The Vanishing Beauty - Chapter 2 - 11

Chapter 2 - 11

Yu Meng quickly realized that the Women Entrepreneurs Association was fundamentally of no help to her. Its activities consisted either of drinking tea, arranging flowers, or finding places to hang out, eat, and get beauty treatments—it was utterly boring. Sensing Yu Meng's waning enthusiasm, Weng Yue advised her that women needed to help women, and that since they were gathered together, they should brainstorm ways to make money.

The logic was sound, and Yu Meng believed these members interacted privately and held room for collaboration. Yet, since she was running a shell company and fancying herself in the cultural sector, she truly lacked any breakthrough points. Of course, the events weren't completely devoid of men. At activities organized by the members themselves, such as Weng Yue's stationed base, a few men would show up from time to time. They were either hosts, broadcast announcers, or the type of men who lived off women; the moment they arrived, they would chirp "older sister" this and chatter endlessly about that, and Yu Meng felt uncomfortable just hearing their voices.

A man should never talk too much. The moment he talked too much, he appeared superficial and lacked gravity.

Before long, Yu Meng gradually discovered her awkward position within this small circle. The other members would periodically recommend their own businesses, taking turns in rotation.

Only she had nothing to offer.

Her business was built entirely out of thin air, like flowers viewed through a foggy mist. Failing to make money was a minor issue; losing face was a major disaster. After much deliberation, she decided to turn to Yu Jia for help.

"Do you know any famous writers? Get one of them to come give a lecture," Yu Meng asked Sister Jia without standing on ceremony.

Having just entered the publishing house and handling administrative work to boot, where would Yu Jia possibly have writer resources on hand, let alone famous ones?

"Those writers are best left famous from afar; you shouldn't meet them in person," Yu Jia advised. With a background in Chinese literature, she understood the "true faces" of writers to a certain extent.

"Aren't they all just bluffing?" Yu Meng urged anxiously.

"Doesn't Old Luan know a few famous writers? The one who just won an award—didn't he even write calligraphy inscriptions for you guys?" Yu Jia said.

"He won't help me," Yu Meng said with absolute finality. "We're already divorced; consider him dead." To be precise, Yu Meng simply did not want Luan Chengyun to catch wind of any of her movements.

"This is a university press," Yu Jia protested, finding herself in a tight spot.

"A professor will do, as long as we pay an appearance fee," Yu Meng persisted stubbornly.

There was no helping it. With an appearance fee involved, things became easier to talk about. Yu Jia had no choice but to ask her supervisor, Section Chief Zhang, for help. Seeing that Yu Jia was usually honest and dutiful, Chief Zhang was happy to throw her a lead. Following the clues, Yu Jia successfully tracked down a middle-aged professor who was quite presentable and available to give a lecture on Dream of the Red Chamber.

Before long, the scholarly professor arrived in all his elegance and opened the floor for his lecture. Quite a few of the sisters showed up, and Yu Jia accompanied them the entire time. Yu Meng managed to salvage a bit of her pride, except that her face was saved solely among a crowd of women, while the only man who attended—the scholarly professor—had come purely to earn her money. During a break in the lecture, Yu Meng stood near the back of the crowd chatting with Weng Yue, casting her gaze over a sea of slender, graceful backs.

Yu Meng smiled at Weng Yue and grumbled half-jokingly, "It's like walking into a nunnery." Pausing for a second, she added, "Can't even catch a glimpse of any meat."

Catching her drift, Weng Yue retorted, "What happened to following the vine to find the melon?"

"Where's the vine? Where's the melon?" Yu Meng was so impatient she wanted to swallow a giant meal in a single bite.

Folding her arms across her chest, Weng Yue fell silent. She could only offer pointers up to this point; if things were spelled out too clearly, they lost their charm. If Yu Meng lacked even this shred of intelligence, she didn't deserve to run in this circle. In essence, these sisters didn't need refined pretenses—what they needed was the integration of resources.

Yu Meng thought of Bai Yuankai. If she could invite him over for an exchange, it would likely prove beneficial. Moreover, she could request that he bring a few extra people along, thereby introducing male guests and achieving a win-win scenario.

