Chapter 32 Part 1

"Money, she refused to take it. The money you gave her before, she donated it all. She even showed me photos of the receipts. I guess she was prepared for this, guarding against us. This young lady isn't as easy to deal with as I thought."

Old Pan briefly and concisely recounted their conversation, and at the end, he even cracked a not-so-funny joke.

"She seems easygoing, but she's no less difficult to deal with than you are. As they say, a tiger mother does not raise a dog daughter."

Seeing that An Baohua wasn't smiling, Old Pan coughed lightly twice and shut his mouth.

"Do you have any suggestions?" An Baohua's expression was indifferent and weary.

"She doesn't seem to have any intention of blackmailing you with this, but people's hearts are hard to fathom. We've seen plenty of strange things in this circle, so it's good that you're on guard. As I see it, there are two options: either be completely open and publicly announce that you have a daughter. The Shu family already knows anyway, and Xiao Yao is grown up now. If you talk to her nicely, she might be able to understand. This way, you bring it out into the open, and the leverage that could threaten you will be completely gone."

After Old Pan finished, he observed her expression and asked, "What, is this method no good?"

"No, the film isn't finished yet. When the time comes, the gossip media will surely catch wind of it and rush over, which will delay our progress. Besides, Xiao Yao hasn't taken her college entrance exams yet. What if this affects her mood and she flunks? I'm not worried about Old Shu; he's a reasonable person. But some of the Shu family's relatives aren't. They value face and reputation more than anything. They'll start gossiping again..." An Baohua spoke for a long time, unable to hide her frazzled state of mind.

Old Pan finally understood. She had no intention of making her daughter's existence public.

In short, she had rejected his suggestion.

He had no choice but to continue, "Then there's the second method. The one who tied the bell must be the one to untie it. You should go have a good talk with Bo He and resolve the knot in your hearts. No matter what, you are her biological mother. Causing trouble for you won't benefit her in the slightest."

An Baohua: "But she can get the satisfaction of revenge!"

Old Pan was taken aback and tentatively probed, "What does she want to take revenge on you for? Back then...?"

An Baohua was silent for a moment. "I didn't abandon her back then. It was her irresponsible biological father who ditched us and ran off. I was a single mother, pregnant out of wedlock. What else could I do? Think about the social climate over twenty years ago. Let alone in their small town, even in big cities when something like this happened, the man could just walk away scot-free, while the woman would always be the one condemned by everyone."

This was also the first time Old Pan had heard her talk about this matter.

Those past events were hidden behind the brilliance of Director An Baohua, and very few people had ever glimpsed them.

An Baohua wasn't an actress, so there weren't as many gossip media outlets digging into her past. But that's not to say there weren't any meddlers. A few years ago, there was a self-media account that took pleasure in unearthing celebrity scandals. As they were investigating, they somehow stumbled upon An Baohua. At the time, they didn't know about Bo He's existence yet, they had only found a few clues. It was Old Pan who stepped in to resolve it.

From that time on, he learned that Shu Yao, who had grown up doted on and pampered, was not An Baohua's only daughter.

"And then?"

"I had a falling out with my family. The two of us, mother and daughter, had nowhere to turn. I was raising her by myself but couldn't even support the two of us. It just so happened that a couple living next door to me, who had been married for over twenty years without children, wanted to adopt her. I saw that they were good-hearted people who would treat her well, so I agreed."

"So you didn't stay in contact?"

"Since they had already adopted her, wouldn't my frequent visits just cause them more trouble? Besides, by that time, I had come to a realization: you can't rely on anyone in this world, only yourself. I wanted to resume my interrupted studies, so it was even more impossible for me to bring her along. I studied hard for two years and finally got into the directing department of the school I wanted to attend most. I continued my studies from there. You probably know what happened after that."

"Then I guess you could say studying changed your destiny."

"It did more than just change it; it saved me from a destiny of falling into an abyss. I met Old Shu during my graduate studies. If I hadn't made up my mind back then, endured all those hardships, and instead listened to my family and just married some random person, I'd probably be wasting my life away in that small town right now, never able to get out."

"Then how did you two get in touch again?"

"When she was about to take her college entrance exams, her parents somehow saw a report about me. They asked around and traveled from the small town to the capital to find me. They said her grades were very good and she could get into a university, but their family's financial situation was average and they had trouble with the tuition, so they asked me to help."

"You helped?"

"Of course. After all, she and I are related by blood. I didn't have much money back then either, so I had to ask Old Shu for it. I considered it repaying what I owed her from the past. However, she didn't get into any prestigious university later on, just a very ordinary one. Now that she's graduated, she just has a very ordinary job."

"Did they ask you for money again after that?"

"No, just that one time. Later, I heard her family members passed away, leaving her all alone. I guess her adoptive parents must have said something to her to make her prejudiced against me. Forget it. That child might be a little clever, but she's grown up now. Let her walk her own path."

An Baohua clearly didn't want to continue the conversation and waved her hand dismissively.

"In any case, just help me keep an eye on her. Since she knows Zhuo Yi, there's no guarantee he doesn't know something too. But since we all work in the same circle, we're bound to run into each other. Zhuo Yi handles himself well; he knows what to say and what not to meddle in, so there's no need to worry too much about him. As for the money for her, you might as well give a little more. As long as the amount is right, she probably won't stir up trouble for the time being. You don't need to ask me about these things; just decide for yourself."

Old Pan opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back down.

