A 1,000-yuan filial fee for a 10-million-yuan mess.
Wen Dongrong’s first reaction was shock.
To think his own daughter had such audacity, what had he done to deserve this!
His second reaction was indignation.
“You earned 10 million and only give your old man 1,000 a month?!”
Filial daughter Wen Ying remained calm, “How much do you want then? I’m fine with it, but I’m worried you wouldn’t dare take more. How about I increase it next month?”
What was there to fear!
It was nearly June, the weather was warming up, sleeping on the balcony wouldn’t risk a cold.
Well, hotter weather meant more mosquitoes… weighing the pros and cons, Wen Dongrong curbed his greed, feigning disdain, “What wouldn’t I dare take? I don’t want it, I scoff at it, I don’t need your petty favours!”
Caving in was caving in, yet he wouldn’t admit it. Once, Wen Ying found this trait of Old Wen annoying, now she just felt a bit sorry for him.
They both had to scrape by under Manager Chen’s watch, neither father nor daughter could mock the other. The issue now was how to handle the 10-million-yuan share purchase bombshell—
Wen Dongrong swung between shock and indignation, struggling to maintain his persona, first demanding Wen Ying explain how she earned the 10 million.
“Part of it’s royalty income, a few million, I guess. The rest came from investing those royalties in Tianjiao’s drama productions. Since I wrote the scripts myself, when Teacher Yuan suggested investing, I didn’t think much and went for it. After a couple of rounds, I saved up 10 million. I’m still in high school, I didn’t know what to do with that much money. Mum wouldn’t let me spend it freely, and when Wang Shuang’s dad asked if I wanted to buy Tianjiao shares, I did.”
Wen Ying summed up the story in a few sentences.
Royalties from *Teen Idol* alone brought in millions, thanks to Zou Weijun securing a “tiered royalty” contract for her. A typical newbie author would get a flat 10% royalty, costing Wen Ying a third less income from *Teen Idol*!
Investing in Tianjiao’s dramas was straightforward, she started small when cash was tight, then invested more as she earned. Both projects paid off.
In truth, Wen Ying earned more than 10 million. After lending 1 million to Xie Qian and paying taxes, scraping together 10 million in cash for Tianjiao shares was impressive!
At least Wen Dongrong was floored.
He and Chen Ru had estimated Wen Ying’s royalty income, knowing she could make millions from it.
Chen Ru, too proud to backtrack after saying they wouldn’t touch Wen Ying’s money, let her manage it herself, even though they guessed she’d earned millions.
But 10 million exceeded their expectations… and this sneaky, black-hearted girl had already spent it, coming to him to clean up the mess!
What could Wen Dongrong do?
Of course, he’d seize her guilt to reassert his “fatherly” authority, giving her a good scolding to vent two years of frustration—that was the fantasy. In reality, his survival instinct kicked in.
He couldn’t carry this burden!
Wen Dongrong’s mind raced, landing on a bold decision, “You didn’t come to me today, you didn’t buy any Tianjiao shares, I don’t know how much you earned, and neither does your mum. We don’t check your accounts!”
With that, he walked off, his briefcase-toting figure upright and spirited, acting as if he had nothing to do with it. Wen Ying stood dumbfounded.
—Old Wen was so shameless, did he still want next month’s filial money?!
Wen Ying fumed for a bit, then caught on.
Old Wen meant to pretend the 10 million was still in her bank account. As long as she stayed calm, her mum wouldn’t find out?
That was a plan.
Wen Ying grinned where she stood.
It was a good plan.
As a daughter, she’d told her dad the situation. If he didn’t dare face it, she couldn’t defy him!
Sharing the secret slashed Wen Ying’s stress. She jogged after him, shamelessly hopping into Old Wen’s car to head home.
Wen Dongrong shot her several pointed looks, but Wen Ying clung on, needing a ride, twisting his nose out of joint.
He couldn’t even brag about this, nor was it suitable to. In their workplace, talking about “money” was sensitive, colleagues never boasted about it.
Wen Ying’s stress was gone, but Wen Dongrong’s grew.
Fearing the wrath of the family’s tigress, he woke startled at night. Chen Ru, a light sleeper, woke too. After several nights, Chen Ru couldn’t take it, urging him to see a doctor for ailments before they worsened, “People get issues as they age, frequent night trips aren’t shameful.”
Chen Ru was tactful, but Wen Dongrong’s face darkened, he was in great health, strong and vigorous, no night trips!
It was mental stress.
Why did she have to tell him about 10 million in shares?
Other families worried about unmotivated kids, his was too excellent, too opinionated.
Still, compared to kids mooching off parents after university, Wen Ying did make Wen Dongrong proud.
Which high schooler could earn 10 million?
Old Li’s kid couldn’t.
Even bigshots like Qin Xianming and Wang Jun couldn’t raise such a child.
Wen Dongrong hummed in the bathroom, sparking Chen Ru’s suspicions.
This dog of a man was acting odd, did he have something going on outside?!
…
Wen Ying shared her solution with Xie Qian, who stayed silent for a long while before commenting on Wen Dongrong’s approach, “Like father, like daughter, you and Uncle are truly cut from the same cloth.”
Wen Ying sensed it wasn’t a compliment and pressed Xie Qian for what he meant, but he wouldn’t elaborate.
The Wen family’s ancestral “ostrich tactic” was impeccable. The big ostrich buried his head in the sand, the little ostrich followed suit, both thinking themselves clever. When Chen Ru yanked both ostriches’ heads out, the Wen household would face a volcanic eruption.
Hiding wasn’t malicious, just a choice weighed against pros and cons.
Wen Ying and her father were like this, as was Xie Qian, and so was Jiang Youjia.
Jiang Youjia’s culture company, backed by Jiang Xuekun’s connections, could stay afloat. It might not get rich, but it wouldn’t lack modest wealth.
Until recently, when Jiang Youjia struck unexpected luck.
Xie Qian invited him to be a shareholder, and Jiang Youjia landed a massive order out of the blue.
If he pulled off that deal, he wouldn’t need to touch his wife Lin Lin’s dowry.
But after taking the order, his funds got tied up. Not only could he not muster the 5 million for Xie Qian, he now faced a huge penalty for breaching the contract!
