Chapter 25: A Little Blind Girl

Responding to Meng Xingzhe’s shout, Fang Jin stopped, turned around, and looked over.

His eyes and expression seemed to brighten. Then he lifted his leg and started walking back.

As he walked, his gaze was fixed intently in this direction. Yao Jia, caught in his gaze, felt her mind go blank. Her heart pounded, and she didn’t know what to do with her hands and feet. She completely lost control over her facial expressions.

At that moment, her mind was filled with thoughts of “Fang Jin is coming, Fang Jin is coming…” and questions like: Is my hair messy? Are my clothes wrinkled? Do I look natural? Why are my shoulders so tense…?

Quickly glancing at her shoulder, she realized it was still being held by Meng Xingzhe’s hand.

Her heart inexplicably skipped a beat.

When she turned her head again, Fang Jin was already standing in front of them.

Fang Jin’s unexpected action surprised everyone, and Yao Jia felt the people around her buzzing like boiling oil.

With the crowd surging, Yao Jia almost lost her balance again.

Meng Xingzhe tightened his grip on her shoulder, pulling her forward to stand firmly against his chest.

There were too many people, the atmosphere was too tense, Fang Jin’s approach was too sudden, and Meng Xingzhe’s assistance was too unexpected. Yao Jia’s heart was pounding harder and harder.

Meng Xingzhe was tall, about the same height as Fang Jin. Their gazes met over the heads of the girls.

Fang Jin shook hands with the girls in the front row one by one, making them scream with joy. Then he said, “Could everyone make some space for the friends in the back?”

The girls, satisfied with their handshakes, obediently made way.

Meng Xingzhe led Yao Jia to the front.

He handed the wilted flowers he was holding to Fang Jin, saying, “She wants to give you flowers.”

Then he gently pushed Yao Jia forward toward Fang Jin.

Fang Jin accepted the flowers, smiled with his eyes crinkling, and thanked Yao Jia.

Yao Jia felt like she was about to faint.

She had never imagined she could see Fang Jin up close, let alone interact with him.

During the most confusing time of her life, it was Fang Jin’s self-directed movie that gave her a sense of direction like a beacon.

There was a line in that movie: If you feel something is not what you want to do, then resist. The result of resistance may not be satisfactory, it may be tragic and bottomless, but the process of resistance is where your spirit and willpower reflect your self-worth.

At that time, she was constantly compared to her outstanding sister by her parents, and the result was always that she was useless. She blindly accepted all her parents’ arrangements, but she was not happy inside.

It was Fang Jin’s movie that made her decide to resist. To resist being compared to her sister, to resist her parents’ step-by-step arrangements for her life, to resist the notion that not being excellent meant being immature.

Her passive resistance might not have been very effective, but at least she had regained her spirit and was no longer a puppet controlled by her parents.

Fang Jin had brought her spiritual strength.

Looking at Fang Jin so close, Yao Jia thought she must have done something incredibly good in her past life to deserve this. She could feel her heart about to burst from her chest.

She later didn’t even know how she managed to complete a series of actions—

Fang Jin shook hands with her. She thought she was willing to cover all the taxi fares!

Fang Jin took a photo with her. She thought she was willing to wash dishes for three days straight! No, even a week!

All around her were the screams of envious girls.

When Yao Jia was brought back to her senses by these sounds, she realized that all her close interactions with Fang Jin were orchestrated by Meng Xingzhe.

He shamelessly said to Fang Jin, “She likes you, why don’t you shake hands?”

Fang Jin, being agreeable, shook hands with her.

Meng Xingzhe then pushed further, “She really likes you, why not take a photo together?”

Fang Jin, good-naturedly, took a photo with her.

At this moment, Yao Jia felt that Meng Xingzhe’s shamelessness and pushiness were all virtues.

After the photo, someone who seemed to be Fang Jin’s manager came over and whispered to Fang Jin.

Fang Jin nodded, speaking just loud enough for Yao Jia to hear, “Wait a moment, I need to tell that guy who took the photo not to post it online.”

The manager nodded, urging, “Then hurry up.”

Fang Jin smiled and waved at Meng Xingzhe, who reluctantly raised an eyebrow.

Yao Jia quickly gave him a push.

Go on. Don’t keep the person I like waiting.

Meng Xingzhe was pushed right in front of Fang Jin.

