“Third Song, you—”
Ji Ya flared up in anger, while Song Nanzhen secretly shook her head.
After all these years, while everyone else had matured, Ji Ya hadn’t suffered much abroad and had only grown more willful.
“If you want help from others, you should be polite when making requests. Before coming, you should also consider what you can offer in exchange. Ji Ya, at this point, do you think you have anything I would want?”
Everything Ji Ya had, Song Nanzhen possessed.
Everything Ji Ya lacked, Song Nanzhen still had.
For instance, Ji Ya had lost her biggest supporter Ji Huaixin, and the entire Ji family was declining, while the Song family was thriving.
Ji Ya’s son was still in university with an uncertain future, while her son Huo Chenzhou already had a successful career.
As for husbands, it was perhaps a draw—though Song Nanzhen’s relationship with her husband wasn’t good, the Huo family still had to treat her respectfully.
The fear of being overshadowed by Ji Ya’s radiance in their youth had finally completely reversed. Though they sat in adjacent chairs, Song Nanzhen’s questions carried a condescending tone.
Ji Ya trembled with rage.
“Third Song, I was wrong to come today. I won’t return to humiliate myself again.”
What did Song Nanzhen have to be proud of?
Didn’t she just rely on Old Song? After Old Song passed, the Song family would become the next Ji family!
No, the Song family might fare worse than the Ji family. Her brother Ji Lin was still in the Foreign Affairs Ministry, and his future was uncertain. The Song family was all in business, with no one in politics. Thinking this, Ji Ya’s anger subsided.
As she picked up her bag to leave, Song Nanzhen couldn’t quite read Ji Ya’s thoughts.
While humiliating Ji Ya had been satisfying, Song Nanzhen didn’t want to see Tang Hongen’s future stepdaughter too pleased. If Xia Xiaolan became unstoppable, she wouldn’t bow to her son Chenzhou.
“Why such hurry? I heard Sheng Xuan has been transferred to work in Pengcheng. Do you remember Sheng Xuan? She was adorably beautiful as a child, even our patriarch praised her. Now Sheng Xuan is in her prime… Beautiful and accomplished, more importantly, she’s declared she’ll marry no one but Mayor Tang. I think they’d make a good match.”
Ji Ya took a while to recall who Sheng Xuan was.
She seemed to have met her at the Song residence, a relative of Second Brother Song’s wife.
Back then, she was a girl of about ten, indeed a beauty in the making.
Would marry no one but Tang Hongen?
She must be after Tang Hongen’s power—he was over ten years her senior!
Even if Sheng Xuan succeeded, why would Song Nanzhen be happy? Sheng Xuan wasn’t her cousin.
However, anything that would upset Liu Fen and Xia Xiaolan was good news to Ji Ya.
“Third Song, don’t underestimate those two. Both mother and daughter are seductresses who know how to charm men. Once Tang Hongen marries that countrywoman, he won’t care whether you Song family members live or die—he’s already spending lots of effort paving the way for the younger one!”
After Ji Ya left, Song Nanzhen’s expression darkened.
A beautiful and capable woman could conquer most men.
But Tang Hongen was definitely in the minority. Perhaps having been married to the beautiful Ji Ya had given him immunity. Despite Sheng Xuan’s beauty and public declaration of wanting only Tang Hongen, he showed no special interest in her.
No, perhaps it wasn’t that Tang Hongen had become immune to female beauty, but rather that he had matured and no longer considered beauty the most important factor. He didn’t marry Sheng Xuan because he felt she wasn’t suitable as his wife… Why? Because Sheng Xuan was too high-profile?
As soon as this thought crossed Song Nanzhen’s mind, she quietly chided herself.
It was better this way—if he had chosen Sheng Xuan, her second sister-in-law would have been insufferable.
Unexpectedly, her second sister-in-law and Sheng Xuan showed such restraint, not causing trouble for the Liu mother and daughter, leaving Song Nanzhen waiting on the sidelines with no chance to “offer assistance.”
“Sheng Xuan’s transfer to Pengcheng isn’t simple. They’ll surely need Chenzhou’s help sometime.”
Song Nanzhen muttered to herself. Sheng Xuan’s work was interesting—she was at the bank.
As a young executive parachuted from headquarters to Pengcheng, it just depended on which banking sector Sheng Xuan wanted to oversee. Among positions of the same level, she could choose freely!
“Still owing the bank over ten million… Now this gets interesting.”
…
What did it feel like to owe the bank over ten million?
Xia Xiaolan felt nothing.
When busy, she forgot all about owing the bank money.
Since she couldn’t repay it before selling the Jinsha Pool project anyway, she thought: what’s the use of worrying?
Owing the bank over ten million, Xia Xiaolan still ate and drank as she pleased, sleeping soundly at night.
Insomnia? Pressure? Nonexistent!
Money borrowed through capability, why repay… No, no, wrong words—why feel pressure? While others “worried” for Xia Xiaolan, she didn’t worry at all.
The worst outcome would be the bank seizing the land, but Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t allow herself to reach that point.
On the evening of the 26th, right as the Evening News was starting, Xia Xiaolan rushed to the hotel.
By the time she cycled there, the Evening News was almost over.
Climbing up to Chen Xiliang’s room, she found it packed—Zhang Xiao and Shao Guangrong were there, along with Zhang Xiao’s assistant and makeup artist Comrade Xiao Ge.
“Hurry, hurry, it’s starting!”
Everyone in the room stared intently at the TV screen.
Xia Xiaolan thought this scene could easily be misunderstood—would hotel staff believe that a mixed group crowding into a room was watching the Evening News?
Seeing Old Chen’s cheeks flushed with excitement and his rapid breathing, outsiders might reasonably assume they were watching “videos” smuggled from Hong Kong… Xia Xiaolan shook her head—it was Chen Xiliang’s shifty appearance that led her thoughts to wander.
Xia Xiaolan pulled up a chair next to Zhang Xiao:
“I timed it well, still five minutes left. Sister Zhang Xiao, I heard your work unit had issues with the donation. Sorry to have caused you trouble for Luna’s publicity.”
The money Zhang Xiao donated came from Luna—this secret was known to only four people, including Zhang Xiao. Even Shao Guangrong didn’t know the truth, let alone Zhang Xiao’s assistant and makeup artist Xiao Ge.
Xia Xiaolan naturally wouldn’t tell more people. Zhang Xiao had taken substantial money and gained a great reputation. Even if her unit was somewhat dissatisfied, she surely wouldn’t regret it—why complain after getting such benefits?
“The unit feels I should have reported earning such a large sum at once. Even if I earned it myself and wanted to donate, I could have prioritized donating to the unit—some scripts have been shelved due to lack of funding.”
Donate to the film studio?
Don’t be ridiculous—current film studios weren’t poor. Scripts remained unfilmed because they were either unremarkable or technically unfeasible, not because they needed actors’ donations. For Zhang Xiao, donating money to film movies versus helping poor students were surely different matters!
“Don’t donate to the film studio. There’s only one situation where actors give money to film studios—as an investment for future profits!”
Just as Xia Xiaolan finished imparting this wisdom, Chen Xiliang excitedly slapped his thigh:
“It’s starting!”
Indeed, the Evening News had ended, and many viewers wouldn’t switch channels or turn off their TVs because there wasn’t time!
The scene changed, and the plain Zhang Xiao appeared on screen, her styling and clothing utterly dowdy. The real Zhang Xiao in the room was startled—was she really that ugly before?!