Today’s action sequences were rather simple like Huang Jun claimed earlier. The scenes were all passed by the Director rather smoothly. However, there were a lot of little scenes that were necessary and they were rather spread apart. The stunt crew ended up staying until late at night. Thankfully, Huang Jun prepared meals for everyone, so they all stayed well-fed during the wait. Xuemei did not feel impatient at all, though. She thoroughly enjoyed her chance to stick around and watch the professionals go at it. Although they were newbies in the circle, Director An truly did pick out talented individuals. Lin Mengmeng could be silly with others in real life, but she was incomparably serious while acting. Without any attitude, she would listen to advice and criticism and improve at a noticeable pace. Even Pei Wencheng was very impressive. The only difference was that his usual personality was rather similar to the male lead’s, so Xuemei gave him less points. He did not have to try so hard to change or act for his personality. Still, his acting was very smooth and could immerse a person in the story.

“Trained professionals are truly different.” Xuemei clicked her tongue in admiration. After conversing with Mengmeng for a little, she knew that both the main actors were fresh out of the capital’s Film Academy. It was the most famous university for budding actors, actresses, directors, producers, pretty much anyone involved in the movie-making or T.V. show-making process. It was where a lot of aspiring celebrities wish to go in order to make connections with powerful people in the industry. Many of the professors were also famous veterans in each field. Director An was also an alumni from the Film Academy. She did not choose to attend because she wanted something to fall back on for herself. Attending a prestigious university and receiving a degree in a business-related major meant that she could find herself a regular office job at her family’s company if the situation called for a change. Although she was still taking advantage of nepotism, at least she would have the basic qualifications. 

Xuemei was glad to see that her thoughts were correct, though. Being a stunt woman truly did give her a front row to watch others in the field and learn more about the process. While she was not getting filmed for acting, just getting to experience performing in front of the camera was nice. She also started getting used to finding the camera angles and being aware of where everyone is because she had to make sure that her face stayed hidden during the shot. Even if she was still miles from being where she needed to be in order to actually act, it was a start!

After another fruitful day of filming, Xuemei plopped into Huang Jun’s car feeling exhausted. Before they could even make some boring small talk, she fell asleep. Head tilted back with her mouth wide open, she did not seem at all self-conscious about the fact that she was in someone else’s car.

Raising his eyebrows at her distasteful sleeping posture, Huang Jun just sighed before deciding to let her be. It had been a tiring, long day for everyone.

Unfortunately, the peace did not last long before he heard the ringing of a phone. He knew right away that it was not his, so he glanced towards the sleeping girl in the passenger seat. From what looked to be deep sleep, she bolted up straight away to the phone ringtone. A little bit surprised by her sensitivity, Huang Jun did not say anything. Getting her wits about her, Xuemei just glanced over at him while shamefully wiping away the drool that made its way out. Checking the still ringing phone, she saw that it was her brother calling and frowned. She took a look at the clock before massaging her head for a second. Sighing, she waited for the ringing to almost stop before finally answering.

“Hello?”

“Meimei? Where are you? It’s so late and I’m already back at the hotel room, but you are not here!”

As expected. She rolled her eyes.

“I’m on my way back right now. I should be back soon…” After those words, she trailed off and looked towards the driver. Since she was sleeping the whole time, Xuemei was actually not sure how much time passed by.

“20 more minutes.” He softly answered her questioning eyes.

“I’ll be back in 20 more minutes. It’s only 9. Even if I have a curfew, it shouldn’t be that ridiculous, right?” Although she still obediently reported her E.T.A, Xuemei felt a little annoyed by the pestering. She was going to college soon, alright?! 9 p.m.? Did they think she was still in elementary school?!

“Don’t you know what a dangerous world it is these days? Anytime after the sun sets is a dangerous time.”

“Pfffttt… Alright, Mom. I’m almost back.” Unable to believe those words came out of the mouth of a young man in his prime, Xuemei couldn’t help laughing. 

“Hey, I’m serious-” Xueliang’s words got cut off short as the line clicked off.

“This is why he can’t get a girlfriend.” Xuemei murmured to herself after hanging up.

“Your brother?” Huang Jun suddenly asked.

