《My Family Raised A Proud Wife》 CH 1 The phone rings again. Chen Ying looks down, and it¡¯s still Cheng Jiangyi calling. He glances at the time: 22:23. This late at night, what reason could this person possibly have to pester him, insisting that he answer the phone? ¡°Hello,¡± Chen Ying answers the call in a very bad tone, pushing open the door of the convenience store. Once outside, he lights a cigarette and takes a puff. After working overtime, he is exhausted; he only stopped to buy a pack of cigarettes on the way home, and now finds himself harassed by people he doesn¡¯t care about. It¡¯s really annoying. After listening to the person on the other end of the phone, he is even more upset. ¡°Go away, how can I help you raise your child.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not my child, nor is she for me to raise. You should raise her. It¡¯s fate.¡± Cheng Jiangyi is so thick-skinned that he dares to continue, ¡°How about I put it another way. Take this as an early warning call. I don¡¯t know when but it should be soon. A little girl will appear near you. She may be a little weird, such as wearing ancient costumes, and her accent and vocabulary could be different from ours, but don¡¯t worry, she is a normal human being. It¡¯s just that the times she¡¯s from are a little different from ours. You are a man of broad knowledge, courage, and curiosity¡ªyou will definitely be able to accept and handle this well. When you meet her, please take her in and take good care of her.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not dead yet, so don¡¯t ask me for help.¡± And just to get him to agree, saying such a hypocritical compliment won¡¯t make him happy at all, okay? Cheng Jiangyi ignores him and continues, ¡°Right now, a young man named Yue Lao is rushing to meet you. His number is 2238. He will tell you the truth. What he says is real. With your wisdom and patience, you will definitely be able to understand; all you have to do is trust him, and then be ready to deal with this matter.¡± ¡°Cheng Jiangyi, you¡¯re out of your mind¡ªdoes your wife know?¡± Before Chen Ying could finish speaking, he suddenly hears a loud ¡®BANG!¡¯ right next to him, very close. Chen Ying is startled and turns around to see that there is a person standing on the roof of his brand-new car, his baby that he¡¯d only been driving for a week! Wearing a wide-sleeved robe and dress, ancient costume-style; long, black, straight hair gently blowing in the breeze; a very young face, fair, beautiful, with striking temperament and imposing aura¡ª a girl. Her legs are half bent. She stands up straight and looks around. That posture, it¡¯s as if she just dropped down from somewhere. No, there are no aliens or Terminators; she must have jumped up. Chen Ying thinks so at least. It¡¯s just that the surroundings are empty, and he didn¡¯t see anyone at all just now. And even if she jumped, she couldn¡¯t have jumped up so high, so neatly, with such a loud noise and¡ª damn it, his car roof is dented! Chen Ying¡¯s face turns green. This brat stomped on his car! ¡°Chen Ying, you have to trust me. Think about it. Your brother and I are partners and have started a company together. We¡¯re hard-core buddies. Can I still prank you with this kind of thing?¡± The girl finally notices Chen Ying. She looks terrified and stares at him with wide eyes. Chen Ying hangs up the phone, throws away the cigarette in his hand, and glares at the girl. Who should be terrified ah! The unknown person is not him, okay? Isn¡¯t she the one who can dent the roof of someone¡¯s car with just a jump? The girl¡¯s expression changes from panic to vigilance, and Chen Ying acquires a sullen look. He¡¯s the one who should be vigilant! ¡°Hey, you smashed my car,¡± Chen Ying says. The girl frowns, confused and hesitant, then looks around, as if planning to make a run for it. ¡°Where did you come from?¡± Chen Ying asks again. The girl doesn¡¯t answer, but instead jumps off the roof of the car. Her agility is too unbelievable, her movements light but powerful. The small face is stiff and upright, as cold as ice¡ª her long hair flutters with her every move, black and shiny under the streetlights. Damn, she¡¯s incredibly beautiful. Fortunately, she is not tall, and Chen Ying can look down at her. He is taller than her, and he is more imposing than her¡ªbut he¡¯s already a fully grown man at his age, so it¡¯s really nothing to be proud of that he has the height advantage. Two people¡ªyou stare at me, I stare at you¡ªlook at each other for a long time. Chen Ying points to his car and says again, ¡°You smashed my car.¡± He pauses and emphasizes, ¡°My new car!¡± The girl glances at his car, but there is no reaction. From the expression on her face, she doesn¡¯t seem to take his car seriously at all. Chen Ying is very upset, really quite unhappy. Which family¡¯s brat is this? He lowers his head to call back and settle accounts with Cheng Jiangyi. Did this guy find a little model or cosplayer to mess with him? Before he can make the phone call, out of the corner of his eye, he sees the girl turn away and prepare to leave. Chen Ying quickly reaches out to pull her. ¡°Wait.¡± Just as his hand touches her, she flicks her sleeve, and Chen Ying¡¯s arm is flung away. Chen Ying is taken aback¡ªthe little girl¡¯s physical strength is so unbelievable that his arm hurts a little from being thrown. After the girl moves her hands, she takes a step back and stares at him, looking wary. ¡°Are you dumb? Can you talk? Can you tell uncle what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Chen Ying is even more unhappy now. What an impolite brat, and quite fierce at that. At this time, a young man suddenly comes running from a distance, shouting at them all the while, ¡°Wait a minute, wait a moment.¡± Wait what, they didn¡¯t move at all, okay? Chen Ying and the girl both look at the person coming their way. The man runs up to them gasping for breath. He takes a good look at the two, takes out his handheld device, looks at them again, then asks, ¡°Chen Ying? Mi Xi?¡± If no one says ¡®no¡¯, then it must be ¡®yes¡¯. The newcomer seems very satisfied. He breathes a sigh of relief and says, ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Yue Lao, number 2238.¡±1 Damn, Cheng Jiangyi really did it; his actors are performing well ah! Chen Ying begins to think carefully about how he could have offended Jiangyi recently. He must have formed a deep hatred of him to drop him in this mess. But after thinking about it, no ah, he hasn¡¯t done anything recently, and the last time they had a grudge was more than half a year ago. While Chen Ying is thinking, the little girl named Mi Xi is already talking to Yue Lao 2238. She lowers her waist and salutes, ¡°I see Mr. Yue Lao.¡± She is really polite ah. Chen Ying is calm, simply watching the scene. ¡°Mi Xi, you came earlier than I expected¡ªbut it doesn¡¯t matter; I have already made arrangements. As the Yue Lao you met over there has informed you, you don¡¯t have to be sad, you will have a new beginning here. You can live again. Your parents know, and they are happy for you.¡± So there is still knowledge even after death? This situation is quite dramatic. Chen Ying continues to watch the play. ¡°Mr. Chen, Cheng Jiangyi called you to explain the situation, right?¡± Chen Ying is now dragged into the play having watched it for a while. He doesn¡¯t reply, but Yuelao 2238 has already seen the answer from his expression. ¡°Mi Xi came early, so I wasn¡¯t able to talk to you in advance, but it¡¯s fine as long as Cheng Jiangyi explained it to you clearly.¡± Clear, my ass! What the hell. Just as Chen Ying wants to say that this has nothing to do with him, Yue Lao 2238 pulls Mi Xi over. ¡°Mixi ah, this is your future guardian. His name is Chen Ying. He is twenty-eight years old this year, and except for smoking and swearing, there should be no other bad habits.¡± Wait a minute, what guardian? ¡°What do you mean by smoking and swearing?¡± ¡°Uh, smoking is¡­¡± Yuelao looks at Chen Ying, sees the stub of a half-smoked cigarette under his feet and quickly points to it. ¡°It¡¯s smoking that. That¡¯s not good, you don¡¯t want to imitate it.¡± Mi Xi nods. ¡°To like swearing is, uh, to like saying vulgar words. This is also not good, so don¡¯t learn it.¡± Mi Xi nods again. Damn, does this count as slandering a man in person, saying bad things about him, while pretending that he doesn¡¯t exist? Chen Ying crosses his arms and says, ¡°Hey, you two, I¡¯m still alive.¡± ¡°Come on, come on.¡± Yue Lao¡¯s smile seems to say since we¡¯re all here, let¡¯s introduce ourselves. ¡°Mi Xi, meet your Uncle Chen Ying. Mr. Chen, come, meet Mi Xi. Mr. Chen, Mi Xi is an orphan who came from a long way. She is not familiar with this place and its language. She needs a guardian to take care of her. You have a fated destiny with her, so I entrust Mi Xi to you.¡± ¡°What is a guardian?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the person who takes care of you. For example, your father and mother are your guardians. This is Uncle Chen Ying, so he can be your uncle.¡± ¡°Who is her uncle?¡± Chen Ying is about to explode from anger, why do these two treat him as if he¡¯s invisible ah? Has he promised to be a guardian of orphaned children who came from afar? Did he agree?? ============== FOOTNOTES 1 I don¡¯t know about this guy #2238, but Yue Lao ¡ª the ¡®old man on the moon¡¯ ¡ª is an immortal who ¡°unites with a silken cord all predestined couples, after which nothing can prevent their union.¡± His legends serve as the basis for the ¡®red thread of fate.¡¯ He¡¯s basically a godly matchmaker with 100% success rate! CH 2 Even if he doesn¡¯t agree, it doesn¡¯t matter. Of course, Yue Lao 2238 also knows that things would not go smoothly. The current situation has deviated from what he expected, and he has no time now to slowly convince Chen Ying, so he has to find someone to help. ¡°Mr. Chen, do you have Su Xiaopei¡¯s phone number?¡± ¡°No.¡± Chen Ying is annoyed. Su Xiaopei is Cheng Jiangyi¡¯s wife, how could he have her phone number? ¡°Then could you please call Cheng Jiangyi for assistance?¡± Want him to call Cheng Jiangyi? This Mr. Yue Lao really doesn¡¯t know how to write the word ¡®polite¡¯ ah. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to trouble you,¡± Yue Lao 2238¡¯s attitude can¡¯t be any better. Chen Ying curls his lips. He is a person who can be coaxed but not coerced. It¡¯s only a trivial matter to make a phone call after all. It just so happens that he also really wants to call Cheng Jiangyi to clarify this situation, otherwise, no matter what he did, Chen Ying would not give in. As soon as the call connects, before he can finish saying ¡°Hello¡±, the phone is snatched away by Yue Lao. ¡°Cheng Jiangyi, please give the phone to Su Xiaopei.¡± Chen Ying¡¯s face is full of black lines. Are he and Cheng Jiangyi now relegated as communication tools? ¡°Su Xiaopei, Mi Xi has arrived. Well, the three of us are together right now. I haven¡¯t had a chance to talk to Chen Ying in detail yet. Did Cheng Jiangyi explain to Chen Ying earlier? ¡°What did he explain to me?¡± Chen Ying can¡¯t help feeling angry. What Cheng Jiangyi said was really only a very detailed introduction!! Yue Lao 2238 is still talking on the phone. ¡°Mi Xi is fine, I think she is in good spirits.¡± Hearing this, Chen Ying glances at Mi Xi: she seems very interested in Yue Lao talking on the phone. She looks at the phone for a long time, before turning her head to look at his car, the road, the streetlights, and finally up to the sky. He looks up at the night sky too. Today¡¯s weather is good, the temperature is suitable; the end of spring and the beginning of summer is a good time. There are stars and a moon in the sky, bright and clear. Chen Ying abruptly realizes that he is looking at the sky with Mi Xi and suddenly feels stupid. He lowers his gaze, only to discover that Mi Xi has also looked down. When their gazes meet, he sees her eyes clearly. Like a fawn, dazed and a little helpless. Chen Ying blinks, then looks over again, but he couldn¡¯t see her eyes anymore. She has lowered her head slightly, her mouth is pursed, her figure is slender, and she is wearing a thin robe with wide sleeves. She originally had a delicate posture, but for some reason, Chen Ying thinks of the word ¡®stubborn¡¯. At this time, Yue Lao is saying, ¡°Okay, okay. See you later.¡± After he finishes speaking, he hangs up the phone and hands it back to Chen Ying, ¡°Thank you.¡± Chen Ying doesn¡¯t say anything because he really doesn¡¯t want to say ¡°you¡¯re welcome¡± to him. He doesn¡¯t like pretending for the sake of politeness. ¡°Please take us to Cheng Jiangyi¡¯s house,¡± Yue Lao 2238 says. For a while, Chen Ying really can¡¯t control his facial expressions. He obviously didn¡¯t say ¡°you¡¯re welcome¡±, right? He obviously wasn¡¯t polite to him, right? So why is he acting so damned familiar? ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You have a car.¡± What a good reason ah! He absolutely does not believe that this Yue Lao 2238 and Cheng Jiangyi are not in this together. Chen Ying is about to say something harsh like ¡°I don¡¯t have the obligation to take you even if I have a car,¡± but Yue Lao has already turned to Mi Xi, telling her, ¡°Mi Xi ah, don¡¯t be afraid, I won¡¯t let you sleep on the street.¡± Chen Ying swallows the words that had just come to his lips. A few days ago, he really saw in the social news that a little girl was robbed by gangsters on a street corner late one night, and her corpse was found naked on some green belt1. Even as he hesitates, Yue Lao 2238 is already standing beside his car with Mi Xi. Although Chen Ying is very reluctant in his heart, he feels that it¡¯s really inappropriate to leave the little girl on the street. Anyway, it would not be difficult to send them to Cheng Jiangyi¡¯s house. Chen Ying silently opens the car door with the electronic lock key. When the car beeps, Mi Xi seems surprised and startled. The way she stares at the car with wide eyes catches Chen Ying¡¯s attention again, unfortunately. Is she a real bumpkin or a fake bumpkin? he secretly thinks. Well, the expression is quite cute, maybe she is pretending to be cute. Chen Ying walks around to the driver¡¯s side and opens the door to get in the car. Yue Lao also opens the rear door and guides Mi Xi to climb inside. The two move slowly. Chen Ying suppresses his temper and waits. When the car finally starts, Yue Lao begins chatting with Mi Xi. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, let¡¯s talk to Uncle Cheng and Aunt Su first. Then you will be settled down, and you can have a good rest. Although the things here are a bit weird, you can take your time learning. ¡° Mi Xi doesn¡¯t speak but does nod. ¡°Look ah, what we¡¯re riding in now is called a ¡®car¡¯¡ªit¡¯s just like your carriages.¡± Yue Lao seems to want to popularize the things at hand first. ¡°Without a horse, how can it run?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because gasoline is being burned.¡± ¡°Gasoline?¡± Mi Xi is really curious. Yue Lao becomes a little nervous. ¡°It¡¯s just a kind of oil that can burn.¡± Chen Ying scoffs at this answer. What kind of oil can¡¯t burn? ¡°Well, it¡¯s just that the gasoline is burning, and the car starts running when there is power,¡± Yue Lao tries hard to explain amidst the little girl¡¯s obvious confusion. ¡°Why can it run when it¡¯s burning? Since it¡¯s burning, why is there nothing wrong with the car?¡± Yue Lao 2238 is speechless, his expression serious. He doesn¡¯t know how to answer. He is really busy, he is not involved in the education of young girls, he just cares about their marriage. Chen Ying peeks at the two in the rearview mirror and wants to laugh at the conversation. Schadenfreude2 is a great way to increase pleasure. He glances at the rearview mirror again: it¡¯s reflecting two very serious faces at the back seat. ¡°Mi Xi, don¡¯t worry, your Uncle Chen Ying will tell you the answer to these questions in the future.¡± The corners of Chen Ying¡¯s raised mouth quickly collapse. Why should he be the one to answer ah? He will leave immediately after seeing them off. Thank you, bye bye, let¡¯s not see each other again. Hearing Yue Lao¡¯s words, Mi Xi quickly looks ahead, to the back of Chen Ying¡¯s chair. Chen Ying catches her expression in the rearview mirror. She purses her lips, doesn¡¯t speak, and nods at Yue Lao again as a response. But Chen Ying carefully notes that she did not flatter herself. He hasn¡¯t even said hello or a single polite word to her. It stands to reason that she listens to Yue Lao, shouldn¡¯t she then respect him as an uncle and a guardian? In order to make life easier in the future, shouldn¡¯t she show her friendliness? Chen Ying glances at the rearview mirror again at just the same moment that Mi Xi also looks over¡ªtheir eyes meet in the mirror, and both of them turn away. She must realize that he doesn¡¯t like her and isn¡¯t going to accept her. Chen Ying glances at the rearview mirror again. This little girl has a lot of pride ah. In the second half of the journey, Chen Ying never peeks at the two behind him again. Yue Lao also learns his lesson and does not try to carry out literacy education anymore but only talks to Mi Xi about other things. What the other Yue Lao had said to her over there; that he is the person in charge of her case here; that he will definitely do his best. He also introduces in detail who Cheng Jiangyi and Su Xiaopei are, and encourages Mi Xi to hurry up and find a partner, and to work harder. Hurry up what? Chen Ying¡¯s face twitches. The little girl looks underage ah. Yue Lao actually instigated and encouraged a minor to find a partner. Is this really appropriate? Also, can the little girl understand him when he says these words and meanings? They finally arrive at Cheng Jiangyi¡¯s house. Chen Ying stops the car directly in front, and Yue Lao reminds him, ¡°You can¡¯t park here.¡± ¡°Just get out of the car, then I¡¯ll go.¡± He doesn¡¯t intend to get down. ¡°If you don¡¯t take us up, we won¡¯t get out of the car,¡± Yuelao says firmly. What? Want to play rogue with him? Chen Ying turns his head, and Yue Lao 2238 folds his arms around his chest, as if he would not give up until he reaches his goal. Mi Xi¡¯s expressionless face is cold. Like she¡¯s not involved at all. ¡°You need to go up with us, I have something to tell you,¡± Yue Lao says again. Chen Ying¡¯s mouth is tightly pursed and he suddenly has a nasty feeling like he¡¯s caught in the middle. He thought it was just a prank, but it turns out to be a full show, and he¡¯s now very upset. ¡°I have something to tell you, it¡¯s very important, ¡± Yue Lao repeats. Chen Ying glances at Mi Xi, and Mi Xi is also looking at him. She is obviously wary of him. He¡¯s the one who has to watch out, okay? The gazes of Chen Ying and Mi Xi are competing. He can see that it doesn¡¯t matter to her whether he follows them in or not, and whether he would take her in at the end. Hey, since she doesn¡¯t give a damn so much, then he¡¯s going to go up and have a look. It¡¯s not like he hasn¡¯t been to Cheng Jiangyi¡¯s house before ¡ª what can they do to him? He just wants to know what the hell is going on, since he definitely isn¡¯t going to be this little girl¡¯s damned guardian anyway. FOOTNOTES: 1They¡¯re long stretches of grass and vegetation running along the center of roads or the sidewalk. It seems to be a concerted part of urban planning. 2Pleasure derived by someone from another person¡¯s misfortune. CH 3 Chen Ying takes Yue Lao and Mi Xi up. Both Cheng Jiangyi and Su Xiaopei are at home. Su Xiaopei has a cold and is not in good spirits, but she still receives them warmly. ¡°Su Xiaopei.¡± Yue Lao 2238 rushes to Su Xiaopei as soon as he enters the house. Chen Ying thinks to himself, why doesn¡¯t this Cheng Jiangyi, who is usually so nauseatingly protective of his wife, kick this so-called Yue Lao away. ¡°I brought Chen Ying here.¡± Saying that, Chen Ying is not a hostage, and he came up voluntarily. It¡¯s not to his credit, okay? Su Xiaopei smiles, greets Chen Ying, and then turns to Mi Xi. ¡°Hello, you must be Mi Xi.¡± Mi Xi nods. ¡°I¡¯m Su Xiaopei.¡± Mi Xi formally greets, ¡°I have seen my aunt.¡± Very good, you all recognize each other. I wish your familial love will last forever and your family will be reunited. Chen Ying turns around after chanting the mantra and now wants to leave. Cheng Jiangyi and Yue Lao each grab an arm. ¡°Sit, sit, have a cup of tea,¡± Su Xiaopei says to Mi Xi with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t be too polite, come, come with me. I have prepared some things for you.¡± Mi Xi looks back at Yue Lao 2238; he nods, and Mi Xi follows Su Xiaopei into the house. ¡°You see, she only trusts you, so you take her in.¡± Chen Ying decides to preemptively push the little girl onto Yue Lao 2238. ¡°I live in a collective dormitory.¡± Number 2238 straightens his face and hurriedly explains to Chen Ying, ¡°The situation is like this: the world we live in is closely co-existing with another parallel world. You can imagine the relationship¡ªthe two worlds work together, and the energy is eternal. I am Yue Lao number 2238. My job is to carry out the instructions of the Red Thread System, to connect people with predestined relationships, and lead lovers to marriage. As for our Red Thread System, after a certain case last time, we found out that someone has some special abilities, that is, this person can allow people from one world to travel through and go to the other world. Mi Xi was, thus, guided by the Red Thread System.¡± ¡°You are a writer, and Yue Lao is a pseudonym?¡± ¡°Listen to me,¡± Yuelao 2238 is very serious when he talks about his work. ¡°Mixi lived in an era similar to the ancient times on our side. The way of life, language, and culture are the same as in our ancient times. You can also see this from her appearance. The clothes she is wearing now are the same as what she usually wore there.¡± ¡°Why did she cross over here?¡± Chen Ying decides to ask another question and follow his lead. ¡°Mi Xi¡¯s father was a general who protected their country. Her family was framed, and all the family members were executed. Mi Xi, a child using a long spear¡ªin order to protect her mother, sister, and brother¡ªalone against eighteen soldiers, fought to the death in a bloody, final battle.¡± ¡°She died already?¡± Chen Ying is taken aback. ¡°She is filial, righteous, and courageous, and touched Yue Lao who has been actively leading the red thread for her marriage. She was not destined to die then, but something happened suddenly and he was caught off guard. That is the result. Yue Lao over there hopes to save her so she could instead enjoy a happy life, and so he urgently asked for help from the Red Thread System.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t there a talk about reincarnation in your mythology? Just find her a good family and choose for her.¡± Yue Lao shakes his head. ¡°I only know about the Red Thread System, not about reincarnation. Please don¡¯t interrupt. Anyway, the Red Thread System accepted the application, but because Mi Xi already passed away in that world, she had to come here to get a new life. The unfortunate thing is that the red thread in Mi Xi¡¯s hand is broken. Yue Lao over there did not have time to tie the red thread for her marriage before everything happened, so she has no red thread to protect her body. Without the red thread¡¯s protection, she can only last for three years. ¡°It is not an easy task to find someone who is destined to connect with one¡¯s red thread. It will be very, very tight to accomplish in three years, and the time may not be enough. This case was finally transferred to my hands, and I will help her tie her red thread in the days to come. ¡°But in the meantime, she needs a place to stay and someone to take care of her. I searched all possible candidates in the system, and found that your conditions are very suitable, and you happen to know Cheng Jiangyi, so I asked him about you. After a while, I confirmed that you are indeed the most suitable.¡± ¡°Wait, how did you come to the conclusion of ¡®most suitable¡¯?¡± Yuelao 2238 pauses, as if thinking about how to explain it. Cheng Jiangyi hurriedly says, ¡°Let me explain it.¡± Just say it. Chen Ying sits up straight. Who do you think you¡¯re bluffing? Yue Lao and broken red thread, dead and alive, who is the most suitable?! Make it up, I wanna see how you make it up. ¡°You are the most suitable candidate. The reasons are as follows: First, your brother is my partner in our company, and we can almost count you as one of our own. It¡¯s simpler to talk and rely on our own people. If something goes wrong, you also know who to turn to. This is very easy to understand, right? The second reason is simpler: you are rich ah, and can afford it.¡± Chen Ying¡¯s face darkens. This reason is really fucking good. ¡°The third reason is that besides me, you are the most courageous, soft-hearted, and most conscientious person I know. We entrust the girl in your hands, and though reluctant, you won¡¯t do things half-hearted.¡± This is obviously a compliment to others but he didn¡¯t forget to include himself? Chen Ying is very disdainful. This guy Cheng Jiangyi doesn¡¯t care about the little girl¡¯s life at all and is trying to push the responsibility onto others. Could he do this and still nag him about his conscience? Who¡¯s really reluctant and half-hearted? ¡°You know me too little. I touch my chest every day, but I can¡¯t find where my conscience is. My brother is really kind, he is also rich, and he is on his own. It¡¯s more suitable for you to find him.¡± He is also very good at pushing things onto others. Cheng Jiangyi can try to cheat him because his own brother cheats him, and if you tell him that Chen Fei doesn¡¯t know that Chen Ying is being bullied to death right now, he wouldn¡¯t believe it¡ªso he feels no guilt whatsoever for dragging his own brother, Chen Fei, into the water. ¡°Look at you, how old are you? How can you still count on your brother for everything? Your brother is not free ah. He wants to help the company earn money. He is so busy with work, how can he have time to take care of a little girl? You are relatively free.¡± ¡°How am I free?¡± Chen Ying wants to tear at his hair. ¡°I¡¯m also very busy with work.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have so many employees to feed; let them do it.¡± ¡°Do you two have no employees?¡± ¡°Not as many as your family¡¯s.¡± That, unfortunately, is a fact, but the logic is still wrong. Chen Ying stretches his legs and fights back. ¡°If my brother is busy, then you yourself must be free. And you have a family, you and your wife are the most suitable for adoption.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°We¡¯re trying to have a baby. The baby-making movement is too noisy. How embarrassing would it be for underage girls to hear it.¡± Chen Ying¡¯s face turns half black. How did this person say such shameless words?! The strange thing is that he actually agreed, thinking that this activity is really inappropriate for little girls to be subjected to. ¡°I haven¡¯t finished what I was saying yet,¡± Cheng Jiangyi continued his persuasion work. ¡°I have to have an excuse to sell you the copyright to the game [Xun Lang], right? You take care of Mi Xi, and although it really has little to do with me, it seems that I will owe you a favor after all. When it comes to copyright cooperation such as film and television rights, I will give priority to you. You see, this is my compensation to you.¡± ¡°Do you still need to find a reason to sell the copyright to me?¡± ¡°Of course. In case someone else accidentally bids higher than you, as this is business, I need a strong reason to convince myself to be unyielding.¡± Chen Ying really wants to give him the middle finger ah! But, to be honest, the allure of the copyright of [Xun Lang] is indeed not small, even more attractive than that of [Swordsman].1 It¡¯s just that they have not yet completed the development, and the copyright has not been released. But he has read the story script, seen the character design and part of the testing, which is indeed very interesting. It¡¯s a good business that will make a lot of money. ¡°Let me tell you,¡± Cheng Jiangyi speaks again. This time he has straightened his face and is very serious. ¡°Yue Lao is real, and the Red Thread System also exists. This is not a made-up story. I was unconscious in the beginning, and when I finally woke up, suddenly, I could only rely on the red thread to protect my body. It was Xiaopei who found me over there.¡±2 Chen Ying is dazed for a moment: the female psychologist went to another world to find a destined person. This plot seems very familiar. He suddenly understands that this is the plot of [Xun Lang]. He can¡¯t help squinting at Cheng Jiangyi. ¡°I didn¡¯t make it up; it¡¯s not my idea. It¡¯s what really happened. I just recorded it and designed it into a game. I only wanted to preserve the story of me and Xiaopei forever this way.¡± ¡°And you promised me that you will find a way to let everyone believe in love, learn to cherish it, know how to work hard for it, and be forgiving,¡± Yue Lao 2238 interjected. It¡¯s why he agreed to let them use his plot in the game. Cheng Jiangyi waves his hand to tell him not to interrupt. He continues to say to Chen Ying, ¡°You don¡¯t have to doubt this matter: it is indeed true. Your brother knows it too. He also knows about Mi Xi. Chen Ying, it is reasonable for the Red Thread System to choose you. You need to take good care of her, it shouldn¡¯t take too long.¡± Chen Ying raises his eyebrows. ¡°What won¡¯t it take too long?¡± ¡°Tying the red thread.¡± Chen Ying continues to raise his eyebrows. ¡°Just now, Mr. Yue Lao, who specializes in tying red threads, said that it is difficult to tie her red thread. Three years would be very tight, he said. And you say it won¡¯t take long? Your conscience, is it still there?¡± ¡°He emphasized the importance of things, and I emphasized the operability of things. The rhetorical methods are different, and the words used are different, but you can definitely understand this with your IQ.¡± Yuelao 2238 looks from one to the other ¡ª both of them are so eloquent ah, he better not cut in. At this time, Su Xiaopei comes out with Mi Xi. Mi Xi has changed into a lightweight, sports casual wear, long-sleeved, trousers, and canvas shoes. Her long hair is combed into a ponytail, and she looks like a normal girl. Seeing everyone looking at her, she feels a little embarrassed. Blinking her eyes, pursing the corners of her mouth lightly, she doesn¡¯t seem to know where to place her hands and feet. Chen Ying looks at her limpid eyes, her pure expression, a temperament completely different from that of modern girls. He suddenly finds that he actually believes their words. Although they were talking nonsense, he actually believes them a little bit. If it isn¡¯t true, how did Mi Xi jump onto the roof of his car? She must have fallen from the sky, otherwise he can¡¯t explain what happened. He once heard from his older brother that Cheng Jiangyi had had a very special experience, and this Yue Lao 2238 should not be a lunatic. Even if he takes another ten thousand steps, these two men can¡¯t be trusted¡ªbut Su Xiaopei is a serious woman who doesn¡¯t joke around. But if this is true, why did the Red Thread System choose him, and how is he suitable? ¡°What if I don¡¯t agree to adopt her?