National Day, October 1st, “Xiao” was released nationwide.

With two months of promotional activities behind them, plus the added momentum from Chen Die and Wen Liang’s public relationship, the pre-sale box office numbers from the previous day were already impressive.

Like “Hairpin Flower,” “Xiao” was a serious drama with some tragic elements.

For this type of film, with the right script, actors, and director, plus sufficient attention, once positive reviews emerged, subsequent box office numbers would be driven higher, developing explosively.

When her first film “Hairpin Flower” was released, Chen Die had been completely uncertain, but with “Xiao” she felt much more confident.

By noon on October 1st, the first wave of reviews came out, praising everything from the script to the filming to each actor’s performance.

Kkkkkkkkkkk who can deny that Chen Die is the box office goddess!! Let’s go go go, pushing toward 2 billion!!

So tear-jerking wuwuwuwuwu.

Die-mei really can create chemistry with anyone!

The person above, aren’t you afraid of feeling Mr. Wen’s iron fist?

…

Chen Die lay in bed reading netizens’ comments all morning. She finally got up close to lunchtime, finished washing up, grabbed her phone, and saw a group chat exploding with messages.

Ye Chuqing had previously added Chen Die to a group, colloquially called the “socialite group.”

It was a group of wealthy daughters from Yan City, where the conversations were quite dull, mainly sharing newly purchased bags, makeup, skincare products, and cars. Everyone exchanged shopping and outfit tips, occasionally arranging money-laden parties.

Ye Chuqing and Chen Die rarely spoke in the group.

Chen Die opened the group messages to find everyone discussing “Xiao.”

These young ladies were pouring on extravagant praise with genuine enthusiasm.

Most of these wealthy daughters didn’t have regular jobs, and some managed social media accounts where they attracted followers simply by sharing glimpses of their wealthy lifestyles unknown to ordinary people.

One of them posted a Weibo giveaway, offering to randomly select 100 people for 10,000 yuan red envelopes. She didn’t require follows, just “Xiao” ticket stubs.

After posting, she shared it boastfully in the group, and many others reposted it with additional prizes.

Such large giveaways quickly attracted attention, with reposts skyrocketing.

By the time Chen Die saw the message in the group, reposts had already exceeded 500,000.

I surrender, Die-mei’s rich young lady identity confirmed.

This is such a fresh, unpretentious promotion. I love it.

Chen Die: “…”

Wen Liang had an event to attend that evening.

A purely business event.

Since reconciling, Wen Liang rarely attended such balls or cocktail parties at night, truly eliminating any possibility of entanglements with flirtatious women.

However, tonight’s event was special—hosted by a partner in Wen Liang’s newest major project. After being invited twice, it was difficult to refuse.

Chen Die went with Wen Liang.

Unlike the events Chen Die usually attended, there was no need to worry about being photographed at business dinners.

Chen Die wore a silver sparkly formal dress, her long hair tucked behind her ears, two diamond earrings peeking through her black hair.

Having attended many grand events, Chen Die knew better than before how to present herself most attractively, with every gesture full of charm.

But to Wen Liang, she looked uncomfortably eye-catching.

He frowned, repeatedly pulling up the fabric on Chen Die’s shoulder.

Chen Die swatted his hand away, pulling it back to its original position, laughing: “What are you doing? The dress is supposed to be like this.”

“What kind of thing are you wearing,” he said with disdain.

“…”

Chen Die looked stunning in this gown. Only Wen Liang could make comments like “What kind of thing.” When the two walked side by side into the ballroom, everyone turned to look, their eyes transfixed.

“Well, what a rare guest,” Xiao Shi was the first to react, teasing, “It’s difficult to see Mr. Wen in the evening these days.”

Soon, Mu Zheng, the host of the banquet, came forward to shake hands with Wen Liang and gestured for attendants to bring two glasses of wine. Chen Die took hers and clinked glasses with Mu Zheng.

He smiled: “Miss Chen, I’ve heard so much about you. Seeing is believing—Mr. Wen has finally allowed us to meet you.”

Wen Liang frankly admitted: “Mr. Mu, if you keep staring at my girlfriend, I might get angry.”

Chen Die: “…”

How did this person occasionally learn to speak human language?

…It made her feel quite embarrassed.

Mu Zheng laughed loudly and raised his hands in surrender: “Alright, she’s yours.”

Chen Die couldn’t understand the project-related topics Wen Liang and Mu Zheng discussed afterward. She had one hand on Wen Liang’s arm and used the other to look around.

