Chapter 66: An Unusual Relationship

It wasn’t just Tong Xing; everyone present was stunned by the assistant’s words.

Tong Xing was dazed for quite a while before forcing out a few words through his clenched teeth. “Who reported it?”

The assistant shook his head.

Tong Xing slumped to one side, falling straight off his chair onto the floor.

And Zhu Shiqi, who had been so enthusiastic toward him since yesterday, now stood far away.

Who had exposed his secret?

Aside from his agent, only a handful of celebrities involved knew about it. None of them had actually donated money either; instead, they’d all colluded to siphon off the donations from kind-hearted people, splitting the proceeds among themselves.

By rights, those celebrities shouldn’t have revealed the truth, since they’d all gotten their share.

Could it have been his agent...?

The assistant director looked at the director, troubled. “What do we do now that Tong Xing is like this?”

He was referring to how they’d air the program.

“What’s the point of filming any further? Let’s just leave it at this.” The director was on the verge of losing his temper. “We’ll wrap things up here. Cut what needs cutting, and when it’s time to broadcast, we’ll decide whether it’s worth airing.”

If Tong Xing’s scandal blew up, with such severe negative press, airing the variety show he participated in would be nearly impossible.

...

Because of Tong Xing’s incident, Lian Youyou finished filming ahead of schedule.

“Uncle Richard, do you think I’m terribly unlucky?” Lian Youyou grumbled in the car on the way back. “Besides that one smooth commercial shoot, I was sabotaged by Shao Zihan while filming, and now I’ve been set up by Tong Xing on this variety show. Why can’t anything ever go smoothly?”

“A tall tree catches the wind,” Richard, sitting in the passenger seat, laughed. “You debuted too smoothly—others are bound to be jealous.”

Coco asked, “Mr. Li, do you know who exposed Tong Xing’s fake donation scandal?”

Richard replied, “I’ve looked into it. It was the CEO of Tong Xing’s own company, Mr. Li, who exposed it himself.”

“He blew the whistle on himself?”

That was ruthless.

Richard nodded, “That’s what my contacts have found out. Apparently, a major shareholder in their company threatened to withdraw investment last night. After much pleading from the CEO, the condition for staying was that Tong Xing must be booted out of the entertainment industry.”

“Is this bigwig interested in our Youyou?” Coco teased, “Yesterday Tong Xing tried to take advantage of Youyou during the show, and today someone dealt with him.”

Richard said, “It’s probably just coincidence. That shareholder has his own businesses; would he really have so much free time to keep an eye on a minor celebrity like Youyou?”

Coco scratched her head. “Could it really be such a coincidence?”

Lian Youyou lowered her head and opened her WeChat chat with Lu Ming, but hesitated to send a message.

Her intuition told her Lu Ming had helped her—the timing matched.

But Richard’s description didn’t fit. The major shareholder of an agency wasn’t a small player; he must be a tycoon.

If it wasn’t Lu Ming, Lian Youyou truly couldn’t think of anyone else who would help her.

Her curiosity got the better of her. After wrestling with herself for a while, Lian Youyou finally sent Lu Ming a message.

Lian Youyou: “Lu Lu, did you go to Tong Xing’s company boss and put pressure on him?”

Lu Ming: “I’m just a teacher—how could I do that for you? Tong Xing has powerful backing. How could I possibly pressure his boss?”

Lian Youyou: “...”

That line sounded awfully familiar.

Who would’ve thought Lu Lu could hold a grudge, too...

Lu Ming: “Come to my parents’ home on New Year’s Day. My parents really want to meet their future daughter-in-law.”

Lu Ming’s parents?

That would be Lu Zhijun and Tian Aiyu!

Lian Youyou’s mind went blank.

The boy who used to have an ambiguous relationship with her, just above friends but not quite lovers, was now set to be her future father-in-law...

And the girl who used to be her best friend, hand-in-hand and inseparable, would become her future mother-in-law...

What a tangled web!

Lu Ming: “Where are you?”

Lian Youyou quickly replied, “I was just talking with Richard. Got it.”

She put down her phone and collapsed into her seat.

She’d always been confident in herself, but now that unshakable self-assurance was starting to waver.

Could she really face Lu Zhijun so calmly?

The more she thought about it, the more overwhelmed she felt. So she stopped thinking altogether, draped her coat over herself, leaned back, and drifted into a deep sleep.

...

Amidst the bustle, the New Year was upon them. Spring Festival in the countryside was always far livelier than in the city.

On New Year’s Eve, her mother Shi Xuezhen was up before dawn, tending the fire in the smoky kitchen, simmering festive rice. After breakfast, she hurried to set up the offering table, polish the ritual items, arrange the tributes, hang the family genealogy...

