WBSGVS Chapter 172 V2

Snapping out of his thoughts, he looked up to see Huo Qingli’s father, Huo Changrong, staring at him with clear disapproval. Reflexively, he glanced at Qingli, then back at Huo Changrong—and it suddenly hit him. He’d just been staring at the girl’s chest. That was seriously inappropriate. Embarrassed, he immediately lowered his head.

“Um, we also brought some really good tea today. How about we brew some and have a taste?” Mrs. Chi said with a forced smile, trying to redirect everyone’s attention.

Huo Changrong, a tea lover, perked up at the mention, and the mood gradually lightened again.

Maybe because everyone had such a good time that day, the Chi and Huo families suddenly seemed to grow much closer.

Mrs. Chi, in particular, treated Qingli like a long-lost daughter.

She even asked if Qingli needed investors for her filming projects.

Qingli politely declined, which left Mrs. Chi visibly disappointed.

Aside from genuinely liking Qingli, Mrs. Chi probably also had the mindset of wanting to spend the money while she was still alive, rather than letting it go to waste later.

Qingli let her thoughts wander. She didn’t have much free time. Even though there were hints of an arranged marriage brewing, she was still tied up with filming Heaven’s Fate (Tianming). As the lead actress, she carried a lot of responsibility. Plus, she was also the investor and scriptwriter, so there was a ton of work to be done.

She couldn’t take much time off, so she didn’t meet with Mrs. Chi often.

Most of the time, it was Mrs. Chi driving out to the filming location to see her, always bringing her food, and usually bringing Chi Yue along too. As a result, Qingli and Chi Yue had gradually started to exchange a few words here and there.

But even that little bit was enough to upset the Shen family.

Still, Qingli and Shen Yanjun were already divorced. The Shen family could fume all they wanted, but there wasn’t much they could do except reduce cooperation with the Huo family and make passive-aggressive comments at public events.

Sometimes, when Qingli called Feng Ying, she’d hear the woman rant, “She has the nerve to talk about me? My A’Li is doing just fine! So what if she dumped a man—did he think she couldn’t live without him?”

“A’Li, you should’ve gone with me. Let her see just how amazing you look now,” Feng Ying huffed. “And seriously, why are you working so hard on your career? It’s not like we’re short on money.”

Qingli frowned. “Mom, I think building a career is great. What else should I be working on—chasing men? Too bad I was blind before and picked the wrong one. I couldn’t win that battle anyway.”

Feng Ying sighed, heart aching. “Then pick a new one. I just don’t want you to overwork yourself.”

“I’m not tired. Honestly, I feel more fulfilled now than I ever did before,” Qingli said seriously.

Feng Ying didn’t get it. She’d been raised with the belief that girls didn’t need to work hard—just be loved and cared for. That mindset had stuck with her for over forty years. One or two sentences from Qingli weren’t going to change it.

But she didn’t try to stop Qingli.

And that was enough.

After their short conversation, Qingli dove back into her work on set.

Even though it was a web drama, she held it to the standards of a prime-time TV production. So filming took over three months. The post-production process didn’t require her as much, so she’d get a short break later.

Right after she wrapped up filming, a major piece of news broke—Chi Corporation had a huge problem with one of their major projects. Cash flow was tight. If they didn’t get a large injection of funds soon, all their previous investment could go down the drain.

In other words, Chi Corporation was in serious trouble.

Qingli was still at the filming location when she saw the news. Although she had finished filming, there were still supporting roles and additional scenes being shot, so she planned to stay on set to supervise.

Upon hearing the news, she immediately called Huo Changrong.

After getting the full picture, she breathed a sigh of relief. “Dad, it’s not that bad, right? Just a two billion yuan gap.”

Huo Changrong felt like he might’ve spoiled his daughter too much. He explained with a bit of exasperation, “Two billion doesn’t look like much, but that’s liquidity. Most companies are already in debt to banks—it’s not a small amount to pull out just like that.”

“I can get that kind of money,” Qingli said.

She hadn’t held back during the divorce. She accepted all the money and property Shen Yanjun gave her. Add that to the assets her parents gave her, and she could scrape together two billion yuan—though she’d have to mortgage some real estate.

Huo Changrong immediately sensed something was off. “Are you planning to get involved in this? The Chi family’s situation is shaky right now—everyone’s pulling away. You think they haven’t tried borrowing elsewhere? No one wants to lend! Don’t be foolish just because you’ve been getting along with them for a couple of months.”

Qingli chuckled. She wasn’t that naive. She had only called to understand the situation and assess whether it was salvageable. Since it seemed like it was, she figured she could act accordingly. She said, “No, Dad. I’ve been thinking about something for a while now, but I never brought it up. Seems like now might be the right time.”

“What is it?” Huo Changrong asked quickly.

Qingli replied seriously, “I’m planning to marry into the Chi family. Chi Yue is their only son, and it’s clear he doesn’t want the family business. Eventually, they’re going to donate everything. But before that, I could help manage it. And if we have a kid, even better—then they won’t have to donate it all.”

Huo Changrong: “???”