In the second month of spring, the capital was still shrouded in severe cold.
Spring has arrived early in the Zhao family's garden. The small cascading waterfall, heated by geothermal heating, is currently steaming. Beside the artificial hill, several green plum trees are in full bloom.
Xue Qiandai helped Madam Zhao to admire the plum blossoms in the courtyard.
“Brother Sheng always says that among the younger generation, he admires your boyfriend the most. We are also relieved to see him wake up safely.”
"Yes, he's a lucky man. I heard you went to visit him, so I had to drag him here to see him too."
During Huo Yunchao's hospitalization, the Zhao couple visited him twice.
"Hmm, have you thought about when you'll get engaged and walk down the aisle?" As an elder, Madam Zhao had more to think about.
Xue Qiandai covered her mouth and laughed, slightly embarrassed, "Auntie, I'm only 22 years old this year, I still want to have a few more years of fun!"
"22?" Madam Zhao's expression held a hint of bewilderment. "Actually, it's not easy to meet the right person in this vast world. If you're going to be together anyway, why not sooner?"
Xue Qiandai stood beneath the green plum blossoms, more beautiful than the flowers themselves, yet a faint sorrow lingered in her eyes. "Auntie, I lost my mother at a young age, and my father is imprisoned. Even if I were to get married, who would officiate at my wedding?"
Hearing about her tragic situation, Madam Zhao clutched her chest, feeling a suffocating tightness in her chest. "Poor child!"
"Mom!" Xue Qiandai suddenly called out, grasping Madam Zhao's hand and placing it on her heart. "Don't you remember me?"
Madam Zhao was startled.
Before my eyes, it was as if frames of images were switching, arranged and combined like a montage: an infant in swaddling clothes, a rocking cradle, blood-stained hands, a man's pleading eyes...
Madam Zhao gasped for breath, muttering in disbelief, "My child? My...child?"
Xue Qiandai looked directly into her eyes, slowly and carefully. She took out a photograph and pointed to the woman in the middle: "Mom, this is you. Your name is... Ji Jiaying, and you are Xue Jingnian's wife. You have a 22-year-old daughter, which is me. I am Daidai."
"Ji Jiaying?" Madam Zhao stared blankly at the photo, then touched her face. It hurt terribly, like a knife was being scraped across her face. The name Ji Jiaying was ancient; just mentioning it gave her an unbearable headache.
"Dai Dai, is this what I used to look like? Who am I? I can't remember. Tell me, how can I remember?"
Seeing her frightened expression, Xue Qiandai raised her index finger to her lips and said in an almost hypnotic tone, "Do you want to regain your lost memories? Do you want to live with your daughter? The truth may be painful, can you bear it? This is our secret, we can't tell anyone."
Madam Zhao said with fear but seriousness, "I want to try. We won't tell you our secret."
Xue Qiandai smiled brightly.
She picked a few sprigs of green plum blossoms, held them in her arms, and returned to the living room hand in hand with Madam Zhao. Zhao Sheng and Huo Yunchao were chatting happily.
The housekeeper had already brought in a vase and filled it with water. Xue Qiandai placed the flowers in the vase, clapped her hands, and said, "May the flowers always bloom, may people's wishes come true, and may Auntie always be smiling."
Madam Zhao smiled shyly, as if she had something on her mind.
Zhao Sheng smiled and said, "Dai Dai, I appreciate your kind words."
After bidding farewell to the Zhao couple, Xue Qiandai and Huo Yunchao returned to Yosemite across the street.
"Dai Dai, how are you?"
Xue Qiandai gave an OK sign. "My beauty, I need your help with something."
"you say."
"I want to persuade Huang Lufei to hypnotize my mother again. I want to help her recover her memory. I want her to remember me."
Xue Qiandai didn't say it, but she wanted the person who had wronged her father to be punished. She couldn't resort to legal means, but at least she wanted to make him lose what he cherished most.
Huo Yunchao said, "I'll give it a try."
They'd give me any star if I asked, let alone such a small request.
*
W Hotel Lightyear Coffee Shop Headquarters
The five leaders are having a meeting.
"Negotiations for the Kempinski Hotel in Shanghai are nearing completion, and the new hotel is expected to open soon. Who should attend the signing ceremony?" Jin Xiangyu asked her partners for their opinions.
"Duoduo," Xue Qiandai and Jian Yan said in unison.
Since acquiring the InterContinental Hotel, You Duoduo has practically become the face of Lightyear, attending events large and small.
Xue Qiandai added, "This is our first store in Shanghai. I suggested that the boss and Blue Mountain go together to show their importance. Blue Mountain can directly complete the training of the baristas in the new store, so that Gold Coffee can be launched at the same time."
Jian Yan lowered her head, suppressing a laugh.
A cup of espresso sat beside him. He took a sip and said, "I've improved the brewing methods for several coffees. The steps are simpler, the taste is better, and it's easier for baristas to learn. In the future, the training time for branch baristas can be shortened. A week is too long; five days will suffice."
"Blue Coffee, this is such a great job with a company-funded trip, and you still complain that it takes too long?" Jian Yan teased him.
You Duoduo chuckled, "Don't you guys have any sense? Is Brother Lan complaining about the time being too long? He just doesn't want to be separated from Miss Zhao for too long!"
Lan Shan and Zhao Jiening's passionate relationship lasted a long time, and now they have even moved in together, inseparable every day.
Lan Shan blushed at the comment, "No way! I just wanted to save costs for the company."
This is a classic case of hiding something.
Jin Xiangyu looked Jian Yan and Xue Qiandai up and down. "Jian Yan, Dai Dai, you two come along too. As the initial partners of the coffee shop, you've been too low-key. It's appropriate to increase your exposure opportunities. That's what Dai Dai said, right? You're both brand ambassadors for the coffee shop."
The real reason is that Jian Yan has to take care of her Taobao store, and Xue Qiandai previously spent a lot of energy on Chao Xun and Huo Tuan, so Jin Xiangyu is always worried that the two of them will abandon her.
“Sister Yu, Dai Dai and I have discussed it. Now that we’re opening more and more branches, the marketing and promotion efforts are a bit too much for just the two of us. I’m thinking of finding an advertising company so that professionals can do what they do best. Dai Dai and I will only be responsible for strategy control and production.”
This was also mentioned by Dai Dai in her New Year's strategic outline.
"Also, TC Group launched WeChat at the beginning of the year, and OICQ led the revolution in how people communicate back then. So, I'm researching how to combine this flagship product with our coffee. So, Sister Yu, I don't have time!" Xue Qiandai said, clenching her small fist.
Jin Xiangyu puffed up her cheeks, like a little pufferfish, yet utterly helpless. "Alright, alright, you're all busy, the three of us will go! Let's try to open ten stores in Shanghai within three years."
“Sister Yu, we should still have dreams; they don’t take up much space. Let’s look at how many Starbucks stores we’ve opened and set that as our goal,” Jian Yan said.
Jin Xiangyu couldn't help but chuckle. Her two partners were truly daring and enterprising.
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