After their conversation, Wen Liang led Chen Die to sit down nearby.

Their group of second-generation rich kids treated these banquets like playtime. Now, looking at the couple, with Chen Die present, they no longer feared Wen Liang’s temper and teased them with whistles.

Chen Die recognized some of them.

She had seen them when she broke up with Wen Liang before.

This was somewhat awkward.

Fortunately, their teasing was mild—they had enough social awareness. After all, what’s scarier than Wen Liang is Wen Liang’s woman. Not knowing Chen Die’s boundaries, none of them dared say too much.

“Mu still has more guests to attend to. Shall we play some cards?” Xiao Shi suggested.

Everyone else had no objections.

The man sitting next to Wen Liang turned to ask Chen Die: “Sister-in-law, do you want to play?”

Chen Die had just taken a sip of water and almost choked on his form of address.

What “sister-in-law”? Wasn’t she younger than everyone present??

They made her sound old.

Chen Die glanced at Wen Liang, not wanting to dampen everyone’s spirits: “I’m fine with anything.”

So they dealt cards to Chen Die too, but when it came to Wen Liang, he raised his hand to decline: “I’m not playing.”

Someone joked: “What’s this, are you two now the man managing the home and the woman managing the outside world?”

They had played cards with Wen Liang before. Whether due to intelligence or luck, he never lost. Playing cards with Wen Liang offered no game experience for them, so they were fine with him not wanting to play.

The group played with high stakes—10,000 yuan per round.

Although Chen Die now earned a lot from her acting fees, she wasn’t yet at the point where she could throw away such amounts without feeling pain. But she couldn’t say it was expensive in front of these people—it would seem petty.

She arranged her cards and used them to hide her mouth as she leaned toward Wen Liang, whispering: “That’s so expensive.”

Wen Liang smiled and put his arm around her waist, lazily slouching on the sofa as he glanced at Chen Die’s cards: “If you lose, it’s on me. If you win, it’s yours.”

He didn’t particularly lower his voice when saying this, and someone immediately caught his words: “Everyone heard that! Today might be our only chance to win money from Mr. Wen.”

Chen Die, being a young girl who was usually busy filming movies, and commercials, and giving interviews, everyone assumed she probably had barely handled cards before.

But unexpectedly, after a few rounds, all the chips went to Chen Die.

How the hell did she inherit Wen Liang’s card skills too?!

Do these two not do normal couple things at home, just play cards all day??

It was true that Chen Die learned to play cards by pestering Wen Liang during the summer vacation after her college entrance exams, but she wasn’t particularly skilled. Compared to listening for dice, which was pure technique, card games required more luck. Fortunately, her card luck was good today.

“Surprising, my sister-in-law is a gambling god. You should star in a gambling movie next—no special effects needed, just go in empty-handed,” one person said.

Chen Die modestly replied: “Just good luck.”

After speaking, she threw down her last two cards—a pair of jokers, doubling the stakes.

“In the future, even if Mr. Wen doesn’t work, his sister-in-law can support him just by playing cards daily.”

Wen Liang smiled casually: “That works too.”

After a few more rounds, Chen Die kept winning, and there wasn’t much point in continuing.

She had just covered her mouth to yawn when Wen Liang said: “If you don’t want to play anymore, then stop.”

They put away the cards, switched players, and Chen Die collected her chips.

Making money this way was too fast—in just half an hour, she had earned over 200,000 yuan.

Chen Die leaned to Wen Liang’s ear and quietly asked: “Did you used to win a lot this way too?”

After all, Chen Die’s card skills came from Wen Liang, and she’d rarely beaten him. As long as his luck wasn’t too bad, winning against them was child’s play for Wen Liang.

He lit a cigarette, holding it between his fingers, his wrist hanging over the armrest: “I suppose.”

“They play so badly. Won’t they go broke?” Chen Die looked quite concerned, keeping her voice very low.

Wen Liang laughed: “Well, look who your teacher is.”

“…” Chen Die rolled her eyes. “It’s just that you hung around these entertainment venues too much before, that’s how you got so good. Would any decent person be this skilled?”

Wen Liang didn’t know how she reached this conclusion and couldn’t be bothered to argue. He just snorted and glanced at her: “Who just won money? Who’s not a decent person?”

“…”

By October 6th, “Xiao” had already broken one billion at the box office.

The previous evening, Wang Mian and Chen Jianping had called Chen Die, asking if she had time to come home, as the crabs there were at their fattest.

