After Flirting with the God-Tier Beautiful Tycoon - Chapter 73

Two months later, a heavy rain fell over Nancheng. Many areas were flooded, and the city center became a miniature version of Venice.

After the rain, the unbearable heat subsided slightly.

Shen Xiaojiang stood at the entrance of the T2 terminal parking lot, watching the dense drizzle falling from the sky. She slowly reached out her hand.

Tiny raindrops touched her warm palm, swirling gently over the lines of her hand before evaporating into a minuscule droplet in a matter of moments, clenched her fingers into a fist, and when she opened them again, the water was gone.

“Ginger, over here!” A black Mercedes pulled up in front of Shen Xiaojiang.

The rear window rolled down, and someone poked their head and arm out, waving frantically.

Meeting Sun Jiabao’s eyes, Shen Xiaojiang’s eyes crinkled as she gave a relaxed smile.

Without waiting for the driver to get out, Sun Jiabao scrambled out of the car and rushed to Shen Xiaojiang’s side, holding an umbrella over her as if she were a VIP.

“Is it hot? Have you been waiting long?” She chatted away while pulling Shen Xiaojiang toward the car.

“It’s fine, I just arrived,” Shen Xiaojiang answered calmly.

By nature, she was more rational than Sun Jiabao, and after two months apart, she appeared even more mature.

Books often say that experience is a magical thing. If you travel more, see more, pause for certain landscapes, and reflect on certain people and events, you will find a richer, more complete version of yourself.

Perhaps that is what it truly means to “broaden one’s horizons.”

“Phew, finally back.”

Shen Xiaojiang had already officially started her internship at Wanning Electronics. This time, she had traveled to the United States with Bai Shuhua for a project and attended a highly prestigious tech exhibition.

The California sun was intense. Shen Xiaojiang didn’t like applying sunscreen she hated that sticky feeling.

So, she chose to wear long sleeves.

But the California weather was too hot, and for someone as extremely sensitive to heat as Shen Xiaojiang, long pants were unbearable.

She wore a light grey pinstriped long-sleeved shirt, left completely unbuttoned to reveal a matching light grey camisole underneath. Below, she wore white wide leg shorts, with a very thin brown leather belt accentuating her waistline perfectly.

With white mid-calf cotton socks and white sneakers, her whole look was clean, fresh, and full of youthful energy.

“Ginger!” Sun Jiabao covered her mouth with both hands, blinking rapidly.

“What is it?” Shen Xiaojiang asked, puzzled.

“Oh my gosh, Ginger,” Sun Jiabao said in a high-pitched voice, “we haven’t seen each other for how long? Your fashion sense has improved so much! Which blogger did you learn from? Tell me quickly we’re besties, we should progress together.”

Shen Xiaojiang looked down at her clothes and smiled helplessly. “I don’t have time to look at fashion tips. I just put this together randomly. It’s cool and comfortable.”

“Really?” Sun Jiabao squinted at her, not believing a word. “Oh, the scariest thing in the world is a best friend secretly falling in love. The absolute scariest thing is a best friend secretly losing weight and learning how to dress! A best friend who does both is the most, most, most terrifying person on earth and I actually encountered one! Waaaah!”

At the mention of “falling in love,” Shen Xiaojiang’s heart skipped a beat.

Quickly, she joked, “To avoid being that most terrifying person, I’m currently single. Besides, my previous situation was one-sided it was never official.”

Sun Jiabao pouted. “Fine, put that way, I guess it makes sense… Sigh…”

Sun Jiabao suddenly looked miserable and let out two long sighs.

She looked just like the weather outside gloomy.

“Why the long face? Who upset our Miss Sun?” Shen Xiaojiang rolled up her shirt sleeves twice, revealing her slender, toned forearms.

Sun Jiabao rolled her eyes, helped Shen Xiaojiang tidy her hair, and then let out another long sigh. “You have no idea what kind of life I’ve been living lately.”

Shen Xiaojiang grew interested, a smile playing at the corners of her eyes. “Caught watching spicy videos?”

Sun Jiabao glared at her and pouted. “Am I that low-class?”

“Then what is it? Let me guess… living with your parents and they won’t let you eat snacks or sleep in?” Shen Xiaojiang stifled a laugh.

Sun Jiabao leaned back lazily against the seat. “Hah, it’s worse than that.”

Shen Xiaojiang folded her arms loosely, looking relaxed.

Sun Jiabao pouted with a victimized expression. “Next year is my zodiac year, right? My parents are buying all sorts of red things for me in every possible variation. Underwear, socks, and scarves I can handle, but now even my clothes, skirts, and shoes have to be red. Even my bedsheets! They’re turning me into a cooked crab. I’m so over it.”

