Chapter 8

The big bad wolf with ulterior motives wore an amiable smile.

First, she checked whether the hospital room was missing anything, then said, “Auntie, I took it upon myself to hire a caregiver for you. You won’t blame me, right?”

Zhai You blinked and looked sincerely at Zhu Rong.

“I didn’t want to make decisions on my own either. It’s mainly because your daughter got sick from taking care of you, and that would really interfere with her upcoming work, so I had no choice.”

Zhu Rong’s eyes shifted. “Work?”

“Right.” Zhai You spoke lightly, continuing with a perfectly serious expression, “Your daughter has decided to sign under me and become one of my artists. From now on, she’ll be my money tree!”

Although Jiang Bailu was confused, she could also tell that saying this would ease her mother’s concerns.

So she stayed silent and watched Zhai You lie through her teeth with a straight face.

“An artist?” Zhu Rong looked at Jiang Bailu in confusion.

She remembered that her daughter had loved performing the most when she was little. Whenever there was a popular show on television, Jiang Bailu would imitate the characters in it and act out scenes in front of Zhu Rong.

It had been Jiang Bailu’s hobby since childhood, as well as a dream she had never spoken aloud.

As Jiang Bailu’s mother, how could Zhu Rong possibly not know?

All right, she had secretly read Jiang Bailu’s diary.

She believed seventy or eighty percent of what Zhai You said. Then, thinking about how much hiring a caregiver would cost, she thought that money might as well… Zhu Rong shook her head. “Auntie appreciates your kindness, but forget about the caregiver. As long as you can look after my daughter a little more, I’ll already be very happy.”

Zhu Rong’s gaze dimmed, and the hand resting on the blanket curled weakly.

She didn’t know how much longer she could stay by her daughter’s side.

But as long as her daughter was happy, even if she died, she could at least rest easier in the underworld.

“Auntie, listen to yourself.” Zhai You smiled. “How could I mistreat your daughter? Don’t worry, your health will improve. When that happens, you can take care of her yourself.”

Zhai You liked Jiang Bailu’s mother very much.

She genuinely treated Jiang Bailu well.

Perhaps there was also a bit of loving the house and its crow involved.

In any case, Zhai You continued making things up with a perfectly serious expression. “I’ve already arranged a drama for Jiang Bailu. As long as she acts in it, she’ll earn a salary. Then there’ll be money for your treatment. You’ll get better.”

Zhu Rong wasn’t some naive youngster who had never been deceived or suffered losses before. She didn’t believe Zhai You would be this kind for absolutely no reason.

To make things sound logical, Zhai You continued playing the role of Skinflint Zhai. “But let me make one thing clear first. I can’t do all this without getting anything in return, right? So I’ll take half of whatever your daughter earns.”

At that moment, Zhu Rong genuinely thought she was a bloodsucker.

She opened her mouth and demanded half, while Jiang Bailu still had to do all the hard and exhausting work.

Jiang Bailu, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke. “Mom, half isn’t that much. If it weren’t for her… I wouldn’t even be able to get acting jobs. Getting a chance to act at all is already very difficult.”

She only said this to reassure Zhu Rong.

In truth, Jiang Bailu had already signed with an agency and had officially debuted. She simply wasn’t popular yet.

It wasn’t that the company hadn’t arranged resources for her. Because they thought Jiang Bailu had a good image, they had actually lined up some fairly good opportunities.

But no matter how good they were, they couldn’t compare to how vicious Zhai You had been.

Big or small, Zhai You snatched every single opportunity away, refusing to let Jiang Bailu appear before the read the original at bailiantales.compublic. As a result, even though Jiang Bailu had debuted, she still hadn’t filmed a single drama.

Her company had repeatedly urged her to give in to Zhai You, saying that if things continued like this, they would make her pay the penalty for breach of contract.

The slight warmth that had begun to stir in Jiang Bailu’s heart sank again when she remembered all of this.

How could she possibly think Zhai You was good?

Zhu Rong sighed. “You’ve always been sensible since you were little. Mom won’t stop you.”

Besides, Jiang Bailu was doing all this to earn money for her medical treatment. What right did Zhu Rong have to control her?

Deep down, Zhu Rong wanted to live a few more years.

At the very least, she wanted to see her daughter find a suitable partner, someone who could take her place and continue accompanying her. Only then could Zhu Rong truly let go.

Her eyes stung, and even her voice became a little hoarse.

“Please take care of my daughter.”

Just like that, the big bad wolf transformed into a cunning fox. Zhai You’s eyes curved, and she really did have a touch of a fox’s alluring charm.

All one could say was that heaven had blessed her with an exceptional appearance.

Zhu Rong went from being wary of her at first to thinking Zhai You was a good person, even if she was a bit of a bloodsucker.

“Now let’s talk about the caregiver again.”

Zhai You intended to arrange everything properly. “Bailu definitely won’t have time once she starts filming. But if she’s worried about you, she won’t be able to act properly either. So we absolutely have to hire a caregiver. Auntie, you understand, right?”

Zhu Rong nodded, then asked, “How much does a caregiver cost per month?”

Zhai You said, “I’m not sure about that.” She genuinely had no idea.

In her previous life, she had been dirt poor and had never come into contact with this sort of thing. She had only vaguely heard a figure before.

It was a little expensive.

She couldn’t tell the truth.

But she also couldn’t say, It doesn’t matter, I’m rich. I’ll pay for the caregiver.

In Zhu Rong’s mind, all of this was money her daughter would have to work hard to earn in the future, so every penny saved was a penny gained.

But some expenses simply couldn’t be avoided, and Zhai You had to keep that hidden.

