Chapter 15: The Fallen Child Star (15) part 2

As evening approached, Lawyer Zhou called to say that the compensation for emotional distress from Xingyu Media had been fully transferred to Xu Weiheng’s bank account.

Yao Rong thanked Lawyer Zhou and went to find Xu Weiheng.

Xu Weiheng was lying on the bed reading ‘Starry Sky’. Ever since Yao Rong had told him the outline of ‘Starry Sky’, he had become a devoted reader of this science fiction novel.

When he heard Yao Rong’s purpose for coming, Xu Weiheng calmly said, “You can have it all.”

“All of it?” Yao Rong laughed, “I’ll have money soon. This money is yours, I don’t want it.”

This five million wasn’t some unexpected windfall.

It was compensation from Xingyu Media to Xu Weiheng and rightfully belonged only to him.

Xu Weiheng knew Yao Rong wasn’t lying to him.

The publishing house was attaching great importance to the release of ‘Starry Sky’, and they were now rushing the review and printing process. It was expected to be published and hit the market next month. Once this copyright fee was in hand, Yao Rong’s financial situation would become comfortable, after all, she didn’t have many expenses.

“Then help me manage it. You can deposit it in the bank or invest it, whatever you think is best.”

“What if the investment loses everything?”

Xu Weiheng wrinkled his nose: “Then it would prove you’re not cut out for business, and we shouldn’t play with investments anymore. We don’t have another five million to lose anytime soon.”

Yao Rong laughed at his reaction: “Alright. I won’t let you lose money in any case.”

Xu Weiheng curved his lips slightly, not taking her words to heart, and unaware of the weight behind them.

After leaving Xu Weiheng, Yao Rong sat under the grape trellis thinking for a long time, and came up with ideas on how to use this money.

She had been thinking that when the time was right, she wanted to invest in producing a post-apocalyptic disaster film.

For this type of movie, the plot could be formulaic, the actors’ performances could be average, but the special effects absolutely couldn’t be subpar, otherwise it would truly be a disaster.

Since there was a need, why not use this five million to invest in a special effects company?

Besides capital investment, she could also invest with technology—

3D naked-eye technology and holographic film technology, if these two technologies could really be developed, they would change the entire landscape of world cinema.

Even if these two technologies couldn’t be researched immediately, slightly elevating the current level of special effects was achievable.

With this in mind, Yao Rong began searching for domestic special effects companies, carefully studying the business situation of each company.

If this five million were invested in large special effects companies, it probably wouldn’t make much of a splash. Even if she did become a shareholder, she wouldn’t have much say in the company. So Yao Rong was focusing on those small companies that were facing financial difficulties but had a solid basic framework and a mature talent pool.

With a clear idea in mind, Yao Rong quickly selected her desired target—

Tiangong Vision.

While Yao Rong was planning for the future, Zhang Qingyi, who had been sitting idle all afternoon, finally made up her mind.

During dinner, she announced, “I’ve bought a plane ticket to A City for tomorrow.”

Yao Rong smiled and asked, “Have you made your decision?”

Zhang Qingyi nodded: “Although my son is only seven years old, he has always been very sensible. When he returns from summer camp, I will communicate with him properly, gain his understanding and support, and strive for his custody after the divorce.”

Hearing this answer, Xu Weiheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Qingyi stood up to express her gratitude, her eyes full of sincerity: “Thank you so much for taking care of me during this time. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know how depressed I would have been.”

Moreover, Zhang Qingyi had learned a lot from Yao Rong and Xu Weiheng.

She saw her path after divorce, learned how to live well, and understood how to guide her child.

This wisdom of life, and a relationship that felt like family despite being chance acquaintances, were her greatest gains.

Zhang Qingyi couldn’t help but reach out and gently hug Yao Rong: “Sister Yao, I truly consider you and Weiheng as family. This time I’m going back to A City, and I won’t be leaving for a while. If you ever come to A City, you must contact me.”

Yao Rong hugged her back: “Don’t worry, I’ll always keep that room for you. Whenever you want to come and visit, just come directly. Bring your son and parents along next time, the guesthouse might not have much, but we definitely have enough rooms.”

Zhang Qingyi smiled through her tears.

The next day, Zhang Qingyi gave a painting as a farewell gift to Yao Rong and Xu Weiheng.

In the painting, a night-blooming cereus was in full bloom, lifelike.

“I painted this last night, I didn’t have time to get it framed, please don’t mind.”

Zhang Qingyi smiled slightly, raising her hand to tuck a stray hair behind her ear. The wind blew in from behind, making her hair tips flutter slightly.

Her outfit today was identical to what she wore on the plane when they first met.

Wearing pearl earrings, a suit dress, with short hair at ear length.

But she looked completely different from that day.

She had become more confident and more at ease.

“Don’t see me off, I’ll just take a taxi to the airport,” Zhang Qingyi waved her hand casually, turned and got into the back seat of a taxi, and left just like that.

…

Everyone has their own life, and for Zhang Qingyi’s departure, Yao Rong could only offer her blessings.

After seeing Zhang Qingyi off, Yao Rong began to busy herself with her own affairs.

On one hand, she planned to start writing a new science fiction novel ‘Light Year’, on the other hand, she planned to further refine the guesthouse.

The guesthouse had been renovated not long ago, so it didn’t need any major changes, but to make it more exquisite and beautiful, some subtle adjustments were still necessary.

The ‘Dear Family’ production team had said that the first episode would definitely be filmed at the guest’s own home, and it would be in the form of a full live broadcast. If the Xu family wanted to climb up using her and Xu Weiheng, she naturally had to present her best state. This of course included their living space.

When Yao Rong mentioned this, Xu Weiheng volunteered: “Is there anything I can help with?”

“Actually, there is. I’ll make a shopping list, and you can go buy the things according to my list by yourself. After buying the things, you’ll also be responsible for arranging the construction team.”

Yao Rong didn’t intend to let Xu Weiheng stay idle.

These tasks she mentioned weren’t very difficult to do, but they were mostly trivial, and not easy to do well.

Xu Weiheng thought for a moment and agreed: “No problem.”

He took the list Yao Rong had written and read it from top to bottom.

When he saw certain items, he let out a light “Oh?“

“Carpenter’s ruler, flat file, round file… These are for woodworking, right? What are you going to do with them?”