Shen Sangluo was in low spirits for several days before finally returning to her youthful self a few days later and she left the safe haven of her home for the first time in a week.

The first thing she did when she walked out of her home was to call her best friend to her place. She wanted to play some cards to lift her mood and then she realized that she couldn’t play cards with just two people. She thought about it and then decided to also call up Liang Zhu, who has recently been as busy as Samoyed* and working just as hard. (*T/N: A Samoyed is a dog that is bred for work in the coldest climates as sled dogs and are known to be overworked by their owners. If you are described as a Samoyed in China, that means you are working too much.)

Thus, the three of them gathered in Shen Sangluo’s single dog residence and played a night of Fight the Landlord* = = (*T/N: Fight the Landlord or Dou Dizhu is a Chinese cards game where one person, the “landlord”, tries to play out all their cards before the other two players, who form a team, do. If any of the other players play their cards out before the “landlord” does, then they players win. )

During one of the many rounds of Fight the Landlord, Shen Sangluo suddenly mentioned, “One of my seniors from university returned to China two days ago. I heard that he just won a big American company’s dispute case. He is excellent at his job and Chinese too. How about I introduce him to you?”

Han Feixu almost dropped her cards in her shock and seeing her cards slightly scattered, she quickly hid her two jokers before looking at Shen Sangluo with a face full of astonishment: “Is there something wrong with you? I’m a woman with a wife, okay?!”

“…..Who would want to set up a date for you!”

Liang Zhu played a pair of 7s and Han Feixu craned her neck, taking a look, before throwing down a pair of Qs, “Then why else do you want to introduce him to me?”

“Take a look and see if he can be your lawyer. Your American lawyer is good, but he is only familiar with American laws. He doesn’t understand Chinese laws and he’s not going to be enough if you want to win your divorce case. On the other hand, my senior is an outstanding lawyer and he just won a 30 million dollar case right after graduating. Plus, he’s very good at English so there should be no problems for him to communicate with your American lawyer.”

After saying that, Shen Sangluo seemed to ponder over something before throwing down four 3s. Liang Zhu and Han Feixu didn’t play any cards as Han Feixu nervously placed a hand over her knee and said with a guilty conscience: “This….I temporarily won’t need any lawyer.”

Shen Sangluo gave her a strange look, and then threw down a group of cards, three 5s, three 9s, and three Ks. “What do you mean you ‘temporarily’ won’t need a lawyer?”

Shen Sangluo had no more cards left in her hand. Ah, the landlord* has won the game…. (*T/N: Not an actual landlord, but Shen Sangluo is the ‘landlord’ in the game and she won because she played all her cards before the other two.)

Han Feixu still had the pair of jokers that she wanted to use in the most critical moment and her heart was filled with a deep sense of powerlessness and desolation. She collapsed and complained, “Why is your luck so good!”

Shen Sangluo smiled smugly, “It’s not that I’m lucky, but that I can count cards. I knew the pair of jokers was in your hands. Feel stupid now? You held onto your cards so long that you suffocated yourself.”

Han Feixu may be able to bear a loss, but she cannot bear the ridicule and mocking of the winner. After three seconds of silence, Han Feixu suddenly turned his head and asked Liang Zhu innocently, “Liang-jie, do you know that recently Shen Sangluo created another calligraphy work?”

Shen Sangluo: “…..”

Ever since Mao Yangjun acted on his own to create his scandal, Liang Zhu has been jumping from crisis after crisis and her hairline was starting to recede from all the stress. The little star really knows how to make trouble. First, he pulls all the stars on the variety show into hot water then a few days later the production team and the stars jointly issue a statement against him. Yuan Jize even had his lawyer send a formal notice and directly sued the water army* company that Mao Yangjun was using. (*T/N: water army is slang in Chinese for ghost writers/posters who are paid to post certain comments. IN Mao Yangjun’s case, he hired a water army company to post positive comments about himself while disparaging the others.)

