novelraw Chapter 27
Chapter 27
"Old man?!" Zhang Ke was no longer just trembling; his entire body shook with rage.
"May I hit this drunk?" Tang You'an stared at him coldly, itching to act, but ultimately turned to Song Xici for her opinion.
Song Xici snapped out of her daze and quickly responded, "No, no, no, let's just ignore him!"
Though personally, Song Xici wanted to slap him a few times. But if Tang You'an actually did it, they'd be on entertainment headlines and legal news tomorrow. Besides, seeing Zhang Ke's pitiful state now was karma enough.
"Oh..." Tang You'an heard this, shoved Zhang Ke aside, and let go.
"Let's get in the car!" Song Xici said, turning to the car, opening the door and getting in. Tang You'an followed closely.
Meng Meng hurriedly sat in the back seat.
Then Song Xici stepped on the gas, leaving Zhang Ke with a cloud of exhaust.
"Mama, I'm suffering..." Zhang Ke watched the car's rear, then drunkenly sat on the ground, wailing at the sky.
"Unbelievable, to actually run into that bastard..." After a while, Meng Meng spoke up.
"Bad luck." Song Xici said through gritted teeth.
"But looking at him, he seems to be doing pretty badly. How exciting! I'm so damn happy to see it!" Meng Meng said, slapping the bag on her lap.
"I really suspect he's mentally ill now." Song Xici stared ahead. "It's laughable, he actually thought I'd forgive him. Does he think he still has a chance?"
"Really, it's so disgusting. He has no shame. He probably doesn't even know how to write the characters for 'embarrassment'!" Meng Meng shared her indignation.
They say most people have an indescribable feeling about their first love. Even long after breaking up, even if they no longer love them, there's still a vague attachment.
But Song Xici only felt like gouging out her own eyes. Her past self must have been hit on the head with a frying pan to like someone like that! She wanted to dig up this dark history, bury it, and stick a yellow talisman on top.
Hearing this, Tang You'an turned to Song Xici: "Who is he?"
"Zhang Ke." Song Xici answered briefly.
"So it's him." Tang You'an frowned slightly.
"Mm..." Song Xici replied, then put on some music.
"He's really both ugly and stupid." Tang You'an said.
"Indeed." Song Xici nodded vigorously.
"And so full of himself. Doesn't he look in the mirror? I guess only someone blind or kicked in the head by a donkey could fancy him." Tang You'an continued.
Song Xici's face darkened, falling silent. Sorry, she had been blind and kicked in the head by a donkey before.
After dropping Meng Meng off, Song Xici and Tang You'an returned home together.
After feeding the fish, Song Xici thought for a moment and turned to Tang You'an: "By the way, your contract with the company is almost up, right?"
"Yes." Tang You'an nodded.
"So what are your plans next?" Song Xici asked.
"It's strange, but I seem to be getting my own small studio soon." Tang You'an was still a bit confused herself.
Song Xici was stunned for a good while: "Your company decided to open a subsidiary for you directly?!"
"Mainly because Zhao Zixi's studio also wants me." Tang You'an said. "Then my company wants me too, so they started competing like an auction in a TV drama."
Song Xici still looked bewildered.
"But how much money do I have? Teacher Zhao Zixi's idea is that she'll put in part of the money, and I need to put in part too. She calculated that I probably need to put in about 14 or 15 million." Tang You'an said.
"Wait, let's check all the bank cards in your wallet and the banking apps on your phone." Song Xici said.
"Okay." Tang You'an nodded, then took out her wallet.
Afterwards, Song Xici went through each major bank app, resetting passwords, logging in, and checking balances. Finally, she added up all the numbers and pressed her lips together.
"How are you so poor..." Song Xici said.
"Hm?"
"You actually have less than 3 million." Song Xici glanced at her.
Well, she hadn't received any roles for several hundred years, and her original self was a big spender. So having over 2 million left was not bad.
As for Tang You'an's parents, although they were very wealthy, Tang You'an had a tense relationship with her family. Her parents hoped she'd run out of money in the entertainment industry and return to study so she could inherit the family business. They also thought Tang You'an was misbehaving, so why would they give her money to spend?
