Qin Sheng and Yu Fengzhi had a mutual consent; one was willing to hit, one was willing to get hit. It was a mutually-agreed transaction. Yu Fengzhi offered her body and freedom while Qin Sheng offered a future for her. Truthfully speaking, at this moment, Qin Sheng was really looking down on her. In his eyes, Yu Fengzhi was not the kind of woman who would not satisfy men so easily. But he really did not understand why she would pay such a high price for this so-called ambition and future.
But since she wanted to do it, Qin Sheng would satisfy her. Anyways, he did need a woman to solve his psychological needs. Which man did not have desires? Qin Sheng was no different. He had not enjoyed a man-woman relationship for a long time. While he was very clean and had no interest in the women outside, he had yet to have a girlfriend. Now that one was giving herself to him, why would he not take it?
It was a transaction, there were no feelings involved. Hence, Qin Sheng did not have any psychological burden.
He re-buttoned her shirt and wiped away her tears. “Do you feel helpless? It’s not too late to regret.”
The playful part of Qin Sheng wanted to take a look at her killer body, but man must know how to control their deepest desire. Hence, Qin Sheng stopped her abruptly. Besides, this was not a suitable place. If someone discovered them, they would probably have to leave Shangshan Ruoshui.
She was already so humiliated, how could she turn back? She shook her head and said, “No need.”
Yu Fengzhi then heaved a long sigh, but she felt a little bitchy, because when Qin Sheng stopped her from continuing to unbutton, she was actually a little touched.
“Where do you live? Give me a pair of your keys, I may come find you anytime,” Qin Sheng said playfully.
Yu Fengzhi hesitated for a moment before answering, “Xu Jia Hui Road, Yongye Apartment. I’ll pass you the key tomorrow.”
“Not bad, you’re quite obedient,” Qin Sheng touched her enticing lips and smiled faintly. He continued, “After I become General Manager, you’ll first take over my spot. When Ms. An or Manager Chang has other arrangements, you’ll go fill in.”
After finishing his sentence, Qin Sheng turned to leave. When he opened the door, he added, “Tidy up yourself, don’t let others find anything amiss.”
Qin Sheng had just taken on a new role and was full of fervor, but he did not plan to do anything big or get rid of Wang Haichao. During this timing, it was best to be stable, nobody knew if trouble would come to Shangshan Ruoshui again.
Qin Sheng was troubled by Jiang Xianbang’s absence and was wondering what he should do when someone powerful comes causing trouble when Xue Qingyan showed up at Shangshan Ruoshui very timely. Qin Sheng immediately ran over. He heard that she was here with a friend and was at the box on the third floor chatting over tea. An artist who was good at making tea was serving them.
Qin Sheng bent his body forward as he knocked on the door and entered. He saw Xue Qingyan sitting by the window and opposite her sat a graceful lady that wore many luxurious items. She was full of temperament. Although her outfit was simple, it could not be compared by those old ladies who dress themselves in pieces of jewelry. She seemed like someone who had good character.
“Sis…why did you come so suddenly without telling me in advance? I could have welcomed you at the entrance,” Qin Sheng smiled and said. After assuming the role of Reception Manager, he must flatter all members who come and be able to identify familiar faces. Hence, when chatting with Ms. An earlier on, he even mentioned that he wishes she could nurture him during this period of time. Seeing that he was so polite, Ms. An naturally answered his request like a good person.
Xue Qingyan took off her down jacket. She was wearing only a deep V tight-fitting sweater underneath. She was wearing a classic four-leaf clover pendant from Van Cleef & Arpels on her neck, and a Blancpain’s diamond-studded wristwatch. She was always so mature and knew what suited her the most. Hearing Qin Sheng’s teasing, she glared at him. “Oh really? I sent you two messages on WeChat but you didn’t reply me. Why are you so hypocritical now? This is not the Qin Sheng that I knew.”
Xue Qingyan exposed him directly with just one sentence. Qin Sheng really did not have the time to check his phone. He did not know that she did indeed tell him beforehand.
“Come on, sister, why are you always so truthful?”, Qin Sheng scratched his head and laughed heartily.
Xue Qingyan waved her hand and said, “Stop joking around, you think I still don’t know you? Quickly come and sit, I heard that you’ve become Reception Manager, you’re rising at rocket speed!”
“That’s because you’re always praising me, otherwise how would I have such good opportunities?” Qin Sheng said in between smiles as he sat down slowly.
Wearing a cheongsam with her hair tied up, the tea-making artist poured a cup of XXX tea for the new Reception Manager. She could not help but be curious about Qin Sheng and Xue Qingyan’s relationship. This was not something normal.
“Come, let me introduce to you. This stunning lady who’s more beautiful than me is Aunty Zhu. She treats me very well. In the future, if Aunty Zhu was to come again, you must treat her well. Otherwise, I’m holding you accountable,” Xue Qingyan said half-jokingly. Anyone could tell that she was trying to help him build on his network.
Qin Sheng followed her cue and said, “Hello Aunty Zhu, I am Xiao Qin, Manager of the reception department. If you are to come here again, feel free to tell me your requests. Our principle is to serve our members.”
The rich lady, Aunty Zhu, asked in a soft voice, “Xiao Qin, where are you from?” When Qin Sheng entered the door, her facial expression changed a little. She kept on frowning and staring at him. She felt like this youngster looked a little familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before.
