How About A Divorce? - Chapter 9
Chapter 9: The Sugar Daddy
“Yuan Yiyang?” Lin Yanqing looked at Wen Yu. “What’s going on?”
Wen Yu’s face didn’t turn red and her heart didn’t skip a beat. “Shi Li came to talk to me about a partnership and mentioned a project. In this project, Yuan Yiyang is a candidate for the female lead.”
“Are you interested?”
“Sort of.” Wen Yu observed Lin Yanqing’s expression and found that it wasn’t quite right. She continued, “I heard she’ll be at the hotel today. I want to go see her.”
The two of them walked to the door of the room. Wen Yu took out her clothes, looking as if she was about to leave.
She turned her back to Lin Yanqing and took off her top. The straps of her bra were thin, hanging on her slender shoulders. Lin Yanqing was in a daze for a second before she realized that Wen Yu looked very attractive to anyone like this.
Lin Yanqing: “Don’t go.”
Wen Yu didn’t turn her head. “Why?”
Lin Yanqing: “Didn’t you want to hang out in Jingnan? What’s so great about a celebrity?”
Wen Yu put on her top and turned around to stare at Lin Yanqing.
Wen Yu: “Are you stopping me?”
“I just think it’s a waste of time.”
“Then I’m going anyway.”
Lin Yanqing: “…”
This stubborn mule.
Wen Yu, on the other hand, looked at Lin Yanqing’s dark face, annoyed.
She was so against her seeing Yuan Yiyang, so she had to go. The more she tried to stop her, the more suspicious it was.
At the hotel, Shi Li led Wen Yu in a certain direction.
Lin Yanqing also wanted to follow, but Shi Li blocked her with “competitive projects.”
Shi Li: “What we’re going to discuss are all confidential projects. If you’re not going to invest in me as an individual, CEO Lin, then you shouldn’t come.”
Lin Yanqing left with a dark expression.
When they arrived, Shi Li pushed the door open. Inside, there was a huge crowd of people, all of them Yuan Yiyang’s makeup artists, costume designers, and so on.
“That’s just how it is with her status. She has to have a lot of people with her when she goes out.” To show how much they valued Yuan Yiyang, Zero One gave her a separate dressing room and two teams for hair, makeup, and costumes.
“Xiao Yuan!” Shi Li called out.
A girl in the center of the crowd looked back. Her face was expressionless, her pupils were very dark, and the earrings on her ears made a crisp sound. As she moved, the light reflected off the fire in the jewels, creating a brilliant light and shadow.
At first glance, she had a cold aura that kept people at a distance.
In terms of appearance, she was very consistent with the search terms Wen Yu had found about her on some platforms, such as “stunning profile,” “goddess descended to earth,” and “intelligent and aloof.”
Wen Yu also roughly understood Yuan Yiyang’s image—a young, up-and-coming actress, stable and reliable. She had won multiple box office titles at a young age, and her future was limitless.
This fit the criteria for a sugar baby in their circle.
Good-looking, young, and seemed respectable and not cheap.
But the next second, when Yuan Yiyang saw Shi Li, she suddenly smiled brightly. She lifted her skirt and ran over.
The staff carefully moved aside to avoid scratching the expensive dress.
Yuan Yiyang jogged to them, her face full of a brilliant smile. She hugged Shi Li’s arm and acted coquettishly, with no trace of the cold demeanor she had moments ago.
Yuan Yiyang: “Sis, why did only you come? Where’s CEO Lin?”
Her voice was also sticky.
Shi Li glanced at Wen Yu and then at Yuan Yiyang. “The things we’re going to talk about aren’t convenient for CEO Lin to hear.”
“Oh,” Yuan Yiyang was a little disappointed. “Then I’ll go find her after the event.”
Shi Li cleared her throat and introduced Wen Yu to Yuan Yiyang. “This is CEO Wen Yu, CEO Lin’s wife.”
“CEO Wen?” Yuan Yiyang raised an eyebrow. “CEO Lin’s wife?”
The rhetorical question was too aggressive. Wen Yu didn’t even have to try to hear it. She could feel the strong sense of provocation.
She glanced at Yuan Yiyang, whose expression changed slightly. The corner of her lips, which had been turned up, flattened.
