Entertainment: I just want to be the boss behind the scenes

Chapter 558 Extra Chapter: Six Wishes for a Bright and Brilliant Future

With Meng Baichao's support, Li Qin's pregnancy and postpartum recovery needs for the next year can be considered foolproof. The only slightly difficult thing to handle is her acting career.

Although Meng Bai didn't want to completely stop acting like both sets of parents, he certainly wouldn't allow her to take on any new dramas at this point.

However, as a currently popular A-list actress, disappearing for a year without explanation would definitely spark countless speculations. Fortunately, Li Qin is not the first celebrity to encounter this problem; many predecessors have already demonstrated a complete solution for her.

For example, when your waistline isn't very noticeable in the early stages, you can participate in lighthearted variety shows and take plenty of photos. As your pregnancy progresses, you can fill the time with simple events and endorsements. Later, when the signs are more obvious, you can periodically post a few photos from before.

Moreover, Li Qin was fortunate that winter was just around the corner, so even if she wore thick clothes, her condition wouldn't be noticeable.

Even if some fans have doubts, it doesn't matter. When she was filming "The Wind Blows in the Summer", she said that she would gradually try some behind-the-scenes work, and this reason can be used.

These matters were discussed by Li Qin and her team, while Meng Bai was busy with another matter during this time—he established a trust fund with a scale of one billion yuan.

This foundation was given to her as a birth gift to the little one she didn't know if it was a son or a daughter.

After more than a month of busy work, everything was finally ready near the end of the year. Only after confirming with the doctor that Li Qin's health was indeed fine did Meng Bai return to Beijing.

Although he has been away for some time, the company has continued to operate normally. ArcLight is now past the point where he needs to be personally involved; he only needs to grasp the overall development strategy.

ArcLight completed its group restructuring this year, and starting next year, its new plan is to push its subsidiary, Apocalypse Entertainment, to go public. This is the first project under the "ArcLight Group" to go public, and therefore, despite the current downturn in the film and television industry, the capital market remains very interested.

Meng Bai accepted all offers of cooperation, since Tianqi Entertainment was essentially a "transfer station" he used to bind various partners.

For him, the core of the entire "Arc Light System" is Arc Light Films, which he created single-handedly; nothing else is that important.

Work-related issues are relatively easy to resolve, but problems in relationships are more difficult to handle.

He stayed in Shanghai for nearly two months. Even the most honest Mai Mai called him several times, not to mention the other girls.

So as soon as they found out he was back, four or five phone calls came in. Some of the more shy ones, like Chaoyue, invited him to "have dinner," while the bolder ones, like Bailu, simply said that they had been at home recently.

And then there's Zhu Xudan, that masochistic junior sister, who started seducing him directly over the phone in a coquettish tone.

As a playboy, Meng Bai tries his best to treat every "little fish" in his pond equally. However, in the end, there are still differences in the closeness or distance between people.

Using the excuse that he hadn't been back for a while and needed to take care of work first, he arranged a few "dates" in order before leisurely going to Li Yitong's place.

"You stayed in Shanghai for quite a while this time."

"Uh... something unexpected happened."

"What's going on? Is it a big problem?"

"It's not troublesome... or rather, it's not me who's in trouble."

Upon hearing this, Li Yitong, who was pouring water at the small bar, looked up at the man in confusion, as she didn't quite understand what he meant.

Meng Bai walked over and looked at the bright face in front of him: "There's something I wanted to tell you..."

"She...is pregnant."

"..."

Li Yitong paused in her work, and after a long while, she casually replied, "Oh, that's quite troublesome."

Meng Bai walked over, hugged the woman from behind, feeling the slight trembling of her body in his arms, and whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry."

"What's there to apologize for? Pregnancy is something you can't control."

Li Yitong smiled casually, then teased in her usual tone, "Great, President Meng, now you finally have someone who can properly call you 'Dad'."

"Tsk, that sounds... a bit awkward."

"Just understand the meaning."

Although Li Yitong's tone was normal, Meng Bai could tell the bitterness in her heart. However, this was something he had to face sooner or later, and he hadn't thought he could hide it from her.

Fortunately, compared to Li Qin, this girl was more mature and didn't resort to crying and making a scene.

