Chapter 492 - 274: Qi Sheng’s Grand Gesture

Zong Lin had long been anticipating her birthday.

Today also happened to be her 18th coming-of-age celebration.

She was so excited she hadn’t slept well.

Faint dark circles had formed under her eyes, but they did nothing to diminish her beauty.

She was an absolute beauty; even a single strand of her hair was perfect.

Waking up in her forty-to-fifty-square-meter bedroom, Zong Lin made her way to the living room downstairs.

When she didn’t see the person she was most looking forward to, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment.

"Miss Zong, Mr. Qi instructed that you should eat your longevity noodles first. He made them for you himself. He put a lot of care into it."

Aunt Song, who was usually in charge of their meals, looked at Zong Lin with a loving smile.

"Really?"

Zong Lin’s eyes instantly brightened, her earlier disappointment vanishing completely.

"Yes."

Aunt Song smiled and nodded, bringing out the steaming hot longevity noodles.

The fragrant aroma instantly stirred Zong Lin’s appetite.

It was just a simple bowl of longevity noodles, but Qi Sheng’s culinary skills were just too good.

With his Grandmaster Level culinary arts, it was no exaggeration to call him a living god of chefs.

After taking a few pictures, Zong Lin finally started eating.

"Wow, this is delicious!"

It wasn’t that Zong Lin was seeing things through a biased lens; it was the genuine, instinctive reaction of her taste buds.

After she finished the longevity noodles, Aunt Song handed her a hot towel.

Zong Lin wiped the corners of her mouth and returned the towel to Aunt Song.

Qi Sheng’s personal bodyguard, Gu Feng, had been standing not far away for a while.

"Miss, the Boss instructed me to take you for a dress fitting."

Gu Feng took a step forward and spoke with a respectful bow.

"A dress fitting?"

Zong Lin was a little confused, but she still obediently followed Gu Feng.

Riding in an extended Phantom, they arrived at the familiar Banyan Tree Hotel.

Today, however, the hotel parking lot was unusually empty.

Aside from a few courtesy cars, there were no other vehicles.

As soon as the car stopped, a doorman came jogging over.

After opening the car door, he presented her with a rose.

"Miss Zong, happy birthday."

"Thank you."

Zong Lin gave a small smile and a nod, then noticed a line of text scrolling across the hotel’s large LED screen.

"Happy Birthday to Miss Zong Lin!"

A bright red carpet was laid out from inside the hotel all the way to the parking lot.

As she walked on the red carpet, every hotel employee she passed would offer a warm smile, a "Happy Birthday," and another rose.

By the time she entered the lobby, Zong Lin was holding exactly 99 roses—no more, no less.

This wasn’t because Qi Sheng was stingy.

After all, a bouquet of 999 roses would be too heavy for even two or three strong men to carry.

"Sister Manman."

Zong Lin was pleasantly surprised to see Qu Man.

She’d thought Qu Man was still at the villa, not expecting her to have arrived so early.

"Happy birthday. This is the gift I prepared for you."

Qu Man dotingly rubbed Zong Lin’s head and handed over a lavishly wrapped gift box.

"Thank you, Sister Manman."

Zong Lin didn’t open it, but she was sure the gift inside was incredibly expensive.

"Go on in. Your makeup artists and stylists have been waiting for a long time."

Qu Man took Zong Lin up the elevator to the presidential suite.

When Zong Lin walked into the suite, she saw many familiar makeup artists and stylists.

A quick glance revealed at least twenty people.

Even many large-scale film productions wouldn’t have a team this big.

And all of them were here to serve her.

"Miss Zong, happy birthday."

Everyone smiled and offered their well-wishes, marveling internally at how pampered this little princess was.

When they arrived at Banyan Tree, they were shocked by the luxurious scale of this coming-of-age celebration.

As the pinnacle of hotels in Shanghai, the Banyan Tree’s reputation extended far and wide.

To book it for a day would cost at least two to three million.

And for them to come and serve Zong Lin, their service fee alone was fifty thousand.