¡± he asks. No one answers him. It is only Su Xiaopei who lets out a long sigh. Mi Xi is slightly shocked when she hears what he said. She purses her lips tight, turning her face away, but she is too stubborn to bow her head. Looking at her expression and her clenched hands, Chen Ying feels his heart soften. She seems rather pitiful. Well, in actual fact, it¡¯s really not a big deal, just give her a place to live and keep her from starving to death. As for the others, this is something they themselves would do, right? Chen Ying clears his throat and sees that Mi Xi is peeking at him in secret. He suddenly realizes that it was impolite for him to speak like that in front of her just now. The little girl has just arrived and is unfamiliar with everything. Everyone told her that she could only rely on him, but he has been so rude. However, he¡¯s really not willing to show weakness like this! Why does it have to be him ah? ¡°So, how old are you?¡± he asks, trying to figure out the situation. ¡°Seventeen. She¡¯s seventeen, almost eighteen.¡± Yue Lao seems to realize that he is giving in, so he replies quickly, and takes out the folded paper from the inner pocket of his suit. ¡°She¡¯s very sensible at this age, so she won¡¯t cause trouble. Mi Xi is very good.¡± Chen Ying gives him a look. Did he ask him? How proactive he is. Like a human trafficker selling people. Is such a Yue Lao really reliable? ¡°My birthday is on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month,¡± Mi Xi answers by herself. ¡°Are you willing to come with me?¡± Chen Ying asks with a provocative tone. If the other party, the girl herself, doesn¡¯t want to, everyone else can¡¯t talk nonsense. She can choose to stay with whoever she wants. Well, that¡¯s fair enough. She doesn¡¯t like him, so there¡¯s a good chance she will say no. Mi Xi looks at Yue Lao, then at Su Xiaopei, then turns back to him. Everyone can see her reluctance, but she still whispers, ¡°Please take care of me, Uncle.¡± Chen Ying couldn¡¯t help but stroke his forehead. This is really bad! Girl, didn¡¯t you beat eighteen men by yourself? Blind obedience is not a virtue, don¡¯t just listen to what others say ah! He looks around at the few people around him, everyone is staring at him. Mi Xi is biting her lip and peering at him in secret. Chen Ying takes a deep breath. It¡¯s like a group of bastards selling people, and he is the poor buyer. No, it should be said that she is the poor, little girl from a good family who is being trafficked. What would happen if he doesn¡¯t adopt her? Chen Ying hesitates. ¡°Here,¡± Yue Lao is very anxious and stuffs the folded paper into Chen Ying¡¯s hand. ¡°These are Mi Xi¡¯s materials and various documents. I will leave them with you.¡± Chen Ying takes a look. It¡¯s just a look, he¡¯s only curious. He hasn¡¯t made a final decision yet¡ª look at this, damn it! He jumps up to his feet. ¡°How the hell did she move to my household registration?¡± ¡°You are the guardian ah,¡± Yuelao 2238 replies. ¡°Does your Red Thread System also manage the police and handle household transfer procedures?¡± Chen Ying grits his teeth, ¡°And stealing my household account book!¡± ¡°No, no,¡± Yue Lao waves his hand fiercely, ¡°I didn¡¯t steal your account book. Your brother provided it.¡± Fuck it. Of course, he did. It¡¯s really hard to guard against thieves from your own family. ¡°What else do you want to ask?¡± Cheng Jiangyi asks him. Chen Ying is so angry ah, there are too many questions to ask, but these are not the point! The point is, has he been schemed against by this group of people? Including his own brother? What about family? What about human nature?! Chen Ying is cursing 100,000 words in his heart. He turns to Mi Xi, and the little girl is watching the TV. To her, this world is indeed very strange. He looks at her, feeling inexplicably soft inside once again. It¡¯s not the girl¡¯s fault; she¡¯s a victim too. She couldn¡¯t even die well, and was sent to this dratted place to be taken in by a strange uncle. The whole room is full of people with shitty intentions. Have they considered the feelings of the little girl? Does no one see her disappointed and sad expression? His heart is so soft ah. ¡°It seems that he¡¯s fine, so it¡¯s settled!¡± Wait, did he agree? He didn¡¯t agree ah! But he is already thinking about which room to place her in, and which bed sheet and quilt to use for the bed. Kindness is a hell of a thing! _____________________ FOOTNOTES: 1[Xun Lang] is game developed by Cheng Jiangyi and Chen Fei¡¯s company. I don¡¯t know what [Swordsman] is. Perhaps it was mentioned in the other novels by the same author sharing this same universe. In any case, it¡¯s not very relevant to this story. 2Cheng Jiangyi and his wife Su Xiaopei are the main leads in another novel by the same author, entitled ¡®In Search of Love¡¯. CH 4 Chen Ying finally agrees to bring Mi Xi home. Before leaving, Su Xiaopei prepares a bag of clothes and various daily necessities for Mi Xi, but because she didn¡¯t know Mi Xi¡¯s size beforehand, some of them probably won¡¯t fit well. She says that she would buy new ones for Mi Xi later and asks her to just use these first. Chen Ying is very satisfied with what he heard. Very good. So it seems that he really just needs to provide a place to live and take care of her three meals. He watches as Su Xiaopei guides Mi Xi on how to use a toothbrush. ¡°This is a toothbrush. It¡¯s a bit different from what you¡¯re used to but it¡¯s used in the same way. I already taught you in the house just now, so you can just use it like that. This is a new one. Here it is. We call it a ¡®toothbrush¡¯, don¡¯t forget. ¡®Dental medicine¡¯ is called ¡®toothpaste¡¯ in our place. If Uncle Chen Ying has it in his home, just use his. I¡¯ve put cleansing and skin care products in your bag, as well as bath creams. I¡¯ve written the usage instructions and pasted them on the bottles. If you can¡¯t remember how to use it, just ask Uncle Chen Ying.¡± The toothbrush and toothpaste are returned to the bag, and Chen Ying struggles for the last time, ¡°She doesn¡¯t understand so many new things, why don¡¯t we keep her here for now.¡± After he says this, everyone quickly sends them out the door. Yue Lao 2238 follows them out, saying that he wants to confirm that Mi Xi has successfully moved into her new home. Chen Ying really wants to roll his eyes at him. Is he the kind of person who would leave little girls halfway and abandon them? But thinking that this action would damage his image, he holds back. There is nothing to say along the way, and there are few cars at night, so the three of them arrive at their destination not long after. Chen Ying leads Mi Xi and Yue Lao into the house. As if he¡¯s the owner, Yue Lao takes Mi Xi around to explain things. This is the bathroom, and this is the guest room. It¡¯s a big room, and there¡¯s quite a lot of space. ¡°Ah, Mr. Chen, this is Mi Xi¡¯s room, right?¡± Facing south, it has a bed and a cabinet; it looks good. ¡°Correct.¡± Obviously he doesn¡¯t know, but still rushes to lead the way. Chen Ying finally can¡¯t help but roll his eyes a little. ¡°Look, it¡¯s your room. The bed is not small. The room is really big, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s also close to the bathroom. Ah, the ¡®bathroom¡¯ means the ¡®toilet¡¯. Come on, I¡¯ll teach you first.¡± Old Mother Yue leads the beauty to the bathroom. ¡°This is the toilet, just sit on it, and pull this, and then it will be flushed, look, like this,¡± ¡ª complete with demonstration on how to flush. ¡°Look, this is a faucet. Turn it this way, and water will come out. It¡¯s very convenient, isn¡¯t it? There¡¯s no well here, this is how you get water. Twist this way to get hot water. By the way, where are the towel and toothbrush that Aunt Su gave you?¡± Mi Xi takes them out of the bag. Old Mother Yue 2238 helps her hang her things on the hook next to the mirrored cabinet above the sink, then runs out and asks, ¡°Mr. Chen, can you provide Mi Xi with a toothbrush cup?¡± Chen Ying finds a drinking glass and hands it over to him. Yuelao places Mi Xi¡¯s toothbrush inside, then shows her how to put cup and toothbrush inside the mirrored cabinet. He then tells her, ¡°Mi Xi, this is your home.¡± Is it your home if you have a towel and a toothbrush? At best, it¡¯s good for taking up space. Chen Ying originally wanted to tease and ridicule, but seeing Mi Xi¡¯s dazed expression, he finds himself unable to speak. Yue Lao enthusiastically takes Mi Xi to see other places. ¡°This is the study room. It¡¯s your Uncle Chen Ying¡¯s place. Don¡¯t go in to disturb him unless it¡¯s really necessary. I don¡¯t know what kind of room this is¡­ ah, this is a bedroom. It¡¯s the master¡¯s bedroom. It¡¯s also your Uncle Chen Ying¡¯s place. You must not come in, ten million times no!¡± The word ¡®ten million¡¯1 was used in an emphatic tone, and the corners of Chen Ying¡¯s eyes twitch. What will happen when she comes in? Will he eat the little girl up? How dare he question and slander his character and morality? It¡¯s a pity that he can¡¯t play a different tune, because he really does mind people entering his bedroom and study. His territory is his. Originally, the whole house is his domain. Fuck and damn it all. How did it happen, inexplicably, suddenly, a little girl is stuffed into his life. And he himself actually led the people in! He must have been hypnotized. ¡°Mr. Chen,¡± Yuelao calls again¡ªwhat a noisy Yue Lao ah. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Mr. Chen, you use the bathroom in the master bedroom, right? The bathroom outside is for Mi Xi¡¯s exclusive use. Don¡¯t mess with her things.¡± Yuelao takes Mi Xi and arranges the bottles and jars of shower gel and shampoo, teaches her how to use the shower faucet, urges Chen Ying to provide new sheets and covers, and the two of them make the bed together. Mi Xi watches from the side, her eyes a little dazed. ¡°Okay, okay.¡± Yuelao checks inside and out again. ¡°Mi Xi, this is your room, this is the closet, you pack your clothes yourself, ah, these two sets of clothes are certainly not enough, don¡¯t worry, your Uncle Chen Ying will take care of it. There is no mirror on this table, you just make do with it and use the one in the bathroom first.¡± Remembering that he hasn¡¯t taught Mi Xi how to turn the lights on and off, he quickly explains how. Mi Xi nods, her expression still a little dazed, or¡ª at a loss? Chen Ying turns his head aside, pretending not to see it. Now he¡¯s starting to feel stressed, it won¡¯t be easy to raise this kid, right? She came from ancient times. Is it too late to regret now? Yuelao walks around the room again and asks, ¡°Mr. Chen, is there anything else I missed?¡± Chen Ying purses his lips. Apart from actually taking her away, he hasn¡¯t missed anything. ¡°Mi Xi, don¡¯t be afraid, I will come to see you. Your Uncle Cheng and Aunt Su will also come to see you.¡± Mi Xi doesn¡¯t speak, only nods. ¡°Then,¡± Yue Lao seems reluctant. He takes a deep breath. ¡°I have to go.¡± Mi Xi seems to have recovered and bows deeply to Yue Lao. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Yue Lao.¡± He waves his hand, hesitates to speak, and finally squeezes out a sentence, ¡°Mi Xi, you work hard. Ah, ¡®work hard¡¯2 are words of encouragement.¡± Mi Xi nods and formally greets him again: ¡°Thank you, Mr. Yue Lao.¡± Yue Lao waves his hand again but doesn¡¯t speak this time. Chen Ying thinks to himself that if they continue to say thank you, and thank you again, then he would really have to throw this old man out. Ah, no, both of them need to be thrown out together. ¡°Mr. Chen, please send me off.¡± Yue Lao unexpectedly makes such a request. Chen Ying doesn¡¯t refuse. Although most guests would, in fact, protest and say there¡¯s no need to send them out when it¡¯s time to leave, but this Yue Lao 2238 does it the other way, and actually asks to be sent off. Yuelao really asked him to send him downstairs. ¡°Mr. Chen, I want to tell you my reason.¡± ¡°What reason?¡± ¡°The reason why I chose you to take care of Mi Xi.¡± Yuelao clears his throat, ¡°There are eighteen people who have a fated encounter with her found in the system. The meaning of ¡®fated relationship¡¯ does not necessarily mean being able to get along well, nor does it necessarily mean the fate of marriage. I filtered out some inappropriate ones, and you are one of the remaining ones with good fate. ¡°Mr. Chen, you and Mixi are destined to meet, even if I did not arrange for her to be taken care of by you, you will meet her one day and you would be willing to help her. What I did was to shorten the process and let you go straight to this step. Because time is very short. It¡¯s very tight, I already explained this. You are the oldest and have the most successful career among several suitable people. You have experience, kindness, and responsibility. And to be realistic: you can afford it. ¡°You are the most capable and accomplished person I can find; the one who is most likely to take good care of Mi Xi. This is why I chose you. Of course, you, Cheng Jiangyi, and the others know each other and are considered friends, which makes me more confident in choosing you.¡± Chen Ying does not speak. Yuelao continues, ¡°I¡¯m telling you this to let you know: please believe that I didn¡¯t just throw Mi Xi over to you. Everything is the result of careful comparison and thinking. The Red Thread System really exists, and it has given guidance and directions. What should happen will always happen, but the results depend on the individual. You will definitely understand all this in the future, so please be more patient and tolerant towards Mi Xi.¡± After Yue Lao 2238 finishes speaking, he bows, then turns and leaves. Chen Ying is a little surprised that this man is so serious and earnest all of a sudden. He feels that he still has questions to ask, but Yue Lao ran so fast that he wasn¡¯t even given a chance. Chen Ying wants to ask him, now that Mi Xi has settled her board and lodging, is there any arrangement for her marriage? He took Mi Xi in, so what¡¯s next? What is the plan? It¡¯s really unreliable to only leave people behind and run away without making arrangements for the key points. Chen Ying goes back upstairs, opens the door, and the room is quiet, no different from when he lived alone. Chen Ying sighs inwardly, closes the door, and walks in. When he passes the bathroom, he sees Mixi standing in front of the sink in a daze. She¡¯s looking at the mirror, and she looks tired and sad in the reflection. Chen Ying turns his head away, pretending not to see, and asks her, ¡°Are you hungry?¡± He sees that Mi Xi seems to have just realized that he is back. She straightens up quickly, and turns her head, shaking it to say ¡®no¡¯. ¡°Well, then, do you know how to use this?¡± He points to the towel and then to the shower faucet. Mixi nods. Chen Ying coughs twice, thinking that this little girl really doesn¡¯t know how to curry favor with others ah3. ¡°Then, I¡¯m just in the house, call me if you need anything.¡± Mi Xi nods again. Chen Ying turns his head and walks towards the bedroom, taking two steps, only to turn back. ¡°You can understand what I say, right?¡± More nodding. ¡°If you don¡¯t understand, just say it ah.¡± Even more nodding. Okay, the conversation is boring. He goes back to his room to take a shower and sleep. After Chen Ying finishes cleaning up, he lies down on the bed and thinks about it seriously. It¡¯s really inappropriate for him to adopt a 17-year-old girl, and he is very busy, with a lot of bad habits and a mountain of work. Besides, there¡¯s no reason for him to be persuaded like this, right? He can take her in temporarily, and then he will arrange her matters later¡ªsuch as letting his brother who betrayed his family take this responsibility. Or someone else. In fact, if there is really no one, his mother is quite suitable. She has been clamoring that she has not given birth to a caring daughter in her life. It¡¯s just that this little girl¡¯s origin is unknown, and he doesn¡¯t know what kind of person she is, so it¡¯s better to observe and pay attention first. Chen Ying thinks for a while and feels that he seems to have made a decision. He listens, but there seems to be no sound outside, and he gets a little worried, so he goes out to have a look. Mi Xi should have washed up because there are water stains in the bathroom. The door to her room is open but no one is inside. ¡°Mi Xi?¡± Chen Ying calls out and goes to the living room to look for her. The living room lights are not turned on, but he finds her sitting cross-legged in front of the large french windows in the living room, looking at the sky outside. She turns when she hears him calling. ¡°Go to bed early.¡± Chen Ying has thought for a long time and could only say this. He really doesn¡¯t have any experience in dealing with reserved girls, and neither does he have the proper temperament to lower himself just to coax her. Obviously, right now, he is the one who needs to be coaxed ah. ¡°Thank you, uncle.¡± He finally hears her speak. ¡°Don¡¯t call me uncle; just call me by my name.¡± It¡¯s too uncomfortable to be called uncle by a seventeen-year-old girl. He still considers himself quite young. ¡°Chen Ying,¡± Mi Xi says. ¡°Okay, good night.¡± Chen Ying leaves after their talk, but comes back after walking for a while, ¡°¡¯Good night¡¯ means to let you go to bed early and sleep better. It is to say ¡®hello¡¯ at night.¡± ¡°Good night,¡± Mi Xi repeats. . ¡°Okay.¡± Chen Ying really has nothing to say this time and goes back to his room to sleep. He doesn¡¯t sleep well that night, even though the house is silent, really no different from usual. This girl Mi Xi is really quiet, but he still doesn¡¯t sleep well. He wakes up suddenly and looks at the electronic clock on the bedside table. It¡¯s May 8, 5:52 in the morning. Chen Ying gets up and goes to the toilet, thinking about going out to see how the little girl is doing. It turns out her door is still open but no one is inside. Chen Ying frowns, walks lightly to the corner of the aisle and peeks inside the living room: Mi Xi is still sitting there. Chen Ying¡¯s brows furrow even tighter. Did she sit like that all night? The early morning light outside reflects on Mi Xi¡¯s face through the floor-to-ceiling windows. From this angle, Chen Ying can see half of her face: it is streaked with tears. Chen Ying¡¯s heart suddenly softens into a mess. ___________________ FOOTNOTES: 1 The phrase used by Yue Lao to say ¡®don¡¯t come in¡¯ has the characters for 100 million squeezed inside it. 2 Literally, it reads as ¡®add oil.¡¯ But as Yue Lao 2388 said, ¡®jai yo¡¯ are words of encouragement. 3 This refers to how a little girl would act cute or coquettish and ask for help so as to appeal to a guy¡¯s *cough* finer instincts ¡ª allow him to be protective and manly and all that jazz. But Mi Xi is having none of that, and so Chen Ying thinks she¡¯s not good at currying favor at all. The guy wanted to feel useful by operating the shower lmao. CH 5 Chen Ying doesn¡¯t go up to comfort her, but he doesn¡¯t leave either. He thinks he can probably understand Mi Xi¡¯s mood. No family, no friends, no familiar things; stuck in a strange world where she has nothing. And she is so young¡ªshe can already be considered very strong by not crying, shouting or making trouble. Chen Ying feels that he really should exercise more patience and treat her better. The sun comes out, and the golden light pours in through the large floor-to-ceiling windows. It shines on Mi Xi¡¯s little face. She stares blankly, before suddenly reaching out and wiping her face vigorously, erasing all the tears and tear stains. She stands up; Chen Ying hides without thinking and quickly retreats back to his room. After hiding for a while without hearing any movement, he opens the door with a hard push, deliberately making noise, and steps out. Walking into the living room, he sees Mi Xi stretching her limbs. She turns her head upon hearing him come in. ¡°Good morning ah,¡± he greets casually. Sure enough, he can¡¯t see the earlier fragility on her face anymore; her small face is stern and cold. Mi Xi stops, turns around, bows slightly and gives a formal greeting: ¡°I have seen Uncle.¡± There are black lines on Chen Ying¡¯s face. He clearly greeted her cheerfully and gracefully, why couldn¡¯t she just copy it, instead of calling him ¡®old¡¯ so early in the morning. Take a breath, don¡¯t worry, let¡¯s start literacy education. ¡°Mi Xi, here, the greeting in the morning is to say ¡®good morning¡¯, not to say who you have met. You can also say ¡®hello¡¯ to so and so. For example, you can say ¡®hello¡¯ to uncle and aunt. No need to say that you have met uncle.¡± Mi Xi suddenly becomes a little awkward. ¡°Do it again. Good morning,¡± Chen Ying teaches her. ¡°Good morning.¡± Mi Xi salutes again. ¡°Don¡¯t clasp your fists, don¡¯t bend down. Just look at me and say, ¡®good morning¡¯.¡± ¡°Good morning.¡± Mi Xi straightens her back obediently and says it again. Then she looks at him. He¡¯s a little dumbfounded. Is she greeting an officer? Just salute then. Now, what? By the way, don¡¯t ask her if she slept well, just pretend you don¡¯t know, then wash up and have breakfast. Today is Wednesday, he still has a lot to do. She is so rigid that he has no sense of accomplishment in literacy education. But don¡¯t be afraid, take your time, and you will eventually succeed. ¡°Go brush your teeth and wash your face. Let¡¯s go out to have breakfast,¡± Chen Ying instructs. He then sees Mi Xi¡¯s face is blank, and he adds, ¡°Brushing your teeth is that kind of dental medicine¡­¡± She should have brushed her teeth last night. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°I know.¡±1 Seize every opportunity to eradicate illiteracy. ¡°I know.¡± Mi Xi repeats seriously, and Chen Ying is quite satisfied. ¡°Okay, hurry and clean yourself up. Let¡¯s go out.¡± Mi Xi moves quickly under his stare. She runs to the bathroom, takes a toothbrush and toothpaste, opens the lid smoothly, and carefully squeezes a little bit onto the bristles. ¡°Squeeze more,¡± Chen Ying instructs. Mi Xi looks at him, a little awkward. ¡°This is called toothpaste; squeeze some more.¡± Chen Ying points, and Mi Xi follows suit. ¡°A little more. Alright, remember to use this amount in the future when you brush.¡± Chen Ying¡¯s words embarrass Mi Xi; she purses her lips and nods. ¡°Use a cup to catch the water, rinse your mouth first, and then brush like this.¡± Chen Ying grins and shows his teeth, and teaches her with hand gestures. Mi Xi watches, her face a little red. ¡°Do you understand?¡± Mi Xi nods. ¡°Swipe one and let me see.¡± Mi Xi doesn¡¯t move, staring at him with caution. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t watch, you brush it yourself.¡± Chen Ying walks away, and after a while, he hears the sound of teeth brushing coming from the bathroom. He pretends to be passing by and takes a quick look. Well, the action is quite clumsy, but it¡¯s brushed on smoothly. Satisfied, he goes back to his room whistling. It¡¯s really not easy to be a father. After Chen Ying washed and changed his clothes, he comes out whistling and sees Mi Xi standing in the living room waiting for him. He walks over and pats the sofa. ¡°This is called a sofa, a kind of chair, used for sitting. You remember, we sat down at Uncle Cheng¡¯s house yesterday. You don¡¯t have to stand when you are waiting for someone. Don¡¯t stand when you can sit, understand?¡± Mi Xi nods. ¡°You sit down and let me see.¡± Mi Xi looks at the sofa, looks at Chen Ying, and finally sits down. She¡¯s still upright, with both hands still flat on her knees. Then she looks up at Chen Ying with an expression of ¡®this is okay¡¯. Chen Ying rubs his chin. She only just arrived, and it¡¯s not appropriate to accuse her of being too reserved or dignified right now. He¡¯d better wait until they get along better. He hooks his fingers to get her to get up. But Mi Xi doesn¡¯t move, staring at his gesture very seriously, her eyes full of condemnation. Chen Ying is taken aback and retracts his fingers. ¡°It¡¯s not vulgar, it¡¯s just a sign for you to get up.¡± Mi Xi gets up, her face still serious. Chen Ying curses in his heart, reminding himself to be cautious in his words and deeds. The two of them head out. Chen Ying takes a closer look at Mi Xi. She seems to be walking unnaturally. Is it the shoes? After getting out of the elevator, he observes for a while before stopping Mi Xi. ¡°Are the shoes too big?¡± ¡°Not bad.¡± This answer makes Chen Ying¡¯s face twitch. Big is big, not big is not big¡¯ What the hell is ¡®not bad¡¯? He squats down and presses the tip of Mi Xi¡¯s shoe, and there is a small empty space that is too big for her foot. ¡°Let¡¯s make do with it for now, and I¡¯ll buy you another pair later,¡± he says. He stands up and finds something wrong again. She is still wearing the same clothes that Su Xiaopei prepared for her yesterday, but she zipped the clothes to the top, and the collar is turned up high. She¡¯s wrapped up tight. Chen Ying doesn¡¯t think much about it and reaches out to help her pull down the zipper a little and tidy up her clothes, but she pinches his palm as soon as it touches her neckline. Chen Ying almost cries out in pain. Mi Xi quickly shakes off his hand and takes a step back. Chen Ying holds his palm, feeling angry and anxious, but not knowing if he should really be angry or anxious. This little girl is so fucking fast, she attacked without seeing what was going on first. He looks at her. Well, maybe she felt she was attacked. ¡°Your clothes,¡± Chen Ying says with gritted teeth. His hand really hurts. He points to her neckline, ¡°Don¡¯t pull it so high, it¡¯s ugly.¡± Mi Xi covers her neckline and ignores him. This attitude! Chen Ying is upset. He turns his back and strides forward, walks a few steps and looks back: Mi Xi was still following him. He continues to walk, stops suddenly after walking for a while, turns around again and says to her seriously, ¡°First, I am a gentleman. Second, if I want to play a hooligan, I will not attack a minor like you. Most girls look forward to playing with me, but I am not that kind of person. Third, if you eat what I have, live where I live, and use what is mine, you must have a minimum of respect for me, and I will get angry if you get rough on me.¡± Mi Xi blinks but says nothing. ¡°Do you understand?¡± Mi Xi nods. But that expression makes Chen Ying feel that she must have done it only because she thinks she should do it. Chen Ying turns around and strides forward. Damn it! He is not a good man like in the legends, he really is not. Just as he¡¯s sulking, he suddenly sees an office worker walking in front of them in a short skirt suit with a very low neckline. Chen Ying stops, and when Mi Xi draws near, he points to the short-skirted girl with his chin, ¡°Look at her. ¡° He means to say that everyone here wears it like this, and it¡¯s okay if the neck is exposed, he really didn¡¯t want to take advantage of her, he was wronged! Mi Xi purses her lips, blinks, but keeps silent. At this time, an old man walks up to them, with a yellowed vest, worn beach shorts, and a pair of slippers that could come off quickly. Mi Xi looks at the old man, then at Chen Ying¡¯s well-dressed shirt, trousers, and shiny leather shoes. After looking, she doesn¡¯t say anything, just moves on. Chen Ying is stunned for a moment; okay, she dares to talk back with her eyes. Just because the old man dresses like this doesn¡¯t mean he wants to dress like this, okay? It doesn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s okay for her to make herself into a wrapped steamed bun so that she looks ugly, okay? Also, why doesn¡¯t she pay attention to indecent behavior but instead overlooks it now, isn¡¯t she an ancient person? The old man is showing half of his body, how could she have the nerve to look at him so brazenly? Mi Xi in front walks slowly, with her hands behind her back, looking around and around. Chen Ying doesn¡¯t know if it¡¯s due to her own psychology, he just feels that her walking posture and her demeanor doesn¡¯t fit the world at all. Mi Xi walks ahead for a while, stops, and looks back at him. Chen Ying¡¯s heart softens again, and he takes a few steps to catch up. If he teaches her slowly, then she would understand. She is looking for a marriage here, and she only has three years, he remembers. Chen Ying takes Mi Xi to the ¡®Dim Sum Place¡¯ not far from his community. It is open 24 hours and is very famous. Xiaolongbao, porridge, and siu mai are the main products. There are all kinds of dim sum, noodles, and side dishes. The price is not cheap, but customer flow is still quite good. Mi Xi enters with a curious look on her face, and keeps on looking at the posters of the restaurant¡¯s dishes. ¡°It¡¯s very beautiful,¡± she says to him. Chen Ying almost trips. She praised ¡®very beautiful¡¯ to the large posters of the xiaolongbao. What kind of rhetorical method is this? Looking around, fortunately, there is no one there. It¡¯s still too embarrassing, so he quickly drags her to sit at a table. After taking the menu, Miss Mi Xi¡¯s attention is grabbed again. Before she can repeat the praise ¡®very beautiful¡¯, Chen Ying quickly orders a meal for her, a bowl of porridge and a basket of ¡®very beautiful¡¯ steamed buns. He himself had the same. The waiter who took the order left, and Chen Ying hurriedly whispers, ¡°Praise the buns as ¡®delicious¡¯, or they ¡®look delicious¡¯, not ¡®beautiful¡¯.¡± Mi Xi also lowers her voice and whispers, ¡°The painting is really, seriously good.¡± Chen Ying¡¯s face darkens immediately. Ahh, so she was praising the restaurant¡¯s poster for its beauty, not the steamed buns. But praising the poster of xiaolongbao as ¡®beautiful¡¯ is still embarrassing! _______________ FOOTNOTE: 1 Mi Xi¡¯s ¡®ÎÒÏþµÃ¡¯ and Chen Ying¡¯s ¡®ÎÒÖªµÀ¡¯¡ªhe corrects her old school phrasing here. CH 6 Xiaolongbao1 taste very good. Mi Xi follows Chen Ying¡¯s example on how to eat using chopsticks and soup spoon, and after eating two little buns, her face lights up. That appearance makes Chen Ying almost believe that the little girl in front of him now, and the one with the cold face he saw before, are two different people. Mi Xi sweeps away all the steamed buns in one breath and swallows the last mouthful. The bamboo¡À steamer in front of her is empty, and she looks at Chen Ying¡¯s steamed buns without thinking. The pitiful eyes cause Chen Ying to instinctively speed up his eating. After protecting his steamed buns and stuffing them into his stomach, he looks at Mi Xi: did she want to have another steamer of buns? But Mixi lowers her head and eats the porridge politely without making any request. Chen Ying looks at her downcast, little head. Her ponytail was combed by Su Xiao Pei yesterday, it hasn¡¯t changed at all, and the little girl never thought that the ponytail actually betrays the fact that she didn¡¯t sleep at all last night. Fortunately, she looks pretty okay now, because he really doesn¡¯t want to face a crying little girl. Up to now, the only thing about Mi Xi that satisfied him is that she¡¯s well-behaved and doesn¡¯t cause trouble. ¡°Another steamer?