Chapter 397: Feng Nanshu is a Bad Egg

The 18th arrived in a blink. Zhou Zhenhao, with his meticulously crafted plan, led the team to Shanghai.

Suixin Group had developed smoothly without major losses, except for being tricked in Shanghai once—a hurdle that had always bothered him, and the purpose of this trip was to finally overcome it.

They raised their glasses, feelings of grandeur fueling their spirits—a man of ambition should be just so, one day to soar high with the clouds.

Arriving in Shanghai by nightfall, the team had a dinner. Zhou Zhenhao, slightly tipsy, rested his hands on a window, the incoming breeze mingling with his burgeoning sense of power, echoing the city’s vibrant nightlife.

Meanwhile, Jiang Qin had returned to Jizhou from Linchuan, planning to shed his celebrity facade and revert to being a pampered family dog.

Driving past South City High, he noticed the school had been unbranded, its dark pillars only showing a distinctly white patch, as if dodging the color of time.

It seemed that after sending off its last graduating class, South City High really did move to a new campus as rumored before, now boasting larger, brighter academic buildings with multimedia classrooms for every class.

But that version of South City was no longer the one they remembered.

Jiang Qin smacked his lips, made a U-turn to the back street, and drove back to Hongrong Homes.

Feng Nanshu had been waiting for him all this time. Her eyes sparkled with joy when she saw Jiang Qin return, and from the moment he entered, she followed closely behind him.

From the foyer to the maid’s room, from there to the living room, to the dining table, she barely spoke, just followed.

Their slippers made a tap-tap sound on the floor, like a video game character trailed by an inseparable sprite.

“Little rich girl, hold on a sec, let me use the bathroom first, okay?”

“Oh.”

“Don’t peek, okay? There’s nothing to hide between us, I won’t even lock the door.”

After a compliant nod, Feng Nanshu watched Jiang Qin enter the bathroom, then she squinted her pretty eyes slightly.

“Feng Nanshu, you’re a bad egg.”

She muttered quietly before reaching for the bathroom doorknob, twisting it futilely before realizing Jiang Qin had tricked her again.

Moments later, Jiang Qin emerged from the bathroom, a smirk on his face, then after washing his hands, he left a pink fingerprint on her pristine cheek.

“You’re 20, and still so curious and foolish? Believing I wouldn’t lock the door—what if there were a villain inside?”

Jiang Qin dried his hands and sank into the sofa, breathing deeply, finding even a luxury hotel sofa no match for his own shabby but comfortable one.

“What have you been up to at home lately?”

“Sleeping, watching your meetings, sometimes visiting the library, and I went to Uncle Gong’s to fetch an old lamp I used before,” Feng Nanshu dutifully responded.

Jiang Qin paused, then turned to her, “Where does Uncle Gong live?”

“Guanlan Avenue Garden Villas, Building 101.”

“You really gave it to him?”

Feng Nanshu’s eyelashes fluttered defiantly, “I don’t want it anymore.”

Jiang Qin held his breath, “Now I understand why you could lend me money so readily back then.”

“Why?”

“Because you don’t see money as money. Too extravagant.”

Feng Nanshu puffed up her cheeks, “I’m not wasteful!”

Jiang Qin grabbed his backpack, “I went to Shanghai to see your aunt and even got your childhood photos.”

“My childhood photos?”

“Yeah, really tiny. I plan to leverage them against my mom.”

Jiang Qin unzipped the bag and handed the photo album Qin Jingqiu had given him to the little rich girl.

Feng Nanshu probably hadn’t remembered she had this album for a long while, so she carefully looked through it before suddenly pursing her lips and kneeling up from the sofa, diving into Jiang Qin’s embrace without a word.

Feeling her sudden rush of negative emotions, Jiang Qin’s hands froze mid-lift, then reflexively lowered, gently stroking her back.

A metal clasp was his first sensation, then his hand casually reached for the remote control tossed on the sofa, turning on the TV.

Paid cable was impressive, with multiple stations airing ads for group-buy sites, showing they’d burned through nearly a hundred million just in advertising channels from the start of the year.

A staggering sum, immense but whether the conversion rates justified the expenditures was debatable.

Nowadays, those who stuck to watching TV weren’t quick to embrace online group-buying, those into group-buying didn’t watch TV but played on computers instead. Expanding in this way seemed too challenging for Jiang Qin.

Currently, the most robust ground team belonged to Pintuan, followed by Suixin Group. Other sites didn’t value ground operations much, banking solely on advertising where nearly half the money was virtually thrown away.

After a while, Jiang Qin realized Feng Nanshu was quietly shifting in his arms, then with a warm breath, she edged closer to his neck, clearly aiming to sneakily leave a hickey.

