Chapter 10: Who is this man?

Wang Chenyi opened his mouth, but after a long while, he weakly explained, "I was filming deep in the mountains during that time, and the signal was bad in the valleys. By the time I heard about your car accident, you had already been discharged from the hospital..."

"...Filming?" Luo Xincheng's eyes widened in disbelief, her attention diverted elsewhere. "With your acting skills, you want to act?"

Two years ago, her stepson participated in a talent show. Whether he got lucky or used family connections, he actually managed to debut. After that, he would post singing and dancing videos on his WeChat Moments to promote his obscure group.

Luo Xincheng knew that he had been learning modern dance since he was a child, so she didn't understand his decision to debut as an idol, but she also reluctantly respected it. It was just acting...

The corner of her mouth twitched slightly as she recalled his clumsy acting.

"Your Chinese entertainment industry is truly finished."

"..."

Wang Chenyi touched his nose, guessing that he was also lacking confidence, and finally stopped spouting sarcasm. "Practice makes perfect, the more you act, the better your acting skills will become."

"Ha, being a fan of yours is really unlucky. You have to blindly praise your lousy acting skills."

Luo Xincheng lost patience with arguing with him, crossed her arms, and looked away.

Seeing that she had toned down her imposing manner, Assistant Li tactfully brought over a chair. Luo Xincheng glanced back but didn't sit down immediately.

Seeing this, Wang Jinlin took the apple that Wang Chenyi hadn't finished peeling from his hand.

"Alright, I appreciate your thoughtfulness." He gently placed the plate of apples on the bedside table and said calmly, "Didn't you say you have a schedule tomorrow? Go back and rest today, so you can be in better shape for the next few days."

Wang Chenyi always obeyed his stepfather's every word. No matter what he really thought, he would always obediently listen to his advice on the surface.

"Okay, then I'll head back now." He stood up, took the baseball cap and mask from Li Te's assistant, and put them on. "Dad, you should get some rest too."

He then nodded in a friendly manner to Luo Xincheng.

However, she completely ignored him, treating him like air, and looked around the ward's decor with great interest, never once glancing at him.

Wang Chenyi silently lowered the brim of his hat and quickly left the ward.

As soon as the others left, Luo Xincheng felt the air around her instantly become fresher. Before the door was even closed, she casually sat down in the chair.

Assistant Li handed her a cup of freshly brewed jasmine tea at just the right moment, but she waved her hand, saying she didn't really want to drink it.

"Heh." Wang Jinlin leaned back against the headboard, looking disgusted. "He said he came to visit me because he was worried about my health, but after he came in, he was either arguing with someone or ordering my assistant around."

"Who ordered your assistant around?" Luo Xincheng said, displeased. "Don't talk nonsense with your eyes open."

Assistant Li wore a formulaic smile, so perfect it seemed as if it had been measured with a ruler. "I'm just doing my job."

"..." Wang Jinlin glanced at him. "Alright, there's nothing more for you here. Go back. As for that acquisition deal..."

He pinched the bridge of his nose again. "Leave it for now. I'll have a meeting with the investment department after I'm discharged from the hospital."

"Okay." Assistant Li bowed respectfully, quickly left the ward, and gently closed the door.

In a short while, only the father and daughter remained in the large ward.

With no outsiders around, Luo Xincheng relaxed even more and soon slumped into the chair as if she had no bones.

Wang Jinlin couldn't bear to look at him. "You really didn't come here to see me sincerely, did you? At least Xiao Yi peeled an apple for me when she came here. What about you? You're just here to keep me company, aren't you?"

Luo Xincheng scoffed, as if she were a tough nut to crack, "If you think Wang Chenyi is good, then call him back."

Wang Jinlin was completely exasperated by her nonchalant attitude. After feeling helpless, his head seemed to hurt even more, so he couldn't help but raise his hand to press his temples.

"Headache?" She sat up straight immediately, making a move to get up. "Let me massage it for you!"

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Wang Jinlin immediately reached out a hand to stop her from getting up, and gave her a bitter smile, "I appreciate your filial piety. Please sit down and don't tire yourself out."

"?"

Luo Xincheng, puzzled, said, "There's no need to be so resistant, is there? I just want to give you a head massage!"

"No, you should use that energy elsewhere. I don't need you to condescend to press my head down." Wang Jinlin paused, a suspicious look on his face. "Or are you short of money again?"

“I don’t need it!” she said firmly, leaning back and taking the opportunity to climb up the ladder. “But my account is always open to you, so you can transfer whenever you want, as long as you don’t need my permission.”

Wang Jinlin chuckled, stretched out his arm, picked up the jasmine tea from the bedside table, and blew on it.

"That's tea that Assistant Li brewed for me. If you drink it, what am I supposed to drink?"

"If you want to drink it, go brew it yourself. Why do you have to steal tea from me, a sick person? You're really filial."

"...You were hospitalized this time because of liver damage, right? I seem to remember that you shouldn't drink tea if you have liver damage."

"Yes, but you can't drink strong tea."

...No wonder Assistant Li brewed jasmine tea today instead of the Lao Ban Zhang tea that her father usually drinks.

After taking a couple of sips of tea, Wang Jinlin frowned, perhaps because he really couldn't stand the taste. He put down the teacup with a cold face. "I'll let it go today, since there are no outsiders here. But in the future, when you're outside, you should watch your mouth. Don't always talk to Xiao Yi in a sarcastic way and embarrass him."

"No matter what, he is still your brother in name only. Having such an unpleasant argument with him will only make you a laughing stock."

Luo Xincheng admired her new manicure from yesterday and gave a perfunctory "hmm," saying, "Of course I can play the sister-brother relationship role, provided he doesn't act like a jerk."

"He is now a public figure, so he will naturally be careful with his words and actions and manage his image well in public."

