Wen Tingli’s statement stirred up a great storm in the press and film circles.
Within a single day, public opinion had completely reversed. Still, there remained no shortage of busybodies in society who held onto their doubts. Some went to the French Concession Mixed Court to verify, only to receive confirmation on the spot from staff: they had indeed received Miss Wen’s two lawsuits, and the relevant witnesses and evidence for the case had already been submitted—they would handle the case according to law.
Due to the high level of public attention, the police swiftly intervened in the investigation of the case, and before long announced the results to the public: Wen Xiaotao’s birth mother was undoubtedly Mrs. Wen; the so-called claim that “Wen Xiaotao is Wen Tingli’s illegitimate daughter” was pure malicious slander.
Besides the delivery record from four years ago provided by Cixin Hospital, the key evidence also included ironclad proof provided personally by an important party to the case—but because it involved privacy, at that party’s request, the police decided not to disclose it publicly.
On the same day the police issued their investigation report, the lawsuit Wen Tingli had filed against Chen Maoqing and tabloids like the Hujiang Tabloid for spreading rumors officially entered proceedings.
Wen Tingli requested the court hold a public hearing for this case. When the news came out, it caused a stir in the community, as it meant that anyone could attend the hearing as an observer.
In court, Chen Maoqing and the others, faced with questioning from attorney Liu Yaqiao, stammered one after another, unable to produce evidence.
The citizens in the gallery grew furious beyond measure, unable to hold back from rushing to the railing and hurling eggshells and orange peels at those clowns. Chen Maoqing was struck until blood poured out on the spot, and the scene descended into chaos.
At the second hearing, the judge announced in court that Wen Tingli had won the case, simultaneously ruling that Chen Maoqing, the Hujiang Tabloid, the Shencheng Morning Post, and other related journalists must compensate Wen Tingli four thousand silver dollars for reputational damages, and were required to publicly apologize to Miss Wen Tingli within ten days.
After the court adjourned, Wen Tingli came out accompanied by attorney Liu Yaqiao. Just as she reached the steps, applause broke out all around—looking out, it was all citizens who had come to watch the hearing of their own accord.
“Miss Wen, well done!” Everyone’s eyes were filled with unconcealed excitement. “Evil cannot triumph over good! You finally won! We’re all so happy for you!”
Wen Tingli never cried in front of the public. In this moment, facing row after row of warm, enthusiastic faces, she was choked with emotion, unable to speak for a while.
The day after winning the lawsuit happened to be the premiere day of The Graceful Detective.
By noon, a long line had already formed outside the Wanguo Theater.
That evening, Zhou Sao brought Xiao Taozi to the premiere as instructed by Wen Tingli. Before they’d even gotten out of the car, Xiao Taozi was awed by the sea of people at the theater entrance, patting the car window curiously with her small hands. “Zhou Sao, look, there are so many people there.”
Zhou Sao was so astonished her tongue nearly tied itself in knots. “Yes indeed—are all these people here to see your sister’s film?”
Driver Old Li chimed in from the front with a laugh, “That’s right. Miss Wen’s film has really become famous before it even premiered.”
Zhou Sao was so delighted she didn’t know what to say. Turning around, she saw Xiao Taozi rummaging through a paper bag for snacks, and hurriedly cautioned her, “Good girl, that stuff’s greasy—eat too much and you’ll get a stomachache.”
At this moment, Wen Tingli was busy having her makeup done backstage at the Wanguo Theater. According to Liu Menglin’s earlier public promise, tonight after the premiere of The Graceful Detective ended, she would go up on stage to interact with fans.
A large crowd surrounded her, showering her with flattery. Wen Tingli responded as usual, but couldn’t help feeling somewhat moved inside—just yesterday, most of the industry had still been avoiding her like the plague, and in a single night, they had collectively put on a face burning with enthusiasm.
But she took it in stride—human nature always contains both a bright side and a dark side, and her greatest strength was knowing how to respect human nature and deal with it appropriately. Seeing the crowd around her growing larger, she cheerfully waved toward the mirror. “Xiao Chen, would you trouble yourself to call Mantingfang and book two tables for a late-night supper? Get the most sumptuous set—tonight I’m treating everyone to a late-night meal.”
The crowd cheered enthusiastically in support. Deputy Manager Shi of the theater seized the moment to join in the fun. “Since Miss Wen is treating everyone, why don’t we at Wanguo Theater join the festivities too? To celebrate the successful premiere of The Graceful Detective, how about I treat everyone to ice cream?”
Everyone grew even more delighted. “Manager Shi, you’re riding on Miss Wen’s coattails.”
Wen Tingli walked out from the crowd with a smile on her face. The film was about to start, and the audience had all taken their seats. She timed it carefully and walked behind the curtain at the side of the stage, raising a small pair of opera glasses to peek quietly out at the audience.