Song Xici was different in this aspect. Although she also chose a path her family didn't like, every year during festivals, her family would still give her large sums of money, almost matching her acting fees.
"What should I do?" Tang You'an had agreed to Zhao Zixi in the heat of the moment, but now... she was a bit dumbfounded.
"I heard you can borrow from banks?" Tang You'an looked at her. "I saw people doing that in TV dramas."
"Forget it. If you want to borrow 10 million, you'd need assets of at least 10 or 20 million yourself." Song Xici glanced at her.
Tang You'an became even more confused.
"I'll give it to you." Song Xici finally said. "You can pay me back later."
Tang You'an raised her head abruptly to look at her: "Xici, are you what people online call a 'sugar mom'?"
Song Xici was stunned for a moment, then slapped Tang You'an's shoulder: "Mom... you're the mom! Drop the 'mom'!"
"Thank you." Tang You'an finally looked at her and smiled.
"Alright, alright, you're welcome." Song Xici glanced at her.
"That popular saying here is really true: only mothers are good in this world, a child with a mother is like a treasure." Tang You'an said with a smile.
"Say 'mom' one more time and I'll turn you into grass in a second!" Song Xici suddenly exploded.
Hearing this, Tang You'an immediately shut up.
"Okay, I'm going back to my room to sleep." Song Xici stood up.
"Mm, good night." Tang You'an nodded.
Song Xici walked to the stairs, stopped, thought for a moment, then turned back to look at her: "Don't call me mom in the future. I was just joking with you. Why did you take it seriously?"
Tang You'an heard this and smiled: "Okay, whatever Xici wants."
Song Xici looked at her one last time, then ran upstairs.
Back in her room, Song Xici picked up her phone to browse Weibo and couldn't help but laugh when she saw Tang You'an's post with photos and her new profile picture.
However, when she saw someone comment "Little Song's nails are the highlight! Definitely the bottom." Song Xici snorted.
Then she put down her phone, looked at her new manicure, and a question suddenly popped into her mind—so if she wanted to do this and that with Tang You'an, she'd have to remove her nails first...
Wait, what was she thinking!
Meanwhile, Chang Ye finished cooking a large bowl of noodles, topped it with pre-made sauce, and turned to leave the kitchen.
"Ah, Little Ye, I'm so tired!" Just then, with a click, her roommate Wu Lingling opened the door and walked into the small living room.
"What's wrong?" Chang Ye asked as she walked.
"Just before getting off work, my stupid boss suddenly brought a bunch of work for me to rush. I worked until now to finish, I can't take it." Wu Lingling drooped her shoulders as she walked to Chang Ye's side, then leaned down to sniff. "Smells so good, I want some! Are you preparing to livestream eating again?"
"Yes. There's some left in the kitchen, want to get some to eat?" Chang Ye raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Yay!" Hearing this, Wu Lingling immediately perked up.
"By the way, I've already unclogged the bathroom drain, so you can take a shower now!" Chang Ye said as she reached her bedroom door.
"Mm, Little Ye, I love you! Mwah!" A voice floated from the kitchen.
Chang Ye smiled and shook her head, then carried her food into her room and sat down at the computer.
Three large bowls of noodles were already set on the table. That's right, besides being an actress, she now had another identity—a mukbang streamer. As long as she wasn't on set, every night at 7 pm, she would open her livestream and eat lots of food in front of her online audience.
After eating and digesting for a while, she would start punching the sandbag in her room, doing planks, sit-ups, lifting small dumbbells, etc., to prevent calories from turning into fat and maintain her figure.
Looking at the time, there were still fifteen minutes left. So Chang Ye clicked into the page where she had listed her few luxury accessories for sale on Xianyu this morning. Originally, someone had agreed to meet for a face-to-face transaction in the afternoon, but now that person was ignoring her.
"Sister Yun, it's me, Chang Ye. I was wondering if you could lend me 20,000 yuan?" Chang Ye finally decided to pick up her phone and call Lu Yun after thinking for a long time. "I'll pay you back as soon as possible."
"20,000? Okay, are you short on money recently?" Lu Yun asked.
