Chapter 36
Meng Fu Has to be Present
Upon hearing the butler’s voice, Jiang Xinchen, who had been ascending the stairs, paused. “Butler, what happened?”
Butler Jiang was also an old-timer of the Jiang family. He had followed the old master to the battlefield before and his prestige in the Jiang family could even surpass Jiang Quan’s. The juniors of the Jiang family respected Butler Jiang very much. In the past he had followed the old master everywhere and had had countless extraordinary encounters. Therefore, he always had a calm and steady disposition. His current expression made Jiang Xinchen’s heart drop.
“Okay, okay, we’ll be there soon,” Butler Jiang said to the person on the other end. He then hung up the call, his hands trembling. He only managed to return the phone receiver to its original position on his second try.
He supported himself by holding onto the back of the chair behind him with his hand. He then turned to Jiang Xinchen. “Young Master, get Master and Madam to come down. Old… Old Master’s condition is not good. We have to hurry to the hospital.”
His voice was shaking.
When Jiang Xinchen heard this, his expression changed drastically and he panicked for a moment. He then immediately rushed upstairs to look for Jiang Quan and Yu Zhenling.
Yu Zhenling tore off the mask on her face swiftly and came out without any makeup on. “Xinchen, what happened to your grandfather?”
Jiang Xinchen shook his head. “Butler Jiang received a call from the hospital. Let’s go downstairs first.”
Yu Zhenling followed Jiang Xinchen downstairs while trying to pull on her coat.
Old Master Jiang was the pillar of the Jiang family. Although the Jiang family had been a wealthy and prestigious family in T City for many years, its current standing and reputation was thanks to Old Master Jiang. He was a well-known and reputable “fearsome one” in T City and no one in the Jiang family could override the decisions he made.
In the past, when Meng Fu had wanted to drop out of school and enter showbiz, none of the Jiang family agreed to it except for the old master. Therefore, Meng Fu got her wish.
**
Soon after, they arrived at the hospital.
Old Master Jiang was in the emergency room. The Director and Deputy Director of the Hospital, who were responsible for taking care of Old Master Jiang, had also arrived. There was also a team of experts conducting consultations and analysis on the same floor.
Jiang Quan’s forehead was covered with sweat but he could still manage the situation. “Doctor, how is my dad?”
“It’s the same.” The director shook his head. He glanced at Jiang Quan. “Too much ‘qi’ has accumulated in his body. This kind of ‘qi’ is very mysterious. He also has old illnesses he acquired during his fighting on the battlefield during his youth. His illness relapsed because he has been very emotional these past two days. You have to be mentally prepared.”
The doctor would never guarantee a patient’s health to his family members. Even for risk-free surgeries, the doctor could not promise a 100% success rate. This was even more so for Old Master Jiang’s situation.
These words made Jiang Quan’s head hurt.
He didn’t disturb the doctor anymore. He did two things. First, he delegated the tasks he had on hand to his subordinates and also stopped the news of Old Master Jiang’s condition from leaking. If their business rivals were to find out about Old Master Jiang, they would certainly deal the Jiang family’s businesses a hard blow.
It was precisely during such times that he had to calm down and hold the fort.
The second decision was to inform Meng Fu and get her to hurry to the hospital.
The old master had been very strict for most of his life. He had always had high expectations of his juniors, especially Jiang Quan and Jiand Xinchen. Therefore, the Jiang family had always been afraid of the old master.
He had only mellowed out in the recent two years because of his poor health. Coincidentally, Meng Fu had returned to the family during this time and became the apple of the old master’s eye.
Furthermore, Meng Fu was quite good in several other aspects. She was well-behaved and did not act in undue confidence of her own ability and look down upon others. She was also good-looking. Jiang Quan could understand why the old master took a liking to her.
If anything were to happen…
Meng Fu had to be present at such a time.
**
At the same time, at the training camp.
All the trainees had finished rehearsing. Manager Sheng had also finished discussing the live broadcast with the program planner.
