My maternal grandfather's name is Ji Hongchen, he is 69 years old and is the chairman of Huanling Group. He has a daughter named Ji Rong, who is Lin Leyao's mother. Lin Leyao is Ji Hongchen's only biological granddaughter.
Lin Leyao had never met her maternal grandfather before she was eleven years old, and she didn't even know that there was a maternal grandfather who loved her very much. It wasn't until her father passed away when she was eleven that her mother, who had eloped with her father for more than ten years, returned home to apologize to her maternal grandfather, and only then did her maternal grandfather take the mother and daughter back home.
Even after bringing his daughter and granddaughter back to live with him, Ji Hongchen still developed an insurmountable rift with his once beloved daughter. The father and daughter lacked intimacy, while Ji Hongchen devoted a lot of effort and love to Lin Leyao.
As Lin Leyao grew up, she gradually learned about the things her mother had done when she was young.
Ji Hongchen started from scratch. He suffered a lot during his time as a sent-down youth, but it was in the countryside that he met his maternal grandmother. Unlike his educated grandfather, who was from the city, his grandmother, although the daughter of the brigade accountant, had never been to school. However, she was simple and kind, which was what attracted his grandfather's attention.
After my maternal grandfather was admitted to university, my maternal grandmother followed him and left the countryside for a big city. While my grandfather studied at the university, my maternal grandmother worked to support the family. It was during this period that my maternal grandmother's health deteriorated. After giving birth to Ji Rong, she suffered several miscarriages during her subsequent pregnancies, ultimately leaving her with only Ji Rong as her only child.
After graduating from university, my grandfather worked as a teacher for several years before seizing an opportunity to resign and start his own business. After suffering many setbacks, he finally achieved great success.
Because Ji Rong was his only daughter, Ji Hongchen was very accommodating to her every request. Even though the family was extremely poor in the first few years after Ji Rong was born, Ji Hongchen still tried his best to meet her needs.
But when Ji Rong was twenty-one, she did something earth-shattering. She met a street rock singer, and despite strong opposition from her grandparents, she eloped with him.
My maternal grandmother suffered from health problems when she was young, and her health was already quite poor. Her daughter's elopement incident caused her to become bedridden, and she passed away a year later. My maternal grandfather was furious about this and didn't contact his daughter for over ten years.
In the two years following her father's passing, although she was caught between her maternal grandfather and mother and often felt a subtle atmosphere, both of them loved her dearly, and she loved them very much. Lin Leyao felt that she would grow up happily and joyfully in this life.
But when she was twelve, a year after her father's death, and after her mother remarried her uncle, Lin Leyao's expectations were completely shattered.
Later, an accident occurred while she was in school. Her mother, stepfather, and stepsister moved out of the Ji family mansion, while Lin Leyao stayed in the old house with her maternal grandfather. Because of this accident, Ji Hongchen kept all of Lin Leyao's information a secret. Lin Leyao was never disturbed and grew up quietly. Because of her surname Lin, many people do not know that Lin Leyao is a child of the Ji family.
As time went by, Lin Leyao and Ji Rong's relationship grew further and further apart, and now, her grandfather has become the person she cares about most.
Lin Leyao was completely terrified when her grandfather was suddenly admitted to the ICU. After being rescued, Ji Hongchen was in a coma for a week. When he regained consciousness, he was paralyzed on one side of his body.
During the time she stayed with him at the hospital, Lin Leyao learned that Huanling Group had encountered serious cash flow problems that year. Her grandfather had been busy with his business and had been trying to find ways to make up for the losses. Although he had done a lot of work, many projects could no longer be carried out, and the company had suffered a lot of losses. In addition, her grandfather was getting old and his workload had increased dramatically this year, which made him anxious and he fell ill.
It was at this time that Lin Leyao learned that many of the films she had made over the years were secretly funded by her grandfather, who had quietly helped her a lot on her acting career.
After falling ill, Ji Hongchen was paralyzed on one side of his body, bringing all work to a standstill. Although he hired professional managers to carry out the company's various tasks, this was only a temporary measure. Especially since Huanling Group had suffered a severe blow, there were many companies eyeing it covetously, and the internal shareholders were also arguing. Ji Hongchen had to find a trustworthy person as soon as possible to revitalize the group.
One evening, after the visitors from the day had left, the VIP ward was very quiet. Just then, a special guest arrived.
Xin Guangjin, chairman of Huanning Group, turned seventy this year. Two months ago, he celebrated his seventieth birthday. Many entrepreneurs from all over the country and even Hong Kong and Macao attended the banquet, which is enough to prove Xin Guangjin's status in the business world.
