Chapter Fifteen: The Mei Family

Meijia Village, Nanhang.

Zhao Huan has been at Mei's house for three months now. She went from being excited and confident at the beginning to being worried and anxious in just three months.

"Aunt Zhao, please wait a moment, our president will be here shortly." The servant respectfully served her a cup of tea and then bowed and withdrew.

Zhao Huan looked down at the emerald green tea. The tea leaves unfurled like green clouds in the celadon cup, then swirled and sank with the heat. She recalled her first visit to the Mei family.

At that time, the Mei family learned from the family of the woman who had married the best that the lady had come south to Hangzhou to recuperate. They thought of the incident between the male actor and the richest man back then, and their minds began to stir.

Over the years, while people in the industry have been outwardly polite to the Mei family, many have privately mocked them for rising to power through a web of nepotism. But the Mei family isn't ashamed; on the contrary, having tasted the benefits of this system, they've become even more adept at cultivating connections in this area.

This time, since it concerned that lady, their family had pulled out all the stops and used every trick in the book. But they failed at the very first step; the Mei family couldn't even get through the door.

To even catch a glimpse of that lady is as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Just then, the Mei family learned about one of the lady's stewards, named Cheng Shiyao. He had originally been one of the lady's personal secretaries, serving her for many years and still holding some respect for her.

Later, when the lady retired, he transformed himself and appeared by her side as one of her butlers.

It was this Butler Cheng who gave the Mei family another chance.

He spoke vaguely, as if speaking in riddles, revealing that the lady had come to the south to recuperate, and that noisy, fake things should stay away from her. If they were truly interested, they could select some bright, intelligent, and obedient girls to interview for assistant positions at the resort; perhaps he could even help with introductions.

Having received confirmation, the Mei family was instantly motivated again. They meticulously selected from among the outstanding and beautiful younger members of the family, as well as from among the well-bred beauties. In particular, they chose those beauties who were skilled in music, opera, and singing, and brought them to Butler Cheng for assistant interviews.

It was only then that the Mei family realized that, like them, many others were also trying to climb this towering tree. These people were either wealthy merchants or prominent families, and they had somehow learned of this news through secret channels. Now, they were all secretly vying to find ways to curry favor with Steward Cheng and gain an advantage in front of that lady.

There were also many people like the Mei family who secretly searched for candidates. According to the rumors circulating among these people, it was hard to tell if they were true or not. It was said that the steward Cheng had apparently requested that the candidate should ideally have no romantic history and be relatively pure and clean in order to qualify for entry.

And so, like a secretive and turbulent talent show, everyone was racking their brains to find a way to participate.

However, no one has succeeded yet. The Mei family secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but they also felt that this matter was very difficult to handle.

This time, Butler Cheng also took action. He first rigorously selected the people introduced by the Mei family for the second time, and then conducted a thorough selection and investigation of the Mei family members and other people who were sent. Finally, he carefully brought two or three pure and well-behaved girls who were outstanding in all aspects into the Cuiwei Villa where the lady was recuperating.

But soon, the two or three most outstanding beauties of the Mei family were returned by Steward Cheng.

The housekeeper, Cheng, told the Mei family that the madam had met them once, but only told him that these children were still so young and there was no need to waste their youth.

Butler Cheng believed that the people chosen by the Mei family were not good enough for Madam Mei, and he began to question the Mei family's abilities. The head of the Mei family was immediately alarmed and repeatedly begged Butler Cheng to give him another chance.

In order to seize this last opportunity, the Mei family finally decided to seek outside help.

They knew that the Zhao family in Nanyang was very experienced and had many resources in finding people, so they made contact with the Zhao family patriarch overnight.

Leaving aside how painstakingly they analyzed the lady's thoughts and preferences in secret, and how they used every means to find a suitable candidate, in the end, Zhao Huan got the opportunity and came to the Mei family carrying the hopes of the Zhao family.

This time, however, Zhao Huan felt more and more that hope seemed to have become increasingly slim.

Originally, as a woman, she felt she should be better able to understand that person's preferences. Based on her years of experience in judging people, she was also confident that the young man she had found this time would definitely catch that person's eye and fulfill the long-cherished wish of both families.

After all, that boy was extremely innocent, beautiful, and pure, and was praised by countless people as an "angel boy" since childhood.

He was a "secret weapon" that the Zhao family had allowed to grow freely outside, but secretly nurtured for many years. Back then, a very wealthy man in Southeast Asia took a liking to him, but the Zhao family had to painfully and painstakingly refuse him.

Three months ago, after a series of operations, the perfect young man they introduced for the third time to interview for the assistant position was finally temporarily kept at Cuiwei Villa.

While the Mei and Zhao families were overjoyed, the head of the Mei family calmly said that getting someone to stay was only the first step; that lady was not so easy to approach. To replicate the deeds of that wealthy merchant from back then, the young man had to gain the lady's true favor.

