Chapter 20: Criticism and Ridicule

"Yes, I understand."

Fu Luoning hung up the phone and walked out of the company. Shan Yue and Fang Xue were waiting by the car. She didn't approach immediately, so Shan Yue trotted over. "Boss."

Fu Luoning noticed something odd in her expression. "What is it?"

"We had just pulled the car out and were waiting for you when a lady appeared. She claimed to be your mother, opened the car door, and just sat inside."

Fu Luoning’s eyes darkened. "Get in as usual and leave the company."

Shan Yue nodded.

As soon as she opened the car door, Ye Jiahe was sitting inside with a cold expression. After Fu Luoning sat down, she gave the driver the address of a restaurant.

"I've been in Shengjing for so many days, and I haven't seen you invite me to your home once."

"I don't have the time."

"What could you possibly be so busy with? What kind of daughter stays in a hotel when her own mother comes to visit?" Ye Jiahe said, displeased.

"Mother!" Fu Luoning looked at her coldly. "I have been married into the Gu family in Shengjing for two years, and this is the first time you have supposedly come to visit me."

Ye Jiahe felt the sting of truth and turned to look out the window, falling silent.

The car grew quiet, and just as it seemed they would remain silent for the rest of the trip, Ye Jiahe spoke again: "Your sister wants to enter the entertainment industry. I've inquired about it, and the signing conditions at Heguang Pictures are quite good. Find a way to contact them and get your sister in."

Fang Xue and Shan Yue, in the front seats, exchanged looks, their eyes filled with shock.

"If she wants to enter the entertainment industry, she can find a way herself." Fu Luoning laughed, a mocking sound. "It’s useless to come to me."

"Are you just going to sit there and do nothing while holding the title of the young mistress of the Gu family?" Ye Jiahe was accustomed to lecturing Fu Luoning. "Can’t you help your sister?"

"No!" Fu Luoning replied sharply. "I don’t know where you get the audacity to talk to me like this, but if you used your brain for even a second, you would know that I would never help her!"

"How dare you speak to me like that!" Ye Jiahe looked at the two people in the front, her chest heaving with anger. "Fu Luoning, I am your mother!"

"You are Fu Shuxuan's mother!" Fu Luoning gave her a cold, dismissive glance.

"You...! You are going to be the death of me." Ye Jiahe clutched her chest. "The Fu family raised you for several years, at least."

"Several years?" Fu Luoning found it utterly ridiculous. "Can you even count how many days that was? I’m someone who could leave home for days without you even noticing; you call that raising me?"

"You still ate several meals at the Fu household." Ye Jiahe gritted her teeth. "The Xiao family raised you to have this kind of attitude. You only have eyes for that mother of yours, Lin Man-shuang, and you never considered me your real mother."

"Just because of a few meals at the Fu house!" Fu Luoning’s suppressed anger surfaced. "I have to become your puppet, be used as a marriage tool to be sent to the Gu family, and suffer the criticism and ridicule of others!"

Ye Jiahe and Fu Luoning were never close, and now, after two years of not seeing each other, Fu Luoning’s demeanor was just like her father’s—decisive and ruthless.

Ye Jiahe felt a flicker of cowardice and averted her gaze.

"The Elder Mr. Gu chose you; there was nothing we could do."

"Ha!"

"Regardless," Ye Jiahe swallowed hard, "you must help Shuxuan. She..."

"You really are good to her," Fu Luoning interrupted, mocking her. "Fine. I can help, but I won’t do it for nothing."

Seeing a chance, Ye Jiahe asked, "What do you want?"

"I recall you hold shares in the Fu Corporation."

The interior of the car went silent, save for the whistling of the wind outside.

Ye Jiahe stared at the cold, indifferent Fu Luoning. "You want them? ...How many?"

"All of them!"

The car stopped at the hotel entrance.

Ye Jiahe was stunned. After a long moment, she pointed a finger at Fu Luoning. "You... you really are! When you married, the Fu family gave you shares, and now you’re still coveting... what kind of ambition are you harboring?"

"What you gave me then was for the marriage; this is what I want now." Fu Luoning scoffed. "Mother, or do you think Fu Shuxuan isn't worth trading your shares for?"

Ye Jiahe paused.

"And by the way, weren't you in the entertainment industry yourself? Even though you retired a long time ago, you must still have some connections." Fu Luoning mocked.

Having been a wealthy housewife for over twenty years, she had retired completely, but it was impossible for her to have no connections left. As for why she had to come to Shengjing, Fu Luoning didn't know the reason.

Ye Jiahe looked at the woman before her. Although she was her biological daughter, they had never been close. Encountering her cold gaze, Ye Jiahe felt both hurt and dissatisfied. She pondered for a moment. "I need to think about this."

Fu Luoning’s lips curled slightly. She leaned toward Ye Jiahe, suddenly becoming closer. Ye Jiahe thought she was going to hug her and stiffened slightly. "What... what are you doing?"

A crisp sound echoed.

It was the sound of the car door unlocking.

Ye Jiahe’s expression darkened instantly.

Fu Luoning pulled back, looking at Ye Jiahe with amusement. "Mother, if you decide, I welcome you to come see me. If you haven't decided... there's no need to make the trip again."

The implication was clear: if you are willing to give them, come; if not, don't bother coming at all.

Being so blunt made Ye Jiahe bite her lip in anger. Before exiting the car, she looked at Fu Luoning. "I am your biological mother, after all."

Fu Luoning’s expression remained entirely unmoved; she calmly gestured for her to get out.

Ye Jiahe stepped out and slammed the car door in a fit of rage.

Shan Yue glanced at Fu Luoning’s face in the rearview mirror. The woman in the back leaned back against the seat. "Let's go home."

That was indeed her boss.

At the Crown Hotel, in the presidential suite.

Fu Shuxuan had been waiting for Ye Jiahe to return. She was eager to know if Ye Jiahe had succeeded in getting her into Heguang Pictures. Hearing movement in the foyer, she trotted out to see Ye Jiahe changing her shoes.

"Mom."

She stepped forward to take Ye Jiahe’s bag, noticing that her mother’s face didn't look well. "You must be tired."

Ye Jiahe gave a tired smile. "I'm fine."

Fu Shuxuan began to blame herself. She lowered her eyes. "Should I not have done this... asked you to help me find my sister? You went there... she must not have treated you well."

"Xuanxuan." Ye Jiahe held her hand. "Mom has connections too. Why don't you be obedient and take that script from your Uncle Cao? We can start from the bottom as newcomers."

"But for Uncle Cao's script, the fourth female lead role I’d be taking doesn't even have many lines, and it’s a period drama. I’m afraid. If I mess it up, wouldn't I be losing face for you?"

It wasn't that she was afraid of messing it up; she simply didn't want the fourth lead role. She wanted her debut to be the lead role in her first production. If she did that, every project she was in would be as a lead, and she would be the chosen one of the entertainment industry.

Ye Jiahe looked at her lovingly. She was so sensible; if Fu Luoning had even an ounce of this, she wouldn't feel so exhausted.