From the very first moment Su Hongyi laid eyes on Chen Wanyi, he felt that she looked like Su Wanxing.
And Su Wanxing really hadn’t returned home for several days.
But the moment he heard that she had come from Hong Kong and wanted to talk business with him, all those doubts were instantly washed away by excitement.
Now that he looked more carefully, she really did resemble her seven or eight parts!
Su Hongyi probed cautiously, “Miss Chen, is this your first time in Shanghai? Do you have any friends here?”
Chen Wanyi shot him a sideways glance, her tone disdainful. “You’re not about to say, ‘You look kind of familiar to me,’ are you?”
She took two steps back in disgust. “I’ve heard this kind of pickup line tens of thousands of times. Boss Su, you’re already at your age—are you still trying to hit on me?”
“Get this straight. I’m here to talk business and make money! If this is your attitude, then there’s nothing to discuss.”
Rolling her eyes, Chen Wanyi turned and left.
Su Hongyi was so frightened that he hurried after her. Such a golden opportunity—he absolutely had to seize it.
“Miss Chen, you’ve misunderstood. What I meant was, if you’re unfamiliar with the place and don’t mind, you could stay at our Su residence. We can slowly discuss the business matters.”
Chen Wanyi quickened her pace. “Stay at your place? So it’s more convenient for you to make a move?”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant. Miss Chen, I just want to do my duty as a host and sincerely cooperate with you.” Seeing Chen Wanyi pull open the car door, Su Hongyi suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud.
He truly needed this deal—to turn his fortunes around!
Chen Wanyi hesitated for a moment, then closed the car door. “Boss Su, what are you doing? Get up quickly. If people see this, they’ll think I did something to you.”
“I came all the way from Hong Kong because I admired your reputation. I was just angry at your attitude earlier.”
“Yes, yes, you’re right, Miss Chen. It won’t happen again,” Su Hongyi said as he stood up, extremely respectful.
Su Yaozu leaned over and whispered, “Dad, she—”
“Shut up!”
Su Hongyi scolded in a low voice. “She just happens to look like Su Wanxing. Su Wanxing can barely recognize a few characters—do you think she can speak Hong Kong dialect? Or foreign languages?”
When Su Yaozu thought about it, that was true. Still, the two really looked far too similar.
Too lazy to waste words on him, Su Hongyi led Chen Wanyi to inspect the warehouse samples.
After looking for a while, Chen Wanyi nodded in satisfaction. “The fabric is不错. However, this batch of goods needs to be made into ready-to-wear garments and exported overseas by next month, so delivery must be within half a month. I wonder if you can…”
Su Hongyi’s expression stiffened with difficulty.
Chen Wanyi continued, “Of course, our company won’t treat our partners unfairly. The price will be five times the market rate.”
“Five times?!”
Su Hongyi’s eyes nearly popped out. “Then the deposit…”
“We can pay half upfront. But let me be clear—if you breach the contract, the penalty is ten times the total order amount. This is the contract. You can take a look first.”
Chen Wanyi was decisive and straightforward in both words and actions.
After reading the contract, Su Hongyi still hesitated. “Miss Chen, these conditions are too harsh. Half a month is really too short…”
Chen Wanyi said coolly, “Boss Su thinks it’s too hard? Then forget it. I thought Su Textiles was something impressive.”
“Yesterday, Liu’s Textile Factory was begging me to discuss this deal. I only came to you because the Su name carried more weight…”
“Looks like I should just go talk to Liu’s Textile instead.”
“Wait!”
Su Hongyi called out to her.
In Shanghai, everyone knew that Liu’s Textile had always competed with the Su family, yet year after year had been crushed under Su’s feet. If Liu’s got this deal, who knew how viciously they’d trample the Su family’s name in the industry?
By then, the Su family truly would have no chance of rising again.
“Half a month it is.”
Su Hongyi clenched his teeth. At worst, he’d borrow some money from a few old friends, buy more machines, bring the workers back, and have everyone work overtime. Somehow, he’d manage to finish it!
Seeing how much money they could earn, Su Yaozu had long since stopped worrying about whether Chen Wanyi looked like Su Wanxing or not. He eagerly stuffed the pen into Su Hongyi’s hand. “Dad, hurry up and sign it! This deal is guaranteed profit!”
As Su Hongyi signed his name, a trace of a triumphant smile flashed across Chen Wanyi’s face.
“Boss Su, I hope you’ll deliver on time.” Chen Wanyi took the contract and turned to leave.
When she passed the gate, she happened to run into Su Xueqing. The two brushed past each other.
Su Xueqing froze, then turned around and stared for a long time. “Su Wan…xing?”
“Xueqing, did you come to deliver food?” Su Hongyi was in a particularly good mood.
Su Xueqing snapped back to her senses and handed over the lunchbox.
After the Su family was robbed, all the servants had left. The entire household was left with just the father and his two children.
Su Hongyi and Su Yaozu were running around nonstop over the textile factory, so naturally, chores like washing clothes and cooking fell onto Su Xueqing’s shoulders.
But Su Xueqing had never suffered like this before. She cursed while doing the work, yet after cursing, she still had to keep going.
“Porridge again? I’ve drunk so much I’m about to get diarrhea. Dad, let’s eat at a state-run restaurant today?” Su Yaozu asked eagerly.
Su Hongyi nodded.
They had just closed such a big deal today—it was worth celebrating.
Su Yaozu clapped happily and told Su Xueqing all about the huge order.
Although Su Xueqing was happy, she felt uneasy deep down.
In her previous life, the Su family had never encountered such a stroke of luck from beginning to end.
“Dad, doesn’t this contract seem too coincidental?” Su Xueqing said. “And I really think that Miss Chen looks like Su Wanxing. Could this be a trap?”
“What do you know?!”
Su Hongyi cut her off impatiently. “This is the Su family’s last chance! All you ever know how to do is shop, compare, and show off. What do you know about business?”
“I’d actually hope she was Su Wanxing. At least then, for my sake as her father, this deal would be even more secure!”
Su Xueqing didn’t dare say anything more, but she still felt there was something fishy about it.
So she turned around and followed after her.
Chen Wanyi deliberately waited for a while inside the sedan. When she saw Su Xueqing chasing after her, the corner of her lips curled upward.
She told the driver to leave first, saying she wanted to stroll around a bit.
Chen Wanyi visited many nice places and bought many good things—exactly the kind of things Su Xueqing liked.
Thick gold bangles, pearl powder for beauty, time-honored cheongsams…
Su Xueqing watched until her teeth itched with jealousy!
These were all her favorite shops!
Not long ago, she too could buy whatever she wanted without restraint, but now…
Even looking had become a luxury.
After getting tired from shopping, Chen Wanyi asked around for a time-honored xiaolongbao shop.
One bite, and the dumplings were tender and bursting with juice—utterly satisfying.
There were also glossy little wontons, filled with broth, unbelievably fresh and delicious!
In the corner, Su Xueqing swallowed her saliva again and again.
She stared at the braised pork, eight-treasure duck, steamed hairy crabs, delicate pastries…
Her stomach growled even louder.
She was really going to starve to death!
These days, what had she been eating?
Nothing but porridge and dark, bitter greens!
Su Xueqing finally waited until Chen Wanyi had eaten and drunk her fill and returned to the hotel.
On the way, Chen Wanyi walked while glancing sideways out of the corner of her eye, then suddenly turned into an empty alley.
Su Xueqing chased after her. Just as she realized she’d lost sight of the woman and was looking around in confusion, something smashed hard into the back of her head!