A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 215 Femme Fatale
Gong Li is in good form.

She stayed in Hong Kong alone for several months, with almost no public activities and no acting roles. She was also about four months pregnant, but her emotions were very stable.

In the end, she moved into the big house the man bought for her with a clear conscience, considering herself his mistress. She then asked Ge Fuhong for help to hire a Filipino maid to do the rough work, and a local Hong Kong maid, around forty years old, a very meticulous woman, to do the fine work, such as grocery shopping, cooking, and accompanying her for walks.

In short, they manage their lives very well.

She even bought herself a BMW for transportation, to pay for her nanny's grocery shopping, and even got a local Hong Kong driver's license. She'd been in Hong Kong for several years, not exactly a permanent resident, but for the past few years, she'd spent at least half her time there, filming and taking breaks, yet she'd never considered settling down. So she hadn't made any preparations; if she needed to stay longer, she'd simply rent an apartment, and for shorter stays, she'd just stay in a hotel. But now, having decided to stay in Hong Kong long-term, even for pregnancy and childbirth, she handled everything with remarkable decisiveness and speed, getting everything sorted out in no time.

So when Lin Jianlu knocked on her door early in the morning, what she saw was not only her face full of surprise, but also a house that had been completely organized and neatly arranged, and her calm, serene and contented "secluded life"—she was quite famous in Hong Kong and was a recognized powerhouse actress. As long as she was willing to integrate into the local community, someone of her level would have no shortage of opportunities and could open up new acting roles at any time. However, she had disappeared from Hong Kong and even from the mainland for almost half a year without making any public appearances.

Holding her hand, Lin Jianlu walked around the house, and couldn't help but praise her, "It's changed so much! If I wasn't sure I was in the right place, I would have thought I came to the wrong place! Not bad, not bad, you have good taste!"

She was delighted that Lin Jianlu appreciated her collection of ornaments and paintings, and even admired her small adjustments to the room's decor. "Many of them were brought from China, and some were bought when I went abroad. Now that I've settled down, I've shipped them all over!"

Yes, overjoyed.

She chattered away, talking non-stop, so sweet and gentle, and then pulled Lin Jianlu to see her new bed and the little tea room specially set up in the second-floor living room. "I've noticed several times that you really like to stand by the window and look at the sea, whether it's in the hotel or anywhere else. So I thought I should turn this place into a tea room, so that when you come to stay, you can sit here, drink tea, and look at the sea."

“I didn’t originally want the mahjong room anymore, since I don’t play mahjong. But I remember you said you sometimes meet up with friends to play mahjong, so I kept it. The old exhaust fan was a bit noisy, so I had someone replace it with a new ventilation system. Now it’s much better, and there’s no smell when you smoke in the room. If you want to play mahjong, just invite people over, and I’ll serve you tea!”

Lin Jianlu laughed heartily, hugged her, and kissed her.

It's truly rare—in the past, I only knew that in private, she was both charming and affectionate, and was by no means the aloof and cold Empress Gong. But as we got to know each other better, and I even kept her as my lover, I gradually came to understand that she was meticulous, thoughtful, and actually very willing to please her man.

In this respect alone, she is even comparable to Chen Hong.

After wandering around for quite a while, letting her show off her work achievements and life experiences over the past few months, she suddenly came to her senses, stood at the top of the stairs, and called to her maid in the local dialect, instructing her to go out and buy groceries. She even rattled off the names of several dishes. The maid agreed and went out to buy groceries. She then put her arm around Lin Jianlu's waist and said, "This nanny is great. She can cook a lot of local dishes. Even I, a northerner, think they're quite delicious. Today, let her cook some local dishes for you, and I'll make you a couple of northern dishes."

"to make!"

So, their time together was short-lived. Her nanny returned, and she quickly went downstairs to direct and help with the preparations, including picking and washing vegetables. Her maid, however, kept pushing her out, saying, "The master has come all this way, go and keep him company! I can manage." She thought for a moment, then smiled, washed her hands, and went back upstairs. She saw Lin Jianlu reclining on a chair in the small tea room, basking in the warm winter sun, flipping through the script she had left on the coffee table. She smiled and busied herself boiling water and making tea for Lin Jianlu.

