Zhong Dad had never interfered with his daughter's finances before. He also knew that she had earned a lot of money since becoming famous in the past year, but he had never asked exactly how much. Not until the car drove into Four Seasons Cloud Top, an obviously high-end residential area that stood out from ordinary communities, did Zhong Dad visibly become nervous.
How much money would it take to buy a place here!
Even though his daughter had become very popular this year, there's no way she could have earned this much money, right? Zhong Dad looked at his son-in-law next to him and suddenly realized something, his expression becoming very serious: "Song, did you buy this place for her?"
Zhong Dad was just introverted, not stupid.
Zhong Ruanxing knew what kind of personality her old dad had, so she could only say, "We both paid for it."
Zhong Dad asked again, "Is the deed in both of your names?"
Zhong Ruanxing felt that if she said it was only in her name, her father wouldn't get past this point, so she had to keep lying: "Yes, uncle."
Only then did Zhong Dad relax and didn't feel too guilty about living in this place. Both father and daughter really had the same unwillingness to take advantage of others.
It had always been easier to be frugal after being extravagant than the other way around. The family quickly grew to like their new spacious, bright home. Even Zhong's mother no longer kept to her small bedroom but came to love the large balcony with its open view and flowers and plants.
Zhong Ruanxing had previously bought a rocking chair for the balcony. Zhong's mother now sat in it, the chair gently rocking as she squinted at the blue sky over the bustling city, a very gentle expression on her face.
The second day after Zhong You moved in, he immediately clung to Zhong Dad begging him to buy a little bunny and a hamster, which they kept on the balcony.
Zhong Ruanxing had once ambitiously vowed to give them a good life, and it seemed to have finally arrived.
After moving, they were very close to Song Group, so it was more convenient for Zhong Ruanxing to go home. As long as Zhong Dad was on vacation at home, she would always go over to eat dinner before returning to her apartment. If she didn't want to ruin Song JinXing's image, she would even consider spending the night there.
With her eldest daughter not around, her son-in-law was there every day instead, and he was quite clingy. Zhong Dad had the feeling he had gained another son.
He was quite happy about it.
Now whenever he was on vacation, he would take the initiative to call Zhong Ruanxing: "Song, are you coming home for dinner tonight?"
Zhong Ruanxing felt that after her boyfriend finished filming and came back, she would have to properly thank him for all the goodwill he had built up with her father-in-law. "Uncle, I have to attend a business banquet tonight, next time."
In fact, the food at the banquet couldn't compare at all to Zhong Dad's cooking, but that wasn't the point of going to this kind of occasion.
Song JinXing didn't like attending these kinds of occasions before, only showing up if it was a banquet he absolutely had to attend. After switching again with Zhong Ruanxing, she had loosened the criteria, attending banquets much more frequently than before. Just revealing a little of her superior interpersonal skills she had since childhood was enough to win over many people's hearts for Song JinXing.
Their handling of matters was completely different after all. Song JinXing was like an icy spear, fiercely stabbing into any tricky problems without leaving his opponents any way out.
Zhong Ruanxing was much more gentle and tactful. Just like how she had effortlessly dealt with Song's Second Uncle last time, she would try to placate if she could, rather than using force. She perfectly grasped the principle of leaving a way out for meeting again in the future.
Song Group being able to double their earnings this year was not only thanks to Song JinXing's leadership, but also partly because Zhong Ruanxing's change in working style had altered the surrounding environment. The two perfectly complementing each other was what allowed Song Group to prosper more and more. Losing either person would make it impossible to achieve the great situation they had now.
As soon as Zhong Ruanxing appeared at the banquet, she was surrounded by top figures from all circles. Luckily Fu Ling was by her side to fend off drinks for her, otherwise she would never have made it through with her terrible alcohol tolerance.
While conversing amiably with top business leaders, Zhong Ruanxing suddenly felt an icy chill down her spine. She inconspicuously turned her body and indeed saw a familiar face standing not far away, staring sinisterly at her - Cheng Yaowen.
Seeing Cheng Yaowen, Zhong Ruanxing was quite surprised. After all, she and Song JinXing had switched bodies again after the end of Love Complex, so she hadn't had a chance to see Cheng Yaowen again.
Although Song JinXing hadn't told her, Zhong Ruanxing actually knew that over the past six months, he had grown more and more ruthless in suppressing the Chengs. She would occasionally hear others at banquets talking about how Shirong Real Estate projects kept failing over the past six months, and their existing properties had exploded with scandals about shoddy construction. The homeowner rights defense incident last time had almost led to loss of life and had even made the legal news.
Everyone was verbally attributing the Chengs' run of bad luck, but they knew in their hearts that this was from offending someone.
Someone was targeting the Chengs, and it looked like they wouldn't stop until the Chengs went bankrupt.
So it was understandable that Cheng Yaowen didn't have time to look for Zhong Ruanxing again after the end of Love Complex. The arrogance that had always allowed him to do as he pleased was built on the foundation of his family business. More than anyone, he understood that if Shirong went under and the Chengs went bankrupt, he would be nothing.
He could still distinguish between a fleeting romance and a lifetime of fame and fortune.
Previously the Chengs had rarely shown up at these industry banquets, as all kinds of troubles had descended upon the group, leaving the whole family harried. Word was that someone had recently seen Cheng's mother appearing humbled at her maiden family's home, the Tians, after supposedly being beaten by Cheng Zhigan and chased back to her maternal home.
Rumor had truth and falsehood. For a time the Chengs became a hot topic of discussion in the circle. So now, seeing Cheng Yaowen appearing at a banquet, everyone had rather interesting expressions.
The once proud and prominent Young Master Cheng now looked quite haggard, and paired with his sinister expression, he looked murderous. When his and Zhong Ruanxing's eyes met, Cheng Yaowen hooked up the corners of his lips and walked over holding a wine glass.
Although haggard, he was after all the Eldest Young Master Cheng, so his imposing manner was undiminished. "President Song, shall we chat?"
Zhong Ruanxing didn't mind, "Sure."
The people surrounding her could only take their leave. No one could hear what they discussed, but they could see Cheng Yaowen's expression growing uglier, his eyes so icy they seemed murderous. "Song JinXing" maintained his usual nonchalant appearance, fitting his consistent image.
Everyone's guesses were confirmed. It looked like the one targeting the Chengs really was Song JinXing!
The two chatted for quite a while. Because the atmosphere was so tense, even the servers didn't dare go near them. In the end, this conversation finished with Cheng Yaowen furiously slamming his wine glass down and storming off with a black expression. The red wine in the glass splashed onto "Song JinXing's" leather shoes. He bent down with a napkin and calmly wiped it off, still with that shallow expression, but he had clearly gained the upper hand.
One thought arose in everyone's minds: the Chengs were truly finished.
Only then did Fu Ling hurry over anxiously, "Boss, everything okay?"
Zhong Ruanxing shook her head, "It's fine."
The others also came up looking concerned. Zhong Ruanxing brushed them off with a few words, and finally ended her banquet business for the day. But her clash with Cheng Yaowen at the banquet became the circle's newest hot topic, even reaching the ears of Song Grandpa retired in the old manor.
The next day, Zhong Ruanxing received a phone call from Grandpa Song asking her to visit the old manor.
Looking out at the gloomy sky outside the office window, the corners of her lips curled up in an extremely subtle, mocking smile.