11
Only then did Jiang Mian notice a man standing in front of the living room sofa. He was in his thirties, with a casually tied little bub on top of his head, deep-set features, and a trendy, handsome look.
He stared at Jiang Mian with wide eyes, utterly incredulous.
Qin Jingrun directly ignored what the man had just said and introduced him to Jiang Mian. “His name is Xia Qi. Don’t mind him.”
The name sounded a bit familiar… Jiang Mian politely greeted him. “Hello, Uncle Xia.”
“Hello, n-niece.” Xia Qi was dying of embarrassment. Qin Jingrun had always told him that his precious daughter was only three years old, so he had always pictured Qin Jingrun’s daughter as a sweet, three-year-old little dumpling.
And yet!
Xia Qi secretly tucked away the children’s snacks from the coffee table, all of which he had prepared for his three-years-old niece.
Jiang Mian at what she saw: “…”
She could easily imagine how the Film Emperor Dad had described her to others.
Despite his shock, Xia Qi thoughtfully gave the father and daughter some space, and left, closing the door behind him.
“Dad, is Uncle Xia an actor too?” Jiang Mian asked Qin Jingrun, who was peeling an apple for her, after Xia Qi left.
Qin Jingrun nodded. Seeing his precious daughter frown, he thought she was worried they might get photographed, and smiled. “Don’t worry, this is the dormitory of the head of your school’s acting department. No one will come here.”
Qin Jingrun rarely got to spend time with his precious daughter throughout the year, so he didn’t notice much change in Jiang Mian’s personality. He simply assumed her newfound maturity was because she had grown up.
After finishing peeling the apple, he cut it into small pieces, placed them on a plate, and handed it to Jiang Mian. “Do you want to go out and have some fun?”
“I still have class later.” Jiang Mian shook her head. She glanced at her Film Emperor Dad, and her brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
She had just remembered why the name Xia Qi sounded familiar. There was a passage in the book where the original character was scrolling through Weibo and came across a trending topic about her Film Emperor Dad—news that his friend Xia Qi had committed suicide due to depression, and his body had been found at his residence.
The original character had worried about her father and called him. that was the extent of Xia Qi’s description in the story.
But the Xia Qi Jaing Mian had just met didn’t seem like someone suffering from depression.
She thought that since he was her father’s good friend, she would try her best to change the course of the plot whenever she had the chance.
Qin Jingrun was a little disappointed that he couldn’t go out with his precious daughter. After thinking for a moment, he took out his tablet, pulled something up, and handed it to Jiang Mian.
“Take a look.”
Jiang Miang took it and saw it was a script. “Dad?”
“Don’t you want to act?” Qin Jingrun gently stroked his precious daughter’s silky hair. “Dad has a few suitable projects here, all directed by top-tier directors. Take a look and see which one you like.”
Jiang Mian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Dad, I told you, I want fair competition.”
“Why can’t my resources go to my precious daughter?” Qin Jingrun said. “Director Zhang’s film I pretty good overall, but it requires shooting deep in the mountains for at least half a year. The conditions there aren’t great. The wind will leave tiny cuts all over your face.”
He lightly pinched his daughter’s smooth, delicate cheek. Just imagining her beautiful face getting chapped and rough made his heart ache.
His precious daughter ought to be dressed up prettily, starring in idol dramas and the like.
Qin Jingrun was renowned in the industry for his dedication. He never used a stunt double, performing even the most grueling scenes himself, and he disliked actors who weren’t committed.
Acting was a profession. If you choose this path, you follow its rules. Yet when it came to his precious daughter, all those principles went out of the window.
He was just that biased!
“I don’t even know if Director Zhang would select me.” Jiang Mian said, linking her arm through her Film Emperor Dad’s. “Besides, if I took a script you gave me, how would others see me once I joined the production? I’m just a freshman who just got into film school, yet I’d be playing the female lead in a major production, with a bunch of A-list stars supporting me. Dad, do you think that’s appropriate?”
Jiang Mian relished the sense of achievement that came from growing step by step and reaching the top on her own. It was like in the cultivation world, if she hadn’t trained diligently, how could she have reached the Great Perfection stage in such a short time?
In this world, even if she were to break into the entertainment industry, she would do it step by step through her own abilities. This was the pride of a former high-level cultivator.
“Dad, don’t worry. Even without relying on you, I can reach the same heights as you.”
Qin Jingrun was taken aback by Jiang Mian’s ambition and pride. A moment later, he burst into hearty laughter. “That’s my precious daughter. Just like me.”
Jiang Mian: = =
Those words sounded really familiar. The billionaire tyrant father had just said the same thing to her not long ago.
“What’s this?” Qin Jingrun suddenly noticed Jiang Mian’s wrist. He grabbed his precious daughter’s hand, pushed aside the bracelet she was wearing, and when he saw it was a red mark, his expression immediately darkened.
He had acted in many productions and sustained many injuries. He could tell at a glance that it was a cut.
The cut on Jiang Mian’s wrist had mostly healed, but if you looked closely, you could still see a red line. It would take at least a month for it to disappear completely, which was why she had been wearing a bracelet to cover it. She hadn’t expected her sharp-eyed Film Emperor Dad to notice it.
“Who hurt you?” Once his expression darkened, the gentle warmth in Qin Jingrun’s demeanor instantly transformed. For the fathers, their daughter was their ultimate inviolable boundary.