"This film, 'Truth or Dare,' was handed over by director Derek Yee through Cherie Chung. It seems to be funded by Singapore. It's a romantic comedy. I have no idea why he would want me to act in a romantic comedy. There's another book on the table. It's a script by Stephen Chow called 'King of Comedy.' Oh dear, I didn't want to take it either. I acted in his 'Flirting Scholar,' and after I finished filming it, I felt really awkward watching the finished product."

Speaking of this, she is, after all, still the Empress Gong, and her tone became much lower and more assertive. She was no longer the little woman or pregnant woman who used to fawn over her man.

"Yeah, whatever you want."

Lin Jianlu just flipped through it casually, but after reading the script, he didn't think "Truth or Dare" was very interesting. So when Gong Li came up, he was too lazy to read it anymore and just tossed it back onto the coffee table.

"Come here, let me touch your belly."

She was only four months pregnant and her pregnancy wasn't showing yet, but Lin Jianlu was already quite experienced with women's pregnancies. He had touched her earlier and was already thinking about it again. When she came over, he even deliberately lifted her T-shirt so he could touch her again—it just wasn't showing yet. But for Lin Jianlu, who was extremely familiar with women's bodies and quite familiar with the body in front of him, he could still immediately tell the difference.

Actually, there's already a small bulge.

I checked, it's a girl, my second daughter.

Gong Li sat down next to him, lifting the hem of her T-shirt, and watched him gaze so affectionately at her little belly. A smile involuntarily appeared on her face again. "You like it?"

"Nonsense! She's my daughter!"

She smiled again, but after thinking for a moment, she suddenly said, "Hey, I need to discuss something with you."

"explain."

"What do you think... it would be okay if the child was born with my surname?"

Lin Jianlu suddenly looked up. "What? Your surname is Gong?"

"Um! Is that okay?"

"Is his name Gong Hanlin?"

"Get lost! Just because your surname is Gong doesn't mean you have to be named Gong Hanlin!"

Lin Jianlu withdrew her hand, but then grabbed her chin with her other hand. "What do you want to say? Speak plainly, don't play riddles with me!"

The tone wasn't very pleasant.

He himself has been aware of this, and it has been about six months in the past. He feels that he is becoming less and less "warm" and "gentle" when facing most people and things.

As he becomes more famous, his status rises, and his career expands, so do the things that come his way. Every day, he is surrounded by all sorts of people and things, including but not limited to money, stocks, personnel, management, sales, ratings, favors, connections, circles, and even the almost ubiquitous jealousy and rivalry among women. All of these things are making him increasingly impatient.

As a result, he increasingly preferred to get straight to the point in his speech and actions.

If you have a problem, just tell me. I'll try to solve it for you if I can. If I can't, I'll tell you directly and see if you can change your approach or your requirements. If all else fails, we can part ways.

Just don't beat around the bush or try to probe me.

Gong Li was clearly clever enough to tell from Lin Jianlu's words that he was not happy. So, while she was grumbling, her tone softened and she even pushed him. Although it was a complaint, it was full of flattery. "Look at you, you got angry as soon as we started talking. I was just discussing it with you!"

But Lin Jianlu didn't take the bait, saying, "Discuss what?!"

He released Gong Li's chin, looked her in the eye frankly, and said, "You don't need to test me. I've said it before: as long as it's my child, I'll acknowledge it, and the child must take my surname! If you insist on having the child take your surname, fine, you conceived it, you gave birth to it, you're the child's biological mother, of course you have that right. But let me make this clear: if the child takes your surname, I'll pay child support every month until the child turns eighteen. After eighteen, I won't care about her anymore. If I die and leave anything behind, she shouldn't even think about it! Understand?"

