Xin Yuan checked Weibo again and muttered to herself, "I didn't expect Sister Wenwen to know Lin Leyao. I need to ask her to get me some autographs. Quite a few boys in our class like her..."
"Alright." Xin Yuan's words were suddenly interrupted by Xin Ying. "I'll have my assistant take you back to the Xin residence. Tomorrow, you'd better behave yourself and take the plane home. Don't wander around and worry your dad!"
After speaking, Xin Ying called the waiter to settle the bill. Xin Yuan originally wanted to cheat and stay outside a little longer, but seeing Xin Ying's serious expression, she immediately shut up and obediently listened to Xin Ying's arrangements, following Kong Anqing back to the Xin residence.
An hour later, after successfully delivering Xin Yuan to the Xin residence, Kong Anqing immediately returned to the company to report to Xin Ying.
Upon entering the CEO's office, Kong Anqing was surprised to find that CEO Xin was not working at his desk today, but instead was looking down at his phone, and his expression looked quite displeased.
The files on the table were piled up as high as when he left. Has Mr. Xin not worked at all in the past hour?
Kong Anqing was quite surprised. What could have caused such a change in the workaholic? Could it be Lin Leyao?
When Kong Anqing first met the legendary Mrs. Xin at the apartment, her mind went blank and she didn't recognize who the person in front of her was. When she returned to the company, she suddenly remembered that her boss's wife was none other than the actress Lin Leyao!
Kong Anqing's mind raced with all sorts of gossip, but he remained outwardly calm. "President Xin, we've already sent Miss back to her old house."
"Um."
After reporting all this, and seeing that Xin Ying had no further instructions, Kong Anqing was about to leave when Xin Ying suddenly called out to her, "Keep everything about your meeting with Miss Lin today a secret. Don't reveal a single word."
"OK."
Kong Anqing thought to herself, "Does President Xin not want to make his wife public? Or is the person rumored to be marrying President Xin not Miss Lin?!" Thinking of the rumors circulating online about Lin Leyao, Kong Anqing couldn't help but let her mind wander, imagining all sorts of scenarios.
Xin Ying glanced at Kong Anqing indifferently, as if she had heard her inner thoughts, and said slowly, "She is a celebrity, don't let rumors interfere with her work."
When Xin Ying glanced at him with a cool gaze, Kong Anqing shuddered and immediately puffed out his chest, promising, "I will definitely keep it a secret and not utter a single word. Please rest assured, President Xin."
"Okay, go and contact Fourth Brother and ask him to remove the trending topic about Xin Wenwen. All comments on various platforms should be cleaned up as needed."
"Okay, Mr. Xin."
Xin Ying's fourth brother, Xin Si Nan, is forty years old this year. When he was young, he started an entertainment company called Chu Nan Entertainment. After more than ten years of development, Chu Nan Entertainment has become a well-known company in the industry, specializing in artist management, film and television production, film and television investment, and the incubation and operation of internet celebrities.
When Xin Si Nan received the request from Xin Ying, she was quite surprised. Her younger sister, who never paid any attention to entertainment news, actually asked her to remove the trending topic.
Xin Si Nan suddenly became interested and clicked on Weibo's trending topics to look at them for a while.
Xin Si Nan muttered to himself, "Is it because Xin Ying suddenly realized she was acting like a younger aunt and started to feel sorry for her niece that she wanted to remove the trending topic?"
wrong!
Upon seeing the same name as Xin Wenwen trending on social media, Xin Sinan realized that Xin Ying was there for the woman named Lin Leyao standing next to her.
Xin Si Nan tapped the iPad screen with the electronic pen, and after a moment's thought, he felt he understood a little.
Some time ago, the old man seemed to have mentioned that Xin Ying had someone she wanted to marry. Xin Si Nan was used to being a carefree person, with an unrestrained personality and no intention of inheriting the family business, so he didn't pay much attention to who his family members dated or married. Therefore, when he heard this news, he didn't know who the person he wanted to marry was.
“Surname Lin…” Xin Si Nan held his iPad, looking at the familiar feeling emanating from Lin Le Yao’s photo, pondering silently. Soon, he picked up his phone from the table and made a call.
"Big brother, is my sister's arranged marriage to the youngest granddaughter of the Huanling Ji family?"
Although everyone in the industry knows that Ji Hongchen has a granddaughter, this child only returned to the Ji family when she was a teenager. She didn't know other wealthy young men of similar age. In addition, it seems that something suddenly happened to Ji Hongchen's granddaughter. Apart from Ji Hongchen introducing her to outsiders when she first returned to the Ji family, he has protected this granddaughter very well since then and has never brought her out to be seen by outsiders.
So all we know now is that Ji Hongchen's daughter eloped with a man surnamed Lin when she was young and had a daughter, but nobody knows what that man looks like.
Since it's a marriage alliance, she's certainly not an ordinary celebrity. Therefore, Xin Si Nan would guess that Lin Le Yao is the youngest granddaughter of the Huan Ling Ji family.