“Huh? Oh, yes.” Shocked he even cared to ask, she paused a little before answering his question.

“I will try to get you back earlier on other days, but I can’t influence the filming time much.” He responded.

“What… No! Don’t worry about it. My brother is just protective. This time is completely reasonable. Even if it went later, I would not worry about it. Brother Huang knows best that I can handle myself if I got into a bad situation.” When she finally caught his meaning, Xuemei quickly tried to correct his misunderstanding.

“No, I understand his feelings. Girls should not be out and about too late at night. I feel the same way with my younger sister.” 

Xuemei felt like her previous impressions of this stiff man next to her suddenly broke apart. Bro Huang, don’t tell me you’re also a siscon? Her lip twitching, Xuemei tried to pull herself together. It took her the rest of the car ride before Huang Jun finally let the matter rest. After all, he was not the director, so he could not do much about the timing. His face rested in a stern expression and did not say more. The only words he left with was that she had the day off tomorrow. Pleasantly surprised, Xuemei thought this would be a good time to travel around G City. It was a major coastal city and had plenty of great tourist attraction spots that she could check out. All this time she was so busy travelling back and forth between the mountain, village, and her hotel that she was only able to see the mall in terms of looking around G City. 

Pulling up some travel recommendations on her phone as she waited for the elevator, Xuemei hummed a happy tune to herself. Who didn’t like a day off? Scrolling through the information, she made a mental checklist of all the places that sounded interesting. There was a temple near the coast and people claimed the hike there was beautiful. Oh, the beach also looked quite beautiful. Her mouth even started watering when she looked up great local restaurants. Swallowing her saliva, Xuemei suddenly craved a late night snack. Thinking of this, her phone switched to looking to find the closest convenience store.

*DING!* 

The elevator stole her attention away from her phone for only a moment as she glanced up to see the doors opening. Getting out of the way for the oncoming crowd of people, she looked back down at her phone without paying any heed to them. Once the last person left, she was about to get into the elevator herself before a hand pulled her back by the arm. Frowning, she put down her phone to get a good look at the person. The person was a middle-aged woman with what seemed to be a permanent scowl of disapproval on her face. She had sharp, phoenix eyes, a tall nose bridge, and thin lips. Although the clothes were stylish, it was age appropriate business wear. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun that left Xuemei wondering how there was not a stray hair in sight. “Don’t mess with me” seemed to be written on her forehead, so Xuemei was rather confused as to why such a woman approached her out of nowhere. 

“Yes?” She tilted her head in confusion. 

“Xuemei, do you not recognize me?” Unhappiness spilled out from the frigid tone.

If I had a dollar for every time I heard that question, I’d be rich even without my parents. Pretty much done with having such conversations, Xuemei almost had half a mind to just walk away. 

“I don’t have great recall of memories that happened before the coma. The doctors explained it might be a side effect from the brain damage I received. I’m sorry, but I truly do not recognize you.” While she said this, Xuemei had an idea over who this woman was due to yesterday’s encounter.

Seemingly not too surprised, the woman just raised her eyebrows before cooly responding, “I am your Eldest Aunt. I’m the mother of your cousins, Tang Yuechan and Tang Xia.”

“Oh, Madam Tang. How are you?” Foregoing the address of “Aunt” for something more formal, Xuemei did not want to talk much with her. 

“Is this how you will speak to your elder?” 

“From what I know, my parents cut relations with Eldest Madam’s family during my coma, so I don’t see anything wrong with my address.” Xuemei shrugged nonchalantly. This aunt of hers had thicker skin than she thought. From the memories that were slowly trickling back, she remembered exactly what type of woman her eldest aunt was. 

