Chapter 44 I hope you'll be a little spoiled and pampered.

Xie Qingci blinked several times as she looked at the message.

A flashback to that long, wet kiss in the dim light, a vibrant, restless, and lingering feeling of wanting to part.

Her cheeks flushed red again, and her throat felt tight and dry as if it were dehydrated. She gently clenched her palms and recalled some scenes from last night.

Or should we change our flight now and go?

...

Aunt Li arrived just before dinner. The weather was nice today; the early winter climate on Hong Kong Island was much milder than in Beijing. Xie Qingci decided to go out for a stroll.

The main problem was that she couldn't stand the feeling of sitting still and waiting, like dough being covered in a greenhouse and waiting to ferment; she felt restless.

The area around Central is mostly filled with luxury brand boutiques. She didn't really want to buy anything, but she could browse around to pass the time.

Before leaving, Liang Jingzhuo gave her his supplementary credit card, telling her to go out and have some fun if she felt bored. He was worried that she would use her own card to solve everything like she did in Jingzhao last time, so he told her as he left the card that his card offered discounts in the port area.

Then we might as well take advantage of it.

After visiting several places, I still didn't see anything that interested me. My legs were starting to get tired, so I found a Hong Kong-style dessert shop that was highly recommended by mainland tourists and sat down for a while.

When Xie Qingci tasted a pretty good chestnut cake, she immediately thought of Shen Chutang, who was far away in New York.

The young lady's favorite dessert is undoubtedly the chestnut whiskey cake. Glancing at the time and calculating the time difference, it was still early morning in New York. The health-conscious young lady should be asleep, so I just took a picture and sent it with the caption: "The chestnut cake and Brookie here are quite good."

Just as I was about to attach the address, I unexpectedly received a reply: 【Where is it!】

Xie Qingci thought she had misread the time, so she glanced at the top of her phone again. It was indeed afternoon in China, but early morning in New York.

So he stopped what he was about to do and asked instead, "Why aren't you asleep?"

Back in China, even if she was at various parties and banquets, she would never go to bed later than midnight. If she stayed up for even an extra hour, she would complain that she would get wrinkles and needed to use several face masks.

It's strange today; I'm still awake at this hour.

Shen Chutang's contact name changed to "typing..." and a reply came a moment later: "[I'm having insomnia. So frustrating! You know how awful my dad is? He actually suspended my card! I went shopping today and couldn't even use it! So embarrassing!]"

Shen Chutang is considered the purest-blooded young lady in their circle. She is the apple of the eye of two major families in Shanghai and Beijing, and grew up pampered. For her, the suspension of her card is the only hardship she has ever suffered in the past ten years.

Xie Qingci took a bite of chestnut cake and laughed. "You skipped another blind date?"

One more thing to add: blind dates are probably the hardest thing that this young lady has suffered over the years.

Old Man Shen found a feng shui master from somewhere who said that his only daughter's fate was unusual and that it would be better for her to get married early. So, from the time Shen Chutang came of age, she went on one blind date after another.

With good looks, money, and free time, she has lived a carefree life for so many years. How could Shen Chutang possibly agree to this? There is no man in this world so perfect that she would willingly end such a happy life.

Yes, let me tell you, they're almost going to give me all the surnames in the Hundred Family Surnames.

These are some of the most prestigious families in China, whose sons and grandsons have left their mark all over the world. They're really crazy.

The other day I let slip that I was planning to go skiing in Boston next month, and wow! They immediately booked me a skiing trip there too. Anyway, I'll have to find an excuse to skip it; I'm determined to fight back!

Even with the card suspended, I won't give in!

The young lady's bottom line is that she won't marry far away, won't marry an older man, and won't marry into a family with many rules. But surely it's not that she needs to go on blind dates right now?

Xie Qingci smiled, put down her dessert spoon, and was about to ask when she would be back. They had arranged to have afternoon tea together, as a dessert shop at a hotel they used to frequent had recently launched a seasonal limited edition.

Shen Chutang sent another message: "[So annoying, by the time I graduate and go back, you'll be going to Hong Kong Island too, and I won't be able to see you all the time.]"