The theater was already packed to capacity. At this sight, she made a small sound of surprise in her heart—wasn’t that Mr. Kuang?
He had indeed come as promised, and had even brought along several friends.
She cast a grateful glance in Kuang Zhilin’s direction, then raised the opera glasses again to look toward the VIP section.
She didn’t spot Lu Shicheng’s figure, though.
Just as she lowered the opera glasses from her eyes, a staff member hurried over. “The film is about to start—Manager Shi asks that you step over to the VIP room for tea and rest first.”
The film ran for a full hour and a half. During this time, Wen Tingli and Manager Shi kept craning their necks to observe the audience’s reactions. Even though Wanguo Theater hadn’t given up the premiere rights over this whole controversy, they still had no idea whether the film would actually sell.
But as they watched, Manager Shi’s furrowed brow gradually relaxed, his eyes gradually lighting up with excitement. The audience burst into laughter time and again, sometimes gasping in tension at especially thrilling plot points, and by the time the truth finally came out at the end, the audience began pulling out handkerchiefs to wipe away tears one after another.
As an experienced theater manager, Manager Shi knew well that only a thoroughly satisfying viewing experience could produce reactions like this.
At this, the anxious weight on his heart finally settled firmly into place. Beaming, he said to Wen Tingli, “Congratulations, Miss Wen, you can prepare the champagne!”
Wen Tingli’s eyes reddened slightly, yet the corner of her mouth carried a composed smile. Having weathered so much storm, her heart had become as solid as stone. Compared to the bewilderment and helplessness of the first premiere of Southern Beauty, this time carried an added measure of calm and composure.
Manager Shi’s prediction proved exactly right. When the screening ended and Wen Tingli went up on stage with several of the leading actors, the applause from below went on without end. Some fans even tried to rush the stage to shake hands with the cast, and the commotion at the scene continued for several minutes without stopping.
Many people shouted from below, “We haven’t had enough, we want a sequel!”
“That’s right, that’s right, keep making The Graceful Detective!”
Wen Tingli, caught off guard, broke into a radiant smile, and simply walked down into the middle of the audience to interact with the fans. Deputy Director Tan spoke on stage with great enthusiasm, “Thank you all for your love of this film—we’ll seriously consider this suggestion.”
After the show ended, Wen Tingli remained immersed in her high spirits. Surrounded by her colleagues, chatting and laughing, she returned backstage. When she asked after Zhou Sao and Xiao Taozi, Driver Old Li told her the two of them had already left.
“The movie was only halfway through when Little Miss’s stomach started hurting. Zhou Sao rushed her out to the bathroom, but she still soiled her pants, so she had to take the child home first,” Driver Old Li said. “I was going to drive them back myself, but Zhou Sao was worried I wouldn’t make it back in time to pick you up. Luckily, Mr. Meng Qiguang happened to be driving by—Little Miss knows him too, so she rode with him.”
“Mr. Meng?!”
Old Li nodded. “That’s right. Zhou Sao was worried about dirtying Mr. Meng’s car, but he said it didn’t matter at all. Oh, and Miss Wen, are we heading straight home now?”
Wen Tingli snapped out of her daze and said hurriedly, “Straight home right away.”
Halfway there, they passed a Wuzhou Pharmacy, and Wen Tingli had Old Li stop the car to buy children’s anti-diarrhea medicine.
Once home, Wen Tingli first pressed her ear against the door to listen, and could faintly hear Xiao Taozi and Zhou Sao talking in the living room.
She opened the door and saw Xiao Taozi and Zhou Sao sitting by the bathroom door washing their faces. Xiao Taozi had already changed into a fresh set of clothes.
“Who brought you two home?” Wen Tingli stood in the doorway, looking around.
“Mr. Meng—didn’t Old Li tell you?” Zhou Sao followed Wen Tingli’s gaze around the room, then suddenly caught on. “He left ages ago—dropped Xiao Taozi and me off at home and then left.”
Wen Tingli didn’t ask any more questions. She crouched down, examining Xiao Taozi’s complexion with concern, and handed the medicine packet in her hand to Zhou Sao. “Still having diarrhea?”
“Not anymore. Oh, and this medicine of yours—Mr. Meng also bought some on the way. He said to try one dose first, and if there’s no improvement, to get to a proper hospital as soon as possible. I tried to give him money, but he drove off without another word.”
At this, Zhou Sao blinked. “That Mr. Meng that Xiao Taozi mentioned before—that’s this same gentleman from tonight, isn’t it? Were those toys from before his doing too? This man’s certainly patient with Xiao Taozi—kept telling her stories the whole way. This Mr. Meng and you—”
Wen Tingli cut Zhou Sao off. “I’m a bit hungry. Could you see what’s in the kitchen?”
