The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 809 - 808: Potential Stock

"Hey, Pei Ziheng!"

Seeing Wen Bingdong leaning on the door of his yellow Ferrari and waving at him, a faint irritation surfaced in Pei Ziheng’s eyes.

Since the stock market showdown, Wen Bingdong had been buzzing around him like an inescapable fly.

Seeing that Pei Ziheng was getting on his bicycle to leave, Wen Bingdong drove his sports car alongside him and shouted through the window, "I’m hosting a gathering at Xise tonight, come and have some fun!"

"Not interested."

"Come on! I’ve already boasted about it, and you’re now a celebrity in our circle. Everyone wants to meet you, and if you don’t show up, I’ll lose face. If you make me lose face, then I’ll..."

Faced with Pei Ziheng’s dark, well-like eyes, Wen Bingdong gave an awkward smile, "... be unhappy."

Wen Bingdong knew he was neither a match in wit nor in strength for Pei Ziheng, poor guy.

A line of cars jammed behind his sluggish Ferrari, their sharp horns sounding one after another.

Pei Ziheng stopped his bicycle and sent a cold, threatening glare at Wen Bingdong, "Stop looking for me."

Wen Bingdong hit the brakes and, oblivious to anyone behind him, started chatting with Pei Ziheng in the middle of the street.

"Then let me meet Dream."

"He’s very busy."

"There must be times when he is free, right? If I don’t get to see him, I’ll come looking for you every day."

"What do you want to see him for?"

Wen Bingdong chuckled, "You might not believe this, but my dream is to become a top fund manager, and I want him as my mentor."

Pei Ziheng was speechless, "Compared to world-class fund managers, Dream is just a newcomer. Why does it have to be him?"

"The thing is, just like buying stocks, I see Dream as a premium stock with great potential. Those renowned fund managers are on a pedestal, unreachable for me, and even carrying their shoes would be seen as disgraceful. I know my place."

"How do you know that Dream won’t look down on you?"

"He hasn’t told me otherwise, and unless he tells me himself, I won’t believe it. Even if it kills me, I need to know."

To avoid further harassment from Wen Bingdong, Pei Ziheng begrudgingly agreed to help arrange a meeting, though the time and place were undecided; he told Wen to await notification.

Wen Bingdong was not easily fooled.

He stated that until meeting the actual Dream, he would occasionally reach out to Pei for "maintaining relations," to prevent Pei from forgetting, and then he sped away.

Having finally gotten rid of Wen Bingdong, Ye Yimeng then appeared.

"Pei Ziheng, it’s my birthday next Wednesday. Here’s the invitation. Make sure you come on time, and remember to bring a gift."

Pei Ziheng responded with a cold face, "I don’t have time."

What he didn’t realize was that the colder and more aloof he was, the more Ye Yimeng was drawn to him.

Men who are too easily attained are boring.

"Pei Ziheng, I’m not fond of forcing people, but if I get upset, I can’t guarantee what I’ll do."

After speaking, she placed the invitation in Pei Ziheng’s bicycle basket, leaving behind a "I’ll be waiting," then drove off in her Red Flag sedan.

Staring at the invitation in his basket for two seconds, Pei Ziheng called over a passing child. For fifty cents, he had the child dispose of the invitation in a trash bin, then continued riding home.

Upon arriving home, Pei Ziheng called Yan Yi.

"Uncle Yan, it’s me, Pei Ziheng."

"Do you need something?"

"Just a small favor I’d like to ask for your help with."

"You say."

"Please manage your niece, she’s been causing me trouble and hassle."

In a brief exchange, Yan Yi was taken aback three times.

First, Pei Ziheng’s call was surprising, second was Pei Ziheng asking for his help, and third was the unexpected trouble caused by his niece to Pei Ziheng.

The Capital Ye Family was his mother’s maternal family.

"Alright, I’ll handle it as soon as possible."

"Thank you, and one more thing, don’t tell my mother about this. I don’t want her to worry unnecessarily."

"Okay."

After hanging up the phone, Yan Yi calculated that Pei Ziheng was only fifteen and a half years old this year, while his niece was already 20.

He also felt relieved that Shen Mingzhu didn’t know about this, otherwise, he really would’ve had no face to see her.

Ye Yimeng hadn’t even had a chance to celebrate her twentieth birthday before her family sent her off to study in Switzerland.

In fact, the Ye Family was more nervous about this than Yan Yi was.

For someone like Ye Yimeng, who came from a prestigious family, every aspect of her life was planned and arranged from the moment she was born. The Ye Family wouldn’t allow any deviation and certainly wouldn’t tolerate any scandal or jokes from her.

...

Dreamsong Dance Troupe.

"Jingshu, you must attend tonight’s dinner party no matter what. Director Huang from Jiacheng Energy has mentioned it several times. Director Huang is a major client to our troupe, he always chooses your programs, you should show some face and make an appearance, just toast Director Huang with a drink."

"I don’t drink."

Hearing Ren Jingshu say this, troupe leader Si Weijian wanted to persuade her further, but the other dancers weren’t having it.

"We’re all from the same troupe, no one is more noble than the others, why do we always have to go and entertain when she can skip just because she doesn’t drink?"

"Exactly, we’re tired from the daily grind, and still have to entertain with smiles at dinner parties, do you think we enjoy this? From now on, let’s all stop going."

"Right, if she doesn’t go, we won’t go either!"

Listening to the troupe members’ protesting one after another, Si Weijian had a headache.

The Dreamsong Dance Troupe was originally founded by him, but later, due to poor management and impending closure, it was bought by a mysterious owner who paid a good salary to have him continue running the troupe.

On the surface, he was still the leader of the dance troupe, but in reality, he was just an employee.

The owner had only one requirement of him, to take extra care of Ren Jingshu, and not let her know about it.

In the entertainment industry, it’s common to sustain business through the patronage of wealthy owners, and social engagements are inevitable.

However, following the instructions of the backstage owner, he tried his best not to arrange Ren Jingshu for the usual dinner parties. But Director Huang from Jiacheng admired Ren Jingshu a lot and had mentioned it several times, so he could not refuse and had to discuss it with Ren Jingshu.

"I can go, but I won’t drink."

Hearing Ren Jingshu relent, Si Weijian felt a weight lifted off his shoulders, and the other troupe members fell silent.

The dinner party was more relaxed and genuine than Ren Jingshu had imagined.

Si Weijian wasn’t an immoral and heartless boss, though he took female performers out to entertain, it was limited to dining and drinking. If any owner tried to take advantage of the actresses, he would step in to stop them.

This was probably why the troupe was driven into closure under his management.

After dinner, as usual, Si Weijian drove the girls home one by one.

"Leader, stop the car."

Hearing Ren Jingshu shout, Si Weijian responded subconsciously, "We’re still a distance from your school."

"It’s fine, I’ll get off here."