As the end of the year approached, although Shu Qingqing no longer live-streamed, she still consistently updated her videos. As an internet celebrity with over two million followers, she was invited by the platform to attend the year-end gala.
This time, she didn't buy a gown. Instead, she asked Feng Xiangdi to design one for her personally, which would also indirectly promote their own brand.
The dress Feng Xiangdi made this time was a black dress, gorgeous and aesthetic. Since there was a flower at the neckline, making it unsuitable for a necklace, Shu Qingqing planned to pair it with a bracelet and earrings.
After receiving the dress, Shu Qingqing already knew what jewelry to pair it with. She went into the walk-in closet and quickly chose a bracelet, but she couldn't find the earrings she wanted to wear.
These earrings were a gift from Feng Xiangdi to thank her when they made their first pot of gold from live-streaming. Shu Qingqing cherished them greatly. Every time she wore them, she would wipe them clean before putting them back in the cabinet.
How could they be missing?
Shu Qingqing rummaged around the closet for a while but couldn't find them, so she had no choice but to call Nanny Li upstairs.
"Nanny Li, when you were cleaning my room, did you happen to see a pair of fan-shaped earrings anywhere?"
Nanny Li thought carefully and shook her head. "I didn't see them."
Shu Qingqing called the other maids to ask, but everyone said they hadn't seen them.
"That's strange." Shu Qingqing was not a careless person. She carefully recalled the last time she wore the earrings; she had definitely put them back in the cabinet.
But she just couldn't find them right now, so she had to choose another pair of earrings to match.
Nanny Li was about to leave, hesitated for a moment, and turned back.
She had worked for the Lu family for many years. Although the other maids hadn't worked there as long as she had, the newest one had still been with the Lu family for over a year. Everyone's character was guaranteed.
During Nanny Li's first year in the industry, an employer had once suspected her of stealing. The memory was still fresh in her mind, and she was very sensitive to such matters.
Moreover, Shu Qingqing's room was basically cleaned by her.
Even though the Madam didn't suspect her, Nanny Li still wanted to take the initiative to speak up. "Madam, I am always very careful when I clean. I have never touched your things without permission."
Shu Qingqing patted her hand. "Nanny Li, you've been with the Lu family for so many years, how could I not trust you? I probably just misplaced the earrings somewhere. It's fine, I'll look for them when I have time."
Seeing Shu Qingqing's expression, Nanny Li knew she genuinely trusted her, and only then did she leave with peace of mind.
Just as she reached the door, she suddenly remembered something else. "Madam, yesterday Teacher Tan played hide-and-seek with the young master on the second floor for a while."
Shu Qingqing frowned. "Wasn't Teacher Tan giving Lu Yu a lesson? Did Lu Xun run over to make trouble?"
Nanny Li quickly waved her hand. "No, no. The eldest young master had to go out for a bit yesterday. Teacher Tan said she would wait for him to come back to continue the lesson, so she didn't leave and played with the young master for a bit."
Shu Qingqing acknowledged this.
It wasn't until she found the earrings she wanted to wear that she suddenly felt something was off.
Nanny Li and the others had worked in the Lu family for years, always diligent and conscientious, and nothing had ever gone missing in the house.
Why would Nanny Li say something like that?
Could it be that Nanny Li suspected... Tan Meng took her earrings?
Shu Qingqing furrowed her brows.
When she went downstairs, Lu Yu had just finished his tutoring session. Seeing her, Tan Meng greeted her warmly, mentioned a few things about Lu Yu's studies, and then left.
Shu Qingqing walked over to the guest room where they had their lessons and took a look.
On the desk lay a physics test paper Lu Yu had just finished; the score was ninety-two.
Tan Meng had written annotations next to every incorrect question in beautiful regular script.
It was evident that her teaching attitude was quite good.
Shu Qingqing turned to ask Lu Yu, "What do you think of this Teacher Tan?"
"She's pretty good. She explains the concepts very thoroughly and even taught me a method for categorizing mistakes," Lu Yu said without any hesitation.
Shu Qingqing nodded. "That's good then."
So far, she also felt this Teacher Tan was quite good. She arrived early every time she tutored Lu Yu, so she probably wouldn't do anything sneaky.
Shu Qingqing then put the matter aside.
After taking the earrings, Tan Meng was indeed worried for a few days. After all, strictly speaking, she was the only outsider in the entire villa, and Nanny Li knew she had gone up to the second floor that day.
Once Shu Qingqing realized the earrings were missing, it would be very easy for suspicion to fall on her.
Two consecutive days passed without anyone bringing up the matter, and she finally let her guard down.
After going back, she specifically looked up the price of the earrings online: thirty-five thousand yuan.
Meanwhile, working so hard to sneak in a listening device would only earn her five hundred thousand yuan if she succeeded.
She thought again of all the jewelry in the cabinet. If she had another chance to enter Shu Qingqing's walk-in closet...
Tan Meng quickly interrupted her own thought. No, the other jewelry looked very expensive. If another piece went missing, there was no way Shu Qingqing wouldn't notice. She had better just honestly look for a chance to plant the bug.
As the tutoring session was coming to an end, her good friend Cheng Jiaxin suddenly sent her a location. Only then did Tan Meng realize that her friend was also tutoring in this villa district today.
So, the two agreed to head back together.
Today, Shu Qingqing and Lu Bochuan were both at home. Unable to find a chance to sneak up to the second floor, Tan Meng didn't dawdle and left as soon as her time was up.
Seeing her about to leave, Shu Qingqing walked over with something in hand. Teacher Tan, this is a local specialty a friend brought from her hometown. It's quite delicious, I'd like you to have it.
After gifting the specialty, Shu Qingqing chatted with her briefly about Lu Yu's progress and personally walked her to the door.
Tan Meng stuffed the item into her bag. The moment she stepped outside, Cheng Jiaxin grabbed her arm.
Damn, Tan Meng, you're amazing! When I was tutoring at that house just now, I heard people say that the Lu family is the wealthiest household in this entire villa district.
Thinking of Shu Qingqing's massive walk-in closet, Tan Meng's tone couldn't help but sour. So what? No matter how rich they are, it's their money. The tutoring fee they pay isn't that much higher than anyone else's.
Cheng Jiaxin replied, That's not what I meant. Did you know that the lady of this house is an internet celebrity? The kind with over two million followers. Just yesterday, I saw her at the year-end gala hosted by that short-video platform. She doesn't just film videos; she also livestreams to sell women's clothing.
Being so rich, beautiful, and still working so hard, I'm dying of envy. And you didn't even know...
Tan Meng wasn't listening to whatever Cheng Jiaxin said next.
All she could think about was the fact that she hadn't known Shu Qingqing was a massive internet star.
She immediately took out her phone and searched. The videos that popped up didn't just feature Shu Qingqing; surprisingly, Lu Yu was in them too.
Tan Meng then discovered that during the summer vacation, Lu Yu had appeared in the livestream to help Shu Qingqing sell clothes. Furthermore, the moment Lu Yu showed up, the viewer count in the livestream had skyrocketed to over a hundred thousand.
Tan Meng had started making short videos at the beginning of last year, but using her prestigious university tag hadn't brought her much traffic. It had been two years, and she only had a little over a hundred thousand followers. She had also only landed two ad deals, each paying around four or five thousand.
Although her academic grades were good, she didn't want to become a corporate slave at a big tech company. Working for others couldn't possibly earn her as much as being an independent content creator.
In the past, she hadn't gotten famous because she lacked the right opportunity. But now, hadn't the perfect opportunity just fallen right into her lap?