Some could compliment her being ambitious and valiant, while others might curse her for being coldblooded and cruel. Really, Xuemei respected women who could work their way up to the top of the corporate ladder as it was still a majority male-dominated world. In a way, Xuemei’s eldest uncle married up although the Tang’s were fairly wealthy. The Tang family was old money in the imperial capital and owned a rather stagnant electronics company. They were on a downhill spiral until her eldest uncle married the woman in front of her, Ming Yun. Ming Yun was a poor orphan who managed to claw her way up with a new software company, Alpha OS, back when the internet and computers were still slowly becoming popular. She was not particularly great with computers, but she managed to read the trends and recruit a group of intelligent students in university. While they worked on the logistics and technical sides of things, she prepared the presentations to look for investors and be the socially adept bridge between investors and her start-up. After they found great success with their initial launch of an operating system, she married Tang Xuan, the eldest son and successor to the Tang family’s T Electronics. The two companies merged and created T-Alpha. Ming Yun saved the sinking and archaic electronics company that was losing its edge. If one were to look from a purely professional standpoint, Ming Yun was a woman that other young girls and boys should look up to. Therefore, Xuemei also found her impressive at first. However, her eldest aunt’s personality was not one to be admired. 

Their feud traces back to before any of the children were born. Actually, Xuemei’s father, Tang Feng, was more talented in business acumen and running a company than the eldest uncle. Tang Wei, Xuemei’s paternal grandfather, was a forward-thinking man who did not hold to old traditions where the eldest child, or even the sons, would inherit the company. Son or daughter, oldest or youngest, Tang Wei wanted to leave the company to the one with the greatest abilities. T Electronics was his blood, sweat, and tears. Pointlessly ignoring the children with talent to ensure his oldest son would take over was something ridiculous. It would be like picking up a sesame seed only to lose a watermelon¹Pick up a sesame seed only to lose a watermelon - Chinese proverb that means  to concentrate on small matters to the expense of more important ones.. Yes, there were customs in place, but would following those ensure the safety of his company and the jobs that thousands rely on? As the Tang brothers and sisters grew up, Tang Feng stood out the most. Tang Xuan was not even second, instead it was the third daughter, Tang Bing, who was next-in-line after her second brother. Tang Xuan was a weak-willed and soft-spoken man who did not know how to lead others. Lack of backbone was something that Tang Wei abhorred the most. He did not give up hope easily, though, and continued to try to shape Tang Xuan into someone more decisive and confident. Disappointment after disappointment led to Tang Feng slowly rising up to be declared the successor.

Everything changed when [the Fire Nation attacked. LOL sorry I couldn't resist] Ming Yun stepped in and made T Electronics her target for a merger. An old electronics company with connections that needed new ideas and new blood. It was the perfect stepping stone for her own start-up that was gaining reputation and money. However, no matter how she looked at Tang Feng, he did not seem like someone she could control, or better yet, take advantage of. Tang Bing was also known for her cold, antisocial personality and was a woman. Which led to her choice of Tang Xuan. The ambitious Ming Yun married Tang Xuan before things were set in stone. She bribed the board members to push for Tang Xuan to take over and pressure the current Chairman Tang Wei to step down. Even some underhanded schemes to mess with Tang Feng’s projects originated from her orders. Her actions bred much hatred from the rest of the Tang Family. However, she still managed to get her way. Once the two companies merged, T-Alpha continued to show large improvement in revenue and stock share prices went up. With results to back herself up, Ming Yun cemented her position as the new CEO and her husband as the Chairman. 

Only through the years did she barely mend her relationship with Tang Bing and Tang Lin, the younger siblings. Tang Wei, Xuemei’s paternal grandmother, and Tang Feng still disliked her and did not speak much. They did not discriminate against Tang Yuechan or Tang Xia, but Tang Xuan and Ming Yun were both not welcomed. The recent incident could not be completely blamed on Tang Yuechan’s insensitive words. The break between the two families existed long before Yuechan and Xuemei’s conflict.

The drama did not even end there. Ming Yun was a successful woman who pretty much dragged her husband to his position. After succeeding, she could not help but feel disdainful over his weak will. They had their children like a normal married couple, as Tang Xuan truly fell in love with Ming Yun and spoiled her. Eventually, though, even the strongest love can fade or devolve into hate when ignored. Constantly micromanaged and unable to do his job, Tang Xuan began to realize he was a figurehead in the company. People would mock him for being a paper tiger; he had the position but no real power. Pressed down until he could no longer raise his head, Tang Xuan decided to rebel in the best way he knew how. With the money and riches that his wife worked hard to earn by managing the company, he loved and indulged a bunch of mistresses outside. He loved his kids but hated his wife. Therefore, he was extra diligent in avoiding illegitimate children. At first it was okay, but Ming Yun quickly found out as most of the money running through the family was controlled by her. They fought every day and their relationship hit its lowest point. Divorce did come up, but the ever-intelligent Ming Yun did not have a prenuptial agreement written out on how to divide their assets if a divorce were to happen. In her arrogance, she never imagined that her husband would have the guts or the desire to cheat on her. She banked on his love and pushover personality.

