Wen Ying was always prepared for contingencies, handling many matters well in advance to guard against potential crises.
Yet she was not omniscient. She could not anticipate every petty scheme of others, still less imagine that those who loathed her were so venomous they watched her every word and action through a magnifying glass. Simply because she had gone to Beijing to record a programme without paying a courtesy call at the Xie family, Miss Ran had leapt to the conclusion that the Xie family did not accept her.
Wen Ying had no idea what Ran Keqing was thinking.
Even if she had known, what could she have said? She could only have told Miss Ran, “As long as you are happy.”
When it came to her friends, especially anything touching on Xie Qian’s safety, Wen Ying examined every detail meticulously. She wanted to make full use of the little foreknowledge she possessed to help her friends avoid the misfortunes they had suffered in her previous life. Where her own affairs were concerned, however, Wen Ying had always been far more relaxed.
This time, for instance, she felt she had already put in place a contingency plan against any mischief from Ran Keqing, so there was no need to fret over trivialities. After all, Ran Keqing was not the centre of her life.
During the breaks in recording the programme, Wen Ying did not visit the Xie family, but she did meet Qin Jiao for a long, heartfelt talk.
From Qin Jiao, Wen Ying learned Qin Xianming’s true intentions.
“My dad hasn’t really given up on my brother. He just hopes my brother will change.”
That was how Qin Jiao put it.
Wen Ying made no comment. “Do you think Brother Qin Yi can change?”
Qin Jiao smiled. “Of course he can. My brother isn’t a bad person. We will all give him a chance and wait patiently for him to change.”
Wen Ying thought Qin Xianming genuinely wanted his son to change, and it was probably also true that he intended to hand the family business to Qin Jiao. Compared to others of his age, Qin Yi was not lacking, but next to his own sister Qin Jiao he fell far short. As long as Qin Xianming harboured no bias towards sons over daughters, he would realise that passing the Qin family business to Qin Jiao was the best choice for the future.
With these thoughts in mind, Wen Ying echoed Qin Jiao’s words aloud, saying that she too looked forward to seeing Qin Yi change.
“Brother Qin Yi really isn’t a bad person.”
That was what she said, though in her heart she was thinking: Qin Jiao is truly wonderful.
Wen Ying did not know exactly how much Qin Xianming was worth, but Deng Shangwei had said it had already exceeded a hundred million years earlier. Faced with assets of that scale, even blood siblings could sometimes turn into enemies. Now that Qin Xianming had settled on Qin Jiao as his successor, not only had she refrained from taking the chance to suppress her demoralised brother, she was actively trying to help him improve. This showed that Qin Jiao valued family ties more than money.
Such an excellent Qin Jiao was Wen Ying’s friend in this life, and Wen Ying felt immensely proud of her own judgement.
Back in Shanghai, she made a point of boasting to Xie Qian. “Well? My judgement is pretty good, isn’t it?”
The corners of Xie Qian’s mouth lifted. “Yes, very good. That’s why you chose me as your boyfriend instead of someone else.”
“Hey, hey, hey, don’t be so full of yourself. I was talking about friends, not boyfriends…”
Her taste in boyfriends was excellent too, of course, but she could not admit it so readily; it would make Xie Qian far too smug.
Xie Qian merely smiled without speaking. Wen Ying declared confidently, “Clearly your taste in choosing a girlfriend is even better.”
“I agree with you.”
She had not expected Xie Qian to concede so quickly, and Wen Ying felt a twinge of guilt. “You’re supposed to argue a little, then I force you to admit it. We can’t skip the back-and-forth.”
So hamsters liked this sort of back-and-forth?
Xie Qian felt he had gained a valuable insight.
With lightning speed, he leaned in and kissed her.
Wen Ying was left dazed by the kiss.
Why a sudden wall-slam out of nowhere?
Xie Qian drew back slightly. “Why didn’t you push me away?”
Wen Ying looked bewildered. “…Why would I push you away?”
They had only just been debating whose judgement was better, and Xie Qian kissing her without warning was admittedly odd, but she did not dislike his kisses. Why push him away?
“If you push me away, I can kiss you again. That’s the back-and-forth.”
Xie Qian paused, then added, “Or you push me away and take the initiative yourself. That’s another kind of back-and-forth.”
Wen Ying: …!!!
Even when a top student’s mind was applied to taking advantage of his girlfriend, it remained impressively academic. He nearly made her head spin.
If Wen Ying had not changed the subject, Xie Qian’s back-and-forth could have gone on indefinitely.
“Qin Yi has completely stepped back from the day-to-day running of Shrimp King. The Shanghai region can’t be left without someone in charge, so Qin Jiao wants Yang Xi to come over.”
Wen Ying rested a hand on Xie Qian’s shoulder, working to steady her breathing.
Xie Qian recovered quickly. He sounded mildly curious. “Isn’t Yang Xi helping you keep an eye on the prisoners? I thought she was always reluctant to leave Chengdu because she had to look after the elders at home.”
The Yang family circumstances were unusual. Yang Xi had two grandfathers and one grandmother.
The eldest grandfather, Yang Hong’an, was fine, but the second grandfather had mobility problems, and the grandmother had an intellectual disability.
Yang Xi had left school early to work precisely so she could shoulder the burden of supporting the family.
Qin Yi had repeatedly invited her to work in Shanghai, but she had always refused, citing the need to care for the elders. Yet now that Qin Yi had withdrawn from Shrimp King, Yang Xi was suddenly willing to come?
