this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!
Assistant Li, who had remained silent in the passenger seat, suddenly whipped his head around to stare at Xu Yao with bright eyes.
Assistant He was right! Working for anyone else meant it was still work, but working for the future boss lady basically made you half an employee of Ji Zhengqing!
Excuse me, but he was willing.
After a moment of silence, Ji Zhengqing said, “Yaoyao, to be honest, our Ji Group isn’t that great either.”
He wasn’t crazy enough to give away the Ji Group Tower as an engagement gift.
Xu Yao didn’t quite understand his meaning, thinking it was just the typical humility of a domineering CEO, so she continued to generously praise, “How could it not be great? Netizens all say that Ji Group is the only company that can rival my brother’s, not to mention the tower’s extremely unique architectural design. The high-tech atmosphere it gives off matches perfectly with your company’s corporate culture, and the president’s office should have a great panoramic view of the entire capital. It’s truly excellent.”
Ji Zhengqing finally realized that Xu Yao was talking about the tower’s appearance. This skyscraper had been under construction since his youth, and he had coordinated with the architectural designer when designing it, and as a result, its design reflected his bold and flamboyant ideas from when he was young.
Ji Zhengqing looked at Xu Yao and suddenly smiled, “Then we have the same taste in architecture.”
Ji Zhengqing had once thought that Xu Yao was like him—she wouldn’t rashly agree to an engagement, and if she did, it would be on the basis of genuine affection.
But he wasn’t an idiot. Ever since the last time, when Xu Yao kept all the fashion designers he’d invited for custom engagement outfits, only to poach them for game costume development, he belatedly realized a fact—
Xu Yao seemed to really just see him as an ordinary fiancé. Despite agreeing to the engagement, she wasn’t in a hurry to marry him, and was only thinking about taking advantage of him.
But now things are different. They had the same taste in aesthetics, which is already a good sign.
Ji Zhengqing asked gently, “Are you staying at the He family’s1 ancestral home now? I’ll take you back first.”
Xu Yao didn’t quite understand Ji Zhengqing’s intentions, so she nodded and let him take them back to the He family’s ancestral home.
Was Ji Zhengqing subtly showing her all his properties? His main source of income probably shouldn’t come from real estate, right? Company profits and stocks should make up the bulk of it.
Xu Yao really couldn’t figure out what Ji Zhengqing was up to until they got out of the car, and He Fan and Lu Ye accompanied her home.
He Fan, who understood Ji Zhengqing’s style of doing things, whispered, “Miss Yaoyao, it’s very likely that Ji Zhengqing was planning to give you a building as an engagement gift.” And even this had probably been because he was provoked by Ming Chan giving her a building.
Xu Yao was taken aback, and thought, Well why didn’t you say so earlier?
If you had said it sooner, I wouldn’t have been so foolish as to praise his Ji Group Tower! After all, Ji Zhengqing couldn’t possibly be crazy enough to give her his main source of profit, the company building.
But she wouldn’t mind—his other buildings were quite nice too!
Xu Yao’s face was filled with regret. She realised that the divine landlady had actually just lost a building!
Xu Yao felt a pain that made it hard to breathe. She suddenly stopped, then turned around, walking briskly back toward Ji Zhengqing’s black RV in the distance.
The car had just been about to start, but the driver immediately hit the brakes when he saw Xu Yao returning.
Xu Yao stood at the car door, looking up at Ji Zhengqing inside. Although he was slightly puzzled at her sudden return, he still had a gentle expression on his face as he asked, “Why are you back?”
Xu Yao hesitated, thought for a moment, and said, “It’s nothing, I just forgot to say goodbye.”
Ji Zhengqing’s eyes brightened, and his smile deepened, “Mm, goodbye.”
He added, “Go back early and rest. I’ll head home to deal with company documents first.”
Xu Yao: “…” Is that it? Don’t you have anything else to say to me?
Xu Yao forced a smile and said, “Okay,” then watched the RV leave her sight.
Pain—it’s just one word, and she would only say it once.
From the rearview mirror, Assistant Li could still see Xu Yao standing there as her figure grew distant. He couldn’t help but say, “President Ji, Miss Yaoyao seems a bit reluctant to see you go.”