Gong Li nudged him again, seemingly a little unhappy, but her eyes and brows betrayed her inner excitement. She glared at him and said, "Look at you, what are you saying! I already said I was just asking you. You said the child should take your surname, so of course it should. There's no rule that a child should take the mother's surname! I was asking you because I didn't want to put you in a difficult position, just to confirm... You really are something!"

"Don't give me that! You can rest assured of everything I, Lin Jianlu, have said. I'll keep my word for years to come!"

This time, she stopped pretending and leaned against Lin Jianlu, pouting and whining, "Okay, okay! I won't ask anymore, I won't ask anymore, alright? Oh... don't be angry!"

Seeing that Lin Jianlu just hummed in response, she decisively changed the subject and asked, "Hey, by the way, last time we talked on the phone, you vaguely mentioned that all the girls in our family are named after rivers. What did that mean?"

Well, once this question was asked, Lin Jianlu had no choice but to explain to her.

The child's name was chosen by Lin's father. He initially came up with eight characters, which was back in the spring of last year. At that time, Chen Shuhua, Su Huilun, and Lin Qingxia were all pregnant but hadn't given birth yet. Lin's parents were already overjoyed. So, Lin's father thought about it for many days and finally settled on the eight characters "Peace, Joy, and Abundant Fortune." He said that since Lin Jianlu liked children and wanted to have more, they should use these eight characters in the order.

Later, it was learned that his son's number of women was likely already in the double digits, and Lin Jianlu himself estimated that he would have at least a double digits of children in the future. Lin's father was speechless. After thinking it over, he decided to separate the girls and took the names of eight rivers from the Book of Songs to prepare specifically for girls.

"My generation's name uses the character 'Jian,' and the next generation's name uses the character 'Shun,' so it means peace, joy, good fortune, and abundance. That is to say, my sons, like Shu Hua's eldest son, are named Lin Shunping; my second son, Qing Xia's eldest son, is named Lin Shunan; and my third son is named Lin Shunxi. My daughters have eight names: Qi, Huai, Ji, Han, Zhen, Ru, Wei, and Qing. The one in your belly should be named Lin Shunhuai when he is born."

"Why use the river's name? My dad said he researched it and found that if you look back at the character '顺' (shùn) in oracle bone script and bronze inscriptions, it means a small canoe drifting downstream. So girls all use river names from the Book of Songs! ...What's wrong? Doesn't it sound nice?"

Gong Li snapped back to reality. "No! It sounds nice! Lin Shunhuai, it's a very nice name! And the fact that it's a name specially taken from the Book of Songs makes it sound very poetic!"

At this point, she said, seemingly casually, "No wonder Dad teaches Chinese; he's really knowledgeable."

"Ah."

Lin Jianlu didn't pay attention to her mention of "our dad," and just said, "Actually, I've thought of names for the child myself, but my parents rejected them, saying they weren't good enough. Tch...sigh!"

What name did you choose?

"May our dynasty last for a thousand autumns and ten thousand years, and may we unify the martial world!"

"Pfft...hahahaha!"

…………

"Brother Qiu, it's been a long time! We meet again!"

"Haha, yes! As long as you're not busy, we can see each other every day!"

"Tch! I'm not going to see you every day. What's so great about your face!"

"Hahaha!"

In the evening, at a typical Hong Kong-style tea restaurant, Ge Fuhong waited for Lin Jianlu at the door, led him in, knocked on the door of the private room, and there he met Qiu, the big boss from Taiwan.

Comrade Lao Qiu is in high spirits lately, and it's said he'll soon be residing permanently in Hong Kong.

Last autumn, the Southeast Asian financial crisis hit Hong Kong and Taiwan. Just then, Lam Kin-lu suddenly launched an attack on Lam Kin-yuet's family. Boss Chiu acted as an intermediary and helped Lam Kin-lu take over ATV. Later, Lam Kin-lu specially invited him for a drink, and the two had a deep conversation. Many of Lam Kin-lu's words moved him.