After coming to Shangshan Ruoshui for such a long time, if Qin Sheng did not learn anything, then he would have wasted this opportunity. One of the things he learned was to observe the members’ expressions and actions. For example, the majority of the members may act polite and courteous to the artists or their managers, but their eyes were filled with disdain; they could not bother to pay attention to these people. Besides, they were on a different tier of the social ladder. This was something that anyone would have to go through unless you have mastered the skills of a sly fox and avoid making such mistakes. For example, for someone won’t be the same rank as Jiang Xianbang, he treated everyone equally, unless he met someone of a higher rank.
Xue Qingyan also started out like this. Other than the old person whom she referred Qin Sheng to last time, she thought of him as a junior only, there was no other mixed thoughts. Also, the rich lady, Aunty Zhu, that they met today was also the same. When she looked at Qin Sheng, her eyes were clean. At least, he did not see any mixed thoughts in them. Perhaps it was because of his relationship with Xue Qingyan.
This woman had the features of a wealthy person. Her face was round and chubby and she had a thick chin. Her lower eyelids were plump and made her look friendly. Her brows made her look like she was smiling. Her ears were round and a little red. Her ear lobes were as big as her thumb. She was born to be rich and even be helpful to her husband and sons.
Qin Sheng felt an odd sense of closeness to her. He smiled and replied, “Aunty Zhu, I’m from Xi’an.”
“Oh, you’re from Xi’an? Did we meet somewhere before? You look a little familiar,” the even more confused Aunty Zhu asked.
Qin Sheng shook his head and replied apologetically, “Um, Aunty Zhu, I don’t have any impressions.”
Xue Qingyan quickly interrupted, Xue Maybe you two did see each other before. Qin Sheng used to study at Shanghai Fudan University and you’re a teacher there, it isn’t strange that you guys would have met before.”
“So Xiao Qin is actually our student, that was unexpected,” Aunty Zhu exclaimed in surprise.
Qin Sheng was also shocked. He quickly said, “Then I would have to call you Mdm Zhu. I studied psychology, my teacher was Wang Defeng.”
“Ah, so you’re a student of a famous teacher! Old Wang is famous in Fudan, I’m quite close to him. I didn’t expect to meet one of his students today.” Aunty Zhu could not help but laugh. She had not expected them to get closer as they spoke.
Wang Defeng was a famous professor in Fudan. He was in charge of teaching “Theories of Psychology” and “Art Psychology”. He had his own charming style of teaching and he was always so full of passion. He had a deep understanding of what he was teaching and would insert a joke here and there. He was well-loved by his students and was dubbed as the “King of Psychology”. He was also very lenient towards his students and treated them as his friends. When Qin Sheng was studying in Fudan, he was very close with Old Wang. The two were like friends and Qin Sheng was his best student. Not only was he able to secure a spot for him in graduate school, he could even refer him to overseas universities to further his studies. However, Qin Sheng strangely disappeared after graduation.
After chatting for a while about Fudan, Aunty Zhu got up and went out to receive a call. Xue Qingyan, who had been sitting at a side watching the two interestingly, said after much thought, “Qin Sheng, I feel that you and Aunty Zhu look quite similar to each other, could you guys be relatives?”
“Why would I have relatives in Shanghai? Sis, don’t forget, grandpa and I only have each other,” Qin Sheng laughed.
“You’re right,” Xue Qingyan smiled faintly and said. However, she was still suspicious of it. She realized their similarity the last time she saw Aunty Zhu, which was why she invited her here. She did not expect to go home with empty results. But it was not surprising, if Qin Sheng and Aunty Zhu were really relatives, he would not be working here. Aunty Zhu’s husband was a figure that stood at the tip of the Bund’s Pyramid, even her older brother could not catch up to him. If Aunty Zhu’ husband were to go up one more level, he would be stepping into Sijiu City. The story between the two families started because both Aunty Zhu’s husband and Xue Qingyan’s older brother were all cadres from Zhejiang, so their relationship was quite close.
Xue Qingyan kept on thinking about what Aunty Zhu said just now, I feel like we’ve met somewhere before, that gave Xue Qingyan hope. Perhaps if she continued to dig deeper, she would uncover the secret of his identity.
“I heard that something happened at Shangshan Ruoshui this morning?” Xue Qingyan steered away from the conversation, in case Qin Sheng would find it suspicious.
Qin Sheng sighed, “Good things don’t spread but bad things spread far…even you know about it already.”
“Don’t forget, I’m a VVIP member here, how can I not have my own pairs of ears and eyes here?” Xue Qingyan scoffed.
Qin Sheng smiled till his eyes turn into two fine lines as he nodded. Immediately after, he probed, “Sis, do you happen to know anything about Mr. Jiang’s side?”
Hearing this, Xue Qingyan looked up and stared at Qin Sheng and after a moment of consideration, she asked, “Qin Sheng, why do you pay so much attention to these things?”
Since he decided to treat Ms. Cheongsam has a friend, Qin Sheng did not want to conceal his relationship with Jiang Xianbang anymore, so he decided to be truthful. “Sister, to be honest, the reason why I can work at Shangshan Ruoshui is because of Mr. Jiang. There are some things that I think should not be hidden from you.”
“What things?” Xue Qingyan asked with beaming interest. Besides, Qin Sheng’s words gave others the need to inquire further.
Qin Sheng took a deep breath and said bluntly, “I am very close to Mr. Jiang.”