Obsessive Tycoon and His Swan Girl
Chapter 175 - 175 175 Still people looking for a free ride

Chapter 175: Chapter 175: Still people looking for a free ride in Beijing Chapter 175: Chapter 175: Still people looking for a free ride in Beijing “It’s not like that. Fanyue is here to participate in a designer competition,” Liang Jinlan said with a smile, feeling quite pleased. “A professional teacher has seen her work before and felt confident about her chances.”

Cheng Lu was momentarily stunned, and with a laugh, she said, “Fanyue is that talented, huh? Truly a case of ‘a scholar is not the same if you don’t see them for three days.’ Quite impressive.”

Jiang Fanyue felt displeased within, what did ‘a scholar is not the same if you don’t see them for three days’ mean? Was it implying that she used to be inadequate?

She nodded reservedly, “It’s all thanks to my mother’s good education. I’ve grown up now, and I want to help my mother with her worries and troubles.”

Cheng Lu remembered that as a child, it was Jiang Zhe who was more talented, but Liang Jinlan always invested heavily in Jiang Fanyue, sending her to various training classes, while Jiang Zhe had nothing.

Thinking of this, she couldn’t help feeling a pang of regret. Had Jiang Zhe been given the same opportunities, she surely wouldn’t have been inferior to Jiang Fanyue.

Such a pity for Jiang Zhe, such a good child.

And it was also a pity that she didn’t persist in adopting Jiang Zhe. Since Jiang Zhe became Liang Jinlan’s daughter, she, as an outsider, had no way to get involved with another family’s child-rearing issues.

Cheng Lu shook her head in silence, wanting to ask a few questions about Jiang Zhe, but knowing that Liang Jinlan would certainly not miss a chance to belittle Jiang Zhe, she dismissed the idea.

Still, as friends, she decided to fulfill the duty of a host, “Jinlan, Fanyue, while you are in Beijing this time, I don’t know if you have time, but I’d like to invite you to dinner.”

Liang Jinlan had a business conflict with Cheng Lu and looked down on her. She was afraid that once Cheng Lu learned of Jiang Fanyue’s design talent, she would ask Fanyue to help her.

She also feared that Cheng Lu would learn of Gu Jiaheng and Han Jiayan’s relationship, and cling to the connection she had worked so hard to establish.

With these thoughts, she quickly said, “I’m sorry, Cheng Lu, we’re quite busy this time with the competition and visiting relatives; we don’t have any free time. I’ll definitely treat you next time.”

“In that case, we’ll wait for another opportunity. Then, I’ll take my leave now, goodbye,” Cheng Lu said as she got up and left.

In fact, her current business, although not particularly big, had improved much more than Liang Jinlan would have imagined.

This time, seeing Liang Jinlan, she had hoped that Jiang Zhe would be there too, with the intention of giving the Jiang Family a hand, providing Jiang Zhe with more opportunities.

But faced with Liang Jinlan’s indifference, she had to drop the idea.

After Cheng Lu had left, Liang Jinlan showed her disdain, “How come there are still people looking for a handout in Beijing?”

Jiang Fanyue also disliked Cheng Lu, remembering how she always used to speak up for Jiang Zhe.

If Cheng Lu had come with her in mind, she had miscalculated.

…

When Jiang Zhe arrived in Beijing, a message from the Qin family matriarch arrived swiftly.

Jiang Zhe was dining with Xun Yining and the others and saw her message, glanced at the few kids, and replied, “This time I came with a few friends, so I won’t come over for dinner.”

“If it’s convenient for your friends, invite them as well,” she texted back.

Jiang Zhe considered it for a moment, then decided against it, “They have their own plans. I’ll visit when I have time.”

The Qin family matriarch didn’t insist.

Fang Ting, seeing Jiang Zhe put down her phone, smiled till her eyes crinkled, “Sister Xiaozhe, this steak is really delicious.”

“Then eat more,” Jiang Zhe replied, passing the chopsticks to her.

“Mhm,” Fang Ting was having steak for the first time and was not skilled with the knife and fork.

Seeing everyone else using knife and fork, she kept struggling on bravely.

Jiang Zhe signaled that it didn’t matter, and she should use whatever she felt comfortable with.

…

In the car.

Fen Ye said to Qin Jingchen, “Jingchen, we’ve chosen the shopping spot. This one right here. Ordinary decor, ordinary prices. It should be very suitable for the kids to look around.”

“Okay,” Qin Jingchen nodded in agreement.

Qin He added, “I think it’s also good. Miss Jiang herself doesn’t seem to have many material desires, but she’s quite nice to those kids. Last time, I saw Dr. Pei accompany her shopping, and she bought a whole bunch of gifts for the kids.”

“Exactly, so this time we specially arranged for an appropriate mall, afraid of causing any psychological burden to the kids.” Fen Ye had carefully selected this mall.

Qin He agreed, “Then later, Qin Hai and I will be in charge of carrying stuff, right?”

While they were talking, they arrived at the place where Jiang Zhe and the others were eating.

Jiang Zhe had just finished dining with them and was walking out when he saw Qin Jingchen’s car arrive.

“Just stroll around,” Jiang Zhe approached, “Let them get some rest early. Xun Yining has a competition tomorrow.”

Qin Jingchen checked the time on his wrist: “We’ll be back before nine.”

Hearing that they were going to visit the mall, the kids could hardly contain their excitement.

Xun Yining was mature, but after all, he was only fourteen or fifteen, a time when he was extremely curious about all new things.

He was also looking forward to browsing around.

The group entered the mall.

Jiang Zhe looked up and saw it was a mall with ordinary prices and ordinary decor. It was considerate of Qin Jingchen and the others to find such a place.

To take into account the children’s self-esteem, they had really made an effort.

But even so, for Xun Yining and the others, this place was still quite luxurious. The three kids held each other’s hands to keep up with Jiang Zhe’s pace.

Fen Ye called out to them, “Today, this is a gift from your Sister Xiaozhe. Pick whatever you like… It’s for Christmas and the New Year.”

With Christmas coming up, followed by the New Year, Fen Ye had racked his brains to avoid making them feel burdened.

Qin He also said, “If you see something you like, just tell us. Don’t be shy, we can carry it.”

After saying that, he flexed his arms, making the kids relax and laugh.

“Miss Jiang, if you have anything you want me to carry, just let me know…” Qin He said, then turned to look at Jiang Zhe.

Only then did he see Qin Jingchen holding Jiang Zhe’s hand, walking in the opposite direction.

Qin He wasn’t sure who to follow: “They…”

Qin Hai was expressionless: “Master Qin said to split up and shop separately.”

Fen Ye: “…”

Pah, stupid lovebirds.

No wonder they brought so many of us along. Turns out they dumped all the baggage on us.

Jiang Zhe pulled her arm back from Qin Jingchen’s grasp, followed casually beside him: “Weren’t we supposed to accompany them shopping?”

With Fen Ye and the others there,” Qin Jingchen’s eyes reflected her image, “We can shop on our own.”

Jiang Zhe had wanted to say there was nothing much to shop for, but the evening lights were like scattered stars spilling into his eyes. She didn’t say anything and just followed in Qin Jingchen’s footsteps.

They had originally come to an ordinary mall.

But as Qin Jingchen changed course, what came into view was one of Beijing’s famous large-scale malls.

This arrangement, even better than the previous one, must have taken some extra effort.