "Momo, I've met a few of your classmates from the Central Academy of Drama. I think their looks and temperaments would suit the theme of 'To Our Youth.' Maybe they could give it a try later."
This time, it was Zhu Momo's turn to feel guilty.
She had befriended and drawn in those female classmates, but not with entirely pure intentions.
Unfortunately, the last time a certain man had come and gone in a hurry, she had been in Europe.
When Chen Qing brought it up, Zhu Momo tried to act calm and thanked her. "Sister Chen, I'll thank you on their behalf."
"No need to thank me," Chen Qing said. "Have them meet Sister Guan when they have time and sign a contract with Jinshu's talent agency. I'll make this clear: if they don't sign a contract, we won't give them any roles."
"I understand," Zhu Momo nodded, then smiled and probed, "Sister Chen, do you think I could play a role too?"
Chen Qing refused. "Don't be silly. You're too striking. If you were in the movie, everyone would just be looking at you, and it would ruin the whole 'youth' vibe."
Zhu Momo didn't push it. It was a compliment, after all. She grinned, showing off her white teeth, and chuckled.
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