The neon lights were just coming on, and the distant road was clogged with traffic, the red taillights glowing like strings of red lanterns.
Outside the restaurant, a group of people stood nearby, engaging in their final round of polite exchanges.
Jiang Liuxing was waiting in her car by the roadside for her sister. She had been sitting there for almost ten minutes, and the group showed no sign of dispersing, making her a bit impatient.
"Jiang Liuxing: Hasn't it ended yet?"
She sent the message and glanced over, seeing the group still talking.
"I can't understand the polite exchanges of adults..." Jiang Liuxing shook her head and sighed.
Compared to her sisters, the circle she was in had always been simpler. She had business partners to handle advertisements and social engagements, and employees to take care of on-site filming and interviews.
Her daily work consisted mostly of eating, drinking, and having fun, occasionally bringing in a few deals for the company. Most of the time, she acted as a well-behaved and sensible boss.
Jiang Liuxing felt this was the reason their studio remained in the middle of the pack in the industry. If she, as the boss, had a bit more ambition, they wouldn't all be in a state of semi-retirement.
After a while, the group finally dispersed, and Jiang Liuxing saw her sister walking towards her. She let out a long sigh, and the stuffiness in the car seemed to dissipate.
She rolled down the window, and the cold wind rushed in, fresh air poking at her nose and making her sneeze, "Ah-choo――"
Just as Jiang Juyou walked over, "…Next time, don't sneeze towards people, okay?"
She was wearing a coat and boots, with a long beige scarf slipping off her shoulder. She used this opportunity to untie the scarf and then walked around to the other side to get in the car.
After getting in, she threw her belongings onto the back seat, straightened her clothes, fastened her seatbelt, and instructed, "Let's go home."
Jiang Liuxing gripped the steering wheel and pressed the accelerator, "Off we go――"
As soon as the car hit the road, the fatigue from a long day immediately set in. Jiang Juyou moved her stiff body to relieve the soreness, "I used to run several event venues without feeling this tired. Now I can't, I guess I'm getting old. Just eating a meal can exhaust me."
"What's tiring about eating?" Jiang Liuxing glanced at her, unable to relate to her statement.
"You wouldn't understand." Jiang Juyou changed her position, wanting to close her eyes for a while. Just as she did, she remembered that Jiang Liuxing had only recently gotten her license and quickly sat up straight, "Drive carefully, keep your eyes on the road, it's okay to go slow."
"It's fine, you can sleep."
"I dare not."
"……"
The restaurant was close to their home, and although the road was a bit congested, they arrived home in about twenty minutes.
"Wow――" Jiang Liuxing looked at the pile of boxes at their doorstep, "What did Big Sis buy this time?"
She squatted down to take a closer look and found some of them were for Jiang Juyou.
Jiang Juyou entered the house after punching in the password, instructing her sister to bring the parcels inside. Jiang Liuxing picked up a box and said directly, "Sis, I'll put this in your room."
"Okay, thanks." Jiang Juyou took off her coat and helped move the other boxes to Jiang Tang's room.
Jiang Liuxing, who rarely entered her second sister's room, was surprised by the sight when she opened the door. The last time she was here was when they first moved into this house. Back then, everyone's room layout was similar, with a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk.
But now, Jiang Juyou's room was filled with books, leaving only a narrow passage for walking. She glanced around and saw books of various genres, stacks of fashion magazines, poetry and prose collections, literary works, and some textbooks.
"Sis, are you preparing for graduate school?" Jiang Liuxing called out, flipping through a few books and finding them all in English, which she couldn't understand.
Jiang Juyou, who had just washed her hands, came in and looked around, "…It's a bit messy."
She had been busy with early mornings and late nights recently, in addition to her regular work, she also had some classes to attend. After getting home, she would basically wash up and go straight to sleep, leaving no time to tidy up.
Jiang Liuxing looked at her sister with admiration, "Random Entertainment's current status is definitely all thanks to you, Sis. You're really hardworking."
Jiang Juyou's previous studies had nothing to do with her current career, which meant she had to learn a lot from scratch.
Jiang Liuxing, if not for getting into Beijing, wouldn't have studied so hard. So in her eyes, her sister's willingness to continue learning despite her success was truly remarkable.
Jiang Juyou hung her coat in the wardrobe, "There's no choice, these are all things I need to learn."
Jiang Liuxing, standing by the desk, planned to leave after placing the parcel, but she spotted a brochure for a study abroad agency on the desk.
Her steps paused, "…Sis, are you planning to study abroad?"
Different from her joking tone earlier, Jiang Liuxing was slightly flustered now.
Jiang Juyou, who had just changed into her pajamas and was buttoning up, turned to look at Jiang Liuxing and casually answered, "Yeah."
"……"
Jiang Liuxing blinked, digesting the response.
"Seriously?!” She widened her eyes and asked again.
"Yeah."
"No way, really?"
"Really." Jiang Juyou was getting a bit tired of answering.