They seemed to be negotiating about the photo on the phone. After discussing the photo, they shook hands and exchanged a few words, looking like Fang Jin was meeting his fan in a friendly manner.

But in reality—

Fang Jin: “I can’t believe you actually came. I thought I was seeing a ghost!”

Meng Xingzhe: “You better keep it together and don’t act like you know me.”

Fang Jin: “Who’s that girl? Your girlfriend?”

Meng Xingzhe: “No way, she’s just my meal buddy.”

Then Meng Xingzhe remembered something: “Get me some movie tickets.”

Fang Jin: “Why didn’t you say so earlier? Where am I supposed to get them now?”

Meng Xingzhe tightened his grip: “If you can’t get the tickets, I’ll deal with you.”

Fang Jin’s hand hurt, but he held back from flinching, maintaining his award-winning smile: “Damn you, Meng Xingzhe!”

Meng Xingzhe: “Three tickets.”

Fang Jin: “??? Aren’t there just two of you?”

Meng Xingzhe: “There’s also a friend who went to the restroom.”

Fang Jin: “??? Since when did you become so caring towards a dining companion?”

Meng Xingzhe squeezed his hand again.

Fang Jin almost kicked him.

“Fine, fine, I’ll get it for you!”

They released each other’s hands, and Fang Jin patted Meng Xingzhe’s shoulder as if comforting a fan. The fans speculated that he was giving Meng Xingzhe encouragement, like cheering him on.

But in reality—

Fang Jin patted Meng Xingzhe’s shoulder with a perfect smile worthy of an award-winning actor, but what he actually said was, “Meng Xingzhe, you bastard!”

No one noticed anything unusual in the brief exchange of looking at photos, shaking hands, and shoulder-patting between them.

The fans were all screaming with excitement:

“He’s so nice!”

“He’s so good to his fans!”

“He’s so approachable!”

“Can we take a photo with him too?!”

The manager quickly intervened, offering a reasonable excuse: “Sorry, everyone, taking individual photos would delay the premiere. How about we take one group photo instead?”

Fang Jin then took a group photo with everyone, promising to post it on Weibo after the premiere.

Some fans were so excited they cried: “Can’t wait for him to go public!!!”

Before leaving, Fang Jin waved goodbye to Yao Jia.

Yao Jia felt like she might faint again.

After calming down, she waited for Tian Huasheng to return from the restroom and said, “Let’s go back.” Her voice was filled with the regret of not being able to get tickets.

Meng Xingzhe, however, said, “Don’t worry, I just tried asking Fang Jin for three tickets. Maybe he’ll actually give them to us.”

“…” Yao Jia felt like she might faint again.

“How can you be so shameless?!”

She asked Meng Xingzhe with a soul-searching question.

Just as she finished speaking, someone ran over to them and asked Yao Jia, “Are you the girl who gave the flowers? I’m Fang Jin’s assistant. Here, these are three tickets Fang Jin asked me to give you. Hurry inside, the movie is about to start! Enjoy the film!”

Yao Jia held the tickets like a life-saving bowl of porridge after three days and nights of hunger. She was almost moved to tears.

“Fang Jin is such a nice person! No wonder he’s so handsome! No wonder he’s so popular!”

She sighed from the depths of her soul, so happy she could jump. Meng Xingzhe stood beside her, struggling to suppress the urge to roll his eyes.

“Childish.”

“Infatuated.”

“Blind.”

Could Fang Jin be more handsome than him??

※※※※※※

Meng Xingzhe sat in the dark theater, watching Fang Jin portray the joys and sorrows of a fictional character on the big screen.

Beside him, Yao Jia and Tian Huasheng were moved by the story, sometimes crying, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying while laughing.

He truly admired their endless capacity for empathy.

Knowing Fang Jin too well, he couldn’t immerse himself in the story Fang Jin was performing.

Back in school, Bei Luonan had mentioned a high school classmate from film school who was making a movie with great potential, though it lacked funding. Bei Luonan urged him to invest.

He had no interest in movies and didn’t want to invest.

Bei Luonan, however, set a trap for him, using reverse psychology: “Do you dare to bet with me?”

Throughout his life, he couldn’t resist two things: being challenged and making bets.

He took the bait immediately, saying, “A bet it is!”

Bei Luonan, always one for drama, even prepared a betting contract for him to review. The contract was filled with dense text, poorly formatted, making his head spin. Bei Luonan kept urging him, so he skimmed through it.

