Chapter 150

Chapter 150

Three days after Lu Mingzhu and Xia Lin met, she received the photos and love letters personally delivered by Xia Lin.

The photos were taken yesterday and developed on the same day.

Xia Lin certainly didn’t lack the money for film.

She was especially eager to assist Lu Mingzhu, all for the chance to film scripts written by her in the future.

Lu Mingzhu picked up the top photo and saw Li Qingyun dressed in a white suit with white leather shoes, his hair parted three to seven and combed sleek and shiny, looking strikingly handsome.

A red rose was tucked into his left chest pocket, particularly eye-catching.

Li Qingyun leaned against a small car of an unknown brand, holding a bouquet of red roses in his arms, exuding a vibe that reminded Lu Mingzhu of a peacock flaunting its feathers.

He bore a slight resemblance to Ming Hui.

If Lu Mingzhu didn’t know Li Qingyun’s background, she might have thought he was a wealthy young man from some family.

“Looks like his business is thriving; he’s even got himself a car now,” Lu Mingzhu couldn’t help but sneer, who would have thought that a year ago he was coaxing Lu Feifei to invest 50,000 Hong Kong dollars as capital.

Xia Lin peeked and said, “He bought it himself, shelled out 8,800 Hong Kong dollars.”

“How do you know?” Lu Mingzhu was slightly surprised.

“This car company launched a new car at Christmas, asked me to cut the ribbon at their promotional event. Li Qingyun came and bought a car, and since then he started pursuing me,” Xia Lin said frankly. “Back then, many newspapers ran ads saying, ‘Drive a car home for just 8,800 dollars.’ After the event, they gave me one. I drove it for a couple of months before passing it on to my sister.”

Lu Mingzhu gave a nod and reached for the other photos.

There were shots of Li Qingyun presenting flowers to Xia Lin, Xia Lin rejecting him and shoving the bouquet back into his arms, Xia Lin walking ahead with Li Qingyun chasing behind, and so on.

It was clear to anyone that Xia Lin had no regard for Li Qingyun.

And Li Qingyun’s intense infatuation with Xia Lin.

Seeing this, Lu Mingzhu asked Xia Lin, “Did you two have any history before?”

“Yes,” Xia Lin didn’t deny. “I grew up in the slums, just like Li Qingyun. Our families were neighbors at Lion Rock’s base for several years, about three or four years, living in shanty houses. His mother made a living doing embroidery to support him, paid for his education, but her eyesight and health deteriorated over time, and she’s been on medication for years.”

Now, Lu Mingzhu couldn’t even pinpoint when Li Qingyun had arrived in Hong Kong.

Xia Lin might have moved out of the shanty houses two or three, even three or four years ago. Going back three or four years, wouldn’t that mean Li Qingyun came to Hong Kong six or seven years ago?

Perhaps even earlier.

His relationship with Lu Feifei seemed to be built on lies.

As for the love letters, starting from the Christmas Xia Lin mentioned, he wrote one letter every day, up to this morning, totaling dozens—some lengthy, some brief, all dripping with saccharine sentiment, a treatment Lu Feifei never experienced.

Each letter was signed with variations like “Your loving Li Qingyun,” “Your adoring Li Qingyun,” “Your admirer Li Qingyun,” and so forth.

“Thank you, Miss Xia,” Lu Mingzhu felt these would be the best gifts her seventh sister could receive.

Xia Lin smiled slightly, revealing her signature shallow dimples. “Miss Lu, don’t mention it. It’s my duty. I just hope Li Qingyun stops pestering me and interfering with my career.”

“Don’t worry,” Lu Mingzhu promised.

After Xia Lin left, she promptly packed the photos and love letters into a large envelope and sent it off to Lu Changgen via a bodyguard.

Lu Changgen went abroad to celebrate the New Year with his mother and siblings, but he returned soon after, spending most of his time at Mingzhu Diamond Jewelry Store, managing the main store and the seven branches expanded across Hong Kong.

After looking at the photos and a few love letters, Lu Changgen couldn’t hide the anger in his eyes.

"Got it, and thank my eighth sister for me," he said.

Once the bodyguards left, he immediately called Lu Feifei.

"Feifei, I have photos and love letters of Li Qingyun pursuing someone else. Want me to send them over? Or should I read one of the love letters to you first?" Lu Changgen asked her directly.

Lu Feifei was stunned: "Is this for real?"

Lu Changgen affirmed: "It’s true. Don’t believe me? I’ll send them over."

"No, that’s okay," Lu Feifei said.

As Lu Changgen raised his eyebrows, she said, "Since Li Qingyun’s moved on, then it’s not me who wronged him. I’ll give Yunxuan a chance now."

Lu Changgen nearly choked.

