Murong Shi's black Maserati Quattroporte got on the main road.
Xu Xiangxiang sat in the passenger seat. While curiously observing the car's interior, she asked, "How much does this car cost?"
Lightly tapping a finger on the steering wheel, Murong Shi said, "I don't remember, but it wasn't expensive."
It was just around eight hundred thousand.
With an envious look on her face, Xu Xiangxiang said, "I like this car a lot. Let me tell you something. My sister is weak and gets carsick easily. To overcome this problem and get her driver's license, she ended up practicing and retaking the test repeatedly for two years. But after getting her license, she realized she didn't have enough money to buy a car! It's so funny!"
Murong Shi also chuckled along with Xu Xiangxiang. She then asked, "Is this why she rides a bicycle to work no matter rain or shine?"
Slapping her thigh, Xu Xiangxiang said, "Yes! She rides that tattered bicycle every day and refuses to replace it no matter what! She's a very stingy person! She's never treated you to food before, right?"
Getting Xu Chuanchuan to treat Murong Shi to food? That was a ridiculous thought.
Murong Shi pretended to be in thought for a moment before answering confidently, "No."
"Do you want to have supper, then? If she won't treat you, I'll treat you."
"No need. I'm not hungry."
Hearing Murong Shi's reply, Xu Xiangxiang mumbled to herself, "But I'm hungry… I wonder if sis has eaten yet? Her place doesn't have anything good to eat. The only thing good she has are instant noodles."
"Your sister… Does she like malatang a lot?"
Xu Xiangxiang's eyes widened in surprise at Murong Shi's question. Smiling, she said, "That's right! How did you know? Does she eat it often in the company?"
Murong Shi had no way to answer this question properly. Ambiguously, she said, "I guessed it."
Xu Chuanchuan wouldn't have chosen such a straightforward pen name if she didn't like malatang.
"Are you close with my sister?" Xu Xiangxiang asked, blinking her eyes. Only after getting onto Murong Shi's car did she remember to ask this crucial question.
Meanwhile, Xu Xiangxiang's question put Murong Shi into a bind.
Did Murong Shi have a good relationship with Xu Chuanchuan? Definitely not.
A certain someone had once bad-mouthed Murong Shi behind her back, and Murong Shi had punished this person just yesterday. No matter how Murong Shi looked at it, she had a very poor relationship with Xu Chuanchuan. So, why was she sending Xu Xiangxiang back?
During the period Murong Shi remained silent, Xu Xiangxiang's phone rang. After taking a look at the screen, Xu Xiangxiang beamed a smile at Murong Shi and said, "Sorry, but let me take this call."
Murong Shi nodded.
Xu Xiangxiang then answered the call and said, "Sis, I'm on my way to your place. I should be there in another dozen minutes or so. She says she's your colleague. Her name is—"
Xu Xiangxiang paused slightly. She then looked toward Murong Shi and asked, "I still don't know your name."
"Murong."
Xu Xiangxiang, "She says her name is Murong."
…
How many Murongs were there in the company?
Xu Xiangxiang's words dumbfounded Xu Chuanchuan.
When Xu Xiangxiang had called her previously, Xu Chuanchuan was still in the bath, so she couldn't get the call. When Xu Chuanchuan came out of the bath, she saw the message her little sister left her on WeChat: "Sis, I'm going to your place. I met one of your friendly female colleagues on the way, and she offered to drop me off since she'll be passing by."
After disconnecting the call, Xu Chuanchuan still couldn't bring herself to believe this situation. She then hurriedly changed out of her pajamas.
After anxiously waiting downstairs for over a dozen minutes, Xu Chuanchuan finally got to see the friendly female colleague Xu Xiangxiang spoke of.
And the person really was Murong Shi…
"Sis!" Xu Xiangxiang joyfully pounced onto Xu Chuanchuan.
After catching her little sister, Xu Chuanchuan looked at Murong Shi and hesitantly asked, "Miss Murong...how did you two meet?"
It was going to be a long story if she explained, so Murong Shi pointed her chin at Xu Xiangxiang and said, "Ask her yourself."
Xu Xiangxiang lowered her head sheepishly.
Murong Shi was dressed beautifully today. She wore a purple dress and looked very much like a cold belle, and this made Xu Chuanchuan even more afraid to look her in the eye.
Not mentally prepared to face Murong Shi for any longer, Xu Chuanchuan dragged Xu Xiangxiang aside, wet her lips, and said, "Thank you for dropping off my little sister."
"No problem. Do you live here?"
