Chapter 226: Establishing Authority as a Wife

The next day, Xiao Ran was busy all morning and didn’t finish the filming tasks until noon. At noon, he met up with Lin Qingxia and went to the restaurant owned by Hong Jinbao to eat. There were many celebrities there, especially at night. After greeting others, Xiao Ran, Lin Qingxia, and Yang Guang went straight to a table to sit down. The restaurant manager came over with a bright smile, and Xiao Ran casually ordered a few dishes his wife liked. After greeting someone else, Lin Qingxia turned to Xiao Ran and said, “Regarding that matter, you…”
“There will be an answer soon!” Xiao Ran smiled lightly. He hadn’t come just for that matter. After waiting for a while, Liu Mei, who had a somewhat straightforward personality, arrived. Once she sat down, Xiao Ran asked with a smile, “A Mei, have you ever thought about becoming a director?”
“Me? I’m not qualified enough!” Liu Mei frowned slightly. She already felt her experience was insufficient, which was why she had volunteered to work as a producer first. “Besides, I want to gain more experience so I can do better in the future!”
Xiao Ran appreciated this self-motivated spirit. “Liang Jun isn’t good at dramatic scenes. I think you should help him and work with him. Don’t worry; Xu Anhua is the producer—she’ll guide you!”
Liu Mei’s eyes lit up. She didn’t know if Xu Anhua was an excellent teacher yet. But everyone in the industry knew Xu Anhua was part of the New Wave movement. Her film “Night Terror,” shot at New Art City, was praised as a pioneer of horror films, and she was a very sharp director.
As for Xiao Ran, he knew Xu Anhua even better. She was one of the most talented directors in Hong Kong and also one of the most passionate about cinema. When filming “A Thousand Words” initially, since no investors could be found, she had paid out of her own pocket despite knowing it would result in losses.
Most importantly, Xu Anhua was one of the finest female directors in Hong Kong’s film industry. Unlike Zhang Wanding’s gentle and delicate style, Xu Anhua excelled in a wide range of genres and had a fairly neutral style. Thus, she was undoubtedly an ideal candidate to take on the role of producer.
With such a skilled person around, Liu Mei could clearly learn a lot. In fact, the reason why “Shadow” only appointed top directors as producers was to allow them to pass on their knowledge to younger directors.
“Alright, go see the head of the planning department this afternoon. He’ll assign you as a co-director.” Xiao Ran knew Liu Mei wouldn’t be able to refuse. Sometimes, encountering a great teacher could turn an ordinary person into a famous director. “Let’s eat first!”
Liu Mei certainly didn’t refuse. With such a great opportunity, it would be foolish of her to turn it down. Suddenly, she remembered something. “By the way, Ran Ge, I wonder if you’ve noticed another new director. I’ve seen one of his experimental films—it’s genius! I feel far behind him! His name is Wei Changqing.”
“Wei Changqing? I seem to have heard that name before!” Lin Qingxia stopped what she was doing and thought hard. After pondering for a moment, Xiao Ran also remembered. Wei Changqing was the young director recommended to him by Zeng Zhiwei back then.

Ah, right! Xiao Ran remembered. He vaguely recalled that in the past half month, both Film Weekly and the magazine Influence, under the Book Fragrance series, had given high praise to Wei Changqing’s experimental film. He also remembered that Wei Changqing’s film had been released over twenty days ago and was still showing in art theaters, with an increasing number of screening venues—which was quite remarkable.

There were films that had been showing in art theaters for over twenty days, but usually, the longer they showed, the fewer venues they had. The fact that Wei Changqing’s work could achieve this meant it must have something unique about it—something so exceptional that even Liu Mei called it genius-level.

Lin Qingxia also remembered and chuckled, pointing at Xiao Ran and saying, “Weren’t you claiming to have gathered all the talented people in the world? Now Wei Changqing has slipped through your fingers—your big lie has finally been exposed!”

“That’s not my fault. It was Shadow who gave them the opportunity!” Xiao Ran said with a smile. For him, whether he could get hold of talented people wasn’t that important anymore. Since talents in the film industry were always changing, all Xiao Ran could do was spend money to retain some of the best. He felt a bit disappointed—he had been too busy lately, even too busy to go to the movies, so he hadn’t seen this film and didn’t know how good it was.

