Chapter 44: Her Story

"Could you please check if these building's sky screens have any ad placements scheduled for the 9th of next month?"

"Well, I'll pay for this out of my own pocket. That's all for now, goodbye."

When Shen Heli came to look for Xia Xing, he was sitting at his workstation, speaking into his phone.

Upon seeing his sister-in-law approach, his voice dropped even lower, as if deliberately trying to conceal something.

After some casual chatter, she handed a stack of documents to Xia Xing: "It's Friday today. Do any plans for tonight?"

"A movie with Yuna. Haven't thought about anything after that yet."

Flipping through the documents handed over by Shen Heli, Xia Xing frowned slightly:

"In just a single day, the shooting schedule for the commercial song is already out?"

Due to the gradual increase in coconut consumption in the mainland in recent years, even raw coconut prices on the international market had risen by nearly 40%. To reduce raw material procurement expenses, Peninsula Food had acquired seven production lines in regions like Southeast Asia to hedge against subsequent uncontrollable cost surges.

To highlight the advantages of direct processing at the material's origin and direct import of packaged goods, this commercial song's filming was chosen to take place on-site in Indonesia and Thailand.

The shooting outline on the first page of the document showed that Itzy would shoot in Thailand, and Nmixx would shoot in Indonesia.

"Culture and Entertainment already had a plan in place, so Thailand or Indonesia—which one do you want to go to? We'll each take charge of one."

"Thailand."

An immediate, resolute answer without the slightest hesitation or drag.

"Oh, Indonesia."

"Thailand, Team Leader Shen. I want to go to Thailand, the international abbreviation is THA."

Sensing that his sister-in-law seemed to be putting obstacles in the way of him and Shen Yuna, Xia Xing had no choice but to emphasize his request over and over again.

Shen Heli nodded, and then promptly wrote Xia Xing's name under the Indonesia column on the document.

In nearly twenty-four years of life, there had never been a moment when Xia Xing wanted to curse out loud more than right now.

Strolling along the golden beach with Shen Yuna, watching seagulls glide overhead in the setting sun, listening to the sound of waves whipped up by the gentle breeze...

"Look at how anxious you got. There's no way I could trust you to handle a project alone."

Shen Heli revealed a triumphant smile and, right in front of Xia Xing, flipped the document to the second page's schedule:

"Due to the artists' schedules, during the first half of November, we will follow Itzy's shoot in Thailand, and during the second half of the month, we will follow Nmixx's shoot in Indonesia."

Xia Xing considered himself a level-headed person in the workplace. In truth, with a little careful thought, it was obvious that for the sake of quality, this commercial song had only been assigned to an old team that had collaborated with Peninsula Culture and Entertainment for many years.

How could it possibly be split into two groups shooting simultaneously in Thailand and Indonesia?

He had simply panicked for a moment because he couldn't travel to Thailand together with Shen Yuna.

"Team Leader Shen, jokes like this are really not funny."

"Alright, no more joking. We have a few suppliers coming in this afternoon, and they specifically asked for you to receive them."

---

Always accustomed to getting things done ahead of time, Xia Xing pushed open the meeting room door half an hour early.

This afternoon, he needed to organize the procurement department and several suppliers for a handover regarding raw material matters.

Among them were a few suppliers from the mainland, and perhaps because of this, they had specifically requested Xia Xing to receive them.

Yet the moment he pushed open the glass door, the person who met his eyes was Myoui Mina, who always gave off a sense of cool detachment.

She was not on the meeting list.

"Myoui Mina-xi... Why are you here? Here for a visit again?"

"If I remember correctly, this meeting room was reserved for receiving suppliers."

A fair hand stroked long, glossy black hair, and Myoui Mina used her gaze to signal the pulled-out seat next to her:

"There happen to be Japanese clients among the suppliers, and since we're all old acquaintances anyway, I came along."

"Your artist career is busy enough as it is. Even amidst your busy schedule, you still find time to drop by Peninsula Food. Our company really ought to pay you a salary."

Xia Xing sat down on her right, studying the materials she had placed in front of her while recalling the information he had gathered about her some time ago.

If he remembered correctly, Myoui Mina's grandfather used to be the vice president of Nippon Paint, Japan's largest paint company, and her father seemed to be a medical professor of orthopedics at Osaka University.

It would be within reason if she knew some suppliers of medical equipment or decoration materials.

But the people they were meeting today were bulk commodity suppliers of corn, soybeans, and the like. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't connect Myoui Mina with them.

Myoui Mina seemed like a worm in his stomach as she gave a light, clear smile:

"My grandfather also worked as a senior executive in the food manufacturing industry back in his youth."

"As for the salary... You should just work hard, boost the company's revenue, and of course, I'll reap more returns when dividends are distributed."

"Speaking of dividends, I'm quite curious. We haven't distributed dividends in quite a long time, after all, the profit situation isn't ideal."

Xia Xing glanced at the article she was currently reading, which was related to the recent soaring international grain prices:

"At present, it doesn't look like we'll be turning a profit anytime soon. How can you be so confident?"

"Relying solely on our current beverage and snack processing business, of course we can't make money just in this small place called Korea." Myoui Mina pointed to the carefully arranged triangular nameplate bearing the client's name: "That's why we must set our sights beyond Korea in order to survive."

"It seems you really spend a lot of time researching investments. Which stocks have you been buying lately? Bring me along to get rich."

Speaking in a teasing tone, Xia Xing connected his computer to the projection equipment and checked the meeting PPT.

Although there were people in this world like the talkative uncles in the Shanghai stock corners, normally speaking, no one would generously display their investment plans to outsiders.

Therefore, when Myoui Mina displayed her holdings quite seriously, Xia Xing was instead caught somewhat off guard.

He merely glanced at them briefly—there were reds and greens, but upon closer inspection, the situation was far more complex than he had imagined.

Aside from the fluctuating trends of Peninsula Food, the several U.S. and Hong Kong stocks she invested in were entirely green, while the A-shares and Japanese stocks were entirely red.

It seemed not a single holding in this woman's portfolio was losing money.

"You didn't really time-travel back from the future, did you?" Xia Xing parted his lips slightly, feeling a bit emotional.

"That's right, I time-traveled back. Do you believe it now?"

Myoui Mina glanced toward his workstation not far away. There was not the slightest joy of having made money in her eyes; instead, her gaze, which was always light and breezy on ordinary days, flashed with a trace of melancholy in an instant.

"Fine, I'll reluctantly believe it," Xia Xing suddenly recalled the conversation he had with Myoui Mina by the riverside a week ago: "Should I also believe that in some spacetime, the two of us really are husband and wife?"