Ji Zhengqing was rapidly reviewing the company documents on his lap. He usually had a habit of working overtime on weekends, and if it weren’t for Xu Yao coming to the capital today, he would probably have either flown straight to Haicheng or continued to work in the study of his own home.
Ji Zhengqing raised his eyes to look at his assistant. He could tell that Assistant Li was secretly saddened about not becoming Xu Yao’s employee. He didn’t take it to heart but seriously reminded him, “Assistant Li, less of that love-struck thinking; work is more important.”
Previously, he had misunderstood the situation, but it was fine; they could take their time in the future. The Ji Group Tower could not be given to Xu Yao, but he could still send her something else during the engagement banquet.
He hadn’t even done anything today, so what would Xu Yao be so reluctant about that she didn’t want to see him leave?
Assistant Li looked up at him in disbelief: “…”
Wait, who on earth are you calling love-struck?! And you’re lecturing me?
*
“They’ve already left, yet you’re still watching? Is he that good-looking?”
Who knew when Xu Jing walked over from behind Xu Yao. His tone was slightly sour as he looked at her standing there like a stone statue. Xu Jing hadn’t expected that his friend could have such a charm, making his sister so infatuated.
Xu Yao came back to her senses and greeted Xu Jing, “Brother.”
Xu Jing nodded, pulling Xu Yao to go home. The Xu family’s ancestral home integrated the aesthetic concepts of Northern architecture and Western garden art, combining ancient simplicity with Western elegance, with the two styles complementing one another rather than clashing with each other.
Xu Yao had also chosen to inherit one of these courtyards.
“Brother, do you have any connections to help me buy a few private jets?” Xu Yao asked.
For the wealthy, private jets weren’t particularly expensive; the real cost lay in their annual maintenance fee. However, Xu Yao wasn’t short on money, and thought having a few more jets to switch around would be nice.
Xu Jing agreed readily, “Sure, I’ll keep an eye out for you in the next few days.”
Xu Jing then inquired about their engagement banquet, and Xu Yao only mentioned that it was probably going to be a private engagement banquet and that it would be held on an island.
The Xu family’s ancestral home consisted of several small buildings, and Old Master Xu had always kept one building exclusively for the granddaughter he had yet to find, which was cleaned daily.
Xu Yao moved into the place immediately with Lu Ye and He Fan.
“Miss Yaoyao, the real estate market here in the capital is slightly different from that in Haicheng. We’ve already started recruiting here.” He Fan thought for a moment and said, “Moreover, we have a slight issue on our end now. Although Han Zhao and his team have developed a website and mobile app and have indeed made things easier for many people, there are still some who are unfamiliar with using the internet.”
Xu Yao understood what He Fan was saying. It was most likely the older generation who still had to rent at their age and couldn’t use the internet, who were the ones truly facing difficulties.
After considering the problem for a while, Xu Yao said, “We can’t just rely on online sign-ups for property inspections. We should also conduct offline registrations simultaneously.”
He Fan took note of this, while Lu Ye held the tablet for rental housing, which displayed the backend used by their team’s employees.
The tenants renting the properties didn’t have Xu Yao’s private WeChat, but they had all registered their accounts on the official website using their ID cards. If there were any issues that needed to be resolved by the landlady, they could send internal messages through the official site.
Han Zhao’s programming team had thought this through quite thoroughly, and aside from direct phone contact, the internal messaging system allowed tenants to choose options like “very urgent,” “urgent,” or “general.”
If “very urgent” was selected, Xu Yao’s rental team would respond within fifteen minutes, “urgent” would get a reply within an hour, and “general” would be replied to within 24 hours.
Lu Ye looked at a private message from one of the tenants and said, “Miss Yaoyao, a new tenant named Zhao Haisheng has sent an internal message, mentioning that he has some difficulties and hopes to discuss them with you in person.”
Seeing Xu Yao’s surprise, Lu Ye added, “It seems he’s the director of a variety show.”
Xu Yao came to a realisation immediately. He must have seen how Zuo Ning had gone viral because of her and wanted to follow suit, right?
Thinking back to the original novel, Xu Yao realized this person hadn’t even left his name or description in the novel.
