Seeing this, Ji Mingyu understood that she wasn't going to get anything out of her now.
Her mother, Su Wanyun, didn't seem very willing to talk about the past with her.
Noticing her daughter's absentmindedness, Su Wanyun changed the subject: "You said before that you didn't want the arranged marriage with Sheng Tianqi, but I don't see you doing anything about it. And Sheng Xiuwen—why haven't you tried to meet him?"
That man was no Sheng Tianqi. Unless you managed to catch his interest, you wouldn't dare force your way into his circle.
Ji Mingyu was momentarily at a loss for words.
It wasn't that she hadn't figured out how to approach Sheng Xiuwen yet. She couldn't exactly barge into his office, block the door, and open with:
"Hey, Sheng Xiuwen, let's get married. I don't want the arranged marriage with your nephew Sheng Tianqi."
That would be absurd. She'd probably be thrown out the moment they met.
Seeing her daughter silent, Su Wanyun assumed she was upset by the lecture and softened her tone.
"I'm not forcing you, dear. Our family's marriage alliance with Shengshi Group concerns our future strategic partnership—it's not so easy to back out of."
As if feeling that sounded a bit harsh, she added,
"If you really don't want to, worst case, you can divorce in a few years, or quietly do your own things behind the scenes. As long as you don't make a scene, I'll support you."
Ji Mingyu laughed and took Su Wanyun's arm, giving it a playful shake.
"Mom, what are you imagining? It's not that I don't want to. I was just thinking about how to strike up a conversation with Sheng Xiuwen."
She blinked, a shrewd note in her voice.
"Besides, Dad promised me 5% of the Group's shares for the marriage alliance with the Sheng family. For those shares, I'm not giving up."
Su Wanyun studied her daughter and, seeing that she didn't seem reluctant, finally relaxed. With a touch of emotion, she said,
"Mingyu, don't blame me for speaking bluntly."
"In this world, everything else is an illusion. Only the money you hold in your own hands is real."
Ji Mingyu understood what Su Wanyun meant and nodded earnestly.
"Mom, I know what you're saying."
Seeing that her words had sunk in, Su Wanyun withdrew her hand, her tone returning to normal.
"Alright, let's head back."
She took a couple of steps forward, then remembered something and turned back to add,
"Oh, right—I ran into Professor Zhou a couple of days ago. He asked me to check whether you've finished your paper. He's inspecting it tomorrow, you know."
Ji Mingyu froze mid-step.
"Ah—!"
She cried out, and without even bothering to say goodbye to Su Wanyun, went pitter-pattering back into the house in her slippers, vanishing up the staircase in a flash.
These past two days she'd been so preoccupied with being a cannon-fodder supporting female character that she'd forgotten that, at present, she was still a struggling PhD student.
Both a teaching assistant and a student.
Ji Mingyu rushed into the study, plopped down into her chair, and stared at the half-finished paper on her computer screen, feeling utterly miserable.
This was the assignment Old Zhou had given her last month, and she'd been putting off the revisions ever since.
Ji Mingyu took a deep breath and resignedly opened the document.
The light in the study stayed on until well past midnight.
The sound of typing came and went, occasionally punctuated by a few irritated sighs and the rustle of pages being flipped through reference materials.
By dawn, Ji Mingyu had finally rushed out a paper that was barely presentable.
She leaned back against her chair, staring at the dense wall of text on the screen, and let out a long breath.
"Ah well, never mind for now. I'll just hand it to Old Zhou for a look first."
She printed it out and bound it, then hurried downstairs.
Ji Mingxuan was sitting at the dining table eating breakfast. He looked up as she came downstairs, the corners of his mouth curving into a mischievous smile.
"Sis," he said, taking a bite of his sandwich and speaking indistinctly, "what were you up to last night? Those dark circles under your eyes—yikes."
Ji Mingyu slapped her thesis down on the table and raised her hand as if to smack him.
"Get lost. I stayed up all night, and I'm already in a foul mood. Keep yapping and don't blame me for hitting you."