“But isn’t New Year still several months away?”

“Exactly! I can’t stay at home anymore. If this keeps up, just kill me now!”

“Don’t talk like that.” Shen Xiaojiang’s expression turned serious for a moment. Although her own parents were occasionally superstitious, they never made her feel uncomfortable.

“After all, your parents are business people,” she comforted Sun Jiabao.

“Just because they’re in business gives them the right to religiously kidnap their own daughter? Is this a lack of humanity or a moral decline?” Sun Jiabao argued passionately.

“Oh, it’s not that serious,” Shen Xiaojiang continued to soothe her. “They still treat you like a child, you should be grateful.”

Sun Jiabao kept her little mouth pouted, still looking unhappy.

“Oh, right. What’s happening at your house tonight that you had to bring me along?”

When Shen Xiaojiang turned on her phone after getting off the plane, she saw over a dozen missed calls and dozens of WeChat messages from Sun Jiabao.

No exaggeration, there were dozens, ten of which were just emojis.

“What, now that you’ve made it big, I can’t even invite you anymore?” Sun Jiabao feigned anger.

Shen Xiaojiang intentionally messed up her straight bangs. “How have I ‘made it big’? How come I, the person involved, didn’t know?”

“Hey! Whoever touches my bangs, I’ll fight them to the death!” Sun Jiabao cupped her hands like claws and pretended to choke Shen Xiaojiang. “You’ve already surpassed the average college student. No, you’ve even surpassed most ‘corporate slaves’ who just entered society. Doesn’t that count as making it big?”

Shen Xiaojiang looked out the window. “Not at all. This is just the beginning.”

“Top students always have such high standards for themselves.” Sun Jiabao curled her lip. “My family is having a ‘family banquet’ tonight.”

“Oh, what a coincidence. I get a big meal right off the plane.” Shen Xiaojiang turned back to look at her.

“I’m not interested in the food. I’d rather eat Shin Ramyun with you in our rental. Tonight will be full of strangers, and I’ll be the center of attention again. It’s annoying.” Sun Jiabao continued to complain. “I can already imagine what they’ll ask. ‘Jiabao, what year are you in? What’s your major? Have you taken any certifications? Are you going to grad school? What do you want to do after graduation? Are you dating anyone right now?’ …Blah blah blah!”

“Argh! So annoying!”

Shen Xiaojiang smiled without speaking, playing the role of a loyal listener.

She could empathize after all, it was the same world and the same group of gossiping relatives.

“Ginger, you have no idea. My mom even said that the people coming tonight are her and Dad’s ‘important guests’ and told me to behave well. I don’t get it. They’re their friends, why do I have to behave? I’ve heard of ‘Ping Pong diplomacy’ and ‘Crab diplomacy,’ but never ‘Daughter diplomacy’.”

“True.” Shen Xiaojiang blinked after a momentary pause. “Important guests? Then wouldn’t I be…”

Sun Jiabao: “You are too.”

“Why?”

Sun Jiabao wrinkled her nose. “What kind of question is that? You’re my best friend, so of course you’re an important guest at our house. Plus, if you don’t stay with me, I think I might actually go crazy.”

Shen Xiaojiang shook her head, smiling.

“Holy crap, Ginger! You… you’re carrying a Loewe?” Sun Jiabao stared at Shen Xiaojiang’s bag, her eyes widening.

“What?” Shen Xiaojiang was baffled.

She looked at Sun Jiabao, then at her own bag, lifting the strap to take a casual look.

“Are you that rich now?” Sun Jiabao made an incredibly exaggerated expression. “I am unworthy of being your friend.”

“Oh, heavens! The most, most, most terrifying thing in the world is a best friend secretly getting thin, learning to dress, and becoming rich…”

Shen Xiaojiang knew Sun Jiabao was joking, so before she could finish, she made a “stop” gesture. “I didn’t buy it. A client gave it to me. The bag I took to the US was too thin, and I was afraid it couldn’t handle the weight of my laptop, so I used this to carry it.”

Finally, she added, “Is this… very expensive?”

Sun Jiabao almost needed to pinch her pressure points to stay conscious.

If she didn’t know Shen Xiaojiang so well, she would have thought she was “humble-bragging.”

Seeing Shen Xiaojiang use a bag worth tens of thousands of yuan to carry a laptop, keyboard, and portable hard drive, Sun Jiabao’s expression was priceless.

She tugged at the nearly 10,000 yuan necklace around her own neck and said, “This bag could buy four of these necklaces!”

“Oh.” Shen Xiaojiang didn’t really care. After all, it wasn’t her own money.