On the other end of the microphone, Xin Boliang didn't hide anything from his younger brother, "Yes. But Dad is still keeping it a secret. It seems he wants to hold a wedding with my younger sister before announcing it in the industry. Don't ask Dad."
Xin Si Nan quickly replied to Xin Bo Liang, "OK, no problem."
Upon confirmation that his younger sister was to marry the youngest granddaughter of the Ji family, Xin Sinan was somewhat surprised, especially since he hadn't expected the old man to agree to his sister marrying someone working in the entertainment industry. Could there be some secret behind this?
Xin Si Nan could only suppress his doubts for the time being.
Xin Boliang, on the other side, asked with some confusion, "Why are you suddenly asking about this today?"
Xin Si Nan laughed and replied, "It's nothing. It's just that my little sister finally has something to ask of me, her older brother, so I should at least find out what happened."
Xin Boliang was about to ask what had happened when he heard Xin Sinan on the other end of the microphone say "Oh," and then suddenly remembered something, "By the way, brother, do you know that your precious daughter is dating someone in the entertainment industry?"
As soon as Xin Sinan finished speaking, the call was immediately cut off by the other end. Xin Boliang hung up the phone abruptly.
Xin Si Nan leaned back on the sofa and couldn't help but burst into laughter.
This serious and old-fashioned older brother has investigated his younger sister's boyfriend thoroughly, and he must know that the man works in the entertainment industry. He gets angry and tries to stop his daughter from dating someone in the entertainment industry, but he doesn't comment on his younger sister's marriage to someone in the entertainment industry... Tsk tsk.
After browsing Weibo for a while, Xin Sinan arranged for staff to handle the trending topics.
Now that Lin Leyao is going to become family, shouldn't we prepare a gift for our first meeting? Sitting in the huge office, Xin Si Nan stroked his chin, deep in thought.
The negative trending topics about Lin Leyao and Xin Wenwen were removed under these circumstances, but Lin Leyao, as one of the parties involved, was unaware of the reasons behind it.
When the black Porsche drove into the old house, there was an unfamiliar vehicle in the garage. After looking at the model, Lin Leyao already guessed who it was. As soon as she walked through the gate, she heard laughter coming from the living room.
The two people in the living room are wearing glasses and playing a VR game.
Lin Zhipei sat upright on the sofa. She had naturally almond-shaped eyes with drooping corners. She was thin and weighed only about 70 kilograms. At this moment, she was wearing a white dress and looked very delicate.
Lin Zhipeng noticed Lin Leyao the moment she walked in. She glanced at her parents who were playing games in front of her, hesitated for a moment, and ultimately did not remind them.
Lin Leyao didn't say hello and went straight up the stairs.
Just as the game ended, Ji Rong took off her glasses and saw the figure disappearing up the stairs.
"Le Yao is back?"
Lin Zhipei nodded and hummed in agreement.
“This girl—” Ji Rong’s face showed displeasure, “The older she gets, the less sensible she becomes. She doesn’t even know to greet her mother when she sees her.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Zhipeng obediently advised, "My sister is usually busy with work, so she probably didn't greet us when she saw us playing games."
“Yes,” Lin Shujun chimed in, “Why are you arguing with the child?”
After being scolded by her stepdaughter and husband, Ji Rong had no choice but to put the matter aside. She changed the subject, saying, "The VR game that Pei Pei recommended is really good. Our whole family can play it together in the future."
Lin Zhipeng's eyes crinkled into a smile, and she put on her most obedient expression, replying, "Okay! I've wanted to play with you, sister, for a long time!"
Hearing her stepdaughter's words, Ji Rong thought of her daughter who was becoming less and less close to her as she grew older, and the relaxed expression on her face stiffened again.
She gave a soft hum and said nothing.
Lin Zhipeng didn't miss the change in Ji Rong's expression; her obedient smile became even more sincere.
Lin Leyao went upstairs, walked to the door of her grandfather's study, knocked, and went inside.
"You're back?"
In the study, Ji Hongchen was sitting at his desk practicing calligraphy. As his health gradually improved, in addition to necessary rehabilitation exercises, Ji Hongchen often practiced calligraphy to improve his wrist mobility.
Lin Leyao looked at the dozen or so calligraphy pieces already written on the desk, walked over to the desk, and said, "Grandpa, are your hands tired? Let me massage them for you."
Ji Hongchen quickly waved his hand, "No need, my arms aren't sore. Sit here and chat with me."
Before becoming a businessman, Ji Hongchen was a teacher, so he had a strong sense of refinement. Even after decades in business, his temperament has never changed. In the eyes of other business people, Ji Hongchen has always been a well-known Confucian businessman, both in terms of his image and his working methods.
Ji Hongchen was thin and was wearing a loose-fitting, off-white short Tang suit and trousers, with gold-rimmed glasses. His face, which had looked much more weathered due to illness, was gradually recovering. He pursed his thin lips, trying hard to control his trembling right hand, and carefully wrote the last few words stroke by stroke.
