Liu Shihua and Zhang Xinlan were together, with Lin Ying sitting opposite them, this lunch proceeded in utter silence.

Ye Chen arrived belatedly and couldn't help but start to bitterly smile upon seeing their complete lack of communication.

"Where the hell have you been!" Liu Shihua got angry the moment she saw Ye Chen. "You're the highly paid personal bodyguard I hired, and now you just wander off to seduce people whenever you like, it's just too much. Tell me, where did you flaunt yourself just now!"

Liu Shihua was truly furious. After she and Zhang Xinlan left the film studio, they found Lin Ying waiting alone. When they asked where Ye Chen had gone, Lin only mentioned he left with a woman, without clarifying who, and then refused to engage with them further.

Liu Shihua was naturally very good to her benefactor Lin Ying, and even though Lin wasn't a talker, Liu always treated her with great kindness.

However, this ice queen kept claiming that she was Ye Chen's first love, which completely infuriated Zhang Xinlan. So when Lin Ying and Zhang Xinlan were together, it was a blatant battle with neither willing to give in— it was already a miracle they hadn't come to blows!

Caught between the two, Liu Shihua also felt extremely uncomfortable. One was her good sister, and the other, her great benefactor. Taking sides with either felt wrong, and not taking sides at all felt just as wrong, leaving her no choice but to side with neither, leading to the current deadlock.

All of this was because of that bastard Ye Chen. Now that Ye Chen had returned, Liu Shihua naturally found a target for her frustration and vented her displeasure.

"What's going on?" Ye Chen feigned ignorance, knowing full well Lin Ying's proud nature and having anticipated friction between them, which is why he had declined Li Yan's lunch invitation and hurried over.

"Ye Chen, confess, which woman have you been messing around with now!" Liu Shihua interrogated.

Zhang Xinlan glanced at Ye Chen, undoubtedly highly concerned about the matter, but considering the fierce argument she'd had with him earlier, she felt too embarrassed to inquire.

Only Lin Ying was silent, keeping her head down as she ate.

"I left with Li Yan to discuss some work-related matters." Ye Chen sat down at the table and served himself a bowl of rice. "I'm planning to start a film and entertainment company, thinking of signing her to my company!"

"What!"

Both Zhang Xinlan and Liu Shihua were shocked, Ye Chen's words hitting them like thunder out of the blue, nearly startling them silly.

"I said I'm planning to start a film company, and Li Yan has already agreed to sign on with my company!" Ye Chen said, chatting while he ate.

Zhang Xinlan and Liu Shihua exchanged looks, seeing disbelief in each other's eyes, Ye Chen's words seemed like sheer fantasy to them, an international joke!

"Xinlan, I know that you and Liu Shihua aren't signed with any company at the moment; I wonder if you're interested in joining my company?" Ye Chen spoke calmly and confidently. "Right now, it's just the two of you, not even a private studio. Join me, let's create the future together!"

"Pfft!" Liu Shihua was the first to burst into laughter, unable to stand Ye Chen's posturing. "I'm saying, Ye Chen, you've really gotten better at blowing your own trumpet in one morning! Do you have any clue how much it costs to start a film and entertainment company?"

"Do you know how deep the waters of the entertainment industry are?" Liu Shihua scoffed at Ye Chen's grandiloquent talk. "You, a mere bodyguard, are delusional if you think you can start a film company. It's a pipe dream! Do you even have the capital for it?"

Liu Shihua's critique was sharply unpredictable, catching people off guard, but Ye Chen had thick skin and remained unfazed by her mockery.

"Li Yan had the same concerns, but in the end, she chose to work with me. Her contract will expire in half a year, and then she'll sign with my company," Ye Chen explained.

Liu Shihua didn't engage further with Ye Chen's grandiose claims; she couldn't be bothered to waste her breath on such a braggart.

"Are you really going to create a company, and Li Yan has accepted your invitation?" Zhang Xinlan spoke for the first time, obviously intrigued by what Ye Chen had said.

"Right, but it's just a preliminary idea at the moment, the specifics still need to be planned," Ye Chen replied, looking at Zhang Xinlan. "My greatest hope is for you both to join in as well. The main reason I dare to start an entertainment company is that I have you!"

Upon hearing Ye Chen's words "I have you," Zhang Xinlan's heart skipped a beat, feeling an inexplicable joy— to her surprise, she held such importance in his heart.

"It's good that you have this intention, but do you know how much it costs to start a film company of decent scale?" Zhang Xinlan asked. "It requires a capital of hundreds of millions. Where will you gather such funds?"

When Ye Chen heard the figure of hundreds of millions, his heart sank. Where would he, a bodyguard, get so much money?

Borrow from women?

Ye Chen might not have money, but he knew plenty of wealthy individuals like the enormously rich Chu Yanran, or the witchy Su Binglan, and then there was the woman before him, Zhang Xinlan...

