Zhu Shanshan thought Qiao Yitong was waiting for her at the entrance to the main hall, which is why she called out Qiao Yitong’s name. If Zhu Shanshan had known that Qiao Yitong was talking with Murong Yuchen outside, she wouldn’t have come out so quickly.
“Sister-in-law, have you taken care of everything?” Qiao Yitong turned to look at Zhu Shanshan.
“It’s… it’s all taken care of—though there might be something I missed.” Zhu Shanshan was wondering if Qiao Yitong and Murong Yuchen still needed to talk.
“If it’s done, it’s done; if it’s not, it’s not,” Qiao Yitong said. “Sister-in-law, don’t worry about him. Since it’s done, let’s head back.”
“I can wait a bit,” Zhu Shanshan said, implying she could wait for Qiao Yitong and Murong Yuchen to finish their conversation.
“It’s all taken care of. Let’s head back—Grandpa and Aunt are waiting for us,” Qiao Yitong said. “Come on, let’s go.”
Qiao Yitong knew Zhu Shanshan had most likely already taken care of things; after all, it was just a matter of drawing a fortune slip and getting an amulet—there wasn’t much else to do. Interpreting the fortune slips didn’t take very long either; the monks were quick at it. If it had taken a long time, it would have been difficult to manage with so many people around.
“Okay…” Zhu Shanshan didn’t feel comfortable asking them to stay, so she walked away with Qiao Yitong.
Murong Yuchen watched as Qiao Yitong walked away like that, but he didn’t say anything else.
Qiao Yitong took a few steps, then turned back and stuck her tongue out at Murong Yuchen. Murong Yuchen saw the tongue she stuck out and chuckled softly.
The path down the mountain was easier to descend than the stairs they’d climbed on the way up.
Zhu Shanshan remained silent. She didn’t ask Qiao Yitong if she and Murong Yuchen were dating; she sensed a certain ambiguity between them, but she kept her thoughts to herself. After all, it was still uncertain whether she, Zhu Shanshan, would be able to stay with the Qiao family in the future. Even if she could stay, she didn’t feel it was her place to meddle in those matters right now.
Seeing Zhu Shanshan so quiet, Qiao Yitong spoke up, “My older brother is a really great guy.”
“Mm-hmm,” Zhu Shanshan nodded.
“Two words: rich and handsome,” Qiao Yitong said. “My older brother didn’t have a girlfriend before. To be honest, if Big Brother hadn’t been in that car accident and fallen into a coma, he would’ve likely married someone of equal social standing. But he had that accident, didn’t he? It’s in times of crisis that you really see what people are made of. Take your older sister, for example—she’ll never have a chance now. Once Big Brother wakes up, you won’t have to listen to your sister and the others, and you won’t have to swap places with her.”
“They wouldn’t dare,” Zhu Shanshan said.
“Fortune is sought in risk—there’s no such thing as ‘dare’ or ‘don’t dare,’” Qiao Yitong said. “You and Big Brother haven’t even registered your marriage legally. As long as your maternal family is shameless enough, they’ll say things like that.”
“……” Zhu Shanshan opened her mouth to say it wasn’t true, but upon reflection, she realized it was very likely to happen that way.
Qiao Xudong was, after all, the heir to the Qiao family. As long as he woke up, no one could shake his position. Since Zhu Shanshan didn’t get along well with her own family, they would certainly prefer Zhu Jiaojiao to marry Qiao Xudong rather than Zhu Shanshan.
Qiao Yitong didn’t say much; saying too much would make others think she was throwing herself at him, which would actually be counterproductive.
Earlier, Qiao Yitong had been wondering if she should try to curry more favor with Qiao Xudong’s wife, but if she hadn’t regained her memories from her past life, she might not have been so sincere toward Zhu Shanshan. Given Zhu Shanshan’s family background and the Zhu family’s shady dealings, it was perfectly normal—and only human—for the Qiao family to have a poor impression of her.
