Wenwen listened attentively, realizing belatedly that Si Yue had long been working against the Chang Group. Si Yue’s approach was gradual, slowly weakening the Chang Group’s influence in secret. As one of the major domestic players, the Chang Group’s business was not small, and toppling them suddenly could lead to economic instability and attract unwanted attention.
Wenwen now understood the benefit of having powerful backing and enjoying someone else’s protection. He had long wanted to plot against the Chang family, but his young age and the watchful eyes of adults limited him. As he was brooding over his powerlessness, Si Yue’s actions came as a pleasant surprise.
Wenwen’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Si Yue, feeling a sudden sense of security. He and his mother were now under this person’s protection, no longer easy targets for bullying.
After the secretarial team finished their reports and left, only Si Yue and Wenwen remained in the office.
Si Yue looked at his son, patted his head, and asked, “How much did you understand just now?”
Wenwen shook his head and replied innocently, “Not much.” Being a child, it would be too bizarre if he gave an honest answer.
Si Yue chuckled and did not dwell on the issue. He pinched Wenwen’s soft cheek, not caring whether he understood or not, and shared, “The Chang Group’s influence is deeply rooted, and previously untouchable due to their strange luck. Any opposition would backfire. But a few months ago, I tested the waters and found their luck might be running out.”
Si Yue had long since disliked the couple. He, however, instinctively knew that going against them would end badly, so he had initially avoided confrontation. But after meeting Ruoruo and learning about Wenwen’s paternity, he investigated the Chang Group thoroughly and discovered their eerily good fortune. Anyone who opposed the Chang family and Fang Xueruo would meet with misfortune and everything they did turned out profitable, even on seemingly doomed investments.
Later, the couple continued making trouble for Ruoruo. Even Si Yue’s patience had its limit; how could he let them bully the mother of his son? So he started causing some minor troubles for the Chang Group. To his surprise, they easily fell into his traps and suffered substantial losses.
Even more surprising was when Si Yue found he was not counterattacked. This made him realize their luck might be waning, so he took advantage of the momentum to press on with more schemes. Unfortunately, the Chang Group was a large corporation with deep roots, which allowed them to survive – any smaller corporation would have been bankrupted by now. Although Si Yue’s actions had significantly weakened the foundation of the Chang Group, they could recover with enough time.
“I’m not a good person, nor do I expect you to be purely good,” Si Yue continued. As his son, Wenwen would one day take his place and couldn’t afford to be overly kind and weak.
Wenwen’s round eyes widened in shock. Can you teach your child like this? Where in the world a parent advise their child to be a bad person?
Although Wenwen wasn’t exactly virtuous himself and had done a lot of bad things in his previous life, his mother wanted him to grow up a proper man. For his mother’s sake, he had been trying to be a good child in this life, but now Si Yue was saying he didn’t have to be good?
“However, even if we are to be bad, we’ll do it openly and honorably,” Si Yue said, squeezing Wenwen’s cheek affectionately. He hadn’t done it in a while and truly missed this sensation.
Only then did Wenwen come to his senses. He quickly covered his face, now red from the pinching.
But he was still confused inside: how does one be openly and honorably bad?
The little guy was full of questions, but Si Yue didn’t elaborate, instead showing him how he dealt with the Chang Group.
Unaware of what the father and son were up to, Fu Yunruo thought Wenwen would only be with Si Yue for a couple of days. But day after day, the boy continued leaving with Si Yue in the morning and returning in the evening.
“…” Fu Yunruo felt a twinge of jealousy. Now he has a father, her Baobao’s no longer attached to his mother!
…
After autumn, winter arrived quickly. In the blink of an eye, everyone was bundled up in thick winter clothes. It didn’t take long for the first snowfall to blanket the ground, followed by several more, creating a thick layer of snow.
When Wenwen saw the fluttering northern snowflakes, he couldn’t help but feel nostalgic and was eager to go out and play.
Fu Yunruo wrapped him up like a ball before letting him play in the yard, but only for twenty minutes.
Seeing her child playing in the snow, Fu Yunruo felt a bit sentimental, realizing that they had been in Beijing for almost a year now. Time had flown by. Reflecting on the year, a lot has happened. They had settled in Beijing, and Wenwen had become a well-known child star and also met his biological father.
And she… she had gotten a boyfriend.
After returning to the villa, Si Yue also spends most of his time at Fu Yunruo’s place, only returning to his neighboring villa to sleep at night.
Today, Yuan Xin braved the heavy snow to visit and complained to Fu Yunruo by the way. He lamented that with Wenwen’s popularity during the summer, the boy should have taken on some advertisements and participated in events, but he followed his old father’s path instead.
Apart from acting, both father and son hardly participated in other activities or shows. They were so headstrong. In Yuan Xin’s calculation, they could have been international superstars by now if they had capitalized on their popularity. He had even tried to persuade them to join the Spring Festival Gala but to no avail.
Yuan Xin was here today because Wenwen’s Xianxia movie was about to premiere. Although Wenwen only played a small role as the child version of the male lead, his popularity led the director to increase his screen time and include him in the promotional materials.
The movie would be released during the New Year, and the director wanted Wenwen to join some promotional events. However, both Fu Yunruo and Si Yue declined. They believed it was one thing for their child to enjoy acting, but there was no need for him to get involved in miscellaneous activities like promotions.
Knowing their stance, Yuan Xin didn’t insist and shifted the conversation. He informed them about an offer to work in a public service advertisement and strongly advised Wenwen to accept this job. Unlike commercial ads, public service advertisements were requested by the government, and while there was no remuneration, they were good to build a reputation.
Fu Yunruo was open to the idea after understanding the details.
Yuan Xin, seeing that Fu Yunruo did not object and that both Wenwen and Si Yue agreed, happily went to arrange the contract. He didn’t leave immediately but stayed to enjoy the peaceful and leisurely atmosphere at Fu Yunruo’s home, which calmed his restless heart. He then cheerfully helped Wenwen build a snowman.
When the time was almost up, Fu Yunruo called Wenwen inside.
The boy ran into the house, his cheeks rosy.
Fu Yunruo gave him a cup of hot water and touched his face and hands to make sure they weren’t too cold.
Yuan Xin joined them indoors and engaged in conversation with Si Yue. They talked about Si Yue’s intention to retire from the entertainment industry, a decision he had made a long time ago. The original plan was for Si Yue to retire the previous year, but he delayed his retirement for Wenwen’s sake.
Now the time had come for Si Yue to really retire. Acting was his hobby, and he spent over a decade in the industry because it didn’t hinder his succession of the family business. Previously, he would spend his free time acting, but moving forward, his focus would be on his family and the family business, leaving no room for the entertainment industry.
From now on, Yuan Xin will stop taking on work for Si Yue. As Yuan Xin also got older, besides taking care of Wenwen, he would no longer manage new talent, focusing his energy instead on running the company’s talent division.
Fu Yunruo confirmed with Si Yue, “Are you really planning to leave the entertainment industry?” She had known his plan but thought he might abandon this idea since he hadn’t taken any action before.
“Yes, I never intended to stay in it forever,” Si Yue replied.
Fu Yunruo nodded, respecting his decision.
But Wenwen couldn’t help feeling a bit down. He regretted that they’d only had one collaboration and had hoped for many more. After all, Si Yue… his Dad, was always his idol.
Seeing Wenwen’s gloomy mood, Fu Yunruo changed the subject. “The New Year is coming. How are we planning to celebrate?”
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