¡± That being the case, he decides to reward her. Asking such a question casually causes the little girl to raise her head quickly, her eyes lighting up again. Although she doesn¡¯t nod her head in response, it only makes Chen Ying feel that if he doesn¡¯t buy another steamer, he would feel really sorry for her. Miss Mi Xi¡¯s second steamer of small buns arrives at the table; this time she eats slowly. While eating, she begins to relax and chats with Chen Ying. ¡°The buns made by my nanny are also delicious.¡± Ah, the nanny. That¡¯s right, she is the daughter of the General¡¯s Mansion; a young lady from a prestigious family. ¡°I wanted to be a female general, but my father thinks I¡¯m too delicate to be a great warrior, so he wouldn¡¯t let me join the army.¡± Chen Ying almost swallows a mouthful of porridge the wrong way. She is still considered delicate? Her father¡¯s requirements are really too high. ¡°My father took me to the battlefield once, and I¡­ I was so useless that I cried in fright.¡± When Mi Xi says this, shame appears on her face. ¡°Dear Father was very angry.¡± Chen Ying swallows the last mouthful of porridge. After he eats it, he takes a napkin to wipe his mouth and watches Mi Xi eat. Mi Xi recalls the past and eats another bun. Chen Ying feels that for Miss Mi Xi, these steamed soupy buns have the effect of wine. ¡°After I returned home, I was very sad and kept crying. The nanny steamed my favorite steamed buns, and she coaxed me, saying that eating more would make me stronger and more courageous.¡± Mi Xi stuffs another steamed bun into her mouth, swallows it, and then says, ¡°But I¡¯m really useless. I couldn¡¯t save them. In the end, no one was saved.¡± Chen Ying is silent. A little girl who would cry when she went to the battlefield, and a girl who wanted to protect her family. The little girl who fought against eighteen people alone; the little girl who eats steamed buns and blames herself for being useless. If he was Yue Lao over there, he would definitely want to help her, too. Mi Xi¡¯s nose is red, and her eyes are also a little red, but she doesn¡¯t shed any tears. Chen Ying pretends not to notice and says in a relaxed tone, ¡°You have eaten a lot, and your guts should be quite full. Fortunately, I can afford it, and my heart is healthy.¡± As soon as he finishes speaking, the alarm bell in his heart rings. Wait a minute! Didn¡¯t he plan to ¡®transfer¡¯ her to someone else? Mi Xi looks at him, purses her lips, and smiles along with him. There is shyness and embarrassment in her smile, but also some measure of intimacy and trust. A child is a child, and two baskets of steamed soupy buns are enough. Chen Ying keeps smiling, and temporarily turns off the alarm in his heart. When the little girl looks at him with this expression, he thinks that it would be too inhumane to still ¡®transfer¡¯ her. After breakfast, Chen Ying takes Mi Xi on a stroll home. Mi Xi¡¯s mood is obviously relaxed, not so serious and cold, and she walks briskly all the way. She dares to run around and look around. She looks at the bus stop sign, and the huge advertising poster behind the stop sign, and stands at the intersection and looks at the various vehicles and pedestrians passing by for a while. While she is too distracted to pay attention to him, he looks at the calendar on his mobile phone, and calls his secretary, Lu Ya. ¡°I¡¯ll be there later today. You inform everyone that the nine o¡¯clock meeting will be moved to ten o¡¯clock. Let¡¯s cancel the lunch meeting at noon first. I¡¯ll reschedule the time. Um, um, okay.¡± Mi Xi looks around the side of the road for about 20 minutes. She looks back from time to time and sees that Chen Ying is still talking on the phone and hasn¡¯t left, so she feels that she could continue to stay. For his part, Chen Ying sees that she¡¯s still watching the road after making the call and thinks she still wants to watch more, so he continues to make phone calls. After making several calls to work, he finally remembers that he should call his dear brother. Chen Fei doesn¡¯t answer the phone for a long time. Chen Ying waits patiently, and when the phone stops ringing, he dials it again. This time it rings for a long time before Chen Fei finally answers it. ¡°I thought you wouldn¡¯t dare to answer my calls anymore.¡± ¡°I did struggle for a while, but if I don¡¯t answer the phone, it would be more annoying if you run to my front door instead, so I answered.¡± ¡°Our brotherhood really runs deep ah.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Isn¡¯t it shameless to say ¡®yes¡¯ like this? ¡°What happened to Yue Lao?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you meet last night?¡± ¡°That guy Cheng Jiangyi told you?¡± ¡°I thought you would call and scold me last night, but it dragged on until now, causing me to not sleep well all night.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t even bother to tell you you deserved it.¡± Chen Ying still wants to vomit when he thinks about it, but he feels much more comfortable thinking about his brother waiting all night for his scolding. ¡°Yue Lao was the one who helped connect Cheng Jiangyi and his other half, and so I¡¯m still willing to believe his words.¡± Chen Fei pauses and asks, ¡°How is the little girl?¡± ¡°Crying to death. What a mouth filled with concern you have¡ªhow about I send her there?¡± Chen Ying says intentionally. When he hears Chen Fei¡¯s silence on the other end of the phone, he smiles, imagining that his brother must be frowning very much, wearing a serious expression. ¡°How about this, I¡¯ll pay for her living expenses,¡± Chen Fei quickly offers to forestall being disturbed. ¡°T¡¯ch, can¡¯t I afford it?¡± ¡°Then you continue to take care of her,¡± Chen Fei hurriedly says and changes the subject. ¡°I¡¯m going out, I have a lot of work today. Cheng Jiangyi is on sick leave again, and I¡¯m very busy. ¡± ¡°I just saw him last night. He was so energetic that he could go to catch ghosts. How dare he ask for sick leave.¡± ¡°He said his wife has a very bad cold, and he wanted to accompany her to recuperate.¡± Shameless, how could there be such a shameless person. ¡°Then you drive around to my place first after work and pick up the little girl.¡± ¡°Ah, how are our parents lately?¡± ¡°They¡¯re pretty good, but my brother and I are not doing well. Come and pick her up.¡± ¡°Ah, why don¡¯t you ask a tutor to accompany her or something. It would be better if someone watched her and took care of her. I won¡¯t say anything else. I¡¯m hanging up now, and I¡¯m leaving.¡± Chen Fei hangs up the phone quickly, and Chen Ying swears audibly. What a despicable man who framed his younger brother and dared not take responsibility. Turning around, he sees Mi Xi standing not far from him, looking at the roadside flower garden with her back to him. Chen Ying is taken aback. From this distance, she can probably hear him talking on the phone. Did he just say something about her? ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± Chen Ying leads Mi Xi home. The more he looks at her, the more he feels that she heard what he said. She was sullen, and the spirits raised by the two baskets of buns are gone. Chen Ying takes her back and teaches her to recognize the entrance of the community, recognize the building number. There is a security access panel at the entrance of the building¡ª teach her how to open it, teach her to press the elevator buttons when getting on, then unlock the door lock. Mi Xi doesn¡¯t speak the entire time; she just listens to what he says with a straight face. After entering the house, she lowers her head and walks towards her room, but Chen Ying stops her. It should be explained, but he feels that he doesn¡¯t know where to start, and it¡¯s a bit too deliberate. And he is actually guilty, because he did have the idea of ??sending her away. Mi Xi obediently stops and turns to face him. Chen Ying opens his mouth to say, what? That he had the idea of ??sending her away, but he doesn¡¯t think about it now? He looks at her upright little face, sighs inwardly, and takes her to the kitchen instead. ¡°This thin faucet, look, it¡¯s this one, turn it on like this¡ªthe water coming out of it can be drunk directly. From other faucets, you can¡¯t. If you are thirsty and want to drink water, drink here. This is the refrigerator, open it like this, and there are drinks inside it. These bottles are wine, you don¡¯t want to drink this, but you can drink the rest. Open this here, there are fruits inside. You want to eat, just take whatever you want¡ªwash it under the faucet and eat it.¡± Mi Xi nods. Her expression is a bit like when she first came last night. Chen Ying sighs again, leads her to the sofa, finds the TV remote control for her, and teaches her how to turn on the TV. Mi Xi is startled when she sees someone talking on the TV. That expression makes Chen Ying want to laugh, but as soon as Mi Xi turns her head back to him, the obvious curiosity in her eyes frightens him immediately. ¡°Don¡¯t ask me why there are people in it. Anyway, there are people. All kinds of people. They will not jump out, and they can¡¯t talk to you. They just play their role in it, and you can watch. If you don¡¯t like this, then change it.¡± He teaches her to choose a channel and how to control the volume. She plays for a while and seems to feel better. Just as Chen Ying breathes a sigh of relief, Mi Xi turns around and asks, ¡°Why is there someone inside?¡± Chen Ying showed her face down: ¡°We agreed not to ask this.¡± ¡°How did that sound come out?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask this either.¡± ¡°Then will they be hungry inside?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Are they suffering?¡± ¡°No.¡± If she continues to think like this, what if she sees a plot where some characters are abused. ¡°It¡¯s all from a show, and it¡¯s all fake. It¡¯s just to give you entertainment, just like when they would sing big dramas for you back then, but this is how they sing here.¡± Mi Xi doesn¡¯t quite understand¡­ ¡°Anyway, you just watch it. By the way, it happens that you are learning to speak this era¡¯s language. The people inside talk, so you listen more, and practice what it¡¯s like to speak normally.¡± Mi Xi¡¯s attention is turned to the TV, and the news is currently commenting on economic phenomena. Mi Xi frowns and listens carefully with a dazed look on her face. Chen Ying can¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°If you don¡¯t understand, you can change the channel. Come on, operate it yourself. This is called a remote control. Just follow what I just taught you. Change it yourself.¡± Mi Xi looks at it for a long time. Biting her lips, she presses the button with a very careful and heroic expression, and successfully changes the channel. She is nervous for a moment, then relaxes, and continues to frown and watch seriously. After watching for a while, she looks at Chen Ying again; Chen Ying nods to her. She picks up the remote control and changes the station again. Chen Ying watches TV with her for a while. He confirms that she has no adverse reactions, and then tells her to drink water, eat fruit, and go to the toilet as needed, then informs her that he has to go out for work. When Mi Xi hears that he is going out, she nods, looking a little pitiful. Chen Ying feels soft again, and finally can¡¯t help but say, ¡°Since I took you in, I won¡¯t abandon you.¡± Mi Xi blinks. When Chen Ying spoke out, he felt that it was nothing, why not just raise a little girl, he can afford it! So he goes on to say, ¡°Did you hear me talking on the phone? That¡¯s my brother, I asked him to come pick you up, but no matter what I said, it was just a joke. I knew he wouldn¡¯t really come.¡± Mi Xi doesn¡¯t reply, simply purses the corner of her mouth. ¡°I promise, I won¡¯t abandon you,¡± Chen Ying says it again, and then he sees Mi Xi pursing her lips, a little happier now. The corners of her mouth are curved, very cute. He also laughs, and unthinkingly reaches out to touch her head as a gesture of friendliness. He has just stretched out his hand, and even before he could touch her, he sees her eyes turn serious, staring at his hand. Chen Ying comes to his senses immediately, and takes his hand back. ¡°Anyway, you have fun at home, eat when you¡¯re hungry, and sleep when you¡¯re tired. I¡¯ll go to work and come back at noon to bring you lunch.¡± Mi Xi nods. Chen Ying goes to his room, takes his suit jacket, takes his computer bag, and goes out. Mi Xi obediently sends him to the door, and he explains ¡°I have a key and I can open the door myself. If other people knock on the door, you don¡¯t need to answer it. Don¡¯t open the door.¡± Although the community has good public security and private guards both, and there are no idle people who can come in, he can¡¯t feel relieved if he doesn¡¯t explain. Mi Xi nods again. Chen Ying locks the door and finally leaves in peace. Going down to the underground garage, he hands over the keys of the car that Mi Xi smashed last night to the security guard, and then calls the property manager. His property provides butler service. He first asks the property manager to send the car for repair, and then asks the property manager to find him a housekeeper, who can cook lunch every day, and provide half-day tutoring and escort. The property manager readily agrees, saying that they would call Chen Ying after the arrangements are made. Chen Ying drives the old car again, and his heart hurts while sitting inside. His precious new car! He¡¯s so aggrieved! Being an uncle is expensive! In Chen Ying¡¯s big house, Mi Xi is sitting upright on the sofa watching TV, and a comedy period drama is playing in it. Mi Xi watches and sheds tears silently. They don¡¯t dress like this in their hometown, and people don¡¯t talk like this. She misses her home and her family. _________________ FOOTNOTE: 1 These are steamed little dumplings made with very thin wrappings, filled with meaty goodness and with a bit of broth inside. They¡¯re small, about the size of a golf ball, and are served several pieces inside a bamboo steamer. The way to eat it is to (1) prepare a dipping sauce made of a mixture of vinegar, some ginger, and possibly soy sauce or chili oil; (2) very gently pick up a bun using the edge of the chopsticks, dip it in the sauce, then place the bun on a soup spoon; (3) pierce the thin dumpling skin with the tip of the chopsticks (or nibble on the wrapping!) so the broth will seep out onto the spoon; (4) sip and enjoy the soupy baos CH 7.1 ?It¡¯s ten o¡¯clock exactly when Chen Ying arrives at the company, and he¡¯s three minutes late when he steps into the meeting room at ten past three. This makes him very uncomfortable. He already postponed the meeting time, and he is still late. This is indeed contrary to his personal work standards. Yet this incident doesn¡¯t preclude him from swearing in the meeting. Chen Ying¡¯s father is a tycoon in the media industry. His grandfather¡¯s generation had a small amount of wealth in his family, but it was in his father¡¯s generation, Chen Yuanqing¡¯s, that it really flourished. He established the Chen family¡¯s media empire, and the business grew bigger and bigger, including investment, media, film and television production, entertainment agency, advertising, theater chain, film and television city base, and other business scopes. The two brothers, Chen Fei and Chen Ying, have had very different personalities since they were young. Chen Fei was quieter, steady, and had excellent academic performance, while Chen Ying was naughty and rebellious. Chen Yuanqing was a strict father, and he couldn¡¯t get used to Chen Ying¡¯s problems, so he exerted a lot of control over his son since he was a child, cut off his pocket money, and even refused to go to the police station to release him on bail when he was arrested for fighting so that he could be detained for a longer time. In the end, Chen Ying still didn¡¯t accept his control. When he was in college, he took a leave of absence to go on outdoor adventures and, eventually, started a business from it. The old man didn¡¯t give him money just to play, so he used his hobbies to earn money, and he really earned it. Of course, the amount of money was not good in front of Chen Yuanqing. But it should be mentioned that it was enough for Chen Ying and a few friends to start a company and develop their business. Chen Ying was adventurous and curious everywhere, sunburned into charcoal, addicted to smoking and drinking, and often disappeared. Chen Yuanqing already planned to give up on him. Anyway, although this son is stubborn, fortunately, he is not a bad person and has not done anything bad. In his opinion, it would be great if he could be self-sufficient and make a name for himself without relying on his father¡¯s shadow. Chen Yuanqing¡¯s hopes were instead placed on his eldest son, Chen Fei. But the world is unpredictable. Chen Ying ran back to study while playing with his own small company. This guy has a lot of ideas on his own, and he behaved well even when no one took care of him. Instead, it was Chen Fei who stopped going down the road his father had paved for him. He had begun working at his father¡¯s company when he was still in college. After graduation, he planned to go abroad for further studies while taking care of the family¡¯s foreign business practice, and then return to take charge of the family business in the future. But the unexpected result was, he made a friend when he was in college, one named Cheng Jiangyi. The two were like-minded and eventually went to start a business together, engaging in IT. This made Chen Yuanqing very angry. At that time, Chen Ying was not good at studying, but his company was running decently, and he was quite famous in the circle. The most important thing is his interest. He goes out to play several times every year and he can earn money while playing. He thinks it¡¯s a very cool and free lifestyle. But the year he was about to graduate, there was a problem with Chen Yuanqing¡¯s Lingyu media group. The veterans fought for power and poached a lot of resources. The company was hit hard, and Chen Yuanqing collapsed from exhaustion. The company that Chen Fei and Cheng Jiangyi established was also at a critical juncture. They recruited a few close friends, and worked overtime, day and night, in a small rented office. Chen Ying saw it, and it was all right; he was the one who lived the most free life¡ªwho else could sacrifice a little if not him? So he rolled up his burdens and handed over the management of the company to his friends. He put on a suit and tie and went to work in Chen Yuanqing¡¯s company. Chen Ying¡¯s mother is a loving mother who cares for her son¡¯s happiness very much. She felt sorry for Chen Ying and once asked him if he was happy like this. Chen Ying replied at the time, ¡°It¡¯s just another kind of adventure. I, your son, am doing well now. There are beautiful women to see every day, and the money is so much that I don¡¯t even need to look at my pockets, so I¡¯m happy.¡± After hearing him speak, he was hit by his father. In fact, Chen Ying has all the attributes of a young master. He has a good face, arrogance, and some ego. He has been particular about everything since he was a child, but he also has a lot of knowledge and vision. He has traveled around the world and made friends with many people, and this allows him to remain calm. He came to the company to play a father-son drama, taking on the role of a bad guy. Chen Yuanqing needed to deal with the old courtiers and still maintain the relationship with all parties¡ª but to solve the crisis, it required both human relations and an iron fist. Favors are sold by Chen Yuanqing, but to offend others with a heavy hand requires another person to do it. Chen Ying is very suitable, in terms of identity, temper, age. When Chen Ying first joined the company, he did not hesitate to start a few fights and changed the company¡¯s blood. After Chen Yuanqing received the complaints, he would coax the old hands, then reprimand Chen Ying, making Chen Ying look bad in some public occasions¡ªbut he never actually stopped him. Those moth-eaten veterans, in fact, understood what was going on, but Chen Ying performed beautifully, with a strong aura. His methods were ruthless, and he had no sympathy to speak of. The father and son sang a duet together and spent a lot of time stabilizing the company¡¯s situation. Then Chen Ying went abroad to develop their overseas business while pursuing further studies. It was originally intended to be Chen Fei¡¯s path, but it was Chen Ying who walked it. After returning to China, he took charge of the three companies of advertising, media, and entertainment production, and assisted Chen Yuanqing in other work. But Chen Ying has encountered trouble at work recently. The advertising company lost a big client, Yongkai, which involved agency fees worth over 40 million. Yongkai is an old client who has cooperated with them for three years. He thought it was a surefire deal, but when they were about to renew the contract, the other party said that maybe the conditions of another company were more suitable. Maybe? Well, this situation of ¡®maybe¡¯ cannot be allowed to happen! It¡¯s very serious not to sign a contract for the time being. The people below say that they worked hard, but they can¡¯t figure out what happened. At this point Chen Ying feels that he has to do it himself, but before he fixes it, he has to find out first what is going on with the people in his company, so that he could prescribe the right medicine. So everyone¡¯s been writing a report for several days, have made inquiries about the opponent¡¯s information and plans, and have today reported the findings to Chen Ying. Naturally, they are prepared to be scolded. At the meeting, Chen Ying listens to the report and explanation, watches the demonstration of the plan, and finally asks someone to turn off the projector and turn the lights back on. ¡°I can¡¯t see why the other party is better than ours? How are their conditions better? Can someone explain?¡± No one makes a sound. Chen Ying turns to look at Fu Tang, the account director. Fu Tang says a few words. Director Chen of Yongkai, who they have previously been in contact with, resigned, and a new high-level officer, Vice President Wang, was appointed to decide this matter. They met with Vice President Wang and the business manager several times, and they had a good discussion at first, but their attitudes gradually changed. Maybe the competitor has other network resources and plans. Chen Ying listens with a cold face; these are all nonsense. ¡°If there are other plans, why did Yongkai take the initiative to negotiate the renewal of the contract and choose us as their partner? With our name, is it so easy to get rid of us as a partner? Does the other party have no brains? This case has been discussed for so long, and it has been going smoothly. Now there is a problem at the last moment. Does this mean that the other party has another intention?¡± Fu Tang doesn¡¯t reply. ¡°They didn¡¯t even give us the opportunity to change the proposal and re-draft the conditions, and just said that they won¡¯t sign the contract for the time being. This is an old customer. What is the problem?¡± Chen Ying asks again. Everyone in the room is silent. TRANSLATOR NOTE: I¡¯m sorry to be cutting chapters in half but this story started as a very manageable 2000 characters or so per chapter. But the author is getting into the meat of the story and the chapters are ballooning to 4000, even 6000 characters and I. Am. Dying. ( ????©n???? ?) If a chapter gets to over 4000 characters or so, and there is a reasonable break in the story flow, I¡¯ll cut chapters to more a manageable word-length. ______________________ FOOTNOTES: 1In future chapters, it will show that Chen Ying and his friends established a scuba diving business. I used to dive, and it is not a cheap pastime. When done well, this is a thriving, lucrative business. But more importantly, my dive instructors¡ªwho also own the dive resort¡ªare in the water playing all day, every day, then have cold beer in the evenings by the beach. They really quit their day jobs, pooled their money together, and ran off to the beach lmao. I guess that¡¯s pretty much what happened to Chen Ying and his hooligan friends. 2Yongkai is also featured in the author¡¯s other novels ¡®Arrogant Meets Passionate¡¯ and ¡®Please Be More Serious.¡¯ They¡¯re both fun novels and are the reason why I¡¯m translating this. Both novels kept mentioning ¡®Mi Xi¡¯¡ªI looked for her and found her untranslated. Go check them out in Novel Updates! CH 7.2 Everyone in the room is silent. Chen Ying gets angry when he sees them like this. He slaps the table and shouts, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid of losing, but you don¡¯t even know how you lost! Do you have water in your brains?¡± Liu Meifen, the account manager who is directly in charge of negotiating the cooperation, burst into tears. ¡°Why are you crying? Crying with your bed roll already packed up! I told you that I don¡¯t insist on you doing what you can¡¯t do, but if you fail to do what you should, you should at least give me an acceptable reason. If you can¡¯t even give such a reason, what do you guys think should be done?¡± No one speaks. Chen Ying looks around and finally his gaze falls on Liu Mei Fen. She has her head lowered and is biting her lip, trying to control her tears but failing. Chen Ying is very dissatisfied; she is the one who talked to the client, and she can¡¯t explain what the fart went wrong in the end. Did she mess up from the beginning? Chen Ying narrows his eyes slightly and then looks at the others. Everyone looks pale, with their heads bowed, and they dare not speak. ¡°Get out,¡± Chen Ying commands. All the participants take their folders and shuffle out quietly. Chen Ying says to his assistant Kevin, ¡°Replay the proposals from both sides and let me see.¡± Kevin complies. Chen Ying reads it again carefully and can¡¯t help scolding again. ¡°Damn it, using this kind of garbage to refuse our services?¡± The other party¡¯s plan is obviously done in a hurry, and not much time and energy were spent on the details. ¡°You go to those who worked on this and ask again in private. If there is anything they dared not say in the meeting, it¡¯s best to say it before I figure it out, or I won¡¯t be polite.¡± Kevin agrees, packs his things and leaves. Chen Ying sits for a while and thinks about it. Raising his wrist to look at his watch: it¡¯s twelve o¡¯clock, and he suddenly remembers that there is a dog waiting for him to go back to take care of her meal, so he can¡¯t help but swear again. Chen Ying goes back to his office, and the secretary, Lu Ya, has already placed the documents that needed to be signed on his desk. ¡°This isn¡¯t needed today?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll look at it tomorrow.¡± Chen Ying picks up his computer bag again. He hadn¡¯t even opened it, and now has to leave again. ¡°Yesterday, you told them they must send the emails today¡ªyou urge them again. I won¡¯t be in the company this afternoon.¡± Lu Ya agrees. Chen Ying stands by her table and thinks about it. Originally, he wanted to ask Yongkai¡¯s boss, Qin Wenyi, to have dinner with him directly, but Qin Wenyi hasn¡¯t returned yet from abroad so he had planned to wait, but now he changes his mind. ¡°Yongkai¡ªlet me first meet the vice president who is talking about cooperation with us. What¡¯s his name? You can ask Kevin to contact him and make an appointment for dinner the day after tomorrow. Let¡¯s see how he responds. If he is happy and willing to come, then you can call him again half an hour after Kevin hangs up, and tell him that Kevin got the time wrong and I¡¯m not free, so I¡¯ll make an appointment with him when I¡¯m free.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lu Ya writes it down in her notebook. She doesn¡¯t ask Chen Ying why he is being so devious. She and Kevin are both veteran subordinates of Chen Ying. They have followed him for many years and are already familiar with his way of doing things. Although she is a little surprised why he doesn¡¯t rush to get the contract signed, she doesn¡¯t question the boss¡¯s decision. When Chen Ying gets home, he hears the sound of the TV as soon as he opens the door. It¡¯s a character in the Goose Blood series who is reciting lines passionately. Chen Ying¡¯s lips curl, full of pettiness. He won¡¯t have to compete with a little girl for the TV in the future, right? Chen Ying closes the door and walks in, only to find that Mi Xi is not watching TV after all: she has fallen asleep on the sofa. Chen Ying frowns. No wonder, the child didn¡¯t sleep at all last night, and now she probably couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. He thinks about it: the two baskets of steamed buns in the morning should last her a little longer, so let her sleep first. Chen Ying puts the bag back in the study, goes to Mi Xi¡¯s bedroom, takes out the quilt, and covers her with care. When covering her, he keeps a little distance away from her for fear that she would throw a fist at him. But she doesn¡¯t wake up. Chen Ying thinks she must be very tired. After covering her with the quilt, he drinks juice from the refrigerator, walks back into the study, and turns the computer on to read the mail. After replying to two letters, he receives a call from his secretary, Lu Ya. Kevin and Lu Ya finished the play as he instructed. The vice president of Yongkai, Wang Bing, said that if Chen Ying is not free the day after tomorrow, would it be okay to meet tomorrow or even today? ¡°Hmm.¡± Chen Ying curls his mouth¡ª it seems that he guessed right. This Wang Bin has a problem. The contract ultimately needs to be signed by the boss, but he wants to replace their services with a pile of rubbish. Unless Yongkai¡¯s boss, Qin Wenyi, also has water in his brain, how can this trash contract be signed? Chen Ying thinks he knows what the problem is. ¡°Okay, today then.¡± When it¡¯s time to give face, you have to give it. ¡°Call Wang Bing back.¡± Use airs when it¡¯s time to use airs. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that I changed the time and caused him trouble. So I¡¯m sorry. We¡¯ll let him choose the time and place. I can do any time convenient for him. I¡¯ll be the host.¡± After explaining a few more words, he hangs up the phone and looks up. She¡¯s standing by the door of the study, not daring to come in, obviously because she remembers Yuelao 2238¡¯s words yesterday. ¡°Woke you up?¡± Chen Ying turns the computer off and walks out. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Mi Xi bows, ¡°I didn¡¯t fall asleep on purpose. It won¡¯t be like this next time.