After saying that, she immediately followed up with: "Aci, is your husband good to you?"

Shen Chutang also saw Liang's official announcement that day. He thought that Liang was acting like a responsible man, but she still felt that getting married now was too crazy.

Xie Qingci pondered for a moment, then said, "It's good."

Recently, it wasn't just Shen Chutang who asked this question. Xie Qingci couldn't give a clear line between good and bad, but at least it wasn't bad.

Remembering that he had already gone to bed last night, Liang Jingzhuo got up again and went out to buy her burn ointment after seeing the burn marks on her hands.

She felt it was a good thing.

After replying, the chat window fell silent for a long time. Just when she thought Shen Chutang had fallen asleep, a new message slowly appeared: 【Have you verified it?】

What are we verifying?

Xie Qingci was completely bewildered. "What?"

After another long silence, Shen Chutang finally asked softly, "Does that mean men over twenty-five are all unsuitable?"

"..."

The scene of Liang Jingzhuo hearing this question in Fushun Hutong that day is still vivid in her mind. Afterwards, she mistakenly thought that he was asking her what she thought, and that he was verifying the statement.

My cheeks started to feel slightly hot. The surrounding area was a noisy dessert shop, and even the words felt inappropriate to discuss in public.

Xie Qingci tensed her calves to suppress the burning sensation on her face.

She replied: "...No."

Not only did it not happen, but it felt like it was performing beyond expectations.

This reminded her of the message he sent her that afternoon, "Wait for me," and her neck felt hot again. She pressed her fingertips heavily against the edge of the phone, her fingertips turning white from lack of blood.

Although she knew that Shen Chutang wouldn't ask anything more outrageous given her personality, she decided to end the conversation, which was about to evaporate her if it continued.

[You should go to sleep, Tangtang, or you'll get fine lines.]

The message had barely been sent when a scream immediately filled the chat: "[Oh my god!!! How is it already this late? I need to go put on another layer of anti-aging cream. I'm done chatting, I'm going to sleep!]"

The chat ended there. Xie Qingci put down her phone, glanced out the floor-to-ceiling windows of the dessert shop, and decided to wander around for a while longer before heading back.

She didn't go back to the luxury goods section she had already visited. When she passed a men's products counter, she paused for a moment in front of the door, but eventually turned in.

Liang Jingzhuo bought her many gifts, but she only gave him the tie from last time.

The sales associate (SA) in the store warmly greeted her and, upon learning that she was giving the item as a gift, thoughtfully inquired about the recipient's age and identity in order to recommend suitable items.

She smiled and replied, "My husband."

The other person immediately understood, smiled, and asked if the gentleman was more often in business settings or casual settings. She replied, "More often in business settings."

I've hardly ever seen him dressed up or resting in all this time; he's mostly been in formal attire.

After obtaining the information, SA led her to the formal wear accessories counter and picked out several cufflinks and tie clips for her, saying they were two accessories that were frequently used in formal occasions.

Xie Qingci thought about the dressing rooms in several of her homes and indeed found traces of these two accessories.

She had never picked out these gifts for anyone before. The last time she picked out a tie was when she went shopping with Grandma Xie, and Grandma Xie helped her choose it.

The old lady was a fashion designer when she was young, and her taste and vision are impeccable.

SA noticed her predicament and added, "Or you could choose something that matches your husband's usual style of dress; a belt would be fine too."

She thought about the style of Liang Jingzhuo's clothes. Most of them were British and Italian suits, all handmade haute couture, with side buckles and no need for belts.

Ultimately, after careful consideration, Hsieh Ching-Tzu bought one of each: a versatile silver tie clip and a pair of more robust and sophisticated tourbillon cufflinks.

When it came time to pay, she intended to use her own card, but after rummaging through her bag, she found that besides some cash that she couldn't even afford the change for those two items, all she had left was the supplementary card that Liang Jingzhuo had given her.

When I went out, I thought that I would have enough cash even if I just wanted to have afternoon tea and buy some small things, and I didn't plan to buy anything big. Even if I really needed to buy something, Liang Jingzhuo's card had a discount in the port area, so it would be more cost-effective to use his.

She never expected to suddenly have the idea of ​​buying him a gift, so she didn't bring her own card.