“It was an accident. I cut myself.” Only the billionaire tyrant father knew the truth that the original character had slit her wrists for Gu Qiwen; not even the Taoist Dad had been told. Jiang Mian had urged the billionaire tyrant father not to tell anyone, and unable to resist his daughter’s coaxing, he had agreed.
Qin Jingrun clearly didn’t believe her. From the length of the red mark, he could tell the wound had been deep. His precious daughter wasn’t stupid—how could she accidentally cut herself that deep?
That excuse might fool the Taoist Dad, but after a brief pause, Jiang Mian had to come up with a half-truth, letting the billionaire tyrant father take the fall. “Alright, fine. I wanted to buy something, but Dad Han refused to get it for me. I tried to scare him, and I ended up accidentally hurting myself.”
The excuse was highly believable. It was exactly the kind of thing his precious daughter would do. Qin Jingrun was furious. “Han Xu is getting stingier by the day! He won’t even buy you something? What do you want? Dad will buy it for you.”
He immediately pulled out his phone to call Han Xu—the fathers usually didn’t bother with each other much, each wanting to take sole custody of their daughter.
Jiang Mian quickly snatched the phone away and, after much persuasion, finally managed to calm her Film Emperor Dad down.
Qin Jingrun held Jiang Mian’s hand, his brows tightly furrowed, his eyes full of distress. “It’s Dad’s fault. I’ve been too busy with work and have neglected you.”
Jiang Mian didn’t know what to say. Finally, she simply said, “Dad, I’m already grown up.”
Qin Jingrun was momentarily stunned.
“Silly child.” He gently pinched Jiang Mian’s cheek. “No matter how old you get, in my eyes, you’ll always be Dad’s little baby, held safe in the palm of my hand.”
Jiang Mian: “…”
So, this is why you tell people I’m only three years old!
The father and daughter spent a bit more time together, but Qin Jingrun had evening engagements as well, so he reluctantly saw his daughter off.
On the first floor, they ran into Xia Qi. By now, he had already accepted the fact that his friend’s daughter was an adult, not three years old. He handed Jiang Mian a gift that he had specifically asked someone to rush over just now. “Little Mianmian, a meeting gift from your uncle.”
“Thank you, Uncle Xia,” Jiang Mian said, not standing on ceremony.
She carefully observed Xia Qi. His eyes were bright, his demeanor open and easygoing, making him very likable at first glance.
She thought that some major upheaval must have led to his depression. She would need to pay more attention to this situation in the future.
After Jiang Mian walked away, Qin Jingrun noticed that Xia Qi was still staring at his precious daughter. He placed a hand on Xia Qi’s shoulder and said in a threatening tone, “Don’t you dare get any ideas about my daughter.”
Xia Qi was notoriously known in the industry as a Casanova. Although he was older, he was still decent-looking. What if his precious daughter fell for him?
The Film Emperor Dad’s inner thoughts were running wild.
Xia Qi: “…”
“She’s your daughter. Do you really take me for some kind of animal?”
Only then did Qin Jingrun withdraw his hand in satisfaction.
At the Han Group general manager’s office, Han Xu had just finished an overseas conference call when his phone buzzed. The caller ID read: Sticky Candy No. 1.
“What do you want?” Han Xu was never polite with the others who fought with him over their daughter.
“Han Xu, if the Han Group is about to go bankrupt, then hand over your quarter of the custody rights immediately. I’ll take care of our baby.” Qin Jingrun’s cold voice came through.
Han Xu: ???
“Baby just asked you for a yacht, and you couldn’t even bear to give her that. It ended up with her cutting her wrist. You—”
“Wait, what yacht?” Han Xu interrupted him. “You know about Mianmian’s hand injury? You’ve seen Mianmian? Where did you see her? Were you photographed?!”
…
Jiang Mian had no idea that her two fathers were arguing over the phone because of her. She returned to her school dormitory, where her three roommates were also there, huddled together discussing something. When they saw her come in, they automatically fell silent.
Last time, Jiang Mian told them to pay back the money. The next day, the three of them gritted their teeth and scraped together the funds to repay her.
Ever since then, whenever Jiang Mian returned to the dormitory, the three of them would stop talking, childishly trying to isolate her.
They even thought about touching the things on her desk when she wasn’t there, but they only thought about it—they didn’t dare actually do it.
Jiang Mian couldn’t even be bothered to look at them. But today, something unusual happened. As soon as she sat down, the three of them gathered around her.
Jin Mengqiao said with a smile, “Mianmian, we heard you auditioned for Director Zhang’s film and that Assistant Liu personally invited you. Is that true?”
Mao Xuanling asked, “Did you get to see Brother Qin?”
Wu Yue handed her an unopened box of Häagen-Dazs. “Mianmian, you must be hot after walking back. Here, cool down.”
Jiang Mian’s gaze slid slowly across the three of them. They each took a small half-step back. She said, “You can go audition too.”
Mao Xuanling said sheepishly, “It’s just that we were taking our elective classes. By the time we finished and got there, Director Zhang’s auditions were already over, and Brother Qin had left too.”
“That fast?” Jiang Mian raised an eyebrow. When she had walked out of the auditorium, there had still been a long line outside.
Thinking about Guan Xin, she had an idea. “Did Director Zhang announce the female lead?”
“If it’s not you, then who?” the three said in unison.
Jiang Mian: “???”
Wu Yue quickly said, “The forum says that after you auditioned, Director Zhang tried five more people and then directly announced the end. And since Assistant Liu invited you in, everyone says Director Zhang has already decided you’re the female lead, which is why it ended so quickly.”
Jiang Mian smiled. “That’s not necessarily true.”
**