Xin Guangjin's ancestral home is in Guangdong. When he was thirteen, his family was so poor that they planned to give him away, so he impulsively smuggled himself to Hong Kong. He initially made a living by scavenging garbage, and later, as he grew older, he started working as a porter at the docks. His business career began with building his own fleet at sea.
Visiting a patient at night was an odd choice. If he hadn't been so friendly and sincere when he arrived, Ji Hongchen would have thought he was there to acquire the company.
Xin Guangjin didn't exchange many pleasantries and quickly explained his purpose: he proposed a marriage alliance with the Ji family.
Logically, to save the company, Ji Hongchen should be begging for a marriage alliance, but unexpectedly, Xin Guangjin came in person and took the initiative to propose it. Xin Guangjin immediately produced a stack of contracts, all of which stipulated that the Xin family would absolutely not seize the Ji family's property after the marriage alliance, and would also help the Ji family overcome its difficulties.
When Xin Guangjin was young, he married two wives in Hong Kong. His first wife had four sons, and his second wife had two sons and a daughter. Of the six sons, four survived. His only daughter, Xin Ying, was born when Xin Guangjin was forty years old and was the youngest child in the family.
Xin Guangjin doted on Xin Ying. When she was little, he would do anything for her, even the stars and the moon. When she grew up, he directly brought her into the company and made her the president of Huanning Group. She was the most powerful and most likely successor among the Xin family's children.
Ji Hongchen also knew Xin Ying. Although she was young, she was shrewd in the business world and had sharp judgment. She was a woman who was far more capable than any man.
Ji Hongchen did not agree on the spot. Later, because the Xin family's butler frequently came and went in the ward, Lin Leyao learned about the matter. She took the initiative to find her grandfather and agreed to the marriage.
After the marriage was confirmed, the grandfather's health gradually improved, perhaps due to the reduction of his worries. He was discharged from the hospital and returned home when he regained sensation in the paralyzed side of his body. The day after his discharge, Xin Ying personally paid him a visit.
It was at that time that Lin Leyao no longer found out through online searches, but saw in person this woman who, at only thirty years old, frequently appeared in financial magazines and was hailed as a "business genius" and a "prodigy."
Chapter 3
A sudden knocking sounded at the door, and the program's director came to inform her, "Ms. Lin, you can go to the studio now to prepare."
In a short period of time, the events of the past few months flashed through her mind. The sudden knocking startled Lin Leyao awake, and she quickly replied, "Okay."
The program invited four guests, two women and two men, who were paired with the program's host to perform different styles of dances as the opening dance.
The intermission lasted half an hour. During this time, some artists went to the restroom, others touched up their makeup, and some artists and hosts stayed on stage and chatted.
During the recording of the variety show that Lin Leyao was filming, many audience members went to the restroom during the intermission, making the entire studio noisy.
Because of the short break, Lin Leyao went back to the lounge to change into a sports outfit suitable for playing games next, and then went straight back to the studio.
On stage, staff members were setting up game props. In the corner on the right side of the stage, artists Lu Tong and Chen Zhixing were chatting with the host. Lin Leyao did not join them. She stood quietly to the side of the stage, tilting her slender neck as Yu Yu touched up her makeup.
Lin Leyao was standing very close to the front row of the audience. Although the studio was noisy, she heard every word of the conversation between the fans in the audience.
"Holy crap, Tang Ran is trending on social media again with another scandal!"
"Really? This is the fourth time this month, right? What did you film?"
"This time it's for real! The paparazzi have photographed her kissing a woman. Tang Ran is a former idol from a talent show, and even though her limited-time group has disbanded, she can't be this unruly! One minute she's rumored to be dating a man, the next she's rumored to be dating a woman. This woman is really arrogant!"
"But her professional skills are among the top three female idols. Although she was marginalized by the company and group because of her relationship right after her debut, she is now the lead singer of a rock band after the group disbanded and is doing very well. Her fans are also very loyal."
"Otherwise, how could Tang Ran and Lin Leyao become good friends? They're the same kind of people, and their fans are all idiots. These two fan groups are the least popular in the fandom. Nobody wants their idol to have any contact with either of them."
"That's because you like idols, I follow actors. I would be quite happy if my idol could work with Lin Leyao. It's much better to kiss a beautiful actress with great acting skills in a drama than to kiss an ugly, wooden person."
