A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 83 Inevitable
She cried for a long time.

When she looked up again, her eyes were red and still brimming with tears.

Lin Jianlu had already loosened his arms, but she didn't let go. Instead, she hugged him even tighter, tilting her head back, her voice becoming more nasal, as if asking a question, or perhaps pleading, "Brother Lu... why are you so good to me!"

He chuckled, "I just felt sorry for you!"

She chuckled and sniffed, "Yeah, a silly girl who just rushes around to announcements and film sets every day, running here and there, suffocating under the weight of those debts... Brother Lu, there are so many people in this world, but only you pity me! Even my mother just cries by herself."

Tears welled in her eyes, her emotions were genuine and heartfelt.

Lin Jianlu was momentarily distracted. She subconsciously raised her hand to wipe away her tears, then gently hugged her and patted her back. "Okay, don't cry. I'll take you home!"

She finally nodded and released Lin Jianlu.

So they flagged down a car and got on together.

As soon as she got in the car, she hugged Lin Jianlu's arm and rested her head on his shoulder.

Until I got off the bus.

When the taxi arrived at the street where she lived, she seemed to hesitate for a moment before getting out of the car, but the look the driver in the front seat gave her through the rearview mirror made her hesitate and she didn't pounce on him.

So he got out of the car, stood outside and waved until the car completely disappeared around the street corner.

…………

Back at the hotel, to my surprise and delight, Chen Shuhua was there.

"Oh! You've already discussed it with your mother?"

She must have brought her own pajamas, and had obviously already showered and changed. Hearing the noise, she got up from the sofa, came over and hugged Lin Jianlu, but didn't answer the question. She just said, "I'll run you a bath, soak for a while?"

Let's take a soak then.

In fact, Lin Jianlu is not the kind of person who particularly enjoys a so-called luxurious life. To put it simply, she lives a rather rough life. She does like to take a bath, but usually only takes three to five minutes to rinse off.

But if someone is willing to go through all that trouble, then enjoying a bath is not a bad idea.

When taking off her clothes, Lin Jianlu secretly sniffed herself, unsure whether the T-shirt still smelled of Jia Jingwen's perfume or tears.

On the contrary, the smell of sweat should be stronger—it's gotten hot again these past two days, and he and Alyssa Chia stood and hugged for a long time on the street outside the hotel, so they were really covered in sweat.

He took a quick shower, and the bathwater was already running. He lay down in the tub, and Chen Shuhua, still a little shy, sat down beside him with a slightly flushed face and helped him wash his body. As she did so, she said, "When I came, Huilun was already planning to take a shower, but when she saw me, she went back to her room."

"Oh."

As long as the two of them have a tacit understanding, Lin Jianlu doesn't plan to get involved.

It's not that I'm unwilling or unable, but the idea of ​​having two girls on either side is already quite sensational. It's obvious that both girls harbor some resentment. Letting them resolve things themselves, or secretly compete and have some harmless little squabbles, is fine. But if I intervene and manipulate them at will, how can I possibly treat them equally?

How can there ever be true impartiality in the world?

Over time, resentment will inevitably build up.

That's good. The two of them are very familiar with each other, and their relationship was quite harmonious before. Even if there were some minor grudges, neither of them are girls who are prone to malice or hostility. Over time, even if they develop a deep-seated grudge, they may not necessarily become enemies.

Looking at her face, I reached out and touched her smooth cheek. "Your eyes are a little swollen, or did you two have a fight?"

She smiled, a smile that was both helpless and dejected, and finally said dejectedly, "I told you I missed you, and I wanted to come to the hotel to be with you, I didn't want to stay at home. My mother got angry, and I got angry too... We've been arguing for decades, and in the end, we're still arguing. I don't know when this will end."

Lin Jianlu touched her face affectionately. She seemed to sense this pity, looked up, and smiled.

"I didn't even give her a heads-up or discuss it with her before I came and kicked Huilun out. Remember to coax her tomorrow and don't let her hold a grudge against me."

"it is good!"

"Did you go see a friend tonight?"

"I suppose so, Qiong Yao. We discussed some TV series collaborations."

"You're going to act?"

"How could that be! Acting doesn't pay that much... I could only do a cameo at most! Besides, even if I were to act, I'd act in Wang Jing's movies. I feel uncomfortable watching Qiong Yao's TV dramas, let alone acting in them!"

"Ah."

"But if we're talking about doing business, Qiong Yao Opera is a very good investment opportunity."

"Um... I need to discuss something with you. I want to buy another house in Taipei."

"Hmm? Why?... Oh! I see! Sigh... Then I'll buy it! A woman marries a man for food and clothing. I'm already greedy enough, it wouldn't be right for you to buy me a house and support me." She smiled, moved behind Lin Jianlu, and gently wiped his back. "But I have money! I'm not short of money. Record sales have been much better in recent years than in the 1980s. Since I came to Rock Records, I've released so many records, and they've all sold very well. Only my last album was a failed transition and sold relatively poorly. But over the years, my total record sales should be around nine million copies. I don't have any extravagant expenses; I've basically saved it all. Although my mother manages it for me, it's still my account. If I really want to sell those stocks and withdraw the money from the fixed deposit, my mother can't stop me."

"Won't this escalate the conflict?"

"Even if it escalates, it's inevitable! I'm already thirty-eight years old. It's not like I'm going to do anything illegal. I'm just setting up a small family for myself, which is a legitimate expense."

Lin Jianlu remained silent for a long time without saying a word.