When Lian Youyou drove up, she saw Shi Xuezhen holding a photo frame, head bowed.

“Grandma, what are you doing?”

As Lian Youyou approached, she realized the photo in the frame was her own black-and-white portrait. Her mother was silently weeping in front of it.

Her father, Lian Changsheng, walked over and sighed, “Your grandma’s always like this. Every year she takes out your mother’s photo and can’t help but cry. You can’t blame her; your mom left so early—it’s such a loss...”

Seeing her mother so sad, Lian Youyou’s nose stung, and tears nearly fell. But just as they were about to spill, she saw her mother place her own photo on the offering table, and suddenly she couldn’t cry anymore.

It felt... strange...

Her own photo placed on the altar, being offered incense by her gray-haired parents—wouldn’t that shorten her lifespan...?

Well, the old her had died long ago, so what was left to lose?

Perhaps someday, she’d find the right moment to confess her true identity to her parents.

But would they be happy if she did? Would they mourn the loss of their granddaughter and fall into another bout of grief...?

Maybe it was better not to tell them just yet...

“Grandma, don’t dwell on it. Look what New Year’s gifts I brought!” Lian Youyou placed her memorial photo properly on the altar, then set several heavy shopping bags on the kang. “Look, this is for Grandma, this is for Grandpa, and these are for both of you.”

“You should keep your hard-earned money for yourself. Your grandparents are old—what gifts do they need?” Shi Xuezhen scolded as she opened the packages. “And listen, Grandma’s telling you: don’t act or do commercials next year. Get a proper job in a public institution. If that’s too hard to get into, didn’t you get a junior accounting certificate last year? Try harder, get the intermediate certificate, and find a job as an accountant.”

Lian Youyou could barely use an abacus, let alone keep books.

She helped her parents paste up the “Fu” character and couplets her father had written by hand, hung red lanterns, pasted window decorations, tidied the house. By the time they finished, the morning had flown by.

Her brother Lian Kewei and his family didn’t arrive until after lunch.

First through the gate came a short, plump middle-aged man: square face, triangular eyebrows, puffy eyes, flat nose, a face dotted with moles, thick lips, wearing glasses, hair messy and oily, dressed in a down jacket, carrying two gift boxes.

He must be Lian Kewei—he’d inherited every one of their parents’ worst features. Wherever his parents looked unattractive, he followed suit, not a single good trait inherited.

That was why many people never realized he and Lian Youyou were siblings. The sister was beautiful—fair-skinned, elegant, long-legged. The brother was short and ungainly.

Accompanying Lian Kewei was a tall, fashionable woman and a stout teenager wearing headphones, engrossed in his phone.

The three entered through the living room door, not the kitchen, so they didn’t see Lian Youyou cooking.

“Mom, you’ve already made dumplings? So early?” Lian Kewei shrugged off his jacket and settled onto the kang, grabbing some sunflower seeds.

The middle-aged woman eyed the plump, white dumplings and frowned. “Sigh, I don’t like dumplings.”

“You don’t like dumplings, what else would you eat? Who doesn’t have dumplings for New Year’s?” Shi Xuezhen said, barely holding back her temper.

Lian Youyou listened to the exchange from the kitchen, shaking her head. It seemed her brother’s wife was a handful.

As for the boy, he didn’t greet his elders, just sprawled on the kang, legs akimbo, playing games.

Lian Kewei’s wife munched on the blueberries Lian Youyou had brought. “Mom, I heard Youyou’s in commercials now? She must’ve made a pile. Did she buy anything for you and Dad? She’s eaten here for free all her life—cost the family plenty. Now she’s earning, she ought to think of you two.”

Lian Changsheng looked displeased. “Raising Youyou was our own expense, not yours. Mind your own business.”

“Dad, come on, that’s not what I meant.” Lian Kewei pouted. “Buy something for our parents? Hmph, you’re dreaming, dear. That debtor of a girl is more likely to ask us for money than give us any. She was born to cause trouble—when has she ever helped the family?”

“By the way, Dad,” Lian Kewei asked, cracking sunflower seeds and glancing at his father across from the TV, “whose Lamborghini sports car is parked outside? Which rich guy in the village owns that?”

“It’s mine,” Lian Youyou said, washing her hands as she opened the door from the kitchen to the living room. “Uncle, Aunt, long time no see—Happy New Year.”

“Haohao, didn’t you see your sister’s here? Get up and say hello!” Lian Kewei’s wife, hearing the Lamborghini belonged to Lian Youyou, immediately changed her tune. “Youyou, I saw your endorsement was for an online game, right? Your brother’s really interested in games—do you know the CEO or anyone at the game company? When Haohao graduates college in a few years, could you get him a job there?”