"Yunxuan? Bai Yunxuan?" He was one of the handsome young men Lu Changgen had introduced to his sister. Had he actually won her over?

No, during the New Year, he asked Lu Feifei, and she was still adamant about Li Qingyun.

Her stubbornness ruined his New Year’s Eve dinner.

By the third day of the Lunar New Year, he immediately took a flight back to Hong Kong, not wanting to face his sister.

Lu Feifei stated plainly, "Yunxuan is no less handsome than Li Qingyun, his words are sweeter, and he gives me gifts, accompanies me to play and watch movies. I never have to pay; I just get to enjoy. I didn’t agree before because I hadn’t broken up with Li Qingyun, but now it’s different. He betrayed me first, not me betraying him."

Lu Changgen understood her meaning and praised, "Good, good, you’re finally seeing clearly."

Although Bai Yunxuan’s family was not even one-tenth of the Lu family, Bai Yunxuan was a good friend of Lu Changgen’s. He had come to Hong Kong a few years earlier than the Lu family. As the third son of a concubine and the fifth in the family line, Bai Yunxuan had no chance to inherit the family business. He had no big dreams—just wanted to marry into money with his good looks and sweet talk. They’d live comfortably off rental income.

Lu Changgen promised him that if he could pursue his sister, most of her dowry would be residential and commercial properties, and the rent alone would be enough for them to live comfortably for a lifetime.

Of course, if they were extravagant, it might not be enough.

Bai Yunxuan naturally gave it his all.

Besides, he wasn’t losing out.

Lu Feifei, though not as good as Lu Mingzhu, was still considered a beauty among ordinary people. All dolled up, she could be stunning. What was rare was her simple mind and lack of cunning.

Bai Yunxuan figured she was perfect for him.

Seeing Lu Feifei accept his pursuit as soon as she hung up the phone, Bai Yunxuan was over the moon, grinning from ear to ear, pulling her to spin around the living room, making the fourth concubine dizzy.

She hadn’t been too impressed with Bai Yunxuan initially, but compared to Li Qingyun, Bai Yunxuan was ten times better.

Without ambition, he wouldn’t abandon his wife after becoming successful.

The fourth concubine was shrewd. She had secretly observed Li Qingyun and knew he was no ordinary person. She believed he could provide a wealthy life for her daughter but worried he might step over her daughter’s body to climb higher or fall in love with someone else.

If he fell in love with someone else, wouldn’t her daughter have to die to make way for the new woman?

That would be like honey laced with poison.

Therefore, after hearing Lu Changgen’s analysis, the fourth concubine thought Bai Yunxuan was a good choice.

Not chasing after riches, just looking for a steady and peaceful life.

Lu Feifei and Bai Yunxuan danced without any music in the living room when suddenly she slapped her forehead, looking regretful: "I forgot to tell Seventh Brother about it. I have a 50% stake in Li Qingyun's textile factory. I need to take care of it soon to get back my money and redeem my pawned jewelry. It's almost due."

Bai Yunxuan thought for a moment and said, "No hurry, let Li Qingyun earn some money for you. We'll deal with it when we have time."

"What about the jewelry? After seeing the jewelry they sell outside, I realized that the ones I pawned are really high-quality." Lu Feifei was really regretting it, wishing she could fly back to Hong Kong right away to redeem her jewelry.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have any cash on her.

She didn’t have to worry about food, clothes, or a place to live, but she didn’t have any cash on her.

Neither Fourth Aunt nor Lu Changgen gave her money, and her father had already stopped her monthly allowance of 3000 yuan.

Bai Yunxuan patted his chest: "I’ll get someone to help you get it back."

He could easily afford that.

Since he wasn’t in line to inherit the family business, his parents felt sorry for him, and even his grandparents felt sorry for him. He used the chance to ask for money to buy several buildings and shops. Besides the high upfront costs, he was making tens of thousands in rent every month. A year’s rent could buy a Tong Lau building or a couple of shops.

Over the years, he had already owned 10 buildings and 10 shops.

Although each building was priced around 100,000, he was practically a millionaire in Hong Kong.

Lu Feifei counted her fingers, "The pawnshop usually has a 4-month term, but I pawned it for a whole year, with a monthly interest rate of 15%. A year would be..."

"90,000 yuan!" Bai Yunxuan had never been to a pawnshop and wasn't very clear about this business.

He gasped, "How much did you pawn? They let you pawn it for a year?"

Lu Feifei recalled for a moment, "I’m not sure, but it was definitely over 50,000 yuan."

Fourth Aunt's sinister voice sounded beside them: "Her missing jewelry is worth at least 200,000 Hong Kong dollars. If redeemed on time, the pawnshop makes a profit of 90,000 yuan. If not redeemed, the pawnshop sells it to second-hand shops, making no less profit. Yunxuan, you shouldn't pay for this. I'll have someone redeem it for her."

