H City was a well-known tourist destination in the country. Chen Yiran came to H City for a meeting and inspection for the next project of Huachuang Group, renovating a commercial street.

The once most famous commercial street in H City was built twenty years ago. Now it was increasingly unable to meet the needs of tourists, and some facilities and equipment were getting older. Huachuang Group had acquired the land by the street and planned to expand and upgrade it to create a brand new commercial street with special features.

The sky was getting dark. Chen Yiran was walking alone on the old street, looking at the shops. Many of these shops were time-honored brand, but because there hadn’t been much changed in decades, their turnover had been declining. However, some other newly built food street had attracted a lot of tourists in recent years.

When passing a handicraft shop, Chen Yiran happened to see a building block figure in its display window. His eyes flickered and he opened the door to walk into the shop.

“Hello, welcome.” The shop owner was a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his thirties or forties. When he saw Chen Yiran, he obviously paused.

Chen Yiran was wearing a tailored suit and he didn’t look like a tourist. He heard that a big boss was coming to inspect and discuss the renovation of the commercial street. Could the other person be the said big boss?

The shop owner thought of this and was finally brought back to reality by Chen Yiran’s voice, “Is this for sale?”

Chen Yiran was holding the building block figure that was displayed in the window.

The shopkeeper was stunned, then smiled at Chen Yiran and said, “This building block figure is produced by Miller. This series was discontinued more than ten years ago and is an old antique now.”

“I know.” Chen Yiran took the building block figure and walked to the counter, saying to the owner, “Since you’re putting it out, you’re probably looking for a person who collects it. Please give me a price.”

The corner of the owner’s lips twitched slightly. He didn’t expect that this big boss also collects Miller toys. He didn’t speak for a while, as if he was thinking about an appropriate price. Chen Yiran didn’t urge him. He just stood in place and waited patiently.

After a while, the owner opened his mouth and said, “Although this set of building blocks wasn’t expensive at first, collectors understand its value. I won’t give you an arbitrary price. Someone had previously asked for this series online. I didn’t sell the one on your hand even if they offered me twenty thousand.”

“One hundred thousand.” Chen Yiran didn’t want to waste time bargaining with him, so he directly quoted a number.

“What?” The owner was stunned, deeply suspecting that he had misheard.

Chen Yiran repeated, “One hundred thousand. I want this one.”

The owner finally recovered from the shock of hearing the amount Chen Yiran was willing to pay and his eyes shone with excitement. “Yes, yes, yes, I’ll wrap it up for you right away!”

As if he was afraid that Chen Yiran would change his mind, the owner quickly rummaged through the cabinet while saying, “I still have the box for that one. I’ll find it for you right away.”

He pulled out a flattened box from the bottom of the drawer. He folded it up again and carefully put the building block figure Chen Yiran asked for inside. Chen Yiran took out his card and handed it to the owner. While the owner swiped the card for him, he asked Chen Yiran earnestly, “Do you want anything else? I still have a few of these building block figures on the cabinet. Do you need them?”

Chen Yiran said, “No, I already have all of those.”

“Oh……” The owner pondered, then asked again, “Then which one are you still missing? I’ll find it and contact you as soon as I have news.”

Chen Yiran thought for a while, then took out a business card and handed it to the other person. “Alright. Once you receive news, just call this number.”

The owner took the business card and looked down. Goodness, he’s indeed the big boss of Huachuang Group.

“Okay, no problem. Which one are you missing?” The shop owner was even more attentive than before, his mouth almost smiling up to his ears.

Chen Yiran said, “Princess Huahua.”

“Ah……” The owner frowned, realizing that the matter was not easy. “That’s a rare model, extremely uncommon.”

Chen Yiran looked at him. “Is it difficult for you?”

“No!” The owner seemed to be have transformed into a Fortune 500 employee at this moment and his energy had changed. “I have a wide range of contacts and I know someone who has that model, it’s just that they’re also a collector and isn’t selling. But don’t worry, I will definitely help you obtain one!”

“En.” Chen Yiran responded lightly and walked away with the building block figure he had just gotten.

“Have a nice day!” The owner escorted Chen Yiran out of the shop before letting out a long breath.

It turned out that that was what it feels like to be an elite employee in a large company.

Quite exhilarating.

Chen Yiran walked out of the shop and bumped into Fu Angsi who was out to look for him. Seeing Chen Yiran holding a small box in his hand, Fu Angsi curiously leaned over to see what kind of treasure it was. “What did you buy?”

“None of your business.” Chen Yiran didn’t even let Fu Angsi touch it before putting the box away in his briefcase.

The corners of Fu Angsi’s mouth twitched. He looked up at the sign of the shop where Chen Yiran came out. “It isn’t an adult toy store. Why so secretive?”

Chen Yiran slightly raised an eyebrow and ignored him. “How’s it looking?”

Fu Angsi touched his chin and began to report, “Not only are the facilities and equipment backward, but the business concepts of many shop owners as well, especially some of the time-honored brands. As it is now, it will not attract young people. Look at the people walking on the street, we two are the youngest.”

