Feng Shusong booked two rooms for Lin Jiang.
He took the key cards, gave one to Tang Wan, and they went to the sixth floor together.
"I’ll probably be quicker than you. Just meet me at the car when you’re finished."
"Got it, President Lin."
Tang Wan went back to her room with the key card, feeling a little disappointed.
’Wait.’
’What am I disappointed about?’
’President Lin isn’t interested in me like that. Isn’t that a good thing?’
’I don’t have to worry about all that complicated stuff. The roles I get will be based entirely on my own merit. Isn’t that a good thing?’
Back in her room, Tang Wan didn’t hop in the shower right away. Instead, she stood before the mirror, admiring her body.
First, she patted her rear, satisfied with how perky it was.
Then she cupped her breasts with both hands and muttered to herself, "They’re not small... It’s just this bit of tummy fat. It’s a little too much. I’ll have to watch it."
After admiring her body, Tang Wan began her shower.
About half an hour later, Tang Wan came out of the bathroom, changed into her own clothes, and went to find Lin Jiang.
The two of them drove to the high-speed rail station.
They had just parked the car when people began to trickle out of the station.
After a short wait, they saw a new wave of people with suitcases emerging one by one.
"Huh? Why is he here?"
Following Tang Wan’s gaze, Lin Jiang saw a middle-aged couple coming out of the station exit.
But next to them was a young man.
And this young man was none other than Tang Wan’s ex-boyfriend, Zhang Weidong!
"Mom, why did you come out together?" Tang Wan said as she walked over, looking at Zhang Weidong with a wary gaze.
"We weren’t planning on having Weidong come, but he said he had nothing to do this afternoon and wanted to come pick me up, so..."
Tang Wan’s mother trailed off halfway through her sentence. She had just noticed Lin Jiang standing nearby, and her expression instantly darkened.
Tang Wan’s expression was just as grim.
"Zhang Weidong, what is the meaning of this? We’ve already broken up. What are you doing picking up my mom?"
"Auntie and Uncle are here. It’s only natural for me to come and pick them up, isn’t it?" Zhang Weidong said, playing the victim.
"We have broken up. My parents have nothing to do with you anymore. I suggest you remember your place."
Hearing this, Tang Wan’s parents were stunned.
They had no idea the two of them had actually broken up.
"Ahem..."
Lin Jiang cleared his throat, reminding Tang Wan to be mindful of her status.
"This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s head out first."
With that, Lin Jiang started walking ahead.
’He didn’t care about himself, but it was different for Tang Wan. She was a newcomer the company was heavily promoting. It would be bad if someone took a picture of this.’
Seeing Lin Jiang walk away, Tang Wan realized she’d lost her composure and hadn’t controlled her emotions.
"Mom, Dad, let’s go. This isn’t the place to talk."
"Mm."
The couple knew their daughter was famous now and naturally had to be mindful of her public image, so they silently followed.
However, neither of them looked pleased.
’It seemed their daughter was getting ahead of herself. The moment she got a little famous and earned some money, she dumped her boyfriend. That was just wrong.’
"Keep your temper in check. We’ll talk to her about this when we get home," Tang Wan’s father said.
"I know."
"But then again, that young man is quite handsome."
"So what if he’s handsome? She was doing just fine with Weidong. To break up with him and find someone younger and better-looking just because she got famous... who does that?"
Tang Wan’s parents were ordinary factory workers, not particularly powerful or influential, and held very traditional values.
If Tang Wan had broken up with Zhang Weidong before she became famous, the old couple would have been able to accept it.
After all, people are free to date who they want. They were both still young, so a breakup wouldn’t have been a big deal.
But to break up with her boyfriend now that she was famous, thinking she was going to be a star... in their eyes, that was a matter of character. And that was absolutely unacceptable!
"Auntie, Uncle, please don’t be angry."
Zhang Weidong said with a self-pitying sigh:
"Actually, Xiaowan is a good person. We just had a fight. I was at fault, too. It was my mistake, so please don’t blame her."
