Seeing this, Ji Mingyu understood that she wasn’t going to get anything out of her mother just now.
Her mother, Su Wanyun, didn’t seem willing to tell her much about the past.
Noticing her daughter’s distraction, Su Wanyun changed the subject. “You said before that you didn’t want to marry Sheng Tianqi, but you haven’t done anything about it. What about Sheng Xiuwen? Aren’t you going to find a way to meet him?”
He wasn’t Sheng Tianqi. If she hadn’t gotten him interested in her first, she couldn’t just force her way into his life.
Ji Mingyu was momentarily at a loss for words.
She still hadn’t figured out how to approach Sheng Xiuwen. She couldn’t exactly show up at his office, block the door, and say,
“Hey, Sheng Xiuwen, let’s get married. I don’t want a marriage alliance with your nephew, Sheng Tianqi.”
That would be ridiculous. She’d probably be thrown out the moment they met.
Seeing that her daughter had gone quiet, Su Wanyun assumed her words had upset her, and softened her tone a little.
“Mom isn’t trying to force you. A marriage alliance between our family and Shengshi Group affects our strategic cooperation going forward. It’s not something we can back out of easily.”
Perhaps she thought that hadn’t come out quite right, because she added,
“If you really don’t want to do it, you can always divorce after a few years, or each do your own thing in private. As long as it doesn’t become public, Mom will support you.”
Ji Mingyu smiled and linked her arm through Su Wanyun’s, giving it a playful shake.
“Mom, what are you thinking? It’s not that I don’t want to. I was just wondering how to get in touch with Sheng Xiuwen.”
She blinked, a calculating note in her voice.
“Besides, Dad promised me five percent of the group’s shares if I marry into the Sheng family. I’m not giving that up.”
Su Wanyun studied her daughter. Seeing that she didn’t seem to be forcing herself, she finally relaxed, a hint of ruefulness in her voice.
“Mingyu, don’t blame me for putting this bluntly.”
“In this world, everything is false. The only thing that’s real is the money in your own hands.”
Ji Mingyu understood what Su Wanyun meant and nodded earnestly.
“Mom, I understand.”
Seeing that her daughter had taken her words to heart, Su Wanyun withdrew her hand and returned to her usual tone.
“Good. Then let’s head back.”
She took a couple of steps, then remembered something and turned back to add,
“Oh, I ran into Professor Zhou a couple of days ago. He asked me to see if you’d finished your dissertation. He’s checking it tomorrow.”
Ji Mingyu came to a halt.
“Ah—!”
She let out a sudden cry. Without even saying goodbye to Su Wanyun, she hurried off in her slippers, pattering into the house and vanishing at the top of the stairs.
For the past two days, she’d been so caught up in being a cannon-fodder supporting female character that she’d forgotten her present-day self was still a miserable doctoral student.
She was both a teaching assistant and a student.
Ji Mingyu rushed into the study and dropped into a chair. She stared at the half-finished dissertation on her computer screen, and felt her whole world collapse.
It was the assignment Old Zhou had given her last month, and she still hadn’t finished revising it.
Ji Mingyu took a deep breath and resigned herself to opening the document.
The light in the study stayed on until well past midnight.
The keyboard clattered on and off, occasionally interrupted by an irritated sigh or the rustle of papers as she looked through her research materials.
By daybreak, Ji Mingyu had finally managed to produce a dissertation that was at least halfway presentable.
She leaned back in her chair and stared at the screen full of tightly packed text, letting out a long breath.
“Forget it. I’ll just let Old Zhou look it over first.”
She printed it out and bound it, then hurried downstairs.
Ji Mingxuan was sitting at the dining table eating breakfast. When he looked up and saw her coming down, the corners of his mouth curled into a mischievous grin.
“Hey, sis.” He took a bite of his sandwich and mumbled around it, “What were you up to last night? Those dark circles under your eyes are something else.”
Ji Mingyu slapped the dissertation down on the table and raised a hand as if to swat him.
“Get lost. I was up all night, and I’m in a foul mood. Keep running your mouth and I’ll hit you.”
