Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Good News and Bad News

Li Zhao Yang went quiet for a while, shutting himself off, but in the end his curiosity won out. He finally could not help asking: “Brother, why did you suddenly ask about this? Did something happen?”

“A few days ago, a friend of mine was on a business trip. He saw a woman holding the hand of a kid who looked a lot like you. He even called me on purpose to ask if you had a child lost out there somewhere.”

Li Zhao Yang froze, then suddenly grabbed Xi Jing Yue’s hand excitedly: “Where did he see them? What did that woman look like? How old was the kid?”

“He didn’t say in detail. He only said the kid looked about four or five years old.”

“Four or five… four or five years old…” Li Zhao Yang murmured the age over and over. His brain was already in a storm, and he did not know what to do.

He muttered to himself: “Maybe they just look alike. There are so many people in the world who look similar. If I start thinking too much, won’t I just seem full of myself?”

At the same time, he could not stop biting his fingernails and struggling: “But what if? What if? What if it really is…”

This was the first time Xi Jing Yue had seen him so completely lose his composure. He secretly sighed at how much that unseen future sister-in-law influenced his silly brother, and calmly asked: “Is he really your son?”

“I… I’m not sure either.”

“Nonsense.” Xi Jing Yue’s face sank completely. “We have to find out the truth. If it really is true, we can still fix it as soon as possible. Otherwise, when Auntie and Uncle-in-law find out one day, even I won’t be able to save you.”

Even he was not sure in his own heart. After hearing Xi Jing Yue say that, Li Zhao Yang gritted his teeth and decided he had to investigate what happened back then and get to the bottom of it.

Seeing his brother dazed, like his soul was flying out of his body, Xi Jing Yue knew he had reached his goal.

His understanding of Li Zhao Yang, that so-called first love, was limited after all. Instead of stumbling around in the dark himself, it was better to let Li Zhao Yang move on his own.

And from the way this kid looked, it was clear he still had feelings for that person. Once he started to suspect something, he would definitely go and check.

Maybe, not long from now, he would have a sister-in-law and a nephew.

“This matter you handle yourself. And hurry up and settle the company’s problem too. Don’t wait until you take a loss and only then regret it.”

Right now, Li Zhao Yang’s head was a mess. When he heard that, he answered on reflex: “Company problem? What problem with the company? Didn’t we already fix everything Master Du mentioned today?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he watched with his own eyes as his brother’s face darkened in an instant, like a June sky suddenly filling with storm clouds and lightning.

“…”

Help. Help!!!

Du An Rao knew nothing about this little episode between Xi Jing Yue and his brother. She only knew that after going to sleep hugging the two large transfers from her Fourth Sister and Mr. Xi, she woke up early the next morning to another transfer from her own Second Brother.

“???” Du An Rao stared at it. Was she on some kind of money-luck streak lately? Why did so many people like transferring money to her?

“Second Brother…”

“Don’t look at me. It’s not my money.”

Du An Rao was even more confused: “If it’s not your money, why are you sending it to me?”

“Director Gao told me to transfer it to you… fortune money.”

Du An Rao stared for a second, then reacted: “His problem got settled?”

It would have been fine if she did not mention it. As soon as she did, Du He Xuan’s eyelids twitched twice uncontrollably.

“Xisheng Entertainment sent another actor over to replace Pei Yi Yuan’s role, and they added some extra investment to make up for the crew’s loss. Besides that…”

Here, Du He Xuan paused and began to grind his teeth. “President Xi also added some money as a personal investment.”

Du An Rao suddenly understood.

[No wonder he can be the boss. His efficiency is amazing. Yesterday I just praised that future powerhouse boss of the entertainment circle in front of them, and today they already bundled him into the crew to gain experience, tsk tsk…]

[But this is good too. Now we don’t need to worry that Second Brother’s drama will never air, and the investors can earn a ton. You have to know, he is the kind of real boss who can go head to head with a Jack Su Male Lead. His ability is amazing.]

Du He Xuan narrowed his eyes. He had been wondering why Xisheng Entertainment and that pig Xi Jing Yue suddenly increased their investment. So this was the reason.

“Right now Director Gao is so happy he is running laps around the set like a madman. Early this morning he wired the money to me, saying it was to thank you for your golden words, that Auspicious Purple Qi from the East blessing from a noble helper, and that you really did help him wish it into being.”

Hearing that, Du An Rao became even more embarrassed: “How was that any golden prophecy? It was all just luck, just luck.”

But Du He Xuan did not see it that way. In his eyes, this Male Lead had been spotted by her, and the extra investment had also been brought in by her.