While Zhou Sao busied herself in the kitchen, Wen Tingli led Xiao Taozi by the hand to sit on the sofa, and examined the medicine on the coffee table one item at a time.
Just as Zhou Sao had said, Meng Qiguang had bought two boxes of children’s diarrhea powder for Xiao Taozi, and besides that, also a bottle of Western vitamin pills and some children’s tonics for digestion.
Wen Tingli thought for a moment, then opened Xiao Taozi’s two small hands to inspect them carefully. “Did Mr. Meng buy you anything else?”
Xiao Taozi shook her head.
Wen Tingli was about to give Xiao Taozi a few more instructions when, without warning, her little sister blurted out, “I saw Mr. Lu.”
Wen Tingli froze, quickly grabbing Xiao Taozi’s hand. “Where did you see Mr. Lu?”
“At the entrance to the movie theater.” Xiao Taozi wriggled free of her sister’s arm and bounced around in front of the sofa like a little rabbit.
Wen Tingli patiently coaxed her sister. “Xiao Taozi’s been at kindergarten for so long now, you should understand things pretty well, right? Tell your sister carefully what happened then—this matters a great deal to your sister.”
Xiao Taozi tilted her head, thinking. “I saw Mr. Lu get out of the car car, looking at sister’s photo at the movie theater entrance.”
She tucked both small hands into her pockets, walked over to the chest of drawers, and, frowning, raised her little head to look up at a photo of Wen Tingli on top of the cabinet.
“Just like this.”
Wen Tingli couldn’t help but laugh. “And then?”
“Then Mr. Lu saw Xiao Taozi. Xiao Taozi has to be polite, so I waved at Mr. Lu from the car—it was Mr. Meng’s car car. Mr. Lu looked at us for a while, then walked away.”
Wen Tingli took a full three seconds to piece together the meaning of her little sister’s account. “You mean, when Mr. Lu saw you two, you were already in Mr. Meng’s car?”
Xiao Taozi lowered her head, fiddling with the toy in her hands, and after a while, nodded absentmindedly.
“Then—did Mr. Lu come over and say anything to Mr. Meng? What was Mr. Meng doing at the time?”
“Xiao Taozi doesn’t know.” She thought about it, then added, “Zhou Sao was helping Xiao Taozi tie her shoelaces. Mr. Meng… didn’t say anything.”
Wen Tingli quickly stood up, pacing back and forth around the room several times. So Lu Shicheng had gone to Wanguo Theater tonight after all, and of all the bad luck—
She abruptly returned to the sofa and pulled Xiao Taozi into an embrace, cautioning her seriously. “From now on, Xiao Taozi must never ride in Mr. Meng’s car car again, absolutely never! And you mustn’t accept any gifts from Mr. Meng either.”
Xiao Taozi nodded, though she didn’t understand the meaning behind these words. “Why?”
“Because…” Wen Tingli tried to keep a straight face, but couldn’t help laughing. “Because—someone would be unhappy.”
“Who would be unhappy?” Xiao Taozi turned her head about in confusion, searching. “Zhou Sao? Would Zhou Sao be unhappy?”
Wen Tingli mimicked her little sister, looking around as well. “Yes, who indeed would be unhappy?”
Finally, she suppressed a laugh and cautioned her. “Anyway, you mustn’t ride in Mr. Meng’s car anymore—Xiao Taozi must remember this. I’ll remind Zhou Sao about it too, later.”
Xiao Taozi nodded vigorously.
The next day, the film papers were full of news about the resounding success of The Graceful Detective‘s premiere.
Over the following three days, box office numbers grew at an unexpectedly rapid pace each day, quickly breaking Wanguo Theater’s all-time box office record.
The many theaters that had previously taken a wait-and-see attitude toward the film could no longer sit still, rushing to Golden Film to negotiate terms for subsequent screening rounds.
Wen Tingli had rocketed to stardom, with an endless schedule every day. But this particular day, she still specially set aside a morning to personally take Xiao Taozi to kindergarten. The moment they arrived at the school gate, thunderous applause broke out spontaneously all around—it turned out the headmistress and teachers had come out personally to greet them. They had all seen the recent news, and every one of them looked at Wen Tingli with eyes full of admiration.
Wen Tingli smiled, holding her sister’s hand as she walked up to the headmistress, and bowed slightly in greeting.
“Headmistress, besides bringing my sister to school today, I also wanted to come and formally change my sister’s registered school name.”
The headmistress asked, surprised, “What sort of formal school name are you planning to give Wen Xiaotao?”
“Kuang Weihang.” Wen Tingli smiled, stroking her sister’s head. “I think she should always remember that our mother’s original name was Kuang Xiuzhen. At the same time, I hope that under my protection, she can experience less storm and hardship in life, and I hope she’ll grow up to hold great aspirations. I pray, too, that her life will be a great voyage.”