Chapter 399

"So Liu Long's wife is Gong Rui's younger sister!" Zhang Jianya was slightly startled, and even a little envious.

Gong Rui is so beautiful; her sister must be no less stunning, while Long is just an ordinary-looking guy—he's hit the jackpot.

Wei Ming smiled and asked: "So who do you think is prettier, Gong Rui or Zhang Yu?"

"Obviously Gong Rui."

Hmm, seems he hasn't got a girlfriend yet—otherwise he'd be seeing her through rose-colored glasses.

As he spoke, Zhang Jianya suddenly froze, realizing that both of Gong Rui's two major masterpieces were created under Wei Ming's guidance: he strongly recommended her for "The Horse Herder," and forcefully overruled Chen Chong and Zhang Yu with Director Xie Jin; "Mother, Again, Love Me" was even his sole original screenplay, tailor-made for Gong Rui.

Could it be…?

Zhang Jianya boldly guessed: Wei Ming must be secretly in love with Comrade Gong Rui!

At the Peace Hotel, Long was still painting; even though he was away, work on "The Qin Moon" hadn't stopped.

Wei Ming told him to stop and draw a picture of Ying dressed in a wedding gown—he needed it for a transition.

Long had memorized the wedding dress inside out; he sketched it swiftly, smiling from the heart as he worked.

At that moment, Wei Ming even felt that Long, with only one girlfriend, was happier than himself, who had two current girlfriends, one ex, and one potential one.

After filming according to Wei Ming's instructions, Long asked: "What about the editing and developing afterward?"

Wei Ming: "Easy—I'll write you a detailed script. Take it back to Hong Kong and find Qingniao. I guess 'Fleeing to the Storm' is nearly finished; ask Director Xu Anhua to help edit it as a favor—pay him some overtime."

Long nodded.

Wei Ming turned to Zhang Jianya: "Should I take the machine back, or do you bring it to the studio tomorrow morning?"

Zhang Jianya: "I'll take it back—I can't afford any mishaps."

Fair enough. The device was too heavy; Wei Ming set the time to meet here tomorrow, then headed home casually.

But home wasn't casual now—it was tense, even hostile, because a guest had arrived.

Zhu Lin had reconnected with Gong Rui, so after today's shoot, she came over Teyi, took tomorrow off for the wedding, and even dyed her white hair back to black.

Only Wei Hong recognized her, exclaiming in delight: "Sister Zhu Lin, what are you doing here?!"

"I was shooting in Shanghai and ran into Gong Rui—learned you were here."

Before Li Zhi went to Hong Kong, Gong Rui was already somewhat famous; her two visits to Guangdong coincided with the peak of her film popularity. Zhu Lin was less known, but rumors said the two were equally renowned—today's meeting confirmed it: this woman was no ordinary guest.

Yet Zhu Lin's eyes held no interest in Wei Hong—she was imposing, but far less captivating than another woman.

"Sister Zhu Lin, this is my aunt Wei Lingling, a Chinese-American. How should you address her?" Wei Hong hesitated.

Wei Lingling cut in: "I'm twenty-five."

Zhu Lin: "Then I'm older."

Wei Lingling's expression lit up—older woman!

Though Wei Lingling didn't know this woman's relationship with Wei Xiao Ming, she had a gut feeling—three words flashed in her mind: "not clean."

So, facing the older Zhu Lin, she casually said: "Little Zhu, have a seat."

Wei Hong scratched her head, wondering: Is "Little Zhu" appropriate?

But Zhu Lin didn't object—she could call herself "Little Zhu," but she couldn't call Wei Lingling "Little Wei" or "Little Ling."

Now Wei Lingling and Zhu Lin sat diagonally on the sofa chatting, while Wei Hong sat beside Zhu Lin, watching "Huo Yuanjia," already several episodes in.

She wanted Li Zhi to explain the backstory, but Li Zhi, seated behind Wei Lingling, stared fixedly at Zhu Lin.

Wei Ming returned just then. Seeing his beloved sister, he was happy—but with so many lights around, his joy dimmed.

Zhu Lin told Wei Ming: "I'm also attending the wedding tomorrow. Heard you're filming it."

"Yes, I'm considering moving into directing."

Zhu Lin: "Then how about I play the female lead in your next film?"

Wei Ming: "Get more popular than Gong Rui first."

If not for the crowd, Zhu Lin would've pinched Wei Ming's waist, then slipped her hand into his pants to grip the source of his sin.

Wei Lingling and Li Zhi watched the two openly flirting, while Wei Hong's eyes were fixed on Chen Zhen beating up the Japanese.

"Good hit!" Wei Hong cheered.

Wei Ming squeezed in between Wei Hong and Zhu Lin. Zhu Lin watched the drama for the first time—she found it far more polished than mainland TV dramas, but since she'd started midway, she didn't understand much. She regretted not staying at the old Western-style house these past days—it had a TV.

When the drama ended, Wei Ming said: "Sister Lin, stay here tonight—it's too late and unsafe to go back."

Wei Hong: "Yes, yes! Sister Zhu Lin, you can sleep with me!"

Zhu Lin readily agreed. Then Wei Lingling suggested: "Little Ming, there are so many people here—why not dig up the treasure now?"

Li Zhi looked disappointed at her boss—how could you tell a stranger about this?

"Treasure?" Zhu Lin blinked—such an obscure term.

Wei Ming smiled: "Sure, Sister Lin, here's the story…"

He explained the treasure's origin, making Zhu Lin marvel at how wealthy families planned for future generations—every corner had hidden clues.

When she had children of her own, she'd bury something in her own backyard too.

The five went downstairs to dig for the chest. After Zhu Lin arrived, she became the second-strongest laborer—she wasn't some delicate queen.

Below the pit, Wei Ming shook the chest: "It's loose."

Zhu Lin stepped onto the chest and gave space to Wei Ming: "Can you lift it up alone?"

Wei Ming shook his head: "It's heavy—this looks like ironwood. Just the chest alone is substantial."

Wei Hong: "Should I get a pulley tomorrow?"

Wei Lingling jumped into the pit, forcing Wei Ming back into the corner.

"Since we only want what's inside, why not just open the box right here?"

Wei Ming: "Agreed. Xiao Hong, the hammer."

Wei Hong shook her head: "Pity—this lock is quite beautiful."

Beautiful it was, but useless. Wei Ming smashed it open with three strikes.

Wei Hong jumped into the pit—the moment of truth arrived.

Inside the chest, the first thing seen was a whole layer of Yuan Datou silver dollars.

Wei Hong was disappointed: "Wait—is that all? These are useless now."

In the past, silver dollars had immense purchasing power—Lu Xun and three friends spent barely one silver dollar on a hotpot meal at Donglaishun.

Now silver's value is lower, but Yuan Datou can still be collected as antiques.

"No, Yuan Datou is just the top layer—there's more underneath," Wei Lingling reached in, "Little Li, get a bag."

Li Zhi turned—and saw Zhu Lin descending with a backpack: "Use this."

They filled the backpack with Yuan Datou, and finally saw what lay beneath.

Understood—they'd placed valuable items inside, thought the silver dollars wasted space, so used them to fill the gaps.