As they talked and enjoyed their lavish lunch, soon a woman with a seductive appearance walked in, swaying her hips with every step. She scanned the room and spotted Xiao Ran and Lin Qingxia. Overjoyed, she rushed over in two steps instead of one, ignoring any sense of propriety.

“President Xiao, Sister Lin…” The woman started speaking, but Yang Guang, who had come over, showed disgust in his eyes as he stopped the women who were about to sit at Xiao Ran’s table and pointed to another table. “Please sit there!”

The woman stared at Xiao Ran, who remained expressionless, then glanced at Lin Qingxia, not understanding what Xiao Ran intended to do. By then, the other people in the restaurant were getting excited, guessing that something was about to happen, and they began whispering among themselves.

After finishing most of his meal, Xiao Ran wiped his mouth with a napkin before slowly turning to face the woman. This woman was Yang Yuejie. Xiao Ran already didn’t like her much, and seeing her now, heavily made up, only increased his disgust.

Suppressing his nausea, he signaled his wife to stay calm with a gentle hand pressure before asking with a light smile, “So you’re Yang Yuejie? What do you want me to do for you? Tell me everything—I want to know everything.”

Yang Yuejie immediately started crying and wiping her tears, repeating everything she had said to Lin Qingxia. Finally, mustering up courage, she added, “President Xiao, Chen Dezhong said that if I don’t accompany his guests, he’ll sell me to Japan! He really isn’t giving you any face at all.”

“Is that so?” Xiao Ran smiled lightly. He thought Yang Yuejie was a good actress—maybe all such women were like that. Lin Qingxia also realized something was wrong; this woman was clearly trying to provoke Xiao Ran to deal with Chen Dezhong, and she grew annoyed.

Xiang Yang nodded, and Xiang Yang immediately understood, leaving the restaurant. In less than a moment, he brought someone in. Following him was a slightly overweight middle-aged man, and right behind him was Monkey.

As soon as Yang Yuejie saw the man, her expression changed slightly, and she felt extremely distressed. She had only wanted Xiao Ran to stand up for her and help her regain her dignity, but now Chen Dezhong appeared here, seemingly brought by Xiao Ran’s men.

The restaurant was quiet; everyone was watching and trying to guess what had happened. Chen Dezhong went up to Xiao Ran, looking distressed, and said, “President Xiao, this has nothing to do with me. It’s this woman who insisted!”

“Please sit, don’t be polite,” Xiao Ran said with a faint smile, inviting Chen Dezhong to sit at Yang Yuejie’s table. Seeing the angry looks between the two, he felt even more disgusted. These people had ulterior motives before getting into bed, and once they were there, their true colors showed—some for money, some for wealth. They could turn on each other at any moment, with no sense of loyalty. How could he not despise them?

“Mr. Chen, please forgive me for inviting you here so rudely. But I really want to understand what exactly happened between you and Yang Yuejie!” Xiao Ran always liked to smile in such situations. He believed that a smile was the most beautiful and deadly expression in the world. “Since Yang Yuejie wants me to stand up for her, I need to figure things out!”

Upon hearing this, Chen Dezhong couldn’t help but tremble all over, wishing he could strangle Yang Yuejie right away. Damn it! This whore had taken so much from me, and yet she still dared to complain to Xiao Ran! If something happens to me, you won’t be able to live peacefully either! Chen Dezhong thought through gritted teeth.

Yet, his fear grew stronger as he saw Xiao Ran’s faint mocking smile. Chen Dezhong wasn’t stupid; he knew exactly what kind of person Xiao Ran was. He was even more aware that Xiao Ran had absolute power in the film industry and could easily get rid of him if he wanted to. At that moment, his regret was almost driving him crazy.

Actually, the matter between Chen Dezhong and Yang Yuejie was simple. They got involved because both of them wanted to. Yang Yuejie certainly gave something in return, but Chen Dezhong also sacrificed a lot. A few days ago, he went to Macau for business and asked Yang Yuejie to accompany a client for that purpose.

