[First, rule out Fan Qing.]
Fan Qing: ?
What had she done to get ruled out?
Refusing to give up, Fan Qing continued, "Yueyue, aren't we the best friends in the whole world?"
[Even being the best friends in the world won't do. Too greasy.]
Fan Qing saw Lin Tingyue frown in distaste.
Fan Qing: ...
Meanwhile, Lin Tingyue still had no idea she had given herself away. She looked at Fan Qing, her eyes brimming with affection. "Yes, we're the best friends in the whole world!"
Fan Qing: ...
Heh. Lin Tingyue, did you even realize you were leaking like a sieve?!
Oh, she didn't.
Lin Tingyue sat down beside Fan Qing and asked, "So, tell me. What did you come to see me for today?"
Staring at the girl's serious face, Fan Qing's head filled with question marks. "Yueyue, weren't you the one who contacted me and said you wanted to invest?"
Realization dawned on Lin Tingyue. She had indeed told Fan Qing yesterday that she wanted to invest. She hadn't expected Fan Qing to come see her today.
Lin Tingyue immediately looked at Fan Qing with stars in her eyes.
[Qingqing, we're the best friends in the whole wide world!]
What a fickle woman!
Fan Qing fell silent for a moment, then asked, "What made you think of investing?"
Lin Tingyue said, "Money management. I just need to learn how to manage my money."
[Sigh, never in my life did I think I'd have the problem of having too much money and not knowing how to spend it.]
Fan Qing: !???
What an incredibly niche problem.
Envious, jealous, and resentful, Fan Qing steadied herself and earnestly analyzed the situation for Lin Tingyue. "If you're going to invest, you have to invest in something with low income and high returns."
Lin Tingyue tilted her head. "Such as?"
Exasperated that iron wouldn't turn into steel, Fan Qing said, "Movies and TV dramas! Variety shows work too. Didn't a divorce reality show just blow up a while ago?"
[Even divorce reality shows can blow up?]
[That's true. The money those celebrities make is practically astronomical. Investing in them... must be really profitable!]
Lin Tingyue rubbed her hands together, ready to go all out. "Then where do we start?"
After saying that, Lin Tingyue gave the bashful smile of a poor person who had suddenly struck it rich. She genuinely knew absolutely nothing.
Fortunately, Fan Qing really was a wonderful bestie. Not only did she teach Lin Tingyue step by step, she also planned to take Fan Qing to have a look around the film studio complex.
Before they set off, Fan Qing looked at Lin Tingyue. "There's something I've been wondering all along. Isn't your second brother in the entertainment industry? Why come to me?"
At that, Lin Tingyue's expression cooled a little. She said aloofly and haughtily, "My second brother is too busy."
[Lin Shengyan told me to see a doctor. Doesn't that mean he thinks there's something wrong with my brain? I've decided not to speak to him for a whole month.]
Fan Qing: "Huh?"
What kind of childish nonsense was this?
Fan Qing and Lin Tingyue got into the car, and Uncle Zhang drove them to the film studio complex. Since they were both girls, and the Lin and Fan families were wealthy, Bai Yaxin had originally wanted to send another bodyguard along with them.
But Fan Qing showed Bai Yaxin her muscles, and Bai Yaxin suddenly remembered. "Qingqing, you're a black belt in taekwondo. What am I worrying about?"
Lin Tingyue was dumbstruck. No wonder Fan Qing had managed to keep Cheng Xuan so firmly at bay back then.
In the car, Lin Tingyue hugged Fan Qing's arm and rubbed against it. "Sis, you're seriously so cool, sis."
*[A black belt in taekwondo, a rich young lady, and that good-looking to boot. Even if Fan Qing debuted, she could get famous
too.]*
[Qingqing, Qingqing, I'm cheering for you!]
"Oh, stop."
Fan Qing blushed and protested coyly. Being praised like this really did make her a little embarrassed. "If you want to learn taekwondo, I could also..."
Lin Tingyue firmly shook her head. "No."
[I'm a crispy-skinned weakling. One move and I'll snap!]
Fan Qing: .
Lin Tingyue, you might as well die of laziness!
They soon arrived at the film studio complex. Eager to spread her wings, Lin Tingyue reached the set of the drama Fan Qing had invested in and abruptly realized something major she had overlooked.
[Aaaaaah, how could I forget? Investing in celebrities really is profitable, but these people are way too prone to having their houses collapse!!!]
When Lin Tingyue heard that actor's name again, her vision instantly went black.
[It's over, it's over. How could it be Xie Junnian? Qingqing's going to lose everything!!!]
Lose everything, lose everything, lose everything. Fan Qing stumbled and felt dizzy too. She looked incredulously at the male lead, Xie Junnian, who was resting under a canopy. No way. Someone this handsome could have his house collapse too?
[What do I do, what do I do? I have to save Qingqing's money!]
Lin Tingyue had only just made up her mind when she caught sight of a figure approaching Xie Junnian. She covered her eyes in anguish.
[Oh, wonderful. It's Wu Shanshan. Xie Junnian is completely beyond saving.]
Fan Qing looked at the person approaching Xie Junnian. The girl was tall and slender, but had a sweet face. Wu Shanshan-Fan Qing had some recollection of that name.
