Chapter 74: Time Flies

Looking at Ling Chen's smiling face, Li Sishi felt a rare bit of dissatisfaction with Zuo Lili: even though she knew Zuo Lili was worried about her, she didn't have to send someone to Ling Chen's place!

Wouldn't it be better to call Le Yun and have her master come pick her up? Oh, right, Le Yun was recently advised by her doctor to quit smoking and drinking and get plenty of rest, otherwise she might damage her voice. So she left as soon as the awards ceremony ended, even earlier and faster than Le Yun.

Conversely, those who are currently very popular and will definitely be harassed by reporters before they can leave in the early morning are among the last to come out.

On the other side, seeing that there was a motorcycle next to Li Sishi, Ling Chen subconsciously glanced at the rider. After recognizing the driver, he smiled and greeted his junior brother, "Hi."

He had studied music under that music godfather in his early years. Although that music godfather had many students and he no longer had much interaction with rising stars like Wu Shanluan, he still had to acknowledge their nominal kinship.

"Hi." Wu Shanluan replied subconsciously, a little dazed, then looked at Li Sishi, his expression becoming increasingly blank.

Li Sishi looked around. Although she would much rather ride in a four-wheeled vehicle to avoid the harsh winter night wind, Wu Shanluan had already handed her a helmet, so it didn't seem right to just leave this socially awkward, introverted guy like that...

Meanwhile, in the early hours of the morning, someone kindly offered her a ride—but how to put it, even though there seemed to be no one around, it was hard to guarantee that one or two paparazzi wouldn't suddenly appear out of nowhere, forcing her to take pictures and write articles whether she was on a sports car or a motorcycle.

Just as Li Sishi was struggling with her decision again, another luxury car drove up from not far ahead.

The car door opened, and Madam Li stepped out with a sprightly gait beyond her years. Even Li Jinhao, the driver, couldn't keep up with her speed. She strode over, slightly bent over, and waved as she greeted them: "Sishi, we made rock sugar bird's nest soup tonight. It's the best for nourishing the skin and soothing the throat..."

Before she could finish speaking, Madam Li had already seen the confrontation between the sports car and the motorcycle ahead.

In an instant, as if sensing something, Old Madam Li immediately stood up straight, adopting the cold-faced demeanor of an empress dowager who had seen some scheming concubine trying to bewitch the emperor. Even her previously amiable expression suddenly turned stern, and her critical and dissatisfied gaze flew forward like swords...

"Mom." Li Jinhao, who was lagging behind, came up and secretly tugged at Madam Li's sleeve.

.

Although he didn't particularly like Li Sishi being surrounded by people, it seemed that there wasn't any tense atmosphere between the two young men. So they probably just meant well by offering Li Sishi a ride and happened to run into someone with the same idea...

There's no way around it; good girls always attract unwanted attention. He's been there himself, so he can probably, perhaps, barely, possibly, or maybe, somewhat understand.

Unlike Wu Shanluan, who doesn't usually follow gossip and remained blankly oblivious, Lingchen, who always manages to find time to read gossip for a while amidst his busy schedule, recognized the visitors as Li Sishi's two future elders. He then gave them an understanding smile: "Looks like I won't have to take a detour. I'll go first, goodbye."

Li Sishi nodded, waved goodbye after midnight, and then explained to the clueless Wu Shanluan, "My family is here to pick me up, sorry."

"Oh, it's nothing, I'll be going now." Wu Shanluan snapped out of his daze, casually put his helmet away, and sped off.

Seeing this, Li Sishi smiled and walked towards Madam Li: "It's good that you came. My nanny van had a problem, and I was planning to hitch a ride back..."

"Why take a ride? You're so delicate. What if you catch a cold in this cold weather?" Old Madam Li didn't like her precious granddaughter working so hard in the entertainment industry, but unfortunately, she couldn't directly control this hard-won granddaughter. So, she could only ask the servants to make some delicious food and drinks for the child from time to time, which made Li Sishi laugh and cry a lot as she explained that she couldn't eat too much in order to maintain her figure.

