Si Yina’s mood at this moment was extremely sour.
She had always sailed through life smoothly—whatever she desired had never failed to belong to her.
In front of others, Si Yina always appeared easygoing, uncompetitive, and uncontentious.
But deep down, having been pampered since childhood and never once been denied what she wanted, how could she not harbor pride?
In this world, there were only two kinds of things: those that belonged to Si Yina, and those she didn’t want.
Ever since she was young, the things she desired would almost always appear before her the very next day.
From childhood to now, every demand Si Yina made was fulfilled.
So when it came to everything about Jiang Lai, not a single thing had ever been granted.
Even if it wasn’t the best in the world, as long as it didn’t belong to her, Si Yina would think about it day and night, to the point of obsession in her dreams.
But this wasn’t her recruitment team’s fault—they didn’t even know where Jiang Lai lived.
Everything about Jiang Lai’s past was a blank slate; except for one phone number, they knew nothing.
And that number never answered calls from strangers. It was as if it simply didn’t exist.
No matter how capable Si Yina’s recruitment team was, they were powerless in this situation—no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t produce results.
Faced with Si Yina’s demands, they could only keep stalling.
Seeing the people around her so incompetent—unable to even handle recruitment—Si Yina was deeply disappointed.
After all, she paid their salaries for exactly these tasks.
She had already promised that as long as they could recruit someone, conditions could be negotiated.
But even with that, there was still nothing to show for it.
Si Yina had no choice but to handle the matter herself.
Yet the moment she called Jiang Lai for the first time, she was met with a slammed door.
Before she could say a word, Jiang Lai’s voice came through the phone, full of impatience: “Don’t waste my time with scams…”
Si Yina instinctively tried to call again to explain, only to discover her number had been completely blocked.
No matter how many times she called, it always went to a busy tone.
Until now, it had only been Si Yina who refused others and blocked numbers.
But now, her own phone had been blocked—and treated like a scammer.
Her mood plummeted instantly.
She felt a burning irritation in her chest, but just as the recruitment team had explained, Si Yina realized she knew almost nothing about Jiang Lai besides a single phone number.
Once blocked, even Si Yina had nowhere to vent.
The frustration built up painfully in her chest.
Was this what it meant to be shut out?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
Over time, her temper worsened; she was restless and her mouth dry from constant irritation.
Then, after a few days of discomfort, Si Yina suddenly stumbled upon a video—recommended by a secretary from her company.
The video featured Jiang Lai filming alongside the current popular star, Xu Ruobing.
Although Xu Ruobing was one of the few clean celebrities in the Entertainment Industry, with decent acting skills and a good reputation, she was not even remotely comparable to Si Yina, a true heiress.
If Si Yina were truly interested, she could easily groom a star with the same level of popularity.
But her entire family had no interest in the Entertainment Industry.
Si Yina herself had inherited this disinterest.
Although actresses in the Entertainment Industry were all very beautiful, Si Yina had no interest in them at all.
The main reason was that almost every celebrity was fake and pretentious, leaving her with nothing but a sense of hypocrisy… She much preferred the people around her.
Xu Ruobing’s tastes were simple—so simple they could be summed up in one phrase: she liked pure, beautiful, untainted little white flowers.
Because only such people would blush prettily when teased, wearing an expression that made one think they were irresistibly charming.
Perhaps seeing the very pure and authentic Jiang Lai and Xu Ruobing appear together in the same frame made even Si Yina feel puzzled about how these two could be connected.
Xu Ruobing had a tendency to corrupt her “little white flowers.” If Jiang Lai picked up any bad habits, it would be even worse.
Jiang Lai was the elegant and cold type—someone who must have kept her chastity intact.
Si Yina pictured Jiang Lai’s serene and aloof demeanor.
Jiang Lai should possess not a flamboyant seductiveness, but a refined and transcendent beauty.
Si Yina simply couldn’t imagine her filming a video just to dance for someone, or to please others.
And the sultry makeup in the video—that was clearly designed to entice women, wasn’t it?
What if Jiang Lai became thoroughly familiar with such things, learning all kinds of ways to please others?
How would Si Yina tease her then, if she lost all feeling?
Jiang Lai should fall under Si Yina’s guidance, not at the hands of someone else.
After learning that Jiang Lai had been signed by Xu Ruobing’s studio, Si Yina even gathered several Experts from various fields to discuss Jiang Lai’s current situation.
With the current level of popularity, if managed properly, this could very well become Jiang Lai’s main career.
For an ordinary person, such a job would be life-changing.
By all logic, Jiang Lai should be grabbing this opportunity with both hands.
Si Yina had no grudge or hatred toward Jiang Lai; in fact, she admired her very much.
But when it came to this matter, she was absolutely not willing to accept it.
Because she simply could not accept Jiang Lai being tainted by others.
She would never allow Jiang Lai’s charm to be seen by anyone else.
No matter what Xu Ruobing’s intentions were in making Jiang Lai explode in popularity, in Si Yina’s eyes, it was a path of no return—completely improper.
From Si Yina’s perspective, if Jiang Lai really took this path, she wouldn’t just be showing herself to the world every day, constantly in the spotlight; she would also have to spend endless effort pleasing others.
That was nothing less than an actor or a Flower Queen from ancient times.
In her self-righteous thinking, only the job she provided was the best path for Jiang Lai.
There would be no need to show off outside or be the subject of gossip and rumors.
From beginning to end, she just wanted Jiang Lai obediently by her side.
Even if Jiang Lai had to please someone, it should only ever be pleasing Si Yina herself.