The next afternoon, the girl arrived at the villa following the address Shu Qingqing had given her yesterday.
Shu Qingqing had already learned about her situation in detail yesterday. The girl's name was Tan Meng. Just as she had claimed, she was not only a student at Jinghua University but also the top scorer of her city's college entrance examination that year. Since starting college, she had been working as a tutor at this agency and had a great reputation. However, because she didn't get along with the new manager, she had recently been given a hard time.
"Hello, Mrs. Lu. Sorry to intrude." Tan Meng was very polite, greeting Shu Qingqing with a bright smile as soon as she saw her.
Shu Qingqing stood up and returned the smile. "Ms. Tan, thanks for your hard work."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Shu Qingqing led her to Lu Yu's room on the second floor.
No. 1 High School required students to choose their academic tracks in the second semester of their freshman year. Lu Yu had chosen physics, chemistry, and biology. His grades had slipped in the recent exams precisely because he hadn't done well in physics.
Therefore, the main focus of his tutoring this summer vacation was physics.
Tan Meng always arrived on time for every session. She explained the concepts thoroughly and was extremely polite. Both Lu Yu and Shu Qingqing were very satisfied with her, so they treated her quite well, occasionally giving her small gifts or asking her to stay for dinner.
However, as the end of the year approached, Lu Bochuan's company became busy again. Shu Qingqing only briefly mentioned Lu Yu's studies and the hiring of a tutor to him, without going into detail.
One day, Lu Bochuan spent the entire afternoon in a meeting at a subsidiary company.
Besides the Lu Group, the subsidiary's building also leased some floors to other companies. At quitting time, the elevator lobby was inevitably a bit crowded.
A few young women were standing near Lu Bochuan.
"Hey, have you guys received the 'three winter essentials' from your boyfriends recently?"
"The three essentials are so outdated. My boyfriend gave me the four essentials, haha."
"Didn't you guys see Linlin's WeChat Moments this afternoon? Her husband gave her a nine-piece set, tsk tsk, and one of them was a ring. It really tortured a single dog like me."
"What single dog? Haven't you and your boyfriend made up yet?"
"Make up my ass. He didn't even know to give me the three winter essentials. What's the point of dating? It's better to break up early and find someone new."
"True. Actually, us girls don't ask for much. If he doesn't even know to send the three winter essentials, you can't count on him for anything else. A boyfriend like that isn't worth keeping."
The elevator arrived quickly, and the women stepped in, still discussing the three essentials.
Lu Bochuan quietly raised his eyes, took out his phone, and typed the words "three winter essentials" into the search bar.
Colorful images quickly popped up on the webpage. At a glance, almost all of them were food.
Winter nights came early. It was only just past five o'clock, but a crescent moon was already hanging in the sky.
Following Assistant Zhou's instructions, the driver, Xiao Liu, was preparing to head back to the company, but Lu Bochuan suddenly told him to turn around.
"Go to Jianshe Road," Lu Bochuan ordered.
Zhou Zheng and Xiao Liu exchanged a glance. Jianshe Road was a famous snack street. What was the boss going there for?
It wasn't until they arrived and saw Lu Bochuan get out of the car to join a line for sugar-roasted chestnuts that Zhou Zheng realized what he was doing.
Zhou Zheng hurried over. "President Lu, it's cold outside. Why don't I wait in line for you?"
"No need."
Just like that, Zhou Zheng watched with trepidation as Lu Bochuan personally waited in line to buy chestnuts, milk tea, candied haws, and roasted sweet potatoes.
After getting back in the car, he quickly turned the heat up, terrified that the food would get cold.
Zhou Zheng finally breathed a sigh of relief when Lu Bochuan carried the items into the villa.
He then took a taxi back to Jianshe Road. Since the boss had bought them for the boss's wife, he had to get them for his own wife too.
Inside the villa.
As the year drew to a close, while other live-streamers were still selling clothes in full swing, Shu Qingqing had already cleared out all her inventory yesterday. The winter clothing sales were done, and next, she would start selling spring clothes.
But Shu Qingqing wasn't in a hurry. She simply gave everyone some time off, waiting to fight again in the coming year.
The short drama she invested in with Director Fang had also finished filming and was just waiting for approval to be released.
So, starting yesterday, she had officially entered vacation mode.
Yesterday, she comfortably spent the whole day in bed watching TV dramas, and when she woke up this morning, she discovered she had actually gained two pounds.
Shu Qingqing didn't dare to slack off like that anymore. Right after her afternoon nap, she headed straight into the yoga room.
Shu Qingqing had taken several classes before, so doing simple poses on her own was no problem at all.
Shu Qingqing held the child's pose for three minutes. Just as she sat up, she saw Lu Bochuan standing in the doorway.
"Lu Bochuan! You're home so early today!" Shu Qingqing walked over with a joyful face. Just as she was about to grab his hand, Lu Bochuan suddenly pulled out a beautifully crafted box from behind his back.
Pink flowers surrounded the appetizing food, and next to it lay a cute Hello Kitty plushie.
"The four winter essentials!" Shu Qingqing took it and opened it. The aroma of chestnuts and roasted sweet potatoes instantly filled her nose.
Shu Qingqing narrowed her eyes in a happy smile. "President Lu is doing quite well now, to even know about the four winter essentials."
Lu Bochuan looked serious. "Yes, I heard some people discussing it by the elevator. They said you definitely have to give this to girls in the winter."
Shu Qingqing stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Good job. Here's a reward."
Shu Qingqing placed the items on the table. She peeled the sweet potato and was just about to take a bite when she suddenly paused. "Ah, no. I gained two pounds today. I promised I would lose weight."
Shu Qingqing was wearing a lotus-pink yoga top with two thin straps near her collarbones, which accentuated the smooth lines of her shoulders and neck. On her lower half were light gray, high-waisted pants that exposed just a sliver of fair, tender skin while perfectly outlining the curve of her hips.
Her long hair was tied back in a ponytail. A thin layer of sweat on her forehead dampened her baby hairs, making her look incredibly pure and full of vitality.
Lu Bochuan stepped closer and raised a hand to give her waist a gentle squeeze. "Where did you get fat?"
"I did gain weight. Look, my collarbones aren't as prominent as before." Shu Qingqing pulled her shoulder strap aside. "I used to be able to fit five little fish here, but now..."
As Shu Qingqing was speaking, she caught sight of their posture in the mirror opposite them and suddenly realized something was off.
The neckline of the yoga top she was wearing today was a bit low, and with her pulling the strap aside like this, it looked somewhat seductive no matter how you looked at it.
And at this moment, Lu Bochuan had already leaned in close to her.
"Hmm? But now?" Lu Bochuan lifted his gaze to meet her eyes.
"Nothing." Shu Qingqing let go and was about to turn around, but she was suddenly scooped up by the waist. Her world spun for a moment, and by the time she regained her senses, she was already sitting on Lu Bochuan's lap.
"You're not fat." Lu Bochuan lowered his head to kiss her collarbone, then gently lifted her chin. "You're very beautiful."
The next second, her lips were captured.
Shu Qingqing's heart skipped a beat. Kissed by Lu Bochuan, she lost her center of gravity and leaned back, unable to support herself.
She only reacted a few seconds later. Just as she looped her arms around his neck to respond, a sudden crash came from outside.
Lu Bochuan stopped and looked displeased toward the door.