After finishing writing, Ji Hongchen put down his brush and looked at his granddaughter, who was sitting obediently by the desk watching him practice calligraphy. He felt a surge of warmth in his heart.
After bringing Ji Rong and Lin Leyao home, Lin Leyao grew up by his side. From a young age, Lin Leyao loved to sit in the study at the desk and watch him practice calligraphy. In the blink of an eye, the little girl had grown into a young woman.
From the time Lin Leyao was little, Ji Hongchen was determined to make sure the child grew up happily and would not let anyone hurt his beloved granddaughter.
Unexpectedly, the child wasn't harmed by outsiders first as she grew up; instead, she suffered a lot of injustice because of her own family. Not to mention the attacks she later faced after choosing to study acting and enter the entertainment industry, working under the critical eyes of the public.
Ji Hongchen sighed, patted Lin Leyao's head, and asked, "Are you unhappy?"
Lin Leyao shook her head. "No, Grandpa."
"If you're unhappy, just kick them out!" Ji Hongchen was referring to the people downstairs. He patted his granddaughter's head and instructed her, "This is the right your grandfather has given you. You can kick out anyone who comes to the house if you don't like them."
Hearing her grandfather's comforting words, Lin Leyao gradually relaxed. She couldn't help but laugh and teased, "Grandpa, how can you be so naughty?"
Ji Hongchen laughed too, and after a while he slowly and earnestly advised, "Nannan, your life must be filled with more happiness than unhappiness."
Lin Leyao looked at her grandfather, whose temples were graying, nodded earnestly, and said, "I definitely will."
Chapter 8
7 PM, Ji residence.
Today, the family sat down together for a meal after a long time.
Ji Hongchen came downstairs and sat down at the head of the table. Ji Rong took the initiative to serve a bowl of hot soup and placed it in front of her father.
Since returning to the Ji family, Ji Rong's spoiled personality from her childhood has changed a lot. However, when attending various parties and facing various wealthy ladies, Ji Rong's status as the only daughter of the Ji family naturally makes her still arrogant and domineering.
But when Ji Rong returns home and faces Ji Hongchen, she feels apprehensive. Every time she sees her father, she is reminded of the two times she disobeyed his orders in her life, and these two incidents led to their increasingly distant relationship. One was eloping with her ex-husband; the other was remarrying her current husband.
Ji Rong glanced at Ji Hongchen's face and asked cautiously, "Dad, how have you been lately?"
Ji Hongchen nodded indifferently, "It's alright, you can all eat. Your place is far from here, so go back and rest early after you finish eating."
Lin Shujun, who was next to Ji Rong, smiled and replied, "Okay, Dad. Take good care of yourself."
"Hmm." Ji Hongchen nodded lightly, his gaze sweeping over Lin Zhipeng, who was eating quietly next to Lin Shujun, before turning away without saying anything more.
Ji Hongchen still needs to take medication during his rehabilitation, and his appetite is not very good every day. He put down his chopsticks after drinking a bowl of hot soup.
Turning his head, Ji Hongchen noticed that Lin Leyao's bowl had only a few grains of rice and a few pieces of meat. He was a little worried. "Eat more meat to replenish your body. Look how little weight you have left!"
"She's a celebrity. Being on TV makes people look fat and unattractive, so she has to maintain her figure." Having finally returned to the old house, Ji Rong wanted to talk to her father, but she had never liked Lin Leyao working in the entertainment industry, and her tone was tinged with sarcasm.
Ji Rong had said this more than once before, and Lin Leyao had always just listened and let it go, but today it was beyond Ji Rong's expectations.
Hearing this, Lin Leyao put down her chopsticks, looked up at Ji Rong, and said, "Mom, you're wrong. We actors change our physique according to the roles in the script, not to maintain our figure for the sake of looking good, as you said. Some actors may indeed do that, but I'm not."
Unexpectedly, Lin Leyao suddenly retorted, and Ji Rong's expression changed several times before becoming extremely ugly.
Lin Leyao continued to retort: "I hope that when Mom criticizes my work in the future, she will already have a job herself. Otherwise, it's really hard to convince everyone when you nitpick my work."
"Is this how you talk to me?" Ji Rong was enraged by Lin Leyao's words. Ignoring Ji Hongchen's presence, she glared at Lin Leyao and shouted, "When you applied to the film academy, I told you not to go! What respectable family's child becomes a star? Every day you're posing and preening on the big screen, letting people point fingers and criticize you! After you became an actress, people on Weibo are constantly cursing your parents and your ancestors. When has our family ever been insulted like that? When I go out, other women don't know that the actress Lin Leyao on TV is from the Ji family; they only know she's a celebrity with a bad reputation. They tell me that Lin Leyao is no good. With so many messy rumors about you, how am I supposed to face those women in public?"
"Enough!"
"How is it not a proper job?"
Ji Hongchen's reprimand and Lin Leyao's voice rang out at the same time.
Lin Leyao replied coldly, "The daughter of Rongchang Technology and the son of Maosen Group have both entered the entertainment industry. Aren't they from respectable families?"