Volume One, Chapter 15: The Engagement Was Forced by Chu Mian on Second Master

“How much?”

Only money could pique Chu Mian’s interest.

Jiang Huai chuckled, “Fifty million.”

Fifty million?

Writing a song for fifty million was quite substantial.

But the price that Xie Anyue demanded for that broken ring was exactly the same, and Chu Mian felt inexplicably uneasy about that number.

She had intended to refuse, but when she saw the thatched hut before her...

She nodded. “Fine, I’ll write it. Let them set the time.”

Jiang Huai hadn’t expected Chu Mian to agree. The number of times Chu Mian had written songs for others could be counted on one hand. Last time, a female star had offered eighty million, but Chu Mian didn’t agree.

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously; her fair face flushed red under the light. Surprised, she asked, “Mian Mian, are you... bankrupt?”

“Why do you ask that?”

“Then why did you turn down eighty million before, but now you accept fifty million without even negotiating?”

That was truly a question that made Jiang Huai curious.

Chu Mian peeled some bark off a tree, revealing a small hollow in the trunk. She said, “I need to earn money to support my family now. I won’t say more. My mother called me to eat.”

What?

Jiang Huai stared in shock at the call that had been hung up, the face mask on her face almost cracking.

Had Chu Mian lost her mind?

Wasn’t she an orphan?

Was that arrogant and domineering woman from the Xie family really her mother?

Moreover, the Xie family was a wealthy and influential one. How could Chu Mian be supporting the family? Jiang Huai did not know that Chu Mian had already left the Xie family and now lived in the mountain village, taking care of five brothers who worked as farmers.

*

The Xie family.

Xie Anyue sat on the sofa with a very unpleasant expression. She had changed out of the dirt-stained clothes and now wore a Chanel short skirt. Xu Yun sat opposite her, gritting her teeth, “That Chu Mian actually hooked up with the second young master of the Fu family, Fu Jinnian! The second young master personally admitted it and said Chu Mian is his fiancée! Mom, am I dreaming?”

With Chu Mian’s poor appearance and broken-down family living in a thatched hut...

How could someone with such a background enter the Fu family?

Xu Yun was stunned for a few seconds before reacting, “Daughter, what did you say? Chu Mian and the second young master Fu?”

“Yes, Mom! Fu Yun literally called her ‘uncle’!”

Xie Anyue didn’t want to accept it either, but Fu Yun had truly called her ‘uncle.’ If it were a lie, would Fu Yun not recognize his own uncle?

“Impossible,” Xu Yun said in disbelief. “The second young master Fu is Fu Xing’s own brother. Although he is disabled in both legs, he’s still part of the Fu family. How could he choose a woman from Chu Mian’s background as his wife?”

“Exactly!”

Mother and daughter simply could not believe it.

But the fact was right there. Xie Anyue had no choice but to believe it, “Chu Mian is a doctor, and the second young master Fu is disabled in his legs. Could it be... they have some kind of arrangement? Chu Mian wouldn’t be lying about being able to cure him just to trick him into this engagement, would she? If she can’t cure him, won’t our family be implicated?”

The more she thought about it, the more it seemed likely!

Chu Mian’s only real skill was being a doctor.

And since Fu Jinnian was wheelchair-bound, he surely wanted to stand up and be normal. He probably believed Chu Mian’s lies that she could heal his disabled legs, which is why he agreed to marry her?

Terrifying!

Chu Mian actually had such cunning!

Even Xu Yun admired her for it!

“Mom, we can’t just sit here and do nothing. Whether Chu Mian can cure the second young master or not, if she succeeds, Fu Yun and I will have to call her ‘aunt,’ and I will always be beneath Chu Mian... That second young master is better looking than Fu Yun and holds more power... What if...”

Hearing this, Xu Yun looked at Xie Anyue in surprise, “But don’t you like Fu Yun?”

Xu Yun’s mother knew exactly what her daughter was thinking.

“Fu Yun didn’t dare to even fart when he saw the second young master today!”

Xie Anyue thought of how she had suffered humiliation in front of so many people, yet Fu Yun didn’t dare to stand up for her. She felt a surge of fury rising to her head.

“Anyue, Fu Jinnian is no fool like Fu Yun.”

“I don’t care. I just think that if Chu Mian forced the second young master into this engagement, I’m not much worse off. After all, the second young master is still a passionate young man... There’s a saying, ‘When a woman pursues a man, it’s like a veil between them.’ I don’t believe the second young master would reject me to choose a country bumpkin like Chu Mian!”

Saying this, Xie Anyue felt victory was within reach, squinting her eyes as she schemed, “Chu Mian tricked the second young master because she’s a doctor. I need to come up with a perfect plan too...”

*

Chu Mian did not yet know she had become a thorn in the side of the Xie mother and daughter. She went to the address Jiang Huai had given her to meet the financier Mo Li, only to find the meeting place was a recording studio prepared by a media company for their artists.

Mo Li let her in. As she reached the entrance, she saw the extravagantly dressed Xie Anyue.

Xie Anyue saw her too and, noticing Chu Mian’s simple outfit—jeans and a white sweatshirt, hair tied in a bun, and a bare, clean face—felt her own carefully applied makeup and dress looked overdone in comparison.

Fuming, she stomped forward in high heels, “Chu Mian! What are you doing here?”

Since yesterday’s humiliation at the Chu family, Xie Anyue no longer bothered to pretend. Her face twisted with hatred, as if she wanted to tear Chu Mian apart.

Chu Mian frowned but, recalling Xie Anyue’s past dream of becoming a star, thought it wasn’t strange to meet her here. She ignored her and, seeing several recording studios, not knowing where Mo Li was, took out her phone to message Mo Li’s manager for directions.

Seeing Chu Mian ignoring her, Xie Anyue’s face darkened, “You’re not here to find the second young master, are you? Chu Mian, you came to the wrong place. The second young master wouldn’t come here.”

Suddenly stepping closer, Xie Anyue added, “Chu Mian, the second young master said yesterday you’re his fiancée? That engagement—did you trick him into it? You’re just a rustic country girl, how could you be worthy of the second young master’s attention? I advise you to cancel the engagement quickly! If you can’t fulfill your promises to him, it will bring trouble to our Xie family!”

“??” Chu Mian was utterly confused.

What nonsense was she babbling?

“What are you doing here? Don’t like your brother Yun anymore?”

“I...”

“Are you Mo Yan?”

While they were talking, a man in a white suit wearing gold-rimmed glasses came over, looking seriously at both Chu Mian and Xie Anyue, then smiled and asked Chu Mian.

Chu Mian frowned. Hadn’t she told them not to reveal her identity outside?

A little annoyed, she nodded, “Take me to meet your boss first.”

“Hey! Don’t go yet!” Xie Anyue hurriedly stepped in front of Chu Mian and said to the manager, “You must have mistaken me. I’m Xie Anyue. I contacted you today to come to the recording studio for girl group training. You’re here to see me, right?”

The manager looked puzzled, “Miss, when did I contact you?”