Chapter 124: The Art of Evasion

Sang Yijia’s photos from leaving the hospital were meant to be published, but they were intercepted halfway.

Sang Qiwen’s people had been following Sang Zheng and the others. Upon discovering the paparazzi, they drove their car to block them and deleted every single photo.

The paparazzi, having gone to such lengths to capture those shots, had hoped to create a major headline. With nothing left to show for their efforts, they were naturally displeased.

"Jiayang Tech Company?" one reporter asked, checking the information found on his phone. "They only have two small video apps under their banner. What kind of power could they possibly have?"

"So, what do we do now?"

The photos were gone; they couldn't just spout nonsense without evidence, right?

"What’s the big deal? We’ll just go back, snap a few photos, and we can still write the story," said the reporter in charge of editing, unfazed by potential trouble. "Whether people believe it or not will be up to the netizens."

"Let’s go." The cameraman put away his phone. "A small company that hasn't even gone public yet won't dare to go against our firm."

"Just write it however you see fit."

A third editor, who had been silent until now, furrowed his brows. "We should go back and ask the editor-in-chief first."

"Just think about that Rolls-Royce." Ordinary people couldn't afford a car like that.

Suddenly, the air seemed to freeze. No one spoke; they could almost hear each other’s breathing.

—

Sang Yijia rested at home for three days. During this time, no special trending topics emerged, and she began to make preparations for her retirement from the entertainment industry.

Before transmigrating into this book, Sang Yijia had many hobbies, such as filming DIY handicraft videos.

Right now, she had ordered a significant amount of ultra-light clay online, with the delivery address set to her apartment. In two more days, she intended to move back there. Being at home was comfortable, but it was truly difficult to get anything else done.

Additionally, Sang Yijia opened her laptop to create a new outline, intending to write a short story to submit. The place she chose for submission happened to be Sang Qiwen’s company.

They were looking for short scripts of thirty to fifty thousand words, with each chapter requiring only seven hundred to one thousand words. Sang Yijia studied the requirements for a while, targeted the short-video user demographic, and began typing.

"Jiajia hasn't come out for most of the day." Mother Sang had been keeping track of the time since lunch. "Do you think she’s taking a nap?"

"Let’s wait and see this afternoon." It was easy to get drowsy after a meal, and Sang Zheng couldn't help but yawn. "Look, Jiajia hasn't had any issues these past few days."

"That must mean she’s fine."

Mother Sang, however, remained unconvinced. "Old Third said that while Jiajia’s checkups are all healthy, her last fainting spell had no warning signs."

She couldn't help but worry about the possibility of another fainting spell.

Sang Zheng pulled Mother Sang into a hug. "It’ll be fine. Let’s not scare ourselves."

Mother Sang parted her lips as if to speak, but after a moment of hesitation, she said nothing.

...

At three in the afternoon, Mother Sang checked on Sang Yijia’s room again and still saw no sign of her. "No, I have to go check."

This time, Sang Zheng did not object.

Just as Mother Sang stood up, the door to Sang Yijia’s room opened. Looking up, she saw Sang Zheng and Mother Sang standing at the entrance of the hallway. "Mom, Dad, what are you doing here?"

"Are you re-enacting the Titanic, staring out at the sea from the bow?"

Sang Zheng and Mother Sang were left speechless.

"Jiajia, what have you been doing in your room?" Mother Sang smoothed out her expression, recalling her previous worry. "Did you just wake up?"

"No," Sang Yijia shook her head. "I’ve been writing a script."

Sang Yijia had originally intended to write a domestic drama about family trivialities, but since she couldn't quite capture the feeling of intrigue and deception, she decided to write a murder mystery script instead.

Sang Zheng and Mother Sang were both stunned, and as they looked at each other, they saw the astonishment reflected in each other’s eyes.

"Jiajia, when did you start writing?" Sang Zheng asked.

Knowing that she would have to inform her parents after retiring from the industry anyway, Sang Yijia answered honestly, "Just today."

"Mom, Dad, do you want to see it?" Sang Yijia scratched her cheek, feeling a bit shy. "It’s my first time writing, so I’m not sure how it turned out."

"We can, we can," Mother Sang said excitedly. "We’ll read it, we’ll read it."

"Then wait a moment." Sang Yijia turned and went back into her room.

Sang Zheng watched her figure and fell into deep thought.

"Jiajia must have some work she wants to do after retiring from the industry." Mother Sang’s eyes reddened slightly. "Otherwise, why would she start writing scripts when she’s hated writing essays since she was a child?"

"Let’s have Jiajia manage the vegetable market in Dongwan," Sang Zheng said, his brows knit together. "And we can transfer those other buildings over to her as well, what do you think?"

Mother Sang was silent for a moment before replying, "Alright."

"Mom, Dad," Sang Yijia emerged holding her laptop. "Is it okay if you read it on the computer?"

She had wanted to print it out, but there was no printer in the room, so she had given up on the idea. This made her think she should buy a printer for her apartment; it would be much more convenient.

Sang Zheng and Mother Sang began reading Sang Yijia’s work seriously, but soon they were completely absorbed.

"Hmm, who is the final culprit?" Sang Zheng pondered, rubbing his chin. "Could it be Xiao Hong’s roommate?"

"No, I think it’s Xiao Hong’s ex-boyfriend," Mother Sang interjected, disagreeing. "This is clearly a crime of passion."

Watching them discuss the plot, Sang Yijia covered her mouth and smiled. "Mom, Dad, I haven't finished the story yet."

"I plan to use a pen name and submit it to Big Brother’s company. What do you think?"

"That’s perfectly fine." Sang Zheng was still holding the laptop, reading with great interest. "As expected of my daughter, she’s resourceful."

"She’s also my daughter," Mother Sang chimed in, not wanting to be outdone, before turning to Sang Yijia. "How about I have the cook stew some gastrodia for you tonight?"

Stewing pig brain with gastrodia was definitely good for brain health. Mother Sang was worried that Sang Yijia was overusing her brain but didn't want to say it outright.

"..." Sang Yijia paused for a moment, then curved her lips into a faint smile. "Whatever you arrange is fine, Mom."

Mother Sang nodded in satisfaction. "I’ll go talk to the chef then."

With that, Mother Sang headed downstairs.

Sang Zheng returned the laptop to Sang Yijia and looked at her earnestly once more. "Jiajia..."

"Dad, what’s wrong?" Seeing Sang Zheng’s hesitant demeanor, Sang Yijia was even more puzzled and tilted her head to look at him.

Sang Zheng shook his head and waved his hand. "Nothing."

"I just didn't expect Jiajia’s writing skills to be so good." Sang Zheng sighed with emotion. "You used to hate writing essays so much."

Sang Yijia paused. Although the story in the book had changed, some plot points and character settings remained. For instance, the original owner had indeed hated writing essays since childhood.

"Dad, did you forget?" Sang Yijia replied without blushing or skipping a beat. "I even participated in an essay competition during high school."

"I even won first prize."

"???" Sang Zheng let out an 'eh.' "Is that so?"

"Yes, so Dad, did you mix me up with Second Brother?" Sang Yijia silently apologized to Sang Qiwu in her heart.