This was the first time Jiang Yu had ever tried a shooting game. As long as her bullets didn’t completely miss the target, she already considered it pretty good. In contrast, every single shot Lu Mingshen fired hit the bullseye dead centre – a hundred percent accuracy. His shooting movements were crisp and sharp, his posture and technique instantly setting him apart from everyone else.
Especially when he raised the gun to shoot, his entire aura seemed to change – like a blade drawn from its sheath, radiating a sharp brilliance that seemed like it could cut anyone who got too close.
But it was precisely this side of him that carried a strong charm. The crowd of beautiful women lingering around him was proof enough of that.
Jiang Yu put down the gun, her hand feeling sore, and couldn’t help rubbing it.
“How was it? Fun?” Lu Mingshen walked over, saw her drenched in sweat, and handed her a tissue as he asked.
Jiang Yu nodded vigorously. “Fun!”
Her face was lit up with joy, her entire expression glowing as if her whole being was radiating light. Her hair was damp, and after an afternoon of shooting, she was drenched in sweat. This game was surprisingly exhausting, both mentally and physically.
Lu Mingshen checked the time and said, “Go in and change your clothes. I’ll take you shopping.”
“Shopping? Mr. Lu, do you need to buy something?”
He gave a vague answer, urging her to change clothes first.
After they both changed and got in the car, Lu Mingshen asked, “Is there anything you want to buy?”
“Me?” Jiang Yu pointed at herself. When he nodded, she thought for a moment and said, “I’m almost out of paint. Perfect chance to buy some. I like using Rong Yan’s paints.”
Rong Yan – this brand, Lu Mingshen was familiar with. His good friend Rong Jue was from the Rong family, so he knew a bit about their businesses. He’d heard their products sold very well, and were very expensive.
Following navigation, they found the nearest Rong Yan store, a three-story building with bright windows, warm lighting, and a classy interior. The shop sold all things painting and calligraphy – brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, paints. For most people, there wasn’t much to see here, but for someone like Jiang Yu, it was heaven.
“These colours from this series are amazing to use. I didn’t think they’d still have stock! They’re limited editions, and sometimes you can’t buy them no matter how hard you try!” Jiang Yu hugged a set of oil paints, her usual calm demeanour replaced with an excited glow.
Lu Mingshen went over for a look, only to realise that aside from the basic red-orange-yellow-green-blue-indigo-violet, he couldn’t make sense of any of it. Weren’t these all just the same colours? What was the difference?
Watching Jiang Yu’s happiness, he couldn’t help thinking – buying paints, brushes… well, this still counted as shopping, didn’t it? As expected, shopping really did make girls happy.
Jiang Yu strolled through the store with quick steps, tossing items into the cart. This paint she was tempted by, that paint she also loved, plus drawing paper, brushes… As she shopped, she kept turning to Lu Mingshen, explaining the features and advantages of each item with ease, like someone thoroughly familiar with every detail.
Of course, Lu Mingshen couldn’t understand a word of it. To him, it was all incomprehensible jargon. He could only sigh at how true the saying was: every industry is like a mountain separating insiders from outsiders.
By the time they finished, both their baskets were full. Only then did Jiang Yu realise she’d bought a bit too much. Her face reddened.
“I think I went overboard,” she admitted sheepishly.
Lu Mingshen didn’t mind. Looking at her blushing face, his expression softened. “As long as you’re happy.”
Happy, of course she was!
Her hands were empty. Lu Mingshen carried all the bags. Jiang Yu walked over and said, “At least let me carry one basket. It’s heavy!”
The baskets were stuffed with boxes of paints – gouache, watercolour, oils – really heavy. The moment she tried lifting one, she nearly dropped it straight to the floor.
“Better let me,” Lu Mingshen said, amusement flashing in his eyes as he lifted it effortlessly.
Jiang Yu stared at him in amazement. “Mr. Lu, you’re so strong! Just how strong are you?”
“Hmm…” Lu Mingshen thought for a moment, then looked at her. “Someone like you? I can lift you with one hand.”
To prove it, he set the bags down, reached out, slipped his hands under her arms, and suddenly hoisted her straight into the air. The posture was, frankly, like lifting a child. But Jiang Yu was an adult, and yet he did it so easily, holding her above his head.
Dangling with her feet off the ground, Jiang Yu stared down at him blankly, utterly dumbfounded.
“You see?” Lu Mingshen said.
“Wow!”
Gasps came from the side. Jiang Yu turned her head and saw a group of people staring at them in astonishment.
Jiang Yu: “……”
“P-put me down!”
Her face flamed red, and she struggled.
Lu Mingshen obliged, setting her down gently, but even as he did he muttered, “Feels like I’ve gotten even stronger.”
Jiang Yu covered her face, feeling the weight of everyone’s burning stares, like they were drilling holes straight into them.
Lu Mingshen, however, seemed completely unaffected by the attention.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Jiang Yu finally felt the heat in her face subside.
“Let’s go!” she said.