She had even thought about the later hidden problems, and she had basically gifted the crew a trump card for free. He even thought the red packet Director Gao gave her was too small.

Du He Xuan let out a sour little hum: “I have some good news and some bad news. Which one are you all ready to hear first?”

Everyone at the table looked over at him, then glanced at each other and tested the waters: “Hear… the bad news first?”

“Because of Jiang Huai Ying and Pei Yi Yuan’s mess, I lost a few endorsements, and the scenes I shot that whole week can’t be used. That whole week of filming was wasted.”

He had only been a guest role, and his character was the Male Lead’s master. Eighty or ninety percent of his scenes were with the Male Lead. Now that the Male Lead had been changed, his scenes naturally could not be used either.

Mother Du was the first to react: “So that means you don’t have any income right now and can’t support us anymore?”

Du He Xuan choked, feeling annoyed and amused at the same time: “I am at least a Triple Crown Best Actor. A half-month gap in my schedule is not going to starve all of you to death.”

“And the good news?”

“The good news is that, also because of Jiang Huai Ying and Pei Yi Yuan’s mess, a few new endorsement offers came to me.” Du He Xuan lifted his chin proudly. “They are bigger, more famous brands than the ones before.”

Clap clap clap.

As soon as he said that, everyone put down their chopsticks and very sensibly started clapping.

Du An Rao and Du Yu Xi were especially in sync as they started blowing rainbow praise.

“Second Brother, you’re amazing!”

“Second Brother, you’re so mighty!”

“Second Brother, you’re super cool!”

“Second Brother…”

Floating on the praise of his two sisters, the corners of Du He Xuan’s mouth kept curling up. “Director Gao has already found a new Male Lead. The original scenes have to be reshot, but it’s fine. It was their responsibility from the start. For the new shoot, they will give me another full set of pay.”

Du An Rao bit her chopsticks and looked at Du He Xuan with open envy.

[So this is what they call doing one job and getting paid twice?]

“…” In fact, he was just doing the exact same job twice.

“To reshoot these scenes will probably take another week. Besides that, Brother Zhou already screened all the endorsement invitations. We will prioritize the ones here in City J. So plans can’t keep up with changes. We might have to stay here another half month, maybe even longer.”

For Du An Rao, who had already been thinking about how to stay a bit longer, this was without a doubt good news.

“So that means next week I can go with Fourth Sister to attend the banquet Madam Li is hosting?”

Chapter 51

“Banquet? What banquet?”

The eyes of the three others at the table instantly focused on Du An Rao and Du Yu Xi. Their looks were full of pressure, as if saying: Hurry up and explain this properly.

The hand holding her chopsticks stiffened a little. “…Sis, you didn’t tell them?”

“I thought you told them…”

The two of them: “…”

“Fine, to put it simply, President Li of Xisheng Entertainment invited Fourth Sister to attend a private banquet his mother is hosting next week.”

Du Yu Xi quietly added: “He invited you too.”

“I’m just a tagalong.” After saying that, Du An Rao lowered her head and shoveled rice into her mouth, fully acting like this had nothing to do with her at all.

Helpless, Du Yu Xi could only briefly explain what had happened yesterday.

When he finished listening, Du He Xuan’s inner alarm siren started blaring. Feeling pretty sour, he said in a strange tone: “This President Li sure gets familiar fast, huh? He sees a pretty girl and sends out invitations. He must be some playboy Young Master.”

“Ah…” Du An Rao looked up at him and said innocently: “Second Brother, are you saying I’m not as pretty as Fourth Sister?”

“…”

Du He Xuan choked on his words. After a long moment, he snapped in shame and anger: “Lord is talking. Kids don’t interrupt!”

“Oh.”

[I am clearly the same age as Fourth Sister.]

“Pff…” Father Du, Mother Du, and the others laughed for a while. Seeing Du He Xuan’s face grow darker and darker, they quickly stopped while they were ahead.

“Ahem. Yu Xi, what do you think? Are you going to go?”

Du Yu Xi lowered her head and poked at the meatball in her bowl: “I don’t know. I haven’t decided yet.”

She said that, but of course she still wanted to go.

Her first meeting with Li Zhao Yang had not been very pleasant, but from the little things people said around them, it was clear he cared a lot about his family.

The Li Family also treated Li Qian Xi very well. It could even be called spoiling her.

Du Yu Xi wanted to see them, but she was also afraid to see them. No matter how she struggled in her heart, in the end she would still need to gather her courage and face reality.

The Du Family might not be related to her by blood, but they had lived together for more than ten years and knew her personality very well.

After exchanging a look, Father Du and Mother Du suddenly turned to look at Du He Xuan. In their eyes was a burning desire to go to the banquet in person and watch the drama live.