Even worse, Gan Company was also embroiled into the mess.

Although the water army was not hired by Gan Company, the water army spoke for Mao Yangjun and who is Mao Yangjun? An artist signed with Gan Company.

It’s been a long time since Liang Zhu has seen Gan Zongming so angry. Thanks to Mao Yangjun, she got to see his angry side one more time. (T/N: Gan Zongming is the CEO/head of the company) 

Although Mao Yangjun did invite trouble into the company, Gan Zongming did not hide Mao Yangjun from the limelight and instead gave him a harsh scolding before putting him back into the game. He also gave Mao Yangjun a few more resources than before.

He had no other choice. Now that the whole country knows Mao Yangjun’s name, might as well take advantage of his notorious fame. If you don’t take this opportunity to make money, when will you?

Liang Zhun wanted to sigh. She used to have an artist just like Mao Yangjun under her who refused to work hard and instead wanted to use crooked schemes to become popular. That artist had the courage but no brains to actually succeed and had tried to use the same tricks before. Looking at that previous artist then at Mao Yangjun, it really was a case of ‘same person but different lives’*. (*T/N: literally what it means, two people who have the same idea/personality/conditions do the same things but have two different outcomes)

So recently Liang Zhu has become addicted to cigarettes again. In fact, just the thought of Mao Yangjun had her reaching for her pockets. However, she remembered that she was at someone else’s house and could only suppress her impulses and grab a bunch of grapes from the fruit plate instead.

She turned and asked Han Feixu, “What kind of calligraphy? I’ve seen one of her works before, something about ‘a lifetime of regret’ or something.”

Han Feixu clapped her hands happily, “Yes, it’s the follow-up work to that last calligraphy! This time it’s even more beautiful than the last one. Sangluo, why don’t you take it out and let Liang-jie appreciate it?”

Shen Sangluo: “…..”

She stayed silent for a few seconds and then changed the subject, “Why did you say you temporarily won’t need a lawyer just now?”

After carefully observing Han Feixu’s expression, Shen Sangluo looked at her with suspicion in her eyes, “You didn’t….”

Shen Sangluo is the type of person who jumps to the worst conclusions. To put it in a good way, she is simply a pessimist, but to put it in a bad way, she is a paranoid person with too many groundless fears and worries.

Han Feixu hurriedly stopped her, “No, no, it’s definitely not what you’re thinking about. I just changed my mind. Ye Mingxin treats me very well, and I haven’t found any unforgivable mistakes between the two of us. I wish to observe first and then decide whether or not to divorce.”

Shen Sangluo looked at her dumbfounded, “What medicine did Ye Mingxin give you?”

Han Feixu, “Why don’t you believe that this is my own idea?”

“Impossible!” Shen Sangluo stood up directly, staring at her condescendingly, “You think I don’t know you?! Your ears are the softest ones I know! You always agree to anything when someone begs or even simply asks you a favor!”

Han Feixu subconsciously touched her earlobes and then blinked, “I may be soft-hearted about other things, but for this kind of matter, I don’t think I’m being soft-hearted at all.” She is simply following what her heart says.

According to Shen Sangluo’s words, if Ye Mingxin was replaced by anyone else, Han Feixu would still agree because of her soft heart. But is that really true? In fact, no matter who Ye Mingxin was replaced with, Han Feixu would firmly stick with the divorce the moment she woke up, no matter if there were any children in the equation or not.

So, it is not because she is soft-hearted, but because she simply has a good impression of Ye Mingxin.

When Han Feixu understood this point, she wasn’t very surprised. She did indeed like Ye Mingxin, but her ‘like’ was the type of like a fan has towards their idol.

Shen Sangluo’s chest rose and fell several times in anger as she looked into Han Feixu’s eyes and she bit her lower lip, but she nodded in the end, “Fine, I can’t handle this matter anymore.”

Han Feixu looked back at her innocently, but she never intended to give in. This is her life, her marriage, and her family after all. Shen Sangluo can give her some advice, but she can’t interfere with her own decision and thoughts in the end.