At checkout, Lu Mingshen was about to swipe his card, but Jiang Yu stopped him.
“These are my things. How can I let you pay?” she said firmly, handing her card to the cashier.
Lu Mingshen raised an eyebrow at her, then put his own card away.
“Then let me buy you dinner,” he offered.
Jiang Yu nodded without refusing.
By the time they finished eating and returned home, it was already ten at night.
Jiang Yu showered, then flopped onto the sofa, feeling utterly lazy. Even her fingers seemed to refuse moving. She wasn’t going to paint tonight.
Right now, her mind and body were both in a rare state of relaxation. It had been a long time since she’d played this much. Though it was her first time trying shooting games, she had to admit, it was really fun. Her arms were still a little sore from firing those shots.
“Mr. Lu really is a good person!”
Jiang Yu thought this to herself, and then handed Lu Mingshen a “good person card.”
Two days before the New Year was Grandma Xu’s birthday. On that day, the Xu family mansion was extremely lively, because this year Grandma Xu turned eighty – a milestone birthday. So, the Xu family threw a grand celebration, inviting relatives and friends to join.
The Xu family had never been particularly large. For several generations, it had always been a single heir in each line. In Xu Ruyi’s generation, there were only three children in total, and Xu Ruyi herself was an only daughter. Outsiders inevitably whispered: Only one daughter? With Father Xu’s vast family business, won’t there be no heir to inherit it?
For this very reason, many people looked at Xu Ruyi with calculating eyes. The Xu family had only this one daughter. If one could marry her, wouldn’t that mean marrying into the entirety of the Xu family fortune?
Xu Ruyi could see through these people’s thoughts clearly, but she didn’t care.
From a very young age, her father had taken her everywhere with him. Even when discussing business, he never avoided her presence.
Father Xu regarded her as the rightful heir. Naturally, the Xu family’s business was to be inherited by Xu Ruyi. As for outsiders, what did they matter?
Even if she was a daughter, a Xu family daughter would never be inferior to any son.
This, Xu Ruyi understood even more clearly than anyone else. And she had never once disappointed her father.
Thinking of this, Father Xu instinctively looked around the hall and soon caught sight of her. She was surrounded by a group of people, wearing a harmless smile on her face.
Her appearance was very deceptive: fair and delicate, looking innocent and obedient, making others instinctively feel she would be easy to bully.
Father Xu smiled and beckoned her over.
“Dad!” Xu Ruyi hooked her arm around her father’s and called out with a bright smile.
Father Xu tapped her forehead lightly and asked, “It’s your grandma’s birthday. Did you prepare her gift?”
Xu Ruyi nodded. “Of course I did. My birthday gift, Grandma will absolutely love it.”
“Is that so?” Father Xu stroked her head fondly.
“Mr. Xu!” someone came over to strike up a conversation. Xu Ruyi lifted her eyes to look at the speaker, her gaze carrying a hint of appraisal.
As the wealthiest family in S City, countless people wanted to collaborate with the Xus. At every gathering, there were more people trying to make conversation than one could count. She was long used to it.
But this man before her was not quite the same as those she usually saw.
In the business world, who wasn’t dressed in elegant suits, presenting themselves as polished elites? Yet this man, while wearing a suit, also had thick gold chains on his neck and hands. His outfit practically screamed to the world that he was rich.
This kind of style was often called the look of a “nouveau riche.”
“Mr. Xu, hello, my surname is Fu, Fu Gui!” the man introduced himself.
Hearing this, Xu Ruyi, who had intended to leave, paused mid-step, raising her brows in surprise. This name sounded really familiar.
“Your surname is Fu? And your name is Fu Gui?” she asked.
Fu Gui looked at her. “Yes, Miss Xu, my surname is Fu!”
He had come to seek cooperation with the Xu family, so of course he recognised Xu Ruyi. The Xu family’s only daughter, who didn’t know her? Everyone in S City who wanted to work with the Xu family had to curry favour with her.
Xu Ruyi smiled. “I know you.”
“How do you know Mr. Fu?” her father asked.
“Dad, do you remember me telling you about my deskmate? A future super super super… great artist! It was she who told me about Mr. Fu. She said Mr. Fu wanted her to paint a portrait of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling from Dream of the Red Chamber as a birthday gift. I think the person Mr. Fu wanted to give it to must be Grandma.”
Hearing this, Fu Gui froze, and an image of Jiang Yu flashed across his mind.
Xu Ruyi smiled and said, “I wonder what kind of cooperation Mr. Fu is seeking. Why don’t you tell me? Let’s talk over there.”
Almost instinctively, Fu Gui glanced at Father Xu. Father Xu indulgently looked at his daughter and said with a smile, “This is between the two of you. I won’t interfere, you two go ahead and talk.”
His attitude was one of complete trust in however Xu Ruyi chose to handle things.
Hearing this, Fu Gui hesitated for a moment, but still followed Xu Ruyi aside to explain his cooperation proposal to her.
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