Chapter 19
Chapter 19
The Bentley cruised through the streets, and in the back seat, Wang Mei pursed her lips.
Han Jialan cautiously observed Wang Mei's expression and tentatively asked, "Mom, what about the memory card?"
Wang Mei spread her hands, looked down at the memory card lying in her palm, frowned in disgust, and her face clearly showed resistance.
She curled her lips and reached out to toss the memory card to Han Jialan, but quickly clenched her fist. Then, she shook her head in resistance: "Don't worry about this kind of thing. You're taking the college entrance exam this year, your task is to study hard."
Wang Mei quickly changed the subject: "Recently, several entertainment companies have been exposed for having their stars evade taxes and being named by the government, resulting in the suspension of film and television productions. Your dad was persuaded by your brother to follow suit and invest in the entertainment industry, and I wonder how much money he'll lose this time. When you get home, don't say anything carelessly, or you'll bring bad luck."
“Okay, Mom, I understand.” Han Jialan was as considerate as ever, and then turned to Wang Mei and said, “In the last monthly exam, I got twelve extra humanities papers. That’s enough to get into a top-tier university.”
“Yes, that’s it. If you do well on the exam, it’ll be impressive for the family to have a celebration. I’ll mention your improved grades to your dad at dinner later; he’ll definitely be happy.” Wang Mei smiled again and casually added, “I saw the Chanel list yesterday; you liked those lambskin shoes, right? They’re all black, quite understated, and you can wear them to school too. I’ll have them sent over.”
After speaking, Wang Mei couldn't help but think of the pair of black soft-soled leather shoes that Jiang Mingyue had worn when they met earlier today.
The leather of those shoes was in good condition, but you could tell at a glance that they had been worn for a long time and were not from a well-known brand.
The slight smile that had just appeared on her face vanished quickly, and her palm stung from the memory card as she clenched her fist.
It wasn't until she got home that Wang Mei managed to force a smile to greet her returning husband and son.
Han Jialan saw Wang Mei's reaction clearly and bit her lip hard.
After entering the villa, Han Jialan went into the dressing room and immediately threw the small leather bag she was carrying at the wardrobe. The bag rolled a few times on the designer clothes, lost its force, and landed on the thick wool carpet without moving.
The dull thud of the impact was completely absorbed by the carpet.
Han Jialan suddenly rushed forward, picked up the purse she had thrown to the ground, slumped down, and cried silently while clutching the purse. She muttered to herself, "Jiang Mingyue keeps talking back to Mom, so why does Mom still change her face whenever she thinks of Jiang Mingyue? You clearly said this morning that you never raised her, that you had no feelings for her, and that having me as your daughter was enough. Is my only value in this family to marry Fu Qian?!"
Han Jialan became increasingly aggrieved as she spoke, and eventually burst into tears.
The door lock suddenly clicked shut, startling her so much that she trembled and tensed up, stiffening as she turned around.
Han Jiajin, clutching a switch, peeked out from the balcony behind the walk-in closet and said with a bored expression, "Sis, don't cry, it's not a big deal."
He awkwardly pulled a pack of wet wipes from his pocket and tossed it to Han Jialan: "Wipe your nose, it's disgusting with your snot running down your face."
Han Jialan glared angrily and raised her hand as if to hit him.
Han Jiajin covered her head anxiously: "Hey, you said you're not my biological child anymore, you can't just hit me like that!"
Han Jialan's eyes immediately reddened again, and the tears she had just stopped flowing down her cheeks once more.
Han Jiajin couldn't help but sneer, so he simply sat cross-legged in front of her, grabbed Han Jialan's hand and slapped his chubby face a few times, "Okay, okay, you can have it, alright? Please stop crying, you cry so horribly, like you're about to die."
Han Jialan withdrew her hand, wiped her eyes with a wet tissue, pinched her nose hard, and replied in a muffled voice, "What do you know? I can't even imagine what it would be like to call a complete stranger 'Mom.' I'm so scared of what it's like in TV dramas, going to a school full of bad students, possibly dropping out of school to work as a waitress in a small shop, and having customers grope me."
Han Jiajin rolled her eyes: "Sis, no, do you think China is South Korea? I told you not to watch Korean dramas with Mom, you're going to become brain-dead. There aren't that many lunatics in China. Besides, you're taking the college entrance exam next year. You can apply for student loans and work part-time."
"I'm just a coward and I don't want to work, is that wrong?" Han Jialan retorted softly, throwing the wet wipes into the wastebasket next to her.