“Wait, are you sure the client gave you a bag, and not you giving one to the client?” Sun Jiabao was a bit confused.

“Yeah. Why would I give them one?” Although Shen Xiaojiang was much more mature than before, at this moment, her eyes held what Sun Jiabao could only describe as “clear stupidity.”

“Don’t people call them ‘Client Dads’?” Sun Jiabao’s mouth hung open.

“I know, but…” Shen Xiaojiang put the bag down and arched an eyebrow playfully. “When they were begging me to fix the initial program, they all called me ‘Ancestor.’ If I called them ‘Dad,’ wouldn’t that mess up the family hierarchy? Not good, not good.”

Realizing what kind of “Great Buddha” was sitting in front of her, Sun Jiabao almost fainted.

Suddenly, Sun Jiabao wondered, “You went on a business trip for Wanning Electronics, and nobody picked you up? That’s so out of line.”

“No, don’t blame them. I finished my work and came back early. They were going somewhere to play, but it was too sunny and a hassle, so I didn’t want to go.” Shen Xiaojiang spoke nonchalantly.

Sun Jiabao was so agitated her mouth twitched. “Heavens! A company-paid vacation! Aren’t you losing out by not going?”

“How am I losing out? I just wanted to come home early.”

Sun Jiabao silently recited Buddhist sutras in her head. Aside from being speechless, she was… well, speechless.

Since Shen Xiaojiang signed an internship contract with Wanning Electronics, Bai Shuhua was so pleased that he agreed to a three year industry university research partnership with Nancheng University.

The university already encouraged students to intern, and with the added partnership, the President was so happy he exempted Shen Xiaojiang from all exams. If her internship conflicted with classes, she could adjust her schedule flexibly, the school gave her full autonomy over her time.

Sun Jiabao’s parents were quite superstitious. To follow Feng Shui, many parts of the house were decorated in a gaudy, chaotic manner.

At first glance, it looked like falling into a nouveau riche spider’s den.

The “family banquet” was indeed a dinner at home.

Seeing the sea of people, Shen Xiaojiang’s face fell. “Didn’t you say there was only one table and not many people?”

Sun Jiabao grabbed Shen Xiaojiang’s arm, blinking frantically to appease her. “I really didn’t know my parents invited so many people! I’m sorry, really sorry!”

Shen Xiaojiang’s face soured further. She pushed Sun Jiabao away with one hand and gave her the middle finger with the other.

“Oh, is this Xiaojiang? It’s cold outside, come in and sit down.” The person approaching was Sun Jiabao’s mother, Chen Fangru. She liked Shen Xiaojiang very much if it weren’t for their zodiac signs clashing, she would have long ago taken Shen Xiaojiang as her goddaughter.

“Hello, Auntie.”

Shen Xiaojiang immediately dropped both hands and let Sun Jiabao cling to her arm.

Sun Jiabao, getting what she wanted, shook her head playfully and mouthed “Hello, Auntie” while making a face.

Shen Xiaojiang rolled her eyes and stopped talking.

The glass electric doors slid open slowly, and two men in formal suits walked in, their brows furrowed as they spoke in hushed but intense tones.

Shen Xiaojiang had no intention of eavesdropping, but their voices were so loud that every word felt like a drum amplified by a megaphone, nearly shattering her eardrums. It felt as if they were speaking loudly on purpose just for her to hear.

“No way, the ‘Big Shot’ is actually coming?”

“I just heard it from someone else. After that merger case last time, she had a real issue with me. I’d better stand by the door early today to ‘receive her majesty.'”

“‘Receive her majesty’ is a good way to put it. Did you see the news? The land the ‘Big Shot’ acquired a while back has started construction. Should we prepare a small gift?”

“How are you going to send a gift if you don’t even know what she likes?”

“We can’t just send nothing, right?”

“Let’s discuss it with the others in a bit. By the way, where is that plot of land?”

“Hiss… I actually forgot. It’s a small place, though. Near the sea, I think.”

Shen Xiaojiang watched their retreating backs, momentarily dazed.

“What’s wrong? You know them?” Sun Jiabao waved her hand in front of Shen Xiaojiang’s face.

“I don’t,” Shen Xiaojiang replied with a faint, neutral smile.

“Let’s go. Looks like there are three tables tonight. Let’s sit at the very last one. Otherwise, my dad will probably call me out later,” Sun Jiabao said, pulling Shen Xiaojiang toward the table with fewer people.

This was exactly what Shen Xiaojiang wanted.

“Hello, excuse me…” A man with a buzz cut approached them. “Are you Shen Xiaojiang?”