"I... stained someone's... quite expensive clothes." Chang Ye answered.
"Very expensive?"
"Over 200,000..." Chang Ye sighed, looking at the accessories she had listed on Xianyu on her computer screen.
Lu Yun was a friend Chang Ye had made since she started acting. She was a nice person, not famous, but from a wealthy family. She never aimed to be very famous.
"Alright, what about your debts for this month? Have you cleared them?" Lu Yun asked again.
"No, I want to... try to scrape together what I can. There's only about 300,000 left to pay. If it wasn't for that incident, I would have been able to breathe a sigh of relief. I want to ask if I can pay them next month, and from now on, I'll try to work harder and see if I can gather enough." Chang Ye replied.
"How much money do you have on hand right now?" Lu Yun asked.
"240,000." Chang Ye answered.
"Then I'll transfer you 500,000. Pay off all those debts first, don't push yourself so hard. Take it slow, you can pay me back when you have money later." Lu Yun said.
"Sister Yun..."
"Actually, I've wanted to help you for a long time, but you never asked. I know your prickly personality well—strong self-esteem and quite stubborn—so I never brought it up. But since you've asked this time, let me give you a hand, okay?" Lu Yun said. "Besides, the New Year is coming. Let yourself be a bit happier."
Chang Ye gripped her phone, the light from the computer screen reflecting a faint blue in her eyes: "Sister Yun, do you think I'm a loser?"
"Where did that come from? You've shouldered such a heavy burden alone, paying back millions in high-interest loans in two years. Most people couldn't do that." Lu Yun sighed. "Your difficult situation is your parents' fault, not yours. Otherwise, with the money you've earned, you could have bought a small villa in a second or third-tier city, right?"
"But I really, really want to become that kind of incredibly capable person. That way, even if my partner is from a wealthy family, it wouldn't matter. I wouldn't have to be humiliated by their parents in front of everyone, calling me 'shameless, a toad lusting after swan's flesh, a lowly person who should go back where they belong' when visiting their home." Chang Ye said, the corners of her lips turning up slightly. "Afterwards, my partner even thought I shouldn't take it too seriously. Right, I was too serious, so maybe we really weren't suited for each other."
"Little Ye..."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said these things." Chang Ye lowered her head to look at the keyboard.
"It's true that wealthy families often care about matching backgrounds and such. Even if you grit your teeth and get in, there will still be endless small torments. I feel bad for my sister-in-law just watching her, so I completely understand. Anyway, cheer up! I'll transfer the money to you first. Be a good girl and accept it, okay?" Lu Yun's voice sounded gentle.
"Okay..." Chang Ye opened her mouth. "Thank you, Sister Yun."
"Mm, alright then, send me your account number. I'll see if I can do a same-bank transfer for instant arrival. I'm hanging up now." Lu Yun said.
"Thank you. Really." Chang Ye choked up a bit. If she wasn't truly at her wit's end, she really didn't want to borrow money from others.
After a while, sure enough, Lu Yun transferred the money.
Upon receiving it, Chang Ye immediately found Zhou Yi's account number saved in her notes and transferred the money to her.
Afterwards, Chang Ye checked the time, then logged into her livestream room, arranged the food in front of the computer, and moved the small lamp closer: "Hello, I'm here!"
Slowly, more and more people entered the livestream. So Chang Ye rolled up her sleeves, picked up her chopsticks, and slurped up a large bunch of noodles in one go.
"Watching Little Ye eat is still the most satisfying, so powerful!"
"There's no big glob of chili sauce today, doesn't feel as thrilling?"
"Sorry, my mouth has been a bit dry lately, so I don't dare eat things that are too spicy. When I'm better, I'll make a big plate of spicy chicken with green peppers to make it up to everyone!" Chang Ye said with a smile, then buried her head to take another big bite, nodding as she picked up a piece of beef. "Today's topping is dried bamboo shoots with beef. Look, such a big piece of beef, let me show you..."
"Little Ye, can you eat baby octopus next time? The kind where you pop the head and eat it in one bite!"
"I also want to see Little Ye eat spicy stir-fried baby octopus!"