Since the last visit to Wuxi, Chen Die hadn’t returned, though they stayed in touch by phone. But they were always worried about disturbing her. This was the first time they asked if she could come back for a visit.

Chen Die agreed, deciding to return to Wuxi with Wen Liang.

However, just as they were about to leave in the morning, Chen Die received a call saying that Old Master Chen had suffered a sudden stroke the night before. Fortunately, the family doctor discovered it in time, and there was no danger to his life. He was now in the hospital undergoing a full examination.

Old Master Chen could previously have been described as robust. Despite his age, he could still make decisions for the Chen family.

But ever since Chen Shuyuan went to prison and Chen Ke and Lin Quan divorced, he had visibly deteriorated.

Chen Die sent a message to Wang Mian, saying she had some matters to attend to and might only arrive the next day.

[Wang Mian: Nothing serious, I hope?]

[Chen Die: Nothing serious, don’t worry. Wen Liang and I will come tomorrow.]

On the way to the hospital, Chen Die also sent a message to Chen Shao.

Chen Shao had gone on a business trip two days earlier. The incident happened suddenly, and he was still on his way back. Due to severe storms at his current location, his flight was delayed by several hours.

At the hospital.

Wen Liang accompanied Chen Die upstairs. The ward was full of Chen family members.

Now they all implicitly accepted Chen Die as part of their family, not as surprised as when she visited Old Master Chen last time.

Wen Liang didn’t enter the ward. He patted Chen Die’s head: “I’ll wait outside. Call me if you need anything.”

Chen Die nodded.

Old Master Chen lay in bed. The stroke had left him with some physical stiffness. He slowly turned his head and raised his hand, beckoning to Chen Die: “Come.”

Chen Die stepped forward, with others silently making way for her.

Old Master Chen said to the others: “You all go out first. I want to talk with Xiao Die.”

With only the two of them left in the ward, Chen Die pulled up a chair and sat by the bed: “How are you feeling now? Any discomfort?”

“It’s fine, much better,” Old Master Chen shook his head, holding Chen Die’s hand. “My health has been deteriorating rapidly these past few months. I might suddenly be gone any day, so I’ve been preparing my will recently.”

Chen Die was taken aback.

“I know you’re very successful in your career now, and things are stable with Wen Liang. You don’t lack money for anything you want. But your grandfather has nothing else to give you, except to use what little ability I have left to compensate you.”

Old Master Chen had two sons, a grandson Chen Shao, and a granddaughter Chen Die.

Unlike other wealthy families, such as the Wen family, where Fu Wanmei could do such terrible things to fight for Wen Yuan, ending up in such a state.

In the Chen family, Old Master Chen didn’t favor either of his sons, and there were no disputes. As for the grandchildren, Chen Die was unwilling to return home, and Chen Shao had no interest in the family assets.

“So Grandfather wants to give you 20% of Chen Group’s shares, the same as Chen Shao. I know you two have a good relationship. In the future, this company will belong to both of you.”

“…”

Chen Die was stunned.

She had thought it would just be some Chen family real estate investments or similar, not shares—and 20% at that. This meant she would directly have one-fifth of the voting rights in the Chen Group.

“That’s not necessary, really not necessary.”

Chen Die hastily refused, then remembering Old Master Chen’s current health condition and not wanting to upset him, she explained tactfully, “I don’t understand any of this and can’t make business decisions. It’s not appropriate.”

“It’s only 20%, and you won’t have to handle everything yourself. As long as Chen Group doesn’t fail, you’ll receive dividends from it. You won’t need to work so hard in the future. Besides…”

Old Master Chen paused, then continued, “You’re with Wen Liang, but you might forget he’s also a ruthless businessman. Having these shares will give you more confidence when dealing with him.”

Wen Liang had a notorious reputation before. Deep down, Old Master Chen still didn’t fully approve of him but had no right to say anything to Chen Die. He just hinted at it.

“But 20%…”

It was too much.

It strangely gave Chen Die a feeling of taking advantage of someone. She had never lived a single day in the Chen household, yet ended up with so many shares.

She thought for a moment, then was suddenly inspired: “How about this—Chen Shao has always taken good care of me. Why don’t you just give all 20% shares to him? He’s more professional at running the company than I am. If I ever run out of money, or if Wen Liang bullies me in the future, I’ll go to him for money.”

She spoke shamelessly.

Fortunately, Old Master Chen didn’t continue this topic. After chatting for a few minutes, Chen Die prepared to leave.

