After Flirting with the God-Tier Beautiful Tycoon - Chapter 7

The rain hitting her body made her shiver from the cold.

Chen Yi hadn’t eaten much for dinner, and now she felt even colder.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over her head, blocking the rain.

Another person appeared beside her, shielding her from the wind blowing from the side.

“Auntie, the rain is too heavy. Take the umbrella!” Shen Xiaojiang frowned, her tone carrying a hint of insistence.

Half of her own body was outside the umbrella. Her white shirt was quickly soaked, faintly revealing the dark shoulder strap underneath.

Chen Yi stared blankly at the person beside her, not reaching out.

Shen Xiaojiang had anticipated this. She took the initiative to grasp Chen Yi’s wrist and forcefully placed the umbrella handle into her hand.

Chen Yi looked at Shen Xiaojiang’s hand; the finger guard was wet.

She was just about to take a closer look when Shen Xiaojiang’s hand quickly retracted.

“Auntie, if Princess is uncomfortable, feel free to come to the shop,” she said, before fully backing out of the umbrella’s shelter.

Chen Yi looked at her and nodded, “I’ll return it another day.”

“Huh?” Shen Xiaojiang shielded her face with her hands, but the rain still washed over her.

Chen Yi didn’t have the habit of holding an umbrella for others. She just held the umbrella, making no other movement, “I said, I’ll return the umbrella another day.”

“Oh, it’s nothing!” After saying that, Shen Xiaojiang showed her harmless, innocent smile again.

Chen Yi hastily looked away, tightening her grip on the cat carrier bag.

“Auntie, bye.” With that, Shen Xiaojiang turned and ran toward the shop entrance.

This time, even though the rain was heavy and there was a lot of noise, Shen Xiaojiang heard Chen Yi’s “Mhm.”

Shen Xiaojiang brushed the rain off her body and stood at the shop doorway, watching Chen Yi leave.

She put her hands on her hips and let out a sigh of relief with a smile.

But the next second, she remembered Chen Yi’s jacket, which was still hanging quietly on the balcony.

“Idiot, why didn’t I just… ugh, never mind. I’ll figure out a way to return it to her another day.”

Shen Xiaojiang muttered to herself for a while, then suddenly slapped her forehead.

“Oh no, our balcony is semi-open!”

Shen Xiaojiang called Sun Jiabao several times, but the other party didn’t answer.

It made Shen Xiaojiang want to swear out loud.

She caught the last public bus back to the dorm. She entered the room covered in water vapor, her wet hair sticking to her face, making her look pale and luminous.

Everyone else in the dorm was there, and the sound of them gaming together was jarringly loud.

Sun Jiabao saw Shen Xiaojiang first and quickly took off her headphones, “Holy cow, did you fall into a river??”

The other two roommates also looked at her and said in unison, “Holy cow, did you fall into a river??”

Shen Xiaojiang rolled her eyes, sighed, and shook her head helplessly.

Scattered roommates, scattered best friends, they never disappoint.

She walked to the balcony. Because her own clothes were covering it, Chen Yi’s jacket hadn’t gotten wet from the rain.

She retrieved the jacket and hung it in the restroom to dry.

After washing up and lying in bed, she received a WeChat message..

【Sister Meng: Xiaojiang, are you back at the dorm?】

Shen Xiaojiang gave a faint smile and replied…

【Shen Xiaojiang: Yes】

【Sister Meng: Then I can rest assured. My mother sent some dumplings from back home. Let’s eat them together tomorrow.】

【Shen Xiaojiang: Sure, take care of yourself.】

After replying, Shen Xiaojiang thought of Sister Meng’s big belly, and a pang of melancholy inevitably arose in her heart.

A mother is truly great.

But why did Chen Yi react so abnormally when she heard the word “mother”?

The image of Chen Yi’s back came into Shen Xiaojiang’s mind.

Also, Chen Yi’s manicured fingers, which were cool but could instantly ignite a person.

She should be home by now, Shen Xiaojiang thought.

Then, she bit her lip, turned over, pulled the quilt over her head, and quietly muttered, “So annoying, I don’t care anymore.”

In the underground parking lot of Grand Era Gardens, the white Bentley was stopped with the engine off.

Chen Yi grasped the steering wheel loosely, her forehead resting on the back of her hands, completely still.

She had been holding this position for ten minutes.

Princess was still in the cat carrier bag, likely in a deep sleep due to the medication.

There was no music playing in the car; the silence was terrifying.

“Mother?”

“Mother…”

Chen Yi murmured, then slowly lifted her head, staring blankly ahead.

Condensation had formed on the car windows due to the temperature difference. Through the fogged glass, the lights in the parking lot scattered, hazy and indistinct.

Chen Yi’s voice sounded like she was on the verge of tears, yet her expression was unusually calm.

She recalled Shen Xiaojiang’s smiling face.

And the cheap clothes, the cheap bag.

She didn’t understand why that person could smile so brightly, so… genuine?

Who exactly is Shen Xiaojiang?

Could she possibly be an undercover agent?

Thinking of this, Chen Yi leaned back, closing her eyes tightly.

After another moment, she took out a cigarette case and pulled out a thin, long lady’s cigarette.

The instant she put it to her mouth, Chen Yi thought of Shen Xiaojiang again.

