The family of four had finally managed to sit down together when a phone suddenly rang.
Ji Mingyu was sitting nearby and keenly caught the sound of a gentle woman’s voice coming through the phone, soft as melted sugar.
The smile on Ji Zhiyuan’s face faded considerably. His voice cooled.
“Do you even know what time it is? Don’t call me. I’ll get in touch when I need something.”
He hung up without waiting for a reply.
Su Wanyun acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing. She picked up her teacup, set it down again, then naturally turned to the two children and said evenly, “Your big sister, Mingyue, is coming back. You need to get along with her, understand?”
Ji Mingyu obediently nodded.
But she was thinking that the house was about to get lively.
The book had made it perfectly clear: Ji Mingyue had no fondness for the three of them.
Ji Mingyue believed Su Wanyun was the reason she hadn’t been able to stay in Nanzhou City, and she also thought Su Wanyun had taken her mother’s place.
Ji Mingyu rolled her eyes inwardly.
What was wrong with her?
She hadn’t been able to stay with her rich father because her maternal grandparents had insisted on taking her away. Her mother, Su Wanyun, was even more innocent. Well, not exactly innocent.
After all, her mother Su Wanyun could hardly be called a good stepmother.
But the point was, Su Wanyun hadn’t met Ji Zhiyuan until a year after Ji Mingyue’s mother had died in childbirth. They had married later still.
And she could blame them for that?
Ji Zhiyuan frowned when he heard Su Wanyun.
“Why should younger siblings have to give way?” he said, displeased. “Don’t listen to your mother. Just act as you normally would.”
Then he raised his hand and checked his watch.
“I have work at the company. I’m leaving.”
Su Wanyun stood and picked up his coat from beside her, handing it to him with the ease of someone who had done it a thousand times.
“Be careful on the way.”
Ji Zhiyuan took the coat and put it on, his gaze passing over Ji Mingxuan.
“Mingxuan, the Gangyun project.” His tone wasn’t harsh, but his authority left no room for refusal. “I want to see your proposal on my desk tomorrow morning.”
Ji Mingxuan nodded without saying anything more.
As Ji Mingxuan turned to go upstairs, a thought suddenly occurred to Ji Mingyu.
“Mingxuan, wait.”
Ji Mingxuan stopped and looked back at her, puzzled.
Ji Mingyu didn’t explain right away. Instead, she turned to Su Wanyun, her tone turning serious. “Mom, do you and Dad often attend banquets together?”
Su Wanyun was taken aback, but gave it some thought. “Not very often. I have quite a few research projects to prepare for.”
Ji Mingxuan came back, looking confused. “Sis, why are you asking?”
Ji Mingyu leaned back on the sofa, tapping the armrest absently with her fingers.
“Isn’t our Ji Group facing a transformation challenge?” She paused. “Not just when it comes to investment, but also in how society as a whole views the Ji Group.”
Ji Mingxuan nodded.
It was no secret. Ji Zhiyuan had brought up at home how to make the public more accepting of the Ji Group.
“I was thinking, what if we build Dad a public image? Make people see that even a wealthy man who seems so far above everyone else isn’t all that different from an ordinary person.”
She looked at Ji Mingxuan.
“If that made him seem more approachable, wouldn’t ordinary people be more likely to accept him?”
Ji Mingxuan frowned. “Build him an image? What kind?”
That sort of thing could be a double-edged sword. Done well, it could bring both fame and fortune, but if anything went wrong, the consequences…
Ji Mingyu’s lips curved into a meaningful smile.
“A devoted family man who dotes on his wife.”
The living room fell silent for a moment.
Ji Mingxuan was stunned.
So was Su Wanyun.
But Su Wanyun reacted faster. In an instant, she saw the benefits.
That was a good image.
For her—not, really, for her and her two children—it couldn’t be better.
But she soon collected herself, her tone uncertain. “It’s a good image, but… would your father, Ji Zhiyuan, be willing?”
Ji Mingxuan frowned at first, as if weighing something.
Then his brow gradually smoothed, and the corners of his mouth lifted little by little.
He looked at Ji Mingyu with new respect.
“Sis,” he said, raising one finger. “You’re the real mastermind.”
With that, he turned and strode upstairs, taking the steps two at a time as he headed straight for the study on the second floor.
Only then did Ji Mingyu answer Su Wanyun’s question.
“Whether Dad agrees,” she said confidently, “depends on the report Mingxuan puts together—and whether the data he presents is compelling enough.”
Su Wanyun said nothing more.
She understood Ji Zhiyuan. If there were enough benefits to be had, he would certainly be willing to cultivate that image in public. Besides…
In his own eyes, he probably already counted as a good husband and father in the wealthy circle.
Su Wanyun’s lips moved almost imperceptibly, but she didn’t say it aloud.
Upstairs in the study, Ji Mingxuan leaned back in his chair, which creaked softly.
His sister’s idea kept turning over in his mind.
He had to admit, it would work very much in his favor.
He needed to think about how to make it clear in the report.
Or perhaps… it didn’t need to be in the report at all.
He had graduated and officially joined the company. He could gradually steer things in that direction in their day-to-day lives. Push a little at a time until his father was committed.
Once that happened, it wouldn’t be easy for him to back out.
Downstairs, Su Wanyun led Ji Mingyu through the living room toward the front courtyard.
Su Wanyun walked slowly, her voice soft.
“Mingyu…”
“That image you mentioned just now…” She turned to glance at her daughter. “It wasn’t just for the Ji Group, was it?”
Ji Mingyu neither denied nor admitted it. She only smiled and linked her arm through Su Wanyun’s.
“Mom, I was just saying whatever came to mind.”
Then, in a casual tone, she said, “Mom, I realized today that I don’t really look like Dad at all.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Su Wanyun replied, “That’s because you look like me.”
Ji Mingyu turned to glance at Su Wanyun, smiling until her eyes curved. “Then I’m really lucky. If I looked like Dad, our family would have one fewer beauty.”
Su Wanyun laughed and gave her a light pat. “Your father isn’t ugly. Isn’t your brother the one who looks more like him? Do you think he isn’t handsome?”
“Not at all.”
Ji Mingyu smiled, then shifted the subject as if something had just occurred to her.
“Mom, how did you and Dad meet?”
She tilted her head, curiosity in her voice.
“One’s a university professor, and the other’s a famous businessman and socialite. It feels like you two would never have crossed paths.”
Su Wanyun’s steps faltered slightly, then returned to normal.
“There wasn’t anything special about it.
“My thesis advisor took me along to work on a project, and as it happened, your father was in charge of it.
“That’s how we met.”
Ji Mingyu blinked. “Just like that?”
Su Wanyun smiled. “What else? Back then, I was only a university lecturer.”
As for how a lecturer had managed to join the project, of course it was because she had put in more than enough effort.