Zhu Qianying had stopped finding the driver's persistence peculiar. Since he insisted on following her, she decided to leave him be, thinking she could use an extra pair of hands to carry things anyway.
Accompanied by Yan Family's driver, Zhu Qianying confidently entered a jewelry store.
Upon her entrance, a welcoming staffer approached her, his face brimming with a warm smile, "Miss Five, what kind of jewelry are you looking to buy?"
Zhu Qianying glanced at the man in his thirties standing before her, slightly taken aback that he remembered her.
This jewelry store wasn't new to her.
However, in her previous visits, she mostly played a supporting role. She usually came here with her aunts to look around. While they shopped, she, her sister Zhu Qianyu, and her mother Chen Jing could only watch.
As for how her aunt would account to her father for these big expenses later, Zhu Qianying could care less. After all these years, her aunts, their children, and anyone else from their family always dressed lavishly and seemed to have deep pockets. Her mother, together with her and younger sister, had always been left with a raw deal.
What else could she do? Her mother's meek and fearful nature could hardly fare well in the midst of cunning aunts who seemed adept at exploiting others. The fact that she managed to keep herself and her daughters safe was already admirable. Striving for wealth and honor was out of the question.
Zhu Qianying took a quick look at the name tag on the man's chest, "Manager Deng, I want to buy a jade pendant suitable for an elderly person."
Zhu Qianying did not dare to buy inexpensive but thoughtful gifts. She hardly understood the temperament of Lady Yan or Mr. Yan.
Expensive gifts, on the other hand, might appeal more to the affluent Yan Family, but she couldn't afford them.
After some thought along the way, she finally decided to buy a jade pendant, reasoning that the elderly might prefer such a thing.
Manager Deng eagerly escorted her to the jade counter, "Does Miss Five prefer decorative or wearable jade?"
Zhu Qianying briefly skimmed the jade displayed in the cabinet, "Let me take a look at this ornament."
It was a white jade Ruyi ornament with scattered yellow-brown patches, carved with persimmons and ganoderma. The persimmon looked plump with its stalk pointing upwards. Next to it, two ganoderma mushrooms were depicted, their leaves curling around the stalk of the persimmon. Two peony pistils were depicted on the other side.
Seeing Zhu Qianying's careful inspection, Manager Deng figured she liked it and started his sales pitch, "Miss Five, this Ruyi jade carving is exquisite and adorable, and it signifies good luck. As you see, the character for 'persimmon' is pronounced the same as 'matters' in Chinese. Coupled with the ganoderma, it signifies 'all matters going well'. The peony symbolizes wealth and honor, and the paired ganoderma and peony signify marital bliss and fortune. Most older people like this kind of ornament."
Zhu Qianying said nothing. She placed the jade Ruyi in her palm, scrutinizing it closely. She agreed with everything Manager Deng said, but…
Zhu Qianying quickly glanced at the price tag still attached to the tray: 88,000.
To the extended Zhu Family, except for Zhu Qianying and her mother and sister, no one would consider this a large amount. However, for Zhu Qianying, it was a hefty sum, equivalent to two semesters of tuition for her younger sister, Xiao Yu.
But where there is a will, there is a way. If she was unwilling to spend even this amount, how could she step confidently into the Yan Family's fold?
With that in mind, Zhu Qianying's eyes noticeably dimmed.
She admitted her motive to flatter and please was far from pure.
But Mr. Yan had clearly outlined his terms in black and white; he only wanted to exchange money for a wife and asked for nothing else. So did she have anything to feel guilty about?
She would play along and put on a good show in front of the elders.
A loving couple in public but strangers behind closed doors, it is an all too common sight!
After some self-struggle and self-consolation, Zhu Qianying took out her card and paid, gritting her teeth.
Thinking about the money she had just earned not long ago, and how she had spent it all at once, made her feel a twinge of pain.
The Yan Family's driver had planned to take her into the main courtyard, but she asked him to stop at the entrance instead. Then, she quietly made her way through the backyard entrance.
She had chosen this course of action to avoid her father's excessive enthusiasm as well as his intentional or unintentional probing.
After sneakily entering her own room through the back door, she removed the card from her old broken phone on the ground and inserted it into the new phone Mr. Yan had bought for her.
The first call she made was to Xing Bailun.
"Aaron, you gave Xiao Yu fifty thousand for me the other day, right?"
Because of Mr. Yan's affairs, her father Zhu Zhizhou tricked her sister Zhu Qianyu into coming back. Zhu Qianying, protective of her younger sister, had Xing Bailun accompany Zhu Qianyu to the airport the next day. The cash that Bailun advanced was for Xiao Yu's tuition fees and living expenses for next semester.
Zhu Qianyu, who was two years younger than Zhu Qianying, was studying at R University. Her father had cut off her tuition fees and living expenses because she didn't study Hotel Management as he had wanted. Consequently, all of Xiao Yu's expenses were now borne by Zhu Qianying.
"Yes, I'm not in a hurry to use the money. You can get it to me whenever you're free. How are things going on your end?"
Xing Bailun had frequently been Zhu Qianying's source of loans over the years.
But Zhu Qianying never borrowed for long. She always tried to repay the money as soon as possible, and she did so with interest according to the rates charged by credit card companies.
"Yes, I'm a bit strapped for cash right now. I estimate that it will be a few months before I can repay you."
The money Zhu Qianying had saved for her sister's tuition was spent to buy the jade Ruyi, so now she had to owe her friend.
"No problem, repay me whenever you can. How is it going on Mr. Yan's side?" Xing Bailun didn't give up on his question despite her obvious evasion.
Zhu Qianying was unsure about the situation herself. Besides, even if Mr. Yan was really going to acknowledge her status, it was a message that should be conveyed by him, not her.
"I'm not sure yet, we'll see!"
From Zhu Qianying's equivocal reply, the message to Xing Bailun was clear: let's end the topic about this particular matter. I don't want to talk about it.
Xing Bailun, seemingly understanding her personality, immediately changed the subject.
"By the way, Xiao Yu said that she is interning at Xin Ying Entertainment. That kid's pretty able, to be able to get into Xin Ying."
As a protective person, Zhu Qianying wasn't too pleased upon hearing this, "Hey, what do you mean 'get into'? Xiao Yu has always been exceptional; she displays real ability, not deceit."
Of course, Zhu Qianying knew that Xiao Yu got the internship at Xin Ying Entertainment because her foreign language teacher had recommended it.
However, she also understood that the larger the organization, the more specific its regulations. A recommendation is one thing, but staying within the company depended on personal abilities.
Therefore, she was confident that her sister indeed had the talent to make a difference.