“Although not hiring one would save quite a bit of money, if you need something, you can’t keep troubling the nurses to help all the time.”

For Zhu Rong to have raised a daughter with a personality like Jiang Bailu’s,

it meant she herself was also softhearted.

Just imagining the nurses having to take time out of their already busy schedules to care for her made Zhu Rong feel guilty.

Once her health improved, she absolutely had to go out and earn more money to lessen Jiang Bailu’s burden.

*

After leaving the hospital room, Zhai You planned to take Jiang Bailu home.

Jiang Bailu paused slightly as she stepped through the door, then raised her head, revealing that delicate, clean face.

She looked at Zhai You.

“What you said just now…” Jiang Bailu began tentatively. She also wanted to figure out what Zhai You was thinking, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t understand, forcing her to become a little more direct.

If there was a question, she should simply ask it.

Otherwise, keeping it bottled up inside would only make her increasingly uneasy.

Noticing Jiang Bailu trembling, helplessness flickered across Zhai You’s brows and eyes.

Was she really that scary?

The two stood in the hospital’s spotless corridor, and Zhai You was particularly eye-catching.

Her flamboyant red hair looked completely out of place here.

“Half of what I said just now was true.” Zhai You carefully considered her wording.

What she was about to say next was also only half true.

“I have to introduce you to my parents, right? If you don’t have a job, they might not think very highly of you… For what I want to do next, I need to find something for you to do.”

“I’ve already asked my manager to arrange a role for you. They’re negotiating it now.”

Jiang Bailu stared at Zhai You without moving.

She should have reacted coldly, yet her heart was actually beating restlessly.

“Whatever you do is perfectly reasonable.” Jiang Bailu placed a hand over her chest, helplessly gripping the fabric there, her eyes damp.

Yes. After signing that contract, Jiang Bailu had placed herself in a passive position. No matter what Zhai You did, she had every justification for it.

There was no need for her to speak so cautiously.

Perhaps even Zhai You herself hadn’t noticed that when she said those things, her expression and the glances from the corners of her eyes all revealed that she unauthorized copy was carefully thinking about how to phrase everything so Jiang Bailu could accept it.

Zhai You raised her eyes toward the snow-white ceiling.

Damn it. How could Jiang Bailu make that kind of expression?

The way she looked touched was practically inviting Zhai You to go over and hug her.

The problem was, if Zhai You really dared make a move, she was certain all she would get was Jiang Bailu coldly shifting away.

Sigh. She suddenly felt a little dejected.

Just as Zhai You was racking her brain, trying to think of a way to comfort her without making it obvious, the petite girl suddenly ran over.

She was panting, apparently having searched up and down the building for who knew how long.

She had finally found Zhai You, and when she saw Jiang Bailu standing beside her, the petite girl read the original at bailiantales.com recognized her immediately.

“You’re Jiang Bailu, right!”

Jiang Bailu sensed the hostility coming from the petite girl and pursed her lips.

She was preparing to remain silent when Zhai You tugged at her wrist.

Zhai You gave her a sidelong glance, reminding Jiang Bailu of the clause in their contract.

During the contract period, if anyone coveted Zhai You, Jiang Bailu had to help fend them off.

She had thought the clause was ridiculous at the time, but now she realized that Skinflint Zhai truly was calculating. Jiang Bailu lowered her eyes, then raised them again. Wariness appeared on her pale face. “Who are you?”

The petite girl accepted the challenge, planting her hands aggressively on her hips as she answered, “Shen Yunyi!”

Zhai You thought that didn’t sound right. “Are you sure that’s your name?”

“……Qiao Yan.” Shen Yunyi was the name of the mature beauty from the private room, as well as someone Qiao Yan considered a rival.

She had originally wanted to use Jiang Bailu to make the two of them fight.

Qiao Yan pouted.

She had heard Jiang Bailu’s name a long time ago.

In rich second-generation circles, everyone knew Zhai You was generous with money and rarely made things difficult for people. So anyone harboring ulterior motives couldn’t help wanting to latch onto her.

But Zhai You had always been devoted to Jiang Bailu alone.

Qiao Yan was very unwilling to accept that. She had never thought her own appearance was lacking in any way.

But the moment she saw [stolen content]Jiang Bailu, that unwillingness vanished, and a thought surfaced in her mind.

No wonder everyone said an Alpha should be with an Omega.

The atmosphere between Zhai You and Jiang Bailu was far too harmonious. Even Qiao Yan, after seeing Jiang Bailu, developed a sense of inferiority.

“Damn it! This Beta will never admit defeat!”

The moment Qiao Yan said those words, she had already lost.

But she really did put on an expression of refusing to admit defeat, glaring at Jiang Bailu with wide eyes.

Qiao Yan’s eyes were already large to begin with, and with colored contacts that enlarged her pupils, her cute-girl image became even more vivid.

Jiang Bailu merely looked back with those harmless doe eyes of hers, yet a strange sharpness appeared in her gaze, breaking apart her soft image.

When Zhai You saw it, all she could think was how damn perfectly it suited her.

She was someone who would become a Best Actress in the future, after all.

That thought surfaced in Zhai You’s mind, and the affection in her eyes as she looked at Jiang Bailu grew even stronger.

Zhai You didn’t want to lose either.

Even if the righteous love interest appeared in the future, she still didn’t want to lose.

Jiang Bailu could only be hers.

Jiang Bailu’s acting skills were excellent. When she pretended to be Zhai You’s rightful partner, her imposing presence didn’t lose out in the slightest, suppressing Qiao Yan so thoroughly that she couldn’t say a word.

“Are you still going to keep clinging to Zhai You?”