Putting a forced smile on her face, Xu Chuanchuan answered, "Yes. Do you want to come inside?"
Xu Chuanchuan immediately regretted her words as soon as she finished speaking. She was very much afraid Murong Shi would agree to her invite. What would she do if that happened?"
Fortunately, Murong Shi's answer was: "No need."
…
Five years later.
Dou Xiaoye's daughter had grown up, and her pet name was Xiao Guaiguai[1]. Because Dou Xiaoye was never able to find her daughter's birth "father," she could never get her daughter officially registered. So, Xiao Guaiguai had unfortunately become a "black child."[2]
However, despite growing up without a "father," Xiao Guaiguai grew up to be an obedient child loved by everyone around her.
After getting off work one day, Dou Xiaoye made her way straight to the kindergarten to pick up Xiao Guaiguai. However, it suddenly started raining heavily on the way back, and the mother-daughter pair had to take cover inside a mall.
"Mommy, look!" Xiao Guaiguai said with her childish and melodious voice.
Dou Xiaoye held her daughter's chubby hand and looked toward the LED screen her daughter pointed at. When she saw the person displayed on the screen, the smile on her face gradually froze.
While sucking on her thumb, Xiao Guaiguai giggled and said, "Wah—What a pretty big sister!"
Dou Xiaoye didn't blink even once, and tears gradually seeped out of the corners of her eyes.
Failing to obtain a response from her mother, Xiao Guaiguai looked up and found her mother crying. Tugging at her mother's hand, Xiao Guaiguai asked, "Mommy, what's wrong?"
Dou Xiaoye snapped out of her daze and quickly wiped away her tears. She then lowered her head and beamed a gentle smile at her daughter, saying, "It's nothing. Mommy isn't crying. I just got some dust in my eyes."
Believing her mother's words, Xiao Guaiguai smiled and said, "Mommy is also pretty! As pretty as that big sister!"
Dou Xiaoye couldn't help herself from looking at the LED screen once more, but a new advertisement had already replaced the previous one.
However, although that person's figure had already disappeared, her knitted brows and smiles had already been deeply engraved in Dou Xiaoye's mind.
While caressing her daughter's soft hair, Dou Xiaoye thought to herself, Silly child. Big sister? That's your mother.
…
When Murong Shi finished reading a certain someone's latest release, she was given a shock once more. As she had plenty of money in her account this time, she casually tossed out a Deep-water Torpedo and scrolled down to read other readers' comments.
—Five years?! Lord, you had Little Ye be a single mother for five years?! How cruel of you! And you say this is a sweet romance?!
—Xiao Guaiguai? Can't you put more effort into the name, Lord?
—On a certain day five years later, Xiao Guaiguai met with her other mother and sweetly called out, "Hello, Big Sister!"... Both women are Xiao Guaiguai's mothers. Yet, she's calling one "Mommy" and the other "Big Sister"... The seniority in the family is all messed up, lololol.
—Is the top of this book a model? I recall the Lord saying in the reader group that the top is based on her boss's daughter. Is that right?
…
Boss's daughter? Are they talking about me?
Murong Shi grew uncomfortable when she read these words, though nobody could blame her for being overly sensitive. After all, Xu Chuanchuan had dared to bad-mouth her on Weibo. It wouldn't be strange if Xu Chuanchuan wrote her into her book.
If this is true…
Murong Shi narrowed her eyes, logged into her Weibo, and sent a certain someone a private message.
There Exists No Poem in a Girl's Feelings: "Refund."
It was nearly one past midnight, and Xu Chuanchuan was yawning from sleepiness. When she checked through her readers' comments one last time before going to bed, she saw "Passerby Shi" sending her a Deep-water Torpedo. However, before she could even be happy about it, she received a Weibo message from a certain someone, and her heart thumped heavily upon reading it.
I Love Malatang: "I saw that you gave me a Deep-water. Did you misclick? How about I send you a big red packet~"
One misclick was understandable, but multiple misclicks was simply incredible. Did this tycoon have not only a fickle mood but also Parkinson's?
Cough— Xu Chuanchuan was more willing to believe that this prideful tycoon was toying with her, so she carefully followed up her reply with another sentence.
There Exists No Poem in a Girl's Feelings: "It's okay."
Murong Shi also realized that she had acted too hastily, and she blamed her rashness on the lychees she was eating. She had only eaten a few, yet her stomach was already churning.
To Murong Shi's surprise, Xu Chuanchuan caved to her demand easily and sent her a red packet the next moment.
However, Murong Shi rejected it.