"It's okay if it happens once or twice." Li Sishi smiled helplessly and quickly changed the subject, "I won the gold award for newcomer and the silver award for advertising song tonight! And I got to drink nourishing sweet soup, I'm so happy!"

"You... Now that Madam Li has her grandson, she's completely content and turns a blind eye to everything. As long as it's not a big problem, she'll basically just say 'okay, okay' and 'fine, fine' to Li Sishi. Even Li Jinhao will occasionally joke that Madam Li is a bit biased now."

"You're already in your fifties, why are you arguing with the child?" Old Madam Li retorted without any politeness, looking exactly like an old woman who spoils her child to the extreme.

Not only was Madam Li biased in her words, but she also acted swiftly. While Li Sishi was drinking sweet soup at the table, she quietly discussed something with Li Jinhao, their conversation filled with thoughts about what had happened that evening: "There are always those shameless flirts trying to get close and stir up trouble for those newspapers and magazines to write nonsense, so I think..."

On Sishi's birthday, they spread the rumor that she had a right to inherit our family business.

A beautiful young woman without support and a wealthy heiress with family protection may both be harassed, but newspapers, magazines, and the people of Hong Kong have completely different views on them.

The former is a scheming woman who rides on someone else's popularity to get their money, while the latter is a pampered heiress. And those who flock to her are all swarms of suitors who want to avoid decades of hard work.

Just like that Huo family member who had a scandal during the beauty pageant, people just thought he was a scheming, low-class guy trying to climb the social ladder by marrying a rich heiress, and all they said was bad things about him...

“I think it’s a good idea,” Li Jinhao nodded.

The entertainment industry in Hong Kong is known for its tendency to fawn over the powerful and bully the weak, and it also has a strong sense of power, with the saying "It's easier to mess with the king than his underlings." The more powerful backers an artist has, the fewer minor troubles they will encounter.

Caught off guard by the question, Li Sishi, who had just finished drinking her sweet soup, paused for a moment before giving a faint "Mmm" in response to the expectant looks of the two.

Unlike her uncle's family, who are stubborn and believe in not accepting rewards without merit, she is very good at "flexible thinking" and knows how to cling to powerful figures... If you want to make it in the entertainment industry, the more powerful your backers, the more comfortable you will be. Anyone who wants to take advantage of her will have to think twice before making a move.

Conversely, Li Jinhao and Madam Li also breathed a sigh of relief: Li Sishi and the Zhou family had previously been indifferent to the Li family's assets, and Zhou Jiayun was particularly sensitive to their offerings of money and gifts because of past events, so they were afraid that Li Sishi would not accept the proposal.

People are so contradictory; those who are eyeing their assets don't want to give them anything, while those who don't care about their assets always want to give them this and that.

Thus, with the cooperation of both parties, Li Sishi's coming-of-age birthday party that year was quite grand and lively.

The pile of gifts, which were photographed and stacked into a small mountain, was defined by the media as "gifts from various families to express goodwill to the new darling and heir of the Li family," which was completely different from the situation in the past when Miss Hong Kong and Miss Chinese International held birthday parties, and all kinds of rumors would spread as soon as someone gave a gift.

With the newspapers and magazines publicizing it, the whole of Hong Kong knew that Miss Hong Kong, Lee Sze-sze, was incredibly lucky. Not only did she not have to do anything to become a wealthy heiress, but she also gained the genuine favor of the wealthy family, who intended for her to inherit most of the assets of this branch of the Lee family. It was something that made people extremely envious.

As for Old Madam Li, who could finally breathe a sigh of relief, she was even more overjoyed during this time: her inconsistent treatment of the Li family members who tried to curry favor with her over the years...