"Tsk." The fan who was refuted curled her lip. She didn't argue with her friend about the topic. She quietly stuffed her phone back into her sleeve and said, "We can't play anymore. Otherwise, if security finds out we brought electronic devices in, we'll be kicked out. I've taken a photoshoot for Song Min's fan club. I'll save the battery now because we're going to film a video of Song Min later."
The conversation between the two fans ended there. Assistant Xiaomi, who was standing closer to the audience, overheard their entire conversation. She heard how they criticized Lin Leyao and also heard them say that Lin Leyao and Tang Ran were good friends.
Xiao Mi looked anxious and her mind was filled with complicated emotions. As far as she knew, her artist and Tang Ran were not only not good friends, but more like enemies. Because of this, Tang Ran had stolen Lin Leyao's girlfriend.
Xiaomi cautiously glanced at Lin Leyao's expression, and seeing her calm demeanor, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. That's right, someone who didn't even flinch when catching her girlfriend kissing someone else wouldn't react much to such a small matter.
Xiaomi had only been Lin Leyao's assistant for a year, and had only actually worked alongside Lin Leyao for half a year. During the remaining six months, because Lin Leyao's resources were significantly downgraded, Xiaomi did not work alongside Lin Leyao much.
However, through six months of living together and careful observation, she saw that Lin Leyao was always indifferent to everything. Apart from her grandfather, she had never seen Lin Leyao have any strong emotions towards anyone else, and she did not show any emotional fluctuations even when faced with her ex-girlfriend's infidelity.
Thinking about all this, Xiaomi gradually felt relieved.
Lin Leyao remained completely calm despite hearing these complaints. She didn't care about what these people were saying, whether it was insults directed at her or about Tang Ran herself.
When she first entered the entertainment industry, perhaps because she was young, her worldview was black and white. If someone insulted her for no reason or threw mud at her for no reason, she would definitely get to the bottom of it to clear her name. But often, once the mud was thrown at her, it was too late to undo it. Even if she tried her best to clean it up, that spot had already been stained by others, and that stain caused by others became her "black material" in other people's mouths.
Lin Leyao was criticized from the very beginning of her career, and the criticism lasted for five years. At its worst, the haters would block her face and verbally abuse her, telling her to stay away from their idol. Since she hasn't become depressed over the years, she has naturally developed an immunity to these insults.
As for Tang Ran—
Although this person cheated on her, surprisingly, she didn't feel much anger at the time. She severed ties with her ex with light but firm words. But for some reason, how could someone who was a mistress be so brazen? Instead of pursuing the matter, the woman verbally attacked her the next time she happened to see them on a date.
Although Lin Leyao didn't care about this mistress, it didn't mean she would allow Tang Ran to take advantage of her.
However, this chance encounter took an unexpected turn. Because of this unexpected turn of events, coupled with the subsequent actions of Tang Ran's team, unsuspecting netizens actually thought that Lin Leyao and Tang Ran were friends.
That day, Lin Leyao went to a restaurant and happened to sit at the next table with her ex-boyfriend, Tang Ran. At that time, Tang Ran made a provocative remark, and Lin Leyao retorted. The photo of the two of them staring at each other and competing was taken by other diners and uploaded to the Internet.
For some reason, despite the tense atmosphere, a customer captured a bright smile on Lin Leyao's face. Later, Tang Ran's team released a press release saying that the two were friends for many years, but had broken up three years ago because Lin Leyao accidentally exposed Tang Ran's relationship. They have recently reconciled.
Three years ago, an accident occurred during Lin Leyao's live stream, inadvertently exposing the relationship between Tang Ran and actor Lin Jiashu. This was common knowledge online, and because of this incident, many of Lin Jiashu's and Tang Ran's fans became Lin Leyao's haters, leading to inevitable clashes between their fan groups. Because the press release from Tang Ran's team was so convincing, many onlookers believed the rumor that Lin Leyao and Tang Ran were once close friends after this photo surfaced.
After Tang Ran's team released the press release, Lin Leyao remembered that Xiao Yan was furious for several days, constantly calling Tang Ran's team trash, disgusting, and trying to ride on her coattails.
Lin Leyao knew perfectly well why Tang Ran's team had released this press release. After all, what could attract more attention and discussion than a drama where a close friend exposes her relationship, causing her career to suffer setbacks and her recent decline?
Their team felt that Lin Leyao had no background and that everyone was in the same industry, so they wouldn't completely fall out in front of the camera. Therefore, they recklessly used Lin Leyao to generate buzz.
It's a pity. Tang Ran's team probably thought that public opinion would be on their side because of the incident she did during her live stream three years ago when they decided to generate buzz. Judging from the current situation, Tang Ran's agent probably doesn't know that their artist cheated on them.
