“No need to learn English separately.” Qiu Fuyang was delighted. “Hey! Sure, sure! Singapore it is!”
Seeing that his daughter still looked reluctant, Qiu Fuyang’s face fell. “I’m warning you! You’re my daughter. If you dare abandon your mother and me to enjoy the good life by yourself, I’ll make sure you don’t have a peaceful day for the rest of your life!”
Faced with her parents’ threats, Qiuyun could only give in. “Fine, fine. You two can do it. But let’s make this clear: you’ll be playing wealthy returnees from Singapore. If you dare mess it up, I’m telling you, neither of us will get to enjoy the good life!”
“Understood, understood!” Qiu Fuyang was so excited that it was as if prosperity and luxury were already waving at him. “Little Yun, what are wealthy businessmen supposed to be like? Shouldn’t you give your mother and me some money to buy the proper clothes and accessories? People rely on clothes, just as horses rely on saddles.”
“What’s the rush?”
Qiuyun explained some of the rules and unspoken customs of the wealthy. In the end, she took a sip of water before changing the subject.
“I’ve told you all that, but if someone asks what Singapore is like and you can’t answer, you’ll still be exposed. How about this? I’ll pay for the two of you to spend a month in Singapore. Get familiar with every part of the country—familiar enough to seem as if you’ve lived there for decades!”
The couple exchanged a glance and decided their daughter made perfect sense. They hurriedly nodded in agreement.
For the sake of the fine clothes and good food that awaited them—and since their daughter was paying for the trip abroad—what was there to complain about?
The three of them finished their meal in high spirits. Qiuyun told her parents to go home and wait for her arrangements while she got their passports processed as quickly as possible.
The couple left beaming, their faces glowing with excitement.
After seeing them into their car, Qiuyun stood by the roadside and let the cold wind blow over her for a while.
That morning, she had been a lovestruck young girlfriend deeply in love with the mayor’s son. In Sun Guoping’s eyes, it was only natural for a beautiful woman to siphon money from her wealthy boyfriend, so he had believed her without question and eagerly handed over money.
By evening, she had become a calculating woman scheming to climb her way into the Eldest Young Master’s circle. The dream of getting rich overnight had clouded Qiu Fuyang and Fang Fang’s judgment, so they had failed to notice even the many glaring inconsistencies.
Tsk, tsk. Putting on all those performances in a single day had really tested her acting skills—and her sense of shame.
After composing herself, she called Assistant Qian.
“Hello, Assistant Qian. Have you found anything about the matter I asked you to investigate?”
“No. The information Jia Laosan gave us was that the couple had been doing odd jobs in the urban village. Nothing seemed unusual. We also spoke to some of the people in the area, but no one noticed anything suspicious.”
Qiuyun frowned.
How strange. Could they really be so stupid that they hadn’t thought of calling the police?
“Sorry to trouble you, Assistant Qian, but there’s one more thing I’d like to ask you to handle.”
“What is it?”
“Do you know anyone reliable in Singapore?”
“Of course. There are plenty of Chinese people in Singapore.”
Qiuyun said, “I’d like you to find someone to take a married couple to Singapore for a trip. Then have him keep their passports.”
“Hmm?”
He remembered that the man’s surname was Qiu, didn’t he?
Realizing that Assistant Qian had probably guessed the couple’s identities, Qiuyun rephrased it. “Just hold on to them temporarily. There are still some things I need to confirm on my end.”
This was not something Assistant Qian could conveniently ask about. “All right. If you’ve made up your mind, I’ll find someone to take care of it.”
“Thank you, Assistant Qian. I owe you a huge favor!”
“It’s nothing. Wait for my news.”
After hanging up, Qiuyun took a taxi home.
There were some things she remembered only vaguely and wasn’t completely certain about. Once the couple had left, she would ask the neighbors in their old neighborhood.
December.
The end of the month.
The event was the company’s annual gala, and it would also be Jiang Chuling’s first public appearance. More importantly, she was the first child in the family to attend a group event. Even the Eldest Young Master had lost his eligibility because he had not joined the company as an intern.
As a result, Qiuyun did not style the Seventh Miss in a princess-like or sweet, girlish fashion.
She wore a white shirt beneath a beige cardigan, paired with wide-legged trousers in the same color and a camel-colored trench coat. Her hair was simply tied into a low ponytail.
Comfortable and at ease. Natural and poised.
“Sister Xiaoqiu, let’s go.” Jiang Chuling took a deep breath. She was still unavoidably nervous.
Qiuyun reassured her, “It’s fine. Just think of it as giving an award acceptance speech at school on a Monday morning. There’ll be a teleprompter down below.”
Jiang Chuling felt much calmer. She nodded and tightened her grip on Sister Xiaoqiu’s hand as they got into the car.
The Jiang Group’s annual gala was being held at one of the luxury hotels under its name.
All three floors of the hotel’s banquet halls had been reserved. The eighth floor contained the main stage, where the group’s senior executives, top management, branch-company heads, business partners, and outstanding or long-serving employees had been seated.
The sixth and seventh floors served as satellite venues. The event was broadcast on large screens there. Although they were farther from the center of power, the atmosphere was more relaxed and festive—much more suited to enjoying the annual gala.
Check-in and entry ran from two-thirty to three-thirty.
After checking in, every employee received a table-tennis ball from a box. The number on it would be their lucky-draw number for the evening.
Naturally, the Jiang family arrived at the very last minute.
Financial reporters had been waiting outside the hotel, their camera flashes clicking incessantly. Jiang Yihua, Jiang Yifeng, and the others were frequent subjects of media coverage.
But the reporters were now most interested in Jiang Chuling, the Internet Daughter whose popularity had exploded online, and the former chairman, who had not appeared before the public for the past two or three years.
The people arranging the vehicles were quite perceptive, though of course Qiuyun’s hints and guidance had also played a part. In the end, the scene captured by all the media outlets was a heartwarming image of a granddaughter holding her grandfather’s hand.
After a week of rehabilitation, Old Master Jiang had made remarkable progress. At least on the short walk from the car to the hotel entrance, he moved only a little more slowly and never displayed anything unusual. He still looked as vigorous and spirited as ever.
He greeted the media friends kindly, while Jiang Chuling held his hand and smiled sweetly and naturally at the cameras.
Once inside the hotel, however, the media were barred from taking photographs.
But where there was a will, there was a way. The reporters each used their own tricks, and one way or another, they managed to get inside and obtain firsthand information.
After entering the hotel, Butler Lin hurried over to Old Master Jiang’s other side.
“It’s fine. I’m not that frail yet,” the old man said, refusing his support.
The group stepped into the elevator. The couple from the main branch followed closely behind, then came the second and third branches, Jiang Yifeng, and Ge Furen (Mrs. Ge).
Mrs. Ge looked terrible.
In previous years, she had always been the one to give the speech on the future development of the group’s charitable initiatives at the annual gala.
But this year, because Jiang Chuling had become a sensation as the “Internet Daughter,” the company’s public relations department had decided to capitalize on the attention and handed her speaking slot to Jiang Chuling instead.
Ha.
The main branch had played dirty with her before, leaving her unable to defend herself while she took the blame.
This time, she was determined to collect the interest on what they owed her!
When they reached the eighth floor, the senior executives and business partners were already seated and waiting. Old Master Jiang entered quietly through a side door beside the stage.
The annual gala officially began at three-thirty.
First came a light show and an opening performance, quickly raising the energy in the room.