Ji Mingxuan dodged to the side with a laugh, holding up his sandwich as a shield, but his mouth still wouldn't quit.
"Sis, there's a banquet at Chengwen Group in a couple of days," he drawled. "I was thinking of inviting you as my plus-one. But since that's how it is—I guess you don't want to go."
Ji Mingyu had been up all night and her brain was still rebooting. What was he even talking about? It took her a moment to catch up.
"Chengwen Group? Who's that…" She frowned. "If I'm not going, then I'm not going."
Ji Mingxuan glanced at her and added, in a tone neither warm nor cold:
"Who was it that said she wanted a marriage alliance with Sheng Xiuwen of Shengshi Group? You haven't even figured out what businesses they own."
Ji Mingyu froze for a second, then immediately snapped awake.
Chengwen Group—the publicly listed company Sheng Xiuwen had founded himself, independent of Shengshi Group.
How had she forgotten that?
That group was completely different from Shengshi's family-business model.
At Shengshi Group, there was the Old Master looming above, Sheng Xiuwu sharing power in the middle, not to mention Sheng Tianqi below, slowly starting to make a name for himself.
But Sheng Xiuwen? He alone ruled Chengwen Group.
Ji Mingyu's face immediately broke into a smile. She turned around and hooked her arm through Ji Mingxuan's, her voice sweet enough to cause cavities.
"Aww, my dearest little brother—"
She shook his arm.
"Am I still your favorite big sister?"
Ji Mingxuan raised an eyebrow at her.
Ji Mingyu patted her chest in assurance: "I'll be your plus-one, and I guarantee you'll be the brightest star in the room."
Ji Mingxuan bit into his sandwich, unable to keep the corners of his mouth from turning up.
"I couldn't care less about being the brightest star."
He eyed Ji Mingyu sideways. "Weren't you just saying you didn't want to go? Hmph, you women—so fickle."
Ji Mingyu's smile vanished in an instant.
Begging him?
Not a chance.
She raised her hand and smacked Ji Mingxuan's arm, holding back none of her strength.
"You little brat, are you agreeing or not?" she said as she swatted him. "If you don't, I'll tell Mom and Dad that you're bullying your big sister, and they can bring out the family discipline."
Ji Mingxuan waved his hands frantically under the blows, nearly choking on the sandwich in his mouth. He coughed a couple of times.
"Sis, my dear sis—" he dodged to the side, "where's the gentleness and charm of a young lady in the way you act?"
At that, Ji Mingyu made as if to hit him again.
Ji Mingxuan quickly raised both hands in surrender: "Okay, okay, I agree, I agree."
"But let me warn you—you can't hit me that day, no matter what.
I mean, out there people address me as President Ji. You going around roughing me up would damage my dignity."
Hearing this, Ji Mingyu raised her right hand again.
Ji Mingxuan dodged aside on reflex: "I already agreed! Why are you still hitting me? So unreasonable."
Ji Mingyu glared at him. "Just shut up already."
She withdrew her hand, her gaze falling on the dining table.
Milk, sandwiches, toast.
She pursed her lips, her tone cooling. "Wang Ma, where's my yogurt and oatmeal?"
Wang Ma immediately brought it out from the kitchen, hurrying over with quick little steps to set it down in front of her. "Miss, here's your yogurt and oatmeal."
Ji Mingyu gave an "mm" without looking at Wang Ma, her tone neither light nor heavy. "Tell the kitchen staff to be quicker about things. I don't want to remind them a second time."
Wang Ma lowered her head and gave a slight bow. "Yes, Miss. I'll remind them."
Beside her, Ji Mingxuan frowned.
He clearly felt the kitchen had slighted Ji Mingyu as well. Setting down his sandwich, his tone was several degrees colder than hers.
"Wang Ma, notify the kitchen that their bonus this month is being docked."
He glanced at Wang Ma.
"My sister has been down here for ages and her food still hasn't been served. This is a serious dereliction of duty."