Regarding Lu Bochuan wildly sending out five million in red envelopes, Shu Qingqing had initially felt a deep heartache over the money.
However, after ending the livestream and seeing that the night's revenue had actually reached thirty million, Shu Qingqing suddenly didn't feel so bad anymore. Thinking about how it was Lu Bochuan's money being spent anyway, she felt even more relieved.
Because the livestream orders had exploded and all the clothes were sold out, requiring them to temporarily order a lot more from the manufacturer, Shu Qingqing simply gave everyone a week off. They would resume streaming once the manufacturer finished producing this entire batch of clothing.
Thinking about not having to livestream for the next few days, Shu Qingqing immediately felt incredibly relaxed.
The other employees had all left, and Zhou Zheng had taken Lu Yu to see off Zheng Binyang, so once again, only Shu Qingqing and Lu Bochuan were left.
Shu Qingqing had just locked the door when her phone rang.
It was Old Madam Lu.
"How is it, Qingqing? Are you satisfied with my arrangements today?" the old madam asked.
Shu Qingqing let out a confused "Ah? What arrangements?"
The old madam replied, "I was the one who asked Bochuan to go help you. How was it? My arrangement wasn't bad, right?"
So it was the old madam who told Lu Bochuan to come over?
She had thought...
Shu Qingqing glanced at Lu Bochuan and raised her hand to take back her bag.
She had thought Lu Bochuan wanted to come over on his own. It made her heart flutter for nothing.
Seeing Shu Qingqing suddenly glare at him, Lu Bochuan felt baffled for a moment.
Weren't the two of them just... getting along quite well?
If Lu Bochuan had heard the conversation between the two women, he definitely would have defended himself. Even if the old madam hadn't said anything today, he had planned to do it anyway.
But he couldn't hear their conversation, much less know that his credit had been stolen by the old madam at home.
"Your arrangement was wonderful." Shu Qingqing walked a little further away to continue the call. "I made you worry. I guess no one will question me anymore."
"That's not necessarily true." The old madam suddenly raised her voice. "I just went to check again, and that blogger who called you out hasn't deleted the video yet. But don't worry, I've solved this matter for you."
Shu Qingqing was puzzled. "How did you solve it?"
The old madam hummed proudly. "Don't worry about it. I'm hosting my birthday banquet three days from now, and you'll know then."
How was this related to the birthday banquet?
Shu Qingqing asked Lu Bochuan and only then found out that three days from now was exactly the old madam's birthday, her sixtieth birthday at that.
Soon, the day of Old Madam Lu's birthday banquet arrived.
The banquet was held at the Lu family's old residence. As the hosts, Shu Qingqing's family of four came over early in the morning.
After entering the door, she saw a slightly chubby man wearing glasses sitting on the sofa. Looking closely, it was actually the blogger who had called her a fake before.
"Mr. Lu, Mrs. Lu, I am Fake-Buster Old Liu, my real name is Liu Hui." Seeing them come in, the man hurried over to greet them, looking extremely nervous.
"Why are you here?" Shu Qingqing asked in confusion.
Liu Hui scratched his head. "Um, it was your family's old madam who asked me to come over. Don't worry, I have personally verified that you are indeed the wife of the CEO of the Lu Group. I will definitely film this well and guarantee to post the clarification video today."
Only then did Shu Qingqing notice that he was also carrying filming equipment.
She understood in her heart; so this was the solution Old Madam Lu had mentioned.
Shu Qingqing went to see Old Madam Lu first.
At this time, Old Madam Lu was doing her makeup. Seeing her come in, she immediately asked, "Did you see that fake-busting blogger?"
Shu Qingqing nodded.
"I've already told him that he must film you beautifully today. Once the video is posted, let's see who still dares to question your identity."
Shu Qingqing found it both amusing and very touching. After keeping the old madam company for a while, she was shooed out. "I told that fake-busting blogger that we are going to film the process of you making a cake today, so go get ready now."
Liu Hui's fake-busting video had indeed mentioned that her cake-making looked staged. She didn't expect the old madam to actually remember this. For a moment, Shu Qingqing was even more moved.