The planner saw Manager Sheng out respectfully.
When the planner was out of sight, the assistant beside Manager Sheng glanced in the rear view mirror quizzically. “Manager, are we going to let this slide? Ms. Meng hasn’t even done the rehearsal…”
The usually stern-looking Manager Sheng faintly smiled. “After this incident, the “Best Idol” program crew will not dare to edit Meng Fu’s scenes anymore. We’ll just wait for the live broadcast the day after tomorrow. Meng Fu will get more screen time. When have any of our artists suffered such grievances?”
After listening to Manager Sheng, the assistant remembered something. He had just finished gathering information about Best Idol in the last couple of days and was aware that the program team had deliberately edited the show with malicious comments about Meng Fu.
After all, variety shows relied on editing. Sometimes, they would delete half or all of the scenes from the entire episode. The effects would be completely different and of course, all of Meng Fu’s criticisms remained. This was an undisputed fact.
Manager Sheng’s action was truly vicious. The program planner was probably terrified right now.
“But Meng Fu is singing live this time.” The assistant glanced at Manager Shangsheng. “Should we inform the program crew to…”
Indeed, Meng Fu’s singing could not make it.
Manager Sheng tapped his fingers on his knees, seemingly deep in thought.
**
When the program planner could no longer see Manager Sheng’s car, he wiped the sweat off his forehead and heaved a sigh of relief.
“How did Sheng Entertainment sign Meng Fu?” Suddenly, he heard Xi Nancheng’s voice from behind him.
“That’s right. I had thought it was Ye Shuning. I didn’t expect to make such a blunder.” The planner was also surprised. He turned around. “But Meng Fu does have the potential. I talked to Director Mu about grooming her previously.”
Xi Nancheng shook his head and frowned. “Her dancing is indeed passable. But you must be kidding when you talk about grooming her for the international stage. If she can make it to the international stage with such poor standards, we’ll be ridiculed by netizens.”
He could foresee such a situation judging from the reactions of others. Everyone had thought Ye Shuning was the one Sheng Entertainment had signed. This point alone was enough to reflect the issue.
“Is Sheng Entertainment feeling complacent?” Xi Nancheng tucked his hands into his pocket. “Do they think that it’s possible to sign with any artist and make them Yi Tong? I’m afraid they are going to ruin their own reputation this time.”
The program planner could not agree with this. In fact, he thought quite highly of Meng Fu.
However, Xi Nancheng was akin to a hardcore Ye Shuning fan now. Therefore, the program planner didn’t say a word. He merely shook his head and said, “If you have the time, you should apologize to Meng Fu. It’s true that she didn’t do anything wrong today.”
Xi Nancheng did not feel comfortable apologizing to Meng Fu. However, he also knew that he had gone overboard tonight. Therefore, he was silent. After the rehearsal, he made a trip to the training camp to apologize to Meng Fu.
“Do you mean Meng Fu?” The crew member was taken aback when he asked where she was. “She just took time off to go home. I think she went to visit her grandfather.”
Xi Nancheng’s expression instantly became indifferent. He nodded slightly. “Okay.”
He knew it.
**
At the same time.
Meng Fu arrived at the hospital. Zhao Fan had gone home and Meng Fu took a cab by herself. When she arrived at the hospital, Old Master Jiang was still in the emergency room.
Jiang Xinchen, Jiang Xinran, and Yu Zhenling were all standing at the door of the emergency room. She didn’t know what they were talking about. Jiang Xinchen turned around and immediately saw Meng Fu coming out of the lift. He couldn’t help but sneer coldly. “Who told her to come? Grandpa became like this because of her!”
“Brother, don’t speak anymore…” Jiang Xinran nudged him in the arm.
Jiang Xinchen ignored her and continued to stare at Meng Fu contemptuously. “How can she help by coming here? Sing and dance for Grandpa? Or draw a talisman for him?”