Chapter 17: The Secret of the Laurel

Sure enough, a few days after Li Sishi bought the jewelry and returned home, she received a phone call.

"What? You said you're from Happiness Jewelry Store? Yesterday was our 9999th customer since the store opened, so you're planning to give us a free 24K pure gold pendant?" Zhou Jiayun, who answered the phone, was completely dumbfounded.

Li Sishi, who also heard her uncle repeat what he said, almost couldn't help but laugh: It's fortunate that telecom fraud is not common in this day and age, which is why Chang Baoning was able to find such an excuse to meet her.

If telecom fraud becomes so rampant that it's featured in police reports, Zhou Jiayun would probably be killed on the spot.

"Is he really that lucky?" At the same time, Liang Shao'e, Zhou Jiaxian, and Zhou Huichang all turned their attention to Zhou Jiayun.

"They said on the phone that we should bring our shopping receipts to pick them up tomorrow..." Zhou Jiayun continued to relay the information honestly.

"It's not far anyway, and maybe we'll be lucky this time. It wouldn't hurt to go and take a look." Liang Shao'e, who was in charge of all the household affairs, clapped her hands to make the decision, and then turned her attention back to Li Sishi. "Sishi, do you want to study law or medicine in the future?"

"Of course, studying medicine is better! Doctors become more valuable as they get older!" Zhou Jiayun said immediately after hanging up the phone.

"I asked Sishi, not you!" Liang Shao'e glared at him. "Besides, how much do you even know? The two industries I chose are the ones where the longer you work, the better they are!"

“I think it’s better to study law. You just need to hone your speaking skills. Being a doctor is not only hard work, but you also have to see patients and ‘salted fish’… In the slang term, ‘salted fish’ is a euphemism for a dead body. Zhou Huichang shuddered at the thought of dealing with this after studying medicine.”

“Oh, what’s so scary about being a ‘salted fish’? If my cousin becomes a great doctor in the future, our whole family won’t have to wait in line or spend money to see a doctor!” Zhou Huiguang was quite supportive of his father’s opinion.

"Sishi, what do you mean?" Zhou Jiaxian didn't offer any advice, but asked with concern.

Li Sishi glanced at her mother, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "I want to study law."

As she gave this answer, Li Sishi also kept a close eye on Zhou Jiaxian and Zhou Jiayun's expressions, and sure enough, she caught a fleeting stiffness on their faces.

“Yes, studying law is indeed easier, and more suitable for girls.” Liang Shao’e nodded in agreement.

head.

"How much easier can it be to get? Anyway, I just think studying medicine is better." Zhou Jiayun's voice became somber.

"I was just saying this because I had nothing else to do. There's still a long time before Sishi makes her actual choice, so there's no need to be in such a hurry. Let's talk about it later." Seeing her usually good-tempered husband being unusually sulky with her, Liang Shao'e gave him a thoughtful look and then took the initiative to change the subject. "By the way, the tofu skin and ginkgo sweet soup in the kitchen should be ready. You guys tidy up and make a late-night snack later."

After drinking the sweet soup, Liang Shao'e told Li Sishi, Zhou Huichang, and Zhou Huiguang, the three younger ones, to go and rest.

After confirming that the children had all returned to their rooms, Liang Shao'e planned to call Zhou Jiayun into the room to talk. Zhou Jiaxian thought for a moment and then made an excuse to follow her in.

"What exactly happened to you tonight?" Liang Shao'e asked in a low voice after entering the room.

“It’s not my brother’s fault, it’s all my fault…” Before Zhou Jiayun could answer, Zhou Jiaxian spoke first, “Because my first love was a law student…”

"Don't mention that person to me! I thought he was a good person, but he's ruined you like this..." Zhou Jiayun interrupted her angrily.

Although that's what they said, Zhou Jiayun finally revealed the reason, perhaps because this matter had been bottled up in her heart for many years: "That bastard Li Jinhao had a good talk with my older sister back then, but because his mother thought the two of them were not a good match, he listened to his mother and went to study abroad..."

“If he had just left like that, I wouldn’t have hated him so much. But not long after he went abroad, he wrote back saying that he had convinced his mother that he would come back to Hong Kong to marry his sister as long as she could finish her studies and graduate from university. He also said that he would keep in regular contact with his sister every month from now on…”

"Because of that letter, my older sister waited and waited with hope until a year passed without receiving a second letter. Only then did she become worried and go abroad with her distant cousin, Li Jinhuai, to find him..."