Thus, the unhappy couple were stuck together. Tang Xuan wished to continue torturing Ming Yun, and Ming Yun did not want to leave with nothing. While Tang Xuan still tried to fulfill his fatherly duties, Ming Yun would take control of the children’s education. As someone who pushed herself all her life, she expected her children to also endure the same. She raised them like trophies and awards. The more accolades they received, the better she looked and the more she could brag about them. But she would blatantly ignore their interests and well-being. Tang Xia and Tang Yuechan also didn’t dare to disobey their mother’s orders and craved her love and affection. They would go to this lesson or that tutoring class and try their best to be the best. In front of adults, they were obedient. In front of other kids, they were awkward and a bit too overbearing.

Unlike that unhappy family, Xuemei’s family rose up from the ashes. Tang Feng gave up trying to vye for the position as he knew that would just promote infighting and instability in the company. After he met Xuemei’s mom, Long Man, he was able to take over the bakery chain that Xuemei’s maternal grandfather, Long Zhimo, started. As his daughter did not have much interest in taking over, Long Zhimo decided, after many tests and trials, that Xuemei’s dad was trustworthy enough. With Tang Feng’s stellar abilities, he raised the bakery chain, 一点甜店 (Yīdiǎn tián diàn, “A Little Sweet Shop”) to the next level with branches all over the country and even throughout Asia. The LT Group started to acquire other related production companies and dessert-selling chains. Now, their family’s group was probably worth more than T-Alpha.

Sorting through the memories of stories whispered by cousins, aunts, and uncles at family gatherings, Xuemei just felt that the lives of rich people were like dramatic movies. 

“You are awake and healthy now. I am glad to see this. Yuechan misspoke at the hospital and she deeply regrets her actions. She is also glad to see that you are alright. I think that as a reasonable member of your family, you should put efforts into rebuilding the relationships between our two families, right? It would be unfortunate for families to break apart over small matters.”

“Hm. Well, I can’t be the representative of my family. I do not know why the conflict happened in the first place. But, something makes me doubt it was truly JUST because of Cousin Yuechan. That’s what my brother says, that is also what your daughter seems to think, but I just can’t imagine my parents doing something dramatic like cutting ties with the ENTIRE Tang family due to just one incident. Therefore, I will withhold any decisions before hearing the story from my parents. If Madam Tang is truly hoping that our family buries the hatchet, maybe you should approach the important people involved like my parents. Does it not look bad to try to talk to someone - who only just woke up from a three-year coma - into solving a conflict she was not even awake to witness.” Only barely concealing the knives in her words, Xuemei did not hold back. The whole situation had bothered her ever since she saw Tang Yuechan. She could understand cutting ties with the Eldest Tang family, but her family used to have good relationships with her father’s other siblings and her paternal grandparents. To stop talking to the Tang family altogether meant there was a deeper story. Maybe only the adults were aware, as her brother and Yuechan did not seem to be in the know.

“Hmph! How can you expect to find ivory in a dog’s mouth? And here Chan-er said that you had changed and seemed more mature. Obviously, your parents still have not taught you proper manners.”

Hearing Ming Yun mention her parents, Xuemei narrowed her eyes in anger. She was about to retort but someone beat her to the punch.

“Oh, because you are such a great parent yourself. I think CEO Ming is one of the last people my parents should take parenting lessons from.” A deep voice responded sarcastically.

SerenityLake

A long chapter with a lot of new names. I think I might create like a public Google Doc that you guys can access with names and what family they are from and stuff. Just to keep things organized. Let me know what you think of that! BTW, my Patreon is always two chapters ahead if you all want more faster~.