As she struggled to remember, Wu Shanshan took off her sunglasses over there, revealing eyes red from crying beneath the lenses. Wu Shanshan lowered her voice and asked, "Xie Junnian, what exactly is the meaning of this?"
Her voice briefly choked as she asked the question, making it hard not to wonder just what she had been through.
Ah, Fan Qing remembered.
Wu Shanshan and Xie Junnian had been a couple. They had parted amicably last year, yet this year Xie Junnian had suddenly posted on Weibo: Could you please leave me alone?
That single line, with neither beginning nor end, had somehow allowed Xie Junnian's fans to pick up on clues.
The fans dug up the discovery that, after Xie Junnian and Wu Shanshan's amicable breakup, Wu Shanshan had been secretly cursing Xie Junnian's family and maliciously steering fans into cyberbullying him.
Once this came out, Xie Junnian's fans were naturally furious and launched a grand campaign to denounce Wu Shanshan.
Could all of this be fake? Was Xie Junnian's impending house collapse connected to Wu Shanshan and this incident?
While Fan Qing was speculating, Lin Tingyue had already sat down on a little folding stool.
There were plenty of these little folding stools outside every production set. Lin Tingyue's stool was opposite the canopy where Xie Junnian was, an excellent spot for providing commentary on the gossip.
Seeing this, Fan Qing immediately walked over and sat beside Lin Tingyue, who asked whether she wanted sunflower seeds.
Fan Qing glanced at the sunflower seeds in her hand, then at the pocket Lin Tingyue was using to hold them.
Had she really just casually pulled a handful of sunflower seeds out of a dress worth tens of thousands?
Besides the seeds, there was also a white plastic bag for the shells.
How very civic-minded of her.
Speechless, Fan Qing asked, "Why do you carry sunflower seeds around?"
Lin Tingyue scratched her head. "I'm used to it."
[After all, there's melon to eat wherever I go. When I'm eating melon, I want to crack some sunflower seeds along with it.]
Besides, Lin Tingyue really had to praise this dress.
[Rich people's clothes really are great. They're all custom-made, and they even have pockets, unlike those damned women's clothing sellers. This pocket is so big. It's perfect for sunflower seeds.]
Hearing this, Fan Qing suddenly grew alert. "How many sunflower seeds did you bring?"
Lin Tingyue thought carefully. "Not many."
Fan Qing accepted the sunflower seeds and began cracking them, while over by Wu Shanshan and Xie Junnian, the show began.
Wu Shanshan already looked pitiful enough. Lin Tingyue hadn't expected Xie Junnian to actually manage to put on a pitiful expression himself.
"Shanshan, how long are you going to keep making a scene? We parted amicably back then. I really can't give you any more."
His tone was plainly insinuating that Wu Shanshan was behaving this way now to get more benefits out of him.
Wu Shanshan clearly understood too. Her already pale face now lost every last trace of color.
Lin Tingyue, a melon-eating spectator, was furious.
[What the hell is this bastard Xie Junnian saying? First give back those gifts and resources and everything Wu Shanshan gave you, you soft-rice man!!!]
The words rang out with force, and everyone around them looked over.
Was there melon?
They moved at the first hint, sitting down beside Fan Qing and Lin Tingyue one after another. Fan Qing watched Lin Tingyue keep pulling sunflower seeds out of her pocket, even thoughtfully reminding everyone not to litter the shells.
No, wait. What happened to not bringing many sunflower seeds?
Fan Qing couldn't help looking at Lin Tingyue's pocket again. Just how big was that pocket?!
Wu Shanshan clenched her fists. "Xie Junnian, when we first got together, you were a little nobody who didn't even have a million followers. I was the one who gave you all those resources..."
Xie Junnian cut Wu Shanshan off. "Do you have proof? Wu Shanshan, how dare you spread rumors without proof? Don't you know the price you'll pay for spreading rumors?"
Of course Wu Shanshan knew. Her manager had said public opinion was now completely one-sided, which was extremely detrimental to her future career prospects. Otherwise, she wouldn't have come to see Xie Junnian today, hoping to talk things over with him. After all, they had been boyfriend and girlfriend. She didn't want things between her and Xie Junnian to turn too ugly.
Wu Shanshan bit her lip.
Cracking sunflower seeds, Lin Tingyue felt Wu Shanshan was so pitiable that even she couldn't help feeling tender toward her. Just watch her expose that scumbag Xie Junnian!
[Holy moly, even in the context of the entire book, Xie Junnian's melon is seriously explosive.]
What melon? Hurry up and let them hear it too.
[Tsk, tsk, tsk.]
[Sigh, sigh, sigh.]
[These days, you really need a background check before dating someone. And a physical examination!!!]
What exactly was it? Just say it already!!!
[Xie Junnian only just got out of some big shot's bed two days ago, then turned around and confessed to his first girlfriend. After confessing and putting on his devoted-lover persona, he went off to nestle like a little bird against a rich woman.]
[Man-man, man-woman, woman-man. What a tangled mess of relationships.]
Everyone sucked in a cold breath.
Meanwhile, Xie Junnian remained completely oblivious. He played the victim to perfection, deliberately lowering his voice. "Wu Shanshan, stop coming to see me. Do you really want us to become a bitter couple? We used to love each other so much."