After thinking for a moment, Xu Yao smiled and said, “Meeting is fine.”
Even without relying on the original novel, she still believed in her own judgment.
*
Liu Yingxia was frantically trying to contact Xu Yao, whether by phone or email, but it was as if a stone had sunk into the sea. The other party didn’t reply at all and she didn’t know if Xu Yao had even seen it.
As expected of the original female lead, she could still take things in stride. Unable to reach Xu Yao directly, Liu Yingxia gritted her teeth and hired someone to write a letter of apology for her, posting it on Weibo with very sincere wording.
[Yingxia is really brave—daring to publicly apologize to Xu Yao. It’s okay, Yingxia. Recognizing your mistakes and correcting them is what matters most, Xu Yao will forgive you.]
[Honestly, if you put yourself in her shoes, it’s understandable. Back then Xiaxia was probably completely freaked out by Sheng Zhou’s extreme fans and didn’t know what to do. It’s not too late to apologize now.]
[Have her fans been brainwashed too much? Isn’t she just apologizing now because Yaoyao has gone globally viral while she’s about to fade out? And posting the apology directly on Weibo—are you trying to force Xu Yao to respond?]
[Are Xu Yao’s fans possessed or something? If she doesn’t apologize, you push Liu Yingxia onto the trending list, but if she does, you still attack her. How do you know Xu Yao won’t accept the apology? Looking forward to Liu Yingxia’s new variety show!]
Liu Yingxia looked at the mixed comments online about her apology letter, feeling anxious inside.
Unless Xu Yao publicly accepted her apology, it was unlikely that she would regain any fans. However, she didn’t have much interaction with Xu Yao, and Liu Yingxia regretted not having made friends with her when Seeking Immortality had just been confirmed.
“Let’s not worry about that for now and focus on the variety show coming up first,” Liu Yingxia encouraged herself, looking at her assistant and asking, “How’s my grand-uncle? Has the hotel been booked for him?”
Liu Yingxia only had one apartment in the capital, and since she didn’t want to live with her grand-uncle, she planned to book a hotel for him before the variety show started.
The assistant quickly replied, “He thinks staying in a hotel for two months is too expensive, so… he rented a place himself.”
That variety show was expected to take two months to film, so how could the average elderly person accept paying such expensive hotel prices for so long?
Liu Yingxia was slightly irritated at her grand-uncle’s willfulness; it was truly troublesome. With a dark expression on her face, she instructed her assistant to call her grand-uncle’s clunky mobile phone.
Liu Yingxia didn’t like this grand-uncle very much. He was a lifelong bachelor, and since the elderly man had fought in the war in his early years, he had been living on government subsidies all these years.
Now that her resources had plummeted, the only opportunity that came her way was a variety show directed by Zhao Haisheng called Hand in Hand in Our Later Years.
The requirement was for her to bring a grandparent who was still single onto the show, but her grandparents had long since passed away! Furthermore, none of the elderly relatives around her were still single.
Although Liu Yingxia felt that this variety show would be unlikely to make a big splash, she still wouldn’t give up any opportunity for exposure in the entertainment industry. She knew all too well that without exposure, there would be absolutely no chance for her to make a comeback.
So her gaze fell on her distant relative, Grand-uncle Cui Guoqiang. Apparently when this grand-uncle had heard he was going to appear on television, and that the whole country would have a chance to see him, only then had he agreed despite his earlier consideration.
“Sister Xia, the call has gone through.” The assistant handed her the phone.
Liu Yingxia suppressed her displeasure and gently asked the elderly man on the other end, “Grand-uncle, why are you renting a place by yourself? I can book a hotel for you.”
Cui Guoqiang carried his belongings into his place in a small hutong. In a voice tinged with a thick rural accent, he said, “It’s too expensive. Grand-uncle can just rent a place himself. But is it usually such a hassle to rent in your big city?”
Liu Yingxia didn’t quite understand, “A hassle to rent? Renting in the capital isn’t a hassle at all.” You just look at the property through an agency, confirm it, and sign the rental contract, and that’s it.
