Chapter 292: Nine-Year-Old Feng Nanshu

Riding in eight Mercedes-Benz limousines along a specially designed sightseeing route, accompanied by tour guides telling fascinating historical stories – it was quite a showy affair.

Lu Feiyu was so afraid passersby wouldn’t notice how impressive he was, he circled the car each time he got in or out.

“What a disgrace.”

Jiang Qin swore and waved his hand, telling Dong Wenhao to drag Lu Feiyu into a local specialty restaurant.

After eating and drinking their fill, it was time to indulge in all kinds of entertainment and luxury.

From the revolving restaurant in Oriental Pearl Tower to a thousand-year-old water town, to traditional Shanghai architecture, finally Jiang Qin brought them to one of Shanghai’s landmarks – the Global Financial Center.

This skyscraper occupied over 10,000 square meters, with 101 floors aboveground. Besides the shopping areas on the lower levels and observation deck at the top, the rest was filled with all kinds of companies.

Finance and securities, R&D, venture capital, business consulting, internet technology, app development, multinational banks – the industries were countless and varied.

Making this the last stop in Shanghai was mainly to broaden the employees’ horizons and let them experience an authentic business atmosphere.

“Xuemei, take a photo of me.”

“Yes, boss.”

Lu Xuemei ran over and took a photo of Jiang Qin. “How’s this?”

Jiang Qin nodded. “When we get back, put it in the promotional materials. Write ‘CEO Jiang Qin invited to tour Shanghai Global Financial Center with employees.'”

“Did someone actually invite us?”

“No, but what’s wrong with showing off a bit? It’s not illegal.”

Jiang Qin took the camera, gathered everyone at the entrance for a group photo he took himself, then led them to the limousine to return to the hotel.

The final and most important part of market research is collating the information.

The insights and conclusions need to be summarized in a timely manner, or they’ll soon be forgotten.

Once the files were organized, Jiang Qin had Wei Lanlan package them all and send them to Yue Zhu’s QQ mailbox for the Pinteam Wanzhong branch to study and analyze.

Since the promotion targeted college students, college students were better at finding selling points. That’s why Jiang Qin had the core employees do the market research.

But the actual groundwork would still be done by the Wanzhong branch, so he had them handle the overall planning and preparation.

Assigning different tasks to different types of employees was part of his management philosophy.

“Hey, where’s our boss’s wife?”

After the summary meeting, Su Nai suddenly asked.

Jiang Qin closed his notebook. “Her family just picked her up. We can have dinner without her. After eating, don’t wander around. Go back and pack. We’re leaving for the next city tomorrow.”

“Boss, does your wife have relatives in Shenzhen and Guangzhou? If so, I can contribute my luggage to get lost for a bit. To be honest, I like riding on coattails, hehe.”

Lu Feiyu clearly wasn’t satisfied with today’s extravagance and was already thinking about the next two cities.

Jiang Qin glanced at him. “I think I hear something. Oh, it’s your luggage singing ‘Listen to me say thank you, because you keep me warm all year round.'”

“…”

After dinner, Jiang Qin returned to his room to pack – clothes, shoes, toiletries, as well as the little rich girl’s white tiger onesie and lace underwear she had washed and hung in the bathroom. He packed it all so they wouldn’t forget anything when leaving in a rush the next morning.

“How big is this?”

Jiang Qin curled his fingers, using his palm to roughly estimate the size, and couldn’t help but gasp. His heart was unsettled for a long time.

Since they had been chauffeured around in the limousines all day, barely walking, Jiang Qin wasn’t tired at all. After packing, he had nothing to do but wasn’t sleepy yet, so he could only flip through TV channels.

“Ziwei, I have a few things I must tell you from the bottom of my heart! The first thing is, I’m going to marry you.”

“…”

“Big brother, it’s terrible! Master has been captured by a demon!”

“…”

“Fate brings us together from a thousand miles away; without fate, we can’t hold hands even face to face. Ten years of cultivation to ride the same boat; a hundred years of cultivation to share the same bed. If we have destiny after a thousand years…”

From “My Fair Princess” to “Journey to the West” to “The Legend of the White Snake”, Jiang Qin lounged on the sofa, listlessly channel surfing. It seemed this world only had these few TV series that had to be aired every summer vacation.