"Weidong, you two have been together for over a year. I trust your character. It’s our Xiaowan. She’s always been pampered, and I’m afraid I’ve spoiled her rotten," Tang Wan’s mother said.
"Don’t you worry, we’ll definitely set things right for you. Getting a big head just because she’s famous... she can’t act like that."
"Auntie, please calm down. Really, I was at fault, too."
"What could you have done wrong? I think the problem is all on her!" Tang Wan’s mother said.
"Later, when we find a private place, I’m going to have a good long talk with her. This behavior is unacceptable."
Zhang Weidong was secretly delighted. With her parents’ help, this matter could be resolved smoothly.
"Thank you, Auntie. But Xiaowan didn’t do anything terribly wrong. Maybe she’s just been too busy and tired from work and couldn’t control her emotions well, so we ended up fighting. Please don’t scold her."
"Alright, I understand. Don’t you worry, Auntie will back you up."
Soon, the group had walked out of the train station.
Tang Wan trailed behind Lin Jiang, feeling a little anxious.
’Both he and President Fang had reminded me to control my emotions as much as possible in public places.’
’If President Lin hadn’t reminded me just now, I would have lost control.’
’If I make my boss unhappy, am I going to be in for a rough time?’
"Xiaowan!"
Seeing Tang Wan about to follow Lin Jiang, her mother stopped her.
Tang Wan stopped in her tracks and said, "Just follow me for now. We can talk about this when we get home."
"Auntie, Uncle, my car is parked right up ahead. You can ride with me."
"We don’t need your fake kindness," Tang Wan said harshly, glaring at Zhang Weidong. "Don’t follow us."
The atmosphere grew tense. Finally, Tang Wan’s mother said, "You, come with me. Let’s talk over there."
Tang Wan was fuming, but she also wanted to clear things up as quickly as possible.
The two of them moved to a shady spot nearby. Zhang Weidong remained where he was, feeling quite pleased with himself.
"Xiaowan, you tell me. Was what you did right? The moment you get a little famous, you..."
"Mom, hold on. I need to make a phone call."
Tang Wan took out her phone and dialed Lin Jiang.
"President Lin, could you wait for me for a minute?"
"I’ll have this handled in just a moment."
After giving Lin Jiang a quick heads-up, Tang Wan hung up.
"Who were you calling?"
"My boss. The man who came with me to pick you up."
Following Tang Wan’s gaze, the old couple saw Lin Jiang standing beside his car.
"That young man... he’s your boss?"
The old couple was a bit surprised. They had assumed he was their daughter’s new boyfriend.
"I’m releasing a new song in a few days. He came to discuss it with me and offered to give me a ride to pick you up," Tang Wan said.
"And he’s my boss, not my boyfriend. I broke up with Zhang Weidong because we had a disagreement. It had nothing to do with anyone else. I’m single right now. I didn’t dump him for someone else just because I got a little famous."
Tang Wan looked at her parents. "So now you understand what happened."
After hearing Tang Wan’s explanation, the old couple realized they had misunderstood their daughter.
"Then why did you two break up at a time like this?"
"It was all his fault!"
At the mention of the breakup, Tang Wan grew even angrier. She told her parents everything that had happened that night at dinner—how she’d had too much to drink and had been taken to a hotel.
When she finished, the old couple fell silent.
"From the sound of it, this boss of yours seems like a pretty decent guy."
"He’s a perfect gentleman, okay? He’s not interested in me at all," Tang Wan said.
"You’ve seen how handsome he is, and he’s rich. We’re not even in the same league. Why would he be interested in me?"
After a pause, Tang Wan continued:
"That car he uses for ’getting around town’ is worth over three million. What makes you think I have a chance of dating someone like that?"
That shut the old couple up.
They glanced at Lin Jiang in the distance, feeling a pang of guilt.
"So there’s really nothing going on between you two?"
