Chapter 208

Although she slept late, Melinda got up very early because their chairman had a meeting with high-level officials today, and she needed to be there, so she had to go back and prepare.

When Melinda was washing up in the bathroom, Wei Ming leaned against the doorway. The living room was playing music—it was the album by the British band Genesis that she had brought last night.

The lead singer of this band, Phil Collins, had a daughter named Lily Collins.

"Can we see each other again?" Wei Ming asked.

"Sure. Wait for me at the entrance of the State Guest House at six tonight. I'll give you the hardcover editions I brought and some other best-selling children's books. You'd better hurry."

"Then can you come out?"

"No, there's a banquet in the evening with leaders of the Chinese publishing industry. Our chairman also hopes to enter the Chinese market, and I must be there, so I can only sneak out for a bit."

"Then are you leaving tomorrow?"

"Yes, leaving." Melinda saw the regret on Wei Ming's face through the mirror. They hadn't seen each other for half a year, yet they only had one night together.

So she lifted her pajamas: "Next time we meet, it might have to wait until I come to China, or you go to the UK. Who knows how many years that will be. Do whatever you want."

Wei Ming cursed: "What do you take me for? That's not what I meant."

Melinda turned back with a smile: "You're not exhausted, are you?"

Wei Ming: "Just wait for me, I'm going to get a condom!"

A Chinese man who is strong all his life must absolutely not let a foreign girl look down on him at a time like this. Wei Ming wasn't fighting for himself; it was about the honor of Chinese men!

This was a battle for vindication!

However, Melinda stopped him and proposed a bolder idea: "No need to get one, just come directly. My period just ended the day before yesterday, so it's very safe now."

This invitation was too tempting for Wei Ming. He always felt that people's hearts are separated by skin, and also by Durex. Without that barrier, people can truly connect seamlessly and trust each other.

Now, besides being former lovers, Wei Ming and Melinda were even more so partners who achieved success together, and they had to trust each other unconditionally.

So Melinda held onto the bathroom vanity, and Wei Ming held onto Melinda, striving to bring their friendship to a new peak.

About the time of one album passed. Wei Ming asked Melinda worriedly: "Won't this delay your important business?"

"No, I knew this would happen, so I specifically left enough time. Alright, now I really need to tidy up and get ready to leave."

"Okay."

Wei Ming knew that they would eventually have to part. He didn't disturb Melinda anymore, tidied up, and turned to leave the bathroom.

However, he froze; he discovered something at the doorway.

He walked over and saw a cloth bag on the floor. It definitely wasn't there before. Wei Ming's heart skipped a beat. He opened the cloth bag and saw the green zongzi inside.

The color of these zongzi looked exactly like Zhu Lin's head at this moment.

Wei Ming remembered what Zhu Lin said last night—that she was going home to help her mother wrap zongzi. Looking at these ugly-looking zongzi, he was certain they must be the love-filled zongzi wrapped by Sister Lin herself.

He immediately ran to the window, but he could no longer see Sister Lin's figure.

When Melinda came out of the bedroom, dressed elegantly and movingly, she saw Wei Ming sitting on the sofa smoking, with a bag placed in front of him.

"Didn't you say smoking is bad for your health and that you never smoke yourself?" Melinda asked curiously.

"I actually wish I could be unhealthy right now; maybe I could get some sympathy points."

Melinda didn't quite understand and asked again: "What is this?"

"Zongzi." Wei Ming took one out, opened it, and put it in his mouth.

Melinda: "I know this. 'Happy Dragon Boat Festival,' right? So today is the day Qu Yuan jumped into the river!"

Wei Ming didn't speak, just kept eating the zongzi, one after another.

"Don't eat them all. Leave a few for me to take away. I haven't eaten yet."

Wei Ming: "Okay, I'll get you a bag."

Melinda said with a smile: "Were they prepared yesterday?"

Wei Ming: "No, someone just sent them over this morning."

"How come I didn't see it?"

"I didn't see it either; we were busy at the time."

Melinda: "..."

She suddenly realized and her expression became awkward: "Then was I seen completely?"

"Don't worry, it was a woman."