At this point, Zhou Jiayun was so angry and resentful that she couldn't continue speaking, while Zhou Jiaxian took a deep breath.

She then recounted how, heartbroken after seeing her first love, Li Jinhao, with a wealthy young lady in the United States, she drowned her sorrows in alcohol and was then taken advantage of by Li Jinhuai, who claimed to have secretly loved her for a long time.

"After I came back, I found out I was pregnant. My parents wanted to take me to have an abortion, but I couldn't bear it. Li Jinhuai said he would take responsibility, so I secretly ran away from home and..."

He went to Annam…

As it turns out, people in this world don't cherish what they have after they've obtained it. Her eventual fate of dropping out of school and eloping was more than a decade of living together in the same bed but dreaming different dreams, and then being cruelly abandoned when danger came.

After hearing about the siblings' past, Liang Shao'e quickly took Zhou Jiaxian's hand and comforted her, "It's best to avoid that kind of trash! Luckily, Sishi is like you... Don't worry, we have plenty of room for you two. Stay here with peace of mind. Look how capable Sishi is, you have a long good life ahead of you!"

Anyway, Zhou Jiaxian already has a solid divorce agreement in her hands. Even if that scumbag who abandoned his wife and daughter comes back to cause trouble, he won't be able to win against their family!

Over the past two years, I have personally witnessed the life of Zhou Jiaxian and her daughter Li Sishi. They are both honest and law-abiding people who don't cause trouble. I used to say that as her sister-in-law, she shouldn't pry into her sister-in-law's private affairs. Now that she knows about those grudges, of course she should stand on the side of Zhou Jiaxian, who is one of her own.

Especially after learning that Zhou Jiaxian was also a top student with 8 A's in her high school entrance exams—no wonder her niece Li Sishi has such good grades, it turns out it's all hereditary!

Thinking of this, Liang Shao'e, who had a particular fondness for intellectuals, immediately became quick-witted and asked Zhou Jiaxian, who was only in her thirties, if she should go to adult school to make up for the regret of dropping out of university back then...

Seeing this scene through the crack in the door, Li Sishi both laughed and sighed.

Compared to what her mother and uncle currently know, she, having been reborn in a previous life, knows more details.

For example, the story of her mother and her first love—that person was none other than her stepfather Li Jinhao, whom she had misunderstood for a long time in her previous life.

Back then, it wasn't that Li Jinhao fell in love with someone else after going abroad. Rather, it was his mother, Madam Li, who looked down on people from humble backgrounds, who deliberately plotted to "test" their relationship. She then collaborated with her distant nephew, Li Jinhuai, who had long coveted Zhou Jiaxian, to intercept their letters, causing both Zhou Jiaxian and Li Jinhao to believe that the other's feelings had changed.

Even the rich girl that Zhou Jiaxian saw was a staged performance. However, what Madam Li did not expect was that Li Jinhuai, after being driven by hormones, temporarily restrained his philandering and took the poor girl, whom she considered unrefined, to Annam for a few years.

After losing contact with Zhou Jiaxian, Li Jinhao remained unmarried until she later became the first runner-up in the Miss Hong Kong pageant and then represented Hong Kong in the 1993 Miss World pageant in Great Britain.

Li Jinhao, one of the event's guests, had just learned that Zhou Jiaxian had divorced and returned to Hong Kong, so he also shifted his career focus from the United States back to Hong Kong, intending to rekindle their relationship.

The reason she was able to "run rampant" in the entertainment industry in her past life was threefold: first, she was backed by a young lady from a mountain villa; second, she had a scumbag boyfriend; and third, she was protected by her stepfather, a well-known lawyer in the industry.

Unfortunately, she was blind to good and bad, and squandered her potential.

Thinking of the twenty years she spent as a wandering soul trapped on Zengding Baosu Campus after her car accident, and how her stepfather, from bringing her mother to pay respects to her to coming alone after her mother's death, remained steadfast through thick and thin for twenty years, and how he even fought a lawsuit against the Zheng family who had smeared her to clear her name... Li Sishi's determination to win the beauty pageant and to change her mistakes became even stronger.

After a sleepless night, Zhou Jiaxian, who appeared to be perfectly normal, knocked on the door early the next morning.

