Chapter 8: Absolutely Not, Absolutely Not
Song Mingzhi’s gaze shifted from the fallen leaf to Dong Ling’s eyes.
Under the sunlight, those light brown eyes held a translucent softness, like supple leather, or like a jelly-like dessert, just like when they first met, when she walked up to her, looked up, and seemed to want to say something, but said nothing.
Dong Ling was somewhat lost in thought, she couldn’t say why.
021’s excited voice rang out in her mind, bringing her back to reality.
She took two steps back, her fingers loosening, letting the leaf flutter to the ground.
Ignoring 021’s chattering in her head, Dong Ling walked Song Mingzhi to the door after their stroll and waved gently.
“Although Miss Song is still considering, I’ll say in advance, happy cooperation.”
Dong Ling’s voice was cheerful. Song Mingzhi smiled and nodded without speaking, then turned and left.
After Song Mingzhi left, Dong Ling wasn’t idle. She called the housekeeper to clean up the kitchen, and then immediately contacted her friends in the industry.
Thanks to the two songs she had previously composed, she had some reputation among musicians, so it wasn’t difficult to get things done.
In addition, Tang Qianxi also sent her some documents compiled by her mother, recommending some good people to associate with and some unsavory characters to avoid. She also annotated the preferences and taboos of some directors and actors she had worked with, and specifically reminded her that several years had passed, and some people might have changed due to certain events, so don’t believe everything completely.
“Qianxi, thank your mom for me. I’ll personally visit and thank her next time.”
Sitting in front of her computer, Dong Ling excitedly talked to her friend on the phone, her eyes scanning the information, and clicked save.
Tang Qianxi: “Don’t mention it. Didn’t we agree that I would invest? I’ve already listed my apartments for sale, and that bad woman Chen Shang Shang is also selling her jewelry.”
“You guys are so nice, let’s have dinner together sometime.”
If her two friends were here, Dong Ling would have given them a hug.
Tang Qianxi joked: “Dinner isn’t necessary, just don’t go bankrupt.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely make sure you get a steady dividend, you won’t lose money.”
Dong Ling said confidently, and after hanging up the phone, threw herself into the busy work.
On the other side, Song Mingzhi sought out her friend and partner, Ji Yiling.
“Are you planning to change your approach to what you want to do? It’s not impossible. What are you planning to do?”
Song Mingzhi leaned back in her soft chair and replied: “The entertainment industry. Help me contact a few performing arts teachers, I need to brush up on my skills.”
Ji Yiling’s eyes widened, thinking she had misheard, and couldn’t help but ask: “You? Chasing your dreams in the entertainment industry?”
“Someone insists on making me famous, I can’t do anything about it.”
Song Mingzhi sighed lightly, with a somewhat distressed helplessness, but her slightly upturned eyes were filled with amusement, showing no sign of unwillingness.
Dong Ling’s earnest expression surfaced in Song Mingzhi’s mind, the girl’s anxious look when she promised to make her seen by everyone… it was truly beautiful.
“Your face is fine for entering the entertainment industry, but it’s troublesome. You’ll have to start over, and your family…”
Ji Yiling said with some concern. Song Mingzhi had been preparing for so long, just waiting for the moment to go public. If she were to start over in the entertainment industry, it would probably take a lot of effort.
“I’m not afraid to start over. Starting here is much easier than when we had nothing. Keeping a trump card is a more reliable strategy.”
Song Mingzhi said calmly, this was also the reason she didn’t immediately refuse Dong Ling’s offer.
Ji Yiling pondered for a moment and replied: “You’re right. The entertainment industry has much higher visibility than the financial world. This way, the chances of you being seen are much greater, you will definitely succeed.”
Song Mingzhi just smiled and didn’t reply.
Ji Yiling then asked: “Is the person who wants to make you famous reliable? Which entertainment company is it? Will they have ulterior motives towards you?”
Seeing Song Mingzhi’s thoughtful expression, Ji Yiling tapped her head: “Forget it, why should I worry about this? You think things through much more than I do. Then it’s decided. I’ll contact a couple of acting teachers later for you to brush up on your skills. You learn everything quickly, this shouldn’t be a problem.”
Song Mingzhi nodded, still thinking about Ji Yiling’s last question.
She also felt that Dong Ling was too friendly and enthusiastic towards her, but she really didn’t sense any lust or romantic feelings from Dong Ling. It was just really fun to tease her.
