First High School had produced top science scholars in the past, but the last one was three years ago. As a result, the school treated this with utmost importance. They strung up several banners, and reporters even came to the campus for exclusive interviews. Ning Yue deliberately stayed far away from the commotion, but the school administration had no such reservations. The principal, in particular, thoroughly basked in the limelight.
Mr. Ning and Ning’s mother were grinning from ear to ear. When the neighbors in their residential complex found out that Ning Yue had become the top scorer in the college entrance examination, acquaintances flocked to the Ning Family home to offer their congratulations. Mr. Ning and Ning’s mother also called their relatives to share the good news, keeping the house bustling with lively festivities for several days.
In stark contrast to the Ning Family’s joy, Yan Qingqing—who had also just received her college entrance examination results—looked positively green.
Let alone being the city’s top scorer, her total score was only 576 points. She wasn’t even in the same stratosphere as Qingbei, though she at least didn’t have to worry about having no university to attend.
Mrs. Yan didn’t look too pleased, either. Not only was Yan Qingqing’s score unexpectedly low, but Ning Yue’s status as the top scorer also made her feel stifled with frustration. Thus, while Yan Qingqing was crying her eyes out, Mrs. Yan merely offered a couple of perfunctory words of comfort before irritably leaving to go shopping with her friends.
Yan Qingqing knew her mother was disappointed in her, and she hated Ning Yue to the core. She firmly believed that Ning Yue had negatively affected her mindset; otherwise, her grades would never have plummeted to such an abysmal level.
When Gong Yuze arrived, Yan Qingqing nestled into his arms and sobbed. "Brother Gong, I... I want to act. I want to be an actor.
"Anyway, I didn’t do well on my exams, so I might as well just go into acting. It’s an industry I love. You... you’ll support me, won’t you?"
Gong Yuze was momentarily stunned, but he quickly gave a firm nod. "As long as it’s what you want, Brother Gong will always support you.
"You just want to act, right? Whichever role you want, Brother Gong will snatch it for you."
Having received a satisfactory answer, Yan Qingqing finally smiled through her tears and planted a kiss on Gong Yuze’s lips.
"Neither the Yan Family nor the Gong Family has an entertainment company," Gong Yuze mused. "Is there a specific agency you want to join? Or maybe I should just establish an entertainment company solely to promote you."
"There’s no rush," Yan Qingqing replied. "Once I have a solid portfolio, I won’t have to worry about companies wanting to sign me. As for opening a separate entertainment company, that’s completely unnecessary.
"I want to take advantage of the summer break to work as an extra and accumulate some experience."
Gong Yuze immediately frowned. "You are the eldest daughter of the Yan family. Working as an extra is too grueling; it doesn’t suit you."
"I don’t want to be criticized by people in the future once I become famous," Yan Qingqing explained. "Besides, you can learn a lot from being an extra. I don’t mind the hardship."
After being kissed two more times, Gong Yuze reluctantly agreed to his girlfriend’s request.
A couple of days after she filled out her university applications, Hu Songbai contacted Ning Yue.
Right off the bat, he handed her a document folder. Ning Yue took it and opened it up. Inside were numerous photos of Jiang Shihan after being beaten, along with several of her hospital medical records.
In addition to those, there was another stack of photos that were rather hard to stomach.
"Li Chengrong is sleeping with several female celebrities in his company," Hu Songbai explained. "I suspect his wife discovered his philandering, which led to an argument and subsequent domestic violence. Furthermore, Jiang Shihan has consulted a local law firm multiple times regarding a divorce, but the answers she received weren’t very favorable.
"Because Jiang Shihan doesn’t have a job, she was afraid that the custody of their daughter would fall into Li Chengrong’s hands.
"I specifically went to ask Lawyer Jin, the attorney she consulted. He said that although the woman would be at a slight disadvantage in such a divorce lawsuit, there is still an eighty percent chance of her winning custody of the child."
After all, judges also took the parties’ wishes into consideration. Jiang Shihan’s daughter was already fourteen; surely she could express her true wishes in front of a judge?
"And then what happened?" Ning Yue asked. She wondered why the divorce proceedings had completely stalled if the odds were in her favor.
"The last time she visited the law firm was three months ago," Hu Songbai said. "Lawyer Jin noted she had visible injuries that day, likely fresh from a beating by Li Chengrong. From what Lawyer Jin gathered, it seemed her daughter didn’t want her parents to get a divorce. Jiang Shihan couldn’t bear to hurt her daughter, so she probably just gave up on the idea."
Ning Yue couldn’t help but frown. The mother was suffering terribly, yet the daughter just stood by and watched, unwilling to let her parents divorce? With a child like that, she would have been better off raising a pet rock!
"Is there anything else?"
Hu Songbai pulled two photos from the documents. "This is the wildly popular Best Actress, Qi Qiong. She has a six-year-old illegitimate child, and the biological father is Li Chengrong. A couple of days ago, the child fell ill, and Li Chengrong personally went to the hospital to stay by his bedside. I just so happened to snap a picture of the three of them together."
Ning Yue took the photos and studied them. The little boy really did bear quite a resemblance to Li Chengrong.
She wondered why Li Chengrong had chosen to marry the original owner of her body in her previous life after Jiang Shihan’s death, especially since he already had an illegitimate son.
Ning Yue gently tapped her finger against the photograph. After a long while, she finally spoke up, "Send someone else to keep an eye on Queen Qi for me. I’ll pay extra. Also, keep tabs on Li Xue’er. It would be best if you could record some of her usual remarks."
Hu Songbai beamed. He loved the sound of extra money. "You can rest easy with me on the job. I guarantee I’ll dig up every skeleton in Queen Qi’s closet within seven days."
After Hu Songbai left, Ning Yue stared at the pile of photographs, lost in thought. Yaoyang Company was a massive corporation worth billions. If she wanted to take down Yaoyang, it seemed she would have to start her own entertainment company, too.
But she was starting university in September...
With that in mind, Ning Yue gave Li Zhengmin a call. His voice quickly came through the line. "Ning Yue? You must have a reason for calling me. Let’s hear it."
After Ning Yue’s college entrance examination results had come out, she had shared a celebratory dinner with him and his son. It had only been a few days since then, so he knew she wouldn’t be calling him out of the blue unless she needed something.
"I actually do have a favor to ask," Ning Yue replied. "I want to start an entertainment company or acquire an existing one, but I’m not very knowledgeable about the industry..."
"That’s easy enough," Li Zhengmin said. "Just find an industry expert to handle things. In addition, I’ll send Assistant Lin over to hold down the fort for you. I guarantee not a single cent of your money will be wasted."
Truth be told, ever since Ning Yue had saved him on the company rooftop last year, he hadn’t just owed her a massive debt of gratitude. He had also followed her investment lead and made hundreds of millions—hundreds of millions in pure profit. He owed her both his life and a massive favor, and he had been struggling to figure out how to repay her.
Ning Yue smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Li."
"Look at you, I’ve been calling you by your name for ages now, and Ming Rui affectionately calls you ’Sister.’ Yet you still insist on calling me Mr. Li. It’s too formal."
Ning Yue smoothly adapted. "Uncle Li."
Li Zhengmin was delighted. "That’s more like it! By the way, if you don’t have enough capital to acquire an entertainment company, just say the word."
"Don’t you know how much money I have on hand?" Ning Yue asked. "Aside from the fifty million I invested a few days ago, the rest is fully at my disposal. It’s more than enough to buy out a small entertainment firm."
Although all the funds she currently held had originally come from Li Zhengmin, she hadn’t earned them through any underhanded means, so she was completely candid about it.