Han Jiajin sat there, fiddling with the directional keys with some awkwardness: "Even if you find your biological parents, your mom and dad definitely won't stop you from taking all these things with you. You can sell all these clothes and bags secondhand, and you'll have enough money to go to university, or even graduate with a doctorate."
"Hmph." Han Jialan had nothing to say, but she still stubbornly refused to admit to her younger brother that she had been thinking too far off.
Han Jiajin simply said, "Okay, okay, I have over two million yuan in my bank account. If Mom and Dad don't acknowledge you anymore, I'll give you all the money, alright? I don't care who your biological parents are, you're still my sister."
"I don't need that much money," Han Jialan suddenly said. "Wait, I'm going to study art, and two million won't be enough. Are you going to sell all your game cards to pay for my studies?"
Han Jiajin's face immediately scrunched up: "Give me a break, don't push your luck. Two million, I'll take the money, but not the game cards."
Han Jialan finally stopped crying and started smiling.
She reached out and ruffled Han Jiajin's hair: "I don't need your money. When I marry Fu Qian, I'll have the Fu family pay for it."
This time it was Han Jiajin's turn to glare: "Sis, are you really going to hang yourself on Fu Qian's tree? He changed his mind about Jiang Mingyue back in his senior year of high school. You can't really be that cheap, liking him even like that, right? Besides, you're not even my biological daughter anymore, so it'll be easier for Fu Qian to find a reason to dump you."
Han Jialan slapped her younger brother hard on the back: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
She pulled her hands back and hugged her knees, whispering, "Compared to finding parents whose character I have no idea what to do with, I think marrying Fu Qian is a good thing. I'm used to luxury, I don't want to live a hard life."
Han Jiajin's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "Holy crap, amazing!"
"Don't swear." Han Jialan frowned, pinched her younger brother's ear and shook it, then said, "Stop hiding here to play games secretly. I need to change my clothes. You can go back now. It's time to eat."
Han Jiajin scrambled up from the street stall, quickly ran out the door, and whispered back, "It's terrifying that someone can act so convincingly even when they're no longer in love. I must never let anyone know I'm rich when I'm looking for a partner in the future."
*
Jiang Mingyue opened the door, and before she could speak, the reporter, with a shameless grin, introduced himself: "Miss Jiang, right? Don't be afraid, Mr. Fu arranged for us to meet Mrs. Han."
Jiang Mingyue accepted the business card handed to her by the other party with both hands and calmly said "Hello".
She flipped the "business card" over and looked at it, only to find that there was no printed content on the back, but instead an email address and login password.
Jiang Mingyue looked slightly puzzled.
The reporter quickly explained, "This is an unregistered email address. The content is automatically uploaded to the cloud. We will deregister the email address after seven days. Please remember to download it."
"Goodbye, Ms. Jiang." The reporter said and quickly left.
Jiang Mingyue closed the door, immediately took out her laptop, which she had used for more than six years, and downloaded and saved several long videos to the computer.
She let out a long sigh of relief: "I was originally planning to buy back the video from the paparazzi after I made some money, but I didn't expect Fu Xiachuan to have arranged everything. With this, I don't have to worry about not having evidence to fight back if I'm attacked in the future."
If this is Fu Xiachuan's method of protecting the "future star" he has his eye on, then Jiang Mingyue must admit that she has begun to be completely devoted to Fu Xiachuan.
Ten minutes later, Liang Shuanglan opened the door.
Jiang Mingyue smiled and brought the noodles that had just been cooked to the table: "Mom, have some hot water, we'll eat right away."
*
Jiang Mingyue and her daughter had a harmonious relationship with the Han family, but Fu Qian could no longer maintain a harmonious relationship with his mother.
Fu Qian slammed the gift box on the ground and said rudely, "If you like Han Jialan and want to give her the latest phone, go give it to her yourself. Right now, I only want Jiang Mingyue!"
At the dining table, Fu Xiachuan seemed not to have heard the argument between Tong Xiaochun and Fu Qian. He glanced at the phone box and then looked away.
A cell phone?
Jiang Mingyue is currently suited to maintain a frugal image; as long as her cell phone can make calls and send text messages, there's no need to buy a new one.
Once the TV series she stars in airs, we'll get her a few mobile phone commercials, and then she can easily switch to a new phone. That would be the safest approach.
As Fu Qian put the last bite of beef into his mouth, his mind was already wandering to how many of the endorsements from Fu's companies could be "domestic sales" to the artists of Xingchen Film and Television Entertainment.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
