256 The Star

October 27-28, 20XX (Sunday -Monday)

Various Places Mei Lin had decided to start a business with spontaneous ideas. Knowing that starting one was going to be difficult, Mei Lin had to gather all the help that she could get. There were only a handful of people that she trusted enough to help her in this undertaking. She could count them in one hand. They were Yue, Elias, Ru Shi, and Trisha. Yue was the first person that she told. Yesterday, she and Yue were seated side by side on the large circular table in the dining room as they are with the rest of the family. It was then that Mei Lin and Yang had announced the state of Grandpa Xue together with their grandparents. Mother Zhao had breathed a sigh of relief when the news came. Being dragged into a small-scale Spanish Inquisition by Yue, Mei Lin was forced to answer her questions with all the members of the Zhao family listening into their conversation. "So how was your honeymoon?" Yue had slurred her words as she wiggled her eyebrows at Mei Lin and Yang. Poking Yang's side to stop his shameless reply, Mei Lin had answered hastily, "Hakone was fun."Knowing what their grandson was going to say, Grandpa and Grandma Zhao giggled. Mei Lin blushed when she remembered the words that her husband had uttered without shame at the hospital for all the elders to hear. The elders must have thought that she was a wild beast!Yue giggled like a maniac as she drawled to her brother, "How about you big brother? How was your honeymoon?"Faced with Mei Lin's warning glare and Yue's teasing smile, Yang could only tease a little with a smirk, "Productive." Everyone in the table laughed as Yue smirked and tradinngly poked Mei Lin's red cheeks. Mother Zhao shook her head in dismay. Her children were ganging up on the pitiful Mei Lin, and it looked as if Mei Lin was the red ham in between two sandwiches. Her face was worryingly red. Helping her daughter-in-law, Mother Zhao changed the subject, "Mei Lin, I heard you want to start a business?"Grateful, Mei Lin jumped into the new topic with happiness as she scrambled to pour her mind out so her thoughts would not return to the nights of her honeymoon. She smiled before saying, "Yes, I plan to make an interior design company that has ready-made furniture and decors that customers could choose from." Yue hummed in surprise. If this had been the Mei Lin of before, she would not have thought about starting her own business. Mei Lin was a hardworking painter, but she tended to play it safe, and starting a company, or any kind of business would not be called playing it safe at all. In fact, business is one huge risk play. Zhao Yue was more surprised when Mei Lin turned to her and said, "I will need your help. Can I count you in?"Everyone in the room turned their heads to stare at Yue. She had never once involved herself with anything that deals with business. Yue hated responsibility, but seeing Mei Lin's hopeful eyes, she sighed in defeat and nodded. Her older brother scowled at her for being agreeable when it comes to Mei Lin, but with him, he had to go through mountains and rivers for her to agree even as a proxy for a small meeting. How unfair! The next day, Mei Lin visited Elias on her small gallery. She needed Elias' help more than Yue, so she prayed for his agreement. "I want to start a business." Mei Lin admitted to Elias abruptly that the man was whiplashed when he turned to his back to look at the painter.Mouth opened in disbelief, Elias stood like an idiot. Unable to process the information, he tried to pinch his arms, and when it hurt, Elias marveled at reality. He was indeed speaking with the real Miss M and not a conjured one by his imagination. In truth, he had expected this to happen but not this soon. "Stop exaggerating..." Mei Lin mumbled in embarrassment, shifting in her stop with nervousness also. She wanted Elias to be on her side with this since he had been the best financial advisor aside from being her agent and friend."Will you join me?" she asked after a while of awkward silence. Mei Lin crossed her fingers and hoped for his agreement.Elias hummed a little, teasing her for a few minutes with the wait. Only when her shifting grew larger in movement did Elias shouted, "...Yes! I was waiting for more news from you! I knew you would either expand your collection and turn it into a gallery or make a new impulsive decision that would go along your hobbies." Mei Lin blinked, innocently. Was she that obvious? Mei Lin stared at Elias and gestured do elaborate his words. Elias straight out giggled while adding, "Don't get me wrong. I was not saying you are impulsive. Wait, you are impulsive! Knowing you, sooner or later you would become bored with doing nothing but paint, so I expected something to come."Sighing in defeat, Mei Lin hunched her back in defeat. Her friends knew her so well. She never expected that it was this easy to ask them for help. Mei Lin smiled at Elias after a while of their staring contest, letting her only gay friend win this round. She owed him a lot, and she knew she was going to be depending on him more than she expected.Elias grinned as he asked her, "What would be our next move?"Mei Lin sighed, "We need someone to finance our business. My money might not be enough." Elias stared at her as if she had two heads and snorted, "Your husband is a billionaire, you stupid painter!"