Pan Lin said, “Of course! Jiang Xueli is the most talented singer under Zhengshi Music. Didn’t you know?”
Uncle Jiang looked utterly confused.
“Lili is a singer at Zhengshi Music? That… that can’t be right. Our Lili signed with a studio in town. I even t the studio’s owner once—a woman nad Wang. She ca to see Lili not long ago and ntioned sothing about a competition.”
Aunt Jiang chid in. She knew a bit more than her husband and explained,
“Well, that town studio did move recently. I asked Lili about it and she said they were restructuring, and now it’s a music company. But she was rushing out to et soone that day, so I didn’t get a chance to ask more.”
Pan Lin nodded. “Then it looks like Jiang Xueli did tell you. The ‘Boss Wang’ Uncle Jiang ntioned—is that Wang Lan? She’s now the head of our Zhengshi Music division. The town’s music studio rged with our company two years ago—they’re part of us now.”
Aunt Jiang was surprised and delighted. “rged? So the company Lili’s in now is under Zhengshi Music?”
“Yes, you could say that.”
Uncle Jiang began to piece it together. “So… is your company helping us because of our daughter? Did President Wang find out about our situation…? Hmm, wait, that’s not right. You ntioned President Lin… Is he also the boss of the music division?”
Pan Lin glanced into the distance, checking to see if any cars were coming, and clarified,
“Definitely not. President Lin is the CEO of the parent company. President Wang manages a subsidiary—they’re on totally different levels.”
Uncle Jiang furrowed his brows, shocked. “The CEO of the parent company?! Then… what’s the relationship between our Lili and President Lin?”
“I’m not sure of the exact relationship,” Pan Lin replied. “You two probably know better than I do. But it’s definitely close.”
Uncle Jiang’s pupils shrank. He asked with a trembling voice, “This President Lin… she’s a woman, right?”
“A man,” Pan Lin answered with a smile, countering, “Why would you think he’s a woman?”
As soon as she said that, Uncle Jiang stumbled backward—Aunt Jiang had to quickly catch him to keep him from falling. Pan Lin didn’t see it happen.
Aunt Jiang whispered, “What’s wrong? Why did you almost fall?”
Sweat suddenly appeared on Uncle Jiang’s forehead. He whispered to his wife, “Co with —I need to tell you sothing.”
Aunt Jiang looked confused. Uncle Jiang turned to Pan Lin and said, “Um, President Pan, I’m just going to make a quick call with my wife. We’ll be right back.”
Pan Lin nodded with a polite smile. “Feel free.”
Uncle Jiang hurriedly pulled his wife aside.
Aunt Jiang whispered anxiously, “What’s wrong? You looked like you saw a ghost just now.”
Uncle Jiang—an old man—suddenly had tears in his eyes. “You… you still haven’t figured it out? After everything that President Pan just said—our Lili… our Lili beca that President Lin’s lover behind Ranran’s back, just to help us!”
Aunt Jiang’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What are you talking about…? Lili would never do sothing like that!”
Uncle Jiang’s eyes reddened.
“I’m the one who failed as a father—I’ve brought this upon our daughter. You… how can you still not see it? Didn’t you hear what President Pan said? Lili is Zhengshi Music’s prettiest singer, and she’s close with that President Lin. Think about it—besides being pretty and able to sing, what else does Lili have? That President Lin is the CEO of the whole company, probably worth hundreds of millions. Why would he notice a just-of-age girl like our Lili?”
Aunt Jiang was troubled too. “That’s true… I was wondering how Lili even got to et soone like the CEO of a major company.”
“It’s more than just eting him,” Uncle Jiang said. “From everything President Pan said, it’s clear that Lili is very close with this President Lin. I bet that man saw how young and beautiful our daughter is and got ideas. You know how the entertainnt world is! Probably started chatting her up, inviting her to als. But Lili was close with Ranran, so she must’ve turned him down. Then, after we got into this ss, you called Lili and scared her. She wanted to help us… so she probably agreed to beco that man’s lover.”