“Yes,” Wen Yu nodded, walking to a sofa. “Sit and talk.”
She sat down first and gestured to the spot next to her, as if she were the owner of the place.
However, she was, in fact, the “owner” of this place.
She was Lin Yanqing’s wife and a financial backer that Shi Li needed to curry favor with. Even if she ignored her identity as Lin Yanqing’s wife, the Wen family was not a group of people that these people could afford to offend.
Although she was very unhappy about the possibility of Lin Yanqing having a sugar baby, she wasn’t so angry that she would lose her dignity in front of Yuan Yiyang. In terms of status, if it weren’t for Shi Li, Yuan Yiyang wouldn’t even have the right to show her face in front of Wen Yu.
But just from the first meeting, Wen Yu could tell that Yuan Yiyang had a different kind of feeling for Lin Yanqing. This feeling didn’t extend to love, but it was a bit ambiguous.
This ambiguity was Yuan Yiyang’s way of climbing the social ladder. She was the same with Shi Li. Hidden beneath the ambiguity was a calculation—a calculation of how to climb up and increase her own value.
She was ambitious, and there was nothing wrong with that. It was very common to have a relationship with a sugar daddy and use emotional value to exchange for resources and connections.
But Wen Yu didn’t expect Lin Yanqing to become someone’s sugar daddy.
“What do you need, CEO Wen?” Yuan Yiyang sat down with Shi Li and spoke first.
Wen Yu didn’t answer. She just glanced at Shi Li. Shi Li, who knew what she was doing, explained to Yuan Yiyang, “CEO Wen is the potential investor for the S+ project, the youngest daughter of the Wen family in Beicheng.”
Yuan Yiyang was stunned. When she looked at Wen Yu again, her eyes were full of calculation.
Wen Yu naturally noticed it.
The reason for the change wasn’t hard to guess. Yuan Yiyang probably thought at first that Wen Yu was just a trophy wife who got to where she was because of her relationship with Lin Yanqing. But after Shi Li’s introduction, the trophy wife’s fake image was stripped away. It turned out that Wen Yu was a pure diamond, the kind that could break your teeth if you bit it.
Yuan Yiyang smiled. The obvious provocation from before immediately disappeared completely. “Hello, CEO Wen.”
She was extremely well-behaved.
Shi Li naturally saw all of this, but she didn’t interfere much. She introduced the project. “As long as the funds are in place, the project can start filming at the end of the month. I’ll be following it from the script to the release. Besides Xiao Yuan, the other potential actors are top short-form drama creators with their own fan base.”
Wen Yu: “Wouldn’t bringing Xiao Yuan down to the level of a short-form drama actress lower her status?”
“More and more long-form drama actors are getting into short-form dramas. Why can’t I give it a try?” Yuan Yiyang said the most superficial reason.
Shi Li texted two words on her phone, and Wen Yu glanced at it, understanding.
The two words were: “Betting.”
Yuan Yiyang and her company had a betting agreement. Two hundred million yuan in two years. Short-form dramas had a fast turnaround and made a lot of money. The team wasn’t bad, and there would be a share of the profits later. Yuan Yiyang had no reason to refuse.
An assistant quietly walked over and whispered a few words into Yuan Yiyang’s ear. Yuan Yiyang nodded and looked at Wen Yu. “I’m sorry, CEO Wen. I have to go out now. Can we talk later?”
Wen Yu: “No need. You go and get busy. I have something to do as well.”
Shi Li nodded at Yuan Yiyang. Yuan Yiyang left. After the makeup artist quickly touched up her makeup, she left as well.
Shi Li and Wen Yu followed her out and leaned against the corridor railing. They saw Yuan Yiyang get to the first floor, waiting behind the big screen, ready to go on stage.
Shi Li: “What do you think of Yuan Yiyang?”
“I’ve seen her work. She’s very good.”
“I’m more inclined to use her because the guaranteed payment she wants isn’t much. She mainly relies on the profit-sharing. She’ll get a cut of whatever we make,” Shi Li raised an eyebrow. “If we change people, no one else has her influence. The profit-sharing later on definitely won’t be as good as Yuan Yiyang’s.”
Wen Yu smiled. “I haven’t said I’m going to invest yet.”