¡± ¡°Sleep when you¡¯re sleepy, it¡¯s okay.¡± Chen Ying looks at her: her ponytail is untied, and her hair is straight and long, shiny black; she looked sleepy from her nap; and was still wearing the same clothes and slightly bigger shoes. Chen Ying frowns; it seems that he not only has to take her to dinner, but also buy her shoes and clothes, as well as her daily necessities. It is not enough to rely on Cheng Jiangyi and Su Xiaopei to provide what she needs, and it is very inconvenient for the little girl. He can¡¯t seem to think of what to prepare for Mi Xi for a while, so he decides to talk about it when they get to the mall. So the brand new ¡®granny uncle¡¯ leads the newly acquired ¡®niece¡¯ out. Chen Ying pretends to be polite and asks Mi Xi what she wants to eat. Mi Xi thinks for a while. ¡°If uncle doesn¡¯t mind, let¡¯s go to that delicious dim sum shop again.¡± Dim sum shop? Chen Ying has black lines on his face. This girl won¡¯t only recognize steamed buns in the future, will she? But she¡¯s obviously looking forward to it and actually took the initiative to ask. He also sees that the hour is late, and so, bun shop it is. While eating steamed buns in the dim sum restaurant, Chen Ying receives a call from the property management office, saying that they have already contacted the housekeeping service, and is checking to see when Chen Ying would be free to interview the housekeeper candidates. Chen Ying calculates the time and asks if it would be okay in half an hour. He happens to be eating nearby. The property manager is efficient and agrees. After eating the second meal of buns today, Chen Ying leads Mi Xi to the property management office to see people. But first, he tells her that there won¡¯t be a third meal of buns today, so she should give up thinking about it. Then he explains that they need to invite someone who will cook and accompany her during the day, so let her take a look at them later, and choose the one she likes that fits well. ¡°Buy a servant,¡± Mi Xi nods, expressing her understanding. Chen Ying rubs his face, trying to control his expression. ¡°No, not a slave.¡± Democracy and freedom, human rights and equality. Do you understand, child? ¡°You can¡¯t treat her like an inferior human being. She is here to work. She is here to help us solve our difficulties. When we pay her, we are paying her for her work rendered. The two parties are equal. That¡¯s the relationship.¡± Mi Xi thinks for a while, then nods. ¡°Uncle, don¡¯t worry. When I was in my hometown, I never treated my servants harshly. I didn¡¯t beat or scold my servants. There are no such servants here. I know how to deal with things.¡± Don¡¯t worry too much¡ªshe won¡¯t beat or scold. Chen Ying wants to curl his lips, thinks for a while, and explains, ¡°She is not a slave, but neither are you. You don¡¯t bully her, and you can¡¯t let her bully you. Tell me if she treats you badly, and I will replace her.¡± Mi Xi nods earnestly, ¡°Thank you, uncle.¡± Chen Ying thinks about it again and is really worried. But then, it¡¯s his first time to raise a child, how can he not worry? CH 8.1 The property manager¡¯s office is on the second floor of the community clubhouse, just a building away from where Chen Yin lives. It¡¯s the first time for Mi Xi to walk around the community. She looks with curiosity when she sees the fountain in the atrium, and she¡¯s also very interested in the green plants trimmed into various shapes. Chen Ying answers another call and lets Mi Xi play for a while. It¡¯s Kevin calling, saying that he had talked to the team, but no one could explain what was going on, and Liu Meifen said that she would be responsible for the matter and hand in her resignation letter. Chen Ying frowns but doesn¡¯t comment, only acknowledges that he heard. After ending the call, he turns his head but Mi Xi can¡¯t be seen. Chen Ying turns around and finally finds her outside the clubhouse. There is a swimming pool on the ground floor of the clubhouse. Through the large floor-to-ceiling glass, you can see people swimming. Men in swimming trunks, women in bikinis. Mi Xi looks at them with a very serious face and is extremely surprised in her heart. This world is full of wolves, tigers, and leopards! Everyone walks half-naked on the road, and inside there¡¯s almost nothing that doesn¡¯t show! This, this¡­ Mi Xi can¡¯t bear to look anymore and turns her head, sees Chen Ying coming her way. She endures it; she can¡¯t criticize, she can¡¯t talk nonsense. This is someone else¡¯s territory; she is new here, and it¡¯s better to be cautious in her words and deeds. But it¡¯s truly unbearable! Chen Ying comes over looking for her, beckons, and signals her to follow him in. They still have to go in?! Mi Xi can¡¯t bear it anymore. ¡°It¡¯s indecent.¡± She comments ¡®fairly and objectively¡¯. Chen Ying¡¯s feet stop and his face twitches. He turns around very slowly, taking a long time. ¡°It¡¯s called swimming; it¡¯s normal. It¡¯s a part of physical exercise. It¡¯s the same as running and playing ball.¡± After thinking about it, he thinks of a way to explain it to her, ¡°It¡¯s like practicing martial arts¡ªit¡¯s about strengthening your body. They just want to strengthen their health, not to be indecent.¡± It¡¯s really preposterous. Mi Xi continues to endure, purses her lips, and does not speak even if she disagrees. Hold back, this is someone else¡¯s world; she doesn¡¯t argue. She watches helplessly as Chen Ying pushes open the glass door and walks into the building full of exposed flesh. Mi Xi stares at the door, and after Chen Ying turns his head to urge her, she has no choice but to face her fate and follow. It¡¯s a blessing enough that he doesn¡¯t bring her near those people. When they go up the stairs, Mi Xi walks on the outside on purpose, staying away from the pool, without glancing at the other side from the corner of her eyes. The whole gaze is straight and upright. Chen Ying feels a headache when he sees this. When they arrive at the property management office, the property manager greets him with a smile, ¡°Mr. Chen is here.¡± ¡°Hello,¡± Chen Ying greets the other party. She¡¯s a middle-aged woman in her forties or fifties, very capable. She was there when Chen Ying bought the house in this community, and she usually arranges various service contacts, so he is quite familiar with her. Chen Ying points to Mi Xi, ¡°This is the child of my distant relative. She came to live with me for a while, and there is no one at home during the day, so I have to find someone to cook a meal and stay with her.¡± ¡°No problem, no problem.¡± The property manager is understanding. ¡°Mi Xi, say hello,¡± Chen Ying says to Mi Xi. Mi Xi is staring at the property manager¡¯s hair: a curly round head¡ªvery strange hair style. It¡¯s so ugly; doesn¡¯t she feel ugly? Hearing Chen Ying¡¯s call, Mi Xi quickly comes to her senses, bows to the property manager, and formally greets, ¡°Hello, Auntie.¡± Her attitude is very correct, and her voice is crisp and sweet, quite pleasant, but¡ªAuntie#footnote1? The property manager¡¯s smile suddenly freezes. Everyone else in the office stops and looks over. It is proven that Chen Ying¡¯s poker face is not honed enough. He is very good at writing the word ¡®embarrassment¡¯, but he quickly finds an excuse, ¡°The child likes to watch period dramas. She is mischievous and likes to make jokes.¡± The property manager hurriedly laughs and tactfully steers the conversation, ¡°The little girl is really pretty; she is fifteen?¡± ¡°Yeah, almost,¡± Chen Ying responds and shoots Mi Xi a telling glance. Mi Xi receives this look and swallows back the words to correct her age. She feels that she has perhaps made an embarrassing joke just now, so she shut her mouth. Sure enough, it¡¯s better to be quiet and make no mistakes. The property manager leads them into the reception room, shows Chen Ying several profiles of domestic workers, and brings them in, one by one, for Chen Ying to meet. Several people have similar conditions and skills. They are in their thirties and can cook. Some do Chinese food better, and some are good with Western food. They can speak simple English and do various housework. They have been trained in child care and caring for the elderly. Education is also good, and they can teach children to do simple homework. Chen Ying has always been confident in their handling of property affairs. This is a high-end community, and the service quality has always been top notch, so these few people are quite excellent. He rejects the two who are not pleasing to the eyes first.2 As for the remaining three, after meeting them, they are asked to wait outside for Chen Ying to make a decision. Chen Ying looks at the information again and asks the property manager if they could make pasta, and all three know how. So Chen Ying asks Mi Xi, ¡°What do you think, which one do you want to choose?¡± Mi Xi has been sitting upright just now and hasn¡¯t spoken, but now she has to decide. She thinks about it seriously and says carefully, ¡°I want someone who likes ¡®period drama.¡¯¡± The phrase she used earlier when she made a mistake, Uncle Chen Ying said that phrase to explain it away. The property manager bursts out laughing, but Chen Ying doesn¡¯t. He knows what Mi Xi means, and he feels a little distressed. He has really become more and more soft-hearted. Obviously the little girl is not pretending to be pitiful, but he has felt distressed several times during the short time they have spent together. ¡°Okay,¡± he agrees, and turns to the property manager. ¡°Ask who among them can speak like a period drama.¡± The property manager goes out, and it is quiet in the reception room. Chen Ying looks at Mi Xi and says to her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, after listening for a while, you will know how to speak.¡± Mi Xi purses her lips tightly, tries to hold back for a while, but finally couldn¡¯t help but burst out, ¡°I¡¯m almost eighteen. In my hometown, I can be the mother of two children at this age.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Chen Ying nods. He knows that where she came from, this age could already be the mother of two children. The baby¡¯s mother is already starting to teach the baby how to speak¡ªbut she is here, and now she has to learn how to speak herself. When she speaks as she does now, she will be laughed at by others. Chen Ying doesn¡¯t know how to comfort her. After a while, the property manager comes back in, points to one of the resum¨¦s, and says, ¡°Is this Feng Xin okay? I just chatted with them. She likes to watch period dramas and ancient novels the most, and what she says is also a little interesting. Do you want to invite her in to talk again, Mr. Chen?¡± Chen Ying look at the information and hands it to Mi Xi, ¡°Is this one okay?¡± Mi Xi nods without looking at it. Chen Ying asks the property manager to call Feng Xin in. Several matters are decided quickly, such as the salary, how to arrange the working hours, and other terms of the contract. Finally, phone numbers are exchanged and handshakes are done. Several people walk out of the property management office together and go downstairs. Mi Xi runs out of the clubhouse ahead to look at the green plants. Chen Ying and Feng Xin talk a few words together alone. Finally, Feng Xin nods and goes out to find Mi Xi. ¡°Mi Xi,¡± Feng Xin calls her and smiles at her. ¡°Hi, my name is Feng Xin. How about we call each other by first name?¡± Mi Xi nods. Feng Xin smiles again and says, ¡°There are many things we can do on weekdays, and it will definitely not be boring. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Mi Xin is stunned when she hears her words. She looks at her smile and returns it with a smile of her own, pursing her lips. So she also talks like this! She likes this Feng Xin. Feng Xin smiles again and stretches out her hand, ¡°Then I will see you tomorrow.¡± Mi Xi looks at her hand, and Feng Xin says, ¡°Here, we shake hands instead of salute.¡± Mi Xi turns her head and glances at Chen Ying. Chen Ying nods to her, Mi Xi turns to face Feng Xin again and carefully puts her hand into her outstretched palm. The two shake hands and smile at each other. __________________ FOOTNOTES: 1 Mi Xi is using an archaic form of address, used only in period dramas or certain rural areas. 2 Omo. Justice for skilled, educated people who are not quite pleasing to the eyes! CH 8.2 After Feng Xin leaves, Mi Xi is in a good mood, and starts caring about what Feng Xin will do at home and what she can do every day. Chen Ying takes Mi Xi to the garage to pick up the car so they can go to the mall. On the way, he tells her about his plans. First of all, he has to go to work every day, so he will go out every morning. Generally, if there is nothing special, he will not get home until seven or eight in the evening. In the morning, Mi Xi doesn¡¯t need to worry about it. It¡¯s okay to sleep in. He will leave breakfast on the table. Before ten o¡¯clock, Feng Xin will come in to buy groceries, and Mi Xi can play with her, cook lunch together, and then she can choose what she likes to do in the afternoon, such as writing, shopping, watching movies and so on. Then, before five o¡¯clock, Feng Xin will arrange an afternoon snack for her to pad her stomach. After five o¡¯clock, Feng Xin will go off work and leave. Mi Xi has to stay alone for a while, and when he comes back in the evening, he will take care of her dinner. Let this kind of life go on for a while, and once Mi Xi gets a little familiar with the environment, he will discuss with other people how to arrange other matters. Many of his words Mi Xi doesn¡¯t understand, so Chen Ying explains it again. Mi Xi understands half of what he said and some are even guesses. ¡°What do you think?¡± Chen Ying says. In fact, he is just asking politely. ¡°It¡¯s up to uncle to arrange,¡± Mi Xi nods seriously. ¡°Thank you uncle for taking care of me.¡± ¡°You can answer this kind of question with ¡®well¡¯ or ¡®not bad¡¯, or ¡®okay¡¯ or ¡®good.¡¯¡±1 ¡°Okay,¡± Mi Xi corrects obediently. ¡°And don¡¯t call me ¡®uncle¡¯¡ªI can¡¯t bear this honor at my young age.¡± ¡°Chen Ying.¡± ¡°Very good.¡± Chen Ying likes straightforward things. The car turns into the underground parking lot of the mall, and Chen Ying¡¯s cell phone rings. ¡°It¡¯s ringing.¡± Mi Xi stares at the glowing thing seriously. ¡°It¡¯s called a mobile phone. Someone is looking for me.¡± Mi Xi nods; she knows this. ¡°This one can talk.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Chen Ying turns the car into a parking space, puts on the Bluetooth headset, and takes the call. ¡°Hello.¡± Mi Xi stares at the headset again, and Chen Ying points to her seat belt, signaling her to get out of the car. ¡°Dad. Umm, yeah.¡± He gets out of the car first and closes the door on his side. ¡°There¡¯s a girl living with me. What did my good brother tell you? His friend¡¯s orphan child? Ha! He¡¯s pretty good at attacking first. Exactly, it¡¯s his friend¡¯s orphan child. No, she¡¯s not that small, maybe seventeen or eighteen.¡± Turning around from the front of the car, he finds that Mi Xi is still struggling with the seat belt. ¡°Well, it¡¯s okay, there¡¯s no problem for the time being. If you have free time, go and scold my brother. He doesn¡¯t care about this himself and is only afraid that you will find out.¡± He opens the car door, suddenly remembers the risk, and hurriedly says to Mi Xi, ¡°Don¡¯t move! I will unbuckle it for you, don¡¯t hit anyone.¡± He bends over, presses the button, and with a click, the safety belt is released. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I was talking to that little miss¡ªshe couldn¡¯t unbuckle her seat belt. I¡¯m taking her to buy something. Her clothes and shoes don¡¯t fit. If I won¡¯t take care of it, then you¡¯ll come with mom? How about I send her to you?¡± Find out what his parents intend, and spare no effort to find another home for her. As soon as Chen Ying says this, Mi Xi looks over. Chen Ying feels guilty for no reason and beckons her to get out of the car. But Mi Xi looks at the seat belt and is a little unconvinced. She tries to buckle it back again, and tries to open it again, this time finding the right way, and she successfully opens it. She¡¯s a little happy, and buckles it back again, wanting to open it again. Chen Ying watches helplessly as she starts fiddling with the seatbelt, while distractedly listening to his father on the phone who has now started talking business. It seems that Luo Yaqin, an older actress who worked with Lingyu before, gave Lingyu a movie script, which tells the story of a group of old actors. The prototype of the story is herself, from young to old, from not popular to popular, then from popular to not popular. The story is warm, brutally honest, and thought-provoking, but it¡¯s a pity that it¡¯s not a popular subject in the market. In addition, the middle-aged and elderly people in the story have lived more than half of their lives. There are no handsome men and beautiful women; no love, or burning passion; no exciting martial arts scenes. And Luo Yaqin herself has lived a miserable life for the past ten years. It will definitely be a big loss in the box office. Lingyu Film and Television has already made an evaluation, and no one is optimistic. But Chen Yuanqing still wants to hold a meeting to discuss this matter. He has shown Chen Ying the script before, and now he¡¯s asking for his opinion before the meeting. ¡°There¡¯s been too many films in the same genre in past two years and it¡¯s just common for them to be poorly received by critics. Will the company make money from this film? We are looking to win awards! A loss of 20 to 30 million is nothing, can we not afford it??¡± This is Chen Ying¡¯s opinion. The tone is too arrogant. ¡°Hmph, are you going to tell Director Li just like that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Why not? A good script is hard to find, and anyone with eyes and brains can see that this one is. This is a good story. Aunt Luo¡¯s acting skills are even better. Needless to say, she is old now and has been in decline, but she still had a reputation in the world back then. Didn¡¯t she agree to work with you at the time¡ªyou know what happened as a result. You want to do it, right?¡± Chen Ying understands his father¡¯s thoughts. Back then, Chen Yuanqing¡¯s film and television company was newly opened, with limited funds, and no reputation at all. Luo Yaqin, on the other hand, was very popular at the time, and her net worth was extremely high. Normally, Chen Yuanqing wouldn¡¯t have been able to afford her talent fees, but he still went to find Luo Yaqin, and who knew that Luo Yaqin would agree! That show made Lingyu Film and Television an instant hit. Chen Yuanqing values righteousness, and he definitely wants to repay this favor. Moreover, this is indeed a good script, but unfortunately there is no money to be made. Chen Ying knows that Chen Yuanqing has broader thinking than him, and it¡¯s true that the older the ginger, the spicier it is2. He doesn¡¯t want to embarrass those executives who voted against the script. After all, it¡¯s about making or losing money and this needs to be explained properly to everyone, so he needs his son¡¯s support. Chen Ying and Chen Yuanqing have a rough discussion about the matter then set a time for the meeting. Chen Yuanqing also raises concerns about the lost 40 million in advertisement agency fees3. Chen Ying smiles, and says that the old man has good eyes and ears. Chen Ying talks to him about his ideas, and he wants to figure out what is going on. If the root cause is not solved, there would be future troubles in signing and executing the contract. As he¡¯s talking, he sees that Mi Xi finally confirms to her satisfaction that she can beat the seat belt, and gets out of the car. Chen Ying beckons her to come over, then he raises his hand and presses the electronic lock, and the car locks with a ¡°beep¡±. Chen Ying walks towards the elevator still talking on the phone, but stops when he notices Mi Xi going back to the car. He sees Mi Xi pull the door handle hard, confirm that it really can¡¯t be opened, nod in satisfaction, and then walk back to him. Still talking on the phone, Chen Ying laughs and shakes his head. She unexpectedly still knows to worry about this ah! Really caring! ______________ FOOTNOTES: 1Chen Ying is teaching her modern phrases and that not everything needs to be answered seriously. He just said something like ¡®okay?¡¯ that¡¯s tagged at the end of conversation sentences; he wasn¡¯t really asking. 2The older the ginger, the spicer it is. An idiom meaning the older, the wiser. Personally, it¡¯s one of those phrases that I know from having read too, too many c-novels and translation footnotes. 3This is referring to the Yongkai contract that the other party isn¡¯t signing for some yet unexplained reason. CH 9.1 Chen Ying leads Mi Xi inside the shopping mall and is showing her shoes when the phone rings again. Mi Xi is not at all curious about Chen Ying answering the phone now. Chen Ying points to the shoes and tells her, ¡°Look at them yourself. Go try it if you like any.¡± He looks at the phone: it¡¯s Secretary Lu Ya calling. Lu Ya informs him that Yongkai¡¯s Wang Bing has chosen seven o¡¯clock in the western restaurant of Regal Hotel. Chen Ying smiles and tells her, ¡°Book a private room at the Caesars Club for me at ten o¡¯clock in the evening, then contact the other party and tell him that seven o¡¯clock is too serious a time¡ªit won¡¯t be easy to talk. I¡¯ll see him at Caesars at ten o¡¯clock in the evening. Give him the private box number, and text me when you¡¯re done booking.¡± The secretary agrees. Chen Ying is satisfied now. Asking the other party to book the time and place first is just so they can book a later and more expensive place than him. This kind of thing can not only overwhelm the other party, but also make the other party feel that he, Chen Ying, is a dissolute son of a noble house, and when he speaks like this, that he has no scruples. After Chen Ying hangs up the phone, he finds that Mi Xi is still standing there. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, why don¡¯t you look at the shoes?¡± ¡°They all look ugly,¡± Mi Xi whispers. She looked at them seriously earlier, but she really feels they are ugly and weird, so she can¡¯t bear to look at them anymore. Chen Ying looks down at the shoes on her feet. ¡°What about this pair then?¡± ¡°At that time, I had no choice but this one.¡± Mi Xi feels that her answer is quite reasonable. She really had no choice but to wear it at the time. Now that she has worn it, she doesn¡¯t mind if she continues to wear it. Chen Ying looks back up at her face. Mi Xi raises her head too, and looks back at him, a serious look on her small face. ¡°Does that mean that there are too many choices now, and your disgust for them is overwhelming?¡± Mi Xi frowns, thinks about what he means, and shakes her head. Uncle is doing it for her own good, and spending money on shoes is also for her, so it¡¯s not good to discredit him too much. ¡°How about¡­ I take a closer look at it.¡± ¡°Take a good look,¡± Chen Ying waves his hand, imitating her tone, and leads Mi Xi to walk around the shoe area. Mi Xi frowns more and more, serious and embarrassed. Anyway, they are all equally ugly, so it is even more difficult to choose. The two shopping guides on the side watch her carefully, and Chen Ying folds his arms and looks at her too. Really, that small posture, it¡¯s not that of someone who came to buy shoes but like someone who came to check work. After waiting for a long time, Mi Xi still can¡¯t make a decision. She doesn¡¯t even do such things as stretching out her finger and saying, ¡®How about I try this?¡¯. Chen Ying looks at his watch, exhales, and walks over. ¡°You know, that Mr. 2238 said that I am the most suitable person to take care of you, and now I think I know why.¡± Mi Xi blinks her eyes¡ªthey haven¡¯t recovered yet from the pain of looking at shoes. ¡°It¡¯s because I like to help others make decisions.¡± After Chen Ying finishes speaking, he reaches out and takes the flat heels he¡¯s been looking at from the shoe rack to the side, hands them to the saleslady, and points to Mi Xi. ¡°Please help her get her size.¡± He doesn¡¯t look at the price at all. This kind of customer ah¡ªthe saleslady likes them very much. She happily leads Mi Xi to sit down, looks at her feet, and chooses the shoe size for her to try. Mi Xi stares at the shoes, then back up at Chen Ying. ¡°Put them on first,¡± Chen Ying says. After wearing it, Mi Xi stands up and takes two steps. ¡°Get this pair.¡± Too easy, and anything else is just a waste of time. Chen Ying quickly points to another pair of running shoes, and then asks the saleslady to bring a pair of slippers worn at home. The saleslady quickly brings them all together. Under Chen Ying¡¯s stare, Mi Xi tries on the running shoes, too. They fit well and are comfortable to walk on, and so, although they are ugly, Mi Xi has no objections. ¡°Swipe the card and pack them all. You don¡¯t need to change the pair on her feet.¡± Chen Ying is very satisfied: this is called shopping¡ªhow very refreshing. Wearing new shoes and carrying two shoe boxes, Mi Xi follows Chen Ying to continue shopping. Walking upstairs to the branded clothing area, Chen Ying doesn¡¯t ask her anymore. He quickly glances at each shop, leads her to the brand of clothes suitable for her age, points his finger, and asks, ¡°Do they look ugly too?¡± Mi Xi examines them carefully, then nods seriously. They¡¯re not even as pleasing to the eyes as the one she¡¯s used to wearing now. ¡°Okay, you don¡¯t need to express your opinion,¡± Chen Ying says. Mi Xi is quite obedient: she really doesn¡¯t express an opinion. In fact, she doesn¡¯t speak at all. Chen Ying brings her a piece of clothing¡ªa dress, this time. After thinking about it, he looks at the neckline and then at the hem of the skirt. He tentatively hands it to Mi Xi for a look. Mi Xi shakes her head firmly. ¡°Not wearing it.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Chen Ying puts the clothes back¡ªhe knew it would be like that. He beckons to the saleslady and points to Mi Xi. ¡°Please help her choose some clothes that can cover her whole body.¡± The saleslady is taken aback when she hears that, but Mi Xi nods vigorously. Clothes that can cover the whole body are actually not easy to find. Low necklines are in fashion, and the shops are transitioning to summer clothes for the season. Most of the offerings are thin fabrics with half sleeves. In the end, they only found a set of casual, long-sleeved clothes from this brand. While Mi Xi is off to try on the clothes, Chen Ying receives a call from Cheng Jiangyi. ¡°Chen Ying, how is my family¡¯s little Mi Xi doing with you?¡± ¡°If she belongs to your family, take her away quickly.¡± ¡°Alas, Providence cannot be violated. Xiaopei and I are also very sad to hand her over to you.¡± ¡°Heart disease is difficult to treat. Please seek medical attention as soon as possible.¡± ¡°What are you doing now?¡± Cheng Jiangyi, it seems, couldn¡¯t hear the sarcasm and provocation at all. ¡°Helping her buy outfits at the mall.¡± ¡°Well, that sounds very sweet.¡± ¡°Very sweet indeed,¡± Chen Ying sneers again. ¡°I have traveled the rivers and lakes for many years in order to hone this ability of mine to deal with difficult choices.¡± Cheng Jiangyi laughs¡ªand suddenly remembers something. ¡°By the way, let me share my experience: please pay attention to her underwear and aunt¡¯s towel.¡±1 Damn it! Chen Ying spits out a few foul words fluently. He completely forgot that such a thing could happen at all. He would have thrown Mi Xi to Cheng Jiangyi, or to Chen Fei, or even to his parents, had he realized this earlier. No, he¡¯d known about it earlier, but he simply hadn¡¯t had time to process things. He¡¯d been temporarily soft-hearted, and he hadn¡¯t been willing to use an easy but rude way of dealing with things. Cheng Jiangyi doesn¡¯t smile this time, instead he says quickly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will help you, just wait a moment. Chen Ying thinks he¡¯s not in a hurry, he¡¯s just irritable. Then he hears Cheng Jiangyi shouting in the background: ¡°Xiaopei, Xiaopei, tell Chen Ying what size underwear Mi Xi wears. And how do you buy your aunt¡¯s towels.¡± F*ck. F*ck. F*ck. Chen Ying continues to swear in his heart, but he doesn¡¯t swear out loud because Su Xiaopei is already on the other end of the phone. Su Xiaopei still hasn¡¯t recovered from her sickness, and her clogged, nasal voice is very heavy. She talks about Mi Xi¡¯s size, and some details to pay attention to when buying things, such as materials, and says that she taught Mi Xi how to wear them last night. Taught her how to wear it, then why didn¡¯t you just take care of it all? Didn¡¯t you say you would arrange everything for her? And he, a big man, obviously only needs to provide the house and take care of the meals, right? Chen Ying really wants to ask Su Xiaopei that, but she is a sick patient, and she is seriously telling him about girls¡¯ underwear. Chen Ying¡¯s head is about to smoke. Damn it, why is he now reduced to discussing women¡¯s products with his friend¡¯s wife on the phone? While talking, Mi Xi comes out wearing the casual set; she looks a little uncomfortable. Chen Ying feels that he can¡¯t give her a chance to waver at all, so he says to the saleslady, ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± and hands over the card. Then he says to the phone, ¡°Okay, okay, I see, let¡¯s do this first: if I encounter difficulties or have something I don¡¯t understand, I will call you.¡± Just as he was about to hang up, Cheng Jiangyi snatches the phone and says that Su Xiaopei wants to talk to Mi Xi on the phone. Chen Ying hands the phone to Mi Xi. ¡°Su Xiaopei, your Aunt Su, wants to talk to you.¡± Mi Xi takes the phone curiously, not knowing how to fiddle with it. Chen Ying grabs the phone back and orients her, pushing her hand to her ear. At that point, Mi Xi hears Su Xiaopei¡¯s voice saying, ¡°Hello¡±. Mi Xi forgets for a moment that her hand has been touched by a man and replies excitedly, ¡°Auntie, it¡¯s me!¡± She looks up at Chen Ying, her eyes shining brightly, excitedly pointing to the phone. Chen Ying nods agreeably¡ªhe knew, he knew that little box could talk. Su Xiaopei asks Mi Xi how her day is going, whether she is used to living in Chen Ying¡¯s house, and what she has eaten. When Chen Ying heard Mi Xi happily answer that both breakfast and lunch were steamed dumplings, Chen Ying can¡¯t help but rub his face: it wasn¡¯t that he abused her, he really didn¡¯t! The saleslady brings over the bank card and shopping receipt. Chen Ying thanks her, touches Mi Xi¡¯s arm, and signals her to follow him. Mi Xi is immersed in the excitement of the first phone call, and once again ignores the physical touch. Chen Ying leads Mi Xi who is still talking on the phone and finds another brand that looks quite suitable. As usual, he points to Mi Xi and tells the saleslady that he wants clothes for her that could cover the whole body. The saleslady goes off to search, and Chen Ying hears Mi Xi answer, ¡°Uncle is talking half the time.