·
The recording of the second half of the show started quickly. After the game segment ended, Tang Ran took the thermos cup from Xiao Mi and glanced at the audience. She was surprised to find that the girl who had complained about her earlier was not in her seat.
As the variety show continued to be recorded until the end, Lin Leyao noticed on stage that the girl had not returned to the audience.
At the same time, a prominent fan of Lin Leyao's Weibo super topic posted a Weibo post.
iYao, protecting her beloved daughter: [My darling daughter went to record "Happy Sunday" today. There, some idiot paparazzi was talking badly about her. I went straight to security, and they found electronic devices on her and kicked her out. Damn it, another day of protecting my daughter.]
Lin Leyao has been in the industry for five years. Although she has a lot of haters, she also has just as many fans as any idol, most of whom are die-hard fans.
As soon as this popular fan posted on Weibo, the comments section immediately responded enthusiastically, quickly exceeding 5,000+.
My beloved Yao: [Waaaaah, my mom really went to the scene! My wife has been resting for the past six months, and she just came back to work by recording this variety show. I've swooned over the photos the fan site took of her going to work today a million times.]
Perfect Wife Lin Leyao: [How can there be so many idiots? If I were there, I would definitely smash their dog heads in!]
linleyao520: [There are too many maggots and idiots online these days, constantly being swayed by rumors. My wife is so wonderful, and all they do is bully her!]
It's Yao Yao: [Sister, sister, how many clothes did you change into today? What perfume did you wear? Did you show your shoulders, legs, or collarbone? Do you smell nice?]
...
Lin Leyao was completely unaware of this matter at the time.
The recording of the show ended late at night. Lin Leyao did not linger and rushed to the airport in her nanny car.
Since her grandfather fell ill, she has stayed in the old house to stay by his side. Now that she is in another province to record a variety show, she wants to get back to her grandfather's side as soon as possible.
Inside the van, Lin Leyao had already changed into casual clothes. It was early autumn, and Lin Leyao was wearing a light gray V-neck thin wool sweater and light-colored skinny jeans. It was a very ordinary outfit, but on Lin Leyao, it perfectly accentuated her curves, making her look comfortable and alluring.
Lin Leyao sat in the back seat. The car was dimly lit, and the light from her phone screen shone on her face, illuminating her profile. Her curled eyelashes cast a shadow on her eyelids.
Lin Leyao opened Weibo, and Tang Ran's scandal was still trending. With a light tap of her finger, the entire trending page appeared before Lin Leyao's eyes.
Although the lighting was dim in the paparazzi photos, Lin Leyao could still tell that the woman kissing Tang Ran was her ex.
This was somewhat unexpected for Lin Leyao.
Although Lin Leyao doesn't attend private gatherings within the entertainment industry, it doesn't mean she doesn't have friends in the industry. Through these people, she also knows some gossip about the industry.
Just as many netizens believe, Tang Ran changes partners more frequently than she changes clothes. Once she likes someone, she will pursue them relentlessly. After dating for a few months, she will break up with them and move on to the next one once her interest fades.
Lin Leyao did the math in her head. It had been eight months since she discovered the two of them kissing. Tang Ran and Xin Wenwen had been dating for eight months, which was truly astonishing.
Tang Ran couldn't help but recall the scene when she met Tang Ran and Xin Wenwen on their date that day.
That day, Lin Leyao unexpectedly sat at the next table with these two people. She didn't give them much attention and ate her meal quietly. However, Xin Wenwen was probably a little ashamed and embarrassed to face Lin Leyao. After Tang Ran said a few words to her, she didn't respond.
Perhaps because Xin Wenwen seemed lost in thought, a stark contrast to her usual behavior, Tang Ran assumed it was due to Lin Leyao's presence, which caused her to suddenly act out. She got up, walked to Xin Wenwen's side, hooked her arm around hers, and asked in a coquettish voice, "So you used to like small breasts? Do you think small breasts are better, or big breasts?"
Xin Wenwen was terrified by her blunt words, choking on her food and coughing violently. Many people in the restaurant noticed this, and Lin Leyao looked over to see Tang Ran staring intently at her with a provocative expression.
"Idiot." That's exactly what Lin Leyao was thinking at the time, and that's what she said.
Tang Ran had been keeping an eye on Lin Leyao. Although Lin Leyao spoke softly, she immediately heard those two words.
She immediately sat up in the chair, the base of which slid to the ground with a grating "squeak."
"you--"
Just as Tang Ran was about to say something, Xin Wenwen suddenly stood up and pulled Tang Ran away from the restaurant.