Melinda breathed a sigh of relief: "Then you're the one who lost out... Wait! A woman? Could it be that one of yours?"

Wei Ming sighed: "Alright, let's not talk about that. You go first. I'll go over with Mei Wenhua in the afternoon and bring his motorcycle back by the way."

Damn you, Mei Wenhua, look at the good deed you've done!

Melinda had originally wanted Wei Ming to send her back, but now she couldn't say it. It was so awkward. Although she was his first love, it was the past after all.

"Alright then, don't be anxious or angry. Always look at the bright side of things."

"What bright side could there be?"

Melinda: "At least she knows you have overseas connections. That should be a good thing for a Chinese person, right?"

Seeing her speak so seriously, Wei Ming felt a wave of irritation: "Go, go, go. I won't see you off."

Melinda: Hmph, talking tough after pulling up your pants.

After Melinda left, the irritated Wei Ming calmed down. He hurriedly started cleaning the room, arranged the remaining zongzi on the dining table into a heart shape, hand-washed and dried the pajamas Melinda had worn, and finally carried a trash bag downstairs.

This Melinda, she actually left her stockings behind. He couldn't throw them away, and he couldn't keep them, so he could only hide them behind the books on the bookshelf.

He didn't know how long Sister Lin had been watching. She must be very angry now. He had indeed shown combat power far exceeding what he had when he was with her while he was with Melinda.

The more Wei Ming thought about it, the angrier he got. After arriving at Peking University, he went to the dormitory first, preparing to vent his frustration on Mei Wenhua.

However, there was only Biaozi doing push-ups in the dorm now. Looking at the bulging muscles under his undershirt, Wei Ming nodded with satisfaction. It was just a bit pale; he'd have to get some sun later. If he tanned for 180 days and got a soy-sauce color, it would be even better.

Leaving the dormitory, he ran into Liu Zhenyun just as he went up. He was there to pay back the money—the meal money from yesterday.

Wei Ming had just taken it when he heard Mei Wenhua's voice. He had been listening for a while.

"Yo, Bai Bai Lao Liu, you didn't call us when you went out to eat."

Liu Zhenyun said cheekily: "Western food, too expensive, couldn't bear to."

"Western food?" Then Mei Wenhua looked at Wei Ming, "You and Melinda ate Western food?"

Liu Zhenyun was surprised: "Melinda? What Melinda?"

"You don't know yet? Melinda came back yesterday," Mei Wenhua said triumphantly. "She came specifically to find Brother Ming, and I was the one who told her the address and phone number. In the end, I even lent her my motorcycle."

Liu Zhenyun's eyes widened. He looked at Wei Ming's purple-and-green expression and thought of that beautiful sister named Zhu Lin.

Little Mei, you're done for. You're dead!

Liu Zhenyun, who was originally going to leave after paying back the money, decided to stay and watch the show.

Mei Wenhua was still patting Wei Ming on the shoulder: "You don't have to thank me. We're like brothers, and besides, Mei Wenhua and Melinda both share the surname Mei."

Wei Ming just kept smiling.

Then Mei Wenhua reached out: "Where are my keys?"

Wei Ming: "Your motorcycle has been confiscated."

"Ah, what? Why?!"

Wei Ming: "Melinda was riding the motorcycle and was stopped by the traffic police. They said a foreigner was riding without a license. They didn't detain the person, but the vehicle was confiscated and turned over to the national treasury."

Mei Wenhua took two steps back, leaned against the wall, and slid to the floor.

"My motorcycle, my Suzuki!"

For this motorcycle, Mei Wenhua had spent far more effort than on his previous Little Flying Pigeon. He kept it spotless, just like a wife. Every time Biaozi used it, he had to maintain it all over again.

After howling a couple of times, Mei Wenhua stood up again. He wiped his nose: "It's okay, Melinda is a reasonable person. She will definitely compensate me."

Wei Ming: "You overestimate your clanswoman. She has already left Beijing."

"What!" Mei Wenhua screamed, then looked at Wei Ming: "She's your partner. Shouldn't you be responsible for me?"