“Take care of yourself. I’ll go now.”

Chen Die gently opened the door and walked out of the ward.

“All done?” Wen Liang asked.

“Yes.”

Chen Die told Wen Liang what Old Master Chen had proposed.

“It’s up to you. If you don’t want it, don’t take it,” Wen Liang was indifferent to these matters. He raised his hand to squeeze her neck. “I can still support you anyway.”

Since they finished earlier than expected, the two didn’t change their flight tickets and still returned to Wuxi as originally planned.

There was a lake in Wuxi that produced crabs, and this season was when they were at their oiliest and fattest.

Recently, with the buzz around “Xiao,” Chen Die has also become a hot topic in Wuxi town.

The older generation all knew that Chen Die used to be Chen Jianping’s child, and her being taken away by a wealthy family had been widely discussed in town. Now, online there were many rumors about Chen Die being a rich young lady.

This matched what they had known before, making them think she had gone back to be someone’s young mistress.

However, Wang Mian and Chen Jianping had good relationships with everyone in town, so people only mentioned it kindly, without gossiping behind their backs.

After getting off the plane and driving to town, it was already four in the afternoon, close to dinner time.

When Chen Die walked into the house, Wang Mian was wearing an apron, steaming crabs.

Upon seeing her, Wang Mian warmly smiled and welcomed her: “You’re here! Sit down!”

The child they had later was named Chen Zhouchang—quite a nice name. He was hunched over the dining table doing homework, his pencil grip not quite right, his handwriting uneven in size.

Wang Mian smacked him on the head: “How many times have I told you, to call her ‘big sister.'”

The little boy was a bit shy seeing her, hiding behind Wang Mian and timidly calling out “big sister.”

Wang Mian told them: “Our town produced a lot of crabs this year. There’s a crab festival where everyone eats together at the square. You two should come along.”

“Alright,” Chen Die nodded.

In the past, whenever crabs matured and yields were high, Wuxi would hold a crab festival where households would bring their steamed crabs to the square and everyone would sit at long tables eating together.

It was a folk custom.

Chen Die also explained to Wen Liang what the crab festival was like.

After a short wait, Wang Mian brought out a large plate of crabs, smiling broadly: “Let’s go to the square.”

Chen Die looked around the house: “Where’s Dad?”

“The town mayor needed him for something. He should be on his way there by now,” Wang Mian said, taking Chen Zhouchang’s hand as they left and locked the door.

After walking a few steps to the neighbor’s door, Wang Mian said: “Oh right, your brother came back a few days ago. Go call him, and we can all go together.”

“Brother Jiang Xian?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, okay.”

Chen Die agreed, then glanced at Wen Liang.

His expression remained normal, showing no particular emotion.

Chen Die touched his palm, then walked into the Jiang household. As soon as she entered, she saw Jiang Xian. He was startled for a moment, then smiled: “You’re back, Xiao Die. I heard from Uncle Chen yesterday that you’d be coming back.”

Since the last time, Jiang Xian had texted her “good night” and Wen Liang directly sent a voice message in response, they hadn’t been in much contact.

A thread of awkwardness hung in the air.

Chen Die smoothed her hair and made a sound of acknowledgment: “Mm. Where’s Auntie?”

“Still in the kitchen. The crabs aren’t ready yet,” Jiang Xian answered.

Chen Die smiled and said: “My mom asked me to hurry you all up. Let’s go soon.”

“Okay.”

After coming out, Chen Die ran back to Wen Liang’s side.

Wang Mian and Chen Zhouchang walked in front, with Chen Die and Wen Liang behind them.

After walking a few steps, Wen Liang raised his hand and firmly pinched the back of Chen Die’s neck. Chen Die hissed, punched him, and said quietly: “Why are you being jealous over nothing!”

“Who’s jealous?”

Chen Die’s neck still hurt from his pinch. Feeling indignant, she hit him again: “Then why did you pinch me!”

In front of them, Chen Zhouchang held Wang Mian’s hand. Hearing their words, he looked back at them cautiously, then tugged at Wang Mian to bend down, whispering in her ear: “The brother and sister behind us seem to be arguing.”

Wang Mian patted his head and smiled: “The brother and sister aren’t arguing.”

Chen Die: “…”

Many people were already at the square.

When they saw Chen Die, there was a moment of surprise before they quickly reacted, gathering around and chattering away.

After quite some time, when Chen Die sensed Wen Liang was about to lose his temper, she finally found a chance to sit down.