Without changing expression, Jiang Qin raised his hand, swiftly blocking her advance.

“Wasn’t planting enough strawberries at school? You need to plant them at home too?”

“Just one,” Feng Nanshu pled with eager eyes.

Jiang Qin used his gaze to halt her mischievous intent, “Little rich girl, sucking like that could cause a thrombosis if not done right, I could croak.”

While they were talking, the old clock across the room chimed ding-dong, and Jiang Qin swiftly lifted the little rich girl off, pulling a photo from the album to place on the table.

Moments later, Yuan Youqin returned home, spotting the photo on the table as she changed shoes.

Initially puzzled, she soon recognized who was in the photo, exclaiming with delight as she picked it up like a treasured find.

Jiang Qin couldn’t help but speak up, “Mom, I’m back!”

“Hmm.”

Jiang Qin paused then frowned, continuing, “Mom, I just got back from Linchuan. I haven’t eaten on the road and am a bit hungry now.”

After scrutinizing the photo for a while, Yuan Youqin absentmindedly turned and was surprised to see Jiang Qin, “Oh, son, you’re back?”

Jiang Qin: “…”

“When did you get back? Are you hungry?”

“…”

Yuan Youqin instantly frowned, thinking how rare it was for her son to come home and he wouldn’t even speak, then got a bit angry, “If you’re not hungry, don’t eat later!”

Jiang Qin: “?????”

Boss Jiang was stunned, “I did speak, though. And where’s the motherly love? I only come back a few days every six months—where’s the motherly love?”

Yuan Youqin’s attention returned to the photo, her stern face softening to a smile, “Nanshu was really cute as a child, even missing a tooth. She must be seven or eight years old here. But where did this photo come from?”

“I went to Shanghai to survey the market. This photo was given to me by Feng Nanshu’s aunt, to show you what she looked like when she was younger.”

Yuan Youqin beamed, lifting the photo for another look, “Are there more?”

Jiang Qin waved his hands, “No, that’s it.”

Yuan Youqin seemed wistful, then turned to start cooking in the kitchen.

Jiang Qin stuffed the album back into his bag, determined, “I’m really pushing my luck this time with this album. I’ve got to elevate my status at home for sure!”

Shortly after, the meal was ready. Despite her verbal reservations about Jiang Qin, Yuan Youqin had painstakingly prepared four dishes and a soup, welcoming her son back heartily.

She could tell her naughty boy had not had an easy time recently—he had thinned and tanned.

“Did you bring gifts when you visited Nanshu’s aunt’s place?”

“Yes, couldn’t go empty-handed on my first visit.”

“Did you meet Nanshu’s uncle? How was he?”

“Alright, we drank till midnight, had a warm chat.”

Yuan Youqin slightly relaxed, then ruffled Feng Nanshu’s hair, thinking it must be settled now, right?

At this moment, the little rich girl looked up at Jiang’s mom with a pleased smile, even flaunting her wrist a bit.

Since returning from Linchuan, she’d eagerly worn the Jiang family heirloom every day, buzzing with delight.

The more she did this, the more Yuan Youqin liked her. In Jiang Qin’s words, she was firmly in their grasp.

However…

An uncle and aunt are still not parents, even if that mom is a stepmom.

But this worry was soon dismissed by Yuan Youqin, as the pair were only sophomores, too early to worry about such things, and they might even go for postgraduate studies.

Thinking this, Yuan Youqin couldn’t help but look up, “By the way, Jiang Qin, how are your studies? Can you manage postgraduate studies?”

“Study? Me, lose face? If the dean doesn’t offer me a position, I won’t accept it,” Jiang Qin declared haughtily.

Yuan Youqin scoffed, “You boast all day, yet I still don’t know how you got that trophy.”

“Mom, can you stop doubting me? I am the top scholar of Linchuan University’s first batch! I am the child other parents talk about!”

Jiang Qin smirked, dropping his chopsticks and heading to slump on the sofa, only to be called back by Yuan Youqin to dutifully do the dishes.

Yuan Youqin was already packing up for work, reminding Jiang Qin to bring in the laundry from the balcony and tidy up the maid’s room.

After finishing these chores, it was already 2 PM. The sun-soaked quilt was soft and dream-like, perfectly delightful with the air conditioning on.

Then the little rich girl came over too, tossing her slippers aside and climbing onto his bed, declaring with feigned arrogance that she wanted to hang out there for a bit.

Jiang Qin pressed his lips together, thinking this was beyond dream-like, it was utterly intoxicating.

Life felt like living a dream, utterly intoxicating.