Ji Mingxuan grinned and dodged to the side, holding up his sandwich like a shield. He still didn’t stop talking.
“Hey, sis, Chengwen Group is holding a banquet in the next couple of days.”
His tone was unhurried. “I was thinking of inviting you as my date. But, seeing as you’re like this—I guess you don’t want to go after all.”
Ji Mingyu had been up all night, and her brain was running on empty. She couldn’t make heads or tails of what he was saying and didn’t catch on right away.
“Chengwen Group? What’s that…?” She frowned. “Fine, I won’t go.”
Ji Mingxuan glanced at her and added in a flat tone,
“Who was it who said she wanted a marriage alliance with Sheng Xiuwen of Shengshi Group? And you haven’t even figured out what businesses he owns.”
Ji Mingyu froze for a moment, then immediately came to her senses.
Chengwen Group, founded by Sheng Xiuwen himself, was a publicly listed company independent of Shengshi Group.
How could she have forgotten about it?
This group was completely different from Shengshi’s family-business model.
At Shengshi Group, the old man held sway at the top, Sheng Xiuwu was an equal force in the middle, and below them was Sheng Tianqi, who was slowly beginning to make his mark.
But Sheng Xiuwen was the one who held all the power at Chengwen Group.
A smile immediately spread across Ji Mingyu’s face. She turned and linked her arm through Ji Mingxuan’s, her voice sickeningly sweet.
“Oh, my dear little brother—”
She gave his arm a shake.
“Am I still your favorite sister?”
Ji Mingxuan raised an eyebrow at her.
Ji Mingyu thumped her chest in a pledge. “I’ll be your date. I guarantee you’ll be the brightest star in the room.”
Ji Mingxuan kept chewing his sandwich, unable to suppress his grin.
“I have no interest in being the brightest star in the room.”
He shot Ji Mingyu a sidelong glance. “Didn’t you just say you didn’t want to go? Hmph. You women are so fickle.”
Ji Mingyu’s smile vanished at once.
Begging him?
Not a chance.
She raised her hand and smacked his arm, putting all her strength into it.
“You little brat, are you saying yes or not?” she said, hitting him as she spoke. “If you don’t, I’ll tell Mom and Dad you’ve been bullying your sister, and have them deal with you according to family law.”
Ji Mingxuan flailed under the blows, nearly choking on his sandwich. He coughed twice.
“Sis, my dear sis—” He dodged to the side. “That’s no way for a sweet, gentle young lady to act.”
At that, Ji Mingyu raised her hand as if to hit him again.
Ji Mingxuan hurriedly put both hands up in surrender. “All right, all right, I agree.”
“But I’m warning you: you can’t hit me like that again at the banquet.
“People call me Young President Ji when I’m out. You hitting and shoving me like that will undermine my authority.”
At this, Ji Mingyu raised her right hand again.
Ji Mingxuan instinctively darted aside. “I already agreed! Why are you still trying to hit me? You’re so unreasonable.”
Ji Mingyu glared at him. “Oh, just shut up.”
She lowered her hand and looked at the dining table.
Milk, sandwiches, toast.
She pursed her lips, her tone turning cool. “Nanny Wang, where’s my yogurt and oats?”
Nanny Wang immediately brought them out of the kitchen and hurried over to set them in front of her. “Miss, your yogurt and oats.”
“Mm,” Ji Mingyu replied, not looking at Nanny Wang. Her tone was neither light nor harsh. “Tell the kitchen staff to be more on the ball. I don’t want to have to remind them a second time.”
Nanny Wang lowered her head and bent at the waist. “Yes, Miss. I’ll remind them.”
Ji Mingxuan frowned beside her.
He clearly thought the kitchen had neglected Ji Mingyu too. He put down his sandwich, his tone even colder than hers.
“Nanny Wang, tell the kitchen to deduct this month’s bonus.”
He glanced at Nanny Wang.
“My sister’s been downstairs for ages, and her food still hasn’t been brought out. That’s a serious dereliction of duty.”