I Love Malatang: "Why did you refuse it…"
There Exists No Poem in a Girl's Feelings: "First, tell me how two women can have children."
I Love Malatang: "Uh… This is a unique setting. If you ask me how exactly they're supposed to have children, I don't know, either. Not to mention, jjwxc's strict management doesn't allow for such explicit writing. [Shy]"
There Exists No Poem in a Girl's Feelings: "Oh, give me a refund, then."
I Love Malatang: "I gave you one, but you rejected it! Girl, if you have something to say, say it. What exactly are you trying to do? [Aggrieved]"
Murong Shi: Nothing! I just have a stomach ache and a lot of free time!
There Exists No Poem in a Girl's Feelings: "Don't call me 'girl.'"
I Love Malatang: "Are you perhaps a man???"
There Exists No Poem in a Girl's Feelings: "Do men read your books?"
I Love Malatang: "It's nothing strange. I have a few male readers in my reader group. It's just that they're a minority. Of course, I know that you're female."
There Exists No Poem in a Girl's Feelings: "How so?"
I Love Malatang: "A gut feeling." To be precise, none of the males she knew of behaved so much like a tsundere as this capricious tycoon.
There Exists No Poem in a Girl's Feelings: "I'm older than you."
I Love Malatang: "Should I call you Big Sister, then?"
There Exists No Poem in a Girl's Feelings: "......"
Some things in life simply shouldn't be said.
I Love Malatang: "Or Big Sis Shi?"
There Exists No Poem in a Girl's Feelings: "......"
Murong Shi thought about asking Xu Chuanchuan about the reference for the story's top. However, as she worried that she would expose herself by prying too deeply, she decided to hold back.
I Love Malatang: "Forget it. I'll continue calling you Tycoon."
Because Xu Chuanchuan disliked the word "Shi."
There Exists No Poem in a Girl's Feelings: "Whatever."
I Love Malatang: "Since you're unwilling to accept the red packet, I'll send you the money through my author's account. You can use the money to read other books that way. Thank you for your support. [Heart]"
There Exists No Poem in a Girl's Feelings: "No need."
When Xu Chuanchuan saw this message, she felt that this was a reasonable response. After all, the other party had sent her multiple Deep-water Torpedoes at times. How could such a wealthy person possibly care about the red packet she offered?
I Love Malatang: "I won't refund you, then. I'll give you a hug of love instead. [Hug][Shy]"
There Exists No Poem in a Girl's Feelings: "Are you going to dismiss me in such a manner?"
I Love Malatang: "What do you want, then? You rejected both the physical book and red packet..."
There Exists No Poem in a Girl's Feelings: "You still owe me some meat. Did you forget?"
"Pfft—" Xu Chuanchuan sprayed a mouthful of saliva onto her phone's screen. Xu Xiangxiang, who sat nearby, even got some onto her hand.
Springing out of the bed, Xu Xiangxiang complained, "Sis, what are you doing?!"
Xu Chuanchuan pulled out a tissue and wiped her mouth. With a blush on her face, she said, "It's nothing. I just choked."
Xu Xiangxiang rolled her eyes at her elder sister. Afraid of getting attacked once more, she sat further away from Xu Chuanchuan and continued playing her mobile game.
Xu Chuanchuan also returned her attention to her phone, her eyes fixated on the last message she received.
She naturally didn't forget…
However, she did hope that this tycoon had forgotten about the promise…
Although Xu Chuanchuan liked money, she was a person with principles!
She refused to write explicit content because of a little money!
If she did, what would happen if her other readers tempted her in the same manner in the future?
I Love Malatang: "Oh, look at the time! I still need to wake up early tomorrow to continue writing! You should rest early as well, goodnight~"
Although this tycoon was generous, she was a truly difficult person to please! Xu Chuanchuan decided that it would be best if she kept her distance from this tycoon.
TL Notes:
[1]Xiao Guaiguai: 小乖乖(xiǎo guāiguāi) means good boy/girl. It's honestly a terrible pet name to give to a child since it rhymes with 小怪怪(xiǎo guàiguài), which would translate to Little Strange.
[2]black child: Heihaizi (Chinese: 黑孩子; pinyin: hēiháizi) or "black child" is a term applied in China. The term denotes children born outside the One-child policy, or generally children who are not registered in the national household registration system.
I don't have much knowledge on China's one-child policy, but I'm guessing you need both parents to be present(or death certificate in the case of an unexpected death of the father) to officially register a child to prevent people from cheating the system.
Fyi, the one-child policy has since been revised into a two-child policy in 2015.