Once Qiao Yitong and Zhu Shanshan got into the car, Qiao Yitong didn’t say much; she just leaned back to rest. When the two arrived at the Qiao residence, Old Master Qiao happened to be sitting in the living room.
“Since my sister-in-law has already asked for a protective amulet for my older brother, I won’t ask for one myself—the one she got is enough,” Qiao Yitong said first.
“All right,” Old Master Qiao nodded. Indeed, this matter should be left to Zhu Shanshan to handle. “Shanshan, go see Xudong and have a chat with him.”
Old Man Qiao didn’t pay much attention to Qiao Yitong; she could go wherever she pleased.
Qiao Yitong knew her place. Old Man Qiao wasn’t in the mood to see her right now; he wanted to see the lively and energetic Qiao Xudong.
Zhu Shanshan went to Qiao Xudong’s room, where he was still unconscious. She placed the amulet under his pillow. “I hope you wake up soon.”
“As long as you wake up, it’s okay if you don’t marry me.”
“Actually… I used to really like you—you just didn’t know it.”
…
Zhu Shanshan whispered a few words into Qiao Xudong’s ear, and her thoughts turned once again to Qiao Yitong.
“Your little sister’s a good girl. She told me a few things about you.” Zhu Shanshan thought of how the outside world described Qiao Yitong’s family—people said that those from Qiao’s father’s branch were good at climbing the social ladder, and that they were just freeloaders living off the family.
So far, Zhu Shanshan hadn’t noticed anything particularly wrong with Qiao Yitong and her family. Qiao’s father’s branch of the family didn’t say much, and they hadn’t spoken ill of Zhu Shanshan either. Perhaps it was because they hadn’t known each other long enough, or maybe for some other reason—at least for now, Zhu Shanshan hadn’t encountered anything particularly negative.
Qiao Yitong couldn’t stay with Zhu Shanshan forever; she’d decided to open a relationship counseling practice, so she had to get it up and running. Qiao Yitong turned on her computer. She knew a little about programming and planned to create a plugin—a small pop-up window that would appear on the screen.
Back in the early days of computing, there were plenty of pop-ups like that; closing one after another was quite a hassle.
Qiao Yitong thought that if others could have pop-up ads, she could make one too. Wait—why should she bother making it herself? Even if she did, wouldn’t it still have to rely on existing software? Qiao Yitong ultimately decided to run ads instead of creating the pop-ups herself.
Qiao Yitong suddenly slapped her forehead. Why had she just thought about coding herself? She knew a little, but she wasn’t an expert. Why go through the trouble of doing it herself when she could just pay someone to handle it? Still, she couldn’t spend too much—that simply wouldn’t do. Qiao Yitong’s main goal was to make money off the wealthy elite; they were the ones with deep pockets. Why would she settle for a mass-market approach?
She had to get those pop-up ads up and running. At this point, almost everyone who could afford a computer came from well-off families. But the consultation fee can’t be too low—it has to be on the higher side. If it’s too low, they’ll think she’s unreliable. Alpha males love to spend money, and a fee that’s too low doesn’t match their status.
Before Qiao Yitong could even find someone to run an ad, her second cousin, Qiao Xunan, came to see her.
Qiao Xunan’s “white moonlight”—the woman he’d always loved—was returning from abroad, and he planned to end his relationship with his stand-in. Qiao Xunan didn’t come to Qiao Yitong to ask for advice on how to break up with the stand-in; rather, he was thinking about how to make a good impression in front of his “white moonlight” when she returned.
Since Qiao Yitong was the only young woman in the family, Qiao Xunan felt it would be best to ask her for advice. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to consult his friends—it was just that they’d come up with bad ideas. Since none of them were women, they didn’t understand women.
“Little sis,” Qiao Xunan knocked on the door.
Qiao Yitong heard Qiao Xunan’s voice and hurried to open the door.
“Second Brother,” Qiao Yitong said as she stepped out of her room.
The two of them went up to the balcony, which happened to be empty.
“What kind of things do you girls like?” Qiao Xunan asked. “Something with a bit of meaning.”