Not to mention, food, accommodation, and plane tickets were all covered.

"Thank you."

Zong Lin had already lost count of how many times she had said "thank you."

But she was still shocked by the scene before her.

A full 10 gorgeous gowns were hung individually by the stylists.

They shimmered with captivating colors under the lights, leaving her utterly mesmerized.

"They’re so beautiful!"

Zong Lin exclaimed instinctively.

She was so dazzled she didn’t know which one to choose.

He Ya, the head of the styling team, began her introduction with a smile.

"Miss Zong, these evening gowns were all custom-made for your figure by top international designers, commissioned by Mr. Qi."

"The average price for each custom gown is no less than two million."

"This Tiffany Blue gown is for your entrance. It’s a Cinderella-style princess dress with a three-layered skirt design. Each layer has exquisite floral and feather embroidery, which perfectly suits your temperament."

"This red gown is for the ball portion, where you can dance with the Boss."

"..."

He Ya introduced the occasion for each gown one by one, leaving Zong Lin a little dazed.

According to He Ya, even a real princess’s coming-of-age ceremony wouldn’t be as extravagant as hers.

The custom gowns alone cost over 30 million in total.

And that didn’t even include the cost of booking the hotel, He Ya and her team’s service fees, and so on.

Just thinking about it, Zong Lin couldn’t help but be moved beyond words.

"Miss Zong, if you could please change into these pajamas now, we’ll start by trying out a few makeup and hair looks."

"The Boss has arranged for a photographer to ensure your most beautiful moments are captured."

He Ya brought over a red silk pajama set.

Zong Lin saw that her name was embroidered on the back, and the fabric was incredibly smooth.

"These pajamas are a special edition that the Boss had the Banyan Tree Group custom-make for you."

"They come in several colors and styles. If you don’t like this one, I can get you a couple of others."

He Ya was beyond envious. Even the pajamas were custom-made.

’It’s clear how much the Boss dotes on this Miss Zong Lin.’

’According to the grapevine, this Miss Zong Lin is supposedly the Boss’s younger sister-in-law?’

’Tsk, tsk. Rich men are no different from ordinary men.’

’They all have certain... ideas about their sisters-in-law.’

...

Just as Zong Lin was undergoing her transformation by the styling team...

At Pudong Airport, a stream of A-list celebrities began to arrive.

The actresses included Yang Mi, Reba, Tang Yan, Liu Shishi, and Yang Zi.

The actors included Xiao Zhan, Wang Yibo, Li Xian, Hu Ge, and Lu Han.

At a minimum, they were all A-listers.

And among them were quite a few superstars.

Such a huge lineup naturally couldn’t be hidden from fans and paparazzi.

The fans who spontaneously came to the airport to greet them were excited but also couldn’t help being curious.

They hadn’t heard about any award ceremonies in Shanghai recently, so why were so many big shots here?

But these celebrities were all very low-key, as if they had been instructed beforehand.

After briefly interacting with the fans, they left in the luxury cars waiting for them.

But if one looked closely, these cars all had one thing in common.

They were all courtesy cars from the Banyan Tree Hotel.

Yang Mi and Reba were from the same company, and the two took the same flight.

"Sister Mi, isn’t this Chairman Qi a bit too extravagant?"

"He’s dropping three million for an appearance fee, just to have us show up and wish some little girl a happy birthday."

Reba shook her head in amazement as she recalled her agent contacting her.

"Why think so much? The man is worth tens of billions. Spending a hundred million on his young girlfriend’s birthday is nothing to him."

Yang Mi rubbed the bridge of her nose, looking a little tired.

Seeing that Reba was still in the mood for snacks, she rolled her eyes at her.

"Keep eating and watch out for the calories. Your agent will deal with you later."

"Hehe, Sister Mi, do you think we can ride Universal Entertainment’s coattails? I really want to be in a movie!"

Reba put away her snacks and looked at Yang Mi with pleading eyes.

"How would I know? There are a lot of actresses here today, and we’re not signed with Universal Entertainment."