"You should be praying that there *is* something going on between us," Tang Wan said.
"My entire future rests on what he decides. The company is about to start filming its next show, and I was hoping to land a part. But after the scene *he* just caused, whether I’ll even get a role is up in the air."
"It can’t be that serious, can it?"
The old couple started to panic. If they had jeopardized their daughter’s future over this, they’d be unforgivable.
"Do you really think the entertainment industry is that easy to get into? People are practically killing each other for a single role, and he gave me a lead role right from the start. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I hit the jackpot," Tang Wan said.
"People like me are a dime a dozen in show business. It’s not like he *has* to use me."
"Should we go over and apologize to him?"
"Don’t you dare," Tang Wan said. "Just don’t bring this up again, and it’ll be fine."
"So that means there’s no chance for you and Zhang Weidong in the future, is that right?"
"Definitely not. He made me so angry I could have died."
At first, Tang Wan hadn’t thought much about it, but after seeing Zhang Weidong, a possibility suddenly occurred to her.
’Maybe President Lin had planned to give me the lead role in the next show.’
’But then Zhang Weidong caused that huge scene in the parking lot on New Year’s Day. He must have annoyed President Lin, who probably gave up on the idea after that.’
At this thought, Tang Wan’s resentment deepened.
"Let’s go. President Lin took time out of his schedule to bring me here. He has other things to do, so let’s not waste any more of his time."
"Do you want to go over and make things clear with Zhang Weidong?"
"I’ve already made myself perfectly clear. He’s the one who won’t stop pestering me. If you want to talk to him, you can go. I’m not going."
"Fine. You go on to the car. We’ll go have a word with Weidong," Tang Wan’s mother said.
"In any case, he did come all this way to pick us up. It wouldn’t be right to just leave without a word."
"I’ll wait for you here. Go ahead."
"Okay."
After saying this to Tang Wan, the old couple walked over to Zhang Weidong.
Meanwhile, seeing the old couple walking toward him, Zhang Weidong straightened his back and went to greet them.
"Auntie, Uncle, you didn’t scold Xiaowan, did you? She’s probably been under a lot of stress lately. It’s my fault, too. I didn’t do a good job of helping her cope with her feelings. It’s all my fault..."
"Weidong..."
Tang Wan’s mother cut him off.
"Auntie, please, go ahead."
"Since you already recognize your own mistakes, it’s understandable that Xiaowan would break up with you. You should just stop insisting," Tang Wan’s mother said.
Zhang Weidong: ???
’I say I’m at fault, and you actually believe me?!’
’That’s not what you were saying a minute ago!’
"Auntie, what I actually meant was..."
"I understand perfectly what you mean," Tang Wan’s mother said.
"Besides, you can’t force love. If two people aren’t a good match, forcing them to be together won’t lead to happiness. Why don’t you two just let it be? You’re such a great guy, you’ll definitely find someone better."
"Auntie, what are you trying to say?" Zhang Weidong was completely bewildered.
"I mean that you two might not be a good match. So let’s just leave it at that. Thank you for the trouble of coming to pick us up, but we’ll be going now."
"Wait, Auntie! Didn’t you try to talk some sense into Xiaowan? The truth is, we..."
"The main fault lies with you, and you’ve already admitted it yourself. There’s no way we can convince her otherwise, don’t you agree?"
"But..."
Zhang Weidong wanted to say something to explain himself, but he couldn’t come up with the right words.
’I was just playing the victim card!’
’How could you guys take me seriously?!’
"As parents, it’s not our place to meddle in matters of the heart. And our Xiaowan isn’t as perfect as you think. There are plenty of other good girls out there. You should see what else is out there. That’s all. Auntie is leaving now."
Zhang Weidong stood frozen in place, his expression crumbling.
He watched the old couple’s retreating figures until they reached Tang Wan’s side and got into Lin Jiang’s car. Only then did Zhang Weidong fully realize that he had just made a complete fool of himself!

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