“My aunt and cousin have been thoroughly brought to heel by Yang Xi. She doesn’t need to watch them round the clock; occasional remote oversight is enough. Besides, how could I hold Yang Xi back for my own sake? She won’t be based permanently in Shanghai anyway. Qin Jiao has agreed to let her split her time between the two cities.”
To persuade Yang Xi, Qin Jiao had flown back to Chengdu specially to talk things over with her.
Qin Jiao completely understood Yang Xi’s wish to fulfil her filial duties in person and strongly approved of it.
“But supporting elders requires more than just filial piety. The Yang family has three elders, which means Yang Xi will eventually have to cover three sets of medical expenses.”
Providing food and clothing was not the hard part of elder care; the real burden lay in medical costs.
As people aged, even those who had rarely fallen ill began making frequent hospital visits. Given the Yang family’s situation, none of the three elders had medical insurance reimbursements. If serious illness struck, the financial pressure on Yang Xi would be enormous.
One elder falling ill was something Yang Xi could manage. Two or three at once? What then?
Qin Jiao was not wishing ill on the three elders; this was simply a high-probability scenario Yang Xi would face.
Instead of waiting until disaster struck and then scrambling desperately for money, why not prepare in advance by earning more while she still could?
Qin Jiao had convinced Yang Xi.
To earn more, Yang Xi resolved to become a perpetually spinning top, shuttling endlessly between two cities.
Seeing Wen Ying bubbling with enthusiasm about Yang Xi coming to work in Shanghai, Xie Qian swallowed the words he had been about to say.
He had been thinking that since Wen Ying had already withdrawn her shares from He Zhen’s medical aesthetics company, she might as well withdraw from Shrimp King too. Medical aesthetics firms were prone to problems, and chain catering operations like Shrimp King were equally vulnerable. Preventing crises before they arose was far easier than cleaning up afterwards.
Xie Qian had harboured this thought for some time but had never voiced it.
Shrimp King was not only a cherished memory for Wen Ying; it was one for him too.
Wen Ying paid little attention to such matters, so Xie Qian considered every detail on her behalf. That was the true back-and-forth.
As he thought this, his phone vibrated with a new message: They have the copy tape.
Heh.
Miss Ran must be beside herself with glee.
First give her plenty of hope, then let her watch the plot twist with her own eyes… That could be rather entertaining.
…
The news that Wen Ying had helped establish the Dream Building Fund was still generating buzz when CCTV seized the moment to invite her onto a talk show.
The day after recording, the programme team posted the preview air date on their official website, sending Wen Ying’s readers into raptures.
“Little Fish has really made it!”
“Little Fish has always been accomplished. This time she’s been officially recognised by the state media.”
“Can’t wait to see Little Fish’s interview!”
“I wonder what bombshells Little Fish will drop. Judging by this show’s track record, she won’t leave the studio without revealing something explosive.”
“What big revelations could Little Fish possibly have? We already know where she’s from, which middle school she attended, which year she entered essay competitions, which year her first novel was published… All of it. Is she going to disclose her relationship status on air?”
“No way, Little Fish doesn’t have a boyfriend.”
“Who says she doesn’t? My cousin studies at Fudan, and she says Little Fish does.”
The moment gossip entered the conversation, everything veered off course.
Discussion spilled from the programme team’s website onto Wen Ying’s blog. The talk show was generating heat even before broadcast, and attention soared.
Ran Keqing watched the rising tide of excitement with cold detachment.
Luo Hao had been right: everything Wen Ying possessed now rested on her popularity.
If that popularity vanished, Wen Ying would be left with nothing.
“Enjoy yourselves while you can. This is the revelry before sunset.”
Before the programme aired, someone from the team gave Ran Keqing firm confirmation: Wen Ying’s response about holding shares in the medical aesthetics company had not been cut.
“This episode is going to smash the ratings.”
The production team was brimming with confidence.
Thinking of Wen Ying’s impending downfall, Ran Keqing did not mind lending a hand with promotion. She hired a swarm of water armies to hype the episode online.
For a time, the internet overflowed with lavish praise for Wen Ying.
Since becoming famous, Wen Ying had never experienced such a uniformly positive online environment.
Yuan Fenghui said it was probably Ran Keqing’s tactic of raising high before the drop. Wen Ying sighed sincerely. “If we judge only actions and not motives, Miss Ran really has been good to me. First she helped drive up my script fees, and now she’s spending her own money on water armies for me.”
“Yes, yes, yes, Miss Ran is hopelessly in love with you.”
Yuan Fenghui rolled her eyes dramatically.
Saturday at 9 p.m., the talk show Wen Ying had recorded aired on schedule.
Thanks to her own popularity and the recent intensive promotion, ratings made the producer beam from the very start.
The decision to split the episode into upper and lower parts had been absolutely correct.
One interview, two harvests of ratings. Was there a better bargain?
When the host asked Wen Ying whether speaking out for victimised consumers had been motivated by personal grudges or private gain, plenty of viewers in front of their televisions felt like cursing.
What was this host playing at? Deliberately stirring trouble?
“Making Little Fish sound like some shadowy mastermind. As if she has the power to decide a company’s fate. Compared to bullying others, Little Fish is the one who keeps getting inexplicably targeted, by magazine editors, publishing house chief editors, and people profiting from plagiarising her work!”