All these women were extremely wealthy ladies, but if he were to ask them for money, wouldn't that make him a kept man?

Even if Ye Chen's ultimate goal was to be a kept man, that was just talk; he had his male pride too!

"However, you could also implement a controlling share system!" Zhang Xinlan glanced at Ye Chen and said. "For instance, to start an entertainment company with one hundred million, you can just put in fifty million, and then find two partners, one puts in thirty million, the other puts in twenty million!"

"If that's the case, your company would have three shareholders! But you would hold fifty percent of the shares, and the other two would collectively hold the other fifty percent!" Zhang Xinlan explained patiently.

"Alright, I'll raise fifty million, Xinlan, you invest thirty million, and let Liu Shihua take the remaining twenty million," Ye Chen decided on the spot, hitting the desk with his hand. With funds over a hundred million being too vast, even if he could raise it, he would need a very long time. Fifty million was much more manageable for Ye Chen.

Moreover, Zhang Xinlan, this enchanting beauty, was someone Ye Chen absolutely wouldn't let go of. Even if he gave her thirty percent of the shares, what did it matter? Because Zhang Xinlan was destined to be his woman.

"Ye Chen, I have no intention of starting any company, don't drag me into everything!" Liu Shihua almost choked on her saliva upon hearing Ye Chen's words.

"A bastard who doesn't take advantage of the windfalls – I'll take that twenty percent of the shares," Lin Ying finally spoke, having remained silent until then.

Ye Chen looked at Lin Ying in mild surprise, wondering what this icy beauty was up to. Did she have the money to invest?

"No need, let's put that twenty percent on Shihua, I'll invest the thirty million." Zhang Xinlan completely ignored Lin Ying, as if she didn't want the icy beauty to have any relationship with Ye Chen. "However, a film and television company needs a lot of talent support. You've now poached hostess Li Yan; naturally, Shihua will sign with our company as well, but just relying on them is far from enough – we need to expand our manpower!"

Ye Chen picked up on Zhang Xinlan's hostility towards Lin Ying and turned his gaze to the icy beauty, only to see Lin Ying also looking at him.

Having worked together for a long time, they could understand each other's thoughts with just one glance.

Ye Chen chuckled to himself, realizing that Lin Ying never intended to invest in the company. She had only spoken earlier to provoke Liu Shihua and Zhang Xinlan; indeed, the foolish Zhang Xinlan had fallen for Lin's ruse.

"I will try to poach one or two kings of the entertainment industry," Ye Chen nodded and agreed with Zhang Xinlan's earlier statement.

"What a pipe dream. You think you can just poach them? You think this is digging a toilet? Top-tier celebrities are the linchpins of their respective entertainment companies, they're not that easy to poach!" Liu Shihua was always the one to spoil the party.

Ye Chen: "..."

Following that, Zhang Xinlan and Ye Chen made detailed plans regarding the company. What was supposed to be an ordinary lunch had led to a major decision.

Though occasionally faced with Liu Shihua's sabotage, Ye Chen still felt exhilarated. With Zhang Xinlan's strong support, he had taken a significant step closer to his goals.

...

In the evening, Ye Chen and Lin Ying were not expelled by Zhang Xinlan again.

Lin Ying was arranged to stay in the room next to Liu Shihua, while Zhang Xinlan was in Ye Chen's room, wanting to have a talk with him.

"Did you two go and book a room yesterday?" Zhang Xinlan sat opposite Ye Chen and interrogated him.

"Yeah, we did," Ye Chen nodded, harboring no intention of concealment. "Didn't you say we were through? Why are you so interested in my affairs?"

Already annoyed, Ye Chen's last question made Zhang Xinlan bolt up from the sofa in anger.

"That's right, we are done!" Zhang Xinlan declared bitterly. "But why did you kiss me this morning, you scoundrel!"

At this point, a wave of grievance filled Zhang Xinlan, and she almost felt like crying. She was no longer the wise woman, but rather a girl dealing with heartbreak.

"Honey, don't cry, it's my fault, I was wrong!" Seeing the hurt on Zhang Xinlan's face, Ye Chen walked over to embrace her.

"You heartless philanderer, let me go!" Zhang Xinlan began to struggle fiercely, but Ye Chen wouldn't let her have her way; no matter how she hit or scratched, Ye Chen held her tightly in his arms.

"I love you, truly." Ye Chen spoke with heartfelt sincerity, looking intensely into the eyes of the beauty in his arms.

Those three words calmed the struggling Zhang Xinlan instantly, but recalling what Ye Chen had done, she felt unbearably wronged again.

"You already have another woman, and yet you have the nerve to say you love me. Do you really think I'm that foolish, that easy to deceive!"

Zhang Xinlan exploded in rage, loudly confronting Ye Chen. As she hit her point of deepest hurt, she couldn't hold back her tears any longer.

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