“……” Chen Yiran said, “They really can’t stick to outmoded ways. I know they like to express their feelings and perseverance, but if they continue like this, sooner or later they will have to close down. Without change or progress, they’ll be out of business.”

“Tell me about it. The landscape here also needs to be redesigned. Nowadays, young people come to places just to take pictures and post online.”

“President Chen, Mr. Fu.” Assistant Wu caught up with them from behind, carrying paper bags in his hands. “President Chen, these are some of the special pastries you asked me to buy. They’re the signature product of each store.”

“Have a try.” Chen Yiran said to Fu Angsi as he picked up a pastry that he couldn’t even name.

“President Chen, let me take your bag for you.” Assistant Wu took the briefcase from Chen Yiran’s hand.

Fu Angsi also picked up a pastry and said to Assistant Wu, “Be careful, there’s a treasure in his bag.”

“Ah?” Assistant Wu was a little confused. “What treasure?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t even let me see.”

“You can’t stop your mouth even when it has food?” Chen Yiran glanced sideways at Fu Angsi and took a bite of the pastry in his hand.

“How is it?” Assistant Wu asked him curiously.

Chen Yiran tasted it carefully and commented, “I can’t say it’s not delicious, but it may not be in line with the taste of young people nowadays.”

Assistant Wu said, “When I went to buy pastries, I also found that it was basically the surrounding residents buying them and there aren’t many young people. But the owner said that it’s the recipe passed down from their ancestors and they have been doing it this way for generations.”

“These things cannot remain unchanged. Just like how the taste of foreign fast food will be adjusted when it arrive at other country. In order to grow, the formula must be adjusted appropriately.”

Assistant Wu nodded after listening to what he said.

“Try it too.”

“Okay, President Chen.”

“By the way, I heard that Li Linlin has also come to H City.” Fu Angsi finished the pastry in his mouth and patted the residue on his hands.

Chen Yiran looked at him with a probing gaze. “You’re quite interested in her?”

“I……” Fu Angsi forced a laugh. “The matter on their crew is so big and on so many hot searches. What, don’t you know?”

Chen Yiran frowned and asked him, “What happened to the crew?”

“It’s nothing. It’s just that after the drama aired, didn’t the character Linlin is playing become popular? The female lead can’t stand it and tear faces with both the screenwriter and Little Sister Linlin.”

After hearing this, Chen Yiran’s brows furrowed tighter. “Shouldn’t the female lead reflect on herself first?”

“……” If everyone has your awareness, there will be a lot less melon in the world.

“Assistant Wu, go and find out the situation.” Chen Yiran instructed with a sideway glance.

“Yes.” Assistant Wu nodded while holding a pile of snacks. “President Chen, do you want some more?”

“No, you can take them back.”

Fu Angsi suggested to Chen Yiran, “Why don’t you bring it to Little Sister Linlin to try?”

Chen Yiran considered it for a moment and said, “There’s a meeting tonight so I don’t have time.”

After saying so, he looked at Fu Angsi expressionlessly. “Also, how many times have I said it? That’s my sister, not yours.”

Fu Angsi: “……”

I don’t think you think of her as your sister?

———

Li Linlin arrived in H City and had been shooting scenes with Shang Ci for two days. After Ou Jiaxu killed someone, the police have been investigating the matter. Policeman Xiao Yiren, played by Shang Ci, suspected that the matter was related to Ou Jiaxu, so he kept a close eye on her.

Lin Zhen and Zheng Yang came over the following day, still with their own screenwriters. The atmosphere on set was slightly calmer than the before but everyone still barely spoke in private. Li Linlin wasn’t sensitive to these things nor did she care. However, everyone was constantly changing the script, causing her to work longer hours.

“Linlin, look at that man over there, isn’t he someone from President Chen’s side?” Wu Hui caught a glimpse of a young man coming to the set. The director and producer both went over to greet him, extremely attentive.

Li Linlin looked in the direction Wu Hui was pointing at and caught a glimpse of a familiar figure. “Ah, he was there on the day of the charity gala.”

Xiao Xi and Xiaoxiao both came from Shengteng so they recognized Fu Angsi. “That’s Mr. Fu, Fu Angsi. He’s someone around President Chen.”

“No wonder.” Wu Hui realized something. “He came to see Shang Ci?”

“Probably.”

Shang Ci was from Shengteng, and Shengteng was under Huachuang. There’s nothing wrong with Fu Angsi coming to see him.

The director also thought Fu Angsi was there to visit Shang Ci and was even thinking that Shang Ci was really favored to make Mr. Fu come see him in person. After listening to the director talk about Shang Ci with a smile, Fu Angsi asked, “I heard that in the ending of this novel, Ou Jiaxu will meet a tragic end?”

The director was taken aback and didn’t immediately recover. “Ou Jiaxu? Oh, that’s how it goes in the novel.”

In the original material, in order to show how miserable Ou Jiaxu’s ending was, the author even arranged for her to be sexually assaulted during her downfall. However, Wang Xin didn’t like it and made changes to everything involving this kind of plot.

