Chapter 24: When Goodwill Reaches the Right Hands

After receiving Sang Zhiyi’s definite reply, Song Ying’s assistant quickly left.

The several servants brought by Zhongli Miaomiao also quietly retreated after putting down their large and small bags of gifts, leaving only Sang Zhiyi and Zhongli Miaomiao in the entire hospital room.

Zhongli Miaomiao let out a long breath, her expression uncharacteristically serious.

“Sister Xiaoqian, I need to tell you something.”

Sitting on the chair beside Sang Zhiyi’s bed, Zhongli Miaomiao looked left and right for a while, finally deciding to pick up Sang Zhiyi’s cup from the bedside table and earnestly pour a glass of water.

Then, Zhongli Miaomiao stood up, holding this glass of water with both hands, offering it to Sang Zhiyi.

“Sister Xiaoqian, thank you!”

Sang Zhiyi looked at Zhongli Miaomiao, who was acting unusually today, and understood.

Zhongli Miaomiao expressing her gratitude in such a manner could only be because of the Liu Bolin incident.

This also meant that her “God of Wealth” had finally arrived.

“It was my brother who told me, that’s how I found out.”

Zhongli Miaomiao pouted, looking quite unhappy.

“That idiot Liu Bolin’s collapse caused a huge stir.

Lou Yanchen got involved, and it seems Old Song also did something.

It even got my brother’s attention.”

“When he noticed my name appearing quite frequently in the news related to that idiot, my brother specifically called me back and questioned me for a long time.

So I told him everything that happened during this period.”

“Then my brother looked at me like I was an idiot and said I really needed to thank you properly.

If it weren’t for your help, I would definitely have been provoked by that idiot’s crazy fans into jumping up and down, insisting on chasing after that idiot, determined to become his girlfriend.”

Zhongli Miaomiao’s entire face scrunched up.

“How could I be that stupid?!”

Sang Zhiyi curved her eyebrows and gently patted Zhongli Miaomiao’s head.

“You’re not.”

In the original plot development, the Zhongli family had only become aware of Zhongli Miaomiao’s situation after Liu Bolin’s collapse made big news.

Now, Sang Zhiyi had advanced this timeline and greatly amplified the situation through the live broadcast, so the Zhongli family naturally became aware even faster.

In fact, it wasn’t that Zhongli Miaomiao was too stupid, but rather that her brother, the current head of the Zhongli family, Zhongli Hanyu, was too smart.

Relying only on public information and his sister’s account, he was able to reconstruct the truth and guess possible developments.

With Sang Zhiyi’s comforting, Zhongli Miaomiao finally stopped making a sour face.

“But thankfully, my brother told me, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to see through all those hidden intricacies myself, and I would have had no idea you did so much for me!”

Zhongli Miaomiao complained to Sang Zhiyi.

“Sister Xiaoqian, don’t be like Lei Feng.

When you do good deeds, you should leave your name!”

Sang Zhiyi nodded.

“Okay, okay.”

In fact, she hadn’t exactly left no name.

Didn’t the head of the Zhongli family know it was her?

Sang Zhiyi didn’t deny that when she helped Zhongli Miaomiao, she had also intended to use her to establish a connection with the Zhongli family.

After all, wanting a reward doesn’t negate the goodwill of the action.

Doing good deeds and receiving good rewards are not mutually exclusive.

Now that she was still “recovering,” getting out of bed would probably scare Zhongli Miaomiao.

So Sang Zhiyi only sat up straighter in bed, accepted the glass of plain water that Zhongli Miaomiao had offered with both hands, and drank it with solemnity.

Zhongli Miaomiao was deeply moved.

“Boo hoo, Sister Xiaoqian, you’re just too good, aren’t you?!

I told my brother about the little ceremony I prepared today, and he said I was playing house!”

“So what if I offered water?

Offering wine is a toast, so isn’t offering water also a toast?

Not everyone can drink alcohol, but everyone can drink water!”

The more Zhongli Miaomiao spoke, the more regretful she became.

“Actually, my brother also wanted to thank you in person, but he had to go abroad late last night for business.

The earliest he can come back is in a few days.”

Sang Zhiyi’s eyes flickered.

The head of the Zhongli family was using Zhongli Miaomiao’s words to tell her that the Zhongli family had accepted her gesture of goodwill.

“Then let me make an appointment,” Sang Zhiyi said with a smile.

“Whenever your brother is available, we can meet?”

Sang Zhiyi’s goal was not just to climb the heights as a celebrity herself.

After all, only by becoming her own support could she be the most secure.

A face-to-face meeting with the actual power holder of the Zhongli family—Sang Zhiyi also wouldn’t let her partner lose out.

It would surely be a pleasant, win-win cooperation.

***

Two days later.

Sang Zhiyi completed her hospital discharge procedures and, together with Zhongli Miaomiao as arranged, went to the most famous heart hospital in A City to visit Jiang Yingru at the first opportunity.

At Zhongli Miaomiao’s strong insistence, Sang Zhiyi rode in the Zhongli family’s car.

On the way, Sang Zhiyi had already heard Zhongli Miaomiao chattering that Jiang Yingru had regained consciousness from her coma early that morning and had now been moved to a regular single patient room to receive routine treatment.

