Chapter 9 Recalls Qin Lingchuan: Was He a Male Model with an Ascetic Style?
Youzhen never expected anyone to come at this time. The water heater was broken, so she had to wash her hair in the most primitive way: boiling water in the kettle and then pouring it into a wooden basin.
My senior went to the exhibition, and Jinyu wasn't there either.
She was also relieved that the person hadn't knocked on the door right after she finished applying shampoo. She quickly dried her hair, wrapped it in a towel, pressed one hand to her head, and ran to the door.
The person who came stood at the door waiting, without stepping in or looking up at her. He simply looked at her with gentleness and patience in his eyes.
It's her!
A small mole at the end of her eye doesn't add to her allure; instead, it adds a touch of liveliness and charm.
"Hello, sir. Where are you going?"
Just from his demeanor, you could tell he wasn't a local. Although he was only wearing a white tracksuit, it couldn't hide his noble air; he was clearly not a manual laborer, but a young nobleman from a scholarly family.
She probably doesn't remember herself. Three months ago in London, she did her a big favor, but judging from her reaction, she doesn't seem to remember it.
"Excuse me..." his voice carried a hint of weariness from his long journey, "Is this guesthouse next door yours?"
Youzhen immediately perked up. It wasn't peak tourist season, and business was slow. Since someone had asked her, she knew she had to seize the opportunity. "Yes," she replied, "it's decorated in a country style. Would you like to go in and take a look? How many nights would you like to stay?"
Qin Lingchuan waved his hand: "No need to go in and look. Can we still make reservations tonight?"
"Of course!" Youzhen exclaimed excitedly, causing her already sore left arm to droop down and her wet long hair to fall loose.
She was quite embarrassed, having never before dared to let her hair down in front of strangers. Fortunately, the ends of her hair were no longer dripping wet; it would have been even more impolite if the water had dripped onto her chest and back.
In the past, when she went on dates with Zhou Yuanli, she would always step aside to put on makeup, but she was drying her wet hair in front of this man.
Youzhen grinned and said, "Sorry."
Qin Lingchuan gave a very kind smile: "It's alright."
What does it matter? Strands of her long, moist hair fell down, making her skin appear even whiter and her cheeks slightly flushed. It reminded him of the ancient poem, "Like a lotus emerging from clear water, naturally beautiful without adornment."
Having lived abroad for a long time, he found these poems very familiar.
Qin Lingchuan didn't look her up or down, which made Youzhen feel a little less uncomfortable. She really hoped that Qin Lingchuan could ignore her appearance.
In the past, when receiving guests, Youzhen always tried to save their time as much as possible. Although she really wanted to dry her hair and comb it properly before meeting them, she couldn't just leave him waiting there.
Youzhen jogged back to the wooden tub, grabbed a yellow ribbon, and jogged back, tying her long hair behind her ears as she did so.
"Please come this way with me and show me your ID so I can check you in."
Qin Lingchuan picked up his suitcase from the stone stool by the door and stepped aside. Only then did Youzhen notice that there was another person behind him. The two were about the same height, age, and handsomeness, but their temperaments were different. This person did not have that sense of aloofness.
Youzhen thought to herself: Sure enough, the handsome guy's friend is also a handsome guy.
As he expected, it was a courtyard house, with the main house and east and west wing rooms large enough to accommodate a large family. It seemed to be rented out in sections.
A gentle breeze blew through the hallway. As Youzhen turned to look for his keys, a yellow ribbon fluttered in the wind and touched his left sleeve.
Qin Lingchuan glanced down and asked, "How far can we book here?"
"None of the remaining orders have been placed yet..."
Before she could ask any more questions, Qin Lingchuan immediately said, "It's just the two of us. Let's rent this whole place for two months first. If we need to make a decision later, I'll let you know a month in advance. Please don't arrange for anyone else to live with us."
Youzhen opened her mouth slightly: "Aren't you going to ask about the price?"
“I’ve checked online, Tao Bei. Just transfer it directly to the shop owner at the original price. Don’t go through online channels and let the middleman take a cut.”
The man behind him nodded and immediately took out his phone to pay. While Qin Lingchuan and Xia Youzhen were talking, he hesitated several times before stopping himself, but Qin Lingchuan's gaze stopped him.
Once he was settled, he turned around and carried in the several large suitcases outside the door one by one. Qin Lingchuan looked around and Youzhen guessed that this person was probably his secretary or something.
"If you need anything, just come to me next door anytime."
Youzhen ran back to the shop and immediately rushed to the mirror. Whew—thank goodness, her hair wasn't as messy as she had imagined. Only then did she feel relieved.
Looking at myself from the side, I don't have a belly, and I haven't gained weight recently, so why is my heart racing after just a few steps?
In the evening, Zhou Yuanli returned. Youzhen was about to excitedly report to him that the guesthouse had been booked for two months. However, Zhou Yuanli first went to the workshop to check on the workers' firing process, as usual. After checking the order details and warehouse inventory, he then reported on the day's exhibition to Youzhen, Jinyu, and the others.