"Even if they have opportunities, they’ll give them to their own artists first."

Yang Mi looked at Reba with a half-smile.

"What, you think the company isn’t giving you enough roles?"

"No, no! I just want to challenge myself."

Reba flinched, then felt another pang of envy for the real star of today’s event.

’My coming-of-age party wasn’t even one percent as grand as this girl’s.’

’In the entire country, this has to be one of a kind, right?’

"It’s not one of a kind, but it’s definitely up there."

"Just the appearance fees for all these popular stars must be thirty to forty million."

Even Yang Mi, who had seen it all, couldn’t help but be flabbergasted.

"For artists like us, any chance to build connections with powerful backers is one we have to grab."

"Mhm, Sister Mi is right!"

Reba reflexively brown-nosed her, but her mind was already running its own calculations.

’If I jumped ship to Universal Entertainment, would they go all out to promote me?’

’A while back, Universal Entertainment announced they were adapting *Flowing Golden Years*.’

’Jiahang submitted my name, but it was clear they were just going through the motions.’

’The two female leads were already decided behind the scenes. There was never a spot for me.’

’Jiang Shuying, who just switched over, immediately landed a lead role.’

’With the production team behind *Flowing Golden Years*, the show is guaranteed to be a huge hit.’

’It’s not like I’m lacking popularity, but I’ve always been short on high-quality projects.’

’Before, to boost my profile, the company pulled strings to get me a "Water Queen" award, and I was nearly torn to shreds by the public for it.’

’It was only thanks to the fighting power of my die-hard fans that I managed to hold onto my status as a top female star.’

’We both lacked acting skills and were stuck in small companies.’

’But Jiang Shuying jumps ship to Universal Entertainment and immediately gets a lead role in a major production.’

’If I switched too, my treatment wouldn’t be any worse than Jiang Shuying’s, right?’

Yang Mi, however, had no mind to pay attention to Reba’s scheming.

She was having her own headache, feeling conflicted over her relationship with a certain younger boyfriend.

He was a "boy toy," but only in relation to her age.

An older woman-younger man relationship is still very likely to cause controversy in the entertainment industry.

Especially in a relationship where the woman is far more successful, it’s guaranteed to be a hot topic.

The few rumors that had already spread were enough to send her fans into an uproar.

They’d nearly crashed her boy toy’s Weibo page with angry comments.

"Sister Mi, why are you so distracted?"

Seeing Yang Mi looking preoccupied, Reba’s eyes lit up with gossip.

"Is that ’boy toy’ of yours pestering you to go public again?"

"You talk too much."

Yang Mi glared at Reba but didn’t refute her.

"I’m still thinking about it."

"Seriously? You’ve already hooked him up with plenty of opportunities. It’s not your fault he doesn’t have the right image to make it big. You can’t say you haven’t tried."

Reba pursed her lips.

’Anyway, I can’t stand him. A thirty-year-old man still pretending to be some innocent boy toy is such a turn-off.’

’Besides, I’m all about looks.’

’If a guy isn’t handsome, he’s not even a consideration.’

"I did seriously consider dating him before," Yang Mi admitted, "but I’ve realized he’s a bit of a schemer."

Having survived in the industry for so many years, Yang Mi’s judgment was wickedly sharp.

’His pestering me to go public is just a ploy to use my fame to get his own big break.’

’Vague rumors aren’t enough to satisfy him anymore.’

’But going public would have a huge, negative impact on my image and career.’

’I’m not foolish enough to risk it all for an uncertain relationship.’

’For me, going public is an option, but...’

’At the very least, he has to be able to help my career.’

’He either needs to provide me with opportunities or just be filthy rich.’

’But this boy toy I’m seeing now has neither.’

’In a playground like the entertainment industry, whoever catches real feelings is the real idiot.’

’Luckily, we’re just dating casually. I haven’t given him a real chance to use me to get ahead.’

’But seeing his poorly hidden agenda, I’m starting to have second thoughts.’