She understood that Shen Sangluo was doing this for her own good. She stood up from her seated position on the carpet to explain her reasoning when she saw her good friend pick up the phone and start typing away furiously.

Han Feixu looked at her with a confused face, “What are you doing?”

“Since this matter is out of my hands, then I won’t try to interfere anymore.” Shen Sangluo answered calmly, then she snorted coldly, “So I’ll find someone else who can take care of this!”

Seeing the name of the contact, Han Feixu fell silent, “You’re….ratting me out to my aunt?”

Shen Sangluo nodded as listened to the dialing tone on her phone, “That’s right.”

It was already nine in the evening, meaning it was just past eight in the morning in New York. The phone beeped only a few times before Madam Han Anni picked it up. A gentle and capable voice said hello on the other side of the phone.

Shen Sangluo immediately replied like a cannon, “Good morning, Aunt Han! Han Feixu has amnesia and now she has changed her mind about the divorce. She says she wants to observe for a while before deciding whether or not to divorce, but it is very likely she will not get divorced at this rate and she won’t listen to anything I say! Aunt Han, do something quick!”

Han Feixu: “…..”

Liang Zhu: “….”

Both sides fell silent for a while. Then Han Anni answered, “Oh, let Feixu decide for herself.”

Shen Sangluo: “Aunt Han, aren’t you being a little too calm? Did you even hear what I said?”

“This is Lingyan, right? It’s been so long since I’ve heard your voice, how come it’s become a little sharper?”

Shen Sangluo: “…..Aunt Han, I am Shen Sangluo. Han Feixu’s friend.”

Han Anni chuckled heartily on the other side of the phone, “Aiya, seems like I’ve remembered it wrong. This time I will remember you, Sangluo. Now then, Sangluo, give the phone to Feixu, it just so happens that I have something to tell her.”

Shen Sangluo endured a mouthful of blood and handed the phone to Han Feixu.

Han Feixu took the phone, “Auntie.”

“Hey, Feixu, it seems like you got sick. Well, that doesn’t matter, as long as you’re not mentally retarded, your aunt will always respect any decision you make. Whether you divorce or remarry, neither is a big deal.”

Mentally retarted…..

Han Feixu also silently endured a mouthful of blood, “Okay, thank you auntie.”

“You’re welcome. I was just thinking of emailing you these last two days. Since you’ve called me, I’ll just tell you directly over the phone. I’ve just got engaged and the date of the wedding hasn’t been set yet, but the earliest date should be next year and the latest date should be never.”

Han Feixu searched her sparse memories, “Is it that pianist named Adam?”

“Adam? No, I divorced him 8 years ago. My current fiance is Carl Spencer. He’s a Canadian bartender. After we get married, I might move to Canada with him.”

While Han Feixu was still reeling from the shock over the news of her Aunt’s divorce, Han Anni continued, “I need to go to class now, I’ll tell you more when you get my wedding invitation. Buh bye!”

After hanging up the phone, Han Feixu quickly turned her head to look at Liang Zhu who was in the middle of eating the grapes one by one, “My aunt got divorced again?!!!|

Liang Zhu stopped her chewing and raised her head, “In your memories, how many times has she been divorced?”

“Two times.”

“Oh, it’s five times now.”

“…..”

Liang Zhu added another sentence, “Out of the five, you bought wedding gifts for about three of them.”

“….”

No wonder she would tell Han Feixu that divorce and remarriage is not a big deal, because this is something she experienced many times herself = =

Shen Sangluo facepalmed. After thinking about it, the person she found definitely wasn’t qualified to say anything about Han Feixu’s marriage at all. For according to Aunt Han, marriage and divorce are as simple as drinking water.

Liang Zhu has been a student of Han Anni since she was 12. She did not return to China until her accident when she was 18, but even though they were not in the same country, the two of them still kept in contact. And although Han Feixu is Han Anni’s niece, for Han Anni who has no children, she was closer to Liang Zhu who was more like a daughter to her.

