Chapter 470: Niu Meiling, Utterly Despondent
Two days had passed since the test results came out, but Mo Fei’s mother had yet to arrive. Unlike Mo Henian, who acted on impulse and could set off the moment he made up his mind, she needed time to pack and take care of practical matters such as her visa and flight arrangements.
Yang Yi and Mo Fei didn’t need to treat her arrival like an impending disaster or abandon all their work. This time, they were mentally prepared. They only needed to purchase a few basic necessities for their mother-in-law.
Yang Yi hadn’t been idle, either. He needed to make arrangements for the work he had on hand in advance. For example, with regard to his new movie, “The Fugitive”, Yang Yi had asked Mo Xiaojuan to come over today to sign some contracts with Du Yuanlei concerning the new film’s production.
Mo Xiaojuan arrived early. She was in high spirits as she told Yang Yi, “Brother-in-law, you have no idea how wonderful Sister Ling’s expression was when I told her about this!”
Although Mo Fei’s pregnancy hadn’t yet been made public, she had already informed the company.
“Alright, alright. Didn’t Sister Ling eventually say that she understood?” Mo Fei was afraid Mo Xiaojuan would say something too harsh, so she quickly interjected. “It’s not nice to speak badly about people behind their backs.”
“Come on, everything I said was the truth! Before this, she was still planning to arrange another six concerts for you, not to mention countless commercial performances!” Mo Xiaojuan pursed her lips and said, “Only now has she finally agreed to let you make your own decisions, with the company no longer interfering.”
Mo Xiaojuan even imitated the somewhat frustrated tone Niu Meiling had used at the time.
Indeed, with only a few months left on Mo Fei’s contract, Niu Meiling couldn’t continue making money from her, and she still had to force a smile and congratulate Mo Fei. Given Niu Meiling’s profit-driven personality, she must have been feeling rather frustrated.
Mo Xiaojuan didn’t even know how to describe the utterly hopeless expression on Niu Meiling’s face. She had happened to be there for both of Mo Fei’s pregnancies. Just thinking about it was enough to drive someone crazy!
“Actually, I still want to perform at a couple of concerts.” Seeing Yang Yi turn to look at her, Mo Fei quickly explained, “I’m just saying. Now that the examination has confirmed I’m pregnant, I have to be more careful.”
Yang Yi waved his hand and smiled. “That’s not what I mean. I support you continuing to work. You just shouldn’t overexert yourself. The books say that it’s beneficial for women to maintain a moderate amount of work during pregnancy. For example, it helps them maintain a regular routine. Staying at home and resting all the time can make them lazy and less willing to exercise, which isn’t good for weight management or a natural delivery. Going out to work and interacting with more people can also help maintain a positive state of mind…”
Over the past two days, Yang Yi had even gone out of his way to buy books and read them. By studying books about pregnancy, he learned some of the things women experienced during pregnancy so that he could take better, more informed care of Mo Fei.
“So, I think you don’t need to do what you did five years ago, retiring from the entertainment industry as soon as you became pregnant and staying home until the baby was born. That wouldn’t be fair to you, either. You can carry on as usual. Just stop working a month or two before your due date and take that time to prepare for the baby’s arrival. As for after the baby is born, once you’ve recovered, you can continue singing again!” Yang Yi said.
Mo Fei was stunned. She hadn’t expected Yang Yi to say something like that. She had already been preparing to put her career on hold temporarily!
“Thank you, Yang Yi!” Mo Fei said softly, touched. She reached out and gently took his hand.
Mo Xiaojuan, sitting nearby, was practically getting a toothache from all the sweetness. She shook her head and said, “Anyway, we’re the ones making the decisions now. Sis, just tell Sister Ling how you want to arrange things, and we’ll let her know! She’s the one in the wrong, not us. It’s her people who leaked that news in the first place!”
Mo Xiaojuan was referring to Du Lun. Over the past two days, the police had uncovered records of transactions between Du Lun and an entertainment tabloid. The findings had caused an uproar within Tianmei. No one, including Ju Jie, had expected that the person who had betrayed them was none other than Du Lun, an unremarkable junior agent who usually went unnoticed!
What shocked Niu Meiling even more was that Zhenzhen had actually been involved, too!
Based on Du Lun’s call records, the police had summoned Zhenzhen for routine questioning to clarify a few details. However, Zhenzhen wasn’t a woman with particularly strong nerves. Unable to withstand the police’s sharp questioning, she spilled everything without holding anything back.
