Qi Yaoyao was indeed supposed to buy a birthday gift for her mother. She had been preparing for it over a month ago, but after coincidentally meeting Xu Zhi, she…
…forgot about it.
It wasn’t until the afternoon when the makeup and styling design team contacted her to confirm the time for fitting dresses and jewelry that she remembered the matter.
But Qi Yaoyao didn’t think this was her fault.
Her mother had been abroad for business recently. Even after returning, she remained busy, with non-stop meetings large and small. She was either socializing or on her way to socialize. There was still no concrete progress on her transfer to No. 1 High School.
And even more absurdly, she hadn’t come home to have dinner with her for several days in a row!
Mother and daughter barely saw each other all day.
Wasn’t it completely normal for her to forget her mother’s birthday?
Besides, their “birthday banquet” was just a fancy name. At its core, it was merely a high-level event organized for business leaders from all industries to synchronize information and exchange resources.
Her mother was a career-driven woman.
She would never expend effort on anything unrelated to the corporation or her work.
No person or matter in this world could surpass the status and importance of Junzhou Group in her mother’s heart.
…
“Miss, your Mango Pomelo Sago is ready.”
Qi Yaoyao gave a sound of acknowledgment. She replied to messages in her bestie group chat, not looking up, and only managed a thank you.
The male waiter smiled politely: “You’re welcome. Please enjoy. Call me if you need anything else.”
Qi Yaoyao didn’t notice when he left. After sending several messages, she picked up her milk tea and took a sip.
Qi Yaoyao first learned how ambitious her mother was during the third grade of primary school.
At the time, her mother had acute appendicitis and needed surgery.
When Qi Yaoyao found out, she was anxious and scared.
She rushed back home, ran to the infirmary, but saw her mother sitting on a corridor chair, conducting an intercontinental meeting as if nothing were wrong.
The chief surgeon and several nurses pushing the gurney were waiting beside her.
More than an hour later, after the meeting concluded, her mother closed the laptop, her face drenched in cold sweat. The assistant quickly took the laptop and helped her stand up.
Qi Yaoyao saw her mother take off her suit jacket, revealing the surgical gown underneath.
The assistant told her that they were about to be sent into the operating room, but a controversy arose over an international project, requiring an emergency video conference to discuss.
The meeting lasted over two hours.
Her mother took two pain pills midway and forcibly endured the entire painful period of the acute appendicitis…
Such incidents, large and small, were countless.
But that was the first time Qi Yaoyao realized her mother valued work more than her own health.
Of course, she understood it even more clearly as she grew up.
Not only physical health, but in her mother’s heart, marriage, husband, and even children were merely bricks and tiles in the commercial empire she created.
…
“Yaoyao~”
Qi Yaoyao immediately snapped out of her memories and thoughts, looking up to see her friends arriving together.
“Yaoyao, what have you been mysteriously busy with these past few days? Every time we call you, you say you’re busy,” Du Yangfang came and sat next to Qi Yaoyao. “Julie even said that last incident upset you.”
The last time they went to the bar, they were so focused on dancing that they left Qi Yaoyao alone in the booth.
“No, it’s my mom’s birthday,” Qi Yaoyao certainly wouldn’t mention Xu Zhi. She propped up her chin, pushed the list on the table to Du Yangfang, and continued, “I’m struggling over what gift to give her.”
The previous waiter, being observant, had already approached and stood waiting for them to place their orders.
Du Yangfang chose Taro Boba, pushed the menu to Julie and the others, and looked at Qi Yaoyao. “Oh, right, your mom’s birthday is coming up. Yaoyao, you lose a handful of hair over this every year.”
Qi Yaoyao also looked forlorn. “What can I do? My mom lacks nothing.”
Everyone quickly finished ordering and gathered around Qi Yaoyao, offering suggestions in a flurry of voices.
Of course, during the discussion, the same annual sentiment emerged: Being too rich is not necessarily a good thing.