Uncle Jiang felt utterly useless.
“Otherwise—why else would a boss that big co to help us? He’s no fool. We’re talking about hundreds of thousands in debt here. No one in this world is going to just throw that kind of money into our pit for no reason. It has to be Lili… Lili did this to help us.”
Aunt Jiang’s eyes began to tear up as well.
“So that’s what happened… That’s why such a big boss would co help us. Then—we can’t take that money! No matter what, we can’t sell our daughter! Even if we have to borrow or beg, we can’t ruin Lili’s life over this!”
Uncle Jiang nodded firmly.
“Right! You’re absolutely right! Before Lili and that President Lin cross the line completely, we need to fix this. Our lives are what they are—but Lili still has a bright future. We can’t let money ruin her. When Lili gets here, we have to talk to her—convince her!”
As the couple whispered urgently, a taxi suddenly pulled up.
Pan Lin perked up when she saw it arrive.
The car stopped at the factory gate, and the back door opened—Lin Zhengran and Jiang Xueli got out together.
Just as Pan Lin was about to step forward to greet them,
Uncle and Aunt Jiang suddenly walked ahead of her.
The mont the taxi pulled in, Uncle Jiang had seen Lin Zhengran and Jiang Xueli inside through the windshield.
He said to his wife, “Look, it’s Lili! Isn’t that Ranran in the car too?!”
Aunt Jiang nodded. “It is! That ans Ranran doesn’t know yet that Lili and President Lin are involved. They haven’t broken up—it’s not too late to stop this!”
Uncle Jiang pointed to the car. “Co on, let’s hurry before that President Lin shows up. We’ve got to talk Lili out of this! We can’t let her go down the wrong path!”
So the couple rushed over, intercepting Lin Zhengran and Jiang Xueli before Pan Lin could.
Jiang Xueli, worried, rushed up to her parents and the gathered workers. “Mom, Dad! Are you okay?!”
Aunt Jiang’s eyes were red. “We’re fine, Lili. We’re fine… You’re the one who’s had it tough.”
Jiang Xueli frowned. “What are you talking about? What happened?”
Lin Zhengran also noticed the redness in their eyes and looked puzzled. “Uncle, Auntie… What’s going on?”
He looked up and asked Pan Lin what had happened. After all this ti, even if there had been a problem, she should’ve cald them down by now.
But judging by their expressions, things looked worse than ever.
“What happened?!”
Pan Lin also noticed and didn’t understand why the couple’s eyes were suddenly red. She stamred, “I… I don’t know.”
Uncle Jiang, thinking Lin Zhengran had co fired up to defend their honor, tried to comfort him, “Ranran! This is President Pan from Zhengshi Company. She ca to help us. Don’t worry, it’s okay—your aunt and I are fine. Calm down.”
Calm down? Lin Zhengran blinked, confused. He looked at Pan Lin. “What’s going on? Did sothing go wrong?”
Pan Lin looked like she’d done sothing wrong. “No, nothing went wrong. Everything was fine just now. The workers are waiting. President Lin, please don’t be angry—I’ll check right away.” She turned to Uncle Jiang, “What happened? Weren’t we just talking normally?”
Though flustered, Uncle Jiang still had good hearing and eyesight. He clearly noticed Pan Lin’s tone toward Lin Zhengran—it wasn’t normal. It sounded like how a subordinate spoke to a superior. He asked,
“Wait a second—President Pan, what did you just call Ranran?”
Pan Lin blinked. “I asked what was wrong. You two were fine just now—why are your eyes red all of a sudden?”
Uncle Jiang froze, looking between Pan Lin and Lin Zhengran. “No—I an, what did you just call Ranran? I didn’t mishear, right?”
“What’s to mishear? President Lin, of course! We’ve been waiting for President Lin—he’s here now,” Pan Lin said.
“President Lin? The ‘President Lin’ you’ve been talking about this whole ti is… Lin Zhengran?!”
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