He had met countless people and felt that Bo He wasn't the kind of person An Baohua described. But you can know a person's face without knowing their heart. There were plenty of bizarre incidents in their circle. Countless cases of parents, children, and siblings falling out over fame and fortune. There was even a famous actress whose own biological mother took her to court after her death and squandered her inheritance. Old Pan had long grown accustomed to such things. He couldn't persuade An Baohua not to be overly sensitive because he couldn't be sure that Bo He wouldn't do something like that either.

"Alright then, you rest first. I'll handle it. We'll talk about everything after Xiao Yao's college entrance exams."

Old Pan was born to worry. He returned to his room with a heavy heart, tossing and turning all night without sleeping well. He even dreamed that a teenage Bo He was suing her biological mother. In the dream, he was rushing about, utterly exhausted, and woke up even more tired than when he went to bed.

He finally managed to crawl out of bed around noon. Old Pan freshened up, preparing to redouble his efforts and go talk to Bo He. He didn't expect to make her forgive and forget, but he hoped to at least improve Bo He's feelings toward An Baohua, to prevent any trouble from being stirred up by others' instigation.

Old Pan knew that An Baohua was an extremely strong-willed person. In the difficult circumstances back then, when she seemed to have nowhere to turn, she had instead calmed down to study, picking up her education again through sheer perseverance. She left the small town, went to the capital, and caused a world-shaking change in her own destiny. To put it bluntly, she had jumped from one social class to another.

In comparison, Bo He was rather plain and unremarkable.

Just as An Baohua said, Bo He's life trajectory, like her adoptive parents', was ordinary to the core, lost in the crowd.

Old Pan faintly felt that such an ordinary daughter was the reason An Baohua was reluctant to acknowledge her, and even more unwilling to admit any relationship between them. It was Shu Yao, upon whom An Baohua had poured her heart and soul to raise, who seemed more like her own flesh and blood.

Even though he was close with An Baohua, he couldn't say too much about such matters. Old Pan could only fulfill his duties as her agent and old friend, helping her smooth over any potential troubles.

Who would have thought that when he arrived at the film set, he was told that Ouyang and Bo He had already left.

Ouyang's scenes were already finished. Many actors would leave immediately to rush to their next gig, but for someone like Ouyang, a break could last ten days to half a month. It would have been normal for her to want to stay a couple more days after finishing her scenes. Old Pan hadn't expected them to leave so abruptly and decisively, so he had no choice but to call Bo He's phone.

"Xiao Bo? Hello, hello. Why did you leave so quickly? I didn't even get a chance to see you off. Did you say goodbye to Brother Zhuo? Okay, okay, I understand. There's a pretty famous restaurant nearby, I wanted to treat you to a meal. Well, that's fine, next time then. Is it convenient for you to give me your address? Your company's is fine too. I'll have someone send you some snacks later... The plane is about to take off? Alright, alright, I'll hang up then. Goodbye, have a safe trip!"

Bo He hung up the phone and turned to see Ouyang's curious expression.

"Old Pan isn't just Director An's agent; he has two big shots under him as well. The man is very well-connected; everyone has to give him some face." Ouyang was close by and had vaguely overheard some of their conversation, enough to set her imagination running wild. "He's so polite to you, could he really want to scout you for the entertainment industry?"

Although Bo He was also pretty, her beauty was relative to ordinary people. There were so many beauties in the circle—plump or slender, each with her own charm. What kind of stunning beauty couldn't you find? Even someone like Ouyang, who was struggling and unfulfilled, was a beautiful woman.

But with connections to Zhuo Yi, it was a different story. Yesterday, when Ouyang heard the producer invite Bo He to be the second female lead in his new drama, it would be impossible to say her heart wasn't stirred in the slightest.

Thinking of this, Ouyang was startled to realize that her probing question just now had been laced with an indescribable trace of envy, and she wondered if Bo He had noticed.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked so much!" she quickly apologized.

Bo He hummed in acknowledgment and casually comforted her, "I never planned on acting. Yesterday, he was just being polite for my godfather's sake. It would be a joke to take it seriously. Some people become famous young, others are late bloomers. Don't overthink it."

Ouyang nodded, still feeling a little strange in her heart.

Given Old Pan's current status, even if he were being nice to Bo He for Zhuo Yi's sake, there was no need to be that polite.

But she glanced at Bo He's expression and wisely buried her doubts in her heart, not pursuing the matter further.

Back in the city, Bo He's vacation ended, and she returned to her old nine-to-five routine.

If there were any changes, it would be that her old boss was promoted, and she got the chance for "a chicken and dog to ascend to heaven" along with him.

Supervisor Yao Yan returned from training and was formally promoted to Deputy General Manager of the Sales Department.

The customer service department they were in belonged to the Sales Department, and the Sales Department was the company's leading department. Yao Yan's promotion was a huge step forward.

But laid out before Bo He were two different paths.

"The President's Office?"

Bo He thought she had misheard and repeated it involuntarily.

But Yao Yan nodded.

"The President's Office has been short-staffed recently. Starting a new round of social or campus recruitment would take too long, so they're inclined to select someone internally. They've taken a liking to your previous work experience in the President's Office and want to borrow you from me. Of course, you have to be willing yourself."

Bo He was very puzzled. "I was sent back to my original department because I made a mistake. Why would they want me back now?"

Yao Yan smiled and, instead of answering, asked, "Do you know what people have been saying about you behind your back these past few days?"

Bo He shook her head. She wasn't one for gossip. Even with the one or two colleagues at the company she got along with, they wouldn't deliberately repeat rumors they heard to her face just to upset her. What the ear doesn't hear, the heart doesn't grieve over. Bo He knew there must have been plenty of gossip when she was 'kicked out' of the President's Office and sent back to her original department, but she had always been good at letting things go, treating what she heard as if she hadn't heard it at all.