MTL - 50

Tang Da Wei is coming. Tang Yu, are you scared?

— From “Little Tyrant’s Diary”

That gaze, that smile, that voice—

It completely overlapped with her memory of that drunken night. A sudden realization struck her like a thunderclap. That night… it likely wasn’t a dream. It was the real Tang Yu.

Tang Yu chuckled softly. “Little Tyrant, hmm?”

The Little Tyrant had never imagined Tang Yu would say flirtatious words to her. Looking into his eyes, her heartbeat accelerated, and her ears turned slightly red. In a fit of embarrassment and anger, she grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. “How dare you! Go back to your place already!”

Tang Yu raised his hand to block it, pressing the pillow down slightly as he looked at her flushed face and murmured, “The filming for Anti-Terrorism has wrapped up. I’m going on a business trip, then heading to Xi’an after that. I’ll be back in about a week at the earliest.”

Tang Xin’s heart skipped a beat. She pulled the pillow back, turning around again to face him sideways. “Go wherever you want. Why are you telling me this?”

Tang Yu gazed at her, his voice even lower. “I’m pursuing you like a girlfriend. From now on, I’ll report to you whenever I go on a business trip.”

Tang Xin: “...”

Who’s your girlfriend? Have some shame...

She shifted again, turning her back to him completely.

Don’t think that throwing money around and saying a few sweet words will make her immediately agree to him.

Tang Yu stared at the back of her head for a few seconds, then stood up helplessly. “I’m going back. Sleep early and don’t stay up too late.”

She didn’t respond, lowering her head to pet Hua Juan as his footsteps gradually faded away. The door clicked shut.

After returning home, Tang Yu sent a message to Tang Dingding on WeChat.

[Tang Xin gave you a script. Print me a copy.]

The next morning, Tang Yu went on his business trip, and Tang Xin’s life returned to its usual calm. Aside from working on her manuscript, there wasn’t much else to do.

Time flew by, and by early August—five days after Tang Yu left—the filming for Anti-Terrorism officially wrapped. Ming Zhu, who had been with the crew for months, also returned. That night, the group chat became lively again—

Ming Zhu: “I’m back, but I might not have time to meet up with you all. I need to return to the town first. Both Grandma and Auntie Xu are sick.”

You Huan: “Ah? Are they okay?”

Ming Zhu: “Nothing serious, but I need to go check on them.”

Tang Xin saw the messages an hour later. Ming Zhu and You Huan had chatted quite a bit. After scrolling through, Tang Xin tagged Ming Zhu: “Please send my regards to Grandma. When’s your wedding with Colonel Lu?”

Ming Zhu: “It’s almost time. We’ll discuss it once I get back.”

Little Rich Girl: “Great! I can be the bridesmaid.”

They had agreed long ago that the three of them would be each other’s bridesmaids. Now that only Ming Zhu was getting married, Tang Xin and You Huan were still single.

Three nights later, Tang Xin received a message from Tang Yu.

Tang Yu: “I’m coming back tomorrow.”

Tang Xin ignored him, replying with a string of random characters as usual.

An hour later, when she picked up her phone again, she suddenly realized she had been added to a small group chat. It was created by Tang Dingding and included five people: Tang Xin, Tang Yu, Lu Zhixing, Huo Chendong, and Tang Dingding.

Before anyone could react—

Tang Dingding: “I have an important announcement to make—I’m going to be the lead actress in Dreaming For You !”

Why these five people?

Later, Tang Xin asked Tang Dingding about it. Only Huo Chendong had no connection to this movie.

Tang Dingding said, “I don’t know. I just felt like I should tell him—it’s kind of like giving him closure.” She added, “Because this feels like the most important decision of my 23 years. I originally wanted to gather everyone and announce it in person, but that seemed a bit silly.”

After Tang Dingding made her big announcement in the group chat, no one responded.

The first to speak was Lu Zhixing.

Lu Zhixing: “Welcome aboard. This is the best news I’ve heard before bed in years.”

Tang Dingding replied with a laughing emoji. “Director Lu, please take care of me in the future.”

She seemed very excited, typing out a long message: “@Little Rich Girl, I’ve finished reading the movie script. It made me cry so many times. I feel like the ending is much better than the book. I really like this version.”

Lu Zhixing: “?”

This was when he learned that Tang Xin had independently adapted Dreaming For You into a screenplay two years ago.

By the time Tang Xin saw the messages, there were already several mentions tagging her. Tang Dingding had agreed to play the lead role, and Lu Zhixing wanted to see the screenplay she had adapted two years ago.

Just as she was about to reply, Tang Yu—who hadn’t spoken at all—finally chimed in.

Tang Yu: “Once I return, I’ll draft the contract and sign it.”

