Chapter 11

The next day, Gu Jingcheng bid farewell to the Jiang family elders and left London, while Jiang Yehui stayed behind, saying she needed to care for her grandmother.

Now that she was a married woman, she suddenly gained a lot more freedom. The elders no longer treated her like a child who needed to be controlled.

In the blink of an eye, over a month passed, and her grandmother recovered much better than expected.

Every morning, Jiang Yehui would head to the hospital early to chat and walk with her grandmother. By noon, the rest of the day was hers—she’d go to a café with her laptop for hours, catch a movie when uninspired, or visit an art exhibit. Her days were leisurely and fulfilling.

That morning, just like always, Jiang Yehui set off early to the hospital. Though the Jiang family had immigrated a generation ago, their food habits still followed traditional Chinese preferences. The family’s cook was even brought over from Nanlin.

Grandma couldn’t get used to hospital food, so Jiang Yehui packed a Chinese breakfast from home—something she did every day.

She got out at the hospital entrance and asked the driver to return. Holding the breakfast in one hand and her phone in the other, she made a call.

“Jiang Ru, any updates over the past few days?”

“Reporting, Madam,” came Jiang Ru’s crisp voice, “Mr. Gu has been going to the office at 9 a.m. and leaving at 9 p.m. every day. He eats at the company cafeteria and hasn’t had any social engagements.”

Nine-to-nine with no entertainment? What joy is there in being a CEO like that?

Jiang Yehui mentally mocked him, but still praised her little spy: “Impressive—you even know where Mr. Gu eats?”

“Hehe, as long as I keep an eye on Assistant Jin, I’ll know. He’s always with Mr. Gu. Plus, there’s a secretary in the executive office who’s from my hometown—we often have meals together.”

So that’s how it was. The girl really had her ways.

Jiang Yehui then asked, “What’s Yu Jiayun been up to lately?”

“Filming at Lecheng’s film base! But I heard they’re almost done.”

Jiang Yehui was familiar with Lecheng—it was several hundred kilometers from Beigang. Gu Jingcheng couldn’t possibly get off work at 9 and fly there, then be back in the office by 9 a.m.

She felt a little disappointed. So the CEO really was that self-disciplined?

Jiang Ru continued,
“Actually, there was something about Yu Jiayun. She even trended on Weibo last night.”

“What was it?” Jiang Yehui immediately perked up. She’d gone to bed early and hadn’t checked Weibo this morning.

“She was also nominated for the Golden deer Awards, right? Word is she found out in advance that Lu Mingming would win Best Actress and couldn’t accept it—she felt humiliated. So she personally went to Mr. Gu, hoping the committee would award a tie instead.

Someone exposed this on Weibo, but no one knows if it’s true.”

Jiang Yehui pondered. Could that have been the reason Assistant Jin received a call from Yu Jiayun the other day? Was that why Gu Jingcheng told her to wait at the company?

“Now everyone online is bashing her. People are using this to stir up old dirt—saying she used to act like a diva on set and bully newcomers. It’s all negative press.

Worse, netizens are starting to question the fairness of the Jinlu Awards—wondering if a big company like Mingji can actually sway something so important.

Now the company’s reputation is being dragged into it, and a lot of people are saying she’s finished.”

Sounded like quite the mess. Yu Jiayun had huge traffic; she couldn’t just be discarded so easily. Jiang Yehui was curious to see how Gu Jingcheng would handle it.

She had arrived at the hospital floor and instructed Jiang Ru, “Keep an eye out for me. If anything new happens with Mr. Gu, let me know immediately.”

“Madam…” Jiang Ru’s voice held a bit of hesitation. “Don’t you trust Mr. Gu? Isn’t this kind of suspicion a little unfair?”

The girl was starting to waver.

Jiang Yehui stopped walking, thought for a moment, and said, “Nobody’s perfect. Even Mr. Gu could make mistakes—especially with so many temptations around him. You keeping watch is actually helping him. If we catch something early, we can prevent it from escalating.”

Her tone was serious. “I’m just asking you to keep me informed. I’m not asking you to do anything wrong. Right?”

“Mhm, I got it.” The girl’s voice turned bright again.

Jiang Yehui smiled. “Thanks, Jiang Ru. And remember—it’s a secret!”

The girl immediately vowed, “I swear I won’t tell anyone. Not even my sister.”

Satisfied, Jiang Yehui hung up the phone.

Back at Macity, she had tried to probe into Gu Jingcheng’s rumored affairs—especially with Yu Jiayun—but Jiang Yue had been fiercely loyal to her boss and revealed nothing.

Jiang Ru, on the other hand, was more open, but she hadn’t been with Mingji long, so what she knew was limited.

Still, Jiang Ru was now officially her informant at Mingji. With her providing regular updates, Jiang Yehui didn’t have to feel so passive anymore.

Putting away her thoughts, she arrived at her grandmother’s room—only to find someone had gotten there before her.

She paused at the slightly ajar door, hearing voices from inside.

“Grandma, let Xiao Ye go on the show with me. She listens to you best.”

“What show? Xiao Ye’s always been low-key. Can’t you take Xiaoya or someone else?”

“Xiao Ye’s the most thoughtful among us—she’s good at planning. She’d be a big help. You know how Xiaoya and I are—we’d just end up bickering and making a scene.”

