“Tell me in detail what’s going on with Xie Qian and that girl.”
Xie Jinghu’s words filled Zhao Dong with secret delight.
Suppressing his excitement, Zhao Dong began filling in Wen Ying’s personal details. To prove he wasn’t lying, he even mentioned his sister Zhao Xi’s feelings for Xie Qian, “I only have one sister, and I’ve always doted on her. When she said she liked a boy, as her brother, I naturally encouraged her to pursue him. Unfortunately, Young Master Xie doesn’t like my sister. Instead, he’s very close with a local girl from Rongcheng. At the time, I didn’t expect Xie Qian and this girl named Wen Ying to stay close for two years. Seeing that Xie Qian really wasn’t interested in my sister, I sent her back to the US. Over these two years, I’ve watched Wen Ying go from an ordinary female student to a bestselling author, a judge for an essay contest, a screenwriter. The hit drama *Galaxy and You* from July was written by her, and recently she’s been holding book signings in major cities—”
“She’s a bestselling author?”
Zhao Dong’s sister liking Xie Qian was of no concern to Xie Jinghu. His curiosity stemmed from another reason.
Zhao Dong feigned surprise, “Oh, did I forget to mention? Wen Ying’s books are signed with Rongcheng Literature Publishing House, a subsidiary of the Rongcheng Publishing Group, where Mrs. Xie works.”
Rongcheng Literature Publishing House, where Zou Weijun was the editor-in-chief.
The bestselling author heavily promoted by Rongcheng Literature Publishing House, Wen Ying, was the girl Xie Qian liked.
These two threads connected, and Xie Jinghu now believed Zhao Dong’s words seven or eight parts out of ten.
Then there was the essay contest, which had stirred up plenty of negative attention. Xie Jinghu had even asked Xie Qian if he needed help, but Xie Qian naturally declined.
Xie Jinghu had thought it was Xie Qian’s pride, not wanting him to have any chance to interact with Zou Weijun. Now, it seemed possible Xie Qian also didn’t want him meeting this girl named Wen Ying.
When Xie Qian took over the film company, Zhao Dong had already hinted to Xie Jinghu that Xie Qian’s sudden interest in it might be related to a female classmate—one who became a celebrity, another a screenwriter.
At the time, Xie Jinghu had dismissed it.
Now, he was very interested.
With Xie Yuping backing Xie Qian, as long as Xie Qian didn’t make a foolish move, Xie Jinghu couldn’t find a breakthrough. Apart from Zou Weijun, Xie Qian seemed to care about no one, and Xie Jinghu didn’t dare touch Zou Weijun.
If Xie Qian really had a girl he liked, enough to abandon the logistics company he’d poured effort into and venture into the unfamiliar film industry, Xie Jinghu felt he’d found Xie Qian’s weakness.
A person with a weakness was full of vulnerabilities, ripe with openings.
“What’s this girl’s family background?”
“Nothing notable. Very ordinary. Her father’s a government official, her mother a bank manager.”
Such a background was decent in a small city, and with Wen Ying’s own modest achievements, her overall conditions weren’t bad.
But it depended on who she was compared to.
Compared to Xie Jinghu’s wealth, the money Wen Ying earned from her books was pocket change.
Compared to the Xie family, Wen Dongrong’s job was utterly insignificant.
Xie Jinghu couldn’t believe it, “Is there anything else you need to add?”
That rebellious son had always had high standards. Despite being chased by girls with excellent backgrounds, he never spared them a glance. Now he’d fallen for a girl from an ordinary family?
Xie Jinghu felt a mix of disappointment, amusement, and even a touch of anger.
His older brother Xie Yuping always said Xie Qian was exceptional, that the Xie family’s current state wasn’t the measure—its future depended on where Xie Qian took it in the next twenty or thirty years. The Xie family had invested heavily in Xie Qian, yet he chose such an ordinary girlfriend. His future potential was unclear, but his current taste was undeniably poor.
“Wen Ying does have some creative talent…”
Zhao Dong added, but Xie Jinghu cut him off impatiently, “Enough, I get the gist. No need to say more.”
Creative talent?
Xie Jinghu recalled how his wife Zou Weijun was a literary young woman in her youth. In their early married years, he found many of her habits intolerable.
Xie Jinghu felt all the pressures of life on his shoulders, whether his business ventures succeeded or failed, but Zou Weijun didn’t seem to care much, with a lofty disdain for money.
Zhao Dong kept mentioning Wen Ying’s “creative talent,” and while Xie Jinghu wasn’t sure what Xie Qian saw in her, he could imagine how well Zou Weijun and Wen Ying got along. Wen Ying’s “creative talent” must suit Zou Weijun’s taste perfectly.
At that moment, Xie Jinghu wanted to call Zou Weijun and confront her.
Everyone said he was an unfit father, but was Zou Weijun a fit mother?
A good mother should teach her soon-to-be-adult son what standards to use when choosing a partner.
On second thought, Zou Weijun might not appreciate his advice and could even argue with him, so Xie Jinghu dropped the idea.
No need.
His well-meaning advice would be seen by Zou Weijun and her son as malicious interference.
More importantly, if he provoked Zou Weijun into another “episode,” his brother Xie Yuping wouldn’t let him off. He couldn’t hand them a weapon against him.
Then Xie Jinghu recalled something, “You just said she’s holding book signings in major cities recently?”
“She’s done Modu, Hangshi, and Jiangcheng. She should be in Jingcheng now.”
Zhao Dong was clearly well-prepared.
With a little effort, a public figure like Wen Ying’s schedule wasn’t hard to find.
Xie Jinghu had an idea but didn’t want to be Zhao Dong’s echo. Instead of sharing his plans, he questioned Zhao Dong’s motives, “Out of the blue, why bring this up?”
Zhao Dong was candid, “My sister can’t let go of Young Master Xie. When she found out about his relationship with Wen Ying, she got jealous. During Wen Ying’s Modu book signing, she paid someone to cause a scene. It didn’t hurt Wen Ying but stirred up trouble. I’m worried Young Master Xie will find out what my sister did and get angry. I’m asking you, Mr. Xie, to be lenient.”
So it was about deflecting conflict.
Zhao Dong was full of little schemes.
Xie Jinghu held back his anger, “If it really traces back to your sister, handle it yourself. I’m not bothered with your petty issues.”
Zhao Dong said vaguely, “Letting Young Master Xie vent a bit is fine. My sister did something, so she should face the consequences. I’ve prepared her for whatever Young Master Xie might do, whether he wants to punish or destroy her—she’ll take it. But my sister’s been staying with Sara Zhuo lately, and I’m worried Young Master Xie might use this to do something you wouldn’t want to see…”
Zhao Dong’s words infuriated Xie Jinghu.
The implication was that to keep Xie Jinghu’s secret of transferring assets to his illegitimate son Zhuo Chen hidden, Xie Jinghu had to deal with this trivial matter?
“…I understand.”
Zhuo Chen already held 20% of Silan Biotech’s shares. Xie Jinghu repeated this to himself several times to quell his anger.
Zhao Dong wasn’t entirely useless. At least he’d brought Xie Jinghu this crucial piece of information: a long-overlooked weakness of Xie Qian, beyond Zou Weijun, had now been exposed.