Seeing her come downstairs, Liu Hui quickly followed her. "Mrs. Lu, shall we shoot the footage of you making the cake first?"
Liu Hui asked cautiously, not even daring to speak too loudly. He truly hadn't expected that by making a fake-busting video, he would actually end up poking a tiger's backside.
He also truly hadn't expected that this Shu Qingqing was actually the CEO's wife of the Lu Group.
Old Madam Lu had asked him to come over precisely to film a day in Shu Qingqing's wealthy lifestyle.
Although once this video was posted, it would definitely become the Waterloo of his blogging career, today he got to witness true high society life. He might even be able to connect with upper-class networks, making it all worthwhile.
Seeing that Shu Qingqing didn't speak, he became even more cautious. "If it's inconvenient for you to make it, we can also stage it..."
Shu Qingqing rolled her eyes at him. "It's not inconvenient. I really know how to make cakes, you'll see in a moment."
Shu Qingqing led him to the kitchen.
The cake to be cut at the birthday banquet had already been made. She now planned to make a six-inch one so that after the guests left, their own family could cut a cake again.
The cake making went very smoothly, and Shu Qingqing even magnanimously used the extra ingredients to bake a sponge cake for Liu Hui to taste.
Liu Hui praised it endlessly and swore that he would personally slap his own face in the video.
Shu Qingqing couldn't be bothered with him anymore. Carrying a gift box, she went to the master bedroom on the second floor.
The day she learned the old madam was celebrating her birthday, and her sixtieth at that, she started thinking about what gift to prepare.
Lu Bochuan had already prepared one, but Shu Qingqing felt that it didn't count as her own sentiment, so she planned to prepare a separate one herself.
Remembering how happy the old madam was when they went to the cosplay event that day, constantly being praised for her beauty and even being chased for her WeChat, she decided to custom-make a qipao for the old madam.
So, she and Feng Xiangdi designed this qipao together and rushed to have it made.
Holding the gift, she walked to the door and saw the old madam talking with a few friends, so she planned to come back a bit later.
However, the sound of their conversation drifted out.
"I say, Yunying, didn't you originally plan not to host this birthday banquet? Why did you suddenly change your mind?"
The old madam said slowly, "I originally didn't plan to host it. I'm still young, talking about a grand birthday, I don't like it. But later, wasn't there someone on the internet questioning our Qingqing's identity? So I thought I might as well host it, taking the chance to clear my daughter-in-law's name."
Shu Qingqing hadn't expected there to be such an underlying reason. For a moment, she felt a mixture of complex emotions.
The old madam was truly very good to her.
She adjusted her emotions and raised her hand to knock on the door.
"Mother-in-law, this is my gift to you. I hope you are happy every day and beautiful every day."
The old madam immediately opened the gift, held it up against herself, and repeatedly said she loved it.
The atmosphere was just right when an auntie nearby suddenly asked, "Yunying, why does your daughter-in-law keep calling you 'mother-in-law'? It sounds awfully distant. It seems she's not close to you."
Old Madam Lu glanced at her. "What's wrong with calling me mother-in-law? A mother-in-law is still a mother, isn't it all the same."
Shu Qingqing paused.
She had grown up in an orphanage. Although the director treated her as well as a mother would, she was not her real mother, so Shu Qingqing had never actually spoken the word "Mom."
That was why she had always called the old lady "Mother-in-law."
She had not expected someone to actually make an issue out of this.
Shu Qingqing knew that despite the old lady's highly respected status, there were bound to be some hypocritical friends in her social circle.
The person who just spoke was probably a "frenemy."
The old lady treated her so well; she had to repay that kindness and stand up for her.
She bent down to help the old lady put away the qipao, speaking with a bright smile: "I only call her 'Mother-in-law' in front of outsiders. In private, of course, I call her 'Mom.' My mom treats me even better than she treats her own son, so please do not try to sow discord between us, Auntie."
Old Madam Lu watched her nemesis fume in silence, instantly grinning from ear to ear.
