Ye Wanlan showed no interest, nor did she reply.
Just as she closed WeChat, Cheng Qingli's call came through.
"Sister Lan, did you see it? This is really bad!"
Ye Wanlan pressed the speaker button and stood up to organize the bookshelf. "What's the problem?"
"Of course, there's a problem!" Cheng Qingli was frantic, "Not to mention offending the Zhou Family, if you offend the Qin Family, you'll be blacklisted in the modeling industry!"
"That's a good thing," Ye Wanlan said with a light smile, "I'm actually planning to retire."
Cheng Qingli wondered if she heard wrong. "Retire? Are you crazy?"
Ye Wanlan's face and figure were indeed top-notch, and unlike the entertainment industry, the modeling world didn't require acting skills.
Cheng Qingli had also heard from the veterans at the company that Ye Wanlan had gone to great lengths to make her way into the modeling circle. How could she just talk about retiring?
Instead of answering, Ye Wanlan turned the question around. "Qingli, have you ever thought about changing jobs?"
A month ago, after Sheng Yunyi returned to the country, Huangchi Entertainment Company, to show their loyalty, cut off the Transcendent Woman's resources and threw her to Cheng Qingli, a newcomer being sidelined by the company.
The reason why the Transcendent Woman chose to leave her body was also because she was driven to a dead end and had nowhere to go.
But to her, as long as she was alive, she could carve out a path.
Cheng Qingli was taken aback. "Sister Lan…"
Ye Wanlan said, "How about you continue to follow me?"
Cheng Qingli's eyes welled up with tears. "You're retiring, how can I follow you?"
Poor her, always a worker bee.
"Retiring doesn't mean I'll stop doing things. I just don't like being too much in the public eye, I have other goals," Ye Wanlan chuckled lightly, "I need people, lots of people."
Cheng Qingli subconsciously asked, "What goals?"
Ye Wanlan said, "First, let's set a small goal, like making a hundred million."
Cheng Qingli. "?"
In the end, she concluded that Ye Wanlan had gone mad.
The call ended, and Ye Wanlan pulled out a book.
The pages were yellowed, aged, but had been well preserved by its owner.
As she opened it, the door was knocked on at that moment.
Regaining her senses, Ye Wanlan went to answer the door.
"Uncle."
"Now that you are home, all your old bad habits must change," Lin Huaijin entered, examining her, "If I find out you've gone back to Zhou Hechen, I will break your legs."
Ye Wanlan was very obedient. "No problem, uncle."
Her quick agreement made Lin Huaijin hesitate. "Is there something wrong with your psychological state?"
The current Ye Wanlan gave him a very strange feeling.
Though she seemed steady and unmovable like a mountain, beneath it surged tumultuous waves, and it was unknown when the surf would shatter the mountain.
A calm ferocity, extremely contradictory.
Ye Wanlan smiled faintly. "I'm fine."
In a society governed by law, she could control herself and would not kill rashly.
"I heard from Wenli that Jiangcheng No.1 Middle School has recently hired a psychological consultant from Yunjing specifically to relieve student stress," Lin Huaijin broached the subject with some hesitation, "Maybe… you should see them?"
Ye Wanlan smiled again. "Sure, thank you, uncle."
"You used to read this book every day until the pages were worn," Lin Huaijin noticed the open book and sighed.
[In the year 1723 of the Shenzhou Calendar, during the Yongshun Period, an unidentified force invaded, leading to the death of Princess Jingan through dismemberment by chariots, Emperor Yongshun's suicide to protect his people, and Princess Yongle's self-immolation in Yongle Palace. The Ning Dynasty fell. This event went down in history as "The Battle of Thousand Armies."]
This humiliating war caused Shenzhou to lag behind the rest of the world by more than a century for a very long period.
Even to this day, including the World Strategic Research Institute, no one has been able to determine the identity of the enemy that invaded Shenzhou three hundred years ago.
It has become an unsolved mystery at the global level.
Lin Huaijin shook his head, sighed, and then looked towards the seven-stringed zither, "This zither has been sitting here for so long, when will you play a piece for me to listen to? Do you know how to play the zither?"
Ye Wanlan thought for a moment, "When killing someone."
Lin Huaijin, "?"
He saw that she truly was ill, and quite severely at that.
Music killing people, she must have read too many martial arts novels.
Lin Huaijin massaged his temples, "You should see a psychotherapist at No.1 Middle School tomorrow, I'll make an appointment for you. If the situation is bad, we'll check into the hospital."
Ye Wanlan was still obedient, "I'll listen to Uncle."
"Your auntie..." Lin Huaijin started to speak but then stopped; in the end, he walked out.
Recalling the past joy and harmony, his heart ached unbearably.
How did his family come to this state?
He did not dare to hope for a return to the days of the past, but he wished that his niece's life could get back on track; that way, he would have fulfilled his duty to his older brother.
**
The next day, 8 a.m., Jiangcheng First Hospital.
"Ah Xian still hasn't woken up?" Zhou Hechen stood outside the ICU, looking distraught.
"Not yet," the secretary said with head bowed, "Miss Ye... she struck very hard, she..."
Two days had passed, and he still couldn't imagine how such a frail body like Ye Wanlan's could unleash such immense strength, to the point where she seriously injured Qin Xian, who had practiced boxing since he was young.
"Hechen, that Miss Ye went too far," Madam Qin said, wiping her tears, "I know you dote on her, but look at what she has done. I should remind you, Yunyi has returned."
"Auntie, please don't worry," Zhou Hechen's tone softened when Sheng Yunyi was mentioned, "I will definitely handle this matter properly."
"That's all I needed to hear," Madam Qin hinted, "Hechen, some women like to play hard to get; don't fall for it. I hope that before Ah Xian wakes up, you can settle everything; otherwise..."
If the Qin Family took action, Ye Wanlan would not escape unscathed even if she didn't die.
Zhou Hechen said flatly, "I understand, Auntie."
"Auntie, Hechen," a gentle voice rang out.
Zhou Hechen turned around, and his furrowed brows finally relaxed. He smiled, "Why did you come at this time?"
"You haven't been eating well these past few days; I was afraid you'd get a stomachache," Sheng Yunyi offered a thermos food container, "No matter how busy you are, you need to take care of your health."
"You've worked hard," Zhou Hechen's gaze softened, "You need your hands for painting; don't cook any more."
"Yunyi is here," Madam Qin warmly took her hand, "It's been a while since I last saw you, and you've become more beautiful."
"Has Ah Xian not woken up yet?" Sheng Yunyi's eyes were shrouded in worry, "How could he have been hurt so badly?"
Madam Qin sighed, "Having you visit will surely help him recover faster."
Sheng Yunyi nodded.
After staying for a while, she got up to leave.
Zhou Hechen said, "I'll walk you out."
"No need," Sheng Yunyi smiled, "You attend to your matters; I'll head to my studio."
Zhou Hechen instructed the secretary, "Take Yunyi back."
The secretary complied and drove Sheng Yunyi towards the studio.
The traffic light at the intersection ahead turned red, and the car was stopped at the entrance of Jiangcheng No.1 Middle School.
The secretary glimpsed someone and frowned suddenly.
In the rearview mirror, Ye Wanlan was approaching the car.
"Miss Ye, please wait," the secretary rolled down the window, and looked at her sternly with a hint of mockery, "The gentleman isn't in the car. What do you plan to do following Miss Yunyi, isn't it better for you to accumulate some good karma?"