He couldn’t help but glance at the wall clock and saw it was already 10 PM. The night outside the window was so dense, the neon lights of the city couldn’t obscure it.

She’s still not back at this hour? Could it be she’s not returning tonight?

Jiang Qin couldn’t help asking and answering himself, startling himself.

The little rich girl didn’t go out to play, but went home. To humans, home represented safety and warmth. She went home, so what was he worried about?

Damn, this friendship is too deep. He’s even concerned about her going home.

At the same time, in the private dining room of a members-only restaurant, Qin Jingqiu watched her little niece with eyes full of doting affection. She picked up a shrimp and fed it to her.

“Auntie, I’m all grown up. I don’t need to be fed,” Feng Nanshu said obediently.

Hearing this, Qin Jingqiu narrowed her eyes. “Is it the food or the person that’s wrong?”

“?”

Feng Nanshu felt there was a deeper meaning in her aunt’s words and got a bit flustered, but still kept a cool expression. “I don’t know what Auntie is talking about.”

“I know you have a boyfriend named Jiang Qin, right? You thought you could hide it from me?”

“We’re just good friends.”

Qin Jingqiu put down her chopsticks. “I invite you to come play but you refuse. Jiang Qin beckons and you go. Girls are so outgoing these days.”

Feng Nanshu was dumbfounded for a moment, a confused look on her face.

Qin Jingqiu continued, “Didn’t I say to bring Jiang Qin too? I wanted to treat him to a meal. Why were you unwilling?”

“He’s very shy and timid. I was afraid it would scare him.”

Qin Jingqiu felt like a prized jade was being defiled by a pig. “I’m getting a bit jealous. Tomorrow I’ll go find Jiang Qin and give him a check for 10 million to leave you.”

Feng Nanshu pouted. “Auntie, you’re a bad person.”

“Then call me Mommy and I won’t be so bad. I’ll even give Jiang Qin a present. How about that?” Qin Jingqiu’s tone was full of temptation.

“But you’re my aunt, not my mom.”

“Have you forgotten you used to call me Mommy every day when you were little?”

Feng Nanshu pursed her red lips, her long curled lashes fluttering slightly. “I haven’t forgotten. Auntie is a good person, but doesn’t want me anymore.”

Hearing this, the smile on Qin Jingqiu’s face stiffened and she suddenly fell into silence.

Feng Nanshu was indeed raised by her personally, from age one to nine – a full eight years. The two of them had long developed a mother-daughter bond. But on Feng Nanshu’s ninth birthday, her father suddenly appeared with a beautiful woman, wanting to take his daughter away.

That day, Feng Nanshu was so scared she hid in the wardrobe, not wanting to leave. It was Qin Jingqiu who found her and handed her over.

When they met again three years later, she found her little Nanshu had become very quiet. Even seeing her, the girl didn’t say a word, cold as ice. And she seemed to have completely lost her social skills.

“Auntie, it’s very late. I need to go back and sleep.”

Feng Nanshu suddenly spoke, her voice soft, interrupting Qin Jingqiu’s thoughts.

“Alright, Auntie will take you back.”

Qin Jingqiu smiled.

“I’ll go to the restroom first.”

After speaking, Feng Nanshu stood up and headed to the restroom.

Just then, her small handbag that had been placed on the chair fell, spilling its contents on the floor.

Qin Jingqiu quickly got up to retrieve the handbag and put the scattered items back in. But as she picked up the pink wallet, she paused slightly.

Wallets usually have a small window on the left side specifically for placing photos. Feng Nanshu’s wallet had such a window, with a photo of the right size inside.

The photo showed her and Jiang Qin, with an unfamiliar couple holding hands and sitting in front, their features resembling Jiang Qin’s.

Qin Jingqiu gently removed the photo and stared at it for a long time. For some unknown reason, she lightly flipped it over and looked at the back.

There were four graceful characters written: “A family of four.”

“…”

“Boss, why aren’t you asleep yet?”

At the Kempinski International Hotel, Lu Feiyu had just taken the elevator to the lobby when he spotted Jiang Qin in his slippers and pajamas. He was pacing back and forth, occasionally glancing out at the night.

“It’s nothing. I was bored so I came out for a stroll.”

“Tsk tsk, you just told us not to wander around, but here you are wandering.”

Jiang Qin chuckled. Then he heard the sound of a car engine and couldn’t help looking outside again.