Feeling hot after entering the house, Cui Guoqiang unbuttoned his military green coat and carefully removed the badge from his chest, storing it in an aluminum container before saying, “Grand-uncle thinks it’s quite troublesome. I still have to fill out some kind of survey form just to rent. I even misspelled several words.”
Cui Guoqiang continued to ramble on, “Thank goodness the country’s policy is good now. My parents’ generation were all illiterate, but I’ve been educated.”
Liu Yingxia: “…” She didn’t want to hear this.
However, the more Liu Yingxia thought about it, the more something felt off. What sort of tenant in the capital would still need to fill in a survey?
Suddenly a name flashed through Liu Yingxia’s mind, startling her into asking, “Grand-uncle, who’s your landlord?”
Cui Guoqiang replied, “I haven’t met the landlady yet, but I heard her name is Xu Yao. This landlady noticed that I’m a retired soldier and even gave me a discount on the rent. It’s much cheaper than the hotel you booked for me, Yingxia.”
Liu Yingxia couldn’t believe it. Seriously? How had her grand-uncle managed to rent Xu Yao’s place so easily?! Netizens were practically fighting over Xu Yao’s properties now, with even Director Zhao selling his house just for a place!
No, Liu Yingxia thought instead—
Xu Yao actually had properties in the capital too?
As for Liu Yingxia’s apology, Xu Yao still gave no response, but she still quickly started trending again.
#XuYaoInCapitalCity#
[Holy crap! Who was it that said Xu Yao didn’t have any property in the capital? Well, she’s finally here!]
[Heads up for everyone looking to rent from Xu Yao in the capital—her business is expanding here! It’s confirmed she owns property in XX Hutong!]
[Ahhh, places in that hutong start at like 400,000 per square meter, right? Sister Yao is incredible. With her arrival, real estate agents in the capital are probably all crying now. After all, she’s insanely competitive.]
[Has Xu Yao finally noticed us, the starving masses in the capital? I’ve always had my eye on the places she rents out in Haicheng, but I couldn’t move because of work in the capital. Now I finally can.]
[There must be so many young people coming to the capital chasing their dreams, right? I really want to know—just who’s going to be the next lucky person to get help from the great Landlady Xu?]
There are countless young people working in the capital, and the sky-high housing prices also seem like an invisible mountain pressing down on them. Just how many young people are crammed into basements, and how many endure terrifying commutes of two to three hours a day?
Even if they don’t become the lucky ones helped by Xu Yao, just being able to rent Xu Yao’s property would still be considered a stroke of luck.
Liu Yingxia looked at the trending topics, her expression filled with envy. Even after stepping back from the industry, Xu Yao still managed to garner so much attention. Clearly, her Weibo isn’t even that active now; she just occasionally shares bits of her life, yet she still has millions of followers.
“Yingxia, can that variety show really be seen by everyone in the country?” Grand-uncle Cui Guoqiang asked, still somewhat uncertain.
Liu Yingxia felt a bit guilty and replied reluctantly, “Yeah, it should be.”
Unless that lousy variety show encountered a stroke of luck, given its flawed formatting, how could it possibly become popular enough for everyone in the country to see it? In any case, Liu Yingxia certainly didn’t believe it could.
However, Cui Guoqiang took it seriously. He took out a blurry old photo from the aluminum container and wiped it, muttering, “Old brother, just wait for me a little longer. I will definitely find you.”
*
pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:
During this time, Zhao Haisheng felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. He had truly lost his mind and sold his house in the capital, forcibly moving his entire family to Haicheng. It had to be said that his luck was still quite good. After struggling to understand the rental questions from Xu Yao, he successfully became her tenant.
However, his connections and career were still in the capital, so he remained there.
Xu Yao agreed to meet him, making Zhao Haisheng so excited that he couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t help but fantasize about being the next Zuo Ning, going from being unknown to becoming a nationwide sensation, now thriving in his career.
Zhao Haisheng arrived at the agreed location an hour early, taking out a tissue with utmost seriousness just to wipe the already clean European-style round table again and again.
Xu Yao soon walked in with Lu Ye and He Fan. When Zhao Haisheng saw Xu Yao, he was so excited he could almost fly, “Miss Xu Yao… oh no, Miss Landlady, Miss Landlady.”
