Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 70
Lin Zhi was still in shock and couldn't get out of it until Jiang Lai took her hand and led her out of the office.
The two separated the moment they entered the office. Jiang Lai looked at Lin Zhi in confusion, and the latter shook her head. Jiang Lai immediately understood and said nothing.
Lin Zhi's steps were heavy. After learning that Jiang Lai was the daughter of Jiang Chuanmin and Min Xuehua, she was shocked but also helpless. Her teacher's daughter... She had broken her teacher's heart and even abducted her only daughter.
She didn't know how to face Jiang Chuanmin, let alone Min Xuehua.
When Nan Moxi saw Jiang Lai enter, she felt a surge of anger welling up inside her, but Jiang Chuanmin was still there. She genuinely believed that Jiang Chuanmin was Jiang Lai's sugar daddy, and she was even more convinced that Jiang Lai had betrayed Lin Zhi.
Jiang Chuanmin waved to his daughter, gesturing for her to come and sit down. Jiang Lai glanced at Lin Zhi, who then nudged her, urging her to come over. Lin Zhi, however, sat far away from Jiang Lai, her guilty conscience evident.
Seeing this, Nan Moxi leaned over and whispered in her ear, her voice soft but her tone forceful: "Xiao Zhi, did you question Jiang Lai? If she has let you down, we can't keep her even if it means breaching our contract. Just consider it as me being blind all these years in this industry."
"No, Sister Nan, you're overthinking it. Actually..."
“Now that Lai Lai has arrived, we can begin our work,” Jiang Chuanmin interrupted Lin Zhi, sitting in the main seat with an imposing air.
Nan Moxi asked, "President Jiang, since you think this matter is easy to resolve, could you help us come up with a way to extricate ourselves unscathed?"
Jiang Chuanmin said, "There's no need to back down completely. You just need to contact your company's legal department and have them draft a lawyer's letter."
"A lawyer's letter? Are you saying this is a rumor?"
Jiang Chuanmin clasped his hands on his lap and said calmly, "Yes, my own daughter and I went to see a movie, but we were falsely accused of having this kind of relationship. Shouldn't we sue?"
"daughter?"
This statement shocked everyone present. They all thought Jiang Chuanmin had gone senile and wondered who would believe it.
Nan Moxi wanted to say something, but Lin Zhi interrupted her: "President Jiang, rest assured, our company will definitely protect the reputation and interests of our artists and give Jiang Lai justice. It is our dereliction of duty that Jiang Lai encountered such rumors and slander during the contract period."
"It's alright, I should thank this person for giving me the opportunity to announce my daughter's birth." After saying that, he looked at Wang Qin: "Post a Weibo."
"good."
Wang Qin responded, took out his work phone and logged into Weibo. He had been working for Jiang Chuanmin for many years, and had previously been Jiang Chuanmin's assistant. He was the one who posted Jiang Chuanmin's Weibo posts, and the content was always concise and clear.
[@Jiang Chuanmin: Please don't speculate excessively. Jiang Lai is my daughter. I will not tolerate any falsehoods or slander against my daughter. Any rumors or comments that insult my daughter will be met with my lawyer's letter.]
The accompanying photo is a picture of Jiang Chuanmin and Jiang Lai from their junior high school days, with Min Xuehua standing next to them.
Shortly after it was posted, the top trending topic became "[Jiang Chuanmin and Min Xuehua's daughter]", and it went viral.
Not long after, Min Xuehua also posted on Weibo: [@MinXuehua: /smirk/ A daughter is her father's little sweetheart from a past life.]
This can be seen as a response to those netizens who told her to catch the mistress.
Those who were just moments ago furious and insulting Jiang Lai for being shameless immediately switched sides and started attacking that marketing account on Weibo.
[Netizen 1: Don't today's marketing accounts have any professional ethics at all?]
[Netizen 2: He dares to mess with Jiang Yingdi? He'll be waiting for a court summons!]
[Netizen 3: When are you going to go inside and operate the sewing machine?]
In just half an hour, the Weibo account with the username "Guatian" had deleted all its posts. Netizens speculated that he had probably canceled the account, but it was too late. Fourteen days was enough time for Lin Zhi to send him a court summons.