Yu Meng called Yuankai to extend an invitation. Thinking she wanted him to lecture on Kunqu opera, Bai Yuankai hurriedly protested that he was an outsider and couldn't give such a talk. Yu Meng dismissed the idea, "Who's talking about Kunqu? Lecture on your old specialty—big data and technology." Yuankai still declined. He felt that Yu Meng spelled trouble.

Yu Meng pressed on, "What's the matter? Do you need Xiaoshuang to personally ask you before you'll agree?" Bai Yuankai asked, "Who's all attending?" Yu Meng gave him a brief rundown of the attendees. Yuankai remarked, "I've actually been meaning to learn a bit about Kunqu; will there be any knowledgeable teachers there?" Suddenly, Yu Meng understood—he was looking for mutual benefit. He truly was a businessman through and through. Yet, the only person who understood Kunqu was Yu Jia. She wasn't sure if Yuankai would still be interested in learning from a middle-aged woman like Sister Jia.

"The only Kunqu expert we have is Sister Jia."

"Then let it be her; she knows a bit more than I do." Bai Yuankai's tone sounded somewhat reluctant, but he agreed nonetheless.

The moment news of Yuankai's lecture got out, sign-ups surged with extraordinary enthusiasm, and even the rarely seen Mrs. Xin asked Weng Yue to reserve a seat for her. The three characters "Bai Yuankai" carried genuine weight. Of course, the wives had various motives: some came simply to catch a glimpse of Bai Yuankai himself; some genuinely came to seek guidance in hopes of business collaboration; others came to consult on behalf of their children, given Bai Yuankai's rare academic background; and some came to show face out of respect for Yuankai's parents.

Xiaobai was a treasure trove of value. However, while Xiaobai agreed on his end, Yu Jia balked on hers. She felt that this kind of setting wasn't appropriate for her to appear in and served no real purpose; even back in the provincial capital, Yu Jia rarely socialized with high-society wives. After Liping's promotion, she kept a low profile above all else.

Yu Meng argued, "Yuankai is handling government projects now. Didn't you say Old Di and the others want to help people with disabilities? Doing artificial intelligence work leaves plenty of room for collaboration. You can't just wait until you need a favor before you start burning incense to Buddha. Sister Jia, let me tell you, there are times when a man's blind spots require a woman to step in. You aren't just a wife and homemaker anymore; if this were back in ancient times, you'd be a titled noble lady in the future, playing a political role."

A stray arrow hitting the bullseye.

Yu Meng's remarks suddenly cleared up the knot that had been troubling Yu Jia for quite some time. Being Di Liping's wife was indeed a political role. It was only after moving to the big city that she deeply realized this truth. For years, as a wife and mother, she had strictly adhered to two words: virtuous and considerate. Yet now she discovered those two words were somewhat insufficient; she needed to add... add... she couldn't immediately think of what to add. But one thing was certain: additions were required. Upgrading her weight. She needed to carry genuine substance.

Recently, she had considered adding a child—having a second baby. That idea had met with staunch resistance. No wonder; having a child was merely a physical addition, whereas what Liping needed right now was perhaps a chemical addition—something capable of triggering a qualitative transformation into something entirely new. Consequently, Yu Jia agreed; for Liping's sake, she was willing to take the plunge.

Excitedly, Yu Meng announced, "Sister Jia, do you know who's coming?" Puzzled, Yu Jia asked who. Unveiling the secret, Yu Meng declared, "Mrs. Xin! Cinder Jia! Sharing the exact same name 'Jia' as you." Amused, Yu Jia thought of syndicates and trusts. Who on earth was she? The Queen Mother of the West? The Monkey King?

Upon Yu Meng's further explanation, Yu Jia realized the immense importance of Mrs. Xin—her husband boasted formidable backing, and she herself ranked as a prominent socialite sitting right at the apex of the social food chain. Hooking up with Mrs. Xin meant securing half a ticket into elite upper-crust circles.

Yu Jia asked, "Why only half a ticket?"