Fu Angsi asked the director, “Will it still be the same in the drama?”

The director said, “Absolutely not. Besides, it won’t easily pass review. The current arrangement is that Ou Jiaxu will be chase by Xiao Yiren to Sanqin Bay and will jump into the sea by herself.”

“Jump into the sea?” Fu Angsi’s eyebrows moved. “Is it going to be a real jump?”

“You really know how to joke, Mr. Fu. We will be using special effects.”

“Oh……” Fu Angsi nodded. ” When filming, the most important thing is safety.”

“Yes, yes.” You’re the sponsor so you can say anything.

“By the way, I heard that the crew had some troubles these past days.”

The director’s heart thumped. Had this matter been brought to the attention of Mr. Fu? “There are some internal conflicts but we have resolved them.”

“That’s good.” Fu Angsi smiled brightly. “Linlin is President Chen’s sister and good friend. She can be regarded as half President Chen’s real sister so I’m here to see her.”

Both the director and the producer looked at each other. Mr. Fu came today for Li Linlin?

“He’s coming, he’s coming!” Wu Hui’s voice became tense as she spoke, “Linlin, Linlin!”

“I can see it, I can see it!” Li Linlin peeled Wu Hui’s fingers one by one and rubbed her own arm. She thought Wu Hui was just afraid of Chen Yiran, but she didn’t expect that Wu Hui was even afraid of Fu Angsi?

“Little Sister Linlin, do you still remember me?” Fu Angsi stood opposite Li Linlin, smiling amiably. “I’m Fu Angsi.”

“I do.” Li Linlin called out discreetly. “Mr. Fu, you want to see me about something?”

Fu Angsi said, “I’m here to pass on a message for President Chen. He’s inviting you to dinner tonight.”

“Really?” Li Linlin’s eyes suddenly lit up. “But I’m not sure what time we’re wrapping up today.”

“It’s all right. We’ll send a car ahead to pick you up.”

Li Linlin nodded, looked at Fu Angsi and said, “Brother Yiran can just call me for this kind of thing. Why did he have to let you make a personal trip?”

“So you won’t suffer.” Fu Angsi sighed. “He’s afraid you will be bullied on set so he made sure that I came in person.”

Li Linlin blinked. “No one on the set is bullying me. Everyone’s nice.”

Especially Lin Zhen.

“Then that’s good.” Fu Angsi smiled and told her, “I still have work so I’ll be leaving first. By the way, don’t call me Mr. Fu. Just call me Brother Angsi just like how you call President Chen.”

Li Linlin: “……”

After Fu Angsi left, the crew quickly started working again. That day’s shooting went relatively smooth. Li Linlin finished work before dark, but the male and female lead still had to continue filming.

The car sent by Chen Yiran was already waiting outside the set. Li Linlin got in without taking anyone else with her. The one driving the car was Assistant Wu, and after seeing Li Linlin, he invited her to some pastries.

That’s right, he just couldn’t finish the ones he bought the day before.

“Are they delicious?” Assistant Wu asked her.

Li Linlin nodded repeatedly. “It’s good, it’s good!”

Assistant Wu said with a smile, “These were given to President Chen to try yesterday. President Chen and Mr. Fu both raised a lot of opinions.”

“Is that so?” Li Linlin looked at him. “In that case, these are actually not that tasty.”

Assistant Wu let out a laugh. He then heard Li Linlin add, “It’s a bit too sugary. It can be made a little lighter.”

“En, President Chen said the same thing.”

Assistant Wu drove to a private restaurant. It was already dark when Assistant Wu led Li Linlin into a lit courtyard, across a floating bridge, and onto the terrace outside a restaurant.

“Wow, Assistant Wu, the landscape here is very beautiful. Xixi will like this very much.” Li Linlin admired the surrounding of the Chinese courtyard. Chen Xi liked this style the most. She’d take some photos for Chen Xi later.

Assistant Wu said, “This is a new shop invested by President Chen. It hasn’t officially opened yet.”

“Ooh.” Li Linlin nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. “Brother Yiran has a wide range of business.”

The waiter inside helped open the door and Li Linlin was ushered in. Assistant Wu didn’t follow.

Chen Yiran was sitting in the private room and had already ordered the food. Li Linlin was led inside by the waiter and curiously glanced at the surrounding.

“What are you looking at?” When Chen Yiran saw her probing look, his lips couldn’t help but curl up. “Come in.”

“Hehe.” Li Linlin laughed twice and walked in. The waiter closed the door behind her and stood outside waiting to serve the food later.

Li Linlin sat down next to Chen Yiran and couldn’t help but look around. This private room wasn’t enclosed. There’s a window which let people see the plum blossom trees planted outside. In the direction directly opposite the door of the private room was a double door, which was now close. Li Linlin guessed that it could lead to the small courtyard outside.

“Brother Yiran, is this your new shop? It’s so stylish!” Li Linlin liked the environment and atmosphere of the place.

Chen Yiran added tea into the cup in front of her and responded, “En, it’s still in trial operation. Please try the dishes first.”