0099 099 The Light of the Stars
A sense of calm prevailed in Jingyang, where everyone was keeping each other in check, but the Lin Zixu family, far away overseas, was anything but at peace.
Since Pei Yuzhou's death, his family has been hiding all over the world, while his elder brother, who worked for Lao Lin, has long been thrown into prison.
He thought he would live out his life in anonymity with his wife abroad, but just when they were about to give up, a glimmer of hope appeared before them.
Someone anonymously sent him Gu Chaodong's "speech" at Su Shaojin's wedding, with the camera specifically focused on his arrogant expression, as if deliberately trying to provoke him.
Lin Zixu was immediately put in his place. He was so angry that he went berserk and smashed three vases on the windowsill.
Since escaping, Mrs. Lin has spent her days tending to flowers and plants. Looking at the flower petals scattered on the ground, like her own children, she clasped her hands tightly, her voice trembling as she spoke to her husband…
"Should we try to find Lin Bai? He's all alone out there, it's understandable that he's scared. With such a big thing happening at home, someone must have said something to him. I know that kid, he definitely didn't mean it."
"You understand, how could you not understand? Even if he's not my biological son, I've raised him from infancy until now. I don't need him to repay me in any way. It's not too much to ask him to stay by my side forever. But look at him, before we even got into any trouble or were arrested, he just disappeared. A grown man with no sense of responsibility at all. It's all your fault for spoiling him."
Mrs. Lin dared not speak again and huddled in the corner of the sofa.
Lin Zixu stood with his hands on his hips, gazing out the window. The setting sun shone on his face, reflecting the light that was about to fade away, but he suddenly laughed.
"Gu Chaodong, he really hasn't changed over the years. When we were in school, he would tease me every day, calling me the Crown Prince who would destroy a country. But he was talking about my dad. I didn't expect that after twenty years, he would actually be right this time."
"Yes, he did all that just to mock you and get you to leave. You can't fall for it again."
“What do I have to be afraid of? What do I have to fear! My dad was ousted from the stage, and they even opened my anus for inspection. What can’t I do? Pack your things today, and I’m going back right now. I want them to see that the Lin family is not a pushover.”
Mrs. Lin sat there motionless, turning her face away. After venting his frustrations with wild gestures, Lin Zixu quieted down and sat down beside her.
"Actually, if you think about it carefully, there are traps all here. The old He we know now was our classmate in school, but he didn't have a father who was an official. He was always under Gu Chaodong's thumb from a young age, and he was Gu Chaodong's little brother who carried his schoolbag. Now it seems like their positions have been reversed, but it's not certain who really has the upper hand."
Mrs. Lin turned around at this moment and took Lin Zixu's hand.
"I heard that Gu Chaohuan introduced himself as his own when he first met Lao He. Didn't he realize their relationship?"
Song Yusheng moved into Li Yihe's house. He seemed to have many secrets, but she didn't ask about them. She filmed during the day and spent her nights with him. Almost two months passed like this. Finally, one day, she had no scenes to film and was resting at home. He came home in the afternoon, kissed her as soon as he entered the door, and then ran to take a shower and changed into a neat suit.
"Where are you going dressed like that?"
Li Yihe combed her hair with one hand and tossed her a long dress with the other, telling her to change quickly.
“I’ve been here for three months, and my boss has finally remembered me. We’re going back tonight for my welcome dinner.”
"Where to? Changgang or Xiayang?"
"Xiayang, my home is in Xiayang."
"Then I won't go. I haven't finished filming yet. Besides, if I go to Xiayang, do you want me to get slapped by your wife?"
She pouted, looking incredibly wronged, and curled up into a small ball under the covers. Li Yihe's heart clenched at her pain. The man walked over, stretched out his arms, and pulled her into his embrace, lowering his head to kiss her forcefully a few times.
“I’ve already built up my business, and the boss has made me his confidant. What is that old woman? She’s just a madwoman. Sooner or later she’ll be kicked out, and then the two of us will be the ones enjoying the benefits.”
Song Yusheng's face was half covered by the blanket, so Li Yihe couldn't see her lips, which she had bitten until they were white. He could only see the light returning to her eyes as she excitedly hugged him.
Xiayang is located in the southeast corner of Huanye, facing Changgang Island across the sea. It is the headquarters of Li Yihe and his boss here.
They arrived by private jet and were picked up and dropped off by a personal chauffeur. However, after arriving in Xiayang, Song Yusheng kept his distance from him and did not openly cheat on his wife.
The car drove directly to his welcome banquet, where the boss was already waiting for him. After getting out of the car, Li Yi ran over, bowing all the way to shake hands with his boss.
Song Yusheng walked slowly in her high heels, and only after passing the large flower basket placed at the entrance did she notice that there was a woman standing next to the boss.
The woman saw her first, glanced at her briefly, and then looked away. Li Yihe finally finished greeting her and pulled her over.
"Boss, this is the beautiful woman I told you about, the most famous female celebrity here right now, Song Yusheng, Xiaoyu. This is my boss, the most powerful and talented businessman in Changgang, Shen Yan, Boss Shen."
Song Yusheng looked directly at Shen Yan without any hesitation, and generously extended her hand. Shen Yan raised an eyebrow and shook her hand in return. The woman's sharp, long nails poked his palm, but she quickly moved them away. It was unintentional and within the bounds of politeness.
The four people sat on either side of a rectangular white table, the man facing the woman and the woman facing the man. The woman opposite him noticed Song Yusheng's gaze but did not respond.
Li Yi wanted to smooth things over, but he wasn't familiar with the woman opposite him and didn't dare to speak easily.
Shen Yan, however, seemed somewhat interested in Song Yusheng and helped introduce them.