Shen Xiaojiang seemed to dislike the smell of smoke, wrinkling her nose in disgust when she smelled it at the table.

For some reason, Chen Yi casually took the cigarette out of her mouth and put it back in the case.

She ultimately did not get out of the car but restarted it and drove out of the parking lot.

Twenty minutes later, Chen Yi arrived at Xinghui Hotel.

Ostensibly, she ran the largest bar in Southern City, but she actually owned more properties than one hand could count, and this Xinghui Hotel was one of them.

After swiping the card and entering the room, all the lights immediately came on.

Freshly washed seasonal fruits, various luxury cosmetics, change of clothes hung on hangers…

The lobby manager specifically responsible for Chen Yi’s room left a friendly handwritten note: “Seventh Mistress, good night.”

This place seemed more like a home.

A home where someone was waiting.

The next day, everyone woke up early for their specialized course.

“Damn, whose jacket is this?” The speaker was Chen Xingnan, one of Shen Xiaojiang’s roommates, a short-haired cool girl who liked to wear leather jackets.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?” Shen Xiaojiang spat out the last bit of mouthwash, looking at her in the mirror.

“Damn, Shenjiang, this jacket is Dilraba’s style, a BV Spring limited edition, a small five figure price!” Chen Xingnan extended her hands, ready to inspect it closely.

Shen Xiaojiang spun around and slapped her wrist away, looking serious, “Don’t touch it, aren’t your hands dirty?”

It wasn’t a question; she was clearly stating that Chen Xingnan’s hands were dirty.

The roommates were used to Shen Xiaojiang’s manner of speaking and didn’t get angry at her.

But they couldn’t resist teasing her occasionally, “What, is it yours?”

Shen Xiaojiang wiped her hands clean and scoffed, “How could it be, I don’t have money.”

“It’s not Liu Wei’s style, so it must be Sun Jiabao’s, then?” Chen Xingnan continued to ask, mumbling indistinctly while brushing her teeth, as if the jacket itself was a huge piece of gossip.

“It’s not.” The rain had stopped. Shen Xiaojiang prepared to take the still-damp jacket out to sunbathe.

“Then whose is it…”

“Just brush your teeth.” Shen Xiaojiang didn’t want to tell others about Chen Yi.

This jacket felt like their secret, one that wasn’t really a secret.

After hanging the clothes out, Shen Xiaojiang walked to the foot of Sun Jiabao’s bed and said loudly on purpose, “Team wiped out! Rank dropped!”

This tactic worked better than anything else.

As expected, Sun Jiabao poked her head out from behind the pink curtains with a resentful look.

“Big Sis, you don’t even understand games. Don’t jinx me first thing in the morning. Do you have a conscience?”

Sun Jiabao wasn’t a beauty at first glance, but she was delicate and attractive. Even now, messy-haired, her looks weren’t terrible.

“I do.” Shen Xiaojiang held her textbook.

“Huh?” Sun Jiabao was confused.

“I have a conscience, but not much of one,” Shen Xiaojiang made a face and walked toward the door.

“Shenjiang, aren’t you going to wait for me?” Sun Jiabao quickly got out of bed.

“No time. It’s Old Man Mao’s class.” Shen Xiaojiang’s voice faded into the distance.

After class, the four of them walked out of the academic building side by side, carrying their books.

“I heard our school library is going to be rebuilt. Do we have to go to the study rooms from now on?” The speaker was the fourth member of Dorm 602, Liu Wei, who wore braces and kept her dark brown hair in a perpetual low ponytail.

Sun Jiabao said, “It’s not a rebuild, it’s a donation for construction/maintenance.”

Liu Wei: “What’s the difference?”

Sun Jiabao took out a pink small comb and straightened her bangs, “There’s a difference, of course. A donation for construction won’t destroy the original structure of the building. It’s just for maintenance, like replacing air conditioners and windows, changing wiring, and also donating learning equipment, textbooks, classics, and so on.”

Shen Xiaojiang was uninformed, so she didn’t join the conversation. The music in her earphones was gentle and light, and the soft female voice sounded very soothing.

Liu Wei: “I think the donation ceremony is today, right?”

Chen Xingnan and Sun Jiabao looked in the direction of the library and said together, “It really is.”

The library wasn’t far from the academic building, about a five-minute walk.

From their perspective, the area in front of the library entrance was packed with people.

Sun Jiabao pulled one of Shen Xiaojiang’s earphones out and hooked her arm around her neck, “Nothing planned for a while, right?”

Shen Xiaojiang snatched her earphone back, “What for?”

“Let’s go watch the excitement,” Sun Jiabao tilted her chin, pointing straight toward the library entrance.

“No,” Shen Xiaojiang answered swiftly and decisively.

As the group walked closer, the sound from the ceremony stage grew louder.

“Thank you, Principal Qu, Principal Gong, and the other department leaders of Southern City University. Thank you for giving me this opportunity…”

Shen Xiaojiang froze, her action of putting on the earphone halted.

A familiar voice!

She abruptly lifted her head and saw Chen Yi holding a microphone, standing on the tall ceremony stage, looking like a beautiful, glowing presence.

And Shen Xiaojiang had transformed into a cat chasing a source of light.

Sun Jiabao turned her head and saw an empty space beside her, “Shenjiang? Didn’t you say you weren’t going?”