Wei Ming shook his head with a smile: "She's an ex-girlfriend. We have no relationship anymore, and I have a new girlfriend now. Right, Bai Bai Lao Liu? You saw her yesterday."

Liu Zhenyun's eyes lit up. What did I say? I said their relationship wasn't pure!

He chimed in: "Right, right, right. Saw her at Old Mo's yesterday. She was so beautiful, even better than our Mei."

The identity he didn't admit yesterday, Wei Ming finally gave her today.

However, Zhu Lin didn't want it anymore.

Early this morning, she happily went to deliver zongzi to Wei Ming. Just after entering, she heard foreign songs playing.

She thought Wei Ming was in the kitchen, but when she passed by the bathroom, she saw a shocking scene through the crack in the door and heard shameful cries.

Zhu Lin didn't even see clearly who Wei Ming was sprinting with. In the end, she didn't have the courage to push the door open and question him.

Saying she was his partner was ultimately just a joke by an immature little man. It was laughable that she had actually taken it seriously.

Zhu Lin mocked herself, dropped the bag of zongzi, and fled in a panic. She didn't dare to imagine how awkward it would be for the three of them if she walked into the bathroom.

She still left some decency for everyone, but when she was at work, the more she thought about it, the angrier she got, and the more she felt she was a coward. So she asked for leave, got off work early, and headed straight for the Overseas Chinese Apartment.

She was going to take back everything that belonged to her!

If Wei Ming hadn't given her hope before, she wouldn't have reacted so strongly, but he had done something to betray her immediately after giving her a promise.

You could have at least waited two days!

As soon as she opened the door and entered, Zhu Lin saw the "zongzi heart" on the dining table. She knew he had been there. Did he think this little trick could make her change her mind?

Hmph, childish!

And he made the table all sticky. Did he know how hard it was to wipe off? But this time, I won't help you clean it up! Zhu Lin thought firmly.

She was just about to go to the guest bedroom to pack her things when she saw her own pajamas hanging on the balcony.

Wet, just washed. Good, that woman not only slept with her man but also wore her clothes!

Zhu Lin's eyes turned red. She silently packed her things. She would never come to this place again; it was too bullying.

Then she went to the bathroom to get her toiletries. Seeing the bathroom vanity, sorrow welled up in her heart. How could they do that kind of thing here!

This is a place to wash hands and faces!

While packing, Zhu Lin suddenly saw something.

She squatted down and saw a strand of red hair under the vanity. She picked it up—it was a long strand, and a bit curly too.

Zhu Lin suddenly thought of Melinda, whom she had only seen in photos.

Is it her? She's back?

The return of the queen?

Zhu Lin stopped packing and continued looking for clues.

Actually, Wei Ming had cleaned up very thoroughly. He hoped to erase the evidence of Melinda's existence here as much as possible. Although Zhu Lin had already seen it, he still hoped she could feel a little better, but there were omissions after all.

!

Soon, Zhu Lin found another strand of the same red hair on the sofa.

Finally, Zhu Lin got on the bed and found two red hairs, one long and one short.

That made three long and one short in total!

Zhu Lin specifically opened the photo album to find Melinda's color photo. After comparing them, she finally confirmed it was her!

She had made a comeback!

Zhu Lin checked their contraceptives again. She had been keeping count and found that three had been used.

Three! Too greedy!

However, after confirming the identity of that woman, Zhu Lin found that she wasn't as angry as she was at the beginning.

She was his first love after all, and they hadn't broken up because of emotional problems. It was understandable that they were impulsive when they met again today.

The important thing is, will Melinda leave later? Zhu Lin thought unworthily.

She even wanted to put back the things she had just packed and pretend nothing had happened.

But the zongzi on the table reminded her that it was useless. He knew she had been there. If she didn't show any reaction, he would become even more unscrupulous in the future.

This time, she had to be firm!

But she was all alone with one bicycle, and she couldn't take so many things at once.

So Zhu Lin selectively took some of her things, planning to come back and get the rest when she had the chance.

To express her determination, she even pushed the key through the crack in the door.

Wei Ming was in a great mood after "tricking" Mei Wenhua and planned to tell him the truth in the afternoon.