"Miss Song seems quite interested in my sister. Xiao Guang, why don't you get to know her too?"
Upon hearing this, the woman extended her hand and looked directly at Song Yusheng.
"Hello, Shen Guang."
"Hello, Song Yusheng."
They only lightly grasped each other's fingertips before separating, without exchanging a single word. But Shen Yan wasn't about to give up. He rested one hand on the back of Shen Guang's chair, tilting his head to look at Song Yusheng.
"Miss Song, please say whatever you want to say to her. If you want to talk about topics that girls talk about, we can go outside first."
"No, no need. I just thought Miss Shen looked familiar, so I couldn't help but glance at her a few more times. I'm really sorry for being so abrupt."
Shen Guang froze for a moment. She looked up, gave Song Yusheng an unnatural smile, and without saying anything more, lowered her head again.
After a brief incident, Li Yihe continued reporting his work to Shen Yan, and the two girls didn't say another word.
After enduring the agonizing night, Shen Yan casually remarked as she passed by, "Let's go home first tonight." Li Yihe then went to the side to arrange for someone to find accommodation for Song Yusheng, while she herself went to a corner, took out her phone, and called Qi Shuyao.
The phone kept ringing, but no one answered. The car that was supposed to pick her up was already parked nearby. Song Yusheng put her phone away, got up, and got into the car.
On the third floor of the Jingyang Xuansha Club, Qi Shuyao's phone was inside her coat, which was draped over her suitcase.
"I need to go to Xiayang first. You will stay with him for the time being, but don't agree to any of his requests. Just remember what the people in the photos did."
Tu Mi wasn't that nervous about her own affairs; she circled around Qi Shuyao, looking quite uneasy.
"Are you going alone? Why don't you take Sister Xiaolan with you?"
"No need, I have bodyguards with me, it'll be fine. Also, Sister Jiang Yu helped me contact her friend Lu Wenchun in Changgang. She's in Xiayang right now, so I can go see her if I need anything. Remember what I said, it's okay if you can't do it, but you must ensure your safety."
"Don't worry, I'm good at this."
Qi Shuyao left, hurriedly boarding a plane to Xiayang. She was exhausted from the past few days and fell asleep as soon as she got on the plane, only asking her bodyguard to send a message to Qi Yu.
She slept until she got off the plane. She got up groggily, grabbed her coat and went outside. It was very hot in the ocean, and she was sweating even though she was only wearing a sweater.
She reached into her coat pocket for tissues, then pulled out her phone. The screen showed four missed calls from Song Yusheng. She immediately snapped out of it and called back, but no one answered.
There are no private airports in Xiayang, and all planes have to use public airports. Qi Shuyao and her bodyguard squeezed through the crowd and hailed a taxi on the street.
The bodyguard bent down and communicated with the driver in a foreign language about their destination. Qi Shuyao looked at a car coming from the opposite direction. In the back seat by the left window, sat Shen Guang, whom she had met once before.
At the same time, Song Yusheng answered the phone, and a somewhat hoarse female voice asked on the other end.
"Don't you think this Shen Guang looks a lot like that writer, Li Huanguang?"
Shen Guang's departure from Xiayang was planned long ago, but she didn't know exactly when she would leave. Last night, after seeing off Li Yihe and Song Yusheng, Shen Yan received a phone call and immediately arranged for her to set off for Jingyang, and also told her to make sure to pick up Lin Bai.
They didn't know what they were going to do in Jingyang, but she still smiled and comforted Lin Bai, saying that she would give him a surprise when they got there.
The flight from Xiayang to Jingyang took off on time at 6:50 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive at Jingyang Third Airport at 10:37 a.m.
Early in the morning, before Xingxing had even returned home, Gu Chaodong found Xu Mei's place. Xu Mei squinted as she went to open the door, only to be shoved in by the man.
Gu Chaodong walked through each room with his hands in his pockets, his tone barely concealing amusement.
"It seems that after Ms. Xu got married, she has no one to sleep with. Tell me, what kind of marriage is this? You should have stayed single, or stayed with me."
He raised his hand and touched Xu Mei's bare shoulder. The woman neither moved nor dodged, staring at him without any reaction.
"You're just too stubborn, just like your daughter. Your eldest daughter has found a good family now, and I heard you even broke up with her because of me. It's not worth it. But you and your second daughter should have a pretty good relationship, right? Does that little girl know you're her mother? Do you want me to help you and send you to be her mother, to make up for the regret of wanting to abandon her back then?"
Xu Mei finally lost her patience. She took a step back and crossed her arms.
"I've said it many times, Qi Yu and I are not in the kind of relationship you imagine. And your relationship with my daughter is none of your business. Do whatever you want. It has nothing to do with me, and I won't help you anymore."
"You two are really not related? He's only five years younger than you, and you really treat him like a son."
Xu Mei's complexion was already quite bad, and seeing this, Gu Chaodong also restrained himself and became slightly more serious.
"Lin Zixu is back. He's still recklessly trying to fight back. I wonder how he'll react when he finds out the truth. And if I tell his well-mannered and gentle wife that her good husband once got into a huge fight with the Shu family's only son over a dancer, what do you think her reaction will be?"
Xu Mei clenched her fists tightly. Over the years, she had taken off her clothes countless times, but none of them had ever felt as humiliating as now, as if her last layer of skin had been peeled off. In his eyes, she had never had a name. Even though she had cried so much for him, even though she had taken off her clothes so many times for him, she was still just a dancer, just a tool.
But she didn't shed tears; instead, she looked up at Gu Chaodong.
"Do you think you're the only one who knows something about other people, while you haven't been caught red-handed?"
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