Chapter 176 - 151: He Keeps All My Money

Chapter 176: Chapter 151: He Keeps All My Money

After breakfast, Lin Zhengran and Jiang Xueli took a cab to the studio’s new location.

While waiting for the ride, Jiang Xueli scrolled through the new address and announcement Wang Lan had sent to all the studio’s singers on her phone.

"By the way, Zhengran, did you know? Our studio seems to have moved," Jiang Xueli said. "The all-staff announcement Wang sent out the day before yesterday mentioned that the original studio was sublet and relocated.

"The studio’s name has also changed. It’s now called Zhengshi Music Co., Ltd., I think? It sounds a bit more upscale now. The name... it’s nice and all, but I just feel like there’s something weird about it. I can’t quite put my finger on it."

Her female intuition told her something was up, but since Jiang Xueli hadn’t connected the characters "Zheng" and "Shi" to Lin Zhengran and Jiang Jingshi’s names at all, she couldn’t figure out exactly what was wrong.

Lin Zhengran saw the taxi pull up in front of them and opened the door. "I know about the sublet. Didn’t Wang’s studio run into some problems the week before last? So now it has merged with Jiang Jingshi’s studio."

"Oh... What?!"

Seeing Lin Zhengran get into the car, Jiang Xueli followed him inside, utterly shocked. "Wang’s studio merged with Jiang Jingshi’s? Has our studio been acquired?"

"An acquisition would mean Wang has no shares. A merger means that Wang still holds shares in this music company, but because she doesn’t have many resources on hand right now, her shares are just a bit less than Jiang Jingshi’s."

"Doesn’t that mean Wang will be working under Jiang Jingshi from now on?"

The taxi drove off into the distance, disappearing deep into the city amidst the young girl’s confusion.

Almost at the same time, Han Wenwen and Xiao Heqing happened to be walking out of the school gates. The two best friends crossed the street at the traffic light, hand in hand. They drew a crowd of stares from the surrounding boys; pretty girls always attracted attention wherever they went.

Xiao Heqing said, "Did you hear, Wenwen? Our classmates said a new snack shop opened on this street, and apparently, they have a pretty complete variety."

Han Wenwen’s fox-like eyes curved into a smile. "Of course I heard. Otherwise, why would we come out for breakfast today? We came out specifically to check out the new store. It’s my treat for Qingqing this time!"

Xiao Heqing pulled out her phone to check. "You don’t need to treat me! You just bought me a meal last time, and I still have a little money left."

Han Wenwen leaned in to look at her phone and was utterly shocked to see there was only twenty yuan left. "You only have twenty yuan?! How did you spend it so fast? Didn’t your mom just transfer money to you a few days ago?"

Xiao Heqing gave a meaningful smile. "It’s not like that. I don’t have much left in my wallet, but all I need to do is ask Zhengran for a little bit, just enough to cover my meals for next week."

Han Wenwen was a bit confused. "Ask Lin Zhengran for money? Are you two keeping your money together now?"

Xiao Heqing answered matter-of-factly, her face bearing a blush exclusive to being in love. "Yeah. Lin Zhengran is my boyfriend, so of course he holds the money. Now, as soon as my mom transfers money to me, I send it all to Lin Zhengran. Plus, he has my leftover scholarship money from last time too. He holds onto all of it, and whenever I want to spend money, I just ask him for a little bit at a time."

With that, Xiao Heqing sent a message to Lin Zhengran.

He Qing: "Lin Zhengran, I want to buy some snacks. They say a snack shop opened on the street by the school gates. I don’t have much money left on me, so give me a hundred yuan, please. I’ll take pictures for you after I buy them, I promise I won’t waste it."

Very quickly, Lin Zhengran sent Xiao Heqing a hundred yuan.

"No need to send pictures, it’s not like I don’t trust you."