A simple and concise statement, very characteristic of a businessman.

But Tang Xin sensed an undertone of unyielding dominance in it.

Tang Yu’s 100 million investment was finally falling onto her shoulders, making him the producer of Dreaming For You .

—In the truest sense, Tang Daddy.

He must be feeling very smug right now.

Hmph.

…

The next morning, Tang Yu relayed this matter to Gao Heng while on the way to the airport, emphasizing, “As soon as possible.”

Gao Heng, sitting in the passenger seat, smiled and replied, “Alright.” He thought to himself, no wonder President Tang seemed unusually pleased this morning. So he really managed to bring this project back to Shi Guang Entertainment. Finally, he had fully tied himself to Tang Xin’s movie.

One hundred million wasn’t a small sum. Even before filming began, Dreaming For You was already gaining attention. The investment proposal proceeded smoothly.

Any objections were promptly suppressed by Tang Yu.

As for Tang Dingding entering the entertainment industry, it caused quite a stir in the Tang family. Tang Haiming and Zeng Wan hadn’t yet given their approval and were waiting for Tang Yu to come home to discuss it. That night, Tang Yu returned to the Tang household.

The Tang residence was bustling. As soon as Tang Yu entered, he heard the commotion.

Tang Yu’s uncle and several other relatives were present. Their family had many male heirs. In Tang Yu’s generation, there were only two girls—Tang Dingding and another who had joined the military and lived like a man. Therefore, Tang Dingding was treated like a precious gem in the family, always getting whatever she wanted.

Now, she was saying she wanted to act?

Grandpa Tang and Grandma Tang were the first to object. Grandma Tang said, “The entertainment industry is chaotic, and acting is tough. Why not learn something useful from your brother at the company? There are plenty of other things you could do.”

“Yes, exactly. Things are fine the way they are now. Don’t end up like Liu Xuan, always making headlines.”

“Not headlines—scandalous gossip.”

“It doesn’t sound good or look good. And there are kissing scenes, bed scenes… Forget it.”

…

Just as Tang Dingding was being bombarded by the entire family, Tang Yu walked in through the door.

As soon as Tang Dingding saw him, she acted as if she had seen her savior. “Brother! Please help me out!” She was on the verge of breaking down and wanted to tell everyone that her task of joining the production was a daunting one—she was going to help chase after their future sister-in-law.

Tang Yu stood in front of the sofa, glanced at the whole family, and calmly said, “I’m having her bring funding into the project, and her manager will arrange everything for her. There won’t be any issues.”

The others were stunned, exchanging glances with each other.

Tang Haiming naturally knew that the copyright for Dreaming For You no longer belonged to Shi Guang Entertainment. He had been puzzled about why Tang Yu insisted on investing in this project.

Frowning, he asked, “You’re letting her bring funding into the project?”

Tang Yu grunted affirmatively, sitting down on a chair next to the sofa. “It’s her own choice. Let her go. I’ll keep an eye on her, so nothing will go wrong.”

Tang Yu’s words carried more weight than a hundred of Tang Dingding’s. With just a few sentences, he dispelled the concerns of the Tang family.

Before leaving that evening, Tang Yu obtained the screenplay for Dreaming For You from Tang Dingding. As he flipped through it, he noticed Tang Xin’s notes, along with temporary deletions, additions, and revised lines.

Tang Dingding kept a copy of the photocopied script for herself and gave Tang Xin’s version to him.

Looking at the annotations and revisions, Tang Yu felt a lump in his throat. He hadn’t expected Tang Xin to have adapted the screenplay so early on her own. He turned to Tang Dingding. “You don’t need to sign with the company. I’ll set up an independent studio for you.”

Tang Dingding gasped, “Why?”

Currently, the management of the company’s artists fell under Huo Chendong. Tang Yu didn’t want Tang Dingding to interact with him more than necessary. Smiling, he explained, “No particular reason. Setting up your own studio under Shi Guang’s name means you won’t be restricted like the other artists. Isn’t that good?”

Tang Dingding hesitated. “But...”

Tang Yu tapped her forehead with the script, leaving no room for refusal. “No buts. That’s final.”

With that, he picked up the script and turned to leave.

By the time he got home, it was already late. Standing at the door, he hesitated for a moment before ultimately deciding not to knock on the opposite door.

Late at night.

Tang Yu sat in his study, flipping through the screenplay much like he had opened Dreaming For You the last time.

Several plot points and lines had been revised by her, making it quite different from the book. Tang Yu couldn’t say how successful her adaptation was, but he could sense that she had been incredibly serious while working on it.

Two years ago, their relationship had been simple. They weren’t connected on WeChat, and he hadn’t pursued Ming Zhu yet.