Before Ji Yiling left the office, Song Mingzhi called out to her and asked: “Have you heard of the name Dong Ling?”
Ji Yiling thought for a moment and shook her head: “I haven’t heard of it. The surname Dong isn’t too uncommon in Beihai, it’s a fairly common surname. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, go ahead with your work.”
Song Mingzhi shook her head, suppressing the lingering thought.
She must have heard someone mention it somewhere, but couldn’t remember.
Song Mingzhi pushed these thoughts aside, thinking about the contract she saw today, and found it very interesting.
She was actually touched by Dong Ling’s phrase “be seen by more people.” This coincided with her current goal, and coupled with Dong Ling’s serious tone and expression, she became even more interested.
Strangely, this was the first time someone had said such certain words to her before she had shown anything. It was quite remarkable.
She looked at the lines on the computer screen, her mind wandering.
Song Mingzhi didn’t know who her biological parents were, not because she was abandoned, but because she was trafficked as a child, but she escaped.
At that time, she only remembered her name, everything else was just a vague impression. She was taken to the police station and then to an orphanage in an unfamiliar city.
At the age of nine, she was adopted by a couple. Song Mingzhi was reluctant, because she still wanted to find her biological parents, but the couple was very kind, saying that it would be difficult for her to find her parents on her own, and they would help.
They were truly wonderful parents, but Song Mingzhi didn’t know if she had bad luck with parents. When she was nineteen, they both died at sea, and this wealthy family with the same surname as her wasn’t a good place.
In order to protect the inheritance from her adoptive parents and investigate whether their deaths were truly accidental, Song Mingzhi had to hide her capabilities and develop in secret. To this day, Ji Yiling was the public face of the company, and few people knew about her.
The infighting among her uncles and aunts was intensifying, and Song Mingzhi planned to participate openly. Although it wasn’t the best time to take risks, she planned to give it a try, and at the same time put herself in the public eye, so her name would be spread, and perhaps her biological parents could find her.
With Dong Ling’s idea of making her famous, Song Mingzhi thought it over and felt it was a good idea. It could better lull those people into a false sense of security, allowing her to be the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. It would also be more conducive to finding her biological parents, although the latter was just a sliver of hope, because she didn’t remember where she came from before arriving in Beihai.
Dismissing these thoughts, Song Mingzhi looked at the gloomy sky outside the window, thinking it might rain tonight.
October, every autumn rain brings a chill.
Dong Ling had been busy all day yesterday, and coupled with lack of sleep, she woke up with a heavy head. After drinking some cold medicine, she felt much better, but still lacked energy.
However, when the housekeeper said a Miss Song was here to visit, Dong Ling immediately perked up.
In the study, Dong Ling spread out the contract again.
“This is too biased. Based on the usual commission for newcomers in entertainment companies, perhaps it could be 70/30.”
Song Mingzhi pointed to the contract and said, naturally meaning Dong Ling 70 and her 30.
“No! Sign it like this, please don’t refuse.”
As a capitalist, Dong Ling also wanted to sign it like this, but the task came first, and couldn’t be changed.
Song Mingzhi tentatively said: “How about 50/50?”
She had never been in a business negotiation like this before, where the other party was eager to give up profits.
Dong Ling still shook her head and looked at Song Mingzhi sincerely: “This is my sincerity, it won’t change, please accept it.”
Dong Ling’s heart was bleeding as she gave up the profits, crying to 021: [wuwuwu 021, I feel like a simp.]
Song Mingzhi’s face suddenly came closer. She leaned over the table, looked at Dong Ling, narrowed her eyes, and said word by word: “This makes me think you have ulterior motives towards me.”
A powerful and unfathomable aura emanated from Song Mingzhi, along with her light fragrance.
Dong Ling’s eyes widened and she vowed: “I absolutely have no ulterior motives. It’s like a violinist seeing a peerless instrument and wanting everyone to hear the beautiful music it can produce.”
[Task: Put your arm around the female lead’s waist for ten seconds and say the line. Completing this will increase the main storyline progress by 2%. Countdown: two minutes.]
The mechanical electronic voice suddenly rang out in Dong Ling’s mind, like a thunderclap ruining the moment.
Dong Ling: […Idiot, f*** me.]
Sooner or later, she was going to dismantle this broken system!
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