She dragged out the last syllable with a listless expression, then, as if remembering something, she laughed and teased, "But the entertainment industry is notoriously a cesspool, what if his reputation collapses soon? Netizens these days are so good at digging, I'm worried you'll ruin your reputation!"

Wang Jinlin laughed in exasperation, "You're just hoping I'll do something good!"

She shrugged innocently, "I was just reminding you to take precautions against risks."

Wang Jinlin gave a short chuckle, picked up the apple that Wang Chenyi had peeled in half, and ate two bites of the peelless part.

"I'll sign the share transfer agreement with you as soon as I'm discharged from the hospital." His tone was frighteningly calm, as if he wasn't talking about share transfer rights worth hundreds of millions, but rather commenting on the weather today. "Don't worry, what's yours will be yours, and not a single penny will be given to outsiders."

He glanced at her and said, "So there's no need to act so aggrieved in front of me."

How could he not know his own daughter's character?

Although she did dislike Wang Chenyi, she only treated him as a source of amusement. She would make sarcastic remarks, but she always kept a calm attitude and would not get really angry. The way she was so angry and aggressive today was obviously an act to make him jealous. It's impossible that she would have regressed after studying abroad for several years.

Luo Xincheng suppressed her secret joy and pretended to be naive, "What acting? I was already feeling wronged, so I got up early to visit you, only to come in and see his annoying face. It's like when you went to visit Grandpa the other day, all excited, but then Grandpa turned around and said that overseas project..."

"Alright, that's enough!"

Unexpectedly, this incident had such a huge impact on her father. Luo Xincheng immediately fell silent and went over to pat his back.

"Okay, I'll shut up. I won't say another word from now on!"

Wang Jinlin smiled wryly, feeling that her coming today was purely to upset him.

After a while, he caught his breath, his complexion improved, and he even had the appetite to continue eating the apple.

Seeing this, Luo Xincheng cleared her throat and looked at him with bright eyes, "Are you transferring all your shares to me?"

Wang Jinlin was so shocked that he almost choked on the apple he had just swallowed.

"Cough cough, you really think I'm dead?!"

His understanding of his daughter was refreshed once again. Although he knew she was just joking, the fact that she could make such a joke was enough to show just how greedy she was.

"I'll give you all the shares, and you'll take my place in this seat?"

He awkwardly pulled out a tissue to wipe his mouth, "I can only give you 1% at most right now."

"Even if I wanted to give you everything, you'd have to be able to swallow it all."

It's true that his eldest brother is currently the actual controller of Zhaoteng Group, but because he has always coveted his brother's position and frequently causes him trouble, his brother has always disliked him, just as he has disliked his fourth brother for many years.

Wang Jinlin judges others by his own standards, so it's hard to say that his brother won't extend his dislike for him to his niece, Luo Xincheng.

"Oh, I was just joking," Luo Xincheng said with a grin. "Giving me 1% of the shares is enough to make my cousins ​​green with envy. Any more and I won't be able to sleep peacefully at night."

One percent of the shares may not seem like much at first glance, not even enough to qualify for a temporary proposal at a shareholders' meeting. But Zhao Teng is a very large and powerful family. As long as Luo Xincheng doesn't do anything reckless or cross the line for the rest of her life, these shares will be enough for her to live a life of luxury and debauchery.

So when she finally received confirmation of the share transfer, Luo Xincheng was overjoyed and finally gave her father a kind look. Her words were much more pleasant than usual. When she saw that his teacup was empty, she even went out of her way to make him a cup of tea. Wang Jinlin was both angry and amused, and he scolded her for being a miser who wouldn't get up early for nothing, greedy and stingy, and that she never got back what she had swallowed.

Luo Xincheng was in a great mood and didn't care what he said.

"Alright, alright, don't speak so loudly." She continued patting her father's back. "The most important thing for you right now is to rest."

"How can I possibly calm down with you here?" Wang Jinlin waved his hand. "Alright, you can go out too, I'm a little sleepy."

Luo Xincheng then thoughtfully tucked him in, saying, "I'll come see you again tomorrow!"

Look, even the 'you' is here.

Wang Jinlin lay down, closed his eyes, waved to her silently, and saw her off.

Luo Xincheng picked up her bag and quietly left the ward.

She breathed a sigh of relief after closing the ward door.

Turning around, walking along the corridor soaked in disinfectant, she couldn't contain her excitement and picked up her phone to share the good news with her mother.

As they passed a bench, the young man who had been sitting there with his head down suddenly stood up.

"Sis, you're out!"

"Holy shit!"

Luo Xincheng was so frightened that she started swearing and almost dropped her phone.

"Didn't you leave?!"

She steadied her phone, quickly composed herself, and, mindful that they were in a hospital, lowered her voice, "What are you still doing here?"

Before he could finish speaking, Luo Xincheng quickly interrupted him.

No! You don't want to!

As the elevator was about to come down, she rushed forward and frantically pressed the down button.

A few seconds later, as the elevator doors slowly opened, Luo Xincheng inadvertently met the eyes of the person inside through the widening gap in the doors, and both of them were startled.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her eyes wide with surprise and disbelief.

The young man inside was dressed in a suit and tie, his slightly pale face framed by a pair of casual black-rimmed glasses. When he saw that it was her outside the door, his tired eyes lit up with a barely perceptible glimmer of light.

This person was none other than Fu Zhiheng, whom she had met just yesterday.

"……also?"

Before Fu Zhiheng could fully recover from the surprise of his chance encounter with Luo Xincheng, he heard the extremely abrupt "also".

Just as she was about to ask for more details, she saw a blond man approach Luo Xincheng with a wronged expression, whispering to her with every word full of flattery.

Fu Zhiheng closed his eyes wearily.

A note from the author: