When will I be the queen

Chapter 485 Small talk
It's not other people's problems that bother me, but my own future.

“Our generation has reached the point where we need to reproduce,” Kong Shilong said, looking at Cai Cai. “You’re almost an adult now, and you must receive a lot of invitations every year, right?”

Cai Cai was speechless. Why would they need to reproduce? They're not endangered animals.
Qin Yong knew, "There are a lot. I heard they're all being thrown out by cart."

Cai Cai shook her head, indicating she didn't know. "I don't care about these things; I'll leave it to my family." Haha, "Anyway, my family won't just let me get married easily."

Tao Ran sighed, "My dad always says that a large family means a prosperous clan. Our family is indeed large; my dad has several homes, and my mom has several homes. When people say they're going home, they ask, 'Which home are we going home to?'"

Um, Cai Cai pats Tao Ran. Back then, Uncle and Aunt Tao Ran broke up because Aunt Tao Ran wanted Uncle to leave the Tang family and live with her in the Tao family.

In Aunt Tao Ran's mind, the Tang family's attitude towards marriage was open and free, not feudal. They didn't require the woman to follow the man wherever he went, nor did they require the man to be extremely successful, nor did they require the woman to live in the man's family home. In short, they valued complete freedom in marriage and relationships. Therefore, she believed that Cai Jinzhi's love for her could make him an extraordinary man, allowing him to leave the Tang family and live with her in the Tao family. She didn't even ask Cai Jinzhi to agree to their child taking her surname.

Yes, Aunt Tao Ran was pregnant at that time, and Cai Jinzhi did indeed want to marry her and start a family. However, he couldn't leave the Tang family, and even if he did, he couldn't live with the Tao family. That life would mean being a slave to the Tao family, devoting himself entirely to their business. That would be practically betraying the Tang family, and how could Cai Jinzhi possibly do that?

Tao Derong's matter-of-fact attitude pleased Cai Jinzhi, but he still patiently reasoned with her. If Tao Derong was tired of her current living environment, they could settle elsewhere and leave. If Tao Derong wanted to claim certain assets of the Tao family, he could help without taking a penny; they were all Tao Derong's premarital property, but the inheritance rights would only be enjoyed by him and Tao Derong's children. If Tao Derong wanted to start her own business, he would absolutely support her; she could use any resources at his disposal, including manpower and materials, free of charge.

Cai Jinzhi later told his family that this was definitely true love.

But Tao Derong disagreed. What she wanted was to establish a female-led family like the Cai family, starting with her children. All she needed to do was provide her children with the best and most stable platform and foundation. That's why Cai Jinzhi broke away from the Tang family.

The Cai family remained silent throughout, respecting Cai Jinzhi's personal choice. The Tao family also remained silent, but Tao Derong's parents and some elders privately apologized to Cai Jinhui, because it was clear that Tao Derong's ideas were too unrealistic and that she had misunderstood the nature of a woman's family. Cai Jinhui stated that it was nothing and there was no need to feel apologetic.

It's really nothing. Not just in Hong Kong, but throughout the country, even the world, countless women want to emulate the Cai family. Power is so alluring, regardless of gender. But no matter what, women who have this thought are remarkable. Even if it's just a thought.

just
Thinking about the eventual outcome and Tao Derong's current situation, Cai Cai didn't know what to say. She was truly speechless.

"Apart from your house being a bit cleaner, who doesn't have a bunch of kids?" Qin Yong sighed. "It's not like they have particularly outstanding genes. They just have kids because they have a little money. If all the kids could really inherit a large sum of money, then their lives wouldn't have been in vain. But what happens? They fight and struggle, working so hard, only to find that their grandparents and parents have spent money like water, while they themselves are counting their money. This kind of disparity makes the kids want to blow up their ancestors' graves, doesn't it?"

"..." Cai Cai looked at Qin Yong, "No, it's not your place to say such things," and glanced at Tao Ran.

Tao Ran rolled his eyes. "Why are you looking at me? I didn't fight for anything. I have enough to live on my own." Mainly, he couldn't compete with the Tao family; the competition was too fierce.

Kong Shilong laughed uncontrollably, “Anyone with a little money will consider themselves extraordinary, and this arrogance will generate a very strong desire to reproduce.” He is a biological researcher, and in his judgment, “the only truly excellent gene is longevity.”

“I think it’s talent.” Qin Yong looked at Cai Cai. “I’ve seen your performances. People online say you’re talented. I didn’t think so at first, but after watching more of your work, I realize you’re definitely different from other actors.”

Cai Cai was a little shy, but also curious, "How is it different?"

“You’re not acting like yourself.” Qin Yong looked intently at Cai Cai. “No matter what, it’s not you.”

Cai Cai was stunned. This was the first time she had received feedback on her acting from her friends; they had never said anything like that before. Not me?

Qin Yong turned his gaze away, smiled, and didn't continue the topic, instead changing the subject.

"Are you attending your family's annual party?" Qin Yong heard from his family, "You're turning 18 soon, and it seems your family is preparing for your debut. You're their only child, so Ms. Cai definitely wants you to appear at the company's annual party. The women in my family are all picking out clothes and jewelry."

Cai Cai really didn't know. "I have no objection. Let my mom arrange it." The main reason was that the Cai family's group annual meeting was really quite large. The one held in Hong Kong was not the only one. Other regions would also hold meetings, but Hong Kong was the original birthplace of several industries. In addition, there were veteran shareholders, employees, and their descendants, so it was the grandest annual meeting in the group. Managers from other regions would also come to attend.

"You're definitely the only one whose coming-of-age ceremony was held at the company's annual meeting." Whether a family loves its children or not is immediately obvious. If a child's coming-of-age ceremony is a business celebration, it's absolutely a sign of love. Other kinds—aristocratic coming-of-age ceremonies, family coming-of-age ceremonies—are just for fun.
“Most families understand that when it comes to children, love follows money. But the parents of large families are always just spouting 'I love you' nonsense.” Kong Shilong’s coming-of-age ceremony was organized by his family, and he was even invited to attend a coming-of-age ceremony for foreign nobles and celebrities. However, his younger brother’s coming-of-age ceremony was held by his parents at the head office’s annual meeting. This means that his younger brother is his parents’ favorite child, and it also means that his younger brother will be the heir to most of the family business in the future.

“I never intended to compete with my brother for anything. I have my own life goals, but my parents just like to create a scene of power struggles, which has made my brother very tired. He can’t even have a chat with me.” Kong Shilong really hates this situation.

Neither Tao Ran nor Qin Yong said a word. The Kong family's affairs...sigh.
Cai Cai had also heard from her family, "We judge by actions, not intentions. Your research funding has never been lacking since you were little, you've lost money all you want, what else can you say? Love can't be compared." How to put it, "Your parents have different expectations for you and your brother. It's because you have no interest in your family's business that your parents created this power struggle scenario. You really don't want it, and your brother won't really hold a grudge against you."

Kong Shilong sighed. "Yeah, it's because they all love us that we're so exhausted. My brother and I are practically developing acting skills."

Qin Yong also said, "It's not that each generation is worse than the last; there are too many declining families, that's why your parents are worried." This is a problem that many families that have been wealthy for more than five generations are worried about. "The old saying goes that wealth doesn't last three generations, but now many families have been wealthy for more than five generations. I think that's about it."

“World peace and social stability lead to the solidification of social circles, which in turn naturally decline. Only through decline can new life emerge.” Kong Shilong clenched his fist. “I believe I can completely transform the Kong family, starting with my generation, by creating a separate family genealogy.”

Cai Cai and the others laughed. What an ambitious goal! "You can do it, you love cows so much." The Kong family mainly deals in energy recycling. If they start doing biotechnology from Kong Shilong's generation, it wouldn't be considered a break in the family business.
Kong Shilong wanted to ask Cai Cai if she, like him, wanted to change the Tang family's social standing, but considering the Tang family's vast wealth and Cai Cai's personality, he thought it unlikely. After all, the Tang family had never ventured into the entertainment industry. Although the entertainment industry was considered lowbrow, its ease of making money was widely acknowledged. The most famous princelings in Hong Kong were basically all from the entertainment circle.

