The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

When they arrived in Jiangzhou, Li Jianwen got out of the car and was escorted home.

Chen Dong accompanied Qin Yun straight to the airport.

Qin Yun's home was in Qianzhou City, as was her entertainment company.

Chen Dong was wary the entire trip, feeling as if Qin Yun was constantly trying to squeeze money out of him. Missing out on the He Family's fortune was already painful enough. 'With that sorrowful look in her eyes,' he thought, 'it feels like she even wants me to pay for her plane ticket.'

Fortunately, Qin Yun bought the ticket herself.

It was safe to say Chen Dong was just being paranoid. He hadn't made a single cent off Qin Yun since they met; in fact, he was even out a set of clothes.

Qin Yun could have flown back directly from Lower River, but she'd made the detour just to see Chen Dong back to Jiangzhou. As it turned out, it was a good thing she hadn't flown back directly from Lower River.

Qin Yun hadn't had a chance to change, still looking ethereal in her red dress, with only a pair of oversized sunglasses covering half her face. The flight to Qianzhou City was uneventful, but the moment they stepped off the plane, a young man recognized her.

"You're Qin Yun! Wow! You really are Qin Yun! Can I get your autograph?"

Qin Yun was frantic and in no mood to sign autographs. She was about to refuse, but the young man's voice was so loud that it drew a crowd, which instantly swarmed around her.

Knowing how anxious Qin Yun was to get home, Chen Dong had no choice but to step in. He released a gentle pulse of his True Qi, and the encircling fans automatically parted, clearing a path. The bodyguards who had come to pick them up seized the opportunity to hold back the crowd, allowing Qin Yun to hurry away.

The fans who missed out on photos and autographs cried out in disappointment, snapping a flurry of pictures of Qin Yun as she walked away.

Someone in the crowd remarked, "That guy just now was so handsome!"

The comment resonated with others. "You mean the one who was blocking the way for her? He really is handsome. He couldn't be Qin Yun's boyfriend, could he?"

"I hope not! I'd be heartbroken!"

But there were dissenters. "Him? That lout? He's a bodyguard at best. If he's Qin Yun's boyfriend, I'll eat my own shit!"

As it happened, a reporter had been lying in wait in the crowd. He was kicking himself for not getting a clear shot of their faces in the chaos, only managing to snap a photo of their backs. But for him, that was enough. With a single picture, he could write any story he wanted.

Qin Yun and Chen Dong got into the car that had come to pick them up.

「By the time they arrived at Qianzhou City Hospital, it was nearly ten o'clock at night.」

She jogged all the way to a room in the special care unit. Inside the room, which was decorated like a hotel suite, a thin man in his fifties with hair graying at the temples sat on the bed in a hospital gown, watching TV.

On a stool beside the bed, an elegant woman in her thirties was peeling an orange for him.

The man was none other than Qin Yun's father, Qin Baining, the chairman and president of Eastern Entertainment. Qin Baining's own father had passed away when he was just twenty, leaving him to inherit the company.

Over the years, he had managed it diligently, and Eastern Entertainment had seen steady development. But it had never truly taken off, remaining a lower-mid-tier player among the many entertainment companies.

Ever since Qin Yun's debut, however, Eastern Entertainment had begun to develop rapidly and seemed poised for a major breakthrough.

He had done everything he could to talk her out of becoming a star, knowing all too well what the entertainment industry was like, but he could never sway his precious daughter. His initial plan was to protect her as much as possible and wait for the novelty to wear off, assuming she would eventually lose interest. He never imagined she would become famous so quickly, achieving the status of a triple-threat Celestial Empress of film, TV, and music in less than three years.

Qin Yun became Eastern Entertainment's top star and its veritable mainstay, single-handedly leading the company's ascent.

But Eastern Entertainment was still just a mid-sized company, and having a star of her caliber had its downsides—namely, one poaching attempt after another. Since Qin Yun was his daughter, there was no way he would let her go to another company. He refused every offer without a moment's hesitation.

Their motto seemed to be: if you can't have it, destroy it. A series of targeted attacks, led by Juxing Entertainment Company, began to hammer Eastern Entertainment.

Tactics like poaching its artists and running smear campaigns against them plunged Eastern Entertainment into financial trouble. After several consecutive film projects failed, the company was pushed to the very brink of bankruptcy.

This was why a Celestial Empress like Qin Yun had to take on commercial gigs, even insisting on performing for the He Family despite knowing the risks. For one, she couldn't afford to breach the contract. For another, the He Family was paying an enormous fee.

Qin Baining had been counting on a new movie starring Qin Yun to recoup their losses, but it had been submitted for review over a dozen times, only to be rejected every single time.

With Eastern Entertainment already unable to make ends meet, the re-edited film was rejected yet again today. Someone even told him bluntly that it would never be approved and to stop submitting it. The fit of rage triggered a heart attack, and Qin Baining was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.

Thankfully, it looked as if they had been able to save him.

Chen Dong followed Qin Yun into the hospital room.

"Dad! Sister Li!" Qin Yun asked worriedly. "How is he? What did the doctors say?"

Seeing Qin Yun, Qin Baining forced a relaxed smile. "Yun, you're back. Don't worry! It's nothing serious, just my old ailment acting up."

Sister Li handed the peeled orange to Qin Baining, shooting him a sharp glance before turning to Qin Yun. "It was extremely dangerous today. They barely managed to save him. The doctors don't dare to operate. They said that unless he gets a heart transplant, your father won't make it through the year. But heart transplant technology isn't mature yet—the success rate is less than ten percent. If he gets on that operating table, he almost certainly isn't coming off it alive."

Qin Baining protested, "Why are you telling her all this? You're just going to make her worry!"

"You're on death's door," Sister Li said coldly. "And I'm supposed to keep quiet about it?"