By the time Sang Zhiyi and Zhongli Miaomiao arrived, Jiang Yingru was half-sitting in her hospital bed, quietly reading a book.

Although her complexion was still pale and haggard, Jiang Yingru’s spirits were fairly good.

Seeing Sang Zhiyi and Zhongli Miaomiao arrive, Jiang Yingru immediately put down the book in her hands.

This time, Zhongli Miaomiao had again brought several of her family’s servants to help carry gifts, large and small bags covering the floor.

In Zhongli Miaomiao’s words, she had already given these things when visiting Sang Zhiyi, and since Jiang Yingru’s illness was even more serious than Sang Zhiyi’s, she definitely had to give even more.

Even Jiang Yingru couldn’t help but smile at that.

Sang Zhiyi’s gift for Jiang Yingru was much simpler—a hardcover edition of a poetry collection.

“Isn’t this the one we talked about before?”

Jiang Yingru’s eyes lit up as she caressed the cover of the poetry collection, full of cherishment.

“This edition is very hard to find on the market right now.

I’ve always wanted it.

I never expected you to bring it to me.”

Sang Zhiyi tilted her head.

“Because you said you liked it.”

Tracking down this edition of the poetry collection had indeed taken quite a bit of effort, but none of that mattered to Sang Zhiyi.

The sincere goodwill Jiang Yingru had shown her was what Sang Zhiyi truly valued.

“I really do like it.”

Jiang Yingru smiled more happily than she had in a long time, some color even returning to her face.

She had her accompanying assistant put away the poetry collection carefully, then looked at Sang Zhiyi and spoke word by word.

“My fainting wasn’t your fault.”

“Don’t… take it to heart.”

Jiang Yingru was telling the truth.

Her body had always been like this, needing to visit the hospital several times a month.

Lately, she hadn’t been to the hospital, and the doctors and nurses familiar with her had even been a bit surprised.

Speaking of this, Jiang Yingru smiled faintly, a touch of color returning to her face.

“To be honest, I have you to thank for it.”

When she had her checkup in the morning, the doctor told Jiang Yingru that because she had been in a good mood lately and her spirits were high, some of her minor ailments hadn’t been acting up as much.

Jiang Yingru suffered from a serious congenital heart condition.

The most beneficial lifestyle for her was quiet recuperation—no strenuous exercise, and no major emotional fluctuations.

But unfortunately, Jiang Yingru’s childhood dream had been to become an actress.

As an actress, she had to portray the joys, angers, sorrows, and happiness of others.

With Jiang Yingru’s level of dedication, she certainly couldn’t just go through the motions.

This meant that she often worsened her condition due to work.

Although Jiang Yingru had tried very hard to control it, only acting in television dramas and not films with higher and more nuanced emotional demands, and reducing her workload and working hours as much as possible, basically only filming and not participating in any promotional activities.

But no matter how careful she had been, ten years of this had still placed a tremendous burden on her health.

Two months ago, Jiang Yingru’s doctor had sternly warned her that if she continued at this pace, her life would be in danger.

For these two months, there had been no news of any work from Jiang Yingru.

Her fans and the public had long been accustomed to her disappearing for at least several months after finishing a drama, assuming everything was normal.

In reality, Jiang Yingru had been trapped in pain and struggle.

Honestly, Jiang Yingru herself certainly wanted to continue acting.

She was willing to burn herself out for her dream until the very last moment.

If she lost acting, that crucial piece of her life’s puzzle, there would be a huge void in her existence.

But the threat of death hung over her head.

Jiang Yingru couldn’t be entirely without concerns.

Moreover, she had family who cared for her.

Jiang Yingru couldn’t be selfish enough to leave them heartbroken and worried.

She was caught between a rock and a hard place.

Just then, while organizing her email, Jiang Yingru’s assistant came across an invitation—from the production team of Love of a Limited Season.

In her ten years in the industry, Jiang Yingru had attended very few events.

Even the awards ceremony for winning Best Actress three times, she had once been unable to attend due to illness and had a friend accept on her behalf, let alone a variety show.

But Jiang Yingru’s reputation and status were such that many variety shows would politely send her an invitation.

It didn’t matter if she came or not; they needed to show sufficient respect.

Her assistant skillfully copied and pasted from a template document, changed a few words to include the production team’s name, and was about to reply with a thank-you and a polite refusal.

But Jiang Yingru stopped her.

The assistant was first confused, then looked at Jiang Yingru with a shocked expression.

“Sister Yingru?”

“I’ll go and see,” Jiang Yingru said.

Trying something she had never tried before would at least be a change of pace.

As for whether this variety show was a dating show or something else, it hadn’t mattered to Jiang Yingru at the time.

Meeting Sang Zhiyi, and being actively consulted by her about acting, had gradually helped adjust Jiang Yingru’s previously low and confused mood.

Being busy with a career she loved was the easiest way for Jiang Yingru to feel fulfilled, even if it was in this indirect manner.

Especially since Sang Zhiyi was exceptionally talented.

Watching her improve by leaps and bounds with just a little guidance from Jiang Yingru gave her a great sense of accomplishment and joy.

When Jiang Yingru said she had Sang Zhiyi to thank, every word came from the heart.

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