The relatives and nephews' families were simply trying to keep each other in check, since their own son had no heir and they needed to choose an heir.

Now that she has her beloved granddaughter, who is both sensible and intelligent, she has undoubtedly thrown those profit-driven guys to the back of her mind in one go—well, she can't completely get rid of them yet, as they can still keep each other in check. She can deal with them slowly after her beloved granddaughter returns from her time in the entertainment industry.

Especially Wu Weisheng, her grand-nephew who was greedy despite having been left with a secure future, was perfect for shielding her beloved granddaughter from those unwanted suitors...

Once her heart completely turned to the other side, Madam Li, who now revered her precious granddaughter Li Sishi, was extremely shrewd and calculating.

Li Sishi has been busy with her studies and social engagements as a Miss Hong Kong contestant lately, so she naturally had no objection to Madam Li's arrangement: Speaking of which, Wu Weisheng, her cousin, is a bit greasy and a straight man, but he's also a coward with a heart of a thief. He's perfect as a shield.

Most importantly, he was able to fend off the advances of a group of spoiled second-generation rich kids, led by his scumbag ex-husband Zheng Suxin. Furthermore, because he secretly intended to gain inheritance rights through marriage with her, he fought quite fiercely with these spoiled kids, and in his daily life, he always managed to exceed the expectations of Old Madam Li in setting a check and balance on these extreme individuals...

After the Lantern Festival, the weather in the port city gradually warmed up.

Although Lee Sze-sze has only appeared at charity events recently, the TV series "Fashionable Girls on the Runway," which was filmed by a group of former Miss Hong Kong contestants, has started airing. Her guest appearance in half an episode of this 10-episode short drama has given many fans and casual viewers who miss her a good visual treat, allowing them to watch a fashion show where the beauties once again compete for attention.

Of course, most viewers agree that Li Sishi's performance in this episode completely overshadowed everyone else. Whether it was the character's portrayal of an international supermodel or her own charm as a beauty pageant legend, she lived up to the title and was the most beautiful among all the beauties.

Because Li Sishi's appearance and acting skills were really good in this episode, many people are looking forward to seeing her on the small screen or even the big screen again after this episode.

In response, her manager, Lu Yiting, calmly replied, "Thank you all for your love for Ah May. However, Ah May is currently studying hard to prepare for university entrance exams, and she also has various volunteer activities for the Miss Hong Kong pageant. Therefore, the earliest she can film a drama will be this summer. Please be patient and wait. We hope that Ah May can bring you a surprise then..."

The gentle spring breeze blows, and on a warm day when one wants to lazily lie in the sun reading, the new Miss Hong Kong pageant is about to begin.

After the top 20 finalists of the new Miss Hong Kong pageant entered the training camp after two rounds of selection, Lee Sze-sze, who was juggling both her studies and her Miss Hong Kong duties, finally received an early admission notice from City University of Hong Kong after passing numerous selection exams.

Her chosen major was the one she had initially decided on, and it was also one of the most popular majors at Hong Kong City University: law.

With Li Jinhao and Zhuang Menghua's help, she got the course schedule first. After spending a lot of time distinguishing between the required and elective courses and making a schedule to balance her studies and work according to her future work arrangements, Li Sishi returned to Zhuang Menghua's office to wait for the script for the female lead in the anniversary drama that she had promised.

"Originally, the plan was to set it up as a story of the male and female protagonists supporting each other from their school days to their working lives. However, the producer of this drama saw that your singing battle with Leo at the TVB Anniversary Gala was very exciting, so he asked the screenwriter to change some of the character settings and story settings..."

Zhuang Menghua explained, "Take a look at the script yourself first. Although it has some fantasy elements, it's basically a modern fashion drama. You don't need to spend time joining the crew in advance for training, so it's relatively easy."

Li Sishi nodded, took the file bag, and immediately saw the title of the drama, intended for the second half of the year's anniversary celebration: "Mr. Morning."