However, when it came time to eat, Meng Bai realized that he had underestimated women's competitive nature.

"Grilled oysters with chives, pigeon soup with goji berries, braised mutton with codonopsis... and this."

Li Yitong placed a large beer mug on the table, filled with a dark red liquid: "This is deer blood wine, which I had someone bring from Northeast China."

After introducing the dishes, she smiled sweetly and said, "Eat up! This is a welcome feast I prepared especially for you. You must finish it all!" Looking at the dazzling array of ingredients in front of him, Meng Bai felt a surge of yang energy coming from the table.

He glanced at Li Yitong, who was smiling beside him, and said helplessly, "Ms. Li, you know my capabilities, is this really necessary?"

“There are different kinds of strength. I don’t need the strength of a gun barrel right now; I need the strength of a bullet!”

With that, she slammed her hand on the table and gritted her teeth, saying, "So what if I'm pregnant? It's not like anyone can't get pregnant! Finish this and come inside. If one day isn't enough, try a week. If a week isn't enough, try a month. I don't believe I can't get pregnant, humph!"

Meng Bai: (￣△￣！)——
Winter goes and spring comes; summer ends and autumn arrives.

In the courtyard of the Manhe Villa in northern Beijing, Meng Bai sat in a rocking chair, looking at the yellowing leaves outside, holding a phone in his hand.

"...The film market is sluggish because there are no good movies being released. The only solution is to make more good films. What's the point of having meetings every day? I'm not going. Just find some excuse to cancel."

After hanging up Hua Yan's call, Meng Bai raised his arm and rested it behind his head.

With such beautiful weather, why not stay home, enjoy the breeze, soak up the sun, and spend time with your wife and kids, instead of chatting about movies with a bunch of old men who are about to retire?

He was enjoying the gentle breeze when he suddenly heard a rustling sound. He opened one eye and peeked out, and saw a petite figure tiptoeing towards him.

"Are you sneaking around trying to assassinate me?"

Meng Ziyi, who was tiptoeing towards this side, was startled by the sudden sound and couldn't help but ask, "Uncle, are you not asleep?"

"If you hadn't come over, I probably would have fallen asleep."

Meng Bai responded, then looked at her: "Didn't I tell you to watch over my son? What are you doing here?"

"Forget it, your son just sits there all day with a smile on his face, staring blankly for ages without saying a word. What's there to see?"

"That's called composure under pressure, having the demeanor of a king. What do you know?"

"Okay, okay, your son is amazing!" Meng Ziyi pouted. "The nanny is watching over him, so don't worry."

After saying that, she dragged a deck chair over from a short distance away, placed it next to Meng Bai, and then lay down on it herself.

"Mmm—as expected of Uncle, you really know how to enjoy yourself, this feels so good!"

Where is your aunt?

"Sister Qinqin said I shouldn't call her 'little auntie'," Meng Ziyi said. "She's doing postpartum recovery exercises in her room. She said she hasn't been seen for a long time, and her fans have been asking about her. She's also nominated for Best Actress at the Feitian Awards next month, and she plans to go to the event."

Upon hearing this, Meng Bai mentally calculated the time. Li Qin had given birth two months ago and had been recuperating for a while. Now her body had almost fully recovered, so attending a simple event like an awards ceremony was no problem for her.

Moreover, she was nominated for "Best Actress" this year for "The Wind Blows in the Summer," so her chances of winning are quite high, and Arc Light has been working on it for her recently.

"By the way, Uncle, I heard a while ago that Tongtong is pregnant too?"

"Yes, it's been more than seven months, and your great-aunt has gone to take care of her again."

"Tsk tsk, Auntie works so hard."

"There's nothing I can do. She said they're all family, and she can't trust any of them."

"Boy or girl?"

"girl."

“It’s good to have a girl. I, as her older sister, can take her out to play. She’ll definitely be more interesting than your son.”

"I told you, that's called the demeanor of a king."

"Okay, okay..."

Meng Ziyi muttered something to herself, then looked up at the sky and exclaimed, "The clouds are so beautiful today!"

Meng Bai also opened his eyes.

Clear sunlight streamed through the clouds, casting dappled patterns, and the arc of light on the horizon was dazzling and magnificent.

May the future continue to be bright and beautiful.

(End of this chapter)