Lin Xiao had just thought of a similar question. The money a celebrity earns from singing one song is something her father, Lin Haitao, would have to do to earn.
But unlike that little girl, she knew nothing about her father's business and had no interest in it. She only knew that her family started out in the medical device business, but she had no idea what business lines or products were involved, or how much profit each product made.
Lin Xiao's stepmother, ever the troublemaker, suddenly launched into an attack: "Xiao Xiao, look at this young lady, she knows everything about the family business. Do you know what your father sells and how much money he makes on each item?"
Why study fashion design? Do we even need to design clothes for our family? We can afford any big brand! Don't you know you should learn something useful to ease your father's financial burden?
Even with her good temper, Lin Xiao couldn't suppress her grievances and anger at this moment. Did her stepmother not know her status in the family? Would Lin Xiao have a share in the Lin Group in the future? And she even publicly accused her of not wanting to share the burden of her father.
Thinking of this, Lin Xiao replied in a neither soft nor hard tone, "Isn't the Lin Group managed by you and my sister? How could it be my turn? My dad can sell anything as long as he doesn't sell drugs, which I've heard has high profit margins."
Aunt Hong and the others present knew something about the Lin family's situation. Lin Xiao's stepmother and her biological daughter Lin Xue's arrogance was obvious in public, which showed that Lin Xiao had suffered a lot at home.
Aunt Hong had seen Lin Xiao on similar occasions several times. In her memory, this girl always sat quietly in the corner and rarely spoke, let alone directly confronted her stepmother like she did today, and even dragged her father into it.
The stepmother's face turned from green to white, and her daughter Lin Xue next to her was even more furious. Just as she was about to retort to her sister, Aunt Hong spoke up: "Listen to the song, listen to the song. This handsome young man has almost finished singing, and I haven't even heard a single lyric. I've been too busy chatting."
Although Lin Xiao's stepmother was domineering, she was also a perceptive person. When she saw Aunt Hong interrupting, she quietly pulled her still indignant daughter Lin Xue under the table and whispered, "Xue'er, watch the performance obediently. Don't let the adults laugh at you. We can't let people say that neither of our Lin family's children are well-behaved."
Although the last sentence was spoken softly, the people around heard it. Their expressions varied; even those who disapproved of the mother and daughter were far from wanting to stand up for Lin Xiao, so they all pretended not to hear anything.
Wei Changfeng on stage had already started singing his second song, which was even more powerful than the first. His voice was pure, and he didn't seem to struggle when singing in the high register, making it very pleasant for the audience to listen to.
But Lin Xiao, sitting in the audience, couldn't listen anymore. Her stepmother's last words, "We can't let others laugh at the two Lin children for being unruly," really pierced her ears and stabbed into her heart.
She held back for two minutes at the table, but her nose started to sting and her head started to spin. She couldn't hold back her tears.
So before the tears could completely fall, he quickly stood up, whispered to the people at the table, "Excuse me, I'm going to the restroom," and then hurried away from the table.
She went to the restroom to wipe away her tears, and when she came out, she happened to see Wei Changfeng coming off the stage after finishing his song.
As Wei Changfeng walked behind the stage, a woman quickly followed him from the side of the stage, and his assistant, seeing this, hurriedly followed as well.
Regardless of what the woman said, Wei Changfeng kept bowing and nodding politely, while his assistant looked somewhat anxious.
Finally, the assistant took several photos of the two of them together before finally persuading the woman to leave.
Lin Xiao was about to turn back when he suddenly heard Wei Changfeng's impatient voice behind him: "If you keep giving me this kind of work, I'm going on strike."
Lin Xiao stopped and glanced back at him. Wei Changfeng's face clearly showed displeasure; he was talking to his assistant around the corner backstage and didn't notice her at all.
The assistant chimed in, "He's not some nouveau riche. Mr. Shen is a well-known entrepreneur in this province. He sponsors many TV programs. He's just here to sing; he didn't ask you to..."
Lin Xiao shook his head silently as he walked back, sighing that it was no wonder so many kids these days wanted to be stars. Making money was too easy, inevitably leading to arrogance. They earned more money in a couple of songs than many people could earn in a lifetime, yet they still complained.
When she returned to the table, the people at the table were talking about Wei Changfeng, who had just finished singing. Some said he sang really well, and others said the young man was really handsome, even better looking than on TV.
The next act was an acrobatic troupe that had been invited from who-knows-where. They spun around on the stage with several large vats. Although it was a high-difficulty act, it felt somewhat out of place with the rest of the stage, leaving the audience uninterested.
"Who arranged this program? What is this? It turns a birthday party into a rural temple fair," a woman who looked to be in her fifties began to complain.
"Exactly, it's better to find some handsome men and beautiful women to sing and dance." Others echoed in agreement.
Lin Xue suddenly said to the little girl next to Lin Xiao, "I think what you said earlier is right, it's really easy for celebrities to make money. Your name is Dou Dou, right? You're quite pretty. If your dad supports you, it will be easy for you to debut."
Aunt Hong glanced at Lin Xue, patted the little girl's head, and said with some disdain:
"Dou Dou, don't listen to your sister's jokes. Dou Dou, study hard, go abroad to study, inherit the family business, and become a successful businesswoman. Why would you want to be a singer or an actress?"
Standing on stage, jumping around and being pointed at—which family with connections would let their child wade into the murky waters of the entertainment industry?
Lin Xiao's stepmother glanced at Aunt Hong, knowing that her socially awkward daughter had finally tried to fit in and please everyone, but her attempt to flatter had backfired. She felt a mix of heartache and anger.
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