At first, Yang Yuejie was slightly opposed, but after Chen Dezhong promised to buy her something nice if the deal succeeded, she agreed. But who would have thought that client was psychologically twisted and liked to abuse people? That night, Yang Yuejie wasn’t physically harmed much, but she hated Chen Dezhong deeply in her heart.

It wasn’t a big deal that she hated him—the next day, she went to Chen Dezhong and complained, asking for this and that. Chen Dezhong didn’t have billions in wealth; at most, he had only hundreds of millions. How could he afford such demands? The outcome, needless to say…

“So, it’s extortion!” Xiao Ran still smiled gently. Lin Qingxia beside him didn’t mind much—this wasn’t the first time she’d heard of such things. But Liu Mei felt disgusted, thinking about how many people in the world wanted to get something for nothing.

“Absolutely not, President Xiao. It’s all Chen Dezhong spreading rumors!” Yang Yuejie felt a chill run through her body under Xiao Ran’s gaze and became extremely anxious. She immediately stood up to defend herself. But unexpectedly, Yang Guangshan shouted at her, “Sit down!”
Yang Yuejie sat down reluctantly. Chen Dezhong felt a bit more at ease. As far as he knew, Xiao Ran wasn’t the kind of person who acted unreasonably. As long as he explained things clearly, nothing bad would happen. Just then, he suddenly heard Xiao Ran say calmly, “Yang Yuejie said you planned to sell her to Japan for the porn industry, right?”
This shock was immense. Chen Dezhong’s face turned red as he stood up. Glancing at Yang Guangshan, he immediately sat back down and hurriedly defended himself, “Absolutely not, President Xiao. I’m a businessman, not part of the underworld…”
His words seemed to be cut off abruptly, as he suddenly remembered that the man before him was the notorious crime boss who had dominated the underworld in recent years. Realizing this, his heart clenched, sweat dripped from his forehead, and with a trembling voice, he barely managed to say, “President Xiao, please believe me. I never thought such a thing! It’s this woman who’s too greedy. She wanted to get too much from me, and now she’s trying to retaliate!”
Xiao Ran, of course, believed him. Chen Dezhong was just a businessman, not part of the underworld—how could he do such a stupid thing? Keeping a celebrity as a lover meant staying together if things worked out, or parting ways if not. There was no need for all this fuss.
“I believe you!” Xiao Ran smiled lightly, then suddenly grew serious, staring at Yang Yuejie, who was pale and seemed ready to kneel and beg for mercy. He said coldly, “So it was you who deceived me and my wife! Don’t you know what happens when you deceive me?”
From the moment she saw Chen Dezhong enter, Yang Yuejie had guessed she was done for. But she still held onto a glimmer of hope, which was now completely shattered. She trembled all over, unable to keep her teeth closed, with the sound of them clacking together audible.
Suddenly, Yang Yuejie’s legs gave way, and she knelt on the ground, crying bitterly, “President Xiao, I was driven mad for a moment. Please spare me! I beg you!”
Xiao Ran deliberately snorted and looked at the celebrities around him, “What do you think? Should I spare her or not…”
No one dared to continue the sentence. There was only silence. A fierce look flashed in Lin Qingxia’s eyes, but she still couldn’t bear it and said to Xiao Ran, “Forget it. She’s so pitiful. Let her go.”
Xiao Ran secretly laughed. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have had to handle such matters personally. He staged this act to assert his authority over Lin Qingxia, and choosing this occasion was also deliberate.
Since his wife had spoken, he naturally had to go along with it. With another snort, he glanced at Chen Dezhong, whose face was as pale as snow, before staring coldly at Yang Yuejie and saying, “Since my wife has spoken, I’ll give you one chance. Leave Hong Kong tomorrow. No matter where you go, just make sure I never hear about you again!”

“Yes, President Xiao, I’ll leave Hong Kong right away!” Yang Yuejie knew well when to be obedient; she nodded eagerly like a chicken pecking at grains and stood up to leave. Just then, she suddenly heard Xiao Ran shout, “Stop!” Her face, which had just begun to regain some color, turned gray once again.