…
The male waiter returned to the counter and started making milk tea with his colleague.
The colleague looked towards the lively corner of the shop, lowering his voice to gossip, “Why are there so many beautiful girls tonight? Hey, that one earlier, did you get her WeChat?”
The male waiter, brewing the tea, said, “Don’t mention it. Our eyes didn’t even meet.”
The colleague chuckled, then, feeling unhelpful, immediately consoled him, “It’s fine. Even if they met, it wouldn’t help. You’re not quite handsome enough. Unless Brother Meng comes, girls are the ones chasing him for his WeChat.”
“Not necessarily. This one tonight is very special. Especially beautiful, and especially classy.”
“Really? I’ll go deliver it with you later.”
“You don’t need to.”
…
Julie, Du Yangfang, and the others were students. No matter how hard they tried to brainstorm, their ideas were very limited.
The recipient was the Chairwoman of the Junzhou Group, valued at tens of billions of US dollars.
What could she possibly lack?
Nothing at all!
Because she could have whatever she wanted!!
“Excuse me, the milk teas for the ladies are ready.”
A gentle, pleasant male voice interrupted their noisy discussion.
Those who had been searching on their phones or asking friends for help all stopped and looked up at the male waiter from the milk tea shop.
Wow, he’s actually quite a handsome young man.
The lights in the milk tea shop were bright. The handsome waiter looked tall, about 1.8 meters, with a good build. His features were defined and appealing, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, exuding a sunny, healthy aura when he smiled.
Du Yangfang: “Thank you. Taro Boba is mine.”
“Okay. There’s also the Fresh Grape and Strawberry Milk…”
“Strawberry is mine~”
“Fresh Grape.”
After delivering them one by one, the male waiter smiled politely and said, “Please enjoy, ladies. Call us if you need anything else.”
Du Yangfang smiled, teasing him. “I need something else now. Handsome, can I add you on WeChat?”
Laughter immediately erupted around them.
Du Yangfang immediately glanced at them, brazenly saying, “What, what? Don’t you want to add him? If you don’t want to, then don’t ask me to send you his contact card later.”
Everyone laughed again, playfully nudging each other.
The male waiter certainly didn’t refuse. He took out his phone and displayed his WeChat QR code.
Du Yangfang and several other girls added him immediately.
Julie did not.
Qi Yaoyao didn’t participate in the discussion. She was immersed in thinking about the perfect gift for her mother, her phone resting quietly next to her milk tea cup.
The male waiter, being so perceptive, already knew her attitude.
But opportunity only knocks once.
He held up his phone, bravely placing the QR code near Qi Yaoyao, and proactively asked, “Um, can I add your WeChat too?”
Everyone had resumed chatting after adding the first few contacts, but the moment he spoke, silence instantly fell.
Everyone looked towards the male waiter and Qi Yaoyao, who was being asked for her contact.
They were all eager to watch the gossip unfold.
Qi Yaoyao raised her delicate eyebrows slightly, looked up at him, then pointed to herself. “You’re asking me?”
The male waiter’s eyes met her beautiful, dark, moist eyes. His tanned skin immediately flushed red. His hand stiffened, and he became nervous. “Yes, is that okay?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t add people on WeChat,” Qi Yaoyao said with a smile as she apologized.
The male waiter’s face instantly grew even redder. This time, it was embarrassment from being rejected. He quickly put away his phone. “O-okay, okay, I’m sorry, I was being presumptuous. Please enjoy, and call us if you need anything else.”
The male waiter quickly left, and the booth immediately became lively again.
“Oh, no, no, he was interested in Yaoyao.”
“Yeah, we’re just not his type.”
“Is that called ‘not his type’? That’s called ‘not as pretty as Yaoyao’, okay?”
“Alright, alright, let’s not break hearts here.”
Qi Yaoyao knew they were just joking and didn’t take it to heart.
The male waiter wasn’t particularly handsome, just average. Du Yangfang had started it, and the others had followed suit, either finding it fun or just being polite.
