During the Chinese New Year, the Jiang family would give the nanny a few days off, so the cooking duties would naturally fall to Jiang's father.
Jiang Lai was putting on her shoes in the entryway when she heard her father's voice. She turned around and replied, "Dad, I'm going to see the snow."
"Don't catch a cold!"
Don't worry!
Pushing open the door, a gust of cold wind rushed in through my collar, making me shiver.
Jiang Lai put on gloves, squeezed the snow into a ball, and looked at her masterpiece with satisfaction. Then she squeezed another ball, stacked the two balls together, and made a super mini snowman with the eyes still being pebbles picked up from the ground.
She took a picture and sent it to Lin Zhi, waiting for praise.
Lin Zhi had just woken up when she opened her phone and saw the picture her child had sent her. She couldn't help but smile; her beautiful day began with the child's adorable snowman.
She drew back the curtains. It had indeed snowed heavily last night; the snow on the ground was ankle-deep. City A hadn't seen such heavy snowfall in a long time.
She made a video call to the child, but it took a long time for the child to answer. In the video, she could only see the child's face; the background and everything else were invisible.
"Did you go downstairs to play in the snow?" Lin Zhi asked with a smile.
Jiang Lai nodded, holding her phone up to her face, afraid that Lin Zhi would see the villa behind her and recognize where she was.
This was one of the New Year's gifts she prepared for Lin Zhi; she would tell her about it on the day the movie was released.
Jiang Lai hesitated for a long time, and after much deliberation, she decided to tell Lin Zhi. Firstly, Lin Zhi wouldn't tell anyone else this secret and would protect it very well. Secondly, she didn't want there to be any secrets between her and Lin Zhi.
"Yes, sister, have you seen the little snowman I made?"
"I saw it, it's very cute. After you finish playing, hurry back inside, drink some ginger water to ward off the cold, and don't get sick."
"Okay! What about you? What are you going to do when you get up later?"
Lin Zhi thought for a moment and realized that she really didn't know what to do. Before, the company was in a period of growth and was not stable. Even during the New Year, she would work with her computer. Now that the company is stable, the business is expanding, and it has started to make money, she doesn't need to do many things herself. She can save time to help her mother with chores.
Lin Zhi wiped her face to shake off her sleepiness, but her voice was still languid: "I don't know, maybe I'll have to help my mom cook."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Lai clicked her tongue twice: "Don't blow up the kitchen."
Lin Zhi immediately sobered up, sat up and scolded her: "You little brat, my cooking skills have improved a lot now, okay?"
Jiang Lai raised an eyebrow: "For example?"
Lin Zhi: "I can cook rice now."
After a two-second silence, Jiang Lai suddenly burst into laughter, making Lin Zhi so angry that she wanted to hang up the phone.
After preparing breakfast, Jiang's father called his wife and then came out to call his daughter. He looked around but couldn't see her, so he shouted, "Lai Lai! Where have you been? Come back and eat!"
The father's voice reached Jiang Lai's ears and also reached the phone's microphone. Lin Zhi was stunned for a long time after hearing that voice, feeling that it was familiar.
"Sister, I'm going to eat now, bye-bye."
"Hey Jiang Lai, should I go visit your aunt and uncle?"
Jiang Lai paused for a moment, her smile becoming somewhat stiff: "Let's wait a few days, they've been a bit busy these past few days."
I'm mainly busy, and I haven't figured out how to say it yet.
Lin Zhi said "oh," and reminded her to inform her in advance so that she could make preparations. Even when friends visit someone else's home, they should still be polite.
Jiang Lai brushed it off vaguely, quickly ended the chat, and breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the person disappear from the screen.
That was terrifying; I almost lost my way. Luckily, I'm a professional actor.
Back in her room, Jiang Lai brushed the snow off her shoulders in the entryway, took off her coat, put on slippers, and followed the aroma of breakfast to the dining table to sit down.
Min Xuehua rolled her eyes when she saw her daughter: "How old are you? Still want to play in the snow?"
Jiang Lai sat down, took a bowl of porridge, and drank it. The chill in her body was instantly dispelled. "I'm only in my early twenties. You like flowers too, and you ask Dad to give them to you every Valentine's Day."
Jiang's father took off his apron and sat down next to his wife. The two were very affectionate: "I gave it to you willingly, unlike you, a single dog."
Jiang Lai paused, her hand still holding the food. She felt like she wasn't drinking porridge, but dog food.
The slang used online is having a very negative impact on the elderly!
Confiscate your phone!
Jiang Lai: "How did you know I'm single?"
The elderly couple exchanged a glance, put down their chopsticks, moved chairs and sat down next to their daughter, surrounding her from both sides, making it impossible for her to run away.
Min Xuehua's eyes widened: "Who is it? Does Mom know him? Is he in or out of the entertainment industry? Is the young man handsome? What's his character like?"
Jiang's father clicked his tongue and complained, "You've already asked all that, what else do I need to ask?"
Min Xuehua: "It doesn't matter who asks."
Jiang Lai ignored the two men's incessant chatter in her ear and calmly drank her porridge. After finishing her breakfast, she took out a tissue to wipe her mouth and said, "I'll tell you when my aunt comes."
Jiang Lai remained calm and composed, leaving behind a vague remark before departing. The two of them paced back and forth downstairs, neither of them eating.
Min Xuehua: "Go, go, quickly call Wanqiu over and give her half an hour."
Jiang's father was in a dilemma; they had originally planned to meet at noon, but it was only nine o'clock now.