After having breakfast, Chang Baoning went to Xingfu Jewelry Store again with her aunt and mother. After explaining her purpose, Chang Baoning arrived quickly.

After showing Liang Shao'e and Zhou Jiaxian the latest peach blossom pendant, Chang Baoning proposed signing Li Sishi, who ranked first in this year's college entrance examination, to be the spokesperson for a newborn bracelet in their store.

Liang Shao'e was delighted with the free gold pendant, but hesitated about the subsequent contract offer.

"Why don't we ask Ah Lok for help? He's an agent for this kind of thing, so he should have more experience than us." After Li Sishi made the suggestion and the parents agreed, she borrowed the store's phone and dialed Luo Xuan.

"Hi, do you have a moment? I have something I'd like to ask you about..." Li Sishi explained the reason concisely as soon as she dialed the number.

"You have to come even if you don't have time—although I have plenty of time right now, I'll be there soon," Luo Xuan replied quickly.

Sure enough, not long after, Luo Xuan walked in from outside.

"When did you become so sweet-talking?" Li Sishi asked him with a smile.

"In my line of work, you can't do without a sweet tongue." Luo Xuan greeted the two elders, chatted with Li Sishi for a couple of minutes, then sat down and began to carefully examine the contract. "See? You've introduced me to some business, haven't you?"

"You wish." Li Sishi patted him on the shoulder.

With Luo Xuan, an "acquaintance," acting as their agent, Liang Shao'e and Zhou Jiaxian felt much more at ease. After confirming that there were no problems with the contract, they happily signed it.

Through the endorsement

Chang Baoning quickly developed a relationship with Li Sishi, and when the time was right, he brought up the topic of laurel sponsorship with her.

"I just said it casually at the time."

∮

Li Sishi smiled and said, "I was just thinking that the Miss Hong Kong pageant is such a big event every year, but the shiny crown of the champion is just a prop made by the TV station for the sake of the program. So I feel a little sorry."

While it's understandable that TV stations can't spend millions every year making real gold and diamond crowns for champions, it's still heartbreaking that such a memorable and important item for a girl who has overcome numerous challenges to finally win would oxidize, rust, and deform due to manufacturing defects.

Even though their actual value is far less than their commemorative value, most Miss Hong Kong winners who have won the top three titles still cherish them and keep them in a safe as a beautiful memory.

It wasn't until after 1997, with the sponsorship of Happiness Jewelry, that the winner was able to receive a truly prestigious crown—unfortunately, by then, the Miss Hong Kong pageant, once a grand event that captivated the entire city, had already entered its twilight years.

"However, this year, for the 20th anniversary, a merchant generously sponsored a robe button with a real diamond, so I wondered if a merchant would sponsor a champion crown with real gold and diamonds in the future?"

"This is such a buzz! The Miss Hong Kong pageant is the dream of many girls in Hong Kong..."

Chang Baoning listened to Li Sishi with a smile, her eyelashes slightly lowered: "According to our investigation, the merchant who sponsored the genuine diamond robe buttons this year has indeed seen a certain increase in popularity and sales in the past few months."

Since the 20th anniversary was such a big event, does the TV station want to create another round of beauty pageant glory in the next decade?

Using sponsorship events for publicity is indeed a viable approach.

Although designing and crafting a crown made of real gold and diamonds takes time, this year's Miss Hong Kong pageant ended in June, and next year, this young woman will just have reached the age requirement...

Thinking of this, Chang Baoning asked, "And what about you?"

“Me?” Li Sishi pointed to herself, then smiled again. “I’d like to, but I won’t be old enough until next year, and my family might not agree, so I don’t have a suitable nominee…”

Chang Baoning casually spun the coffee cup in front of him with a small spoon: "That's right, with such good grades, even if she doesn't enter the entertainment industry, she can still achieve something."

However, it is truly regrettable that such beauty, born from humble beginnings, was ultimately buried by the trivialities of life.

Chang Baoning herself changed her fate through beauty pageants, so although she understands that the entertainment industry is not easy to navigate, for someone with her background and looks, it is still the most promising way to rewrite her destiny.

Looking at the beautiful face of the girl in front of him, a mixture of hope and hesitation, Chang Baoning suddenly said softly, "I wonder if I have the honor of becoming a nominee for Miss MayLee when the 21st Miss Hong Kong pageant comes next year?"