She was different.
She couldn’t be bothered to be polite, nor did she find it fun.
Just as she thought this, Qi Yaoyao’s eyes suddenly lit up. She immediately picked up her phone, opened WeChat, and messaged Xu Zhi.
YaoYao: [Sister Zhizhi, a handsome guy just asked me for my WeChat~~]
After sending the message, Qi Yaoyao remembered to check the time.
It wasn’t 8:30 PM yet.
Xu Zhi hadn’t finished work.
…
“Wait! I suddenly thought of the perfect gift!” Du Yangfang’s voice suddenly rose by eight octaves!
Everyone was drawn to her, asking curiously, “What, what is it?”
Du Yangfang glanced around, finally looking at Qi Yaoyao, and excitedly said, “Yaoyao, you can give your mom a man!”
Everyone froze, then collectively looked shocked!
Qi Yaoyao was also startled, blinking her large eyes, not immediately grasping the idea.
Du Yangfang analyzed: “Yaoyao, look. Your mom is usually busy with work and doesn’t show it, but she is a woman, after all. There must be times when she is emotionally vulnerable. When she wakes up in the middle of the night, and there’s no one next to her, the big bed is cold and she can’t sleep alone…”
Qi Yaoyao: “…”
Everyone: “…”
Du Yangfang continued, “She has never had a scandal, nor has she kept a gigolo. She doesn’t even have time to pursue a relationship. But if life is only about work, isn’t that too boring and meaningless? Someone needs to warm and comfort her lonely, dry heart and…”
And what could not be said directly.
The person being discussed was an elder, and she was the junior. Saying some things directly would be too offensive and inappropriate.
But everyone there was more or less an adult. Not only did they understand, but most of them had slept with their boyfriends and certainly knew what Du Yangfang was omitting.
However…
A person as serious, cold, and humorless as Aunt Qi, who even Yaoyao feared—did they dare to joke about this?
Just thinking about it was a crime; they’d have to write a 2,000-word self-reflection!
Du Yangfang had only had this sudden thought after adding the handsome guy’s WeChat, but now it seemed like a terrible idea…
She looked at Qi Yaoyao, who hadn’t said a word and seemed somewhat angry.
Du Yangfang quickly smoothed things over herself. “I’m kidding, just kidding! How could anyone give Aunt Qi that… Let’s rethink. Everyone, let’s think again, okay?”
To spare Du Yangfang embarrassment, everyone thoughtfully started discussing ideas with renewed enthusiasm.
However, even though Du Yangfang said it was a joke, Qi Yaoyao had an epiphany and thought, This idea is brilliant! It can be done!!
Yangfang was right.
Her mother was so rich; she lacked nothing materially. So, whatever she gave, it wouldn’t hit the mark.
But a person was different.
Who wouldn’t want a thoughtful, caring partner who would look after them and offer tender affection?
Even the strongest person has incurable moments of sadness late at night. At that time, if she had a gentle companion providing emotional value…
Besides, her mother genuinely had no scandals!
Since divorcing her father, she had kept herself pure for over ten years, dedicating herself entirely to work. In just a few decades, she expanded Junzhou Real Estate’s reputation overseas, and the group’s market value soared.
Now, her career had reached the apex.
Wasn’t it the perfect time to fill the emotional demand and void?
Furthermore…
She must be desperate after not doing anything for so long, right?……………?
It’s said that the more restrained a person is, the more likely they are to become perverse. QAQ.
Her mother was so cold, serious, fierce, and meticulous. Whenever her work experienced the slightest hitch, everyone in the corporation became anxious.
Wasn’t this all because she hadn’t been in a relationship!
Because there’s a saying: once a person falls in love, even the hardest steel melts into pliable softness!!
Although Qi Yaoyao couldn’t imagine what her mother would look like as “pliable softness.”
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that providing a gift of emotional and physical needs was far better than spending money on a pile of expensive but useless precious metal junk.