¡± Chen Ying¡¯s face turns green: how can he be a chatterbox? He is obviously a simple and capable man. Mi Xi goes on to say, ¡°He¡¯s not talking to me; it¡¯s this small box. Yes, it¡¯s this mobile phone.¡± Chen Ying¡¯s face is dark, it¡¯s as if she¡¯s complaining about him. The saleslady comes out with two sets of long-sleeved blouses with trousers and asks if these would work? Chen Ying looks at the neckline and the color matching, shakes his head, and says they will take another look. He motions for Mi Xi to follow him, and it¡¯s at this moment that he realizes that she hadn¡¯t taken the bag of the shoes that they bought earlier. He sighs, goes back to the store where they bought the clothes, and takes the bag of shoes. Mi Xi is still talking on the phone, and walks ahead of him. Chen Ying follows her with the shoeboxes and takes a look at the situation: Miss Mi Xi is really a big name ah! He, Second Young Master Chen, never helps women carry bags, okay? __________________ Annnd we got a shopping arc! Huzzah!! FOOTNOTE: 1Considering that ¡®aunt¡¯s visit¡¯ is used euphemistically for menstruation, I presume the ¡®aunt¡¯s towel¡¯ here refers to menstrual pads lmao. CH 9.2 They go to another store, but still can¡¯t find the right clothes. Chen Ying¡¯s patience runs out. ¡°Okay, the phone is confiscated, don¡¯t talk anymore. Focus on looking at the clothes.¡± Although Mi Xi is reluctant, she obediently hands the phone over. Chen Ying quickly says goodbye to the other end, hangs up the phone, and takes Mi Xi straight to the sports brand store. Now, it¡¯s all wrapped-from-head-to-toe, all-zippered, and can be pulled up to the top of the neck. Chen Ying quickly takes three sets, reports the size they want, asks Mi Xi to try on the clothes to confirm that there is no problem, and swipes the card to pack them. Then head straight to the underwear store. Mi Xi has talked with Su Xiaopei on the phone and has made some mental preparations, but she is still very uncomfortable. Chen Ying is even more uncomfortable, but he couldn¡¯t back down at this time. Damn it, what does teenage underwear look like? He is frowning and looking at the styles, and from the corner of his eyes, he sees Mi Xi secretly pull the saleslady aside and tell her, ¡°I want cotton ones, but not thickly padded ones.¡± The saleslady smiles and nods to help her choose the style. Chen Ying looks over just as Mi Xi also peeks over, both pretending to be okay. Mi Xi tries hard not to blush, while Chen Ying continues to swear in his heart. F*ck. This. Sh*t. That¡¯s right, just now Su Xiaopei has already given remote guidance, so why is he still involved ah? Damn it, he really wants to smoke a cigarette. Chen Ying stands outside the store and waits, feeling uncomfortable all over because he¡¯s addicted to cigarettes and the smoking ban in this place prevents him from smoking. He looks at his watch. Fortunately, there is enough time. He waits for a while, looking back from time to time, and sees that the saleslady has selected several items for Mi Xi. She points to the fitting room, but Mi Xi waves her hand, as if she¡¯s embarrassed to try. Since that¡¯s the case, then don¡¯t try it. Chen Ying goes back in and asks the saleslady to swipe the card and pack everything. Both he and Mi Xi secretly breathe a sigh of relief¡ªthe most difficult part of shopping is finally over! Fortunately, Auntie¡¯s towel doesn¡¯t need to be bought right away. Chen Ying thinks he¡¯ll ask Feng Xin to help buy it later; this kind of thing doesn¡¯t need to be done by Mi Xi and himself. It can be done directly in the supermarket and thrown into the shopping cart¡ªso easy! The two continue shopping, ending up with bags and bags. Chen Ying plans to choose a place to eat here. He answers another call and after talking for a few minutes, he hangs up and finds Mi Xi standing outside an ice cream shop, looking in curiously. In the store, two children are waiting for their cones with obvious excitement. Mi Xi looks at them, then at the big advertising picture of ice cream cones outside. Chen Ying sighs and walks over. ¡°It¡¯s very beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡± Mi Xi nods, her eyes sparkling. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Chen Ying leads Mi Xi into the store, and there are more than a dozen flavors of ice cream to choose from. Chen Ying doesn¡¯t give Mi Xi a chance. He thinks that if he gives her the choice, they will probably have to stand in this store for half an hour. ¡°Vanilla, one scoop.¡± The clerk quickly digs out one scoop, puts it on a cone, and hands it over. Mi Xi looks at it, very excited, but also very careful, and doesn¡¯t dare take it. She looks at the children just now: they are licking happily. ¡°What is it?¡± she asks quietly. Chen Ying pays over the money, takes the cone, and passes it to Mi Xi. ¡°Try it, you can eat it.¡± Mi Xi can¡¯t help smiling. Although she doesn¡¯t know the taste, seeing the children eating so happily, she also feels a little anticipation. She takes it with much caution and says, ¡°Thank you.¡± Chen Ying smiles¡ªthis little miss is still very polite. Every time he does something for her, she would say thank you. He watches Mi Xi look at the cone and then at the kids, again and again, probably studying how to eat it. Mi Xi carefully sticks out her tongue and licks it a little. Surprised by the ice coldness, her eyes go round, but she hasn¡¯t actually tasted anything yet. Seeing Chen Ying looking at her, she smiles; feeling shy, she turns her back and carefully licks a bit bigger this time. It tastes sweet and fragrant, and the ice is soft. She almost jumps up, her eyes narrowing in pure joy. Chen Ying can see her expression clearly in the decorative mirror next to her and almost can¡¯t help laughing out loud. Should she be so exaggerated and vivid? Does she think she¡¯s shooting an advertisement? Mi Xi doesn¡¯t want to move and stands stock still, licking the ice cream clean. Chen Ying waits and reminds her that the cone can also be eaten. Mi Xi eats it, but her expression is a bit regretful¡ªit seems that she likes the ice cream part more. After eating, she wipes her hands with the paper towel handed over by Chen Ying, and looks at the ¡®very beautiful¡¯ ice cream cone posters several times, feeling very reluctant, until finally, under Chen Ying¡¯s watchful eyes, they finally leave. Chen Ying looks at the mall¡¯s shopping guide map. There is a Thai restaurant on this floor. He decides to eat Thai food, but when they walk past McDonald¡¯s, there is a poster advertising soft serve ice cream cones hanging outside. Mi Xi is suddenly excited again, pointing at it; Chen Ying shakes his head. Mi Xi is positively drooling, and when she sees the picture of the hamburger next to it, she feels shy to ask, but she still tries to point to the hamburger. Chen Ying frowns and stares at her. Mi Xi lowers her head slightly, biting her lips and tightening the corners of her mouth, feeling very embarrassed, but she can¡¯t help but glance at the poster again. Chen Ying looks at the signboard of the Thai restaurant not far away from where they are and sighs in his heart. Forget it. He has already eaten everything, but Mi Xi hasn¡¯t tasted anything yet, so just wrap it up, don¡¯t blame him for her lack of vision. It¡¯s either steamed buns or hamburger buns¡ªshe will choose buns! He walks into McDonald¡¯s. Mi Xi is overjoyed and runs after him. There are so many ¡®very beautiful¡¯ pictures, Mi Xi looks at them carefully. Before she finishes looking at everything, Chen Ying has already finished ordering. She watches him hand over the money and take the tray full of food. With the shopping bag hanging on her arm, she hurriedly follows, finds a seat with him and sits down. Surrounded by people, Mi Xi looks curiously around her, and finally returns her attention to the magical food. ¡°This is Coke.¡± Mi Xi stares at the cup with a pipe inserted in it and listens to Chen Ying say, ¡°You¡¯ve never drank this before coming to this world, but since you¡¯re already here just drink it less. I only want you to taste it¡ªbut don¡¯t drink too much in the future.¡± Such a miraculous thing? Mi Xi looks at Chen Ying and imitates him, taking a small sip on the straw. Ummm, it doesn¡¯t taste like much. She is serious again: this taste needs to be pondered. Chen Ying laughs out loud, takes a hamburger and demonstrates how to open it and take a big bite. Mi Xi watches with disapproval on her face. Chen Ying purses his lips and asks her to look around: he wasn¡¯t alone in eating it this way. Mi Xi looks around, sighs, and says to him, ¡°There are a lot of indecent and inappropriate things here.¡± Chen Ying smiles. ¡°Hurry up and do something indecent and inappropriate, little young lady.¡± Mi Xi sighs again, picks up the hamburger, opens it, and looks at it carefully for a while. Chen Ying can¡¯t help but say, ¡°What are you staring at for so long, fill your stomach quickly.¡± ¡°I was talking to my parents. I told them that I am alive and I ate things that I have never eaten before. It is very different here¡ªbut I¡¯m alive.¡± Chen Ying is stunned for a moment, and before he has time to be infected with sadness, he sees Mi Xi open her small mouth bravely, and bite on the hamburger. The dressing spills a little from her mouth, but she doesn¡¯t care, and continues to munch on it. Seeing him looking at her, she smiles at him: her eyes are red, but she¡¯s still trying to smile. Chen Ying also smiles at her and hands her a tissue. He pours out the fries, teaches her to squeeze the ketchup, and how to eat her fries. After eating this meal, Mi Xi comments, ¡°The taste is quite good, but I prefer the dim sum shop.¡± Chen Ying silently helps her take half of the shopping bags, thinking that it¡¯s a good thing no one asked for your opinion. As the two go downstairs, Chen Ying answers another call. It¡¯s Wang Bing, the vice president of Yongkai who he¡¯s going to meet that night. He wants to confirm the time of the meeting with Chen Ying directly and says that he would be there on time. Hello and goodbye, all very polite. After Chen Ying ends the call, he sees Mi Xi leaning on the railing, looking down at the floor below. To her, everything is new and everything is very interesting. He remembers her saying that he¡¯s on the phone half the time, and that does seem to be the case. And she is always alone, with no friends. He should buy her a mobile phone so that she can contact him, Su Xiaopei, and the others¡ªso she can feel that there is someone by her side. Thinking about it this way, Chen Ying takes Mi Xi to pick out a mobile phone. Mi Xi doesn¡¯t think this new gadget is ugly. On the contrary, it seems that all of them are very beautiful. She doesn¡¯t know the functions, so she only picks the color, but there are quite few colors available. With a final finger pointing, Chen Ying sees that she is indeed from a General¡¯s household, and she dares to make a move. There are so many counters, but she chose the most expensive one. Chen Ying doesn¡¯t want to spoil her interest¡ªalthough he honestly feels that she can¡¯t use 99.9% of the features¡ªso he still buys it for her. She obviously has no concept of price. Once they get into the car with all these trophies, Chen Ying is hit by the realization of how ignorant of their world Mi Xi truly is. She asks him happily, ¡°Why do you need money for food, but not for other things like clothes and mobile phones?¡± Chen Ying almost pulled out the steering wheel in his shock. Swiping the card is also paying money, Miss! Are all those shopping bags in the backseat stolen goods? CH 10 This matter is quite serious. Chen Ying can¡¯t help but use Mi Xi¡¯s language to strengthen his tone. He doesn¡¯t care about spending money; other people may not know but he himself can¡¯t not pay! This kind of ¡®rich, handsome guy¡¯ who ¡®treats shopping like it¡¯s nothing but doesn¡¯t actually pay¡¯¡ª he really feels wronged! Chen Ying takes out the wallet and shows her the bank card. ¡°This kind of card is also money.¡± He wants to introduce basic financial knowledge to her. ¡°I bought something just now. When you saw that I gave them the card, they deducted my money. Only after the money is deducted will the things be given to us.¡± Mi Xi¡¯s face becomes serious after hearing this. She stares at that card carefully. Chen Ying simply takes out all the cards in the wallet and shows them to her. ¡°It looks different.¡± Mi Xi takes it and looks at it carefully. ¡°Different cards and different banks. Um¡­ I mean, different ¡®bank¡¯1.¡± ¡°Silver note card.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s a ¡®silver note¡¯ card,¡± Chen Ying says. ¡°Everything in the mall costs money. See, it¡¯s okay to give these banknotes as payment.¡± He shows her the paper bills, lets her read them, then places them back into his wallet; takes back the cards, and puts them back in the wallet. ¡°It¡¯s okay to take the card and let them deduct the money in it, but it¡¯s not free. I mean, things can¡¯t be taken away without paying first.¡± She really shouldn¡¯t think that one day she will go to the mall to get something for free and run away. Then he¡¯ll have to go to the police station to bail her out. Chen Ying roughly tells Mi Xi about the denominations of banknotes, the types of bank cards, and the personal ownership of bank cards. The money in the bank card is his own money, and the amount of money in it is limited. Some people have more, and some people have less. When people want to buy something, it doesn¡¯t mean they can just take out any card and pay. He talks for a long time, and seeing Mi Xi¡¯s expression, he knows that she doesn¡¯t understand too much, but her face is serious and dignified. After he thinks about it, her knowledge of these common sense things is probably not as good as that of a five-year-old child. Chen Ying decides to give up temporarily. He asks Mi Xi to fasten her seat belt and drives home. Mi Xi is silent all the way, the excitement of buying a lot of things and eating delicious food is gone. She finally realizes a very serious matter: she owes people a lot of money. Back home, Chen Ying expects that Mi Xi will unbox the mobile phone immediately and ask him to teach her how to play with it. She might not be interested in clothes and shoes that look ugly to her eyes, but she likes novelties like mobile phones. When they were selecting mobile phones and phone cards earlier, she was saying that she wants to talk to Aunt Su when they get home and tell her that she also has a mobile phone now; and she also wants to talk to Mr. Yue Lao and tell him that she is doing well, so that he would not worry. At that time, she was so excited, but now that she has really returned home, she only took the items from the shopping bags but didn¡¯t seem to intend opening them at all. Chen Ying looks at his watch. At 8:23pm, he still has some time. If she doesn¡¯t unbox it, then okay, he will unbox it. After teaching her, he¡¯ll urge her to wash and go to bed so that he can then go out by himself. He beckons Mixi to come and sit on the sofa beside him. He shows her how to unpack the mobile phone, telling her that this is the unit, this is the battery, this is the earphone, this is the phone card, and this is the charger. Put on the battery and the phone card, and then charge the phone first, so that you can make a call when it is charged. As he speaks and moves, Mi Xi watches. Chen Ying plugs in the charger, then looks at Mi Xi again, ¡°Okay, tell me, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Mi Xi purses her lips, bites her lip again, finally makes up her mind, and asks, ¡°Uncle, how much did you spend on clothes, mobile phones, food, and everything?¡± Chen Ying is stunned. He doesn¡¯t expect the little miss to think about this. ¡°Well, not much.¡± He only glanced at those shopping receipts earlier and didn¡¯t look at the prices, but he really wouldn¡¯t care about how much it was and settle it with a little miss. When he brought her back with him, he knew that it would cost money to raise her, so he doesn¡¯t care about it now. ¡°After all, there should be an account.¡± Mi Xi¡¯s face is very serious, and when she becomes serious, she is quite imposing. Chen Ying smiles. ¡°I still have to count for you? Are you still planning to pay me back?¡± Mi Xi nods seriously. ¡°I dare not forget what my father has taught me since I was a child. I have no skills, and my uncle, aunt, and Mr. Yue Lao are bothered to take care of me. Although I don¡¯t know what will happen in the future, but if I don¡¯t die, I may be able to repay you one day. I would like to write down what I, Mi Xi, owe.¡± ¡®If I don¡¯t die¡¯. Chen Ying is very uncomfortable hearing these words. ¡°How old are you, why are you dying?¡± ¡°I have died once. Mr. Yue Lao from my hometown said that my parents have always hoped for a good home for me. Although he has been working hard, it is a pity that he failed to achieve it. Unexpectedly, misfortune happened. Our whole family went away, and my parents could not see me getting into the bridal sedan in their lifetime. Mr. Yue Lao hoped that I would cherish the added years of life and live a good life. ¡°I know that Mr. Yuelao was coaxing me, and he wanted me to agree to come here. But what he said was right: my Father and mother¡ª¡± she pauses, and then says, ¡°Before that happened, they were nagging all the time, and they spent a lot of effort trying to find a good family for me. My father said I couldn¡¯t be a military commander so don¡¯t think about it anymore, be serious about finding a good marriage. But after talking with several relatives, for some reason, things didn¡¯t go well, either because of this or that reason. Some said that the horoscopes were incompatible, others thought that my martial arts made me too rough. One family talked with mine properly, but in the end, the son of the family eloped with the maidservant. There are also some matters that I don¡¯t want to get into. ¡°In short, it didn¡¯t work out. From my fourteenth year to the seventeenth, my marriage matters dragged on. I know that many people also laughed at me. I was not afraid, but my parents lost face, and they felt sorry for me, and I also didn¡¯t feel good.¡± Mi Xi bites her lip, and then says, ¡°After I died, I saw Mr. Yue Lao and he told me that all these happened because there was no one on the other end of my red thread. He advised me to come here, saying that he had made arrangements and someone would help me. He said he was not capable enough to let me marry a good man when I was in my hometown, but I still have a chance. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to come. Since I have died, I wanted to go with my parents, my younger siblings, and we will be family members in the underworld. But Mr. Yue Lao said he doesn¡¯t know where the underworld is, and he said that I can¡¯t see my family anymore; the fate of that life is over, and can¡¯t be continued. He also said that I am different from others, and the Red Thread System gave him instructions: my life should not end, and the search for marriage should not end. ¡°He said that he had searched for the souls of my parents and asked for their consent, so he came to talk to me. He said that the red thread sent me here, and if I find a destined person, I would be able to continue my life and get married. He asked me to be brave, let me try it. If I can achieve it in the end, it will also comfort the spirit of my parents.¡± Chen Ying doesn¡¯t know how to comfort her, he had never encountered such a thing. Moreover, Mi Xi, who acted like a child in the shopping mall just a few minutes ago, has said such serious words with an air of maturity¡ªit makes him a little uncomfortable. ¡°Mr. Yue Lao said that there is a girl named Sue Xiaopei¡ªwell, it is Aunt Su. She and her husband also experienced a period of ups and downs in a different world back then, and now they are finally happy. He told me not to panic, saying that I would be able to do the same. I don¡¯t know how I would, but I agreed.¡± Chen Ying clears his throat and finally thinks of what he can say, ¡°Don¡¯t regret it, Mi Xi. Look forward.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t regret it; there is no turning back. Besides, there really is no way back: I have already died. What else can I do?¡± Mi Xi raises her head, with determination on her small face. ¡°Mr. Yue Lao is kind, uncles and aunt are kind¡ªI shouldn¡¯t be dejected.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good.¡± ¡°If I am not dead, I will learn some skills and repay my uncles and aunt. I will earn money and silver, and return it to my uncle.¡± ¡°Yes, yes,¡± Chen Ying replies, but he can¡¯t quite imagine Mi Xi being a strong woman in the workplace, earning money in the future. Pay him back? He¡¯s really not counting on it. ¡°Then how much did those things cost?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t calculated yet, and I¡¯ll have to spend money later too. I¡¯ll just show you when I get a detailed account book.¡± ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll be bothering uncle about this.¡± Mi Xi continues, ¡°When it comes to ledgers, I also know how to do it. The accountant taught me, and I can also use an abacus.¡± There is a little pride in her tone. ¡°Not bad, really good.¡± Chen Ying wants to encourage her, but there¡¯s really nothing to boast about. Knowing how to use an abacus in this time and age is really not a skill. ¡°Let me teach you how to use the mobile phone first. After you have learned it, you can chat with people you know when you are bored.¡± Mi Xi nods, and Chen Ying takes the mobile phone over, enters his number, and sets it as shortcut key 1. Next he enters Cheng Jiangyi¡¯s number and sets the shortcut key 2. Thinking about it, he really has to ask Su Xiaopei¡¯s phone number next time. Just save these two now¡ªthat should be enough for her. ¡°Look, every mobile phone has a number, which is digital. This is my number.¡± He dials it and shows it to Mi Xi. ¡°Number?¡± Mi Xi¡¯s small face is unbelievably serious. Chen Ying thinks that Mi Xi is nervous because she doesn¡¯t understand these operations, so he comforts her. ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s not a big deal if you press the wrong one. I¡¯ve set it up for you. Look, press this, press 1, and you will find my number.¡± Chen Ying¡¯s phone rings. ¡°Look, my cell phone is ringing.¡± He gives Mi Xi her phone, and then picks up his own cell phone to answer the call. ¡°Hey, hello. Did you hear that?¡± Mi Xi can¡¯t help smiling and nods after hearing his voice through the phone. Chen Ying hangs up the phone and continues to teach. ¡°Just like before, press the 2 button to call Uncle Cheng. I don¡¯t have your Aunt Su¡¯s phone number, so I will just add it later. Alright, the teaching is over.¡± He hands the phone back to Mi Xi. ¡°Call me to try.¡± Mi Xi presses the button, and Chen Ying¡¯s phone rings; he is satisfied. After rejecting the call, he dials Mi Xi himself, and then teaches her how to answer and hang up. Mi Xi tries twice as usual, and both attempts are successful. The little face finally shows a smile again, looking very happy indeed. ¡°Okay, do you have any questions?¡± Looking at his watch, it is almost time for him to go out. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Tell me.¡± ¡°Are these what you called ¡®numbers¡¯? Is this ¡®one¡¯ or ¡®two¡¯?¡± Mi Xi asks while pointing to the buttons. Chen Ying is stunned for a moment. ¡°You don¡¯t know how to count?¡± ¡°I know how to count, and I can read the ledger and use the abacus.¡± Mi Xi can¡¯t help raising her little chin. ¡°¡­¡± He finally realized a big problem. Arabic numerals are new to ancient girls! ______________ FOOTNOTE: 1Chen Ying uses a different word here that literally translates to ¡®money farm¡¯. Supposedly it refers to illegal foreign currency laundering but perhaps it has a different use in archaic language so Mi Xi would understand it differently. CH 11.1 ¡°Well, you will have time to learn about this in the future.¡± Chen Ying nods, not knowing whether he¡¯s comforting Mi Xi or himself. Being an uncle is really not easy¡ªhe truly underestimated the difficulty of the task! Mi Xi just blinks, still waiting for an answer. ¡°This is a kind of counting.¡± Chen Ying uses the phone keypad to teach the very basics of numbers, ¡°Look, counting like this, 123, 456, 789, the one in the middle below is 0.¡± Mi Xi looks down at the keypad in all seriousness, feeling a little frustrated: even the numbers look different? ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about this, I will teach you later. It¡¯s really very simple.¡± Right, it should be very simple. To be honest, Chen Ying is a little uncertain, too. He plugs the phone back into the charger and points it out to Mi Xi. ¡°These small boxes represent the power of this phone, and it cannot make calls without power. Look, it only has two boxes now. Plug this in and let it charge. You can use it when the boxes are full. Do you understand?¡± Actually, Mi Xi doesn¡¯t understand it too well, but she understands the basic thing: use it when the little boxes are full. She just needs to know this. ¡°Okay,¡± Chen Ying looks at his watch again, ¡°I¡¯m going out for a while. You take a shower, change clothes, and go to bed.¡± He suddenly remembers that he forgot to buy pajamas for this girl. ¡°Are there any pajamas in the clothes that your Aunt Su prepared for you?¡± Mi Xi¡¯s expression is blank. Chen Ying shakes his head, ¡°I¡¯ll go to your room and take a look at your clothes.¡± In Mi Xi¡¯s room, the bag of clothes is still thrown on the floor, and the bag itself is still unopened. Mi Xi follows behind, feeling guilty. She has been lazy and did not clean up¡ªnow she feels ashamed. Chen Ying opens her bag, takes out her clothes, and sees that she really has a set of pajamas. Su Xiaopei was really meticulous. He opens the closet, takes out a few hangers, hangs the other clothes on the hangers, and beckons Mi Xi to come over and take a look. ¡°You have to tidy up your closet by yourself. Hang the big clothes like this, and fold the small ones so they don¡¯t get wrinkled, and put them in the drawers.¡± Mi Xi nods. But by now, Chen Ying¡ªby default¡ªdoubts how much she actually understands. He points to the set of pajamas thrown on the bed, ¡°Go take a shower, then wear this. This is called ¡®pajamas¡¯. Has your Aunt Su taught you how to wear it?¡± Mi Xi nods, and Chen Ying automatically asks again, ¡°Did she teach you not to wear those things when you sleep¡­¡± Bra. Bra, underwear¡ªhe doesn¡¯t say the words, actually chokes. Forget it, the old man is right: it¡¯s hard to say something to a young miss. He waves his hand, ¡°I mean, don¡¯t wear the suit you are wearing now when you sleep, you should change into your pajamas, so that you will be comfortable when you sleep.¡± Mi Xi¡¯s face is a little red. She really feels uncomfortable talking to a man about what to wear when going to bed. Really, very uncomfortable! But this world doesn¡¯t seem to have a taboo about this, and she has to work hard to follow the local customs, so she restrains her shyness and awkwardness, and nods yet again. Chen Ying points to the closet, ¡°Tidy it yourself, hang up all the clothes we bought. Then quickly take a shower and go to bed.¡± After speaking, he¡¯s about to go out, but after thinking about it, he turns back to say, ¡°You have to cover yourself with the quilt when you sleep.¡± Mi Xi nods with a straight face, red with embarrassment. She watches Chen Ying leave the room and wants to ask him where he¡¯s going this late at night but then thinks that she shouldn¡¯t ask too many questions, and that maybe she wouldn¡¯t understand even if he tells her. She obediently focuses on packing up her things, tidying things up with caution. Chen Ying goes to his study and calls Feng Xin. ¡°Miss Feng, I¡¯m sorry to disturb you at night. That¡¯s it. When you come over tomorrow, can you buy some basic textbooks for children to learn arithmetic? Learn Arabic numerals and simple arithmetic, um, the nine-by-nine multiplication table may be too early, but if you have it, please bring it with you. Hmm, there is also an exercise book? Ahh, for children to learn to write. Hmm, there is a pen grip corrector? What is that? The thing that corrects the posture of holding the pencil? Oh, I really didn¡¯t know that there are these things now, so do bring them together. No, no, there is no other child: it¡¯s Mi Xi. Well, it¡¯s like this, Miss Feng, Mi Xi, she¡¯s a child of a distant relative. She grew up in the countryside. Her family was too poor and she didn¡¯t have the opportunity to read any books. She has grown up so much and her education has been delayed. Now she can¡¯t go to school because she won¡¯t be able to keep up with the classes, so I have to trouble you to teach her some homework every day. Let her have a basic understanding of arithmetic, teach her how to use electrical appliances, and have the ability to take care of herself in daily life.¡± Chen Ying pauses, and listens to Feng Xin report a few things that she can prepare right away, and thinks that it¡¯s pretty good. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s it. You bring it here tomorrow. By the way, Mixi has a strong self-esteem. You have to be patient. Like what I told you today, you should follow her as much as possible with her words and accent, and then explain to her how it is spoken here. Her hometown is far away in the mountains, and she generally doesn¡¯t have contact with the outside world. She is also a girl. As you know, there are still some old traditions in some rural areas so Mi Xi knows less1. Please be more patient with her.¡± Feng Xin, on the other end, agrees. Chen Ying is very satisfied when he hangs up the phone. He goes back to his room to change his clothes. When he¡¯s about to go out, he passes the hallway bathroom. He looks at it and calls to Mi Xi¡¯s room, ¡°Mi Xi, put aside the clothes you used today after taking a shower. Let Feng Xin wash it for you tomorrow.¡± Mi Xi rushes out, but she doesn¡¯t speak after hearing Chen Ying¡¯s words, simply bites her lip. She¡¯s a little reluctant. She doesn¡¯t know the people here well, and she wants to wash it by herself, but she¡¯s afraid of embarrassing herself.2 So she just nods, planning to ask Feng Xin for advice tomorrow. Chen Ying walks to the living room, sees that the shopping bags are gone, and goes back to Mi Xi¡¯s room to check. There are no such things on the bed, presumably she had put them all in the closet. Empty shopping bags and boxes are neatly arranged on the table. Satisfied, Chen Ying whistles as heads for the exit. He opens the door and says, ¡°Hurry up and take a shower, then go to bed early.¡± Turning around, he sees Mi Xi being silent, simply standing in the huge living room looking at him. Chen Ying meets her eyes and thinks that there should be something more to say, but he didn¡¯t expect this so he just casually says, ¡°Don¡¯t go out, okay? I¡¯m leaving now, bye-bye.3¡± He steps out, remembers something again, and turns back around to say, ¡°¡®Bye-bye¡¯ means ¡®goodbye¡¯, um, ¡®until we meet again¡¯, um¡­¡± Ahh, what is he even saying? ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll meet again some day,¡± Mi Xi replies tentatively. But it¡¯s strange to say that they¡¯ll meet again some day when he¡¯s just leaving the house. ¡°Well, yeah, it¡¯s pretty much that.¡± Chen Ying also feels very strange. ¡°Uncle, good travels,¡± Mi Xi salutes.4 ¡°Okay,¡± Chen Ying turns to leave. ¡°Wait a minute.¡± He remembers that he was called ¡®uncle¡¯ several times today¡ªit¡¯s embarrassing! Turning back, he says, ¡°What did I tell you to call me?¡± ¡°Chen Ying, good travels,¡± Mi Xi adjusts her words obediently. Damn, why does it sound so weird when you say it that way? Forget it, let¡¯s just have good travels¡ªhe knows she really doesn¡¯t mean it that way. Chen Ying waves his hand, locks the door, and finally leaves. While taking the elevator, he is still thinking, is this little miss gonna be okay alone at home? Well, it should be fine; she was at home by herself during the day. Now that he thinks of it, should he have taught her how to turn on the TV just now? Or else, what will she do if she gets bored? Forget it, what¡¯s boredom? Children should go to bed early. Didn¡¯t the ancients all go to bed early and get up early? She didn¡¯t sleep last night, and only slept for a while at noon, so she should go to bed early. After becoming an uncle, life has become too fulfilling¡ªhe can barely stand it ah!5 ________________ FOOTNOTES: 1 I think he¡¯s referring to old school, patriarchal ideas to explain why Mi Xi would be ultra conservative when compared to modern women. 2 She¡¯s the eldest di daughter of a general¡¯s household. Never mind using a washing machine here, did she even know how to wash clothes back home? O.o 3 Chen Ying uses the loan word ¡®bai bai¡¯ as in the English ¡®bye-bye¡¯. 4 This whole conversation is awkward because the phrases for ¡®goodbye¡¯ that Chen Ying says are also variations of ¡®until we meet again¡¯ which is quite formal if taken literally, but he just wants to casually say ¡®bye, see you later¡¯ lmao. Mi Xi¡¯s response is an idiom and is even more formal. Until she eventually lands on a version more like ¡®bon voyage¡¯ or ¡®godspeed¡¯ (?¡ä?`?) 5 He¡¯s probably a little sarcastic here with ¡®fulfilling¡¯. ¡®Stressful¡¯ or ¡®chaotic¡¯ seems more like it lmao CH 11.2 Chen Ying arrives at the Caesars Club five minutes before ten o¡¯clock. He doesn¡¯t rush in. Instead, he smokes a cigarette in the parking lot first. It seems that he only smoked three cigarettes all day today, and he missed a lot of work. Forget it, you can¡¯t complain about the young miss: she¡¯s the real victim in all this. Chen Ying holds a cigarette, thinks for a while, and calls Cheng Jiangyi. ¡°This weekend¡ªyou, my brother, and me¡ªthe three of us will meet up.¡± ¡°And do what?¡± ¡°Have a parent-teacher meeting,¡± Chen Ying says, puffing on his cigarette. These inhumane people, will they just leave the young miss¡¯ matters to him? What Mi Xi said earlier: ¡®If she lives¡¯¡ªhe really feels uncomfortable about it. Didn¡¯t she have three years to find a partner? Guardians like them can¡¯t waste time; they can¡¯t just wait and rely on Yue Lao. With them, her three uncles, is there any fear that Mi Xi won¡¯t find a match? ¡°Parent-teacher meeting, such a high-end event is not suitable for me ah,¡± Cheng Jiang Yi immediately wants to get out of it. ¡°Whoever doesn¡¯t come, I¡¯ll send Mi Xi to that person¡¯s house. Raising children is even more high-end.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s all. I still have something to do. I¡¯ll let you know the specific time and place after I think about it,¡± Chen Ying says neatly. He hangs up the phone without hesitation, calls Chen Fei this time, and says the same thing, using the same reasoning. Chen Fei completely couldn¡¯t say ¡®no¡¯ at all, which makes Chen Ying very satisfied. It seems that sending little Mi Xi over to them is a very effective threat, so he should save it for more use. Chen Ying smiles, takes another puff of his cigarette, calms himself down, and thinks about what he wants to talk about once he enters the room. A tall man smoking a cigarette, leaning against an eye-catching car with a lazy posture yet dignified appearance¡ªthis attracted the attention of quite a lot of women. One woman in a short dress walks by, winks boldly at Chen Ying, and keeps smiling at him. Chen Ying flicks his cigarette, expressing that he¡¯s very busy now. The woman doesn¡¯t give up. She walks over to Chen Ying, and says softly, ¡°I¡¯m free.¡± Chen Ying curls the corner of his mouth. ¡°I¡¯m not free. I have an appointment with a man.¡± The woman freezes for a moment, pouts, and is gone. After taking the last couple of puffs, Chen Ying looks at his watch. Very good. He¡¯s five minutes late¡ªthis is exactly the effect he wanted. He takes the cigarette butt, stubs it out on a nearby trash can, and with slow, deliberate steps enters Ceasar¡¯s doors. In the private room, Wang Bing has already arrived. Seeing Chen Ying, he hurriedly gets up to greet him. The two of them exchange their business cards, exchange some courtesy, and then sit down together. Lu Ya is a competent secretary. When booking a private box, she also ordered wine, a fruit plate, some snacks, and now everything is placed on the table. Chen Ying pours wine for Wang Bing and hands him a cigarette. Wang Bing takes it. ¡°It¡¯s too stuffy like this, do you wanna call one or two to come in, sing and have a drink with us?¡±1 Chen Ying leans on the big sofa, with the attitude of an idle young master. Wang Bing stiffens for a moment, then shakes his head. ¡°No need, no need. We¡¯ll be talking business, not easy to do that if they¡¯re here.¡± Chen Ying shrugs, takes a puff from the cigarette, then lets it out. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± At this time, someone knocks twice on the door of the private box. After a pause of a few seconds, Caesar¡¯s manager-on-duty pushes the door open and enters. Seeing Chen Ying¡¯s smile, he says, ¡°Second Young Master, I haven¡¯t seen you here for a long time.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s been a while since there was anything interesting so I haven¡¯t come.¡± The manager smiles, gestures his hand towards the ice bucket with the wine bottle in it and says, ¡°Secretary Lu ordered the wine, and I added a bottle of 80-year-old wine on my own initiative. We are here to serve you. If the Second Young Master feels that there is something missing, just let us know. I¡¯ll go out first and won¡¯t disturb you anymore.¡± The manager leaves at Chen Ying¡¯s nod. Chen Ying flicks the cigarette ash, and says to Wang Bing, ¡°Food isn¡¯t bad here¡ªwhat do you want to eat?¡± Wang Bing just smiles. It¡¯s the first time he¡¯s dealing with Chen Ying, so he doesn¡¯t know the details of this person¡¯s preferences. He doesn¡¯t seem easy to deal with. But he took the initiative to contact him to talk about signing the contract again, which is in his favor. In fact, Wang Bing himself also needs to get this contract signed, and will need to explain to the big boss. He only intended to bully Liu Meifen a little when he said he¡¯s not signing the contract for the time being, but in the end, the woman refused to play and now the parties might not be signing the contract at all. Seeing that Wang Bing doesn¡¯t intend to order anything, Chen Ying doesn¡¯t force it. Instead he takes his wine glass, clinks their glasses together, and drinks first. Naturally, Wang Bing can¡¯t refuse, so he also drinks quickly. Chen Ying pours it for Wang Bing again, stubs out the cigarette, eats some snacks, and asks Wang Bing to eat too. Without saying a word, they clink glasses again. Wang Bing drinks another glass, obviously relaxing a lot at this point. This time he takes the initiative to pour Chen Ying a glass of wine. Chen Ying looks at his wine glass and says that he suddenly thought of a joke: it¡¯s a dirty joke. Wang Bing understands and laughs. Chen Ying pats him on the shoulder and laughs as well, loud and vulgar. ¡°You do understand.¡± The two begin to talk, chatting about things in the business circle, with gossip and dirty jokes in between. While chatting, they drink several glasses of wine, and quickly wipe out most of the bottles. Wang Bing is a little drunk, but he¡¯s still sober. He opens the briefcase and takes out the contract. ¡°Mr. Chen, to be candid, this is the contract. We have cooperated for several years, and the conditions have not changed. It¡¯s not easy to explain this to the higher-ups. Now, more than one company wants to negotiate with us, and I have to have a good reason to persuade the higher-ups to continue working with you, right?¡± Chen Ying just laughs, ignores the contract, and puts it aside. ¡°Isn¡¯t it easy to talk about the conditions? I was annoyed when I heard them report that Yongkai will not sign the contract for the time being. How could that be? There is obviously a problem with communication.¡± He pours Wang Bing another drink. They both drink. Chen Ying says, ¡°There is no business that cannot be negotiated, only people who can¡¯t do it. I¡¯m thinking they must have failed in their task.¡± Wang Bing is very happy. Chen Ying doesn¡¯t continue to talk about the cooperation, and instead says a few other things. Wang Bing is so entertained that he keeps laughing. He hiccups and praises the wine as good. Chen Ying pushes the boat along, saying that he will send a bottle to his company later. Wang Bing hurriedly declines, being polite. ¡°It¡¯s just wine, don¡¯t worry about it. This contract is very important to us. Mr. Wang is willing to give face, so it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t know what to do. If I lose this contract, I won¡¯t be able to raise my head in front of my father. Those old directors are also right there, waiting to see what kind of joke I will make of myself. So, it¡¯s all thanks to Mr. Wang¡¯s help.¡± He pours the wine while talking. Wang Bing is now drunk with wine, his head full of misty soup; he laughs and is quite excited. ¡°Mr. Chen, don¡¯t worry, there is nothing wrong with this contract. It can definitely be signed! Before this, it¡¯s Liu Meifen who was ignorant and didn¡¯t know her position. If I don¡¯t suppress this, it will be difficult to cooperate in the future, right?¡± Liu Meifen. The image of the woman who was crying in the meeting flashes in Chen Ying¡¯s mind. He purposely smiles, full of mischief and meaning. ¡°She is a bit old-fashioned and doesn¡¯t know how to flatter. Mr. Wang is magnanimous, so don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± Wang Bing hears Chen Ying¡¯s tone. His eyes suddenly turn sour, and he lowers his voice, ¡°Mr. Chen has suffered from her too?¡± Chen Ying puts down his glass and asks him, ¡°Did you demand to have sex with her?¡± This is a straightforward question and Wang Bing is unable to bear it. ¡°Hey, hey, that¡¯s not what I said.¡± He looks up and sees that Chen Ying doesn¡¯t look unhappy. He¡¯s immediately relieved. ¡°I told her that the contract could be signed right away once she agrees, but she turned her face instead. To be honest, Mr. Chen, your company is really not the only one to talk to me about the ad agency rights. There are many others.¡± ¡°Really? Do people from those other companies have sex with you?¡± Chen Ying sneers. Wang Bing is taken aback for a moment¡ªhe has never seen someone who speaks so plainly. Seeing that Chen Ying¡¯s face is not looking good, he hurriedly says, ¡°No, how can this be? I was just joking with Liu Meifen. The contract matter is still the same. You see, didn¡¯t I come here specially to meet you to discuss the contract?¡± Chen Ying smiles, showing his white teeth. He picks up the contract that has been left aside until now, and without even looking at it, he says to Wang Bing, ¡°Mr. Wang, my family runs an advertising company, not a nightclub, and there is no lady under our employ who can be brought out to service you.¡± Wang Bing¡¯s face freezes. Chen Ying puts away his smile and stares at Wang Bing. ¡°I, Chen Ying, am the general manager, not a f*cking pimp. How f*cking bold of you to want to touch my employees. Go to bed and you¡¯ll sign the contract? F*ck that sh*t.¡± He quickly tears up the contract and stuffs it into Wang Bing¡¯s glass. ¡°It¡¯s only 40 million, you pr*ck! See if I¡¯ll be heartbroken. Take your f*cking contract and eat sh*t.¡± Wang Bing is dumbfounded, completely not expecting that Chen Ying will turn his back on the contract and say this. Chen Ying ignores him, stands up while still swearing, slams the door and walks away. Walking out of Caesar¡¯s door, the lingering anger is still there. He wants to have a cigarette, touches his pockets, and remembers that he left the cigarette case in the private box. He gets into the car still brimming with resentment and fires up the ignition. ¡°Damn him, think I¡¯ll be so f*cking heartbroken over 40 million? Get the f*ck outta here.¡± TN: Translating this chapter made me feel all yucky inside. Fuck that Wang Bin guy. What a waste of fictional 80-year old wine. But also, Chen Ying, towards the end, is speaking all in slang about grass and mothers and buddhist nuns that all pretty much mean ¡®f*ck that sh*t¡¯ lmao. FOOTNOTES: 1There¡¯s no clear noun here, but from context, since he¡¯s doing a ¡®dissolute young master¡¯ persona, I¡¯m guessing Chen Ying means a couple of ¡®girls¡¯ to accompany them. New chapters will be released every Thursday and Sunday, UTC +8, Beijing time. CH 12.1 Chen Ying is not in a hurry to drive away. He takes time to calm himself down in the car. He still wants the contract, but he wants to teach Wang Bing a lesson. There is no reason to wrong himself and let such a man get off so easily. After calming down, he finds that he almost drunk and drove, but he really did drink too much tonight, and his head is a little heavy. He calls the attendant in the parking lot to help him buy a pack of cigarettes, then calls a driver for himself. After smoking a cigarette, he feels a little refreshed. The substitute driver drives him back to his residence, and by that time, he has already figured out how to deal with Yongkai. Chen Ying pays the driving fee, locks the car and gets on the elevator. He looks at his watch: it was almost one o¡¯clock in the morning. He hopes the young miss at home has fallen asleep obediently. After opening the door, he moves with lighter steps in the hallway. But when he walks into the living room, Chen Ying is taken aback: Mi Xi is looking into the living room from the door of her room. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you slept yet?¡± Chen Ying is not happy. ¡°I fell asleep earlier, but just now I woke up when I heard some movement from the door, so I got up to have a look,¡± Mi Xi whispers. Chen Ying has nothing to say to that. Fine, blame him for waking her up¡ªbut he really didn¡¯t make any loud noises. She was probably uneasy and her sleep was restless. He takes a look at her. She had put on a tracksuit over her pajamas, and the zipper is pulled up to the top of the neck. Wearing slippers, the socks on the feet are actually crooked. In other words, when she got up to check the situation, she didn¡¯t forget to wrap herself up tightly. Chen Ying shakes his head¡ªlet her do it, she can wrap herself however she likes. ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯m back, go back to sleep. There are no thieves,¡± Chen Ying says as he walks towards his room. As he passes by Mi Xi, she takes a step back, her small face wrinkled. Her expression is obviously saying that she barely restrained herself from covering her nose with her hand. Chen Ying is unhappy again¡ªhe smelled of alcohol and cigarettes, he probably doesn¡¯t smell good, but he didn¡¯t ask her to get up in the middle of the night to smell him and express her dislike for it, okay? He waves his hand. ¡°Go to sleep, go to sleep, if you don¡¯t go to bed, I will spank your ass.¡± Mi Xi takes another step back, her small face continues to wrinkle, but her brows are now also furrowed, and that godly aura unexpectedly appears again. Chen Ying realizes that what he said is definitely indecent and inappropriate to Mi Xi, and from his point of view, he did say something off as well. If they really fight, can he even be a match to her? ¡°Okay,¡± Uncle Chen Ying quickly relents, ¡°If you go to bed right now, I¡¯ll take you to eat xiaolongbao in the dim sum restaurant for breakfast tomorrow.¡± Without a word, Mi Xi turns around and rushes to the bed, and in the next instant runs back out again, and closes the door. There is a sudden ¡®thud¡¯¡¯ in the room, like the sound of someone jumping into bed. Chen Ying freezes for a moment¡ªhis head is dulled by the wine, and he doesn¡¯t quite know how to express his appreciation for this too cooperative obedience. Steamed dumplings for the win! Chen Ying walks to his bedroom, thinks for a while, pokes his head back out the corridor and shouts, ¡°Take off your socks and sportswear before going to bed.¡± He retracts his head, but then stretches it outside again, ¡°Be sure to cover yourself with the quilt.¡± It¡¯s terrible. He¡¯s too worried. This miss is just as worrying as the 40 million deal! Chen Ying lies on his back on the bed, thinking about resting for a while before going to take a bath, but he ends up falling asleep like this¡ªwithout taking off his slippers, his socks, or his coat, and without covering up with a quilt. The next day, Chen Ying is woken up by the ringing of the mobile phone. Secretary Lu Ya says that Liu Meifen, the account manager, handed in her resignation letter as soon as she got to work. She asks him when he would go to the office today. When Chen Ying is asked, he realizes that it¡¯s already past 9 o¡¯clock. Chen Ying rubs his hangover-aching head and thinks about the schedule for the day. He has to discuss with Feng Xin how to take care of Mi Xi, so he tells Lu Ya that he would go to the office at 11 o¡¯clock. Chen Ying jumps up, rushes into the bathroom: shower, brush teeth, wash face, and apply skin cream. Twenty minutes later, he looks human again. Chen Ying comes out and sees Mi Xi¡¯s door is already open. In front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the living room, Mi Xi is meditating. When she hears footsteps, she looks back and jumps up. ¡°Chen Ying, g¡¯morning.¡± The little melon-head remembers how to say ¡®hello¡¯ this time, but it¡¯s a pity that it still doesn¡¯t match up with the act of bending over to salute. ¡°Morning.¡± Chen Ying doesn¡¯t bother to correct her anymore. ¡°What were you doing?¡± ¡°Meditation exercise. It should really be done while the cock crows and dances, but this place is so different from my hometown.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Chen Ying nods. There are indeed no chickens in this community. The alarm clock can wake her up, but he is lazy today and doesn¡¯t want to teach. Anyway, Feng Xin will report for duty soon, just leave it to her. Thinking of this, Chen Ying feels a sense of relief that he¡¯s finally free from trouble. Chen Ying walk into the kitchen, turns on the automatic coffee machine, and makes himself a cup to refresh himself. He¡¯s feeling quite hungry. There seems to be a few slices of bread in the refrigerator¡ªhe can take them out and toast them, fry two poached eggs, add some slices of ham, and share a sandwich with Mi Xi. All in all, it¡¯s a perfect breakfast. Chen Ying begins even as he thinks this¡ªthrows the slices of bread into the toaster and presses it down. The skillet is on the stove and the eggs are out. Mi Xi watches curiously from the side. They are all things new to her eyes. Except for the eggs, she didn¡¯t know anything else. ¡°What is this for?¡± Mi Xi asks. ¡°Breakfast.¡± Chen Ying has an expression on his face that looks like ¡®you don¡¯t need to thank me¡¯. ¡°Are you hungry? What time did you get up? Do you get hungry after practicing?¡± ¡°Breakfast?¡± Mi Xi is shocked, her eyes wide open. ¡°Breakfast?¡± Chen Ying startles and turns the fried egg over. ¡°It¡¯s breakfast. Don¡¯t worry, I can make simple things like this, and it won¡¯t spoil your stomach.¡± ¡°Breakfast?¡± Mi Xi¡¯s face is full of color. ¡°Yeah, breakfast. I¡¯m making a sandwich. That¡¯s it.¡± The bread just happened to finish toasting and popped out. Chen Ying points, ¡°I¡¯ll use that slice of bread with the eggs and ham to make a sandwich. It¡¯s delicious. Then I¡¯ll have a cup of coffee, and you a glass of juice. It¡¯s super good.¡± Mi Xi stops talking, a little sad now. He actually forgot. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Chen Ying frowns. ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten it yet, how do you know it¡¯s not delicious? You have to try it.¡± Mi Xi nods, feeling depressed. He really forgot. Chen Ying is not happy himself. How will he even serve this? He¡¯s preparing good food, do you still need to be picky about it? You can¡¯t eat steamed buns every day! Ah! Chen Ying suddenly remembers that last night he promised to take her to eat xiaolongbao for breakfast. At this time, Mi Xi had already floated away from the kitchen with her head down¡ªshe looked so pitiful. Chen Ying looks at the breakfast he made: it¡¯s almost done and will be ready quite soon. Just think about it, regardless of what she thinks, he only forgot what to feed her¡ªhe didn¡¯t forget to feed her at all. He didn¡¯t starve her. He finishes things quickly, then sets the table and calls Mi Xi over. He asks her to take the glass and open the refrigerator to pour the juice. Mi Xi is obedient, but her mood is down, and she doesn¡¯t comment on the sandwich, which is similar to a hamburger. Chen Ying is so annoyed that he hates looking at other people¡¯s sad faces. ¡°Okay, I owe you a bun. I forgot, I didn¡¯t think of it until after I finished making this.¡± It¡¯s okay if he doesn¡¯t mention it. But now that he has mentioned it, Mi Xi can¡¯t help but whisper, ¡°It was clearly agreed.¡± Faced with missing her steamed buns, she forgets for a moment that this is someone else¡¯s house, so she should be cautious in her words and deeds. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll make it up tomorrow. I¡¯ll take you there tomorrow.¡± Mi Xi is still a little sad in her heart; she had been looking forward to it since she went to bed last night. And the most important thing is that it¡¯s not because she didn¡¯t get to eat the steamed buns, but because Chen Ying clearly made a promise, but in the end he forgot it and just downplayed it. Not committing to what was promised makes her feel quite uncomfortable. Chen Ying is also not happy¡ªthe little miss is petty. Really unhappy. CH 12.2 Chen Ying is also not happy¡ªthe little girl is petty. Really unhappy. Both of them have nothing to say, each doing their own thing. At 9:45, the doorbell rings. Feng Xin comes with the vegetables she bought, as well as the things Chen Ying asked for last night. Chen Ying leads her to the study and gives her an envelope containing one thousand yuan to buy vegetables, fruits and daily necessities for Mi Xi. He¡¯ll give more after she uses it up. Feng Xin is also very experienced, so she takes out the receipt she had prepared in advance, writes down the amount, signs her name, and hands it to Chen Ying. ¡°I will pay the bill of shopping expenses every half a month.¡± Chen Ying agrees. He looks through the drawer, finds Secretary Lu Ya¡¯s business card, and hands it to Feng Xin. ¡°This is my secretary. If you have any problems and you can¡¯t find me, you can go to her. Also, I will send her the bills and invoices.¡± Feng Xin nods in agreement. She roughly talks about the arrangements for the next few days. Chen Ying is satisfied. The two have a clear talk, then come out to find Mi Xi. Mi Xi is standing in the living room, a little uneasy. The long, straight, black hair makes her face small, and her eyes are big. She stands upright, revealing a little stubbornness. ¡°Mi Xi, I¡¯m going to work.¡± Chen Ying makes the first overture. Mixi nods. ¡°Feng Xin will come to accompany you every day starting today¡ªexcept for weekends. If you need or want to do anything, just tell her.¡± ¡°Weekends?¡± Mi Xi can¡¯t understand again. Chen Ying turns to Feng Xin, ¡°Teach her to read the calendar and clock. Then explain what ¡®weekend¡¯ is.¡± His expression is saying ¡®don¡¯t mind it, she came from a mountain village far away¡¯. ¡°Thank you for your hard work.¡± Chen Ying says this very sincerely. Feng Xin nods and approaches Mi Xi with a smile. ¡°Hello, Mi Xi, we met before. My name is Feng Xin. You can call me Sister Feng.¡± As soon as they hear these words, Mi Xi and Chen Ying both startle and look at each other. Feng Xin is thirty-two, a few years older than Chen Ying. Mi Xi also thinks that Feng Xin looks older than Chen Ying. Chen Ying is an uncle, but Feng Xin is an older sister¡ªis this generation alright? Chen Ying coughs lightly, ¡°Mi Xi, sometimes ¡®sister¡¯ and ¡®brother¡¯ are polite names. Just call her ¡®Sister Feng¡¯, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Mi Xi thinks for a while, then bends down to salute, ¡°Hello, Sister Feng.¡± Feng Xin smiles and says, ¡°We agreed to shake hands, didn¡¯t we?¡± She stretches out her hand, and Mi Xi glances at Chen Ying for confirmation by force of habit. Chen Ying really feels a bit of a headache. He already told her about the salute, why can¡¯t she remember it? Chen Ying nods. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a handshake here.¡± ¡°Do men also shake hands?¡± Mi Xi frowns. ¡°You don¡¯t have to touch men, do whatever you want.¡± Chen Ying feels impatient. It¡¯s not easy to teach a child, but it¡¯s even more difficult to teach a stubborn child who has already been taught otherwise. ¡°If you have anything you want to know, you can ask Sister Feng. She will teach you.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Mi Xi says, her tone grave. ¡°Just from yesterday, I accumulated a lot of things I don¡¯t know, and I want to ask for advice. ¡° Chen Ying is now very glad that he was too cunning and decisively hired a housekeeper, otherwise he will definitely die at the hands of Mi Xi¡ªhe¡¯ll be asked questions to death! ¡°Okay, then you two talk; I¡¯ll go to work first. Call me if you need me for anything.¡± Chen Ying runs out of the house as if fleeing. It isn¡¯t until he gets in the car and out on the road that he feels that he has returned to his normal self. Leaving the curious baby Mixi, he enters the company and he is a good guy again: this is Chen Ying¡¯s evaluation of his current situation. When Chen Ying arrives at the office, he checks the time before going upstairs. He feels that there is still enough time for a cigarette, so he smokes one downstairs before taking the elevator up. It¡¯s 10:58 when he steps into the office doors. He looks at his watch, feeling satisfied, knowing that he is not late, and goes in whistling. Lu Ya is well-trained and is ready to report. When she sees him coming, she follows him into the office and reports about matters. Chen Ying tells her about him hiring a household service. Lu Ya writes it down one by one. After all that, she reports to him about Liu Meifen¡¯s resignation, and places the resignation letter on his desk. ¡°Director Fu said that Liu Meifen was responsible for Yongkai¡¯s case, so he didn¡¯t dare to approve the resignation, so he handed it over.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t dare to take responsibility until the contract is signed, and he didn¡¯t dare to approve the employee¡¯s resignation. Does he feel hot when he gets his salary?¡± Chen Ying sneers. Lu Ya wisely does not comment. Chen Ying throws Liu Meifen¡¯s resignation letter aside. ¡°Is she still here? Let her come over, we¡¯ll have a chat.¡± Lu Ya obeys and goes out. After a while, someone knocks on the door and it was Liu Meifen who came in. ¡°Mr. Chen.¡± ¡°Sit down.¡± Chen Ying says by way of greeting while reading the email. Liu Meifen is a little nervous and sits down. ¡°You resigned because Yongkai¡¯s contract was not signed?¡± Liu Meifen purses her lips and says after a while, ¡°I have been following up with this case. In the end, I know the company must be dissatisfied.¡± ¡°You mean to take the blame and resign. Is it because of your own fault that the contract cannot be signed?¡± Chen Ying turns his eyes away from the computer and looks at Liu Meifen. ¡°What exactly is your fault?¡± Liu Meifen purses her lips and does not speak. ¡°This level of contract is under the charge of Fu Tang. Although you are the point person, to put it bluntly, your position is not high enough to take responsibility. So, why are you so anxious? Why do you believe that you are at fault? What wrong did you do?¡± The expression on Liu Meifen¡¯s face is very ugly. ¡°Mr. Chen, in any case, I don¡¯t want to work on it anymore. I will hand over the matter at hand.¡± ¡°I was drinking with Wang Bing last night.¡± Chen Ying didn¡¯t answer her, but said this instead. Liu Meifen is taken aback for a moment and looks up in surprise. ¡°You know that if you drink too much, you can say anything. He didn¡¯t insist that he won¡¯t sign a contract with us, but he also wanted to find a way to get out of an embarrassing situation.¡±1 Liu Meifen grits her teeth, feeling very embarrassed. ¡°But I tore up the contract, put it in his glass, and cursed at him.¡± Chen Ying says, his voice calm. ¡°If the contract is not won in the end, it is my responsibility and has nothing to do with you.¡± Liu Meifen is too surprised, her eyes wide. ¡°Liu Meifen, it¡¯s your right to refuse sexual harassment in the workplace. You haven¡¯t made any mistakes. There¡¯s nothing wrong with refusing threats from Wang Bing¡ªthat pig. You did the right thing.¡± Liu Meifen¡¯s eyes turn red. ¡°But why didn¡¯t you tell the company?¡± ¡°I was worried¡­.¡± Liu Meifen pauses, ¡°I¡¯m worried that the company would blame me for not being able to do things, but I¡¯m not here to sell my body.¡± Thinking of the pressure during this period, her eyes get wet. Wang Bing¡¯s harassing calls and threats, as well as the company¡¯s accusations and interrogation, she felt that she couldn¡¯t bear it anymore. ¡°I¡¯d rather not do this job.¡± Chen Ying nods and asks her, ¡°Liu Meifen, how many years have you worked here?¡± ¡°Five years.¡± ¡°How many times have you been harassed in five years?¡± ¡°Just this time.¡± ¡°So, you were just unlucky enough to meet that pig Wang Bing. Not all men in the workplace are like this. You rejected him and protected yourself¡ªwhich was right. But you concealed this and didn¡¯t allow the company to take the correct measures in a timely manner. This is your fault.¡± He picks up Liu Meifen¡¯s resignation letter. ¡°If you report to the company and the company forces you to sell yourself, then you should resign decisively. Instead of doing this so-called blame resignation just for exercising your legitimate rights and defending your dignity like this.¡± He hands the resignation letter to Liu Meifen. ¡°Take it back. I don¡¯t accept your resignation.