But even this step is one that Zhao Huan and his team have yet to complete.

No matter how charming and beautiful the boy named "Ranran" was, he never managed to get any closer to that lady. To this day, he is only one of the assistants working for Butler Cheng, and he can barely appear in front of her.

This greatly troubled the Mei family and Zhao Huan, who racked their brains to come up with a solution for the boy, but to no avail.

Today, they are going to have another meeting to discuss how to break the deadlock. This time, Zhao Huan also asked the boy named "Ranran" to ask Butler Cheng for leave to come over.

Zhao Huan waited in the hall for about ten minutes before the head of the Mei family arrived with a worried expression.

The head of the Mei family is the president of a certain chamber of commerce and social association, so everyone basically calls him "President Mei".

"Aunt Zhao, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," President Mei said as she entered. She looked around and, seeing that there was no one else around except Zhao Huan, asked, "When will Ranran arrive?"

Zhao Huan took a sip of the now-cold tea and said irritably, "President Mei is in a hurry now. How can she be late for a meeting? There must be something more important than this."

Despite being sarcasticly rebuked, President Mei didn't get angry; instead, she seemed to have a very good temper. She explained to Zhao Huan, "I just received some news and I'm worried about it. I think that Butler Cheng is becoming increasingly impatient with us. Aunt Zhao, do you think he's set his sights on someone else?"

Zhao Huan put down his teacup and pondered for a moment before saying, "That shouldn't be the case. We've already inquired, and right now only Ranran is staying at Cuiwei Villa. The others can't even get in."

Hearing this, Chairman Mei's brows relaxed slightly; this was the only thing that could comfort them now.

Just then, a commotion came from outside the hall.

Several servants escorted a radiant and handsome young man into the room. The young man appeared to be eighteen or nineteen years old, with bright eyes and white teeth, and a face full of innocent and naive charm.

What's even more striking is the proud and confident expression on his face, typical of a young man born into privilege, while his every move exudes youthful energy and charm.

This is something that the beauties of the Mei family, who were raised from childhood, could not compare to.

"Ranran, you're here! Please have a seat!" President Mei's worried expression vanished, and she warmly invited the young man to sit down.

After dismissing the servants and closing the hall door, he and Zhao Huan couldn't wait to ask the boy about the progress. To their surprise, the boy's face darkened, and he pouted and complained, "Aunt Zhao, you don't know, although I'm in the manor, I have so few opportunities to see Madam. Steward Cheng won't let me run around, and the servants are keeping a very close eye on me."

Zhao Huan and Chairman Mei exchanged a glance, and Zhao Huan then said to the young man with some helplessness, "This is normal. People are bound to be more cautious around that lady. You have the opportunity to meet that lady, which is something many people would kill for. Listen to Butler Cheng's advice and be careful."

“But didn’t you want me to create more opportunities to meet Madam?” The young man picked up the tea on the table and drank it all in one gulp. He said somewhat dejectedly, “I really tried my best! Before, everyone was fawning over me. This is the first time I’ve had to shamelessly fawn over someone. And the people around Madam are so serious. They don’t talk to me at all. Even a casual attendant doesn’t really look at me directly.”

"You have no idea how difficult it is to stay in there! There are so many rules! I can't make even the slightest mistake. And I think it's all the fault of those people like Butler Cheng. Although Madam doesn't smile much, she still speaks to me very gently. However, Madam's aura is really strong. I don't even dare to look at Madam for more than three seconds."

The boy's straightforward words made Zhao Huan and the others chuckle, but Chairman Mei's expression deepened, and she asked the boy meaningfully, "Ranran, what about what your Aunt Zhao and I emphasized to you last time..."

The boy's face flushed instantly, and he stammered, "I...I tried it. A few nights ago, there was a thunderstorm, so I sneaked over to Madam's place and pretended to be soaked to the bone..."

His face showed a mix of embarrassment and anger. "I did exactly as you instructed, speaking and posing. But my upper body was soaked, and the lady didn't react at all. Then, out of nowhere, a few servants appeared and took me out..."

"They took you out?" Chairman Mei repeated the boy's words in shock, then asked somewhat nervously, "And then what happened? That lady wasn't angry, was she?"

"I'm not angry..." the boy said uncertainly, "It's just that I haven't seen Madam for several days..."

"This..." Chairman Mei and Zhao Huan looked at each other, feeling a throbbing nerve in their brains, and their expressions inevitably turned frustrated.

Seeing their grim expressions, the young man sheepishly defended himself, saying, "You can't blame me for this. I have such a great figure; back in the country, so many people wanted to see me but couldn't. Besides, maybe... it's because your wife isn't in good health and is getting old... she no longer has that kind of need."

Zhao Huan closed her eyes in despair and said with a look of disappointment, "No need? Then what are Butler Cheng and the others busy with? You..." She held back for a long time before swallowing the words she wanted to use to call the boy stupid.