Influenced by Han Anni, Liang Zhu had the same views on marriage. That’s why she has always been neutral about the matters between Han Feixu and Ye Mingxin. She only intervenes occasionally.

Regarding Han Feixu’s desire to suspend the divorce and observe Ye Mingxin’s true intentions, Liang Zhu only cared about one thing, “Then do you still want to leave the company?”

Liang Zhu had told Han Feixu before that she can decide for herself on which company she wants to go to.

Han Feixu sat back down and pulled on a grape. She thought about eating it, but it was after eight o’clock so she would grow fat if she ate it now. With much reluctance she put the grapes back down, “There is no correlation between the two. My divorce is a family matter and which company I sign with is a business matter. As long as it is beneficial to the development of my future career, I am willing to sign with that company.

Liang Zhu gave her an appreciative look, “That sounds about right. Then have you found any companies that might benefit your future career?”

“No.”

Liang Zhu: “….” She knew it.

Han Feixu stared at that grape she pulled off the vine, and in the end, her disobedient hand still reached forward to grab that grape and put it in her mouth. The sweet taste of the grape entered her mouth, and she felt refreshed both mentally and physically. Then she began to make excuses to deceive her own conscience. Telling herself that since she’s a skilled actor, people will pay attention to her acting more than her appearance.

“How about opening my own studio? I’ve seen many artists open their own studios, like Chi Qiu.”

Liang Zhu shook her head, “You can’t open a studio without money and a well-established team. Look at you, except for an assistant and bodyguard, you have no one else. You might be able to hire some part-time workers, but can you really trust those people?”

Han Feixu smiled in a flattering manner: “Don’t I still have you?”

Liang Zhu smiled, but her smile was more cold than Han Feixu’s, “Don’t even think about it. I still have three years left on my contract with Gan company and I’m not as amazing as you think. If you want me to put together a team, I can only find a dozen or so people, but anymore than that and I can only try to grab some blindly.”

“A dozen is enough!” Han Feixu patted her thigh excitedly, “I don’t need that many people in the early stages anyways. Just help me find some reliable people with professional ethics. As for salaries, I’ll pay at market price and then we can slowly increase the numbers. Don’t worry, I’m an actor, not a model who relies on their looks to put food on the table. Unlike models whose net worth declines as their youth fades, I can afford to take the time to develop my skills.”

Liang Zhu: “….”

Ah, sometimes she forgot how narcissistic Han Feixu is = =

“What about me, huh? What about my contract?”

“I’ll pay the fees for you.” Han Feixu answered sincerely.

Liang Zhu looked down in thought.

Truth be told, she is not afraid of paying the fees for breaking her contract. After opening a Taobao store for so many years, she has saved up a lot of money. Even if she terminated her contract now, she can afford to pay the steep breach of contract fees. What she is worried about is what happens afterwards if she does leave with Han Feixu.

As she has said, she is not that amazing and still has a lot to learn as an agent. Therefore, it would be a bit difficult to suddenly ask her to manage a new studio. Furthermore, what will her artists do if she leaves? Newcomers like Mao Yangjun and Ren Shuang would probably be taken under the wings of another agent, but what about Su Jue who has followed her since her debut? After all these years, Su Jue has developed a gentle Buddha-like personality and so if she is transferred to a new, ambitious agent, she will most likely retire.

There’s also something else. If she cancels her contract now, Gan Company will definitely not be happy and it’s not only because of the breach of terms. Han Feixu is just about to return to the entertainment world, but then Han Feixu suddenly runs off and she follows her. Wouldn’t they think she was stealing one of Gan Zongming’s people?

Though, strictly speaking, Han Feixu is the one stealing Gan Zongming’s people = =

The matter was so troublesome that she was getting a headache. She bent over in irritation, head on her legs as she held her head in her hands, “I feel like I’ve used almost a lifetime’s worth of brain cells in these past few days. Being an agent is not easy, I have to worry about so much!”

