Jing Yi had arranged to meet Shen Xi in the afternoon, and she had already arrived at the café.
Shen Xi pushed open the door, spotted Jing Yi, and quickly walked over. "Yi Yi!"
She hung her coat on the back of the chair and ordered a coffee from the menu. "Why did you come so early today?"
"I hitched a ride with Jing Zeqian." It happened that he needed to go out today too, although they inevitably had a bit of a clash in the car.
"Has Mrs. Jing been discharged from the hospital?"
Shen Xi hadn't seen Jing Yi for a while and knew she had been accompanying Lin Ruiqing recently.
Jing Yi nodded, "Yes, she was discharged a few days ago."
"That's good."
Shen Xi took the coffee from the waiter, said thank you, and looked up to see that something seemed off with Jing Yi.
She was absentmindedly stirring her coffee spoon, appearing somewhat distracted.
"What's wrong? Something on your mind?"
"I feel like I've forgotten something very important."
Shen Xi hesitantly asked, "Forgotten? Can it really be that important if you forgot it?"
Jing Yi glanced at her, her tone tinged with a hint of grievance, "You know how bad my memory is." Otherwise, she wouldn't have failed so many courses back then.
Shen Xi recalled the scene of her frantically studying in the library and nodded in agreement.
"Well, what do you think it might be about? Why don't you talk it through with me? Maybe you'll remember."
Jing Yi thought for a moment and felt Shen Xi had a point. "Do you know about the TV drama Zejun filmed recently?"
Shen Xi immediately nodded, "Of course, 'Sea Crabapple Still Blooms'!"
Jing Yi felt it was related to this drama, so she wanted to start there. "What kind of show is it?"
At this, Shen Xi perked up, fully embodying the image of a fan recommending it to a stranger.
"It's a drama about passionate youth in the Republican era, telling the story of a wealthy young lady who..."
Jing Yi was dumbfounded. She had only wanted a general idea, not the entire plot synopsis. But Shen Xi beside her had already become unstoppable.
Finally, Shen Xi finished recounting everything she knew about the drama.
She took a big sip of her coffee, having become quite thirsty after talking so much. "Did you remember the important thing?"
Jing Yi looked up blankly and shook her head. The plot synopsis hadn't helped at all.
Shen Xi didn't know how else to help her. "Is Miss Jing on a diet for this drama?"
Jing Yi looked up, surprised. "How did you know?"
"From set photos. Compared to when she attended the banquet last time, she seems to have lost a lot of weight." The camera tends to widen people horizontally to some extent, so she's probably even thinner in person.
Jing Yi nodded in agreement, "Yes, the director is very strict. To look good on camera, the cheongsams were made quite slim, so she's been deliberately restricting her diet."
Shen Xi shook her head with emotion. Although she was a fan of Jing Zejun, she didn't really understand.
She had already become the daughter of a wealthy family, and a famous one at that - the Jing family. Her second brother was even the boss of an entertainment company.
Why did Jing Zejun need to work so hard?
Hearing this, Jing Yi chuckled lightly, "That's why she's Jing Zejun."
Hm? What did that mean? Shen Xi was puzzled by this ambiguous statement.
Jing Yi didn't explain further and changed the subject, "How have things been with your family lately?"
Jing Yi remembered Shen Xi mentioning the group's reorganization last time.
After all, they were also a well-known wealthy family in North river. Jing Yi felt she should learn more about it, to better handle future situations.
Otherwise, she'd end up like now, unable to remember anything important or even know where to start thinking about it.
"It seems they've resolved some of the uncooperative voices. After all, it was a major overhaul. There were some old members causing trouble and arguments before, but it looks like things have been settled now."
"That's impressive. Sounds like quite the tough character."
Jing Yi was genuinely curious about the current president of Huarui Group.
Shen Xi strongly agreed. It wasn't an exaggeration - after all, to completely take over Huarui Group, one of the top three in North river, in just a month? How could that be an ordinary person?
Whenever Shen Xi's family mentioned that Shen Huaichu, they always seemed both admiring and wary, which made her quite curious as well.
"Your brother and the others weren't affected, were they?"
Jing Yi assumed Shen Xi's relatives were so busy because they were inside the group, fearing that the new boss's housecleaning might eventually reach them.
Shen Xi was confused and asked, "Why would they be affected?"
Now it was Jing Yi's turn to be puzzled. "Huh? Don't they work for the group?" Shen Xi then realized Jing Yi had misunderstood.
Her family were just distant relatives who had some connection. And because her father didn't want to face the caustic attitudes of the high-level executives in the group, he had started his own company.
"Then why is your family so busy?"
Bringing this up, Shen Xi felt a bit exasperated. "Because my dad is preparing to make a big profit."
Shen Xi's father truly admired Shen Huaichu's abilities. He felt that Shen Huaichu was the type to prioritize benefits over relationships, so he was trying to establish connections with Huarui, hoping to make a significant profit.
Jing Yi didn't really understand the intricacies of business cooperation, but that didn't stop her from being interested in wealthy family drama!
"Only looking at benefits? How did he figure that out?"
Talking about this, Shen Xi became more animated. She put down her coffee cup.
"Wasn't Huarui Group's original president his uncle? Although it's unclear whether he had a hand in his parents' car accident, the moment the current president got the shares, he dismissed his uncle from his position, along with all his confidants."
Her father had been discussing this with the family when he came back. It was a big deal, after all, many people had devoted their youth to Huarui.
That day, there were many anguished voices both inside and outside Huarui Group.
But Shen Huaichu didn't spare anyone. Anyone with even a slight connection to his uncle had to pack up and leave.
"More importantly, a few days later, he had his uncle sent to prison on charges of 'illegal fundraising'."
"Were the charges real?"
"Of course. This wasn't some trumped-up evidence. There was solid proof." When her father mentioned the amount involved, Shen Xi was shocked for quite a while.
So her family really wasn't that wealthy. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been surprised by that amount.
Jing Yi, however, felt that this person's battle had been fought beautifully, swift and decisive.
"My dad thinks so too! That's why he's starting to try to make contact with Huarui."
Jing Yi felt somewhat emotional. It seemed that even in wealthy families, life wasn't easy. Perhaps being a laid-back person like her was better.
Speaking of which, the balance in her savings account had grown a bit recently. Every time she saw all those zeros at the end, it put her in a good mood.
