Chapter 104: Yang Mengke's First Pot of Gold

Looking at Director Xia's incoming call, Su Bai answered with a cheerful smile.

“Director Xia, congratulations! I saw the media coverage—tickets for Daming Lake are impossible to get now!”

Director Xia’s hearty laughter echoed from the other end of the line.

“Su Bai, we really have to thank you and Miss Yang Mengke!”

“My thinking is, it’s thanks to your influence and Miss Yang Mengke’s that Daming Lake is seeing such a surge of visitors!”

“Previously, Miss Yang Mengke helped us purely out of goodwill; we never offered her any compensation.”

“We don’t even have her contact information, so I was hoping, Mr. Su Bai, perhaps you could reach out to her for us. We’d like to offer Miss Yang Mengke an additional one million as remuneration!”

Su Bai was visibly stunned at Director Xia’s words.

Someone was actually chasing after them to give money?

But this was a good thing for Yang Mengke, and certainly not unreasonable.

He laughed and replied, “I’ll ask her for you.”

Director Xia breathed a quiet sigh of relief at Su Bai’s agreement.

Actually, this was the conclusion reached after discussions between Daming Lake and the cultural tourism department of Quancheng.

Although the online community still didn’t know much about Miss Yang Mengke’s identity,

they had their own sources and knew she had been chosen as a host for a CCTV program.

If they paid her now, before her identity was publicly announced, it would be appropriate.

If they waited until she became famous, and then paid her, people would surely accuse Daming Lake of riding the coattails of a CCTV host.

Besides, the source of this payment was legitimate and transparent.

Yang Mengke had indeed brought substantial traffic to Daming Lake—that was an indisputable fact.

So, they decided to send Yang Mengke a million yuan through Su Bai.

Su Bai was quite pleased to hear this news.

With his current popularity, any random advertisement would fetch more than a million.

But what mattered most to Su Bai was that this fee was specifically being offered to Yang Mengke.

It would bring her a sense of accomplishment.

Though Yang Mengke had never mentioned it, Su Bai could sense she always wanted to use her own abilities to ease his burden.

Su Bai didn’t need her to do that, but he couldn’t say so.

He understood Yang Mengke’s inner fragility, and appreciated how she empathized with his own struggles.

When he called Yang Mengke and told her about the offer,

she laughed and said, “Brother, just handle it as you see fit. Let them give the money to you—I don’t need it!”

Su Bai shook his head and replied, “How can you say you don’t need money? Keep it for yourself. Use your own funds to buy us a home in Yanjing. Then when I go there, we’ll have our own place and won’t need to rent anymore!”

Upon hearing this, Yang Mengke smiled—and as she smiled, tears sparkled in her eyes.

Home—a word so warm and comforting. Once, they had a home.

But that home no longer existed.

Now, she wanted to build a home with her own hands.

“All right! I’ll keep the money.”

“And, brother, if you have more opportunities like this in the future, invite me along. I’ll try to save up enough for a house!”

The siblings laughed together, their laughter full of joy.

That was their unspoken understanding.

Shortly after arriving in Shanghai, Su Bai received an invitation from Liu Lei to go for drinks.

“Brother Lei, how have you been? Is it tough working at the police station?”

Liu Lei gave a bitter smile and shook his head. “Ah, at least I don’t have to stay on edge all the time like I did at XX Group!”

“But it’s still not easy.”

“Always on standby.”

Su Bai gave him a thumbs-up.

“Brother Lei, you work hard. Come, a toast to you!”

Halfway through the drinks, Liu Lei suddenly said, “By the way, Liu Siyian and Xu Mingkun have been sentenced.”

“Liu Siyian got thirteen years, Xu Mingkun three.”

Thirteen years?

Su Bai’s eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Liu Lei.

Even for the mastermind behind a kidnapping, thirteen years seemed excessive.

Liu Siyian was already over forty. After thirteen years in prison, the world outside would be completely different.

Liu Lei smiled wryly. “I won’t get into the specifics of the case with you. All I can tell you is that your case ended up just being a clue that led to the subsequent cases.”

“A whole string of cases was uncovered.”

“All kinds: financial crimes, bribery, power-for-sex transactions, and more. Many were implicated.”

“So, I want to remind you: be careful.”

“It’s possible someone might direct their hatred toward you.”

“After all, Liu Siyian was jailed because of you, and those implicated afterward were caught for the same reason.”

“Many of those involved have already been dealt with.”

“But there are always some who slip through the cracks—you know how it is.”

At that, Liu Lei said no more.

Su Bai could only give a wry smile.

In the month since he’d become famous, he had managed to offend quite a few people.

No wonder they said the entertainment industry was a battlefield of fame and fortune—and of bloodshed.

One careless step and you could tumble into the abyss.

Afterward, the two tacitly avoided the topic.

Both knew it was best left at that; each understood the risks in their heart.

Going any further would be pointless.

The next morning, Su Bai rubbed his temples.

His head throbbed—last night’s drinking with Liu Lei had been a bit much.

Since their meeting at the dock, it was the first time he’d really let loose.

Neither of them could control their intake; in the end, Su Bai had to be helped back by Zhou Yang, while Liu Lei was escorted back by his colleagues at the bureau.

Just after waking up, he received a call from Zhou Yang, saying that Wang Lin from Battle Kings had arrived and wanted to discuss something.

“Miss Wang Lin, hello! It’s been a few days—you’re looking even more beautiful!”

Su Bai greeted Wang Lin with a bright smile, extending his hand.

He was genuinely grateful to Wang Lin.

When he was at his lowest, it was Battle Kings who first reached out to him.

He’d played hardball, pushing the price as high as possible before agreeing to cooperate.

Yet Wang Lin had agreed without hesitation and closed the deal swiftly.

Wang Lin, however, handed him the documents with a forced smile, placing them in Su Bai’s hands without shaking his.

“Mr. Su Bai, I’m here to discuss the matter we mentioned last time—singing at the Battle Kings League finals. Do you have time?”

Su Bai was taken aback—if he didn’t have time, why was she here?

He was puzzled by her icy demeanor.

Was she in a bad mood? Or perhaps something else?

For someone in such a high position, her self-control shouldn’t be lacking.

He couldn’t understand why the warmer he was to Wang Lin, the more she disliked him.

In Wang Lin’s mind, that fairy-like Yang Mengke was Su Bai’s girlfriend; now, seeing him so enthusiastic toward another woman made him seem unfaithful.

If she didn’t dislike him, who would she dislike?