Several young people from the town had also come. They were still quite young and didn’t understand about Chen Die’s departure in the past or why she had returned today.

Shortly after the crab festival began, photos of Chen Die and Wen Liang were already posted online.

Netizens didn’t speculate in other directions, focusing solely on enjoying the couple’s interactions without any interest in other insider information.

The two were special guests, and townspeople kept coming with cups to toast with Wen Liang. They were drinking ordinary local white liquor, which was harsh on the palate and naturally couldn’t compare to what Wen Liang usually drank.

Fortunately, he had never really cared about such things.

Being National Day, there were many children at the long tables. Finding the crabs troublesome to eat, their parents helped peel the crab legs for them.

Chen Die glanced to the side.

Little Chen Zhouchang was much better behaved than other children his age, crunching on crab legs by himself. Unfortunately, he had recently lost a tooth, and as bad luck would have it, a piece of crab shell got stuck in the gap, causing a bit of bleeding.

Little Chen Zhouchang instantly panicked at the sight of blood and burst into tears.

Wang Mian took him onto her lap, comforted him for a few moments, had him open his mouth, and removed the stuck crab shell.

“You eat this, and Mom will eat the crab legs,” Wang Mian said, placing the shell full of crab roe in front of him.

Chen Zhouchang was still sobbing and hiccupping, tears hanging on his face as he lowered his head to continue eating, crab roe smeared all over his mouth.

Chen Die suddenly remembered what Lin Quan had told her before—I was prejudiced against you. I apologize to you, I’m sorry.

Before she could think further, a crisp voice suddenly sounded beside her ear.

Chen Die came back to herself and looked down. Wen Liang had placed some freshly extracted crab meat dipped in sauce onto her spoon—crab roe mixed with crab paste, and thin, long-leg meat.

She hesitated, turning her head to look at Wen Liang.

Wen Liang appeared completely normal, not thinking his gesture was strange at all—he was peeling crab meat even better than those mothers.

Chen Die laughed and took a bite: “Aren’t you eating any yourself?”

“Taking care of my little girl first,” Wen Liang said.

“…”

This person had suddenly become too smooth.

Chen Die hadn’t heard him call her “little girl” for a long time. It felt a bit unfamiliar, making her heart pound faster.

The crown of “daddy-type boyfriend” rose once again above his head.

Chen Die stammered an “oh” and finished the crab meat on her spoon in small bites.

Just as she finished, her phone rang. It was Chen Shao calling.

Chen Die excused herself to Wang Mian, got up, and walked to an empty area to answer: “Hello?”

“Chen Die, I’m going to kill you!” Chen Shao roared from the other end.

Chen Die didn’t know what the issue was, but laughed first: “What’s the matter?”

Chen Shao had just arrived in Yan City and gone to the hospital to see Old Master Chen. There, he heard about Chen Die’s suggestion to give all 20% of the shares to Chen Shao, with her only responsibility being to ask Chen Shao for money.

As it happened, Old Master Chen seemed to think this idea was not bad, though he still planned to give Chen Die 15% of the shares and Chen Shao 25%. This meant that once Chen Shao’s father’s shares also came to him, the burden of Chen Group would firmly fall on Chen Shao’s shoulders.

Chen Shao had no interest in inheriting the family business.

He had even less interest in working himself half to death while essentially supporting his troublesome sister with dividend payments.

After hearing him out, Chen Die laughed even harder.

Sunshine poured down brightly. She saw Wen Liang turn to look at her from a distance, placing another spoonful of peeled crab meat into her bowl.

When did this person become so patient? Chen Die wandered.

In her ear, Chen Shao was still cursing. Chen Die listened half-heartedly, forgetting what he had cursed earlier as soon as she heard the next line.

Finally, when Chen Die’s eardrums started to hurt from his shouting, she stamped her foot, stood up straighter, and suddenly called out: “Brother.”

Chen Shao abruptly fell silent.

The cursing instantly stopped.

This complete silence lasted a full half minute.

Chen Shao cursed again: “Who are you trying to get close to? Who’s your brother!”

His vigor was weaker than before.

Chen Die smiled and went along with him: “Fine, Mr. Chen, would you like some crabs?”

“…What crabs?”

“I’m in Wuxi now, where I used to live. Isn’t this the season for eating crabs? They’re quite delicious. Should I bring some back for you?”

Chen Shao’s tone was subdued: “…If you want to bring some, then bring some.”