Tang Yu tried to recall the occasions when he and Tang Xin had crossed paths before that. At the time, she had just graduated and wasn’t particularly outstanding. She drifted around the project team, only encountering him during meetings, occasionally exchanging greetings with a cheerful “President Tang.”

Beyond that, there seemed to be no significant interactions.

But Tang Yu vaguely felt that there were things he had overlooked—or perhaps Tang Xin had carefully hidden.

He flipped to the last page of the script. The blank space was chaotically scribbled over with various colored markers, obscuring whatever the owner of the script had once written there.

Tang Yu stared at the graffiti-like mess, desperately wanting to know if this was another one of Tang Xin’s secrets.

The next morning, as Tang Xin stepped out, she noticed the door across from hers slightly ajar. Tang Yu emerged, holding breakfast he had prepared for her. Since their workplaces were in different locations, their schedules differed; Tang Yu usually left half an hour earlier. They rarely met in the mornings unless she woke up early or he intentionally waited for her.

They hadn’t seen each other for nearly half a month, and today, he had clearly waited for her on purpose.

Tang Xin paused locking her door, then slowly walked over.

Tang Yu approached her, pressed the elevator button, and handed her the breakfast.

Tang Xin looked up at him, accepting it with a faint remark, “You don’t need to bring me breakfast anymore.”

The elevator doors opened, and she stepped in first.

Once inside, Tang Yu casually pressed the button, standing beside her. He glanced down at her. “I’m pursuing you. Bringing you breakfast is the least I can do.”

Tang Xin huffed, lowering her head to take a bite of the sandwich.

As the elevator descended rapidly, Tang Yu’s deep voice echoed above her. “Little Tyrant, what did you scribble out at the end of the script?”

Tang Xin paused, turning to look at him with a smile. “I was bored and doodled randomly. What could it be?” After a moment, she realized something. “Dingding gave you the script? Return it to me when you’re done.”

Tang Yu lowered his gaze at her, grunting an acknowledgment without pressing further about the graffiti.

They arrived at the underground parking garage.

As they exited the elevator, Tang Yu had swapped parking spots with someone else, so their spots were now adjacent. When Tang Xin reached her car, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Was Tang Yu really addicted to throwing money around?

Standing behind her, Tang Yu unlocked his car. “We’ll sign the contract in a few days. I’ll discuss the screenplay adaptation with Lu Zhixing. I think your initial adaptation has great potential. Modifying that version might work better than starting anew.”

Tang Xin paused opening her car door, turning back to look at him hesitantly. “Do you really think so?”

Was he just saying nice things because he was pursuing her?

Tang Xin hadn’t shown that version of the screenplay to Lu Zhixing yet. She hadn’t brought it out before due to a lack of confidence. After finishing it, whenever she had ideas, she would handwrite edits and annotations directly.

There was only one handwritten draft, which she had given to Tang Dingding.

Now it was in Tang Yu’s hands.

Tang Yu gazed at her, softly chuckling. “Yes, Little Tyrant. Have a little more confidence.”

Tang Xin: “...”

She smiled at him before slipping into her car.

At noon, Tang Xin received a call from Zhong Lijun. “Your father and I are flying to Beijing on the 19th. Make some time to spend with us in the evening, alright?”

The 19th was still over a week away.

While eating her dessert, Tang Xin readily agreed. “Alright, no problem.”

Zhong Lijun added, “Auntie Lin’s son’s company has moved to Beijing. It’s a good opportunity for you two to meet and have dinner together.”

Tang Xin: “...”

She put down her spoon, feeling somewhat exasperated. “Mom, is Auntie Lin’s son really that great? If he’s so wonderful, why has he been single for half a year?”

“You’re single too!”

“...”

“They’re both single, which means he hasn’t found anyone good either. It’s fate. Listen, Xiao Lin is really handsome, just your type. If he weren’t, why would I ask you to meet him?”

“Oh.”

“I won’t show you his picture. You’ll see when you meet him.”

“Oh.”

Seeing her lack of interest, Zhong Lijun sneered. “Are you still hung up on the man who broke your heart? Is it the one surnamed Lu or the one surnamed Tang?”

Tang Xin: “...”

She looked up and saw Lu Zhixing walking in with Feng Cheng, hands in his pockets, casually glancing her way, startling her. Quickly, she said, “Don’t talk nonsense. It’s not the one surnamed Lu.”

Zhong Lijun keenly remarked, “Then it’s the one surnamed Tang?”

Tang Xin was truly exasperated, collapsing as she took her phone out of the office. “It’s not him either! Stop guessing about your daughter’s love life when you’re bored. It’s just a blind date. I’ll go, alright?”

She just wanted to see how handsome Auntie Lin’s son was.

Could he possibly be more attractive than Tang Yu?