Qiao Xunan usually came across as a bit gloomy and aloof; his “one true love” had moved abroad when he was in college. She was also his ex-girlfriend—she’d broken up with him unilaterally during college, and he still couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Qiao Xunan’s ex-girlfriend was named Shi Zhuojing. Her family’s background hadn’t been too bad originally, but their fortunes had since declined. Unable to adjust to life abroad, Shi Zhuojing returned to Hong Kong. Furthermore, the Shi family hoped she would find a suitable partner who could assist the family.
As it happened, the Qiao family was in a position to help the Shi family, so the Shis set their sights on Qiao Xunan—they all knew he and Shi Zhuojing had once been a couple.
“Buy handbags, buy cosmetics, buy jewelry,” Qiao Yitong said. “Expensive, designer brands—things that match her status, and preferably several tiers above it. Second Brother, you aren’t still pining for your ex-girlfriend, are you?”
“I… you know about that?” Qiao Xunan hadn’t expected Qiao Yitong to say that.
“Shi Zhuojing is coming back to the country—it’s been the talk of the town for days now,” Qiao Yitong said. “It was done on purpose to make sure you found out. Otherwise, why would they have others spread the word so many days in advance?”
“She was just chatting with friends—nothing more to it,” Qiao Xunan replied. “I only found out when I asked someone else.”
“But it’s not just me who knows—others know too,” Qiao Yitong said. She hadn’t learned this from the original novel; rather, when her memories of her past life had resurfaced, she’d already overheard people talking about it over there.
They were setting the stage for Shi Zhuojing’s return—those people needed to first stir up the latent feelings of love Qiao Xunan harbored for Shi Zhuojing, so that Shi Zhuojing could understand Qiao Xunan’s thoughts. This would also help Shi Zhuojing manipulate the events that followed; she wasn’t that naive.
Shi Zhuojing kept Qiao Xunan hanging; she would occasionally let him know bits and pieces about her. She was terrified that Qiao Xunan would forget her completely, while she was having a blast abroad.
In Shi Zhuojing’s eyes, Qiao Xunan was destined to wait for her forever—he was to be her backup, and nothing more than that.
However, this novel isn’t about a couple reuniting after a breakup; it’s about a stand-in Cinderella running off with a baby.
Qiao Xunan had been with the stand-in for several years, so he’d developed some feelings for her. Only after she ran off would Qiao Xunan realize he’d fallen in love with her.
As an outsider, Qiao Yitong couldn’t say much at the moment. Qiao Yitong had only ever seen that stand-in from a distance; they’d never formally met. After all, what right would a kept stand-in have to meet her sugar daddy’s younger sister?
“It’s just a coincidence.” With his heart set on his “white moonlight,” Qiao Xunan wouldn’t even consider that there might be anything wrong with what she said.
Seeing Qiao Xunan like that, Qiao Yitong knew exactly what he was thinking. This kind of tortured, deep romance always follows a certain pattern. Qiao Xunan still thought Shi Zhuojing was wonderful—when he flew abroad, he only dared to glance at her from afar and didn’t even bother to find out what kind of life she was leading overseas.
“When you went abroad and when you were coming back, didn’t you let your family know a few days in advance?” Qiao Xunan retorted to Qiao Yitong. Qiao Yitong hadn’t exactly returned without a word herself, so she shouldn’t be criticizing others. “You can’t be so hypocritical!”
“I’m being hypocritical?” Qiao Yitong pointed at herself. “I… why can’t I be hypocritical? Why can’t I be hypocritical! Is it against the law to express my personal opinion?”
Qiao Yitong slammed her hand down on the table. In that moment, she shook her hand—it hurt a little; she shouldn’t have slammed the table. But not slamming the table wouldn’t have been forceful enough—she should have done it more gently.
“Second Brother, I was just telling my family. You’re my family, which is why I let you know I was coming back early,” Qiao Yitong said. “Yes, I also told my friends, but does that conflict with me expressing my own opinion? I’m not favoring myself over others!”