Han Feixu once again focused on the wrong point, “If you’ve used up all of your brain cells, then you don’t have a brain left anymore….isn’t that just….an idiot?”

Liang Zhu: “…..”

In the end, Liang Zhu could not think of a solution and Han Feixu returned home well after midnight.

The only lights left on in the house were the lights on the staircase and one wall lamp on the first floor. After taking off her shoes at the door, she slowly trudged her way upstairs, yawning as she pushed the door to her bedroom open. Under the dim lighting, she could barely make out that there was another figure lying on her bed. When she opened the door to her room, the person suddenly opened their eyes, their black pupils and the whites of their eyes causing Han Feixu to jump back in fright and she almost did a backflip to get out of the room.

Ye Mingxin sat up, stretching a little, “What time is it?”

Han Feixu calmed down her frightened little heart, “It’s past midnight. What are you doing here?”

Ye Mingxin rubbed her eyes sleepily, “I was waiting for you, but I was too tired so I fell asleep while I was waiting.”

Recently Ye Mingxin has been feeling very tired from the influx in work. She’s been going out early and returning late every day, so much so that she couldn’t tell black from white right now.

Han Feixu thoughtfully softened her voice, “Then you should go back to your room and sleep. Good night.”

Han Feixu walked into the bathroom without a second glance after saying these words. She intended to take a nice, long and hot bath.

However, in the bedroom, Ye Mingxin did not move. She seemed to have emptied out her mind as she looked dazedly into the distance with unfocused eyes. Then suddenly, she laid back down again and quickly pulled the comforter up and wrapped it tightly around her body.

20 minutes later, a sweet-smelling and clean Han Feixu came out of the bathroom. She had forgotten to take a bathrobe with her into the bathroom and the housekeeper had not prepared one for her in any of the bathroom cabinets. So she could only wrap her body in a towel and walk out. However, the towel was too short for her to move her legs fully so she could only awkwardly shuffle her way out of the bathroom.

When she saw the human-shaped lump on the bed, she froze. A few seconds later, she prodded the person laying inside the blanket burrito,

“Ye Mingxin?”

The person inside did not respond.

She frowned and took two steps forward. She bent down and tilted her head, listening carefully for any sounds. The only sounds she could hear were the sounds of slow and even breathing.

….this person fell asleep again so quickly?!

Han Feixu shook the sleeping person, trying to wake her up, “Ye Mingxin, go back to your own room to sleep. This is my room.”

The person under the blankets still didn’t move.

Han Feixu frowned even more and she tried again, but this time, as soon as she put her hand onto Ye Mingxin’s body, the blankets suddenly opened up. Ye Mingxin sat up and flipped over, pulling Han Feixu onto the bed as she said fiercely: “What ‘your room’? You’re mine, so of course this room is mine too! Now, close your eyes and sleep!”

Han Feixu was dumbfounded. Is there any logic left in this world???

After saying these words, Ye Mingxin seemed to not care about how shocked the person beneath her was and just directly laid on top of her and fell asleep. She put her head on the side of Han Feixu’s body, roughly around the right side of her chest. Although the area was soft, it was too high. She moved a bit to the side, but now she was laying on top of the rib bones and that was especially uncomfortable. She kept changing positions, moving this way and that, as if she was trying to find the best position.

Because of her movements, the already loose bath towel naturally unraveled completely.

Han Feixu who was rubbed back and forth so many times: “….=口=….”

AHHHHHHHH! Fu*king—screw you! 

Han Feixu’s face blushed red and she lifted the covers off of Ye Mingxin in one smooth movement. With such big movements, Ye Mingxin naturally sobered up and was now completely awake. She opened her eyes blankly, only to see Han Feixu standing on the bed, half-naked and towering above her. Han Feixu was at a height she had never seen her reach before and she watched as an angry index finger pointed down at her and then at the door, “Get. Out. Of. My. Room. Immediately!!!!”