“…Meng Xingzhe and Bei Luonan voluntarily bet to solve math competition problems. The loser must do one thing the winner says…”

He glanced over it, saw no issue, and pressed his fingerprint on the contract.

Math competition problems were never a challenge for him, and he won easily.

Before he could bask in his victory, Bei Luonan slapped the contract back in front of him, highlighting a crucial line in the dense text:

Meng Xingzhe and Bei Luonan voluntarily bet to solve math competition problems. The 【winner】 must do one thing the 【loser】 says…

Only then did he realize he had fallen into Bei Luonan’s trap. The dense formatting, the distractions while reading the contract, all were tactics to cloud his judgment and make him assume the contract stipulated the loser would obey the winner.

Who would have thought Bei Luonan could switch the words ‘winner’ and ‘loser’ to confuse him?

One thing about him, he never reneged on a bet. He believed it was a basic principle of integrity. If he backed out of a bet, others might too, undermining the binding power of agreements.

Accepting the loss, he ended up investing in Fang Jin’s first movie.

Fortunately, Bei Luonan hadn’t deceived him or intended to harm him; he genuinely believed in the movie’s potential and encouraged him to invest.

The movie became a hit upon release, earning Fang Jin a fortune, and his investment doubled in return.

Later, he used the profits to start a business, co-founding Xingbei Technology with Bei Luonan.

While promoting the film, Fang Jin shared touching stories about his relationship with the investors of “A Timely Help” everywhere he went.

Everyone was moved, except for one person who snorted in disdain.

What a load of nonsense. He had been tricked by Bei Luonan, hadn’t he?!

At that time, some media outlets reached out to Fang Jin, expressing their desire to interview this noble, selfless, and deeply moving investor.

He quickly instructed Fang Jin not to reveal any personal information about him.

Due to certain events in his childhood, he had always avoided appearing in public.

This was what others saw as a moving investment story. In reality, it was just a tale of his foolish and humiliating deception.

******

Sitting in the dark theater, Meng Xingzhe took out his phone, dimmed the screen to its lowest setting, and sent a message to Bei Luonan.

Meng Xingzhe: [Fang Jin, that bastard, is getting more flamboyant with age, having a bunch of young girls chasing after him and calling him brother.]

Bei Luonan quickly replied: [Funny you say that, Fang Jin just messaged me complaining that you threatened him into getting three movie tickets.]

Another message followed swiftly: [You never watch movies. Are you getting tickets for someone else?]

Meng Xingzhe lowered his eyes to type: [Nonsense, I never do favors for others. I just want to see for myself how bad Fang Jin’s acting has gotten over the years!]

Bei Luonan: [I was just teasing you, and look how worked up you got!]

Bei Luonan: [Fang Jin just told me that you’re watching the movie with two others, a man and a woman. He asked me to find out which one you’re interested in.]

Meng Xingzhe almost stormed backstage to confront Fang Jin.

Meng Xingzhe: [What kind of eyes does he have? Neither of them is my type!]

Meng Xingzhe: [Next time I see Fang Jin, if I don’t poke his eyes out, I’ll change my last name to “Dream.”]

Bei Luonan, ever the instigator: [I’ll set up a dinner for you two. If you don’t poke his eyes out, you’re not a man!]

Meng Xingzhe: [Get lost.]

Reflecting on the bustling scene earlier, he added: [If Fang Jin’s movie becomes a hit again, how about we make him endorse our products?]

Bei Luonan: [This is the first time I’ve felt a life resonance with you!]

Riding the wave of this shared enthusiasm, Meng Xingzhe pushed his luck: [Oh, by the way, you should cover my taxi fare and movie ticket for today.]

Bei Luonan didn’t reply again.

Meng Xingzhe tried calling him.

As expected, the phone was off.

Sitting in the dark theater, he sneered. What kind of flimsy brotherhood is this, shutting off the phone when it comes to money matters?

Beside him, Yao Jia turned to him, her voice filled with admiration. “You’re smiling, so this movie must be really good. That’s great, Fang Jin has succeeded again!”

Meng Xingzhe: “……”

Another one with poor judgment.

※※※※※※

After watching the movie and returning home, Yao Jia was still in a state of excitement that couldn’t easily be dampened.

She knocked on Meng Xingzhe’s door before he went to bed, awkwardly thanking the so-called “King of Pushiness.”

“Well, anyway, thanks for today!”