Time to execute!
…
Xu Zhi saw Qi Yaoyao’s WeChat message after getting off work. She straddled her bike and typed while looking down.
Xu Zhi: [Did you add him?]
Her phone dinged. Qi Yaoyao immediately opened it to see.
The question was from Xu Zhi.
In the past, Qi Yaoyao would have spent ages chatting and drawing her into a conversation, but not tonight. She quickly typed a reply.
YaoYao: [Of course I didn’t add him. Because I don’t remember my WeChat ID ^ ^~]
Seeing this reply, Xu Zhi couldn’t help but curve her lips slightly.
She opened her system emojis, found a thumbs-up, and sent it to Qi Yaoyao.
Then she put away her phone and cycled home against the night wind.
Her phone vibrated a few times in her pants pocket while she rode.
However, the traffic lights were green the whole way, so Xu Zhi didn’t stop to look.
She arrived home and locked her bike.
Xu Zhi took out her phone and read the messages as she walked upstairs.
YaoYao: [Hehe, just a thumbs up? When you find out what gift I’m giving my mom, you’ll definitely praise me even more!!]
YaoYao: [Guess what I’m going to give her?]
YaoYao: [Known facts: My mom is very rich, super rich, incredibly rich, successful in her career, and still a workaholic.]
Xu Zhi typed.
Xu Zhi: [Can’t guess. What is it?]
YaoYao: [You didn’t even try!!]
Xu Zhi: [Are you going to cook a meal for her yourself?]
YaoYao: [No. I can’t cook!!!]
Xu Zhi: [Wouldn’t that be more meaningful, then?]
YaoYao: [Bullshit! If my mom saw that, she would just refuse mercilessly and say, ‘I’m not eating that, I don’t want to go to the hospital for a stomach pump.’]
YaoYao: [Besides, I don’t even know how to hold a kitchen knife. Do you want me to chop off my own hand, Sister Zhizhi?]
Xu Zhi typed.
Xu Zhi: [No. Then what are you giving her?]
Qi Yaoyao tilted her head, humming a little tune in a good mood as she typed.
She had originally wanted to drag out the suspense a bit longer.
But then she saw Xu Zhi send: [Stop keeping me in suspense]
So Qi Yaoyao deleted the extra words and sent the answer directly.
YaoYao: [A man]
Xu Zhi, who was opening her door, looked down and saw: ………
YaoYao: [Xu Know Know, are you home?]
Xu Zhi: [Mm]
The next second, Qi Yaoyao called her on WeChat video.
Xu Zhi entered the bedroom and answered.
However, as soon as the video connected, Xu Zhi saw the dim, hazy lighting on the other end, gentle steam rising. Qi Yaoyao was leisurely taking a bath.
She held her phone up. Her upper body was not completely submerged in the tub full of bubbles and rose petals. Her skin was fair, her collarbones delicate, and a large portion of her proud curves and cleavage were visible.
Don’t look at what is improper!
Xu Zhi nearly dropped her phone. Her heart pounded as she quickly hung up the video call, but reacted extremely fast, immediately calling Qi Yaoyao back.
But she called with audio only.
Qi Yaoyao thought Xu Zhi had accidentally hung up and called back. Only after answering did she realize there was no video. She asked, “Why is it audio only?”
Xu Zhi had initiated the audio call extremely quickly, but the image she had just seen lingered on her retina and in her brain.
She walked a lap in her bedroom, then reached for the cup on her desk. The water inside had long gone cold, and only a little remained.
Xu Zhi drank it all.
When the person on the other end called out “Zhizhi?” in confusion, Xu Zhi cleared her throat and said, “The audio call signal is better.”
Qi Yaoyao said “Oh,” not suspecting anything, and said, “The signal in your complex is terrible.”
Xu Zhi: “More people use the network at night, so it slows down.”
Xu Zhi sounded like she was telling the truth. She forcibly shifted back to the previous topic. “You said you were going to give your mother a man. Who are you giving her?”
