Volume 4 Chapter 21

Volume 4 + Chapter 21: Wang Shiman’s Background

At that moment, after hearing Bai Yuxuan’s words, Qianxue felt his mind go completely blank. Because his life in the capital had been arranged in advance by Wang Shiman, he usually lived in the dormitory and used meal vouchers for food, he had sent almost all the money he had on him to his younger sister and mother.

“Let me guess, you must have given no thought to yourself again and ended up penniless, right?” Bai Yuxuan said, staring at Qianxue with a mischievous grin.

“How was I supposed to know so many things would happen? And anyway, it’s all your fault! Plus, I haven’t even settled accounts with you for that massage parlor incident earlier. You need to compensate me, take care of my lodging for today,” Qianxue said reproachfully to Bai Yuxuan.

“That’s easy, the hotel room I’m staying in is pretty spacious. How about you…”

“Stop right there!” Before Bai Yuxuan could finish, Qianxue interrupted her.

“You’re such a pervert, what if you do something to me while I’m asleep?”

However, facing Qianxue’s accusation, Bai Yuxuan merely smiled faintly. Then, taking him off guard, she suddenly leaned her head against his shoulder and said to him,

“Don’t worry, I’ve already had my fill at the massage parlor today.”

“You!” Hearing this, Qianxue’s face flushed red with anger. He raised his foot and kicked toward Bai Yuxuan, but as if she had anticipated it, she slid backward in a quick step before he even lifted his leg, dodging easily.

“Alright, I was in the wrong today, I went too far with the joke. But to be honest, I really don’t have time to play with you tonight. I’ve been away from Xijiang for a week, and quite a bit of family business has piled up. Once we get back to the hotel, you go ahead and sleep first.”

Since Bai Yuxuan had booked a suite, after the two returned to the hotel where she was staying, Qianxue began to wash up and get ready for bed, while Bai Yuxuan plunged straight into the other room and turned on her computer.

Having secretly obtained Qianxue’s mother’s medical information beforehand, Bai Yuxuan was now checking whether any suitable kidney donor matching her condition had come up over the past two days. Unfortunately, even today, no match has been found.

So she turned to carefully read through an electronic file.

This file was none other than Wang Shiman’s personal information, which she had gathered by mobilizing connections from both the underworld and the legitimate world. After all, knowing oneself and knowing the enemy ensures victory in every battle, and this showdown with Wang Shiman concerned Qianxue’s entire future, so she had to approach it with utmost caution.

Yet Bai Yuxuan had barely finished the opening lines when she was completely stunned by what she read about Wang Shiman.

She had never expected that the diva who once dominated an era of the music industry was actually an orphan! The records showed that when Wang Shiman was about five, she was adopted by a couple surnamed Wang who already had a daughter of their own. Then, when she was around seven, that couple sent her to an opera troupe.

What followed in Wang Shiman’s life could truly be described as an awe-inspiring story of struggle. At ten, she was spotted by an elderly singer during a morale-boosting performance, and she left the opera troupe to become the old master’s last disciple for three years. At thirteen, under her mentor’s recommendation, she sang the theme song for a hit television drama of the time, which met with an overwhelming response. A year later, Wang Shiman released her very first solo album and officially made her debut.

Because of her dignified appearance and extraordinary vocal skills, Wang Shiman quickly became a household name in the music scene. Later, in a radio singing competition, she defeated many older contestants and shot to fame in a single stroke, becoming the youngest diva in history at the age of sixteen.

“I never imagined Wang Shiman was this formidable!” Even Bai Yuxuan, who was usually unflappable, was visibly moved at this point. She continued reading.

After rising to fame over twenty years ago, Wang Shiman surprisingly chose to retire in less than four years, at the prime age of twenty for a singer. After retiring, she turned to investments, made a fortune, and once became the second most powerful figure in Xijiang, just behind the Bai family. But after amassing huge profits, she gave up further business expansion and instead devoted herself to establishing her own film and entertainment company, nurturing a new generation of idols.

Reading this, Bai Yuxuan felt not only amazement but also a sense of contradiction welling up inside her. She was very curious, what exactly was Wang Shiman pursuing? If she yearned for the entertainment world, there was no need for her to retire. If she was after money, there was no need to withdraw from the business world after achieving such success.

After pondering for a long time, Bai Yuxuan arrived at a hypothesis. Back then, Wang Shiman had likely been forced to leave the music scene due to some hidden ailment or other special reason. However, her obsession with the music world compelled her, once she had accumulated enough capital, to return to the entertainment industry as an idol producer.

At this point, Bai Yuxuan suddenly realized that she had no leverage over Wang Shiman whatsoever. Wang Shiman had long since achieved fame and success, neither money nor reputation could tempt her anymore. Moreover, the woman had no apparent weaknesses. She had no children of her own, and the only person with whom she maintained a decent relationship was the granddaughter of the Wang couple who had adopted her, her nominal niece, Wang Qian.

Bai Yuxuan knew full well that if she couldn’t find some way to force Wang Shiman to comply, then both she and Qianxue would be at a disadvantage. Yet even after racking her brains until late into the night, she still hadn’t come up with any good solution.

At that moment, utterly exhausted, Bai Yuxuan stood up, stretched, and prepared to go to bed. As she stepped out of the room, she noticed a note held down on the tea table, with a thermos beside it. It turned out that Qianxue, seeing how hard she had been working, had borrowed the hotel kitchen to personally prepare a mushroom chicken soup for her. Whether out of pride or still holding a grudge over the massage parlor incident, Qianxue insisted in the note that the soup was merely a return gift for the food and drinks Bai Yuxuan had bought him during his training sessions earlier.

Reading this, Bai Yuxuan smiled softly. She tiptoed to Qianxue’s room and found him already fast asleep. She then leaned over him and carefully studied his sleeping face for a while.

Gazing at his long eyelashes and lips like cherry blossom petals, ripples stirred in Bai Yuxuan’s heart.

“No matter how many times I look, I never get tired of it. Why is Qianxue so adorable? Even though he’s a boy,” Bai Yuxuan murmured quietly.

At that moment, Bai Yuxuan silently made a wish in her heart. She hoped that Qianxue could always live happily and freely in the days to come. If she could make him fall in love with her… no, it would be enough if he could just leave a little space for her in his heart.

Then, after gently kissing Qianxue’s forehead, Bai Yuxuan picked up the thermos of soup and sat back down in front of her computer, continuing to ponder countermeasures against Wang Shiman.

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