Having said that, she reached her hand out to Aunt Hu and said, "Okay, why don't you hand the apron over to me. I am not very good at housework. You may have to show me the ropes."
That was when Aunt Hu arrogantly shoved the apron at Xu WanZhi and said, "That's more like it."
Xu WanZhi was scrubbing the plates in the kitchen and Aunt Hu, looking like a general who had just won the battle, was yakking on her cellphone and making sure that Xu WanZhi could hear her. "Yeah, of course I don't need to do any work. With my status at the Mu's, even the two young masters need to pay me some respect. You should be here to see this, ZhenYu brought home his little seductress today and I had to teach her a lesson. She's docilely doing dishes right now. Anyone who wants to marry into the Mu's might go through me first."
Xu WanZhi smiled and didn't say anything. She continued to scrub the plates.
After a while, Mu ZhenYu's aunt Mu Ling brought her plate back into the kitchen when she finished eating her fruits and happened to see Xu WanZhi doing dishes and Aunt Hu sitting there yakking into her cellphone and generally enjoying herself. "So have you purchased that financial management product for me yet? Aiya, okay, let me give you my ID number one more time. Don't lose it again…"
Mu Ling walked over to the sink, poked Xu WanZhi, and said, "Why are you doing dishes? Put them down already. We have servants at home."
Xu WanZhi waved her hand and said, "It's fine. Aunt Hu is not young anymore. We can't let her do the work. Plus, this apron is too skinny. I'm not even sure she will be able to bend over with it on."
Having said that, she perked up her ears and memorized Aunt Hu's 18-digit ID number.
Getting what Xu WanZhi was saying, Mu Ling chuckled out loudly. "All the delicacies, bird's nest, shark fins, she had been bringing them home with her every day. Always picking the most expensive ones. Of course she is gaining weight. And she didn't seem to be concerned about her cholesterol, blood sugar, or blood pressure." Having said that, she casted a glance over at Aunt Hu and said, "I am going to let her go one of these days."
After she was done rolling her eyes, she looked back over at Xu WanZhi. "Say, WanZhi, I saw that poster that you've made for Company B. You were so gorgeous. Just the other day I was talking to ZhenYu's first aunt. You are so petite but you look so amazing in the camera. Especially that watch, it was perfect for you."
There was subtext in Mu Ling's words and Xu WanZhi did not miss them. Brand B's watched has been sold out a long time ago. Plus, she was so popular lately that Brand B had decided to go adopt hunger marketing for a little while. As power as the Mu's were in this area, they still have a difficult time getting their hands on one.
Mu Ling was subtly asking Xu WanZhi for one.
Xu WanZhi merely thanked her profusely for her compliments before she changed the subject to gossips in the entertainment circle that someone her age would care about the most.
Before long, Xu WanZhi had already finished most of the dishes. Even Mu Ling couldn't help but was a little bit surprised. She picked up a plate and took a close look at it. "How are you able to this so fast? And so clean too…"
Xu WanZhi told her the truth. "I have always lived by myself and had to do all the housework myself. I'm used to it."
"Aye, you are someone who lives an actual life," said Mu Ling with a sigh. "I'm a blunt person. Look at that Miss Liang that the old madam likes so much. Her family was about to go bankrupt but the servants were still working there and she was already crying and saying that her life couldn't go on. Truthfully, she's not a good choice to get married to and have kids with. I have no idea what was going through the old madam's head."
Having said that, Mu Ling looked over at Aunt Hu who was still yakking on the phone. She pulled the apron off of Xu WanZhi and said suggestively, "That's enough. Xiao Tong and the others can finish off the rest. From now on, we really need to implement some sort of merit system. The hardworking ones can be free to take the bird's nest and shark fins home; the ones who slacks all the time, we should just kick out."
Aunt Hu might look like she was talking on the phone but she was really paying attention as to what was going on in Xu WanZhi's direction. Feeling embarrassed from Mu Ling's words, she quickly hung up on the phone and ran back inside of the old madam's room.
Mu Ling was the old madam's favorite daughter. She was kept by the old madam's side to see her off on her final days. Aunt Hu might speak to Mu ZhenYu and Mu XiYuan as though she was their elder but she would not dare go up against Mu Ling.
This dinner could rival the Hongman Banquet. Up until the point that Xu WanZhi and Mu ZhenYu were leaving, neither Wang LiZhen nor the old madam showed up again.
That night, "Blossoming Us" has a few more scenes to finish up so Mu ZhenYu took Xu WanZhi back to the studio. On their way back, Xu WanZhi told Xiao Yuan to send the watch and the brooch from Brand B over to the Mu's. The brooch for the old madam and the watch for Mu Ling.
Mu ZhenYu sat in the backseat with his eyes close, resting. After Xu WanZhi got off the phone with Xiao Yuan, he slowly opened up his eyes and said, "You are giving way that expensive watch? Aren't you worry that you won't be able to make your money back?"
Xu WanZhi smiled and said the same thing again, "I have good work ethics."
Mu ZhenYu, hearing that, suddenly looked at her in all seriousness. He turned toward her and asked, "Xu WanZhi, are there anything else in your mind other than our $50 million contract?"
His question was abrupt and didn't have enough time to process what he meant by that. She just casually responded to him, "You were the one who brought up whether I can make my money back…"
Mu ZhenYu gave her a displeased look, rotated his body back, and looked outside of the window.
For some odd reasons, Xu WanZhi felt that he looked a bit lonely from behind.
'Tis was the middle of summer and the air was stuffy and the cicadas chirped loudly. Inside the car was eerily quiet. Her mind went blank for a few seconds before she suddenly realized what he meant by "anything else". She looked at him and asked softly, "What about you? Are there any?"
Looking at the neon lights outside, Mu ZhenYu's tall and slender body shuddered. After a little while, he finally said softly, "More than you do."
Xu WanZhi was stunned by his comment all of a sudden.
When she wanted to say something else, the car had already arrived at their destination and stopped abruptly. Mu ZhenYu didn't say anything else but walked out, walked around to her side of the car, and opened the door for her. "The coconut is in the trunk. Drink lots of fluid and come home soon."
Xu WanZhi walked past him with her head lowered but he caught sight of the blush on her nonetheless.
Looking at her petite back, his lips curved upward softly.
"Blossoming Us" was a period drama. Part I focused on life in school. That way there was a lot of group scenes. Coincidentally, there was a nerd type character in the male and female leads' class who wore thick glasses, bowl-cut hair, mature and a bit impatient.
The person who played this nerd has a pretty good relationship with Xu WanZhi. He was also a very by-the-book kind of person in real life and looked just like a traditional doctor.
Xu WanZhi asked him to take on the task of pretending to be a traditional doctor to go treat Mu XiYuan and promised him the payment equivalent to what he makes filming for one episode of the show. The nerd was very happy about the offer and promised her profusely that he'd do a good job.