After this conversation, Jiang Chaoge found herself at a loss for words.

Her entire day had not gone smoothly...

Jiang Chaoge was furious and didn’t know how to respond to Chen Ming. After a while, she awkwardly spoke, "Actually, you’re not bad either. You have a stable job. The entertainment industry only looks glamorous, but sometimes you lose everything in the blink of an eye; it depends on the background you have."

Chen Ming didn’t quite agree, jokingly said, "The way you talk about my job, it’s like it’s one of a kind. Why didn’t you take a liking to me?"

Jiang Chaoge thought: Damn, Chen Ming’s mouth is really sharp today. In front of Song Jia, he’s tongue-tied, but in front of me, his words come out fluently.

She was already very angry, and Chen Ming added, "Although the future is uncertain, the wealth I have now is real, right?"

He chuckled and pragmatically said, "Even if I’m not in the entertainment industry in the future, I can do my own thing whenever I want."

Jiang Chaoge couldn’t refute him. It’s something she envied a bit. Although she’s a Ph.D. holder, she’s always been working for others. Her accumulated wealth couldn’t compare to Gu Anxi’s, let alone Song Jia’s. Being born in the Jiang family side branch constantly made her feel inferior.

Chen Ming was perceptive too. Seeing her silent, he smiled faintly, "Chaoge, you don’t need to envy others. Just do your job well. Aren’t you pretty close with Mr. Wang now? The future is limitless."

After speaking, Chen Ming chuckled.

Jiang Chaoge had been talking with him for a while and finally got to the point. She seized the opportunity and put on a slightly troubled expression, speaking softly, "Actually, it’s not like I’m very close to Mr. Wang, but not far either. Some things I want to do can’t be said directly."

Chen Ming, although honest, was not dumb. He understood immediately. She clearly wanted his help, and he knew what it was about. It was nothing more than the project Anxi wanted. He thought it was settled with the matriarch’s tacit consent, but Jiang Chaoge was still not giving up. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Chen Ming hesitated for a moment before speaking softly, "Chaoge, I understand what you mean, but this matter has already passed through the matriarch. You know Mr. Wang is very filial to her. It’s impossible for him to go against her over such a trivial thing."

Listening to this, Jiang Chaoge felt dazed, her heart chilled. It took her a while to find her voice, "Is it really filial piety towards the matriarch? Isn’t there a personal interest in Gu Anxi in this?"

Chen Ming just smiled, "That’s not right, Chaoge. If you really want to develop something with Mr. Wang, you need to be more broad-minded or confident. Someone of Mr. Wang’s status has too many things to weigh, he can’t revolve around just one woman."

This was hard to hear, and Jiang Chaoge couldn’t accept it.

In the end, after saying a few words that didn’t match, the conversation was over.

When Jiang Chaoge left, she ran into Chen’s mother. Neither of them looked favorably on the other anymore; the once harmonious image was gone.

Chen’s mother returned to the ward and saw Chen Ming holding his phone, looking at something. As she opened the handmade noodles, she spoke, "Chen Ming, it’s not that I have a bias against Xiao Jiang, but girls from such backgrounds have too much ambition. All she thinks about is marrying Mr. Wang, but doesn’t she consider what kind of status he has and how much older he is than her? He could be her uncle."

Chen Ming smiled, "Everyone has their own ambitions, Mom. Don’t target her."

Chen’s mother grumbled, dissatisfied, "How am I targeting her? But honestly, even if now Xiao Jiang has a change of heart, I wouldn’t dare have such a daughter-in-law. With her high aspirations, who knows when she’ll do something outrageous? I’m really afraid."

Chen Ming sighed helplessly, "Mom, there’s really nothing between us."

"Alright, alright, I believe you. Son, is there really nothing going on with you and that Song fellow? I think that girl is quite pretty. Though she’s in the entertainment circle, she’s Mr. Zhou’s sister, and since Mr. Zhou is a good person, naturally she must be too." Chen’s mother mused in self-talk.

Chen Ming never expected his mother to bring up Song Jia again, so he smiled wryly, "Mom, I’ve already said it’s impossible."

Being someone who’s been around, Chen’s mother had been pondering this for a few days and felt something was off, so she leaned in, lowering her voice, "Son, tell me, have you and her had something inexplicable happen?"

Chen Ming was eating noodles and choked upon hearing this, looking speechlessly at his mother.

Chen’s mother fanned the flames, "Tell me, is there?"

Chen Ming sighed lightly, "Mom, you’re overthinking it."

Chen’s mother chuckled, "Son, you can’t fool me. You look at that girl differently."

She got a little fierce, "No way, you haven’t even had a girlfriend before, she has to take responsibility. Our Chen family doesn’t do work for nothing."