With that, the mystery of how Du Lun had obtained the information was finally solved. It hadn’t been Jian Chuo after all. Instead, someone within Jian Chuo’s own circle had betrayed them!
However, after investigating up to this point, the police reached a conclusion: Du Lun had most likely fled with the money!
The man had no immediate family. His parents had already passed away, and he rarely kept in touch with his relatives. Now he had disappeared without a trace, and the 600,000 yuan in his bank account was gone as well. Comparing this with Zhenzhen’s testimony that Du Lun had refused to share the money with her, it could be inferred that, unwilling to give up any of the money and worried that his actions would eventually be exposed, Du Lun had simply taken the money and left Jiangcheng.
As for Du Lun’s whereabouts, there was naturally no way to find out. Perhaps he had gone into hiding under a false identity in some other city, or maybe he had already left the country.
The investigation into Du Lun eventually came to a halt. Since Tianmei had no interest in continuing to get entangled with the police, and the police had no reason to pursue the matter further, they stopped investigating. It was an obvious case of financial crime, but it wasn’t a criminal case of the more serious kind, so the police weren’t particularly enthusiastic about pursuing it.
Of course, the matter wasn’t over within Tianmei. Although Zhenzhen wasn’t going to end up behind bars, her actions had earned her everyone’s contempt. A furious Jian Chuo even berated her for betraying her own side!
Ju Jie was also deeply ashamed. Only now did he realize that it hadn’t been Jian Chuo or Teacher Kou who had done it at all. His own agent had been the one who sold Yang Yi out.
To make amends, Ju Jie repeatedly urged the company to blacklist Zhenzhen. She might have escaped the ultimate punishment, but she couldn’t avoid the consequences of her actions. Zhenzhen had done something she shouldn’t have, and now she was finally receiving the punishment she deserved!
As for Du Lun, Ju Jie truly had no way of dealing with him. All he could do was tell Yang Yi everything, honestly and in detail.
Yang Yi was the only person who knew the whole story. He put on an act and had a lengthy discussion with Ju Jie, then reluctantly agreed to forgive him. This left Ju Jie deeply grateful.
So, on Niu Meiling’s side, there were two reasons she had to give in. On the one hand, Du Lun had leaked the information, and she was in the wrong. On the other, Ju Jie had helped push things along. She had no choice but to abandon some of her original plans and do her best to remain on good terms with Mo Fei. It was as if Mo Fei had become Sun Wukong, escaping beyond the Five Elements Mountain and no longer subject to the company’s control. She could do whatever she wanted!
While Mo Xiaojuan chatted with Yang Yi and Mo Fei, Du Yuanlei finally hurried over after finishing her class.
As for the contracts, they were already quite familiar with Du Yuanlei after working together on “Fairy Tale”. Yang Yi had also discussed the film’s investment with her beforehand. All the funding for this movie would come from Yang Yi and Mo Fei’s studio.
Although it was a low-budget film, Yang Yi had still provided Du Yuanlei with sufficient financial support, hoping to make the production as polished as possible.
If they were going to make a movie, they would make the best one they could!
“What about the actors? Teacher Yang, will you help me choose them?” Du Yuanlei asked after signing the documents.
“How would I have the time? Start by screening actors for each role according to your own standards. The basic requirements are already laid out in the script. As long as they meet those conditions, they should be fine,” Yang Yi said. “Once I get back from my hometown, I’ll review your selections and see whether they’re suitable.”
Du Yuanlei hesitated before asking, “What about the role of Wang Xiaomai? Could we let Xixi play her?”
“Xixi’s going to act in another movie?” Mo Fei immediately became interested.
“No, Xixi’s personality is quite different from that character in the script, so I don’t think she’s suitable for the role!” Yang Yi quickly explained to Mo Fei.
“I think Xixi really enjoys acting. As long as we explain things clearly to her, I’m sure she’ll do a great job!” Du Yuanlei was still somewhat insistent.
“You should hold open auditions for child actors instead. For now, don’t consider Xixi.” Yang Yi didn’t want Xixi to get involved in the entertainment industry too early, even if she enjoyed acting.
Child stars might become famous at a young age, but not many managed to maintain that success after reaching adulthood. If they faded into obscurity, they would even become the subject of ridicule in entertainment tabloids. Even if they left the entertainment industry altogether, people would still bring them up from time to time and compare them with others.
Besides, Yang Yi felt that Xixi should still be enjoying a carefree, worry-free childhood. Filming was exhausting, and he couldn’t bear the thought of his daughter suffering under the scorching sun and enduring all kinds of hardships on a film set.
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