A loss of 140,000 Hong Kong dollars made Fourth Aunt's heart ache.

She asked Lu Feifei for the pawn ticket and sent someone to Hong Kong to handle it, which would cost another round-trip fee. Fortunately, it was by boat, not plane. A plane ticket would cost three to four thousand Hong Kong dollars, and a round trip would cost nearly ten thousand.

The person going to Hong Kong couldn't go without eating, drinking, or staying.

Lu Mingzhu knew nothing about this. She was afraid her people couldn't warn Li Qingyun, so she asked her godfather for help, with a legitimate reason: "Xia Lin is the female lead in my next movie. Being harassed all the time doesn't look good."

He Yun frowned, "Why is it Xia Lin again? Is this never-ending?"

Lu Mingzhu spread her hands, "I also want to ask Mr. Ming and Wang Tao why the only one available is Xia Lin."

Hmm, noted, will ask later.

In an era of beauties, the film company was never short of beauties.

Lu Mingzhu recalled a few movies she had seen. The actress who played the second female lead, Zheng Dan, in "Xi Shi" was quite good, no less than Xia Lin in both looks and temperament, but the response was mediocre.

Was it because the supporting actress was overshadowed by the lead actress's halo?

After getting He Yun's promise to send someone to warn Li Qingyun, Lu Mingzhu went home and called Wang Tao, "What's the name of the actress who played Zheng Dan in 'Xi Shi'? Is she from our company?"

Wang Tao honestly replied, "No, she was hired from outside."

"Then there's no problem," Lu Mingzhu said.

Wang Tao, being a clever man, smiled and asked, "Miss Lu, are you asking why we only use Xia Lin as the lead actress?"

Lu Mingzhu nodded, "I just think our company should cultivate our own team, including directors, screenwriters, costume designers, and makeup artists, with actors being the most crucial. We should provide a base salary during off periods and competitive pay based on market rates during filming. We shouldn’t be too cheap; this way, we can unite and grow stronger."

Being too cheap can push seasoned actors to leave; it’s better to be more generous.

Wang Tao informed her, "Our company has only been established for a little over a year. Most of the actors we can use now were poached from other film studios, including Xia Lin, who is the most famous. Our company needs to build its reputation, so we prioritize using her. In fact, besides the film studio under construction, we also have a training program that has recruited many talented young men and women. They receive a base salary, food, and accommodation, and are undergoing various forms of training. They’ve been in training for less than a year and will graduate in a year, then gradually join various film crews."

Ming Hui had decided to cultivate new talents who can replace Xia Lin before her prime ends.

If one isn’t enough, we’ll train ten.

Lu Mingzhu, not involved in the company's management, was unaware of this and laughed upon hearing it, "Hearing that, I’m relieved. The preparation for 'The Swordsman' crew will take some time. Besides the lead actress being Xia Lin, will the other roles be selected from the existing actors in the company or from the newcomers?"

If it weren’t for Xia Lin’s appearance, age, and skills as a martial arts actress being truly suitable for the role of Golden Phoenix, they could have organized a grand "Search for Golden Phoenix" casting call.

At this point, Wang Tao said, "Miss Lu, since you mentioned this, there’s something I’d like to ask for your opinion."

"What is it?" Lu Mingzhu asked.

"There’s a voluptuous and stunning girl in the training program named Yang Huan, who has a background in dance. She’s very flexible and has a soft posture. When I first saw her, I thought she was the reincarnation of Yang Guifei. Could you write a movie for her? Let’s call it 'The Drunken Concubine.'" Wang Tao’s eyes grew brighter as he spoke.

Of the four great beauties, Xi Shi and Wang Zhaojun have already been written about, and 'Diao Chan' was written before Wang Zhaojun, leaving only Yang Guifei to be extensively written about, and she is the most famous of the four.

Lu Mingzhu was very interested, "I’d like to meet her first."

If she’s really suitable, it’s not impossible to tailor a movie for her.

The day after Wang Tao agreed, he brought a young girl to visit Lu Mingzhu.

When Lu Mingzhu saw the girl beside him, she knew: the role of Yang Guifei was made for her.

At eighteen or nineteen, she still carried a hint of innocence, with a full but not fat figure, snow-white and delicate complexion, a face like a silver plate, eyes like green apricots, and a head of thick, black hair.

Like a newly bloomed peony, stunningly beautiful and truly the queen of flowers.

Yang Huan performed a segment of the Hu Xuan dance for Lu Mingzhu on the spot, spinning like the wind, light and joyful, evoking the grandeur of the prosperous Tang Dynasty and the tribute of all nations.