Meng Xingzhe gave her a puzzled look: “?”

—Thank me for what?

Yao Jia understood his expression.

“Thanks for that ‘howl’ you let out. If it weren’t for your shout, Fang Jin wouldn’t have turned around, and I wouldn’t have met him, let alone shaken hands or taken a photo with him!”

Meng Xingzhe scoffed.

What do you mean by a howl or a shout? As if he was so startled.

Besides, wasn’t he the one who got the movie tickets?

But he thought, better not brag about it. No need to reveal his mysterious and noble identity.

Yao Jia continued to thank him: “…And if it weren’t for your thick skin in asking Fang Jin for tickets, I wouldn’t have seen the movie. Though having thick skin isn’t right, I still want to thank you.”

Meng Xingzhe: “…”

Why does he feel so conflicted? What’s with thanking him for having thick skin???

“By the way, Fang Jin is really handsome! And such a nice person! He actually gave me tickets! He’s so nice, he must bring me good luck!”

Meng Xingzhe rolled his eyes heavenward.

Handsome, my foot. Compared to me?? Good luck from him?? Usually, this girl is so calm and sharp, but now she’s acting like she’s been bewitched, all silly and childish.

Suddenly, Yao Jia’s tone shifted, her face lighting up with a radiant glow: “Do you think when he turned back to look at me in the crowd, he thought I was different? Is that why he came over, shook hands, took a photo, and gave me movie tickets? Do you think there’s a chance for more between us???”

Meng Xingzhe rolled his eyes so hard they could have traveled to another galaxy.

“Seriously, where did you learn to be so narcissistic?”

Yao Jia pointed at him: “Maybe from you.”

“…”

Meng Xingzhe turned her around and pushed her out of the room.

“Wake up, it’s dark outside. Save your daydreams for daylight!”

After Yao Jia left, Meng Xingzhe spent a long time looking in the mirror, his anger building with each glance.

Is she blind?

Being so infatuated with Fang Jin, her sense of aesthetics must be a black hole.

Am I not more handsome than Fang Jin???

※※※

The next morning, Yao Jia woke up feeling very happy. She thought it was the lingering joy Fang Jin had brought her from the day before.

After getting ready for work, her morning was filled with luck. Every call she received was easy to handle, not affecting her mood at all.

During their break, Tian Huasheng, as usual, came over to invite Yao Jia to the break room for a drink. He glanced at Meng Xingzhe’s empty chair. “Where’s Brother Meng? He disappeared so quickly. Isn’t he joining us for a drink today?”

Yao Jia shrugged. “Maybe he had to rush to the bathroom. You know, bad kidneys.”

After all, he had been fixated on those maca root ads recently.

When they reached the break room, they were surprised to find that Meng Xingzhe was already there.

He was leaning against the bar, chatting and drinking coffee with a beautiful woman. She was a new face outside the call center, with a great figure and striking looks. Standing next to the tall and handsome Meng Xingzhe, they made quite the eye-catching pair.

“So Brother Meng isn’t alone!” Tian Huasheng remarked. “No wonder he didn’t wait for us.”

Yao Jia nodded vigorously at the first comment.

Right, he’s not human. He’s a vain, narcissistic peacock.

As she silently mocked him, Yao Jia couldn’t help but marvel at Meng Xingzhe’s recent streak of luck with women.

The two gossip experts, Hao Lidan and Hou Wenwen, were seated on the sofa and immediately launched into conversation. Hao Lidan mentioned that the beauty chatting with Meng Xingzhe was a stunner from the Technical Department.

Hou Wenwen added, “It’s not just her. Yesterday at lunch, I saw Xiao Meng dining and chatting with a beauty from the Operations Department.”

Hao Lidan eagerly continued, “The day before yesterday, I saw Xiao Meng having lunch with a beautiful supervisor from the Sales Department.”

Hou Wenwen’s excitement grew even more. “And yesterday during break, I saw a beautiful director from the PR Department talking to Xiao Meng in the hallway!”

Hao Lidan concluded, “Looks like Xiao Meng is a magnet for beautiful women. Being good-looking really has its perks!”

They were so engrossed in their gossip that they forgot to consider Tong Yumo’s fragile heart.

Tong Yumo pouted, looking pitiful, as if she had just experienced a breakup.

Yao Jia could hardly stand to watch.

She really didn’t understand what Tong Yumo saw in Meng Xingzhe. Was it his flair for showing off? Or his ambition to win over beautiful women?