Like Lin Zhi, Nan Moxi was speechless with astonishment at this dramatic reversal. Who would have thought that Jiang Chuanmin had a daughter and that he would condescend to sign with their "small company"?
It's no exaggeration to say that compared to Jiang Chuanmin's company, Zhengzhengri Shang is quite small. Even Xia Fanrou's company will need to work hard for several more years to catch up.
They've cultivated quite a few Best Actor and Best Actress winners.
The matter has not yet subsided, and it is still trending on Weibo. However, it has no effect on Jiang Lai. Perhaps this matter never had any impact on her in the first place. Jiang Lai has never issued a single denial, and netizens have become fans of her Zen-like attitude.
[Jiang Lai's female fans: I originally thought Lai Lai was a hard-working actress, but I didn't expect her to be both low-key and hardworking!]
[Did Xia Jiang and [Actor Xia Jiang] appear together today? : Actor Jiang is an idol of my mother's generation; they couldn't believe it when they heard the news.]
[A Whale in the Clouds: Please, Zhengzhengri Shang, seek justice for Jiang Lai. I feel so sorry for my daughter.]
Nan Moxi scrolled through Weibo and saw that most people were speaking up for Jiang Lai. Only a small number of people still didn't believe it, deceiving themselves and insisting that Jiang Lai was a mistress.
Nan Moxi stood up and bowed respectfully: "Senior, we misunderstood you. Please don't take offense."
Jiang Chuanmin had no reason to argue with the younger generation and didn't take it to heart at all: "The other party is not afraid of me, which means they obviously have someone behind them."
Lin Zhi understood immediately, and she assured Jiang Chuanmin, "Please rest assured, I will find that person no matter what the cost."
Jiang Lai was very fond of Lin Zhi's serious demeanor, her eyes practically glued to her. This woman was always so charming when she was working. Jiang Lai suddenly longed to see Lin Zhi lose her temper.
Hmm~ What kind of quirk is this?
Wait a minute, Jiang Lai suddenly remembered that she hadn't settled the score with Lin Zhi for having dinner alone with a man that afternoon. Why was she the one to apologize first?
Jiang Lai snorted and turned her head away.
Hearing the noise, Lin Zhi turned around and glanced back, then hesitated to speak.
Jiang Chuanmin stood up: "Let's call it a day then. Xiaozhi, your teacher asked me to ask if you'd be free to come over for a visit?"
Lin Zhi wasn't ready to face Min Xuehua and was hesitating about how to refuse her.
“She’s free,” Jiang Lai said.
Lin Zhi turned her head, her big eyes staring at her, which made Jiang Lai shrink back in fright.
Jiang Chuanmin: "Then I'll have your teacher prepare dinner and give her a surprise." After saying that, he walked out of the conference room with his assistant, not giving anyone a chance to object or refuse.
Today's events came suddenly and were resolved even more suddenly. The public relations department didn't even know why they rushed to the company with their computers from their cozy homes. Some people even came in and left the video conference looking completely bewildered. Nan Moxi found it absurd, as she had never encountered anything like it in her more than ten years in the industry.
The office lights were all turned off, and Lin Zhi finally gave in and drove to the villa. She had driven this road many times before, but now she had a different feeling, even more nervous than when she changed her major.
Her palms were sweating profusely, she gripped the steering wheel tightly, and the more soothing the music became, the faster her heart pounded.
Not far away was that familiar villa. Lin Zhi skillfully drove the car in, but after turning off the engine, she hesitated to get out.
Jiang Lai had already seen the familiar car stop, but the people inside didn't get out for a long time.
So even my older sister gets nervous sometimes.
Jiang Lai walked over quickly, bent down and knocked on the car window. She leaned closer and vaguely saw the person inside turn to look at her.
Jiang Lai raised her wrist and pointed to the watch face, indicating that she should pay attention to the time.
Lin Zhi didn't get out of the car immediately but instead rolled down the window. A hint of unease flashed in her eyes, and she said with a rare gentleness, "Lai Lai, I'm a little nervous. Will the teacher notice anything?"
"No," Jiang Lai said with absolute certainty.
Jiang Lai's firm tone reassured Lin Zhi. Just as she was about to open the car door and get out, Jiang Lai pushed the door back open forcefully. Lin Zhi was startled and looked up: "You... um."