Including the one who was sitting with Cai Cai just now.
"The celebrities from mainland China are all quite good-looking," Kong Shilong said with a smile to Cai Cai. "What was that male celebrity's name? He was really good-looking."

“Cao Xin,” Cai Cai clicked her tongue, “She’s just pretty, her acting is completely terrible.” “Being good-looking is enough,” Tao Ran sighed. “After several generations of reproduction, the early mainland beauty genes in Hong Kong artists have been diluted; even mixed-race individuals don’t produce good-looking ones. I wish I had been born in Hong Kong in the last century, there were so many great beauties.” He had girlfriends in the entertainment industry; it wasn’t that they were ugly, but they had that distinctly Hong Kong beauty, and compared to the mainland beauties, the contrast was stark. “In the last century, Hong Kong women were fashionable; now, you can tell who’s a Hong Kong woman at a glance, they’ve become like country bumpkins from small towns.”

It's so beautiful, it's almost regionally exclusive.

Cai Cai understood what Tao Ran meant. "You're being too harsh. That makes me seem like a country bumpkin. Aesthetic sense has a certain regionality. It's great that you can tell where someone is from at a glance. It means they're deeply nurtured by their hometown. It's frustrating that someone like me, who is clearly of pure Chinese descent, is always mistaken for a foreigner or mixed-race."

"Well," Tao Ran looked at Cai Cai and said, "you are indeed like that. But anyone who knows your family can tell at a glance that you look like a local." The older generation who had met Cai Cai said that Cai Cai looked exactly like Ms. Cai Chunqing, and that she definitely had a retrograde appearance.

"Those great beauties of the last century were all from inland China," says Kong Shilong. His great-grandmother was a stunningly beautiful actress from Liaodong. "I think every era has its share of stunning beauties; it's just that beauty is no longer a scarce resource, nor the only tool for profit, so it's naturally overlooked. There's this concept of genetic reincarnation, isn't there? In the past, when life was tough, genes had to work hard to make people good-looking so they could be passed on. Now that life is better, there's no crisis of extinction, so genes don't work as hard, and good-looking people don't work as hard either, so there are even fewer beautiful people."

Cai Cai laughed and said, "Hong Kong media have analyzed why every woman in my family is a beauty in every generation. It's because of the genes that contribute to our beauty. They're afraid of the family bloodline dying out." Hong Kong media really love to analyze everything and also like to make up metaphysical stories.

"One of the crises in my family is that I'm ugly, but my mom won't let me date anyone good-looking," Tao Ran sighed deeply.

"He complains about the looks of Hong Kong women because all the blind dates his family arranges for him are Hong Kong women," Qin Yong explained to Cai Cai. "His mother won't let him date girls from outside Hong Kong; it can only be local Hong Kong women." He continued, "The truly pro-foreign, anti-united Hong Kong people emigrated eight hundred years ago. Now, 70% of Hong Kong's population are locals, with a smaller portion residing in mainland China or overseas. Some families don't want their descendants to have foreign genes, but they also don't want them to have 'money-grubbing' genes."

Cai Cai considered Tao Ran's mother's personality and nodded in understanding. "Aunt Chen is a native, and my family is also native. When we arranged our marriage with my great-grandmother, we faced a lot of opposition." The number of native residents in Hong Kong is truly small compared to the overall population, and even fewer have managed to become wealthy families—the Tang family, the Tao family, and the Chen family, where Tao Ran's mother belongs. It's not surprising that they would have such a requirement. Many places have a policy of not wanting their children to marry outsiders.
"My mom thinks this way because she's influenced by my grandparents. My family is now called the last pure blood in Hong Kong by the Hong Kong media. My grandparents have really been influenced by the tabloids and have become more extreme. If my aunt's child had been kept, she would have been more confident in fighting for the inheritance now." Tao Ran only dared to say this in front of Cai Cai.

Everyone knows that Cai Jinzhi and Tao Derong's breakup was very messy. If both families hadn't been upright and virtuous, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they would have become mortal enemies.

After realizing that Cai Jinzhi would never agree to her request, Tao Derong impulsively underwent surgery and lost her child. She then went abroad and immediately sent the surgery consent form to the Cai family, saying it was the price for breaking up with Cai Jinzhi.

