Chapter 328: Family (2)
Many of the issues surrounding Xia Siyu, such as her being labeled a “gold digger” and accused of “fishing for wealthy men,” ultimately boil down to her “grassroots” status.
Although the entertainment industry today isn’t like it was twenty years ago, where stars desperately aimed to marry into wealthy families, affluent households still remain the top choice for many celebrities.
Even though the profession of celebrity is already among the high-salary industries, and despite salary caps, starring in a variety show can bring in several million, or tens of millions, and filming a movie can earn tens of millions. This is income that ordinary people could hardly dream of earning in their whole lifetime through hard work.
However, compared to the true élite with their fortunes of tens of billions, even ten top-ranked celebrities together wouldn’t match up.
Xia Siyu had already become a top star, whose commercial value, though occasionally fluctuating due to her controversial news, was undoubtedly among the most profitable.
Yet, because of her “grassroots” background, there were still those who enjoyed slapping the label of “gold digger” onto her.
Little did they know, the unanimously perceived gold digger across China was in fact the legitimate heiress of the Xia Family. Even if she never fought for anything or acted in movies, Xia Youbiao would ensure she had enough wealth to last three lifetimes.
What others desperately tried to display on their faces, Xia Siyu simply threw away. What did the Xia Family’s wealth have to do with her? Although she had never suffered considerable hardships as a child—her mother could have provided a prosperous and carefree life as a dancer and movie star even without marrying Xia Youbiao—her upbringing could still have been comfortable and secure.
Thus, her mother always emphasized to her: all those are illusory, given by others. And as long as you rely on others, you will have to compromise and follow their lead.
True independence is when you earn money with your own hands, only then do you have the right to do as you please.
Her approach to choosing a partner followed the same philosophy. At the time, although Bo Yan was an enviable college heartthrob, he never flaunted his status as the young master of the Bo Family and remained very low-profile. She had no idea he belonged to the Bo Family, and he didn’t know she was the youngest daughter of the Xia Family.
Because they desired nothing from each other and did not blindly follow, her love and hatred were exceptionally frank.
She would repay those who were kind to her twice over. Those who dared to stab her in the back, she couldn’t play the two-faced game either—she’d confront them directly!
For years, when faced with the world’s malice, if it didn’t affect her life, she would treat it as nothing more than a fart and ignore it. But if anyone dared to provoke her directly, Bo Yan would not hesitate to fight back!
For Xia Youbiao, the secret marriage between Bo Yan and Xia Siyu, while referencing a bad precedent, was ultimately the children’s own affair. They didn’t want to make it public, and there was no use in him, as their elderly father, being anxious about it.
But to acknowledge his daughter openly and let her bask proudly in his affection, he would, of course, be delighted!
Xia Youbiao immediately nodded, “Good, that’s very good. If she doesn’t feel comfortable sitting at the main table, she can join me.”
However, Xia Sicai wasn’t quite pleased with that, “Dad, mom will be there today too.”
The “mom” she referred to naturally wasn’t Xia Siyu’s mother Wen Qunxiao, but Xia Youbiao’s ex-wife, the mother of Xia Sicai and Xia Ju’an—Madam Tong Min from the Tong Family.
Xia Youbiao’s marriage to Madam Tong was also an alliance of families, and compared to the Xia and Bo families, his relationship with the Tong Family was even closer: the Xia Family’s company was originally established jointly by the Xia and Tong families, with the Tong’s as one of the partners.
Even though the Xia Family later came to dominate the business, the Tong Family still retained a significant, albeit not overwhelming, position within the company. Xia Youbiao and Madam Tong were childhood sweethearts, but Madam Tong was too domineering, and just a couple of years into the marriage, they divorced due to irreconcilable personalities.