Xu Yao didn’t burst Zhao Haisheng’s bubble, smiling, “I heard Director Zhao rented my house in Haicheng. Are you having any difficulties in your life?”
A hint of embarrassment appeared on Zhao Haisheng’s bronze face. Everyone was clamoring to rent Xu Yao’s house and seek her investment, but when he actually went to find Xu Yao with that mindset, he still felt a bit shy.
Xu Yao was genuinely a kind-hearted landlady and truly wanted to help her tenants. But renting was secondary to him, and his real intention was to seek Xu Yao’s investment.
When Zhao Haisheng thought about it, his face grew redder, and he couldn’t squeeze out a single word from the phrases he had prepared in his mind.
It was Xu Yao who spoke first, “I heard Director Zhao is planning to shoot a variety show called ‘Hand in Hand in Our Later Years,’ a dating show for the elderly? Are you facing some sort of difficulty in funding?”
Zhao Haisheng looked at Xu Yao’s clear eyes and felt a bit ashamed, nodding as he carefully pushed the project materials in front of Xu Yao.
Xu Yao quickly skimmed through the materials, suddenly understanding why Zhao Haisheng didn’t even have a scene in the original novel.
This variety show really didn’t seem promising at all. Zhao Haisheng wanted to take a different approach and create a dating show for the elderly, but he knew the target audience would definitely be limited, so—
He also inserted celebrities into the mix, having them bring their grandparents onto the show to talk about love, hoping to attract some popularity through their fans. The project proposal gave Xu Yao a sense of confusion about the show’s priorities; it was just a mishmash of ideas that didn’t quite fit together.
When trying to reap all the benefits, the outcome of such actions usually results in ending up with nothing at all.
This variety show was likely to flop without making any waves, after all, it hadn’t even been mentioned in the original text.
Xu Yao smiled and said, “Director Zhao’s show sounds great, I wish you success. I’ll check it out when it airs. If you’re facing any financial difficulties, how about I reduce your rent by half a month?”
Who in the entertainment industry isn’t sharp? As soon as Xu Yao said this, Zhao Haisheng immediately understood her meaning: she was offering verbal support, but… that was all.
Zhao Haisheng felt a lump in his throat. He should’ve understood. He wasn’t like Zuo Ning. Zuo Ning was a young person short on cash, and with Xu Yao’s help, he soared to new heights. Ming Chan was an exceptionally capable female entrepreneur. Both were typical examples of people who just lacked an opportunity. In contrast, he had already been in the entertainment industry for many years, and even reached middle age, yet he still hadn’t gained much fame.
He had always known he was an ambitious, yet ordinary person, clearly only possessing average abilities but unwilling to settle for mediocrity. Netizens said Xu Yao had extraordinary insight; perhaps he really shouldn’t be fighting against fate.
Holding back tears, Zhao Haisheng smiled and nodded, “Thank you, Miss Landlady. You don’t need to reduce my rent. You’re not renting out your property as charity, and I can still afford the rent.”
Xu Yao looked at Zhao Haisheng again, then turned to He Fan for clarification.
He Fan understood and said, “Director Zhao has a house in the capital, but he sold it so he could rent your place, Miss Yaoyao.”
Xu Yao paused slightly upon hearing this. Had he really gone all in on a gamble like this?
Selling all his property just for a chance to meet her? Xu Yao couldn’t help but regard Zhao Haisheng with newfound respect.
Xu Yao had always understood that ordinary people were the majority in this world. Talents like Zuo Ning, Han Zhao, and Ming Chan were ultimately in the minority, and the vast majority lived ordinary lives.
But can’t ordinary people have dreams too? Are ordinary people’s dreams not worth mentioning?
Xu Yao suddenly smiled. Well, even if her whole investment went down the drain, she could still bear it.
Xu Yao continued flipping through the project proposal, moving on to the list of guests drafted by Zhao Haisheng.
There were internet celebrities bringing their grandmothers, second-tier singers bringing their grandfathers, and then—
Xu Yao suddenly stopped, staring intently at a page that read: Liu Yingxia was bringing her grand-uncle, Cui Guoqiang, onto the show.