“…” Du He Xuan felt speechless. He really owed these people a lot.

In the end, everyone was happy. They all accepted the plan to stay in City J with Du He Xuan. The only one suffering was Du Jun Yan, far away in City S, working overtime like an ox and a horse.

However, right now, Du Jun Yan probably did not have the time or the mood to care about those people who had tossed him aside to go have fun.

At the moment, he was looking at Bai Xiu Qing, who had suddenly burst into his office crying like pear blossoms in the rain, and at the man sitting not far away on the sofa, uninvited, relaxed as if he were in his own home. His head hurt so much it felt like it would split, and his stomach, which had missed mealtime, started to ache as well.

His body felt uncomfortable, his mood was awful, and those two looked extremely unpleasant to his eyes too.

Du Jun Yan turned his chair, dodging Bai Xiu Qing’s reaching hand. With a smile that did not reach his eyes, he said: “You two brought such a large group and barged into my office so aggressively. Is there some urgent matter?”

The man on the sofa was Boss Jia Yunxiao, the lawless outlaw Du An Rao had mentioned many times. He looked Du Jun Yan up and down with the gaze of someone inspecting goods.

“So you are the one who helped her avoid my men’s search?”

Du Jun Yan was completely stunned. Ever since that day when Bai Xiu Qing had run to his home without permission, tried to pin the child in her belly on him, got exposed, and ran away scared, the two of them had not met again. When had he ever helped her avoid anyone’s search?

Maybe the shock and confusion on his face looked too real, because Jia Yunxiao frowned and impatiently gave him two clues: “City C. Hotel.”

In an instant, Du Jun Yan understood why they were here. He knocked lightly on the desk and asked in return: “Is that what she told you?”

“I don’t need her to say it. I can investigate on my own.”

It turned out that this powerful Lord, after dealing with Lawyer Dou, who had taken Bai Xiu Qing in, still felt that was not enough. He decided to follow the trail and find everyone who had helped Bai Xiu Qing along the way, then pull them all up by the roots and cut off all her escape routes.

For unlucky Du Jun Yan, this was pure disaster out of nowhere.

Because Jia Yunxiao had indeed gotten the security footage from that night. He had found that Bai Xiu Qing was chased by his men, then, in a panic, ran into the room where Du Jun Yan was staying and used that room’s cover to escape.

So, in his eyes, Du Jun Yan naturally became one of Bai Xiu Qing’s accomplices.

After he put everything together, Du Jun Yan was speechless. He really had some very rude words stuck in his throat.

“Mr. Jia, since you watched the footage, you should know I was dead drunk that night and basically unconscious. She only stayed in that room for a short while, less than ten minutes in total.”

“I know.”

“If you know, then why are you still…”

“But you have known each other since you were young. When she ran into trouble, the first person she thought to ask for help was you.”

In his heart, Du Jun Yan thought, She did not think of me first because she wanted help. She took a fancy to my family background and wanted to throw a green hat on my head as soon as she could.

“We did know each other early on, but we have been apart for many years and hardly had any contact. We are not as simple and innocent as we were back then. That night I had no idea she was in that hotel, and I did not even recognize her, let alone help her hide from your men.”

His eagerness to cut ties with Bai Xiu Qing did not please Jia Yunxiao. Instead, it only made him more suspicious.

“You really don’t have any feelings for her at all?”

Afraid that after finally shaking her off he would be dragged back in and sent back to square one, Du Jun Yan hurried to explain: “A woman like her is more than I can handle. I will have to trouble Mr. Jia to keep taking care of her.”

Who knew that Jia Yunxiao was still unhappy after hearing that: “Are you questioning my taste? She is someone I personally trained. She is outstanding in every way, and you feel nothing at all? Are you blind?”

“…” No, Brother, I am trying to distance myself from your woman and clear my name. Instead of being happy, you blame me? Are you the kind of guy who actually likes being cheated on?

Before this, Du Jun Yan had been thinking that An An was very afraid of this man, so unless it was necessary, he should avoid making an enemy out of him, so his sister would not have to worry.

But now it seemed that this man really was, just as An An and the President had described, a self-righteous, unreasonable psycho.

Du Jun Yan endured and endured, but in the end he refused to wrong himself. He decided… not to endure anymore.

“Everyone has their own tastes. Every person is different. But I prefer someone who feels the same way about me and is on the same wavelength. As for someone like Miss Bai…”

Du Jun Yan gave a meaningful glance at Bai Xiu Qing’s belly, which could no longer be hidden, and said with a half-smile: “Mr. Jia can enjoy her himself. I will politely pass.”