Lin Zhi's eyes widened, and she subconsciously tried to dodge, but not only did she fail to dodge, Jiang Lai pulled her back and deepened the kiss.
The brightly lit villas not far behind her seemed to be warning Lin Zhi. This feeling was both tense and exciting, no different from being caught by her parents in a relationship. Lin Zhi had never been in a relationship and never knew this feeling, but now she remembered it vividly and unforgettable.
Jiang Lai kissed Lin Zhi's lipstick off, then licked her lips contentedly: "Not full yet? Let's continue tonight."
Lin Zhi blushed and quickly rolled up the car window, not giving Jiang Lai another chance to act recklessly. She then touched up her lipstick before getting out of the car.
As soon as Jiang Lai got out of the car, she tried to get closer, but Lin Zhi pushed her back. Lin Zhi warned her, "Don't get too close. If we find out, you won't be able to touch me for a month."
That's ruthless enough. Jiang Lai raised her hands in surrender: "You win."
"I can be even more ruthless."
Jiang Lai didn't tell her that Min Xuehua already knew about their relationship. This matter was like a cat toy, and Lin Zhi was a cute but fierce little cat. It was fun to tease her, and it was also a kind of punishment, punishing Lin Zhi for deceiving her that afternoon.
How severe can a child's anger be to come up with?
As soon as they entered, the aroma of food wafted into their noses, confirming that it was definitely not Min Xuehua who had made it.
Sure enough, Jiang Lai looked and saw that her aunt had returned.
Lin Zhi greeted Min Xuehua normally, without giving anything away. However, she was stunned when she saw Jiang Wanqiu. It was the first time she had seen Jiang Wanqiu. She felt that the woman in front of her looked a lot like Jiang Lai, but she had more temperament than Jiang Lai.
Jiang Wanqiu took the initiative to introduce herself: "Hello, are you Lin Zhi? I often hear Lai Lai mention you. My name is Jiang Wanqiu, and I am Lai Lai's aunt. You can just call me aunt like Lai Lai does."
Should we call her that along with Jiang Lai? It gives me the feeling of marrying into the Jiang family.
"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you." This is quite formal.
Min Xuehua joked, "It's just the three of us, don't be so reserved. You can call me Mom, Xiaozhi."
Lin Zhi was taken aback, and her words faltered: "Teacher, you...you must be joking."
Min Xuehua smiled and said, "It's alright, it's only a matter of time."
Lin Zhi looked bewildered, but Jiang Wanqiu immediately understood. She found Lin Zhi's restrained and unnatural appearance somewhat amusing, and it was no wonder that Jiang Lai liked her.
She had always thought that Lin Zhi was a substitute that Jiang Lai had found because she couldn't forget Lin Xi. But when she saw her in person, she realized that Lin Zhi and Lin Xi had nothing in common except for their surnames and the fact that they both had two characters.
If she were to evaluate Lin Xi, she couldn't think of anything good to say. She just felt that Lin Xi was pretentious, domineering, and high-profile. Lin Zhi, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Perhaps it was related to age, but Jiang Wanqiu was more inclined to believe that Lin Zhi was just like that by nature. How bad could someone that Min Xuehua favored be?
Jiang Chuanmin was in the first-floor bathroom, so Jiang Lai had no choice but to run up to the second floor. Since Min Xuehua treated Lin Zhi like her own daughter, Jiang Lai wasn't too worried. She even squatted on the toilet and started browsing Weibo.
Everyone was urging her to respond, but she didn't want to. After hesitating for a moment, she still forwarded Min Xuehua's Weibo post.
[@Jiang Lai: I'll be your little cotton-padded jacket for life.]
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Author's Note:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 19:09:46 on May 11, 2022 and 19:09:20 on May 12, 2022!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Yu (2 bottles); Lingran (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 71
Lin Zhi swore that tonight's dinner was the most agonizing dinner she had ever had. The teacher's enthusiasm was overwhelming, and something seemed different from before.
After dinner, Lin Zhi offered to help clear the table. She did so quickly and efficiently; while the food wasn't great, she was skilled at cleaning up.
An auntie standing idly by said: "This is all my work!"