“I’m not meddling in this. You’ll have to ask Xiao Ye yourself.”

“I did! She said no. Why else would I come bother you?”

“I was wondering why I hadn’t seen you for days. So this is why you showed up.”

“Well… I’ve been busy!”

“Xiao Ye isn’t busy? She just got married and still comes every day with breakfast for me. Jingcheng’s probably busier than you, and he still manages to call the hospital every week to check on me.”

“Grandma!” Jiang Yinyin’s voice sounded both flustered and embarrassed.

“This show was a rare opportunity—I got it by asking Mr. Dawes personally. It really means a lot to me. And it’s not for show—it’s for charity, helping underprivileged children. It’s meaningful.”

The elderly lady hesitated. “Charity is good.”

“Right? You always tell us to be kind and helpful. That’s exactly what this show is about.”

“That’s true, but if Xiao Ye doesn’t want to do it, you can’t force her. That would be unreasonable.”

“Grandma, that’s why I’m asking you. She’d never say no to you. Besides, she wouldn’t be doing it for herself—it’s for the company, for my dad!”

Jiang Yinyin started to sound aggrieved.

“What does your dad have to do with this?”

“You know the company’s situation. He’s lost so much weight from stress.

This show is a major production—co-produced by Sky and an Asian company. It’ll air across the continent, with a huge audience.

And since our company makes food, we could sponsor the show and advertise during the broadcast. We could even donate food to the poor—killing two birds with one stone.”

After a few seconds of silence inside the room, Grandma asked, “Did you talk to your dad about it?”

“He’s already holding a meeting at the company to see how much they can allocate for sponsorship.”

Hearing this, Jiang Yehui knew that now that her cousin had brought up her uncle, Grandma was tempted. Her uncle had always treated her well. Not just Grandma—even she herself would be swayed if attending a show could help the company.

She stood outside for another minute, then knocked twice and walked in. “Oh? Cousin, you’re here today too!”

Jiang Yinyin’s eyes flickered, and she stood up, greeting her warmly, “Yehui.”

Jiang Yehui opened the insulated food container and smiled brightly at her grandmother. “Aunt He made shrimp dumplings today—they’re really delicious. There’s also sampan porridge and coconut red bean cake. All your favorites.”

As she spoke, she helped Grandma sit up, opened the tray table, and arranged the food neatly.

“You’re still the most filial.” Grandma sighed softly as she took the chopsticks, seeming like she wanted to say something but held back.

Jiang Yehui, knowing her grandmother’s dilemma, deliberately pretended not to notice. She turned to Jiang Yinyin and said, “Cousin, didn’t you say last time you needed me to go on a reality show with you as your assistant? I thought about it, and doing charity work is a great idea. Since Grandma is about to be discharged, I’ve decided to go with you.”

“Really? That’s wonderful!” Jiang Yinyin was overjoyed.

“As an assistant?” Grandma was surprised and turned to Yinyin. “Didn’t you say she’d be on the show with you?”

Yinyin looked a bit awkward and mumbled, “Assistants get screen time too…”

Grandma slammed her chopsticks down.

“It’s fine, Grandma,” Jiang Yehui smiled, “If they wanted me in front of the camera, I’d refuse. My mother-in-law is a low-key person too. I truly just want to go and do some good.”

Hearing her say that, Grandma’s expression finally eased a little, though she still scolded Jiang Yinyin grumpily, “Go, go! Let Xiao Ye stay here with me alone!”

Mission accomplished, Jiang Yinyin quickly got up and left with her bag.

Since she had agreed to go, Jiang Yehui went home and did a full background check on the show.

Just as Jiang Yinyin had said, it was a co-production between a London TV station and a major Asian media company—a multinational reality show about wealthy people leaving the city to experience life in impoverished areas and helping locals.

There would be six guests in total from different countries, but their identities were still confidential. Each guest could bring one person: an assistant, manager, or stylist—it didn’t matter, but just one.

Half a month later, filming officially began.

Everyone gathered at the airport.

Aside from the three UK-based guests including Jiang Yinyin, there were four celebrities from various Asian countries: an actor, a singer, and an athlete among them.

As each guest was introduced to the camera one by one, Jiang Yehui instantly recognized Yu Jiayun.

Though she had never met her in person, she’d studied her photos countless times—she couldn’t be more familiar.

She never expected to meet her number one “target” here of all places!

Yu Jiayun was the last to arrive. She didn’t rush onto the set but first greeted the staff warmly, then politely shook hands with each guest. Her sweet smile made her instantly likable.

Looking closer, she was indeed beautiful—slimmer in person, with a small, delicate face and a soft charm that easily evoked a man’s protective instincts. That Yang Xiaoguo from before might have resembled her a little, but side by side, it was clear she lacked Yu Jiayun’s allure. No wonder Gu Jingcheng hadn’t even spared her a glance.

Standing off-camera, Jiang Yehui watched the neatly lined-up guests and suddenly found herself genuinely looking forward to this reality show.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed.

A WeChat message.

“I’m at the hotel, heading to meet your grandfather soon. Where are you?”

Ha—what a coincidence!

Jiang Yehui’s mind turned. Could it be that Miss Yu had arrived on Gu Jingcheng’s private jet?