"Am I the only one who wants to see Little Ye eat boiled baby octopus?"
So after eating a few more bites of noodles, Chang Ye smiled and said, "Okay, but let me ask secretly, will anyone give me tips?"
As soon as she said this, the tipping messages in the livestream began to scroll rapidly. However, the amounts were all relatively small. Chang Ye had been in the mukbang streaming world for a while, but she wasn't particularly famous, probably because the amount of food she ate wasn't considered especially large in the mukbang world. But she could still earn a small income of tens of thousands per month.
Just then, a user named "A Lamp of Vanity" started sending her expensive gifts non-stop.
Chang Ye wiped her mouth with a tissue, intending to thank them, but the gifts were coming so fast that she could only say, "Thank you 'A Lamp of Vanity' for the one, two, three, four, five... N yachts. If you want to see me eat something specific, make sure to tell me!"
...
In the blink of an eye, the Spring Festival had truly arrived.
This year, Song Xici rarely returned home on New Year's Eve to spend the holiday with Song Jianjun and Lin Xing.
Early in the morning, just as Song Xici came downstairs after washing up, she heard Lin Xing and Song Jianjun arguing in the kitchen.
Lin: "How many times have I told you, eggs should be fried on low heat to look good! Look at what you've done, all burnt and black..."
Song: "So why did you ask me to fry eggs?"
Lin: "Because if you don't know how, you need to learn!"
Song: "I'm not frying anymore. Do it yourself."
Then came the sound of a spatula being thrown down. Song Jianjun walked out with a dark face and sat down on the living room sofa.
"Awake?" Seeing Song Xici, Song Jianjun looked up and asked.
"Mm." Song Xici rubbed her head as she walked over. "It's New Year's Eve, why are you two arguing at the slightest provocation?"
"Who wants to argue with her? It's just that she's always dissatisfied with this and that. What can I do?!" Song Jianjun said as he picked up a knife and started peeling an apple.
Song Xici nodded, not wanting to say more. She just picked up a banana, peeled it, took a bite, and turned on the TV.
"We're about to eat, why are you watching TV?!" Lin Xing's voice came from the kitchen.
So Song Xici glanced in that direction, then turned off the TV and started scrolling through her phone.
"Take half to her." Song Jianjun said, dividing the peeled apple in half and handing it to Song Xici.
"Oh..." Song Xici took it and stood up to walk to the kitchen.
"Mom, Dad gave this to you." Song Xici held out the apple.
Lin Xing was startled, took the apple, and grumbled, "He really doesn't know how to peel, there's hardly any flesh left."
Despite her complaints, Lin Xing still bit into it, the corners of her lips turning up.
Song Xici watched her and sighed, truly perplexed.
After breakfast, Lin Xing came downstairs all dressed up and beautiful.
Seeing this, Song Jianjun looked her up and down and sneered, "How old are you, still dressing up like a butterfly?"
Lin Xing heard this and also sneered, "None of your business. If I'm a butterfly, then this butterfly is going to the garden. Bye-bye."
With that, Lin Xing opened the door and left.
Song Jianjun slammed the remote control on the table: "Xici, what does she mean? Going to the garden? Does she have someone outside?!"
"I don't know." Song Xici shook her head, watching the male lead on TV get stabbed and spurt blood.
"Message her and ask where she went, if she's coming back for lunch. It's New Year's Eve." Song Jianjun said.
"Oh." Song Xici picked up her phone and sent a message: "Mom, where did you go?"
A few minutes later, Lin Xing replied: "Shopping at the mall with your Aunt Xiao Yang. Might not come back."
"She's at the mall with Aunt Xiao Yang." Song Xici turned to tell Song Jianjun.
"What kind of behavior is this! On New Year's Eve, leaving her husband and daughter at home to go shopping with an outsider!" Song Jianjun immediately exploded.
Song Xici felt these words sounded vaguely familiar.
"Is she coming back for lunch?" Song Jianjun asked.
"She might not come back." Song Xici said.
Song Jianjun clenched his fist and stood up, then said, "Xici, I think that turtle in our backyard pond looks good. Let's catch it and stew it."
"Turtle? You mean the... pet Mom just bought?" Song Xici was shocked.