At noon, he rode his motorcycle to Zhu Lin's workplace. He waited all noon but didn't see her, so he had to go home helplessly.

Then he saw Zhu Lin's key at the door. She had been back!

Wei Ming hurriedly looked around. Some things were missing from the house—some things that belonged to Zhu Lin. Was she drawing a line with him?

It didn't seem like a complete line, as there were still many of her things left in the house.

Wei Ming breathed a sigh of relief. There was still a chance. As long as the green hills remain, there's no need to worry about firewood. Sister, just you wait for me!

At school, Mei Wenhua looked at Biaozi dejectedly: "Why aren't you worried at all? Half of the motorcycle is yours, too?"

Biaozi, who was doing sit-ups, said: "Because I'm about to join the crew to film, and I won't need it anyway."

"What about when you come back after filming? You won't need it?" Little Mei was anxious.

Biaozi: "That's a long way off. I believe Brother Ming will definitely solve it."

"Solve what? It was confiscated by the relevant departments and turned over to the national treasury. You can't just dig it back!" Little Mei was heartbroken.

At this moment, Wei Ming, who had just finished work, came to the dormitory.

"Little Mei, come with me to get your motorcycle."

"Ah, the motorcycle is coming back!?" Mei Wenhua jumped up in surprise.

Biaozi: "What did I say? Trust Brother Ming, you won't lose out."

Half an hour later, looking at the sign in front of him, Mei Wenhua felt a bit weak.

"Brother Ming, where are we?"

Wei Ming: "Isn't it written there? It's not like you're illiterate."

Mei Wenhua: "Melinda lives in a place like this now? She's doing pretty well!"

"It's alright, mainly because she followed the right boss." Then Wei Ming introduced the background of Melinda's boss, Harold Macmillan, which left Mei Wenhua dumbfounded. That was once the head of a country, and a big, powerful country like Britain at that. No wonder she could live in a place like this.

Before long, Melinda came out wearing a beautiful long dress, and a staff member pushed the motorcycle out. There was also a full bag on the bike.

"Melinda, you're too polite. I only used the motorcycle for one day; there's no need to give so many things."

Wei Ming walked over: "Go, go, go. These are for me."

Melinda first took out the hardcover edition of *Jumanji* from the bag to show Wei Ming. The entire design style was Melinda's responsibility, and she had poured her heart and soul into it.

Mei Wenhua took a peek and exclaimed that he really was uncultured—this was actually a book! It looked like a gift box~

Because the banquet was about to start, Melinda kept it short.

"After returning to the country, do you want to open an overseas account in your name? That way, you can use your foreign exchange income normally when you go abroad in the future."

If it were remitted to Wei Ming's domestic account, it wouldn't be very convenient. The country needs foreign exchange too much, so once the money comes in, it's hard to get it out.

"Sure, open one that has a branch in Hong Kong," Wei Ming would have to go to Hong Kong sooner or later. "But you can also remit a portion back to the country." Sometimes he also needed to use foreign exchange certificates to buy things.

Melinda smiled. Going to Hong Kong, huh? It's very convenient to go to the UK from Hong Kong.

"Okay, I'll write to tell you the account number then. The hardcover edition will be reprinted, and there will be more royalties. After the American branch publishes *Jumanji*, there will also be a large sum of royalties."

Melinda estimated that Wei Ming could earn at least 100,000 US dollars from this book. Not to mention in China, even in the UK, that's considered a high income.

The two didn't communicate in English, and Mei Wenhua understood everything. Good heavens, it turns out that Melinda's return to the country this time, besides rekindling old flames, also included the role of a "wealth-scattering boy"!

Brother Ming has actually started earning royalties from abroad. How much money must that be!

He thought of what Wei Ming said just now: personal effort and ability are certainly important, but following the right boss (big brother) is also very important.

Finally, Melinda urged Wei Ming to write a new work as soon as possible because it still needed to be translated and an illustrator needed to be hired, so the timeline would be longer. She hoped to launch Mr. Why's new work by early next year at the latest.

After Melinda went inside, Wei Ming put the bag on the bike, and Mei Wenhua immediately started the engine and followed.