The two of them agreed at the time that they would do something together.

Later in December, international financial giants launched a second surprise attack on Hong Kong, causing the Hang Seng Index to collapse again. Although Lin Jianlu was filming at the foot of Tianshan Mountain, he was unwilling to admit defeat after receiving the news. He allocated another sum of money and put it in the hands of Wu Minghua, who was then serving as his administrative assistant and in charge of setting up his investment company in Hong Kong. They acquired another 2% of Hong Kong City Telecom shares in the stock market.

It was around that time that Comrade Qiu, both fearful and excited, called Lin Jianlu for several nights in a row. He eventually made up his mind, transferred some money, and followed Lin Jianlu's lead, acquiring approximately 2% of Hong Kong Telecom's shares. He may not have fully believed Lin Jianlu's prediction that the mainland would inevitably rise, but he probably also felt that Hong Kong had millions of people! He may not have believed Lin Jianlu's assertion that the future would be the age of the internet, but he did believe one thing: that mobile phones would likely become increasingly widespread, making it definitely the era of mobile communications!
And then, he made the right choice!
After New Year's Day, as the financial crisis gradually subsided, the market in Hong Kong, including the stock market, began to stabilize. Then, when Hong Kong City Telecom announced its 1997 results, with a turnover of HK$261 billion and a net profit of HK$72 billion, and announced a dividend of HK$64 billion, Hong Kong City Telecom's stock price jumped up in an instant, from a total market value of only HK$310 billion at the time to HK$960 billion in just over a day. It seems that it was only at that time that Hong Kong's stock speculators, financial institutions, and even ordinary stock investors suddenly came to their senses.

Yes, no matter how severe the financial crisis is, or how pessimistic people are about Hong Kong's future, what does it have to do with Hong Kong City Telecom? Its annual turnover and profits have been steadily increasing, and very steadily at that!
As long as Hong Kong still has its base of six or seven million people, and as long as people still need to make phone calls, use mobile phones, watch TV, and even use the international internet, Hong Kong Telecom's revenue and profits are guaranteed!

So now, after the Spring Festival, Hong Kong City Telecom has not only seen its total market value rise to a staggering HK$1300 billion, but it has also helped the Hang Seng Index rise to over 8000 points!
It can be said that Hong Kong was generally peaceful and happy around the Lunar New Year, as if the impact of the financial crisis had dissipated by a large part. A large part of the credit for this can be attributed to the annual reports and dividend announcements of several companies, such as Hong Kong City Telecom – which immediately calmed the public's mind!

Meanwhile, Lin Jianlu made two separate moves, investing a total of approximately HK$14.2 billion to acquire a little over 4% stake in Hong Kong City Telecom. Not only did he receive a one-time dividend of HK$2.56 million, but the market value of his own shares also reached as high as HK$52 billion!
In just four or five months, Lin Jianlu's net profit has reached more than HK$40 billion!
Following his lead, Mr. Qiu even bought shares at a lower price than Lin Jianlu. He bought them in December, when the market value of Hong Kong City Telecom had fallen to just over 300 billion. He spent 6 million Hong Kong dollars to buy the shares and not only received 1.28 million in dividends a month later, but his shares are now worth 26 billion!
He was absolutely overjoyed!
When Hong Kong City Telecom released its annual financial report and dividend announcement, its stock price began to jump. He couldn't help but call Lin Jianlu, who was still in New York at the time, twice, expressing his extreme joy.

He himself said, "I haven't earned so much money in such a short period of time in many years!" Indeed, this is the largest and fastest sum of money Lin Jianlu has ever earned!
Even for a company as powerful as Yahoo, Lin Jianlu has invested nearly 1.5 million US dollars in several rounds, and its market value is only slightly over 7 million US dollars. The time frame has been more than a year, and the total return is only a little over 5 million US dollars. Tsk, the total profit is only a little over three times!

Hong Kong City Telecom is different. In just over four months, its profit margin has reached nearly three times!

But he still has no intention of making a move—unless a better investment opportunity comes along.