"Yes." Song Jianjun said, angrily preparing to walk to the backyard.
"No, Dad! You're adding fuel to the fire!" Song Xici hurriedly stopped him. "She'll tear you apart when she gets back! She used to be a taekwondo athlete! Even if she hasn't practiced in a long time... you don't want to become hand-shredded chicken, do you?"
"I can beat her, I just always go easy on her..." Song Jianjun muttered.
Hearing this, Song Xici was stunned for a moment.
After a while, Song Xici asked, "Dad, you actually love Mom a lot, don't you?"
Song Jianjun glanced at her: "At our age, what's all this talk about love?"
He lit a cigarette. Song Xici tilted her head but didn't say more.
At least she had talked Song Jianjun out of it. Otherwise, they might have had a bloodbath on New Year's Eve.
In the end, the turtle wasn't stewed, and Lin Xing did come back. She had just gone shopping to buy some ingredients she realized were missing in the morning.
In the evening, the three of them prepared a New Year's Eve dinner together, then sat down to watch the Spring Festival Gala.
But Song Xici barely paid attention to the show, constantly checking her chat history with Tang You'an on WeChat.
Two hours ago, Tang You'an said she had to go take care of something, and there had been no news since.
Twirling a strand of hair around her finger, Song Xici grew more and more irritated watching the gala.
Just as Song Xici was about to ask "Are you still busy?", Tang You'an suddenly sent a short video.
Opening it, Song Xici saw a table full of dishes, but the camera was shaking terribly, almost dizzyingly so.
"The crew finally stopped being stingy and took us out for a good meal." Tang You'an sent a message afterwards.
Song Xici immediately cheered up and typed: "Silly, of course they wouldn't still serve boxed meals on a special day like New Year's Eve!"
After a while, Tang You'an replied: "I wish I could spend New Year's with you."
Seeing those words, Song Xici held her phone, stunned for a good while, before finally smiling: "We'll spend it together next year."
"But we're supposed to part ways in a few months. Can we really do that then?" Tang You'an asked.
This question instantly stumped Song Xici. She seemed to always overlook this fact. She hadn't even written an IOU after giving Tang You'an 10 million yuan last time.
"Whether we part ways or not, I'll spend it with you." Song Xici finally sent back.
"Great! Haha, Xici, look, such a big lobster!" Then Tang You'an sent another blurry picture. "It's thicker than my arm!"
"Xici, have you eaten this before? It's called roast suckling pig."
"Xici, this dish is so spicy. I took two bites and almost turned into Ouyang Feng from 'The Eagle Shooting Heroes.' You can't eat it."
"Xici, this pork bone soup is so delicious, very flavorful. When you come back, I'll make some for you."
"Xici, I'm so full. If only I had two stomachs..."
"Silly." Song Xici replied, her lips curving upward.
"Our crew is on the way to watch fireworks. I heard the film city bought them. Don't know if they'll be good. By the way, our crew is really fun." Tang You'an sent another message after a while.
"They should be pretty good, I guess. Speaking of which, it seems you're getting along quite well with everyone..." Song Xici sent back with a smile.
She felt like a child had finally grown up and could stand on their own, but at the same time, she felt a melancholy worry that the child might grow distant as they no longer needed her so much.
"Mm... Ah, they're exploding! So beautiful!" A few minutes later, Tang You'an sent a voice message, her voice brimming with excitement.
Song Xici was about to reply when Tang You'an suddenly initiated a video call.
Song Xici paused for a moment before answering. Tang You'an's face appeared on the screen, though it was hard to see clearly due to the dim lighting. She was breathing slightly heavily, perhaps from walking.
"What are you doing..." Song Xici put on her earphones and said with a smile.
"The director said fireworks are only interesting when watched with the person you think is most important..." Tang You'an swallowed and switched to the rear camera, raising it to the sky to focus on the fireworks. "I thought about it, and the most important person to me is you, so I want to watch them with you..."
In the shaky screen, fireworks shot into the sky one after another, bursting in succession. It was beautiful. As Song Xici watched, she choked up a bit and wiped her nose: "You really are... truly silly..."