Chapter 350: I am the Reason You Can Do Whatever You Want
Yun Xiangxiang dared to ask this favor because she knew she wasn’t taking advantage of Austin, and she had never thought of using the favor she gave him as a chip.
That would do nothing but destroy their relationship, as only having mutual benefits could deepen their relationship.
There was a difference between the Star of Peace and the golden diamond, as the latter was only known in the world of jewelry.
The Star of Peace had more fame, especially in Europe and the US. Having the Star of Peace appearing was a gimmick, and it would work to attract the audience in their overseas broadcast.
She reached a verbal agreement with Austin, and she would go to talk to him about the details after she was done with the Venice Film Festival.
She hung up and sunk herself into her reading for a while, only going downstairs when it was about dinnertime. She noticed that Song Mian was still playing with her father.
“Which game is this one already?” Yun Xiangxiang trotted over and asked when she noticed Yun Zhibin was interested, and there was a smile in his eyes.
“The fifth one.” Yun Lin was by their side the whole time. “They’re tied currently.”
That meant they won two games each, and Yun Xiangxiang looked at Song Mian. What a cunning fox this man is.
Yun Zhibin would not consider him a weak player in this situation. Furthermore, he saved Yun Zhibin’s dignity and completed the task Yun Xiangxiang set for him, not to mention he piqued Yun Zhibin’s interest.
Chess players who loved chess and were great wanted nothing more than the excitement of a match against a player of similar skills.
Yun Zhibing would think of him when he wanted to play again, and he would be more agreeable to Song Mian, even if it were just to get his fix of Go.
The best part was that Song Mian created a draw in the final round, and Yun Xiangxiang was impressed by his skills.
“Are you so sure I did it on purpose?” Yun Zhibin was delighted, and he allowed Yun Xiangxiang to send Song Mian off after dinner.
They held hands and strolled in the road less traveled in the neighborhood, and as the street lamps shone down on them, it made their loving shadows longer.
“Are you expecting me to believe you didn’t do it on purpose?” Yun Xiangxiang asked.
Song Mian smiled, but he did not answer.
“My dad isn’t stupid. He must have known you let him win, but you did it in a remarkable way that made him feel better about it.” If Song Mian let Yun Zhibin win every match, Yun Zhibin would think the matches were meaningless.
The matches would lose all meaning if all Song Mian did was just to please him. He wouldn’t want to play with Song Mian after this, and he might even think Song Mian was insulting him.
“I’m just doing that for the sake of what my girlfriend told me to.” Song Mian tried to justify it even after he had reaped all the benefits.
“Save it. You think I don’t know you would do the same thing without me telling you to?” Yun Xiangxiang snorted.
“I confess that what I would do depends on your father’s personality,” Song Mian confessed.
Song Mian would have to keep on losing if her dad was someone who loved to win and found losing unacceptable.
Song Mian would go all out if her dad only wanted to see his true skills and cared nothing about winning or losing.
Yun Zhibin was the latter type of person, as he wanted someone who could play with him and provide the excitement of Go.
There must be wins and losses to make the process more heart-pounding.
“You should be a psychologist instead of a doctor.” Yun Xiangxiang glanced at him.
Song Mian continued to be honest. “I need to dabble in psychology too.”
Yun Xiangxiang was speechless.
Song Mian thought Yun Xiangxiang looked funny when she put on that desensitized expression. “Do you have something in your mind that you need to consult me about?”
“Alright, I believe that you’re a psychologist now.” Yun Xiangxiang dragged Song Mian and sat on the bench beside them. “About the lawsuit last time…”
Yun Xiangxiang was uncertain, and she needed Song Mian’s opinion, so she repeated what He Shen said.
Song Mian kept quiet for a moment after he was done listening. “He Shen isn’t wrong, but your choice depends on the side you’re choosing.”
Yun Xiangxiang tilted her head. Streetlamps were flanking the bench they were sitting on, and one of them was hanging over Song Mian’s head.
The moonlight and the light of the lamp shone upon him as if granting him a layer of the shimmering veil, making him look blurry and magical.
“It’s a give and take question. You’ll get your answer when you decide which one you can take: the potential enemies you will make after doing whatever you want, or the frustration you will feel if you don’t do it your way.”
Yun Xiangxiang thought carefully after listening to him.
As she sat under the light, her perfect side profile was made shining by the light, and her eyelashes looked longer and curlier.
As the light sprinkled on her, it created starlight upon her thin eyelashes, and it blinked as she blinked.
Song Mian held her hand gently. “You don’t have to hesitate too much. You can do whatever you want because I am here.”
You don’t need to take this lying. You can do whatever you want, and so what if you make countless enemies?
“No,” Yun Xiangxiang refused unhesitatingly before she said to him seriously. “I can accept you being nice to me and you taking care of me. But Ah Mian, we can’t do whatever we want because we live in this world.
She still had her relatives. Yun Xiangxiang could brush aside the attacks on her, but she couldn’t drag her loved ones into this.
“I chose to solve this out of court not because I am taking this lying down, but I don’t want to involve those unrelated to this just because I want to get justice for myself,” Yun Xiangxiang decided.
But reconciliation wasn’t easy when it came to Yun Xiangxiang. Benefits alone wouldn’t do it, as she needed to warn those who should be warned.
Yun Xiangxiang told He Shen her idea the next day. “I can accept their out-of-court settlement, but on two conditions.”
“Name them.”
“First, they need to make a public apology to me on Weibo, and they have to tag me,” Yun Xiangxiang named the first one.
He Shen nodded. “That should be the way.”
“Secondly, I want to claim compensation publicly.” Yun Xiangxiang looked at He Shen. “I will accept their apology and retract the lawsuit if they donate five million in my name.”
He Shen frowned. He thought asking for compensation in private was better, as asking for it publicly would be ugly, especially when what she asked for was five million.
“Since they want to settle this, they have to be sincere. Neither of us needs that money. They don’t want to go to court because they don’t want to drag the Era of Stars into this, and I don’t want anyone to slander me after this.
She was saying that those who would slander her would have to pay this price.
Those who had money could come after her if they were not afraid.
Yun Xiangxiang wouldn’t mind being slandered if they wanted to do some charity.
She would clarify them in the end, and she would let them say what they wanted if the end result from those simple sentences was the betterment of society.
She knew the company would receive less benefit from the Era of Stars if she did this.
This move barely kept the façade of peace between the companies up, and the Era of Stars wouldn’t be complete enemies with Huan Yu.
She took one step back not because she wanted to make money for the company, nor was she afraid of making enemies. She didn’t want to drag anyone into her personal matters.
At the same time, she was letting the company know that Yun Xiangxiang wasn’t a teddy bear.