When she first entered the store, she didn't even realize she hadn't brought her card.

SA, holding a posing device, waited with a smile for her to take the card. The gift had already been beautifully wrapped and placed on the counter next to her.

Xie Qingci paused for a moment, then took out the black card. "Swipe the card."

SA took the card with both hands, responded with a "okay," and then handed the card machine over to her with both hands, asking her to enter the PIN.

She recalled what Liang Jingzhuo had said before leaving: "The password is your birthday."

He paused for a moment, then skillfully pressed the password on the number keys.

After paying and leaving the counter with two gift bags, Xie Qingci thought Liang Jingzhuo should have received a notification of the deduction, so she decided to send him a message to explain the situation.

I took out my phone, opened the pinned chat window, and read: "I just used your card."

She thought he was busy and wouldn't reply quickly, so she decided to explain the reason all at once: it wasn't that she was stingy, she really had forgotten to bring her card.

The next second, he replied with a message: "Yes, I saw it."

Liang Jingzhuo had just returned to his office after a meeting. He hadn't brought his phone with him. As soon as he sat down at his desk, his phone received a notification of a deduction. It was from the card he had given to Xie Qingci. He guessed that she had gone out shopping. He glanced at it briefly and didn't pay much attention. Just as he was about to put his phone down, a message from Xie Qingci came through.

No need to report to me, just buy whatever you want.

After saying that, she added, "It's still early, you can wander around a bit more. Be careful on your way back."

When he first saw the message, he glanced at the address of the payment mall. It wasn't far from his home; it was within walking distance.

Xie Qingci glanced at the two messages that followed, paused for a moment, and then said, "[Would you mind if I used your card to buy you a gift?]"

Buying a gift for someone using their credit card doesn't seem very sincere; it's no different from buying it for yourself.

The chat window remained silent for a moment, then a message appeared: "[I don't mind.]"

Two seconds later, the next message arrived: "I'd be even happier if you bought something for yourself using my card too."

In Liang Jingzhuo's view, Xie Qingci was sometimes too polite to him. He didn't need that kind of politeness. On the contrary, he would prefer her to be a little more spoiled and dependent on him.

A moment later, her reply came through: 【Okay.】

-

When Xie Qingci left the shopping district, it was almost time for Aunt Li to come and cook dinner. She bought a chestnut cake and a brokkie from the dessert shop where she had just had afternoon tea, and paid with Liang Jingzhuo's card.

Although it might seem like she was making a mountain out of a molehill, she didn't really want to buy anything else, but it was still a way of spending his card on herself.

The shopping district wasn't too far from the residential area; it was within walking distance. Since her belongings weren't heavy, Xie Qingci decided to walk back along the same route.

As evening approached, the city lights gradually came on, and the world was enveloped in the blues of sunset. Aunt Li must have arrived by now. I called her to ask if she was coming home for dinner, and she replied that she was already on her way back.

Aunt Li smiled and agreed. Just before hanging up, she remembered something and asked if Mr. Liang would be coming home for dinner.

Based on past experience, he shouldn't be coming back, but he usually doesn't come back at noon either. Today is an exception, so it's better to ask him to be on the safe side.

Liang Jingzhuo sent a message in the afternoon saying he would be back at 10:30, so he probably won't be coming back for dinner.

Xie Qingci replied that she wouldn't be coming back; it would just be the two of them, and they could do some simple things.

After hanging up the phone, the last rays of the sunset had completely disappeared into the night. As Xie Qingci stepped into a relatively bright spot by the roadside, she slowed her pace for a moment and turned to look.

It's a 7-Eleven.

The electronic doorbell rang incessantly as customers came and went.

She paused for a moment, pursed her lips, then changed direction and went inside.

I grabbed a bottle of milk from the refrigerated display case, and then grabbed a box of something from the shelf next to me when I got to the checkout.

The brand was the same one she bought yesterday, but it wasn't the same ultra-thin style as yesterday, and she only bought the basic two-pack.

If she does what she did yesterday, she might not be able to get up tomorrow.

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Author's Note: The next chapter will be around 23:30-00:00~ [kiss][kiss]