Superstar's Development Diary
Chapter 151: Gratitude for Favors and Revenge for Wrongs

Chapter 151: Chapter 151: Gratitude for Favors and Revenge for Wrongs

He Jinxia listened in the living room for a while but soon found it rather dull. The conversation went round and round, mostly about how Mrs. He had struggled and then moved on to talk about her own family, mentioning how they had tried to make a living elsewhere, and how Mr. He had passed away without being able to see them even once.

As dinner time approached, Mrs. He invited them to stay for the meal. The travelers made a token effort to decline but soon agreed to dine.

The dining process was an eye-opener for He Jinxia. The young woman focused solely on eating, steadily picking food with her chopsticks and targeting the meat in front of her as if she wished she could bury her head in it.

Mrs. He’s opinion was unknown, but as far as He Jinxia was concerned, she had lost all desire to try that particular dish.

Another one of her nominal aunts was somewhat better at dining, but the child she held in her arms was another story.

The child kept fidgeting during the meal. Despite being five years old, the child needed to be fed and watched cartoons on a phone; any discontent led to loud crying and displays of moodiness.

Finally, when the meal was over, the aunt’s family suggested leaving. As they were about to go, the aunt kept holding onto Mrs. He’s hand, lamenting how life was hard with an unsuccessful son.

At last, she brought up He Jinxia, grasping her hand and chattering, "Jinxia, now that you’ve grown up and become a big star, you must have earned a lot of money, right?"

He Jinxia’s expression remained unchanged, and she displayed perfect acting, gently saying, "No, just an average salary worker’s level."

The elder woman patted her hand and said, "Regardless, you have made something of yourself, and in the future, your aunt will have to rely on your support!"

He Jinxia smiled without comment, as there was no way to respond to those words.

After all the chatter, it was only now that she understood their real purpose for visiting. It appeared that strengthening family bonds was just a pretext, and "lending a hand" was the actual motive.

It was only after they had left that He Jinxia and Mrs. He had the chance to sit down and talk privately.

Mrs. He looked at her phone and sighed, "Your aunt confided in me this afternoon, saying she wanted to borrow some money to start a business."

He Jinxia pondered for a moment before asking, "Do your aunt and you often keep in touch?"

Mrs. He shook her head, "We’ve just talked over WeChat. Back when your grandparents were still around, they would visit yearly to see them. Once the elders passed away, they stopped coming."

He Jinxia, "Was your aunt very close to my dad?"

Mrs. He sighed, "It’s hard to say if they were close or not. Your aunt married off early, decades ago, and seldom kept in touch with home. But your dad was raised by your aunt when he was little."

He Jinxia slightly furrowed her brow; when it came to family matters, things couldn’t always be clearly defined. It’s said that even blood brothers should settle accounts clearly, but where in the world are family accounts ever that easily settled?

If they were, there wouldn’t be so many cases of siblings turning against each other and fighting over an inheritance.

She asked softly, "How much does she want to borrow?"

Mrs. He hesitated before responding, "One hundred thousand Hua Country Coins."

He Jinxia frowned even more deeply—that was an excessive amount!

Relatives who didn’t often visit, asking to borrow one hundred thousand as soon as they speak up?

He Jinxia asked, "Do they think I’ve become wealthy and successful as a star, which is why they’re asking to borrow so much?"

Mrs. He hesitated and then said softly, "Jinxia, after all, Aunt Lan is your dad’s own sister..."

He Jinxia countered, "Then why didn’t they visit before? I haven’t been a star for just a year or two; why did they only come this year?"

It’s a simple truth. She used to be fat and just part of a group, but now that she’s slimmed down and become pretty, with more exposure than before, they think she’s famous and come knocking, trying to leverage the relationship.

He Jinxia didn’t mind relatives coming over to leverage their relationship, but did they have to ask for money as soon as they showed up?

Mrs. He was silent for a while, her face a map of conflict, "But, they are still your father’s relatives..."

He Jinxia looked at Mrs. He, her tone still gentle yet resolute, "We can’t give them the money. If we give it to them once, there will be a second time. Even if I earn a lot of money as a celebrity, I can’t keep doling it out."

If this so-called aunt had been close to He Jinxia in the past, she wouldn’t have minded helping out, but she couldn’t find any memory of this aunt in her recollections. She felt like a relative had dropped out of thin air—how could she give money without any emotional attachment?

What’s more, the aunt and her bunch came knocking this year, clearly angling for money because He Jinxia was now a famous celebrity!

He Jinxia didn’t like this feeling of people latching onto her.

Mrs. He’s lips parted and then closed, opened and closed again, but in the end, she said nothing.

The next morning, He Jinxia took a car back to Imperial City.

As she was leaving, she brought up once again the issue of her mother moving to Imperial City.

Mrs. He seemed preoccupied, saying she would think about it seriously.

He Jinxia knew that her mother was still pondering the aunt’s situation. She hugged her tightly, whispering, "Mom, Dad has passed away, and although it may sound heartless, as a woman, you don’t owe the aunt’s family anything.

Even if I have just started making some money this year, saving up is essential. A hundred thousand isn’t a huge amount but not insignificant either. Think about it carefully. These years have been hard on you; don’t put so much pressure on yourself. Helping is voluntary, but not being able to help is just common sense."

She had seen the gratitude of the higher ups turned into grudges over the sharing of rice in ancient times. When she was sold to the Red Building, she had already lost touch with her biological parents and was essentially an orphan with no one to rely on. After she had saved up some silver in the Red Building, no one asked her for it, but her sisters had parents coming to them.

In her past life, she had witnessed a sister’s biological parents finding her and using filial piety to pressure her into giving them silver.

Once wasn’t enough, they would demand a second time, a third, a fourth...

Gradually, that sister ended up fully supporting her parents.

In ancient times, she could only sigh with relief that such incidents didn’t happen to her because her approach might have been the same as that sister’s.

Above the word filial is a knife; one’s own flesh and blood are received from one’s parents; how could a mere sale sever that connection?

In modern times, He Jinxia worked hard to absorb contemporary knowledge and thinking, feeling even more disgusted by the actions of her parents in her previous life.

Put bluntly, were they not ashamed to satisfy their lives with the humiliating money earned through selling their own daughter?

Now, concerning this issue, giving out a hundred thousand wasn’t a strain for her family, but if they started this precedent and others continued to borrow, would they not have to keep giving?

"Jinxia, Jinxia?" Cheng Xiaohua’s voice came through, bringing He Jinxia back to reality, and she looked up at her.

Cheng Xiaohua asked with concern, "You’ve been distracted ever since you took a cab back to the company this morning. Are you not feeling well?"

He Jinxia shook her head, pondered for a moment, and spoke softly, "Just family matters, nothing serious."

Knowing it was about family, Cheng Xiaohua didn’t probe further. As a professional celebrity assistant, she could be aware of the stars’ personal issues, but it was best not to pry.