Chapter 417: The Brave and Beautiful
Chapter 417: The Brave and Beautiful
Lu Jiaxin had watched many TV shows and movies about lawyers in her past life, but when it came to crafting the plot, the first person she thought of was Cui Zhihui. She could draw inspiration from the female lead's experiences when she was younger.
Of course, she would need to seek the opinion of the person in question, so she called Cui Zhihui the next day. If Zhihui wasn't comfortable with the idea, Jiaxin wouldn't press the matter further.
After hearing Jiaxin out, Zhihui readily agreed. Her reason was simple: "Sister Jiaxin, I was too cowardly to stand up for myself back then. I hope that through this movie, we can encourage children who are being bullied in school to find the courage to fight back."
Jiaxin only intended to draw from Zhihui's past experiences, but she never expected to receive a call from Cui Meili the following evening. As soon as the call connected, Meili brought up the matter.
Some people prefer to keep their family scandals under wraps, and Jiaxin assumed Meili was one of them. "I will make changes to the female lead's background," she assured Meili. "I'll only borrow Zhihui's experience of being bullied in school."
But to her surprise, Meili immediately said, "Miss Lu, you've misunderstood. I want you to include everything about my family in the script and portray it in the movie."
Jiaxin was taken aback. "Sister Meili, do you mean you want me to write about your parents, as well as your and Zhihui's stories, into my script?"
Meili affirmed, "Yes. Miss Lu, you may not be aware of the full situation with my parents. If you wish to know, I can tell you all the details."
Jiaxin had already looked into the Cuis' background and had some understanding of their situation. "Sister Meili, as far as I know, your mother filed for divorce after your parents' relationship broke down. Afterward, your father developed a gambling addiction and was arrested and sentenced for embezzlement. Is there something more to this?"
Meili paused before responding, "Miss Lu, I'd like to discuss this with you in person."
"Alright."
The next morning, Meili arrived punctually at the agreed-upon time. What surprised Jiaxin was that Meili was pregnant, seemingly in her fourth month.
Noticing Jiaxin's gaze on her belly, Meili gently rubbed it and said, "I'm pregnant. It's been four months, and it's my husband, Ah Hao's child."
According to Jiaxin's knowledge, Meili's ex-boyfriend, a gang member, was indeed named Ah Hao. Previously, Zhihui had even asked Meili to break up with him.
"Does Zhihui know about this?" Jiaxin inquired.
Meili nodded. "She does. After Ah Hao learned that Zhihui was worried he'd be killed one day and that I'd be implicated, he promised to leave the gang if I agreed to break up with him. And he kept his word. Now, he works at a repair shop."
Jiaxin's confusion grew. "If you join a gang, can you really just leave if you change your mind later?"
Based on the Hong Kong gang movies she had watched in her previous life, once someone entered a gang, there was no turning back unless they fled the country and never returned. Of course, movies weren't always an accurate reflection of reality.
"Ah Hao has been very good to me," Meili explained. "He not only didn't hold my past as a streetwalker against me, but he also helped me support my younger siblings through school. After he left the gang and found a legitimate job, he proposed to me, and Zhihui didn't object anymore."
Seeing the happy smile on Meili's face, Jiaxin shared in her joy. "Congratulations."
After expressing her thanks, Meili got down to business. "The reason for the divorce was that she had an affair. The youngest child in our family is her child with that man."
Jiaxin had already suspected as much after reading the materials on the Cui family. "Didn't your father discover her infidelity before the divorce?"
Meili shook her head. "No. Mr. Guo's ex-wife came from a wealthy family, so even though she couldn't bear children, he dared not say anything. That's why he was very careful with his affair."
Lu Jiaxin was astonished. "So your father only found out about your mother's affair after she divorced him and quickly remarried. And he only discovered it when he saw her with that man."
Mr. Guo only married Cui Meili's mother after his first wife passed away due to illness.
Lu Jiaxin felt that wearing the metaphorical green hat for so many years and only finding out about the infidelity after his ex-wife had already moved on with the adulterer would be difficult for anyone to bear.
Hatred flashed in Cui Meili's eyes as she said, "My father developed a gambling addiction because of that man's scheming. He wanted my father to make a mistake and never show his face in front of him again."
Lu Jiaxin was taken aback. "How did you find out about this?"
Cui Meili replied frankly, "I found out myself. My father never gambled before the divorce, not even on the Mark Six lottery or horse racing. And he loved us siblings very much. I didn't believe that he would turn to gambling to escape the pain, so I secretly investigated. Last year, I finally found out that it was that man who set my father up."
Lu Jiaxin felt that her worldview had been updated once again. Mr. Guo was truly the epitome of scum among scumbags.
Cui Meili bluntly stated, "Miss Lu, that son of a bitch has money and power. My siblings and I can't fight him. But if we expose their ugly faces by turning our family's story into a movie, everyone will know about their despicable actions."
Lu Jiaxin understood. Cui Meili wanted to use this method to take revenge. With younger siblings to support and her own pregnancy to consider, she couldn't afford to stir up more trouble.
"Sister Meili, I hope you truly don't mind me writing your story into the script."
"If I dared to do it, I dare to have others talk about it," Cui Meili replied boldly.
Lu Jiaxin admired her courage. However, she decided to make changes to this part of the story. She didn't want this incident to be permanently associated with Cui Meili in the movie.
"Sister Meili, I'll show you the script once it's written. Feel free to suggest any changes if there's something you're not comfortable with."
"Alright," Cui Meili agreed.
With the material provided by Cui Meili, Lu Jiaxin quickly wrote the script for the female lead's life before university. For the subsequent parts, she created an outline, leaving the details of the female lead's challenges and solutions to professional screenwriters.
That evening, Lu Jiaxin invited the Su Heyuan brothers to dinner. Knowing that Su Heyuan had a wide social network, she asked, "In Hong Kong, if someone wants to leave a gang and find a legitimate job, would the gang allow it?"
Su Heyuan smiled and replied, "Why are you thinking about this? If you join a gang and then want to leave, your brothers will think you're betraying them. Moreover, in a gang, even those with some status will have enemies. If you leave the gang, your brothers won't be there to back you up, and your enemies will come after you. What do you think will happen then?"
Su Heming, always forthright, asked directly, "Sister Jiaxin, why are you suddenly asking about this? Do you have a friend who's involved with a gang and now wants to get out?"
Su Heyuan scolded him, "Jiaxin has been studying these past two years, and the people she associates with are either wealthy or influential. Where would she find friends involved with gangs? Think before you speak."
Lu Jiaxin explained, "It's my middle school deskmate's brother-in-law. He used to be involved with a gang, but he left last year and now works at a car repair shop."
Su Heyuan asked, "What position did your deskmate's brother-in-law hold in the gang?"
Upon learning that he was a small gang leader, he immediately said, "If he was just a small fry in the gang and didn't make any enemies, it might be possible for him to leave peacefully for love. But as a small leader, he definitely has enemies. Jiaxin, stay away from people like that; they're bound to be dirty."
Lu Jiaxin decided to hire a private investigator to look into the matter and find out the truth.
(End of Chapter)
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