Chatting casually, having a good talk.

Since everyone shares common interests and similar goals, and has just made a fortune together, sitting down for a drink now naturally makes it easier for them to have more in common than before.

The conversation quickly expanded to include television stations.

As the leading figure in Taiwanese media, Qiu was naturally in his area of ​​expertise, and Lin Jianlu was very willing to consult him. In the end, they even reached a verbal agreement on a series of future collaborations.

Everyone invested money in making the film, and Boss Qiu provided ATV with some professionals in digital transformation, in exchange for a series of collaborations on variety shows.

And so on, and so on and so forth.

During a lull in the conversation, Ge Fuhong, who was serving drinks, suddenly interjected, asking Lin Jianlu when she would do him the honor of visiting her agency.

This topic is a bit abrupt. Lin Jianlu has been signed under her name for almost two years. Although the contract change last autumn may not have been very pleasant between her and Zhang Aijia, neither of them has passed on this unpleasantness to Lin Jianlu. Their relationship is still very good.

But why would I go to your agency?
Lin Jianlu didn't pay any attention and casually replied, "Maybe another day when you have time."

But she didn't give up. Just as Boss Qiu got up to go to the bathroom, she added, "After the Spring Festival, I signed a little girl. I think she has great potential and I'd like you to take a look at her."

Lin Jianlu turned to look at her in surprise, "A girl?"

He paused for a moment, then nodded. "That works too."

However, seemingly afraid that Lin Jianlu hadn't understood her meaning, Ge Fuhong opened her bag, took out a photo, and handed it over, saying, "Take a look. He's only eighteen. Isn't he a promising talent?"

Lin Jianlu took it and looked at it... Wow!

…………

The next morning, Lin Jianlu went to Media Asia Cinema.

Several months passed in the blink of an eye. Although Lin Jianlu had not been deeply involved in Media Asia Films since he invested, and had only assigned Shi Nansheng to the company, and the daily operations were always overseen by CEO Zhuang Cheng, he was still the chairman of the board. Every now and then, he would need to come back to complete some procedures and sign documents to approve projects that Zhuang Cheng and Shi Nansheng had their eye on.

When he arrived, after quickly finishing his desk work, Zhuang Cheng, Shi Nansheng, and several other senior executives from the company came to sit in his office. While they were drinking tea and chatting, Shi Nansheng took the lead and suddenly brought up Hou Hsiao-hsien and his turbulent film "Flowers of Shanghai".

Lin Jianlu couldn't help but chuckle, "Oh my..."

In the past month or so, Hou Hsiao-hsien has really used every trick in the book.

It was Brigitte Lin who first probed the issue. Later, on set, Wang Zuxian, I don't know who answered the phone, also started whispering in his ear. Last night, Boss Qiu also brought it up, saying that it was pretty much settled, so let's just let it go! As a result, today at Media Asia Films, even Zhuang Cheng and Shi Nansheng became his advocates.

But thinking about it again, he is, after all, one of the most recognized masters of art films in the entire Chinese film industry, so it's not surprising that he would have a wide and reliable network of connections.

Although Lin Jianlu never intended to make things difficult for him, and since there was no contract, it was normal for him to switch to another company after meeting a new and more generous investor. It wasn't like his woman was being taken away by someone else. Lin Jianlu was very open-minded about such things. Besides, Hou Xiaoxian's films actually had a fairly high probability of losing money. If he came to him himself, he would still be willing to invest, but it didn't matter if he didn't.

However, while he thought this way, the people around him, especially those in the Hong Kong and Taiwan film circles, dared not think of him that way. Lin Jianyue had already fallen from power at the end of October and was directly kicked out of his home. The investment he had promised was completely gone, and Hou Xiaoxian could do nothing about it. So, he was too embarrassed to go back to Media Asia Films to beg for help, and began to beg for donations in the Hong Kong film circle.

As a result, at least dozens of film companies, large and small, in Hong Kong all declined the offer!

