The Martial Artist Turned Movie Mogul

"No, Aunt Lin, please don’t busy yourself, I’m not hungry yet... Are uncle and aunty not home again?"

"The Mister and the Missus are both occupied. The Missus has been busy with a touring performance recently and hasn’t come home for three days now."

"Don’t fuss over it, I’m quite familiar with Xiao Shu, I was just planning to go next door to chat with her."

Jing Bei felt that today’s Aunt Lin was exceptionally enthusiastic to the point of being overwhelming. Feeling somewhat unable to cope, she barely stood for a minute in the Jing Family’s living room before stepping out, with a newfound curiosity looking towards the neighboring house.

Honestly, the exterior of that villa didn’t seem much different from the Jing Family’s, as she remembered this one was also originally purchased by her cousin, and the basic exterior design was done by the same company.

However... as soon as she entered through the villa gate, at a glance, she noticed the differences between the two.

Visually, they were quite different. On one side was a meticulously maintained artificial garden, and on this side, the land was divided into numerous plots, each planting different vegetables.

Feather Cabbage, Leafy Lettuce, Romaine, Fruiting Cucumbers, Cherry Tomatoes...

Overall, it was brimming with a rustic charm.

"Uh... Does Xiao Shu really... have such down-to-earth interests?"

Immediately, a string of big question marks popped up in Jing Xiaobei’s little head.

Her initial impression of Tang Shu was still from on-screen, where both Shen Siyi and Lu Xiangtong were depicted as ladies of elegance, truly cold and noble personas, even the assassin Huan Ying couldn’t be associated with farming.

Seeing that the style of the villa before her eyes was this quaint, forgive her for being a little slow to react.

Jing Xiaobei stood there, dazed, at the edge of the Feather Cabbage, her nose catching a rich scent, that of sweet and sour ribs.

Huh? Is it time for dinner so early?

She glanced at her phone, which displayed the time as 6:30 in the evening; the sun was still hanging in the west, with no intention of setting.

"Xiao Bei? What brings you here? Are you looking for Jing Yu?"

Tang Shu was the first to spot Jing Xiaobei’s figure, greeting her from the living room, carrying a freshly stir-fried plate of oiled lettuce.

And just a moment later, Jing Yu too emerged from the kitchen, likewise carrying a dish — that plate of sweet and sour ribs.

"???"

To this extent of joining a meal uninvited?

"Come in, what are you standing there for?"

As her cousin spoke up, Jing Bei quickly averted her gaze and walked in.

By the time she gathered her wits, she noticed the dining table was already full, with three teenagers seated on the left side, each staring at her with wide, curious eyes, while Jing Yu and Tang Shu were sitting on the right side, with two empty seats beside them.

As Yang Tiantian brought the last soup to the table and sat beside Jing Bei, he also gave her a greeting.

"Stop staring, the extra seat is reserved for you. Just got back from the company? Come and eat." freewebnøvel.coɱ

Jing Yu didn’t treat himself like an outsider at all, picking up an empty bowl to scoop another serving of rice in front of the empty seat, his actions quite apparent.

"Thank you,"

Jing Xiaobei sat down, looking at the three young boys opposite her, "Hi, I’m Jing Bei, you can call me Sister Beibei."

These three looked so much like high school students that you could tell at a glance they were not over twenty.

The three of them greeted her, one after another:

"Sister Beibei, Xu Qianyun."

"Qu Junfeng, I’m Qianyun’s classmate."

"Ren Xiazhi, um... I’m Sister Tang Shu’s colleague?"

There was no need for Xu Qianyun to introduce his identity, as Jing Bei already knew about his relationship with Tang Shu, and through a series of greetings, she got to know the identities of the three.

"You’re Xiao Shu’s colleague? How old are you this year, have you graduated from college yet?"

"Actually I’m a freshman, fifteen this year, considered... um, an intern."

Recently, Ren Xiazhi, who often lies, still doesn’t really like his current job that requires him to hide things from people all the time.

"I’ve been working at Sister Tang Shu’s company lately, helping her with some issues, yes, that’s right."

"Oh~~~~"

Jing Bei instantly understood, "So you’ve been staying here dealing with affairs this whole time?"

"That’s correct."

So that’s how it is——

Realizing belatedly, Jing Bei remembered Aunt Lin’s words, "The young master has been dining next door lately," and now it seemed she understood.

Apparently, the reason for Cousin’s displeasure was the sudden increase in the number of people dining together lately, so much so that he exuded his low spirits everywhere, even at the office.

Life is just full of surprises.

Jing Bei smelled a sour stench of romance and couldn’t help but snigger to herself.

The once omnipotent cousin also has his moments of vulnerability—congratulations are in order indeed!

***

After a leisurely dinner, Jing Bei happily hummed a tune as she left, mission accomplished.

After dining with his future girlfriend, Jing Yu, following his usual habit, took her for a stroll around the Palm Pavilion and even went to a nearby park for a walk.

It was purportedly to aid digestion.

As for what followed... that was a dire affair.

After "aiding digestion," Ren Xiazhi, covered in bruises, crawled into the training room and, after reviewing a series of strategic materials produced by Wen Nuan, embarked on yet another grueling day.

"I’m clearly a technical talent. Wouldn’t it be fine just staying in the rear? Why do I still have to train as if my life depended on it?"

Something about this didn’t add up...

"Xiazhi, what are you muttering about?"

The two sparring partners grunted and panted, sparing a moment to speak to him, jolting the young man into alertness.

"Nothing, nothing. You carry on training, I’m coming now."

emmmm~~~ Can’t share these miserable things with two buddies, just have to harbor them inside. Whose life is tougher than mine?

No more.

Ren Xiazhi, in a state of world-weariness, changed clothes and immediately threw himself into the noble endeavor of training (suffering).

"Bang—"

Qu Junfeng once again threw him onto the mat, "Hey! Bro, what street did you grow up on to be so unskilled? Can you really become the boss like this?"

Ren Xiazhi: "..."

The young man wiped his face, preferring not to speak.

Xu Qianyun, unable to stand by any longer, spoke up for the new member, "Actually, Xiazhi’s skills are already quite good. If it weren’t for the training under our sister recently, we’d probably only barely match him."

"True that."

Qu Junfeng shrugged; he had only meant to tease a little and hadn’t expected the newbie to take it so seriously.

"Hey, little bro, you’re already awesome. It’s just that we’re even more so, hehehe~~~~"

"..."Is this supposed to be comforting?

Ren Xiazhi felt absolutely no consolation, thanks but no thanks.

Back in the assessment forest, it was bearable being suppressed by peers, as they were on the same level at least, but his recent experiences made him seriously question life.

Why is even Sister Tang Shu’s brother so formidable?