"Brother Ming, how much royalties did you earn this time?"

"Let's just say, I earned a few more houses," Wei Ming said vaguely.

"Awesome, too awesome!"

Mei Wenhua was grinning from ear to ear. He had copied *Jumanji* before; how many words were there, and he earned so much!

And listening to him, this was only a part of it; there was more to come, maybe even more. "Then you must be very troubled with so much money and nowhere to spend it."

Wei Ming: "Troubled? Not really. I'll just buy a few more houses. Maybe I'll have to store letters from foreign young readers in the future."

He felt he could buy a courtyard house to play with this time.

In this era, there's no point in saving money; it only has value when it's spent.

Besides the future appreciation value of the courtyard house, there's also safety. Although Old Sun at the Overseas Chinese Apartment has a good relationship with him, there's still a risk in bringing different girls home frequently.

It's easy to get into trouble after a few years, but wouldn't it be fine if he brought different girls to different homes?

He didn't know if Sister Xue liked courtyard houses. If she didn't, then commercial housing in Tuanjiehu could also be considered. Anyway, it didn't cost much.

Wei Ming, holding twenty thousand US dollars—worth about 30,000 to over 100,000 RMB—was feeling a bit inflated.

Just as he was thinking, Mei Wenhua asked: "Brother Ming, why don't you take a share in the business Biaozi and I are doing?"

Wei Ming chuckled: "Your small-scale stuff is meaningless."

Mei Wenhua: "But it wouldn't be small-scale if you joined."

"If I put my capital in, what would be left for you and Biaozi? Wouldn't that mean you'd be working for me? Not appropriate, not appropriate."

Wei Ming was speaking the truth. He had much more money than Mei and Biao; how would the shares be calculated?

But if he didn't invest that much, it would still be small-scale, and it wouldn't mean much.

Mei Wenhua only weighed the pros and cons in his mind and immediately said: "No, we'd be happy to work for you. It would definitely be more profitable than working alone."

And with a big boss's capital to back it up, the risk is greatly reduced. It's just that one more person takes away most of the profits, but the total profit increases exponentially compared to working alone!

With the money Wei Ming had on hand, it was more than enough even after buying a house. Investing in business was indeed a good choice, as long as he didn't have to labor and worry himself.

Writing novels and falling in love were already brain-draining enough. He didn't want to invest too much energy in other careers; at most, he'd provide a few ideas.

Wei Ming said: "You should still discuss it with Biaozi. See you later."

Then Wei Ming returned home, and Mei Wenhua returned to Peking University.

At the same time, at the banquet at the Diaoyutai State Guest House, leaders from the Ministry of Culture and the State Publishing Administration were having a cordial talk with Harold Macmillan. Melinda, dressed elegantly, was translating on the side, showing no trace of the wildness she had shown on the bathroom vanity.

Old Harold came this time also hoping that Macmillan Publishers' works could enter the Chinese market, especially English teaching books.

Melinda, a China hand, had told him that the weight of English scores in China's college entrance examination had increased this year and would continue to increase, and that China's market space in this regard was extremely large.

When the translation work was finished and they started dining, a deputy director from the Publishing Administration who was a Peking University alumnus struck up a conversation with Melinda about the British publishing industry. Melinda asked with a smile: "Have you heard of *Jumanji*?"

This deputy director also had children. He nodded: "Seems like I've heard of it. The author's name is a bit strange, called Wei Something, right?"

He even remembered the pen name "Wei Something" clearly because it was very distinctive; on the contrary, he had almost forgotten the book title.

Melinda smiled: "Yes, our publishing house introduced this novel, and it has received widespread acclaim in the UK after publication."

"Ah, how can such a thing happen!"

The deputy director was first worried: how could it be published abroad without going through the Publishing Administration!

After hearing Melinda finish talking about the sensation the novel caused in the UK, and that it was going to land in countries like the US next, and was planned to be translated into other languages to become a children's literature work with worldwide influence.

The deputy director was immediately excited: Our Publishing Administration really has wise leadership; we actually achieved such results without making a sound!

(Yesterday's minimum guarantee~)

(End of chapter)