"Isn't it too early?"
"What do you mean 'early'? Your daughter now considers Wanqiu her confidante and tells her everything. If you don't call Wanqiu over, how will you know who your daughter is dating? It's strange, though, how come Xiaozhi is letting Lailai date?"
"Why don't you ask your student? I'll call Wanqiu now, and we can do it both ways?"
"Okay, okay, okay!"
Lin Zhi had just finished washing up and came out of the bathroom. She took the breakfast her mother had prepared to her father's bedroom. The two exchanged only a few words before running out of things to say. Lin Zhi was too lazy to say anything more, so she asked about his health briefly and then left.
As soon as she stepped outside, Lin's mother came over with her ringing phone: "Xiaozhi, your teacher called you. Is she asking for money?"
Lin Zhi felt a pang of sadness seeing her mother's cautious demeanor: "Mom, I've returned all the money to the teacher, don't worry."
"That's good, that's good. Answer the phone quickly, in case there's any emergency, you'll have to help."
Lin Zhi nodded and walked to the window to answer the phone: "Hello? Teacher."
Min Xuehua's voice sounded somewhat excited, as if something urgent had happened: "Xiao Zhi, is your company strict about managing the private lives of its artists now?"
Lin Zhi stood by the window, propping her elbows up. She didn't quite understand what the teacher was saying: "Which aspect are you referring to?"
Min Xuehua: "It's about emotions. Let me give you an example, let's take Jiang Lai as an example."
"Hmm..." Lin Zhi was still completely confused.
"If Jiang Lai were to date a boy, would you find out? If you did, would you try to stop her?"
Lin Zhi was taken aback, and her heart suddenly started pounding.
Why would the teacher ask that? Was it just an analogy, or did the teacher know something? But even if the teacher knew Jiang Lai had a relationship, shouldn't they have asked Jiang Lai, not her? ...Could it be because she's Jiang Lai's boss?
But how should I answer that?
Isn't this like asking a thief: "Did you see anyone stealing something?"
Although this analogy isn't perfect, it's certainly quite apt.
Lin Zhi's face felt a little hot, she didn't know if it was from feeling guilty or something else.
"Teacher, our company doesn't really interfere with our artists' romantic relationships. Jiang Lai is an actress, not an idol, so she can have boyfriends. We just don't know she has a boyfriend yet. If we find out, we'll keep it a secret for now, since she's still a newcomer. We'll let her announce it once things have settled down."
All that talk sounded like nonsense to Min Xuehua, but in short, Lin Zhi didn't know if Jiang Lai had a boyfriend.
Min Xuehua said regretfully, "So that's how it is."
"What's wrong? Why are you suddenly asking this?"
Min Xuehua was very cunning and quickly came up with an excuse: "Oh, it's nothing. It's just that a relative of mine has a child who is planning to enter the entertainment industry after graduating from university. He's worried that his dating life will be hindered, so he asked me. I don't know either, so I'm asking you."
Lin Zhi took a deep breath, puzzled: Really... I don't know? Didn't Jiang Yingdi retire from acting and start managing an entertainment company?
Although she thought this in her heart, she didn't say anything: "If you have any other questions, you can let her contact me directly. Every company has a different operating model, and other companies may care more about this."
"Okay, thank you, Xiaozhi. Come visit us after the New Year when you have time."
"good."
Just as Lin Zhi was about to hang up, she heard Min Xuehua say "Mom" from the other end of the line. The voice was so familiar that by the time she wanted to hear it again, Min Xuehua had already hung up.
Mother?
Hasn't the teacher never had any children?
And why does that voice sound so much like Jiang Lai's?
Lin Zhi shook her head, dismissing the strange idea. It was utter nonsense. Jiang Lai's parents were self-employed, probably just running a small shop. Min Xuehua and her husband, on the other hand, were a group CEO and a famous director and professor, respectively. Apart from sharing the same surname, none of them matched. It was probably a relative's child from the teacher's family calling her "Mom."
If Jiang Lai were truly Min Xuehua's daughter, why would she have cared about her meager savings before? Not to mention that bag; the bag she bought with her meager savings was probably only equivalent to someone else's monthly allowance.
Could it be that she's so desperate for money that she wants to marry into a wealthy family?
She laughed at her own foolishness, put her phone on the coffee table, and turned to go to the kitchen to help her mother wash vegetables.
No matter how good a wealthy family is, it's not as good as her child.
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Author's Note:
You can't have your cake and eat it too, but you can have both a wealthy family and a life of luxury.
Chapter 65
Jiang Wanqiu is a rather easygoing person. Her work hours are irregular, and on national holidays she indulges herself by not getting up until lunchtime. She doesn't live like someone in their early forties, but rather like a young girl in her twenties or thirties.
Jiang Lai grew up under Jiang Wanqiu's care, developing excellent culinary skills at a young age. This was all thanks to Jiang Wanqiu, who helped create the little princess who doesn't have any princess syndrome.
At ten o'clock, the time when Jiang Wanqiu should have just gotten up, she was already dressed and ready to go out.
She didn't want to get up so early, but Jiang Chuanmin wouldn't let her go, calling one after another, saying it was something extremely urgent, and practically dragging Jiang Wanqiu out of bed.
Upon arriving at the villa, Jiang Chuanmin saw a vehicle enter through the surveillance camera, then put on his clothes and went out to pick up the person.
As soon as Jiang Wanqiu got out of the car and locked the door, she turned around and saw her brother's wrinkled face, which startled her.
"Hey bro, what are you doing?"