It is said that Cai Jinzhi wept bitterly while holding the surgery report. The Cai family came to the Tao family's house, originally intending to discuss the engagement, but now they wanted to talk about the children and future public and private relations between the two families. The Tao family was completely unaware of Tao Derong's actions at the time. After hearing what the Cai family had to say, they were shocked and angry, and immediately felt guilty and apologized, saying that they had not raised their child well and that they would definitely find Tao Derong and bring her to the Cai family to apologize.

The Cai family stated that an apology was unnecessary; their priority was finding Tao Derong and taking care of her health. They also said that the Cai family hadn't clearly explained the rules of the arranged marriage, and Cai Jinzhi hadn't made it clear, leading to Tao Derong's misunderstanding. The next step would be mutual apologies and compensation.

Tao Derong was eventually brought back and spoke with Cai Jinzhi in person, after which the two finally broke up completely. This incident did not affect the relationship between the Cai and Tao families.

This is due to both the Cai family's greater prosperity and the Tao family's more traditional nature.

From the Tao family's perspective, Tao Derong's act of disposing of the Cai family's child without their consent meant that even if the Cai family beat Tao Derong to death, it wouldn't be considered excessive. But in reality, to the Cai family, an unborn parasitic fetus, even used as a torture device by its mother in a moment of impulse, held no real weight.
Only when the two parties have different understandings can things proceed smoothly.

Cai Cai knows that the Tao family still feels sorry for her family and her uncle, but for her own family, it was just an immature relationship. It's normal for Aunt Tao Derong to regret it; people always change and mature. At the time, she didn't understand what a child from the Cai family meant, but when she lost him, she immediately understood, without even waiting until now.

"If Aunt Tao's child had been kept, I might not have been the eldest daughter, and I might have taken the Tang surname. I wouldn't be the only son in this generation." The fact that no one in her family is married or having children is putting immense pressure on her! Just thinking about how if she revealed her true parentage, all the gossip would revolve around the Tang family heir, but she really couldn't inherit the family name. She wanted to act.
"You really want to be an actress for life? You should just act until your thirties, right?" Qin Yong inquired about the entertainment industry. "Isn't it said that actresses don't have much of a career after thirty? You might as well retire at your peak and leave a good reputation."

Kong Shilong nodded, "That's what Xiaoshu said too. Otherwise, it's heartbreaking to see someone so old still acting crazy in front of the camera."

"." You guys are so good at hitting me hard!
"There are tons of excellent actresses in their thirties, okay?! Don't pretend to be an expert when you're not one!!" I'm not listening, you're just spouting nonsense!

Hahaha, you've hit a nerve!

"Those socialites from Hong Kong who also act in movies, they look so stiff. It's like they can't even make any expressions."

Tao Ran asked curiously, "Will you come back to Gangcheng to film a movie? It would definitely be a sensation." "If you do film, can I come and see it on location?" She was genuinely curious.

Cai Cai agreed, "No problem, it's just a set visit, anywhere is fine. I don't have any projects in Hong Kong right now." Hehehe, "Mainly because the projects in Hong Kong can't afford me~~~"

"Oh, oh, oh, that's amazing!" Tao Ran laughed heartily.

Cai Cai said smugly, "Of course~~~"

As the Immortal Lord and Si Chen watched Cai Cai chatting and laughing, their hearts were filled with countless thoughts.

Si Chen couldn't help but ask, "If you weren't an actor, would your life be this easy?"

The immortal didn't respond. He was thinking that if Cai Cai didn't become an actress, her social circle would be much larger and her life would be more exciting. Some people's personal world expands when they become entertainers, but for Cai Cai, the world actually shrinks. Has she already realized this difference?

Just then, Mei Zhang came over. "The director wants us to go back and sit down for a bit. There's a short interview, and we can leave after that." He turned to look at Kong Shilong and the other two. "If you're not busy, could you wait a bit? Once Cai Cai's done, we can have a meal together." Cai Cai was genuinely happy to meet an old friend in a foreign land. Mei Zhang thought it would be a good idea to arrange a meal and continue chatting.

(End of this chapter)