“But you’ve already decided, haven’t you?” Shi Li took out a cigarette and held it in her hand. “This girl has a lot of ambition. You can tell. This project won’t be a loss.”
“Don’t beat around the bush. I know that’s not what you want to say,” Wen Yu said.
Shi Li chuckled and clicked her tongue. “It’s so boring when everything is laid out in the open.”
Wen Yu: “Tell me. I want to hear your opinion.”
“Xiao Yuan likes your wife,” Shi Li dropped a bombshell. Seeing that Wen Yu had no reaction, she continued, “I’ve watched this person grow. She’s just using others, but she probably has a little genuine feeling for Yanqing. That’s why her attitude toward you wasn’t very good at first.”
“She’s been in the industry since she was a child and has seen many estranged couples. She also tacitly assumes that everyone is doing their own thing, so she didn’t try to avoid you. Don’t mind it,” Shi Li said. “Of course, I know you must mind. So I’d like to ask you to deal with her after the project is over, so it doesn’t delay us making money.”
Wen Yu: “I thought your relationship was good. Aren’t you going to stop me from dealing with her?”
“What’s a good relationship compared to money?” Shi Li said as a matter of fact.
“Wow.” Wen Yu said with a fake sense of emotion.
“So…” Shi Li tapped the railing with her fingertips. “Are you going to invest, Young Miss Wen?”
Suddenly, a cheer erupted from below. Wen Yu looked down and saw that Yuan Yiyang was on stage. Everyone was going crazy.
Shi Li sighed with emotion. “The power of a top celebrity’s influence.”
Wen Yu looked at Yuan Yiyang, who was calmly interacting on stage. She then looked at the crowd who was captivated by her and suddenly asked, “Do you think Lin Yanqing likes Yuan Yiyang?”
Shi Li was stunned. “Why would you ask that, CEO Wen?”
Wen Yu didn’t answer.
Shi Li looked at her slightly confused expression, as if she had understood something. Her calm expression cracked, as if she had just heard a huge joke. She couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Wen Yu turned her head. “What are you laughing at?”
Shi Li was laughing so hard that she balled up the cigarette in her hand. “Nothing, nothing. I just thought of something funny.”
Wen Yu glanced at her as if she were crazy. “Are you creators all a bit mentally unstable?”
Shi Li laughed. “Yes, yes.”
Wen Yu didn’t talk anymore.
After Shi Li finished laughing, she looked at Wen Yu.
It turns out that Lin Yanqing and Wen Yu have been married for seven years, and Wen Yu still doesn’t know who the person Lin Yanqing holds so dearly in her heart is.
Lin Yanqing is so pathetic. She has such a great hand of cards but she’s playing them terribly.
But Shi Li didn’t plan to expose it. This was someone else’s family matter. She was just watching the show. If she got too involved, it would be easy for her to end up on bad terms with both sides.
Shi Li brought the topic back to the main point. “So, are you going to invest?”
Before Wen Yu could answer, Shi Li knew what she was thinking and threw out another sentence. “You’re the financial backer. You can do whatever you want to Yuan Yiyang.”
Wen Yu’s expression was calm.
“Maybe you can even find out what Lin Yanqing is thinking,” Shi Li said.
Wen Yu’s eyes flashed.
She didn’t want to find out what Lin Yanqing was thinking. This person’s thoughts weren’t on her, so there was nothing to study.
She just wanted to find evidence of Lin Yanqing’s cheating.
“Okay,” Wen Yu said.
The heavy stone on Shi Li’s heart finally fell. She brushed her pink hair back. “I’ll go back and get the plan for you to look at.”
“Where will it start filming at the end of the month?” Wen Yu asked.
“The location hasn’t been decided yet,” Shi Li said. “There are still more than twenty days until the end of the month.”
“Okay.”
“Do you want to come and join the crew?”
“We’ll see.”
“Good. It was a pleasure doing business with you.” Shi Li extended her hand, and the two of them shook hands.
Shi Li said happily, “Should I ask Xiao Yuan to come have dinner with us tonight?”
“No need.”
Shi Li: “Let’s call Lin Yanqing.”
Wen Yu: “…”
The words of refusal were stuck in her throat.
“…Okay,” she said.