“I don’t know yet. I’ll wait until I find out what she likes first. You have to cater to her preferences,” Qi Yaoyao raised her hand to stir the petals and bubbles. Still restless, she gently slapped the water with her palm.
When Xu Zhi heard the strange, rhythmic “pat-pat-pat” sound coming from the phone after the person finished speaking, her temple pulsed violently.
“What are you doing?”
“Playing with bubbles,” Qi Yaoyao said. She clapped the water even more energetically, completely oblivious that the accelerated, rhythmic sound was strange and subtle. She just kept slapping and saying, “I’m having a hot bath. It’s so comfortable~ You wouldn’t enjoy it the last time you came~~”
Xu Zhi tightly pressed her lips together, her expression distorted, far from pleasant.
She wanted to tell Qi Yaoyao to stop playing with the bubbles like that, but from the other person’s tone, she clearly hadn’t noticed the inappropriateness.
If she said anything, and the other person realized, she would definitely be mocked for having a dirty mind.
Fortunately, Qi Yaoyao clapped the water enough and switched to scooping up the bubbles and rose petals on the water’s surface.
The sound finally stopped being strange and misleading.
Xu Zhi finally let out a small sigh of relief.
Qi Yaoyao lay back, lifted one leg, and placed the roses and bubbles on her fair thigh. Playing with them, she said, “Zhizhi, my mom is a career woman, the kind who wishes she could stay at the company 24 hours a day. She divorced my dad ten years ago, and in those ten years, she hasn’t interacted or dated a single man. Other rich women keep young lovers when they have money, but she, despite being so rich, doesn’t touch any man. She’s not a nun. I suspect if she keeps bottling it up, she’ll definitely become abnormal, so I need to find her a man and arrange it!”
Xu Zhi listened to the entire speech, but it felt like an alien language. Was a topic of this nature something their relationship could handle?
Furthermore, the subject of the discussion was her own mother.
Although Xu Zhi also hoped her mother could find someone dependable and would encourage her to start a new family if she met the right person.
But she would never use such disrespectful, explicit, and inappropriate language.
However, she and Qi Yaoyao grew up in different family environments, received different education, and were subtly influenced by different things.
Perhaps Qi Yaoyao had lived abroad for many years, making her more open in discussing such matters, with fewer taboos or moral constraints.
Xu Zhi decided not to advise her. She only said, “As long as you have a plan. I’m going to eat now.”
“Alright,” Qi Yaoyao replied, then asked, “Xu Zhi, you don’t skip dinner every night and wait until nine to eat, do you?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll bring you dinner in the future, okay, Zhizhi? It’s easy to get stomach problems if you don’t eat on time. My mom has terrible stomach issues, constant stomach pain. Her health has always been poor, even though major problems don’t show up on annual checkups, she has all sorts of minor issues because of her erratic schedule and irregular eating.”
Xu Zhi said, “No need to trouble yourself.”
“It’s no trouble. I won’t buy takeout, either. Who knows how unsanitary those outside restaurants are? I’ll have the kitchen prepare it. I’ll bring it over, and we can eat together!”
Xu Zhi: “…I’m going to work.”
“We can go early. Go early, and finish dinner before you clock in~~” Qi Yaoyao happily envisioned the plan and started gently slapping the water again.
Xu Zhi heard the sound, her throat dried up, and she quickly said, unnaturally, “Whatever. I’m hanging up. Bye.”
Without waiting for Qi Yaoyao to reply, Xu Zhi ended the audio call directly.
Xu Zhi covered her forehead, took a deep breath, but her complexion didn’t improve at all.
She…
Suddenly remembered what kind of strange dreams she had been having last night.
Was it… had Qi Yaoyao secretly given her some kind of hint in their daily interactions??
The young lady was clearly self-absorbed and lacked many moral values.
Xu Zhi frowned as she took her food out of the microwave.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be this strange.
It’s happened more than once.