Thinking about Meng Xingzhe’s grand ambition, Yao Jia couldn’t help but feel a chill.

Clearly, Meng Xingzhe planned to use his exceptional looks and physique as capital to catch a wealthy and beautiful woman who could save him twenty years of effort.

She thought he was shameless, boldly declaring his ambitions and putting them into practice day by day!

She reminded herself to keep her identity as the Chairman’s daughter under wraps. She couldn’t afford to let her cover slip in front of him.

It was too dangerous. If he found out her true identity, wouldn’t he extend his grasping hands toward her, hoping to save himself twenty years of struggle?

That was truly terrifying.

※※※※※※

The good luck of the morning didn’t carry into the afternoon.

In the afternoon, for some inexplicable reason, Yao Jia received a series of troublesome calls.

Each customer was more unreasonable than the last, and their words were harsh. Yet, the Customer Service Department’s policy was that even if their ancestors were cursed, the Customer Service Representative could not talk back on the phone.

Yao Jia was on the verge of breaking down from taking calls.

The current customer was a man named Mr. Yan, who called to say, “I chose to buy your Kunyu Electric air conditioner because of your brand’s reputation. And what happened? After installation, it’s leaking water into my house, ruining my walls and warping my floor! You need to send After-sales Service over to fix the leak and compensate me for the renovation costs!”

Yao Jia checked the records and saw that Mr. Yan had previously reported the issue. After-sales Service had visited, but the fault did not lie with Kunyu.

Reviewing the computer records, Yao Jia tried to patiently explain to the customer, “Mr. Yan, according to the feedback from our After-sales Service team, the air conditioner in your home wasn’t installed by Kunyu Electric workers or our designated installation company. You hired someone else, and their skills vary. Poor installation can lead to leaks. Our workers follow a strict installation standard.

“So, for your situation, we can arrange for our After-sales Service team to visit again and reinstall it for free. However, regarding the renovation costs, that’s not within our compensation scope since the installation was done by someone you hired.”

The customer was furious and began shouting, “Who do you think you are? You’re all passing the buck, blaming it on the fact that I didn’t use your After-sales Service! I hired someone to make it easier for you, to save you resources! Ungrateful, bullying customers! What kind of lousy company, lousy product, lousy service is this? And you want to go public? Ha! Dream on! I’m going to the consumer association to complain about you!”

Yao Jia suppressed her anger, feeling it swell in her chest, causing a rapid increase in stress.

“Get your manager here!” After a long tirade, the customer finally demanded.

Yao Jia called Lin Qian over.

Fortunately, this time Lin Qian didn’t compromise and shared the same view: they could offer a free reinstallation, but they wouldn’t compensate for any renovation damages caused by the previous installation issues.

The customer yelled again about filing a complaint with the consumer association and then hung up.

Yao Jia felt a bit uneasy, wondering if a complaint to the consumer association would have any impact and if she might drag Lin Qian into trouble again.

Lin Qian patted her on the shoulder, her voice soft and calm, with a reassuring quality.

“Don’t worry, we’ve had cases like this before. Even if they complain to the consumer association, it won’t be a problem. We’re not at fault.”

Yao Jia breathed a sigh of relief.

After Lin Qian left, Meng Xingzhe turned to her and said, “You’re about to lose it, aren’t you? If you take another call like that, you’ll end up yelling at them, right? Keep it up, I hope you snap soon so you’ll get eliminated and I’ll be safe.”

“…” Yao Jia glared at Meng Xingzhe, puffed up with anger.

Is he even human, mocking her at a time like this?

Fine, she resolved to hold back and not yell, just to prove him wrong!

Just as she finished her internal vow, the phone on Yao Jia’s desk rang again.

Before answering, Yao Jia took a deep breath.

— Translator’s Notes —

– bad kidneys: In traditional Chinese medicine and colloquial usage, the kidneys are believed to govern vitality, reproduction, and sexual function; ‘bad kidneys’ is a humorous or indirect way to refer to issues like low energy, erectile dysfunction, or poor sexual performance.

– Weibo: Weibo (literally ‘microblog’) is a popular Chinese social media platform similar to Twitter or X, where users post short messages, photos, and updates.

– pressed his fingerprint: In China, official contracts and agreements often require a red ink fingerprint as a legally binding alternative or addition to a signature, symbolizing personal commitment.