Many people bluntly stated: "I dare not vote!"

It has nothing to do with worrying about losing money, nothing to do with anything else, it's simply that I'm too afraid to invest!

After that, in December, Lin Jianlu received a timid phone call from Li Jiaxin at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains. Li Jiaxin repeatedly apologized and stated that she would never appear in "Flowers of Shanghai".

It is said that there is a cinema owner in Hong Kong who specializes in showing imported films. I think his surname is Jiang. He seems to be very interested in expanding his business into film investment. He seems to be a bit desperate to invest in projects that other companies dare not take on. However, it is said that after only one contact, he immediately received advice from his circle of friends. Upon hearing this, he was stunned and decisively declined Hou Hsiao-hsien's offer.

However, Lin Jianlu swears to God that he only heard about these things later!

"Okay, okay, so you mean that unless it's Media Asia Films that invests, no matter what I say to the outside world, everyone will be suspicious and no one will dare to invest, is that what you mean?"

Everyone laughed.

Seeing their expressions, Lin Jianlu didn't bother to ask any further questions—"Hmm, Governor Hua!"

Ha! I'd be so happy if I were really the Governor of Hong Kong!
"Alright, when I have time to come over another day, I'll let you know in advance. You can invite Director Hou over so we can all meet, shake hands, and let bygones be bygones. It'll still be the same plan as before: Media Asia Films, Longxin Films, and Forbidden City Films will jointly invest. Is that okay now?"

Shi Nansheng chimed in, "With those words from you, 'Flowers of Shanghai' has come back to life!"

The next day, Lin Jianlu met director Hou Hsiao-hsien again at Media Asia Films.

As he said, they shook hands, chatted briefly, and when Hou Hsiao-hsien wanted to apologize, Lin Chien-lu waved his hand to interrupt, saying, "There's no need to say these things. I don't actually object to you cooperating with any company. As long as there's no contract, the project is still your project. It's just that everyone insists that if I don't cooperate with you, no one will dare to take on 'Flowers of Shanghai' or invest in it! Well then, I've always admired Mr. Hou's artistic talent. Since that's the case, then I'll have to invest in it!"

"However, to show our sincerity and to clear my name, we don't need to cancel the actors we already had. I heard you went to Liu Jialing and Li Jiaxin later, so you should continue to use them! Tell them that I have agreed to it, so they don't need to worry about anything and can focus on filming."

Hou Hsiao-hsien was very grateful and thanked him repeatedly.

Lin Jianlu didn't care to begin with, and now she's even less inclined to pursue his previous betrayal.

So, the complete contract had been prepared several months in advance. After a brief chat to clear up the previous conflicts, everyone signed the contract on the spot.
The "Flowers of Shanghai" project has finally been finalized.

That afternoon, Lin Jianlu received another call from Li Jiaxin, still with that timid, gentle voice, "Lin Sheng, I received another call from Sister Nan Sheng, urging me to act in 'Flowers of Shanghai.' She said that in the end, you showed mercy and decided to give him a way out. She even said that you would allow Director Hou to use the previously chosen actors, and you wouldn't mind. But I really don't want to act anymore!"

"Then do whatever you want! I don't care."

"Oh, I see! Mr. Lin, now that you're back in Hong Kong, I wonder if you have time? I'd like to invite you to dinner. As you know, I've always admired you, but I've never had the chance to meet you in person."

Lin Jianlu chuckled, thought for a moment, and said, "Miss Li, you can just focus on your filming. No matter whose film you're in, I won't put on airs with an actress like you, understand?"

She quickly explained, "No, I really just admire you a lot and want to get to know you."

Lin Jianlu paused for a long time without speaking. He could sense that Li Da Meiren's breathing was gradually becoming tense on the other end of the phone, yet she was forcibly restraining herself. Finally, Lin Jianlu spoke again, saying, "I have a lot of money, but I won't spend too much money on women."

This statement is quite straightforward and blunt.