Jiang Liuxing's mind was in turmoil. She couldn't understand why her sister, already at this position, would want to study abroad, especially at this time. But on the other hand, it seemed reasonable, something Jiang Juyou would do.
If not for their family situation, which forced the three sisters to not only study but also earn their tuition and living expenses, their eldest sister's college entrance exam results wouldn't have been what they were.
"…Have you told Big Sis about this?" Jiang Liuxing looked at her sister.
Jiang Juyou, already feeling sleepy, sat on the bed and yawned, "I haven't told anyone yet. I'm just preparing for it now; I don't know if it'll work out."
Jiang Liuxing's eyes darted around, "Then, Sis, if you go abroad to study, can you take me with you?" She blinked cutely.
"Go out and close the door, I'm going to shower and sleep." Jiang Juyou stood up to shoo her away.
Standing by the desk, Jiang Liuxing started to act spoiled, "Hey, take me with you, I'll cook and clean for you!"
"Get out now."
"Sister～"
The door slammed shut, and Jiang Liuxing immediately fell silent. But as soon as the door closed, she quickly took out her phone to send a message to Big Sis.
-
On Monday, the first thing Jiang Juyou did after entering her office was to tell her assistant, "Have Lin Jie come up when she arrives."
Lin Jie, who had just sat down at her desk, received a call from Jiang Juyou's assistant's office.
"Okay, I'll be right up."
Hearing the word "up," the other employees understood she was going to see Jiang Juyou.
Today was the first day of Timetrain's comeback. Usually, this day was a stage for fans to showcase their homemade performances, but today was different. Timetrain's first comeback stage was on "Idol New Museum."
They just needed to clock in at the company and then head to the venue to check on the situation.
Lin Jie unlocked her drawer with a key, took out a few documents, and grabbed her iPad. Before leaving, she reminded her colleagues, "You all go ahead, no need to wait for me."
"Okay～" The girls in front of her obediently replied.
The girls at their desks watched her back until she turned the corner before huddling together.
"The rumors are true."
"Great, we're going to rise in status because of our mother!"
"Bonuses are waving at us!"
"Suddenly, I'm full of energy!"
There had been rumors in the company that Jiang Juyou was grooming her successor, with the candidates being the heads of Timetrain, AIcho, and Equals3's operations teams.
After all, these three were all assistants to Jiang Juyou, and their working styles and preferences were similar to hers.
Their abilities could be seen from the teams they managed. The heads of AIcho and their own Lin Jie had always been the strongest candidates.
They had even placed bets among themselves, naturally betting on their own people.
At this moment, Lin Jie was carrying documents and her iPad to Jiang Juyou's office. It had been a while since she last saw the people at the door and exchanged a few pleasantries.
"Knock knock――"
"Boss, it's me."
"Come in."
As Lin Jie entered, Jiang Juyou was also rising from her seat. The two of them went over to the sofa and sat down.
"Here are a few programs we've planned with the variety show department. Please take a look first."
"And this is something that was already decided earlier, and we need your signature after you review it."
Jiang Juyou picked up her iPad and started flipping through the PPT. After a quick glance, she had a general impression of a few programs. "I'll look at this in detail later and give you a response." She then put down the iPad and started signing the documents.
The news about the company team-building event had just spread not long ago, and it was quite a buzz. Many employees and artists had signed up, including quite a few from their team.
Lin Jie, being the planner and producer of the show, knew the entire process of the program and thus couldn't participate in this team-building event.
But—
"Boss, are you going to sign up?"
Jiang Juyou looked up, not quite understanding what she meant. "What?"
"The company's team-building variety show, are you going to sign up?"
Jiang Juyou chuckled lightly and shook her head. "I'll pass. I'm too old to run around."
Lin Jie had a mischievous smile on her face, her eyes sparkling. "But I think it would be better if you participated. It would boost the show's popularity."
"...I see, so you just want to see me suffer, right?"
"I didn't mean that."
After quickly signing the documents, Jiang Juyou placed the folder aside and asked, "Is there a lot of participation?"
"Not many employees are participating because it involves being on camera, and most people might not be available at that time, so most people chose to take the one thousand yuan cash bonus instead."
The company's team-building event offered the chance to win an eighty-eight thousand yuan cash prize and a month of paid leave for those who participated. Those who didn't participate still received a reward of one thousand yuan in cash.
Most employees chose the latter, while many artists signed up for the team-building event not just for the prize but also because the show, which was still in the planning stages, had already made several appearances on the hot search. The subsequent popularity once it aired was bound to be high.
Jiang Juyou pondered for a moment. The purpose of this team-building variety show was originally to increase the popularity of Random Entertainment's artists, so the higher the show's attention, the better.
"Alright, I'll participate. Go tell the few people outside to clear my schedule for that period."
"Yes!"
"Are you a bit too excited?"
"...I accidentally voiced my true thoughts."
Jiang Liuxing: Ready to be my sister's shadow.