¡± Liu Meifen is stunned and takes the letter. She bites her lip, her voice is very small, saying, ¡°Thank you, Mr. Chen.¡± ¡°Does Fu Tang know?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything specifically, but when we talked with Mr. Wang, Mr. Wang was sometimes not very polite, and Mr. Fu just let it happen.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t dare to offend the client, and so you think he represents the attitude of the company?¡± ¡°I was overthinking.¡± Liu Meifen takes a deep breath. ¡°You really think too much.¡± Chen Ying says with a serious tone. Liu Meifen quickly raises her head and sees him. He sits there tall and straight¡ªa gentleman. ________________ FOOTNOTE: 1Chen Ying literally says something like ¡®find the bottom of the stairs¡¯, the ¡®steps¡¯ being the embarrassing situation. CH 13.1 While the two are bickering, Feng Xin and Mi Xi are walking past a bank with an ATM outside. Through the glass, Mi Xi can see people queuing up inside and also two people queuing up at the ATM. Mi Xi points; Feng Xin understands and tells her: ¡°This is called a bank. It¡¯s a place where everyone saves money. It¡¯s not safe to keep money at home anymore. Instead it¡¯s put here, and then you can get it when you need it. Mi Xi remembers and draws the size and shape of a card with her fingers. ¡°Silver note1 card. Bank card.¡± ¡°Yes. After depositing money, the bank will give that person a card, and then they can take the card to withdraw money. And they can also remit the money to far away places for other people to use.¡± Feng Xin tries hard to think of how to say it in an easy and understandable way. ¡°For example, if Mi Xi¡¯s parents want to give money to let Mi Xi live here, they can do it. Through the bank, transfer the money to Mr. Chen¡¯s account, so that Mr. Chen can receive the money and use it for Mi Xi.¡± Mi Xi nods, feeling an ache in her heart¡ªno one would transfer money to her. She no longer has parents. Feng Xin points to the ATM again and tells Mi Xi that it¡¯s an automatic withdrawal machine. Since everyone has a password, and withdrawing money is a private matter and there are issues of security, everyone will stand far away in line, and not let people think you are peeking with bad intentions. This is also courtesy. Mi Xi nods, seeing that there is indeed a distance between people in the line. ¡°I won¡¯t peek,¡± she assures Feng Xin with a serious expression, making her laugh. At this time, an old lady who had just withdrawn the money comes out of the bank. She looks quite old, counting the wad of money in her hand as she walks, and puts it in a cloth bag after counting. When Feng Xin sees it, she is about to tell her not to show her wealth like this and to be more careful. In the end, before she could say anything, a figure in black rushes over from the side, grabs the old lady¡¯s bag and runs away. He has used too much force and pulls the old lady to the ground. Feng Xin, who was close, is also knocked to the ground. The old lady is stunned for a moment, and then yells in horror, ¡°Catch the thief! Catch the thief! My money, my money! That¡¯s for my grandson¡¯s treatment and life. Catch the thief, catch the thief, help!¡± There are some people around¡ªhearing the cries, they run over, and one of the security guards in the bank also comes out to check on the situation. But none of them are as fast as Mi Xi. Feng Xin is extremely frightened. She gets up and shouts in Mi Xi¡¯s direction, ¡°Mi Xi, come back!¡± But Mi Xi is running too fast and rushes off in front of everyone¡¯s eyes. She¡¯s about to catch the robber when the man reacts¡ªhe jumps on the back of a waiting motorcycle, and driver and robber speed away. Mi Xi is yelling, ¡°Don¡¯t run away!¡± She jumps up without stopping, stretches out her legs and kicks a tree by the roadside, jumps forward using her strength. With one foot landing on the roof of a parked car, she uses it to gain momentum, and then leaps forward a long way. During this lively lunch hour, there are many cars on the road, and the motorcycle twists and turns in the traffic. Although it is not on a rampage to escape, it¡¯s still very fast. The figure of the girl going ¡®swoosh¡¯ follows the motorcycle and disappears in front of people¡¯s eyes. ¡°Awesome!¡± someone shouts. ¡°Damn, I read that right? Is it real or filming?¡± ¡°Who was that?¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Wow, what happened just now? Did you see it? Wow, did you see it? It¡¯s a pity that I didn¡¯t get the shot!¡± Feng Xin is dumbfounded. She was knocked down earlier and twisted her foot. She got up to chase a few steps, but ended up injuring her foot even more. Now she can¡¯t even stand anymore. She¡¯s sitting on the ground, completely stunned. The old lady¡¯s crying is loud in her ears, and she very clearly realizes that in less than a minute, she has lost Mi Xi! Meanwhile, Chen Ying and Wu Hao are chatting without care, teasing each other, and sharing their thoughts on Wang Bing¡¯s matter. Chen Ying sees that the time is about right and tells Wu Hao to have lunch together. When the two of them go out, they pass by Liu Meifen¡¯s desk. Liu Meifen raises her eyes and glances at Chen Ying. Chen Ying is looking down at the phone, not paying attention. Wu Hao smiles at Liu Meifen, but Liu Meifen lowers her head and pretends not to see it. At the elevator entrance, Wu Hao nudges Chen Ying with his elbow. ¡°Just now the supporting actress beauty smiled at you, and I smiled back for you.¡± ¡°Thank you, male lead.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Wu Hao has a smug expression. At this time, Chen Ying¡¯s phone rings just as the elevator door opens. There are people already inside and Wu Hao stretches out his hand to hold the door open. Wu Hao squeezes a space for Chen Ying who has answered the phone and gets blank stares from the people around him. Chen Ying walks in while saying, ¡°Hello¡±. The elevator doors slowly closes, but Chen Ying suddenly yells, ¡°What?!¡± The sound is so loud it feels like an explosion inside the elevator. Chen Ying suddenly stops the elevator doors from closing. All the people in the elevator stare at Wu Hao again. Wu Hao is innocent! This is none of his business. He wasn¡¯t the one who yelled loudly, and it wasn¡¯t him who blocked the elevator doors. He turns his head and sees several familiar faces; they¡¯re actually colleagues from the group. Damn, the Crown Prince doesn¡¯t have eyes on the back of his head¡ªyou think if you just stare at him, he will fuck off and die? This is really embarrassing! He¡¯s still staring back one by one, but Chen Ying has already strode out. Wait, are they not going downstairs anymore? Wu Hao quickly follows. Chen Ying hurries back to the office while talking on the phone. Wu Hao doesn¡¯t understand what¡¯s going on, but he also feels that something serious has happened. ¡°Okay, I see, you go to the hospital first. Is there anyone nearby to help you? Okay. What color is Mi Xi wearing? Okay, I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± Chen Ying hangs up the phone. He immediately dials Mi Xi¡¯s number, but no one answers the phone until it stops ringing on its own. Chen Ying¡¯s expression is rather ugly. He raises his face. Wu Hao is waiting beside him, and Chen Ying says solemnly, ¡°Ah Hao, my family¡¯s little young miss is lost. The housekeeping service took her to the supermarket, and taught her to recognize a bank that they passed by. An old woman came out and was robbed. The robber jumped on a motorcycle that was waiting, and the little miss chased after him.¡± Wu Hao is a little dumbfounded. ¡°How young is the little miss?¡± How old is a person who needs to be taught how to recognize a bank? Isn¡¯t she a little too brave to hunt down robbers at such a young age? ¡°The housekeeper twisted her ankle. Now a passer-by has called an ambulance for them. She and the old lady should be taken to the hospital. The problem is, the little miss is gone.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a few steps? Come back after she can¡¯t catch up with the motorcycle.¡± ¡°She chased until gone without a trace, you still wanna say how far?¡± ¡°Is she a female Liu Xiang?¡±2 Chen Ying ignores his question and opens the drawer to get his car keys, ¡°Call your brothers to help find her. She was running east on Cuixi Road. The housekeeper said that some people helped to find her, but she was not nearby. They didn¡¯t see the two robbers either, so she may have chased them far away. ¡°The little miss is called Mi Xi¡ªshe¡¯s wearing a light pink, casual sportswear; has long straight hair; and is seventeen years old. Well, she looks younger, maybe fifteen or sixteen? Her face¡ªhas big eyes, very beautiful. Stern look, very cold temperament.¡± Chen Ying is already walking out while talking, and turns back when he reaches the door. ¡°If your people find her sooner than me, don¡¯t pull her in and for god¡¯s sake don¡¯t touch her¡ªshe will hit people! Just tell her that I am looking for her, tell her not to run away, and then call me immediately.¡± Wu Hao is stunned. She would still hit people? Does she want to be so special? _____________ FOOTNOTES: 1Mi Xi says ÒøƱ; yin piao is a bank note with a value in silver. China has had a banking system since the Tang dynasty in the 600s so she must have been familiar with the concept. 2ÁõÏè Liu Xiang is an Olympic gold medalist and World Champion in men¡¯s track and field. New chapters are released Thursdays and Sundays, UTC+8, Beijing time. CH 13.2 T/N: 28 May 2023. I made a mistake uploading chapters. This is Chapter 13.2 but it was uploaded last time as Chapter 13.1. I fixed it today, so if you still haven¡¯t seen it, go click on ¡®previous chapter¡® and read the real Chapter 13.1. Sorry for the mix-up! I¡¯ll post an additional chapter today to make up for it. While the two are bickering, Feng Xin and Mi Xi are walking past a bank with an ATM outside. Through the glass, Mi Xi can see people queuing up inside and also two people queuing up at the ATM. Mi Xi points; Feng Xin understands and tells her: ¡°This is called a bank. It¡¯s a place where everyone saves money. It¡¯s not safe to keep money at home anymore. Instead it¡¯s put here, and then you can get it when you need it. Mi Xi remembers and draws the size and shape of a card with her fingers. ¡°Silver note1 card. Bank card.¡± ¡°Yes. After depositing money, the bank will give that person a card, and then they can take the card to withdraw money. And they can also remit the money to far away places for other people to use.¡± Feng Xin tries hard to think of how to say it in an easy and understandable way. ¡°For example, if Mi Xi¡¯s parents want to give money to let Mi Xi live here, they can do it. Through the bank, transfer the money to Mr. Chen¡¯s account, so that Mr. Chen can receive the money and use it for Mi Xi.¡± Mi Xi nods, feeling an ache in her heart¡ªno one would transfer money to her. She no longer has parents. Feng Xin points to the ATM again and tells Mi Xi that it¡¯s an automatic withdrawal machine. Since everyone has a password, and withdrawing money is a private matter and there are issues of security, everyone will stand far away in line, and not let people think you are peeking with bad intentions. This is also courtesy. Mi Xi nods, seeing that there is indeed a distance between people in the line. ¡°I won¡¯t peek,¡± she assures Feng Xin with a serious expression, making her laugh. At this time, an old lady who had just withdrawn the money comes out of the bank. She looks quite old, counting the wad of money in her hand as she walks, and puts it in a cloth bag after counting. When Feng Xin sees it, she is about to tell her not to show her wealth like this and to be more careful. In the end, before she could say anything, a figure in black rushes over from the side, grabs the old lady¡¯s bag and runs away. He has used too much force and pulls the old lady to the ground. Feng Xin, who was close, is also knocked to the ground. The old lady is stunned for a moment, and then yells in horror, ¡°Catch the thief! Catch the thief! My money, my money! That¡¯s for my grandson¡¯s treatment and life. Catch the thief, catch the thief, help!¡± There are some people around¡ªhearing the cries, they run over, and one of the security guards in the bank also comes out to check on the situation. But none of them are as fast as Mi Xi. Mi Xi says, ¡°Don¡¯t panic, grandmother¡ªI¡¯ll catch him!¡± With nimble feet, she rushes away. Feng Xin is extremely frightened. She gets up and shouts in Mi Xi¡¯s direction, ¡°Mi Xi, come back!¡± But Mi Xi is running too fast and rushes off in front of everyone¡¯s eyes. She¡¯s about to catch the robber when the man reacts¡ªhe jumps on the back of a waiting motorcycle, and driver and robber speed away. Mi Xi is yelling, ¡°Don¡¯t run away!¡± She jumps up without stopping, stretches out her legs and kicks a tree by the roadside, jumps forward using her strength. With one foot landing on the roof of a parked car, she uses it to gain momentum, and then leaps forward a long way. During this lively lunch hour, there are many cars on the road, and the motorcycle twists and turns in the traffic. Although it is not on a rampage to escape, it¡¯s still very fast. The figure of the girl going ¡®swoosh¡¯ follows the motorcycle and disappears in front of people¡¯s eyes. ¡°Awesome!¡± someone shouts. ¡°Damn, I read that right? Is it real or filming?¡± ¡°Who was that?¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Wow, what happened just now? Did you see it? Wow, did you see it? It¡¯s a pity that I didn¡¯t get the shot!¡± Feng Xin is dumbfounded. She was knocked down earlier and twisted her foot. She got up to chase a few steps, but ended up injuring her foot even more. Now she can¡¯t even stand anymore. She¡¯s sitting on the ground, completely stunned. The old lady¡¯s crying is loud in her ears, and she very clearly realizes that in less than a minute, she has lost Mi Xi! Meanwhile, Chen Ying and Wu Hao are chatting without care, teasing each other, and sharing their thoughts on Wang Bing¡¯s matter. Chen Ying sees that the time is about right and tells Wu Hao to have lunch together. When the two of them go out, they pass by Liu Meifen¡¯s desk. Liu Meifen raises her eyes and glances at Chen Ying. Chen Ying is looking down at the phone, not paying attention. Wu Hao smiles at Liu Meifen, but Liu Meifen lowers her head and pretends not to see it. At the elevator entrance, Wu Hao nudges Chen Ying with his elbow. ¡°Just now the supporting actress beauty smiled at you, and I smiled back for you.¡± ¡°Thank you, male lead.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Wu Hao has a smug expression. At this time, Chen Ying¡¯s phone rings just as the elevator door opens. There are people already inside and Wu Hao stretches out his hand to hold the door open. Wu Hao squeezes a space for Chen Ying who has answered the phone and gets blank stares from the people around him. Chen Ying walks in while saying, ¡°Hello¡±. The elevator doors slowly closes, but Chen Ying suddenly yells, ¡°What?!¡± The sound is so loud it feels like an explosion inside the elevator. Chen Ying suddenly stops the elevator doors from closing. All the people in the elevator stare at Wu Hao again. Wu Hao is innocent! This is none of his business. He wasn¡¯t the one who yelled loudly, and it wasn¡¯t him who blocked the elevator doors. He turns his head and sees several familiar faces; they¡¯re actually colleagues from the group. Damn, the Crown Prince doesn¡¯t have eyes on the back of his head¡ªyou think if you just stare at him, he will fuck off and die? This is really embarrassing! He¡¯s still staring back one by one, but Chen Ying has already strode out. Wait, are they not going downstairs anymore? Wu Hao quickly follows. Chen Ying hurries back to the office while talking on the phone. Wu Hao doesn¡¯t understand what¡¯s going on, but he also feels that something serious has happened. ¡°Okay, I see, you go to the hospital first. Is there anyone nearby to help you? Okay. What color is Mi Xi wearing? Okay, I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± Chen Ying hangs up the phone. He immediately dials Mi Xi¡¯s number, but no one answers the phone until it stops ringing on its own. Chen Ying¡¯s expression is rather ugly. He raises his face. Wu Hao is waiting beside him, and Chen Ying says solemnly, ¡°Ah Hao, my family¡¯s little young miss is lost. The housekeeping service took her to the supermarket, and taught her to recognize a bank that they passed by. An old woman came out and was robbed. The robber jumped on a motorcycle that was waiting, and the little miss chased after him.¡± Wu Hao is a little dumbfounded. ¡°How young is the little miss?¡± How old is a person who needs to be taught how to recognize a bank? Isn¡¯t she a little too brave to hunt down robbers at such a young age? ¡°The housekeeper twisted her ankle. Now a passer-by has called an ambulance for them. She and the old lady should be taken to the hospital. The problem is, the little miss is gone.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a few steps? Come back after she can¡¯t catch up with the motorcycle.¡± ¡°She chased until gone without a trace, you still wanna say how far?¡± ¡°Is she a female Liu Xiang?¡±2 Chen Ying ignores his question and opens the drawer to get his car keys, ¡°Call your brothers to help find her. She was running east on Cuixi Road. The housekeeper said that some people helped to find her, but she was not nearby. They didn¡¯t see the two robbers either, so she may have chased them far away. ¡°The little miss is called Mi Xi¡ªshe¡¯s wearing a light pink, casual sportswear; has long straight hair; and is seventeen years old. Well, she looks younger, maybe fifteen or sixteen? Her face¡ªhas big eyes, very beautiful. Stern look, very cold temperament.¡± Chen Ying is already walking out while talking, and turns back when he reaches the door. ¡°If your people find her sooner than me, don¡¯t pull her in and for god¡¯s sake don¡¯t touch her¡ªshe will hit people! Just tell her that I am looking for her, tell her not to run away, and then call me immediately.¡± Wu Hao is stunned. She would still hit people? Does she want to be so special? _____________ FOOTNOTES: 1Mi Xi says ÒøƱ; yin piao is a bank note with a value in silver. China has had a banking system since the Tang dynasty in the 600s so she must have been familiar with the concept. 2ÁõÏè Liu Xiang is an Olympic gold medalist and World Champion in men¡¯s track and field. CH 14.1 Chen Ying drives out to look for Mi Xi in person, while Wu Hao returns to his office downstairs and organizes his staff to start the search. A sixteen or seventeen-year-old young lady should not be able to run very far after chasing a motorcycle. She was going east on Cuixi Road. Wu Hao looks at the large map on the office wall, circles an area, and tells his subordinates to call the brothers who are running outside, find out whether there is anyone near to that area. The result is ¡®none¡¯¡ªbut Wu Hao still asks those who are free to rush to that area to help find someone. Someone suddenly remembers that a reporter they contacted today is nearby. Wu Hao asks who it is and shakes his head after hearing the name. ¡°This person is not good at talking, so don¡¯t use him.¡± He himself calls and contacts two friends to help search in that area. Then he tells the people below to pay attention to the Internet, Weibo forums, and the like, to see if there are any relevant netizens¡¯ reports. Searching for information and creating topics on the Internet are the strengths of their group, and everyone responds quickly. Wu Hao also asks two persons to contact the hospital and police station in that area to see if any young miss with the corresponding characteristics has been sent to the hospital or reported to the police station. Everyone is so busy that they don¡¯t have time to go out to eat at noon. Wu Hao asks the front desk to order food for everyone and comes back. Several people are making phone calls and searching online. Ten minutes later, a young man named Ah Huo calls out, ¡°Brother Wu, light pink clothes, long hair, a young miss of sixteen or seventeen, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Look at this.¡± Wu Hao leans over; Ah Huo enlarges the video and presses replay. It was posted on the Internet by an ordinary netizen; it hasn¡¯t been long since. The title is: Kung Fu Girl is Beautiful, Cold, Domineering! ! ! The video is shot with a mobile phone¡ªthe time is very short, the footage is quite chaotic, and the background looks like an alley. At first, it seems that the mobile phone is mainly taking pictures of friends talking. Just as it starts, a motorcycle suddenly slides sideways into the alley within range of the camera lens. The rider seems to be frightened and the front of the motorcycle hits the sidewalk causing the vehicle to fall down entirely. The person who took the video is clearly startled. Once the motorcycle falls, the two persons riding it get up in a panic and run farther into the alley. It¡¯s clear the person holding the phone and his friend don¡¯t know anything about what¡¯s happening, and they could be heard asking ¡®what happened?¡¯ in the video. Then someone outside the screen suddenly shouts, ¡°Look, up there!¡± The perspective of the video elevates, the person holding the phone clearly having raised it to capture what¡¯s above. This shot is very clear: a young miss in a light pink, casual sportswear is running along the walls of the alley, with high speed and a graceful posture. The same voice that called out ¡°Look, up there!¡± just now, shouts again, ¡°Is that a cool run or what?¡± Just as the phrase ¡®cool run¡¯ is uttered, the girl jumps off the high wall¡ªWu Hao and the rest of his team can¡¯t help but exclaim and whistle for her. She lands in a half-squat, leaning forward, stable and cool. As soon as she raises her face and stands up, even the pathetic pixels of the old phone can¡¯t stop the icy cold aura. ¡°Wow, wow, wow!¡± Several people in front of the computer screen shout along with the people outside the video screen. ¡°Terminator, Chinese miss version.¡± ¡°Wow, so we also have people in the Avengers?¡± Wu Hao gives them a look. The video continues to broadcast: the young miss is approaching the two men who had run to the end of the alley only to find that it was a dead end. Wu Hao and his team can faintly hear the young miss say, ¡°Hand over grandmother¡¯s purse!¡± ¡°Wow, the voice is also very nice,¡± a team member exclaims. Prince Hao1 knocks on his head and one can hear the sound of that, too. The following content is very short, that is to say, the fight is also short. The two men take out their daggers, but the young miss doesn¡¯t seem to notice and shouts again, ¡°If you don¡¯t give it back, I¡¯ll beat you!¡± After hearing this, one of the men rushes over with a dagger, but the little miss doesn¡¯t dodge or step aside. Instead she turns around and kicks the man away with one move. It¡¯s clean and neat, chic and stylish. It¡¯s just simply too outrageous. The people who are filming have lowered their voices, barely whispering ¡°wow¡±, but the spinning motion has made the young miss notice the people who are hiding in the corner with their mobile phone, taking pictures of her. She stares towards them, and the person taking the video and his friends are startled and quickly run away . The video ends. Several of Wu Hao¡¯s colleagues cover their chests, as if they all felt the pain of being smacked by that flying kick just now. Wu Hao anxiously asks Ah Huo, ¡°Where is this?¡± Ah Huo quickly browses the introduction of the video and the comments and messages of netizens below. ¡°Uh, it¡¯s Lishu Lane. Brother Wu, this video has a lot of comments. It¡¯s gone viral.¡± Because the original poster thought he had captured a rare and good material, he was very excited, and kept circling people on Weibo and forums. Wu Hao quickly glanced at the comments and posts, making all kinds of guesses and booing. Also because the incident just happened, there are still people who want to form a team to search for the kung fu girl on the street. The ID of Kung Fu Girl was also registered immediately, and the ID left a comment: ¡®Come on, come on, I¡¯ll kick you to death.¡¯ Then Kung Fu Girl 1, Kung Fu Girl 2, Kung Fu Girl 3, and other digital troops also came out. Everyone is getting in on the fun. Wu Hao feels dizzy, so he quickly calls Chen Ying. Chen Ying is still on the road, and he¡¯s about to reach Cuixi Road. The traffic jam on the road makes him swear. Wu Hao tells him that Mi Xi appeared in Lishu Lane and was filmed by a mobile phone and now posted on the Internet. ¡°Now I know you¡¯re not joking when you said she will beat up people,¡± Wu Hao says. Chen Ying understands the meaning. The cars in front of him are stuck and he honks his horn in frustration. He asks, ¡°Can it still be stopped? ¡°Now, I can¡¯t clean it up even if I ask the team to contact them, so I can only try to suppress it so that she doesn¡¯t become too popular.¡± Wu Hao pauses, ¡°Boss, this video has all the elements of a viral video: it¡¯s short, watchable, and it¡¯s fast. It¡¯s explosive. It¡¯s only a few seconds, and my brothers and sisters here were already screaming. Your family¡¯s young miss, um¡ª¡± He thinks about the words, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for how shitty the video resolution was, and how that guy¡¯s hands trembled a little, this short clip would look like it¡¯s cut out of a blockbuster movie. Can you imagine the Terminator coming out?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need to imagine.¡± Chen Ying rubs his forehead¡ªhe had frickin¡¯ seen this ¡®Terminator¡¯ with his own eyes. It landed on the roof of his car and left footprints on the metal. The car could only be sent to the repair shop to be fixed. Chen Ying lets out a sigh, knowing that it¡¯s useless to be anxious¡ªthe most important thing is to suppress the matter. ¡°Ah Hao, you should deal with this matter first. This young miss just came from another place, from far out of town, way into the mountains, and she can¡¯t even speak well here. She is very simple and doesn¡¯t understand many things. I can¡¯t let her be exposed. She hasn¡¯t adapted yet to life here at all.¡± ¡°OK. I understand.¡± Wu Hao is very experienced. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it here, but you have to take note of a few points yourself. First, the location of the video is too clear, and there are already people clamoring on the Internet to team up to find her¡ªwe can only keep our eyes open for new videos. If you see her, don¡¯t approach her right away, you know what I mean? You can¡¯t be filmed with her. If all the videos are only of her¡ªshe is just a special passer-by. But if she is photographed having a connection with you, then she will have something to do with the company, and things will be complicated.¡± Chen Ying frowns, he understands. If she has a connection with the company, then she has a connection with the entertainment industry. No matter how high the popularity of a passer-by is, it will still pass quickly. But if you add in the Crown Prince of the Lingyu Group, and the Crown Prince comes to pick her up in person, then it opens the door for a lot of speculation. Either she¡¯s a small artist of the company or maybe a young playmate¡ªin short, the matter deserves the paparazzi¡¯s long-term attention. Chen Ying can¡¯t help but swear in his heart. His residence is very quiet, he doesn¡¯t want to get involved in any scandal and have the paparazzi squatting at the gate of the community every day waiting to take pictures of Mi Xi and following her life. Then after prolonged stalking, the whole world will realize: hey, there is a time-traveling girl¡ªlet¡¯s catch it and study it. Wu Hao on the other end of the phone continues, ¡°Lishu Lane and Cuixi Road are separated by two streets, which is not too far away. If the robbery at the bank gate is exposed, it will easily be co-related to this video. Please contact the housekeeper and tell her not to say anything in the hospital, just in case. By the way, have you put tint on your car windows?¡± ¡°No.¡± He wasn¡¯t afraid of people peeking in, so he never put on any tint. ¡°Okay, that is to say, it¡¯s not too safe for her to sneak into your car. Her clothes are too eye-catching. The color and style are just on the market, and it¡¯s a big brand, so it¡¯s easy to recognize. I¡¯ll let Xiaowen meet up with her¡ªshe will take clothes to her and a hat. Find the young miss and pick her up first, then ask her to change her clothes, hairstyle, and hat in the car, and then hand her over to you after leaving that area.¡± The car in front finally starts to move, and Chen Ying continues down the road, keeping an eye on the side of the road while continuing to talk to Wu Hao with the headset. ¡°Your strategy is good, but there is one thing.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Mi Xi is not like the artists you usually deal with¡ªyou have no idea at all, okay? I can¡¯t find her now. I called her many times, and she¡¯s not answering. I don¡¯t know if she didn¡¯t bring the phone or forgot how to answer it¡ªI only taught her once. Also, she may not be willing to go with someone she doesn¡¯t know. She¡¯d probably be too wary. So your Xiaowen may not be able to deal with her if she goes out.¡± And you want her to change clothes in the car? Chen Ying feels completely hopeless at the thought. He doesn¡¯t even know if the clothes they¡¯ll bring her are the kind that¡¯s tightly wrapped¡ªthere¡¯s not much hope of that! FOOTNOTE: 1The author¡¯s likes to give characters funny, situational nicknames, like Yue Lao was previously called ¡®Old Granny Yue¡¯ because he was fussing with Mi Xi. CH 14.2 ¡°You mean she only recognizes your face?¡± Wu Hao says while beckoning to Du Xiaowen who was standing to the side. In any case, people have to be sent there first, and it will take time to drive there. Du Xiaowen has heard her name and has begun paying attention, and now understands what her boss wants her to do. Seeing him gesturing, she rushes to the cloakroom to pick out a set of unremarkable clothes, a peaked cap, a big backpack, and an umbrella. She moves quickly, throws the ¡®disguise¡¯ into the big bag, and runs out. She makes an ¡®OK¡¯ sign to Wu Hao, and mouths a question, ¡°Lishu Lane?¡± Wu Hao nods. Du Xiaowen picks up the car keys on the table and waves to everyone. ¡°Boys, I¡¯m going!¡± Everyone boos, and someone shouts, ¡°I¡¯m so envious! I should be sent to rescue the little beauty, I will definitely complete the task satisfactorily.