Chapter 43 Brothers Talk Heart-to-Heart

"Your aunt won't agree, or are you just planning to play around?"

He should have kept quiet; what he said only made Zhao Xiao more upset. Shi Shi had only ever been in one relationship, with her ex-husband! From dating to marriage, a girl's entire youth was tied to one relationship—this kind of girl was clearly not a player!

He was willing to marry Shi Shi, but his family's old-fashioned relatives wouldn't agree, given her previous marriage. Moreover, Zhang Yumin was indeed a problem; she was already the Zhao family's chosen daughter-in-law. Even though he had said he wanted to break up countless times, no one took it seriously, simply thinking he was too young and immature. Besides, the Zhang and Zhao families had an inseparable partnership. Worst of all, everyone who knew a little about the situation assumed Zhang Yumin was the future boss's wife.

Even though he had told Zhang Yumin he was breaking up with her six months ago, he really couldn't handle this woman. No matter how much he distanced himself from her, she simply ignored him. When a woman lets go of all her reserve and pride, a man is likely powerless to resist.

After all, no one could bring themselves to use such despicable means against someone who loves you with their life. Especially since Zhang Yumin is not only highly educated and elegant, but also clever and sensible most of the time. Unless Zhao Xiao shows any particular fondness for another woman, she will always remain perfectly normal.

He took two deep drags on his cigarette, as if trying to swallow all his resentment. Perhaps it was resentment, after all, as novels say, the "white moonlight" is an insurmountable obstacle for every man.

Shi Shi was his obstacle. There was no result, yet he couldn't let go.

"Are you really interested?" He stubbed out his cigarette, looking at Gu Yanting seriously. This cousin was an incredibly stubborn person. From childhood to adulthood, whatever he wanted to do, he would definitely do it. If he really faced this cousin, his chances of winning were almost zero.

"Not yet." Gu Yanting had devoted too little of his life to love. So little that he couldn't make a keen judgment.

Zhao Xiao understood; this was liking, but not yet love.

"No matter what happens, we're brothers." Gu Yanting knew that Zhao Xiao valued him, his cousin, highly. Coincidentally, so did he.

It's best to avoid contact with Shi Shi for now; time will wash away all those infatuations that shouldn't have happened.

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Since buying Shi Shi's "As Long As I Have You," Jiang Haichao has been faced with another dilemma. The song is a duet, and the female vocalist contacted Pang Ying, who readily agreed. However, choosing a male vocalist has become a problem.

Assistant: "Brother Jiang, how about we contact Shen Jingyuan?"

Jiang Haichao shook his head. Given Shen Jingyuan's current status, even he couldn't very well let him audition. The deal would be finalized over a phone call. Besides, he felt Shen Jingyuan wasn't quite suitable; the other's voice was too sentimental, lacking a deep, masculine strength.

This was the seventh person Jiang Ge had rejected. The assistant was at a loss: "How about Miss Shi recommends someone? She's the song's creator, so she's definitely the person who knows the song best."

Jiang Haichao gave his assistant an approving look. Yes, he'd been so caught up in post-production lately that he'd completely forgotten about Shi Shi.

Shi Shi was quite surprised to receive Jiang Haichao's call. She hadn't expected him to ask her for recommendations. Shi Shi thought about Pang Ying's voice; it really did sound quite suitable for the role. The male singer needed to be someone with a deep, magnetic voice, and someone whose voice wouldn't overshadow Pang Ying in a duet.

As Shi Shi's mind raced, Jiang Haichao spoke up again, "It would be great if we could control the budget."

Shi Shi, puzzled, asked sincerely, "Brother Jiang, with your connections, you won't lack investment, will you?" Jiang Haichao on the other end of the phone sounded somewhat embarrassed. From actor to director and producer, his biggest problem was that every time he finalized the budget and secured investment, the money was never enough. He always overspent on the details. This time was no exception; the investor was an old friend, and the money had already been added twice. With the project nearing completion, he felt embarrassed to face his old friend if he overspent again.

"Sigh, every industry has its difficulties. We have to control costs."

There aren't many people who fit that description; they simply can't be too high-profile. Among the people she knows, only one person meets the criteria.

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Ever since Yi Cheng participated in the first round of the "Crossover Joyful Voice" competition, he's been staying home obediently. He once doubted whether he was a complete idiot. Every investment he made resulted in a loss. At first, his mother tried to persuade his father, saying it was just paying for the child's tuition. But after so many losses, his grandmother now resorts to hitting him with her cane. His grandfather, fearing he might still harbor entrepreneurial ambitions, specially put on his dentures and earnestly told him, "Your grandma and I suffered when we were young; we don't want to relive our youth in our old age."

And just like that, Yi Cheng lost his job. His dad put his leather shoes and tie back on and went to the company. Well, that's fine... in his fifties, the prime of his life. His mom, carrying a small handbag, was furtively preparing to leave. "Mom, where are you going?"

Her mother took three strands of hair out of her bag: "I need to check if we were switched at birth. Maybe I have a biological son who became a hacker at three, is fluent in eight languages ​​at five, and made it onto the Forbes list at ten!"

Yi Cheng: ... ...

"If you keep reading novels randomly in the future, I'll uninstall your app."

When Shi Shi called, Yi Cheng was bored and about to pick his toes. He was quite surprised to see it was Shi Shi calling. After all, this girl was quite aloof, and if Jingjing hadn't insisted that he expand his network, he wouldn't have dared to talk to this fairy.

As it turns out, Shi Shi is not a fairy. She is a living bodhisattva who saves people from suffering.

That's the theme song for a TV series directed by Jiang Haichao! He'd do it even if he had to pay out of his own pocket! Of course, paying out of his own pocket was just a joke, since he really was short of money. His dad planned to deduct the money from his failed business investment from his allowance. He'd already calculated it. If he used all his allowance to pay off his debts, he'd have to be 92 years old to repay them...

It's a situation where you're afraid to die, yet you can't go on living.

He still has a little over 800 yuan in his WeChat account. That's his entire fortune...

"Um, Sister Shi, I'd like to discuss something with you."

Hearing his hesitant tone, Shi Shi felt a little strange.

What do you want to discuss?

"Can you help me buy a plane ticket?" If I take a slow train, it'll be too late by the time I get there.

She remembered this guy as a rich kid. Could he have gone bankrupt?

Shi Shi didn't want to reopen old wounds and readily agreed. After all, the money would be reimbursed regardless of whether he passed the audition or not.