With an exclamation, Yu Meng replied, "The other half depends on your own personal qualifications, and if your qualifications fall short, even if someone hands you half a ticket, you won't be able to piece it together and will still end up wandering outside the doors."

"Incredible." Yu Jia worried for Yu Meng, knowing her path was fraught with danger. Yu Meng cautioned, "Don't go blabbing about this; I'm only telling you the honest truth."

Her ambitions soared to the heavens.

The content of Bai Yuankai's lecture was exceptionally useful, though Yu Jia only half-understood most of it. She focused her attention specifically on the parts overlapping with Liping's work, such as the issue of promoting employment for disabled individuals. The data annotation topics brought up by Bai Yuankai were things Liping had also mentioned in passing. Bai Yuankai happened to know entrepreneurs specializing in data annotation startups, and he believed artificial intelligence could inject brand-new opportunities into the industry. Meanwhile, sitting in the audience, the young ladies and wealthy wives immediately displayed intense focus and boundless benevolence the moment they heard about aiding the weak and vulnerable.

When the lecture concluded, Mrs. Xin hosted a dinner, with Yu Meng taking charge of booking the table. Having traveled to Ningcheng to handle matters, Weng Yue missed the event that day, completely blowing a prime opportunity. Riding the momentum, Yu Meng naturally assumed the role of companion. Of course, she made sure to pull strings on both ends, managing to secure both Bai Yuankai and Yu Jia, with her ultimate target squarely set on pleasing Mrs. Xin.

Seating arrangements at a restaurant required careful strategy. As the keynote speaker, Bai Yuankai naturally occupied the seat of honor. Mrs. Xin had to be placed directly to Yuankai's right. As for the seat on Yuankai's left, Yu Meng had originally intended to assign it to Yu Jia, since Xiaobai had mentioned wanting to discuss Kunqu with Yu Jia the moment he arrived. However, Yu Meng had to weigh a critical risk: what if Yuankai and Yu Jia got so carried away discussing Kunqu that they ended up neglecting Mrs. Xin? If that happened, the entire dinner would go to waste.

After weighing her options repeatedly, Yu Meng ultimately placed herself on Bai Yuankai's left side to act as a dam gate. If the conversational flow dropped too low, she would open the floodgates; if the flow grew too chaotic, she would drop the gates to contain it, ensuring the upstream word count remained at an optimal level.

Consequently, throughout the entire evening, Yu Meng barely touched her food, running herself ragged managing both flanks. She scurried to find topics to engage Mrs. Xin while reining in Yuankai to prevent him from getting too distracted elsewhere. As a result, every time Yuankai attempted to speak with Yu Jia—to talk about Kunqu or whatnot—he had to bypass Yu Meng's impassioned wall of fire. Fortunately, by the end of the meal, Mrs. Xin was thoroughly satisfied, declaring she had reaped a wealth of benefits. Her mission successfully accomplished, Yu Meng let out a long breath of relief.

Taking advantage of the parting moment, Bai Yuankai chatted with Yu Jia for a few minutes. Kunqu naturally provided plenty of material. However, Yu Jia also seized the opportunity to inquire, "My husband and his colleagues are currently looking into data annotation." With an "oh," Bai Yuankai asked for details. Yu Jia briefly outlined Liping's situation. Generously, Yuankai replied that they could find time to meet and get acquainted, as he might be able to help out. Deeply gratified, Yu Jia felt that coming today was well worth it. She was immensely satisfied, finally able to contribute a tiny bit of help to Liping.

Returning from seeing the guests off, Yu Meng told Xiaobai that he could head out first.

With a chuckle, Bai Yuankai asked, "You don't need me to see you off?" Yu Meng replied that he was taking a cab anyway and didn't have a private driver, and since everyone was exhausted today, they could reconvene another day. With that, Yu Meng waved down a taxi and pulled Yu Jia inside with her. She had zero intention of leaving Sister Jia in Bai Yuankai's hands. Today's event had been an overwhelming success; she fully intended to savor every bit of it alongside Sister Jia in the back of the taxi.

A genius in public relations—that was the label Yu Meng proudly slapped on herself.