¡± Du Xiaowen laughs and rushes out to press the elevator. Wu Hao has already finished talking with Chen Ying on the phone. Chen Ying will call Cheng Jiangyi and Su Xiaopei for help¡ªMi Xi also recognizes them. If they can find her, they can come forward and take Mi Xi away. If the people from Wu Hao¡¯s side find her first, then they¡¯ll call Chen Ying and ask Chen Ying to persuade Mi Xi to go with them. Chen Ying asks secretary Lu Ya to head over to the hospital, not only to deal with Feng Xin, but also to appease the old lady who was robbed. Because Chen Ying doesn¡¯t know the situation at this time, it would be bad if the old woman¡¯s money is life-saving money or something that would cause a big reaction in social media. Chen Ying intends to ask Lu Ya to clarify things first¡ªif it is really life-saving money, he will pay it back first, so that the matter will calm down, and no one will make trouble or get excited. It wouldn¡¯t be good for Mi Xi¡¯s brave, saving actions to attract too much attention. It¡¯s a fact that Mi Xi beat someone¡ªand he doesn¡¯t know if someone will call the police or an ambulance later. Wu Hao will have to handle it. Wu Hao calls his people again, tells them about the current situation, and asks them to check with their contacts in the police stations and hospitals. Those who are looking for Mi Xi must pay attention to whether there are people taking pictures around them and proceed carefully. Just as Wu Hao says this, Ah Huo waves at him and points at the screen. Wu Hao leans over to look at it. In the comments below, there is indeed a live broadcast saying that they have arrived at the scene and are looking for the Kung Fu Girl. After Wu Hao finishes the call, he hangs up, and snaps his fingers to the team members in the office to call their attention. ¡°Everyone stay on your marks. First, I don¡¯t want to see this Kung Fu Girl video on any website. Squeeze down on the real-time trending topic list, find your respective website contacts, bring up other topics, and suppress this heat. Also, make sure the editor does not make manual recommendations. ¡°Second, I don¡¯t want to see any news channel air this video. Before this gets the attention of editors and reporters, you guys contact your people there now. ¡°Third, it¡¯s not too hot right now, but if it goes viral, I¡¯d like to see counter-proof that the video is ¡®fake¡¯. Jason, you can analyze the content of the video as a film or martial arts enthusiast to expose the means of fraud.¡± Jason nods. He is in charge of technology. It will take a little work but he can handle it. ¡°Fourth, Luo, those alt accounts in your hands¡ªorganize and reply to the messages. Let the idiots who teamed up to find the little beauty over there realize that they were fooled by the original poster and withdraw quickly. But be careful, don¡¯t provoke them, don¡¯t heat it up. ¡°Huo, keep an eye on it. If there is a new video, let me know right away. Also, get some blurred photos of a figure in pink popping up elsewhere. If there is a problem with the kung fu girl-hunting side, use the fake photos so those who formed the team will go look for her somewhere else.¡± Everyone acknowledges the instructions and quickly moves to comply. After a while, Wu Hao receives a call. His people outside tell him that a police station near the scene had indeed received a report. The two thieves were sent to the police station with injuries, but they were not too serious. At least, they did fall to the ground but could still rise. They confessed that the money was taken by a young miss in pink sportswear, but the police didn¡¯t see any trace of this young miss, and they were about to conduct a search for her. Wu Hao thinks fast and immediately gives instructions to tell the police that there is no more need to look for her. The little miss has already returned the money to the old woman¡ªthe real victim in this situation. The old woman is still in the hospital so have someone lead the police there. The other party agrees and hangs up the phone. Wu Hao then calls Chen Ying, gives him a report on the situation, and says that he¡¯s going to the hospital to negotiate with the police in person; Lu Ya should keep the old woman there for the meantime. The amount of money robbed will be returned first, and he¡¯ll say that the little girl sent it back. The two sides discuss matters quickly, and Wu Hao heads out. He handles matters at the hospital himself, and everything is done properly. The robbers¡¯ confessions are settled, and no one will hold the little miss accountable for beating up people. The police and the old woman want to meet and thank her face to face, but Wu Hao evades it on the grounds that the little miss is shy. Wu Hao also quickly establishes a relationship with the policeman, saying that is a good thing for a young miss to be brave when she sees unrighteousness happen, but they must prevent the bad elements from retaliating against her in the future, so her identity should be hidden¡ªdon¡¯t mention her, and instead work with the perspective of protecting her. Both the policeman and the old lady feel that this is reasonable and agree. In the office, Wu Hao¡¯s team members are all busy, and there are many people participating in the video topic discussion, but the matter never ranks as a hot topic. Under the topic, a group of sailors1 attacked¡ªwith various pushes from the left and the right, the people discussing are quickly divided into several factions. Some say it¡¯s hype done by parkour clubs; some say that the girl¡¯s kick was from Muay Thai; some insist that it¡¯s Chinese Kung Fu; some say that they were deceived and formed a team stupidly; and some say it was a clip from several years ago¡ªthis is from a small movie, deliberately edited and trimmed; some say it¡¯s true; some say it¡¯s a sports brand advertisement and you¡¯ve all been fooled¡­. The topic is full of chatter and excitement, but the media seems calm on the surface. On the other end of the search, there is no progress. Chen Ying searches around for three hours but can¡¯t find anyone. He keeps calling Mi Xi¡¯s phone, but no one answers. Wu Hao¡¯s group doesn¡¯t see anyone leaving a message on the Internet saying that they saw kung fu girl. Cheng Jiangyi and Su Xiaopei have also come; they search separately, but to no avail. Finally, the three meet at a street corner, look at each other, and shake their heads. Chen Ying himself can¡¯t find her, nor can the people sent out by Wu Hao, nor can Cheng Jiangyi and Su Xiaopei. Cheng Jiangyi shakes his head and sighs. He says to Su Xiaopei, ¡°My wife, little Mi Xi is so much better than you were back then. It¡¯s only been a few days since she¡¯s been here, and everyone has already been turned upside down.¡± ¡°Two days,¡± Chen Ying grits his teeth. ¡°She¡¯s been here two days.¡± Su Xiaopei is so tired; she takes a sip from a mineral water bottle and suddenly remembers, ¡°Ah! I know someone who must know where Mi Xi is!¡± ¡°Who?¡± Chen Ying asks through still gritted teeth. ¡°Yue Lao 2238. Mi Xi is his client, and he can find the real-time whereabouts of each client in his diary.¡± As a former client, Su Xiaopei knows this too well. ¡°What¡¯s his phone number?¡± Chen Ying takes out his phone, his movements abrupt and aggressive. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have a phone.¡± Su Xiaopei shakes her head. ¡°They don¡¯t allow phone calls.¡± Chen Ying¡¯s face turns green. Cheng Jiangyi sighs. ¡°My wife, although I don¡¯t object to you playing tricks on Chen Ying, this kind of timing is really inappropriate. Don¡¯t do this next time.¡± Su Xiaopei is innocent, ¡°I didn¡¯t play him, I just wanted to say that Yue Lao 2238 must know what¡¯s happening, and in the face of such an emergency, shouldn¡¯t he appear automatically? In the past, he always appeared very suddenly.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Chen Ying retorts. ¡°Then can you please let him appear suddenly now? Come out and tell us where Mi Xi is?¡± In a street corner, Yuelao 2238 is looking through his diary. He puts it back in his pocket and walks away. ¡°I¡¯m Yuelao¡ªnot a dog for tracking missing persons. Should I take the initiative to help you find someone? This is completely not within the scope of my duties though. I admit I was concerned earlier, but she is safe now, so please continue to work hard.¡± ________________ FOOTNOTE: 1¡®Sailors¡¯ or ¡®Water Navy¡¯ refers to paid accounts that help marketing groups skew public opinion one way or another. CH 15.1 Mi Xi still hasn¡¯t been found, so everyone can only continue to work hard. Chen Ying calls Du Xiaowen. In the past few hours, in order to be able to stay in contact, several people¡¯s numbers have been added to his mobile phone. Unfortunately, Du Xiaowen and her colleagues have not found any new leads yet. Chen Ying is quite angry. Although he knows that Mi Xi had good intentions, and even though he understands that Mi Xi has no concept of modern life, he is really angry that he is being tossed around like this. ¡°Damn it, when we find her, let Cheng Jiangyi take her away. I¡¯m already so busy every day, I can¡¯t afford to support her like this.¡± He mutters angrily to himself, driving slowly down the street, paying attention to the roadside. He makes another u-turn. He¡¯s driving again from Lishu Lane back to the bank when he suddenly has a flash of inspiration. He steps on the accelerator and drives all the way home. As soon as he gets out of the elevator, he sees a figure in light pink standing upright at the door of the house. The fire in Chen Ying¡¯s stomach explodes. He is so angry that he can¡¯t speak, pointing at her, ¡°You, you¡­¡± Mi Xi stands there, her small face wrinkled into a ball, very listless, serious and dejected. ¡°Uncle, I lost Sister Feng.¡± Chen Ying swallows back the words he intended to say, choking him up. ¡°She took me outside and was teaching me about the bank. Well, it¡¯s a ¡®bank¡¯.¡± Mi Xi pauses for a moment, not sure if it was properly called a ¡®bank¡¯. But seeing Chen Ying¡¯s expressionless face, it should be the right name, so she continues, ¡°Then an old woman was robbed of her purse by two thieves. The old woman said it was life-saving money for her grandson. I helped the old woman snatch the purse back. Let the government handle it from there, but I don¡¯t know the government here, so I can only take the purse back. I wanted to return it to grandmother, but when I returned, grandmother was nowhere to be found, and even Sister Feng is lost.¡± Mi Xi confesses earnestly about her sins. Chen Ying takes out the key, opens the door, ignores Mi Xi, and goes in by himself. He pours a glass of water, gulps it all down, then throws himself on the sofa, arms and legs spread out. Mi Xi follows behind and closes the door lightly. She also feels very thirsty, but she doesn¡¯t dare to drink water, she only follows behind Chen Ying. As he¡¯s lying down on the sofa, she stands upright in front of him and continues, ¡°I went back to the bank, but I didn¡¯t see the old woman or Sister Feng. There seemed to be something strange happening at the bank, and I didn¡¯t dare go in.¡± She purses her lips¡ªshe was afraid of making a joke and causing trouble, so she just peered in from outside. ¡°After waiting for a long time, I tried to ask someone, but that person didn¡¯t know anything. I waited again, and then I thought that maybe Sister Feng had come home, so I came back here. But when I knocked on the door, there was no one inside of the house.¡± As she¡¯s speaking, her voice is a little choked with emotions. Chen Ying feels very unhappy, and he asks her, ¡°Why are you aggrieved?¡± Disobedient, running around without a care. There are still a bunch of people looking for her outside. He hadn¡¯t eaten or even drank water these past few hours, and he was anxious this entire time! Who could he cry to? ¡°Grandmother¡ª,¡± she chokes, ¡°Grandmother said that this is the life-saving money for her grandson. I promised grandmother that I would get it back for her, but in the end, I couldn¡¯t find her.¡± Mi Xi¡¯s tears finally fall. She hadn¡¯t cried at all earlier, but now, after seeing Chen Ying, she finally seems to have the feeling of being with family, and she has become weak all of a sudden. ¡°Chen Ying, this is grandmother¡¯s life-saving money. I promised her, but I can¡¯t find her. And Sister Feng, I lost her. What should I do?¡± Chen Ying pinches his brows. He was about to teach her a lesson but now he¡¯s completely blocked. Really, it¡¯s not right to scold her, but it¡¯s also not right not to scold her. He sighs. He ignores her for now, takes out his cell phone and calls Cheng Jiangyi and Wu Hao. ¡°I found her, she came home by herself, and she was standing at the door of the house. Mmm, it¡¯s quite far away, I didn¡¯t expect her to know the way after going around. Yes, she¡¯s fine, it¡¯s okay.¡± Chen Ying said. One by one, he personally calls to explain that she has been found, and thanks everyone for their help. Mi Xi is a little flustered; she is still holding the old woman¡¯s purse tightly in her hand. She doesn¡¯t know what to do, she is anxious to return the money. But Chen Ying doesn¡¯t seem to want to talk to her, and what he said on the phone also disturbed her; What¡¯s wrong? Is someone looking for her? She wasn¡¯t lost¡ªshe went to recover the purse and came back. Chen Ying gets angry all over again while talking on the phone and glares at Mi Xi. Seeing her eyes redden, tears filling her eyes¡ªthat pitiful look made him even more angry. He is starving and tired. On the phone, Cheng Jiangyi and Su Xiaopei both say they will come over to see Mi Xi, and Chen Ying asks them to bring some food along the way. Wu Hao also says on the phone that he would come to take a look, and Chen Ying agrees. Mi Xi stands like this throughout, waiting for Chen Ying to finish the calls. Chen Ying stares at her. Although Mi Xi is uneasy and doesn¡¯t know what happened, she doesn¡¯t feel that she is at fault, so she also looks back at him directly. ¡°What do you want to tell me?¡± Chen Ying finally asks. Mi Xi thinks for a while. ¡°Uncle, um, Chen Ying, can you help me find grandmother? I promised her. And Sister Feng.¡± Chen Ying doesn¡¯t speak. ¡°If I don¡¯t do as I promised, I will feel uneasy.¡± Mi Xi thinks about it, and feels that it¡¯s probably difficult for Chen Ying. He has never met this old woman, and he doesn¡¯t know what happened. How can he help her find her? And with such a huge crowd, it is indeed difficult. She bites her lip and lowers her head. Chen Ying stares at her. And stares at her. Finally, he sighs. He pats the sofa. ¡°Sit down. No one is making you stand.¡± Mi Xi walks to the sofa with solemn dignity and, with careful and upright bearing, sits down two feet away from Chen Ying. ¡°Where¡¯s your cell phone?¡± Chen Ying asks her. Mi Xi answers seriously, ¡°When I got back after recovering the purse, I wanted to call Uncle¡¯s cell phone, but when I touched my pocket, it was gone. But when I went out of the house earlier, I made sure to follow Uncle¡¯s instructions and took my phone with me.¡± ¡°You jumped around, kicked trees, stepped on cars, climbed over walls, and your pocket is so shallow¡ªcan you still keep your phone?¡± Wu Hao had sent the video to his mobile phone for him to watch, plus with the comments on the Internet, and Feng Xin¡¯s description of what happened, he didn¡¯t need to use his brain to guess what it was like when she was chasing the thief all the way. Mi Xi blinks her eyes, a little dazed. CH 15.2 Chen Ying stretches out his hand, ¡°Where¡¯s the money?¡± Mi Xi blinks again, ¡°This belongs to grandmother.¡± Chen Ying retorts, ¡°Will I be greedy for her money?¡± Mi Xi only says, ¡°I have to return it to grandmother.¡± ¡°I have already paid her back.¡± Chen Ying is annoyed again. ¡°No, I¡¯ve already made an advance payment. So now the money in your hands is mine.¡± Mi Xi frowns and feels lost in the conversation again. What advances? Why is the money now his? Chen Ying really has no temper to deal with this; he spreads out boneless on the sofa. ¡°I really want to talk to you about all of this, but I¡¯m tired and impatient. I¡¯ll wait for your Uncle Cheng and Aunt Su to come.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Mi Xi nods. Good? Chen Ying pinched his brows, is she really not discussing with him? After waiting for more than 20 minutes, the security intercom in the house rings. It¡¯s the security guard at the gate of the community, saying that Chen Ying has a visitor, and his surname is Cheng. Chen Ying acknowledges and lets him in, feeling in his heart as if a savior has arrived. A few minutes later, Cheng Jiangyi and Su Xiaopei arrives with some takeaway meal boxes. After entering the door, Mi Xi politely salutes the two and calls out ¡®Uncle¡¯ and ¡®Auntie. Cheng Jiangyi responds with a smile, and raises his eyebrows at Chen Ying. Chen Ying waves his hands with a helpless expression on his face. ¡°I taught her not to do this.¡± ¡°It takes time,¡± Su Xiaopei comforts. Mi Xi understands what they are saying and argues, ¡°But if you don¡¯t salute, you won¡¯t know where to put your hands.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Su Xiaopei nods, ¡°I know what you mean.¡± Contrary to her original statement, she can completely understand. While Su Xiaopei chats with Mi Xi, Chen Ying pulls Cheng Jiangyi aside. They talk about the situation, and then he says, ¡°You guys are here, so you should explain things to her. I¡¯m tapped out and I can¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°Second Young Master, you are really promising.¡± ¡°Thank you for the compliment.¡± Chen Ying is starving to death, too lazy to talk to Cheng Jiangyi, so he runs to the dining table and unpacks a lunch box to eat. Cheng Jiangyi goes through the matter in his head. It is not difficult to tell Mi Xi not to fight casually here, but how to explain why such a simple thing as her bravery will cause serious consequences? What to say about the Internet, privacy, and all the things modern people take for granted. Cheng Jiangyi thinks about it until his head is big. Su Xiaopei also asks Mi Xi to eat, and with her eyes, she scolds Chen Ying who didn¡¯t ask Mi Xi to sit on the table but instead ate first without her. Young miss Mi Xi is very sensitive. If Chen Ying is inconsiderate like this, Mi Xi will feel it. If she feels that she is not welcome, she will definitely be very sad. Su Xiaopei looks over at the two of them¡ª Mi Xi is sitting at the dining table, eating silently; she is indeed quite reserved as she feared. Su Xiaopei feels distressed¡ªpenniless, without relatives and friends, she knows exactly what it feels like to be alone in a strange world. But when she experienced this kind of thing, she was ten years older than Mi Xi, and she had been in the workplace for many years already, and she also had a little understanding of ancient times. Mi Xi is just a young miss. She was a young sheltered lady where she came from; she has never suffered. She was held in the palm of one¡¯s hand and had many people taking care of her. Now the family is broken, and she came to this world that she knows nothing of. Su Xiaopei glances at Cheng Jiangyi. In fact, when Yuelao 2238 appeared and told her and Cheng Jiangyi that such a little girl was coming, she felt that the little girl should be taken care of by her. But No. 2238 said that she was not within the scope of the red thread. He also wanted to help the little girl get used to this place as soon as possible and tie the red line as soon as possible, so he had to follow the instructions of the Red Thread System and couldn¡¯t hand her over to her. Cheng Jiangyi waves to Su Xiaopei and calls her aside¡ªthe two of them whisper for a while. They discuss how to carry out this crash course on modern times. Although they can¡¯t be her guardian, fortunately, this unfortunate guardian is one of their own, so it¡¯s convenient for them to help. While the guardian and ward are eating, and the husband and wife are preparing lessons, the doorbell rings. Chen Ying knows it¡¯s Wu Hao. Only the residents of the community or the acquaintances of the residents who come and go frequently will be allowed in, since the security guard at the gate recognizes their faces. When he opens the door, it¡¯s indeed Wu Hao. He sees Mi Xi and his eyes light up: Hey, she really is a little beauty. Chen Ying introduces him to everyone. Mi Xi wipes her mouth when she sees an outsider, stands up, and greets politely, ¡°I have seen Uncle.¡± ¡°Hey.¡± Chen Ying, Cheng Jiangyi, and Su Xiaopei all nod in satisfaction. Yes, Mi Xi has made progress! This time she didn¡¯t bend down to salute¡ªalthough her arms are placed a little stiff on either side of her body, but it is still progress and worthy of praise. Mi Xi looks at everyone and feels a little happy. It¡¯s funny how this small affirmation can make her so happy. Wu Hao, for his part, leans and whispers into Chen Ying¡¯s ear, ¡°Girls from the mountains are really polite.¡± But still, something seemed off. ¡°Yeah,¡± Chen Ying nods. ¡°Wait.¡± Wu Hao turns his head to Mi Xi. He remembered now what was wrong. ¡°I¡¯m ¡®older brother¡¯!¡± Why is he being called ¡®uncle¡¯? Is he very old? He is not old! ¡°Shut up.¡± Chen Ying glares at him and takes Wu Hao aside. Cheng Jiangyi also takes this time to educate Mi Xi. ¡°Don¡¯t pay attention to him, he is an ¡®uncle¡¯.¡± Why should Wu Hao be younger than his generation? He isn¡¯t happy to be old, too. ¡°Wow, you can¡¯t do this.¡± Wu Hao now understands what¡¯s going on, but they can¡¯t just decide to bring him along with them! No one pays him any attention to him. Chen Ying takes him to the balcony to smoke together, leaving the room for Cheng Jiangyi and Su Xiaopei to teach Mi Xi her lessons. Wu Hao takes a few puffs of smoke, looks at Mi Xi who is listening seriously to ¡®Uncle¡¯ and ¡®Aunt¡¯ through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and asks, ¡°Where did she come from?¡± ¡°In the mountains.¡± ¡°Which mountain?¡± ¡°¡­. Deep mountain.¡± ¡°F*ck.¡± Wu Hao looks at Chen Ying in disbelief. ¡°Actually, she fell from the sky.¡± ¡°Get outta here.¡± ¡°Really.¡± Chen Ying suddenly realizes that he¡¯s an idiot¡ªsomeone fell from the sky right in front of him but he didn¡¯t ask why. Then what, didn¡¯t she die over there? Even if there is a soul in this world, what is going on with her current body? It won¡¯t really be the same as the Terminator, will it? When it¡¯s actually a metal mechanical structure inside, right? No, she still sleeps and eats, so she shouldn¡¯t be a robot. Chen Ying puts out the cigarette, thinking that he should also take a literacy class. While Chen Ying was reflecting on his past stupidity, Wu Hao is talking on the phone and hangs up after saying a few words more. He then turns back to Chen Ying, ¡°The matter is not over yet, you should be more cautious and don¡¯t let her go out for the time being. I wanted Xiaowen to come here and meet Mi Xi face to face so it will be easier for Mi Xi to recognize Xiaowen if something happens again. But Xiaowen just now called and said that there is a reporter lurking nearby. When she was walking around looking for Mi Xi, she was seen by that person. The reporter recognized her and asked her if she had any new information and what she was doing. She prevaricated at the time. But just now, when she drove here, and when she was almost at the gate of your community, she saw that the same reporter was following her, and she didn¡¯t dare to come in. She was smart and just drove past the gate.¡± Chen Ying turns his head to look downstairs¡ªhe couldn¡¯t see the community gates from his perspective. He knows what Wu Hao means. He sincerely hopes there will be no more trouble. Being an uncle is exhausting. CH 16.1 Mi Xi talked with Su Xiaopei and Cheng Jiangyi for almost an hour. During this period, Chen Ying made himself scarce, hiding on the balcony with Wu Hao, smoking cigarettes and drinking a cup of coffee. Afterwards, Wu Hao received a call¡ªthe young artist Ling Xiran, who had been exposed to negative news in the media, issued a statement on Weibo, stating that she was called over by a friend to celebrate her birthday together, and she didn¡¯t know that the place was a so-called ¡®host club¡¯. It said that she considered herself to be of good character, and she also knew the importance of an artist¡¯s reputation, so she would never do such a stupid thing like this and willingly go to that kind of place. She also reserves the right to take legal measures against those who slander her reputation with the media. Wu Hao was furious after hearing this. He read the statement posted on the Internet using his mobile phone, and immediately dialed Ling Xiran. Ling Xiran¡¯s phone was turned off. Wu Hao cursed and called Ling Xiran¡¯s manager, Brother Bing. ¡°What¡¯s going on? She issued a statement. And you agreed? Why didn¡¯t you show it to us first for discussion? I told you that until this matter is over, everything that has not been reviewed by my team is not allowed to be published. Where she is going, what she wants to say, and the clothes she wants to wear¡ªnothing goes out to the media without our confirmation. What do you mean now? It¡¯s too lonely not to go out and she didn¡¯t mean to get her pictures taken? What kind of Weibo? Do you think it¡¯s okay? Not talking will be regarded as tacitly damaging the image and cannot be remedied? Oh, yeah? Why don¡¯t you ask me what I think?¡± Chen Ying listened to Wu Hao¡¯s one-sided argument over the phone, and at the same time watched Mi Xi obediently listening to Su Xiaopei through the floor-to-ceiling windows. He didn¡¯t know what exactly Su Xiaopei said to her, but she nodded. Then Su Xiaopei touched her head and hugged Mi Xi into her arms. Chen Ying noticed that Mi Xi¡¯s body was still tense. Even the comforting hug from a person of the same sex did not make her let go of all her defenses. Maybe she wasn¡¯t defensive¡ªshe was just uncomfortable. Now that he¡¯s calmed down, Chen Ying seriously thought about what happened today. The truth was, it really hadn¡¯t been easy for this young miss. Fortunately, she was able to find her way home after three avenues and a few corners. At this time, Chen Ying had the realization¡ªonly had it now, overwhelmed as it was by his original worry and anger¡ªthat he felt truly relieved. Fortunately, Mi Xi knew the way home. Stupid little miss, she can¡¯t even be coquettish. If it was someone else, never mind about right or wrong, just standing at the door for a few hours would be enough to make them cry for a while and make others feel pitiful towards her. But she didn¡¯t cry. She was, instead, ashamed for losing Sister Feng, and anxious and sad because she couldn¡¯t find the old woman to pay back the money. And she told him these things bluntly, without appealing to him for help. Really, what a stupid young miss. Chen Ying felt his heart softening again. Well, he was also to blame. He had been too impatient. But she didn¡¯t understand anything, which was really a headache. Wu Hao was still scolding on the phone. ¡°Why did they dare to expose it like this? You f*cking listen to me. He must still have information in hand, just waiting for you to issue some statement or clarification, so that when they send a second wave of photos or even videos or other things, that slap in the face would be strong enough, and even ordinary photos will now have other meanings. ¡°You can¡¯t even see through this, and you refuse to cooperate. You can wait to see tomorrow¡¯s entertainment news. I shouldn¡¯t worry? I told you to let us deal with it first, and let us find out if there was any preparation behind them. That group has been against us all the time, and they will remember the grudge when the old man didn¡¯t give face. They could take photos of Ling Xiran entering and leaving the host club that day¡ªit proves that they¡¯ve had someone tailing her all this time. You think it¡¯s a coincidence? We don¡¯t know how long they¡¯ve had someone on her. There must be something else that Ling Xiran was photographed doing. Ha! Did you hear her say that? I have seen too many lies in this industry¡ªquite a few of it from her. I said it in the meeting that day, if you have anything else you know, you¡¯d better tell me clearly.¡± Chen Ying didn¡¯t hear what the other party said in response¡ªWu Hao frowned and listened. But then that¡¯s his job. Chen Ying was not interested at all, and the fact that he didn¡¯t need to handle such nasty things was also thanks to Wu Hao. If Chen Ying had had to handle this phone call, he would have long ago flipped the phone, told the other guy they f*ucked up and brought this on themselves, so if they really wanna die just go to hell. Anyway, he really didn¡¯t like to go down this career path. He preferred to climb mountains, surf, camp, drink and eat grilled meat. But of course, there were many things in life that he had to suffer through even if he didn¡¯t like it. Just like Mi Xi¡ªshe probably didn¡¯t like it here very much, but here she was. Chen Ying pushed open the balcony door and went in, turning from the kitchen to the living room. He heard Mi Xi and Cheng Jiangyi talking. ¡°If you want to talk about the most famous caster, that is a master named Ji Jiawen. He is the famous Eighteenth Master of the Xuanqing School. He has taken in many disciples, and some of his disciples have worked in my father¡¯s army, and told me many stories about him.¡± Eh? It turned out that they weren¡¯t teaching her about the modern world anymore¡­ But they were really better at chatting with Mi Xi than he was, Chen Ying thought. They enabled Mi Xi to talk about her hometown¡ªthis was also a way to coax her into the group and cultivate a sense of trust. ¡°Then have you ever heard of a man named Bai Yulang? He is from Baijiazhuang, a master of martial arts,¡± Cheng Jiangyi asked Mi Xi. Su Xiaopei looked up and saw Chen Ying by the doorway. She got up and pulled him to the other side. As Chen Ying followed Su Xiaopei, he heard Mi Xi¡¯s excited voice, ¡°That¡¯s the famous God of Sword Control. I heard that he and Master Shiba are good friends. Master Shiba said that he should use the sword better, and even made it for him with his own hands. Since then, Bai Butou has changed his use of swords, and since then, Yamen catchers no longer only use swords, but depending on personal habits. I don¡¯t like swords very much. I like to use spears¡ªit performs smoother according to my little strength.¡± Chen Ying frowned; listening to Cheng Jiangyi and Mi Xi discussing eighteen kinds of weapons, his head started to hurt again. He really wanted to rub his forehead, but Su Xiaopei was looking at him seriously, so he had no choice but to be serious and upright. ¡°Chen Ying, we already told Mi Xi about the dangers of what happened. She knows that Feng Xin and the old lady are fine in the hospital, and she can understand why you are angry. She also understands the possible consequences if she gets lost or behaves in a way that garners too much attention.¡± ¡°Yeah? How likely is it that she really understood?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s somewhat like how children know that touching a hot stove will hurt because they have been told so by adults, but they haven¡¯t been burnt before, so they don¡¯t know how painful it is. That¡¯s the general idea.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± This explanation was really general enough ah. ¡°She is very insecure.¡± ¡°I understand this, and I can also see it.¡± His heart has softened once again. But this situation was only just for a while. Really. He wouldn¡¯t agree to it anymore if it took too long.