She didn’t need an introduction to Liu Yingxia, after all, she was the original female lead, and Xu Yao had no intention of acknowledging her and simply acted as if she were invisible.
But… Cui Guoqiang!
In the original novel, this old man was merely a side character, barely mentioned in passing by Liu Yingxia, yet he ended up being the most memorable and touching figure to Xu Yao out of the entire novel!
This old gentleman’s first appearance is at the funeral of Liu Yingxia’s grand-uncle. Cui Guoqiang was already past seventy, and having gone to war in his early years, he carried old injuries; he couldn’t withstand that kind of shock and passed away.
Liu Yingxia also met the original male lead at Cui Guoqiang’s funeral, and from then on, the two became entangled.
Zhao Haisheng saw Xu Yao staring intently at a particular page and quickly took a peek. Seeing “Liu Yingxia” written there made him want to cry even more.
It was just one word: tragic! He would only say it once!
Liu Yingxia and Sheng Zhou’s fans had all turned against Xu Yao online, driving her to madness and forcing her to withdraw from the industry. Although most of those doing this were Sheng Zhou’s fans, Liu Yingxia had remained silent and did not help her clarify the facts.
What sort of investment could he possibly attract? It would be more of a miracle if he didn’t offend Xu Yao!
Zhao Haisheng quickly said, “Miss Xu Yao, the contract with Liu Yingxia has already been signed.” So there was no way to change it now.
Xu Yao smiled, “I know, Liu Yingxia is quite good.”
If one didn’t consider the negative press, Liu Yingxia had the most fans among all the guests. Zhao Haisheng had truly gone to great lengths to gain a bit of attention.
Xu Yao closed the project proposal with both hands, the sound of her palms clapping through the pages echoed. She smiled, “So, I’ll invest a bit of money to help my tenant.”
“Huh?!” Zhao Haisheng was incredulous!
Clearly… she had just politely declined! How could she suddenly want to invest?
Zhao Haisheng recalled that Xu Yao had been looking at the guests Liu Yingxia and Cui Guoqiang. That grand-uncle, who wasn’t well-known, couldn’t possibly be the main reason, so it must be… Liu Yingxia!
Zhao Haisheng also remembered Liu Yingxia had posted a handwritten apology letter on Weibo, filled with sincerity.
Could this be Xu Yao’s way of accepting Liu Yingxia’s apology?
Zhao Haisheng was overjoyed; no matter what, he was the one that was going to benefit from it!
Zhao Haisheng repeatedly said, “Great, great, thank you, Miss Landlady! Thank you, Miss Landlady!”
Xu Yao and Zhao Haisheng agreed on a time before leaving.
Just as Xu Yao stepped out of the bar, she heard uncontrollable cheers coming from inside and couldn’t help but find it amusing. This director probably didn’t realize he was also one of the reasons, right?
As soon as they left, a delighted Zhao Haisheng immediately called Liu Yingxia, his words filled with gratitude, “Yingxia, it’s all thanks to you! Xu Yao actually agreed to invest in our variety show!”
He had taken a gamble by seeking out Xu Yao, and thankfully it had paid off!
Liu Yingxia was momentarily stunned upon hearing this. How could it possibly be because of her? Wasn’t Xu Yao only helping her tenants?
“It’s really not because I’m her tenant. Xu Yao had politely declined me before, but when she saw you on the guest list, she immediately agreed.”
Zhao Haisheng insisted it wasn’t because of him, and Liu Yingxia thought about the guest list, which included not only her but also her grand-uncle, Cui Guoqiang.
Liu Yingxia said with uncertainty, “Um… Director, my grand-uncle seems to be Xu Yao’s tenant too.”
Since it couldn’t be because of Zhao Haisheng, it must be because of her grand-uncle, right?
Her grand-uncle was over seventy, and was an old man with no education except for having been to war. Would Xu Yao invest in this lackluster variety show just because of him? Did she have that much money to throw around?
Director Zhao was shocked, “Wait, you’re having your grand-uncle rent in the capital?”
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- May or may not be a typo by the author. Should be referring to the Xu family but I’m leaving it in just in case it isn’t a mistake ↩︎