It wasn't until she brushed her back and turned to face him, their eyes meeting, that he said, "I'll buy them... I'll talk to Huilun tomorrow and find a nice villa area. We might not be able to find two completely adjacent houses, but it's always better to be close by, making it easier to visit each other and look after one another. I'll buy two houses, and we can quietly build our own little home."

However, she shook her head, clearly having her own ideas about buying a house, and quite firmly believing in them. "Villas are so expensive! And it's really unnecessary. I've lived in a villa for many years, and it just feels empty. I often wake up in the middle of the night wanting a drink of water, but I don't dare to go to the living room by myself."

She paused for a moment, then said, "If you really want to stay with Huilun and me forever and buy us a house, I think it would be a better choice to find an inconspicuous neighborhood with a good reputation for living, like two houses across from each other on the same floor. The size doesn't need to be too big, 30 square meters is enough."

Lin Jianlu couldn't help but reach out and touch her face again.

"Do you know that you are a very gentle and kind girl?"

She smiled, and after thinking for a moment, she replied, "I only realized this after meeting you."

Lin Jianlu smiled upon hearing this, released her face, and slipped his hand inside the knitted neckline of her loose and alluring camisole nightgown. She smiled shyly and gently patted the back of his hand.

…………

Lin Chien-lu has never really wanted to buy a house in Taipei.

Firstly, of course, it's because he has no sense of belonging here. Every time he comes, it's purely for his career and to make money. Secondly, the housing prices here have remained high since the 1990s.

In Taipei's Xinyi District, the price is about NT$250,000 to NT$300,000 per ping (a unit of area measurement in Taiwan), while in Da'an District it's about NT$200,000. One ping is about 3.3 square meters, which translates to about NT$60,000 to NT$90,000 per square meter, or roughly RMB 15,000 to RMB 20,000. A couple of days ago, while having lunch at the company, Lin Jianlu casually asked Liu Ruoying about her experience. She mentioned that last winter, she made a down payment of over NT$3.4 million to buy a 42-ping (about 130 square meters) apartment, with a mortgage of NT$7 million for 20 years, resulting in monthly principal and interest payments of NT$70,000.

Spending 2 million RMB to buy a 100-square-meter apartment in Taipei might still appreciate in value in the future, but compared to that, Lin Jianlu would rather go to places like the capital or Shanghai. Even if she chooses a particularly expensive place like the Asian Games Village, it would only cost between 8,000 and 11,000 RMB per square meter. It is said that recently many public housing units in Haidian District have started to be sold, probably by another group of people who are eager to go abroad. The asking price is as low as 5,000 to 6,000 RMB per square meter - and those are all top-notch school district properties!

With 200 million RMB, wouldn't it be great to buy three or four school district properties in Haidian District and keep them for appreciation?

The same principle applies to Hong Kong!

Although the return is approaching, the wave of property sales there has continued unabated, and housing prices have been on a downward trend for more than a year. It can be said that they are currently at a rare low point.

However, it still costs between HK$30,000 and HK$80,000 per square meter!

A so-called "luxury" apartment of about 90 square meters still costs between three or four million and seven or eight million! Not only is it ridiculously expensive compared to the capital, but it is also not cost-effective compared to Taipei.

But... go ahead and buy it!
So you have a woman here!

Whether it was a momentary attraction or a breakdown in their mental state, in any case, they were compatible and slept together.

It's hard to say about Su Huilun. She's in the prime of her youth, and although she's clearly infatuated with him, and can even tolerate Chen Shuhua, it's hard to say what the future holds. Chen Shuhua, on the other hand, has made it clear that he intends to stay with her for life.

Of course, we should at least buy them a house and help them settle down.

It's just a pity that next time we come, we won't be able to stay in a hotel suite anymore, so we'll have to save Lao Duan some money.

The next day, when Lin Jianlu mentioned it to Su Huilun, she was stunned and speechless for several seconds. Her eyes even reddened slightly. Then, as if to hide it, she took the initiative to hug Lin Jianlu and buried her head in her chest.

After a long while, she finally raised her head again, her voice sweet and cloying, still tinged with a sob, and when she spoke, it was a deliberately provocative question: "You're going to take care of me?"

"is it not OK?"

"Will you support him for life?"

"Yes!"

She pursed her lips, as if about to laugh, but then turned her head away haughtily, "You don't need to support me! I'm not short of money!"

However, she ran off to find Chen Shuhua to discuss where to buy a house. No one knows what they whispered about for a long time, but by evening, she came over, smiling sweetly, and volunteered to hug Lin Jianlu's arm, saying that once the album "Duck" was finished, she would go with Chen Shuhua to choose a house.

Then she started babbling on and on about how great this place is, how it's cheaper there, but the residents there are much less civilized, and how Sister Shuhua is tired of living in villas, but I've never lived in one before! She's already promised me that she'll go and see some smaller villas too, and we can choose two adjacent ones.

If you choose a villa, you don't have to pay for it yourself. I have money too. I'll help you pay half. If that's still not enough, I have another house that's worth a lot of money. I'll sell it!

In short... well, it seems like buying this house was actually the right decision!
It has to be said that women really love houses—even though neither of them actually lacks one!
Then let's take on commercial performances!

In a little while, the eleven slim-waisted, long-legged backup dancers I've been keeping in the capital should have started to show some promise. Then I'll call them over and have them tour Taiwan, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea.

Let's earn enough to buy a few houses first.

It's not right for him to support two women while expecting them to empty their savings or even sell their houses to buy a villa to support him, is it?
How pathetic!

(End of this chapter)