Frankly speaking, even if the relationship was strained, Lin Jianlu wouldn't have said such things to anyone else. But the woman on the other end of the phone, whether in her past life or this one, left Lin Jianlu with an impression that couldn't be worse—simply because, supposedly, even after marrying that rich second-generation heir, she still maintained a connection with Da Liu, asking him for luxury goods and handbags. That was something Lin Jianlu absolutely couldn't tolerate. No matter how beautiful she was, Lin Jianlu would never be attracted to a woman like that.

To everyone's surprise, the woman on the other end of the phone neither rushed to refute nor offered any explanation. After a moment of silence, she spoke again, her voice suddenly dropping eight octaves, and even seemed to carry a hint of a sob, "I understand. Then I'm sorry, Mr. Lin, for bothering you!"

Ugh, it's so weird. As soon as she said that, and maybe it was because of the slight sob in her voice, Lin Jianlu suddenly felt like he could picture the beautiful Li Jiaxin standing right in front of him, silently shedding tears, looking incredibly pitiful—and he actually felt a strange pang of sympathy for her!

"Ah."

Forcibly suppressing his wild thoughts, Lin Jianlu silently muttered, "She's a femme fatale," and gave a simple reply before hanging up. However, out of politeness, he paused slightly, and surprisingly, the other end of the line did not hang up.

Suddenly, an awkward silence fell over them.

After a good ten seconds, a soft sob came from the other end, followed by a more intense cry, as she said, "Actually... I do love money, but I'm really not the kind of person the media portrays me as!"

Lin Jianlu pursed her lips and remained silent.

After at least ten seconds, Li Da Meiren slowly said, "How could I not love money? My family was so poor when I was little, so I knew very early on that I had to do everything I could to make money. But..."

“The media says I’m a femme fatale, but Mr. Lin, you know Ah Liu, tell me, besides his money, what else could I possibly want from him?”

“I was kept by him for several years, but I never betrayed him during the time we were together! I want to marry him, I hope he can give me a marriage and be faithful to me, is that wrong?”

"As for me and his wife... I was young back then and still believed in love. I didn't want to be kept by someone. I wanted more reasons to fall in love with him! Also, I would get jealous! He told me that he and his wife had no feelings for each other anymore, and that he only loved me, so I wanted to marry him!"

"Lin Sheng, you've had many girlfriends, you must have experienced that. Don't your girlfriends ever argue in private? Is it necessary to make such a nasty statement about women fighting over men?"

"I was just too stupid back then. I didn't know how to protect my reputation at all. I didn't even try to defend myself. I knew I was doing something that would make me look down on. Then someone secretly recorded me... It was from that moment that I decided to break up with him completely. I don't believe that if he really loved me and wanted to protect me, his wife would still dare to release the recording."

“Mr. Lin, you have many girlfriends, and your girlfriends must have quarreled in private, but so far, none of the girls who have been with you have had any bad reputations. But after being with Ah Liu for several years, all the bad reputations in Hong Kong are about me. All sorts of bad things have been pinned on me!”

"If he had protected me and taken better care of me from the beginning, I might not have dared to cause trouble with his wife. Even now, I would still be his mistress, living a quiet life."

"Lin Sheng, I'm telling you this... I don't mean anything by it, I'm just blaming my bad luck. I also blame myself for being young and naive back then, for not knowing how to judge people, and for choosing a man like him. Over the years, he's given me nothing but money, not even a little protection. He just let all the media attack me, and even actively boasted about how much money he spent on me. He didn't care what the outside world thought of me; he just wanted to satisfy his vanity of having won over a beautiful woman!"

"Because that's how he is, I quickly realized that's just how he is. He won't show any pity to any woman who's with him. So, I didn't know what to do, so I could only try even harder to get money from him... Waaah, Lin Sheng, I want more than just money! What's the use of having so much money? I already have enough. I just want to find a man to protect me!"

"But if I go with him, all I can ask for is money. And all he has is money."

"Besides money, he had nothing."

(End of this chapter)