Ye Mingxin: “…..” Huh, today’s Little Xu seems to be at least two meters tall?? 

The next day, Ye Mingxin honestly and sincerely apologized = =

Ye Mingxin is the type that gets grumpy when she’s woken up, but she rarely shows this side of hers as she really only ever lets go when someone interrupts her during her most deepest sleep. A person’s consciousness affects a person’s bodily functions at all times, even when one is sleeping. If one knows when they will be awakened, or when they’ll likely be awakened, then your body will naturally alert your brain from falling into deep sleep at those certain times.

However, last night, Ye Mingxin had fallen asleep because she was just way too tired. She even forgot which room was hers due to her exhaustion and so she thought she was in her room when she first fell asleep. She also thought she’ll be able to sleep until daylight, so when she was suddenly woken up, she exploded in anger.

The moment Han Feixu saw Ye Mingxin the next morning, she became enraged again. Not only was she feeling angry, she also felt some shame and resentment. This is because after her chest was rubbed this way and that by Ye Mingxin, her breasts felt swollen and numb and even the tips of her breasts grew hard and were suddenly standing up! It took them a long time to return to normal.

She’s still a virtuous maiden, alright?!! How could her body have such a shameful reaction!!??

---

In short, for the next few days, Han Feixu was a very temperamental person.

Even now, she’s wearing a blank expression as she looks up the film companies on the laptop in her lap.

Ye Mingxin glanced at the screen, and then seeing the contents on the laptop, she opened her mouth to say something, then paused before replacing her words with a question, “Are you changing companies?”

Han Feixu flipped her hair and uttered one stern syllable, “En.”

Ah, such a hard person to coax.

Although she complained inwardly, Ye Mingxin had a smile on her face. In her opinion, coaxing Han Feixu is a nostalgic experience.

Ye Mingxin sat next to Han Feixu, “So you don’t want to renew your contract with Gan Company?”

When it comes to matters pertaining to her career, Han Feixu’s expression improved a little, “Not necessarily, I’m just looking around to see which company is the best.”

“Then have you released any news about you changing companies to the public yet?”

Han Feixu blinked, “No, I haven’t. Do I need to?”

Ye Mingxin smiled and avoided the question, “If you want to change companies, you might as well join my studio.”

Ye Mingxin’s studio is technically listed under Gan Company, so joining her studio was the same as signing on with Gan Company again. Furthermore, Han Feixu didn’t want to become someone who relied on their wife to become famous.

She didn’t even think twice about it, “No.”

“Don’t refuse so quickly,” Ye Mingxin smiled, “You should discuss this with Liang Zhu first. In fact, if you join my studio, you can avoid Liang Zhu’s termination fees. And although I’m listed under Gan Company, the studio’s operations are separate from the Gan Family and we even pay separate taxes from them.”

Han Feixu didn’t understand, “Why did President Gan agree to you owning your own studio then?”

“I’m listed underneath the company because of mutual benefits. He helps me deal with the news media and the messy power disputes that come with a company, and I help establish a famous reputation for his company.”

Even now, when people talk about Gan Company, the first artist they think of is Ye Mingxin. Although she was operating separately from Gan Company now, the masses did not really understand this point.

Han Fiexu nodded in understanding. So when a person’s position is high enough, they can even fight back against the company that originally managed them. Amazing. She has learned something new.

Ye Mingxin seemed to have remembered another point, “Oh, there’s also another reason. Gan Zongming is my distant cousin. So we’re all the same family in the end. I do have to care about his company’s reputation at least for our families’ sake.”

Han Feixu: “…..”

So, in the end, it’s just hateful nepotism = =

Han Feixu was thinking over her proposal, when Ye Mingxin added oil to the fire.

Her voice was very gentle as she spoke, “Regardless of whether you join my studio or not, all of my resources will be shared with you. However, I hope you will still join because with me here, I will never restrain you, let alone force you to take jobs or scripts you don’t like.”