Xiao Heqing replied: "Hehe, I should still send them. A girl should report everything she does to her boyfriend. By the way, do you want to eat any? Should I buy a few bags for you too?" She added a cute emoji at the end.

Lin Zhengran replied, "No need, you eat them yourself. I’m not craving snacks lately."

"Oh... alright."

After finishing her chat, Xiao Heqing waved her phone and smiled at Han Wenwen. "Look, Wenwen! Lin Zhengran gave me another hundred yuan. My living expenses for next week are covered."

Han Wenwen blinked her fox-like eyes, incredibly envious.

She remembered that back in middle school, when she tried to give her money to Zhengran, he hadn’t wanted it. "Why is he taking Qingqing’s money now?!" she wondered. "No, I have to find a time to ask Zhengran about this again. I don’t want to hold onto my money either; I want to give all my money to Zhengran! Then I’ll ask him for it when I want to spend it. This is how it should be between couples, anyway. What’s the point of a girl holding onto her own money and spending it recklessly? A girl only holds the money if the boy spends recklessly or if she doesn’t trust him. Normally, the head of the household should be the one holding it!"

"Wenwen? What are you thinking about? Why did you stop talking?" Xiao Heqing asked, seeing Han Wenwen spacing out.

Han Wenwen snapped back to reality and smiled. "Nothing. But your relationship with Lin Zhengran is really getting more and more intimate, Qingqing. You’re even sharing a wallet now," she continued enviously.

Xiao Heqing grinned happily. "Mostly, it’s because I’ll spend recklessly if I hold the money. I don’t trust myself with it, but I trust him holding it."

Han Wenwen let out a slightly displeased sigh, committing the matter to memory. "Let’s go find that shop then!"

"Mhm."

The two greedy girls walked forward until they spotted the snack shop named Potato Division Bar. Hand in hand, they excitedly hurried inside. Just as Lin Zhengran had guessed, these two went crazy the moment they saw a snack shop like this.

Jiang Xueli was an exception. That morning, Lin Zhengran had suggested to Jiang Xueli that they go buy a bag of potato chips to try after breakfast. However, they completely forgot about it the moment they stepped out the door. It wasn’t that the two of them had zero interest in snacks, but it was pitifully small.

Meanwhile, after driving for over thirty minutes, the taxi had moved far away from the city center and arrived at the entrance of an incredibly luxurious two-story music company.

Wang Lan’s previous studio had actually just looked like a storefront from the outside; it only seemed a bit larger once you went inside because the rent in the small town was cheap. But this place... it was luxurious just looking at it from the outside. It didn’t look like a studio at all!

Although it was only two stories, the front and back area, as well as the floor heights, were very large and spacious. Outside, there were even security guards and a courtyard wall... It was extremely formal.

Stepping out of the taxi, Jiang Xueli stood beside Lin Zhengran and looked up at the massive music company. Embedded on the courtyard wall by the entrance were the large characters: Zhengshi Music Media Co., Ltd.

Jiang Xueli marveled, "This new place is so grand!"

Although Lin Zhengran had been here a few times the week before last, he was also surprised at this moment because this place looked completely different half a month ago. The name sign, the front gate, and even the surrounding walls had undergone new renovations, making it look much more official.

Moreover, this company was just a branch office, not the true corporate headquarters. He couldn’t imagine how much more money Jiang Jingshi had pulled out of her own pocket over the past half-month to do all this; she really cared a lot about this new company.

Fortunately, Lin Zhengran had also figured out his subsequent plans half a month ago. As long as he personally stepped in to train the employees and paid close attention to the company’s operations, they would absolutely be able to earn back all these expenses within a year.

The two of them went up to the guardhouse.

The security guard on duty was a young man—a college student, at a blind guess. "Do you have a pass?"

Jiang Xueli took out her phone. "No. I’m from Wang’s previous studio. I think they merged now? I’m here to report for work."

The guard looked at the message on her phone and nodded. "Yes, you can go in. And what about this guy?"