After completing this series of events, Youzhen had already forgotten what she wanted to say.
Everyone else left, but Xia Youzhen was the last to leave, and Zhou Yuanli called her back.
"Is someone living next door?"
"Oh, right, someone lives there. How did you know?"
Zhou Yuanli: "Two hundred thousand yuan was transferred into the account all at once."
Youzhen asked incredulously, "Two...how many?"
"Two hundred thousand." Zhou Yuanli remained calm. "How long will you stay?"
Youzhen, however, couldn't hide her emotions: "Two months. Did they add an extra zero?"
Even without a zero, it's still much more expensive than the platform price.
Are there any other requirements?
Youzhen then told him about the situation. When Zhou Yuanli heard her say that the person who came was very handsome, his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
"It sounds like just an ordinary tourist."
“Oh, right.” Youzhen finally remembered what she was going to say. “He’s also very interested in our snuff bottles. Since you’re not here today, I’ll tell them to come visit tomorrow. Who knows, we might get another big order.”
Zhou Yuanli disagreed; he needed to investigate the visitor's purpose.
Since she returned from London, bringing new sales channels, and after Zhou Yuanli went to the exhibition yesterday, orders have been booming. At just seven o'clock this morning, the workshop was already bustling with activity.
Youzhen opened the gate and removed the threshold so that the loading truck could drive into the yard.
She had just gone around to the back of the car to chat with the driver when she saw Qin Lingchuan, who had changed into a blue tracksuit, smiling and waving at her from the other end of the stone road.
Youzhen greeted her warmly: "Good morning! Do you have a habit of going for a morning run?"
Qin Lingchuan waved to her: "Good morning. The air in the mountains is so fresh, it makes you feel refreshed."
"Did you sleep well last night?" Youzhen tilted her head and asked frankly.
“Very good. Your guesthouse is clearly well-decorated, unlike any I’ve stayed in before.”
"Does Mr. Qin often stay in guesthouses?"
Qin Lingchuan happened to walk to the door at that moment, so he asked her to wait a moment, went inside to get his business card, and came out.
"Due to work, I do travel frequently."
Youzhen took it and looked down. He was a male model signed with a famous modeling agency?
Wow, the moment she saw him, she thought his looks and physique were comparable to international supermodels. She never expected that he actually did this kind of work.
My sister said the other day that she wanted to hire a model to shoot a promotional video. Is it him?
However, why would he come here alone? In the past, when they worked together, his sister would send someone to the airport to pick them up and take them to the company.
Qin Lingchuan also specially brought some model cards, which displayed different styles and angles.
Chains, darkroom, bondage...
Is Mr. Qin a man of asceticism?
She was engrossed in watching him, guessing that he would be the kind of style her sister liked, when she heard Mr. Qin ask, "I haven't had breakfast yet, Youzhen, could you recommend the most authentic little shop?"
You've come to the right person! "There's a farmers market at the end of this road, turn right, and all the stalls along the way are the most unique local specialties. You can't go wrong with the food; after all, they're serving locals, and if the food wasn't good, they would have gone out of business long ago."
She gave him all sorts of information, even including what flavors he liked to eat.
Qin Lingchuan kept smiling at her, and after she finished speaking, he said, "Then let's go together."
"Huh?" Youzhen didn't react for a moment.
"You didn't eat breakfast this early, did you?"
Youzhen subconsciously lowered his head, raised his hand to tuck a stray hair that had fallen from his temple behind his ear, and when he looked back, his eyes were still filled with a smile and a hint of confident assurance.
No, not at all.
"It's my treat."
Before Youzhen could say anything more, he had already taken a few steps to stand beside her.
Indeed, showing guests the local cuisine is part of their enthusiasm.
The market is very close, about a seven or eight-minute walk away.
Qin Lingchuan's smile vanished. The market was bustling with noise, rotten vegetable leaves mixed with some kind of spilled oil on the ground. At this hour, the shoppers were mostly elderly men and women, loudly haggling in a dialect he could only understand half of.
Youzhen led the way, greeting the vendors familiarly along the way. Qin Lingchuan followed behind, carefully avoiding oncoming people; he disliked touching other people's sweat.
When we arrived at the shop she mentioned, several square wooden tables were set up by the roadside, and each person drinking porridge sat on a small stool, which was very low.
Youzhen turned around and gestured to the menu on the wall: "What would you like to eat?"
Qin Lingchuan said, "You can order for me." Then he added, "Order whatever you like, two servings will be fine."
"Okay, please find a seat."
About five minutes later, Youzhen came out carrying a tray, while Qin Lingchuan was still standing there. Youzhen raised an eyebrow and gave him an inquiring look.
Qin Lingchuan took his hands out of his pockets, went over to take the tray, and sat down at the nearest table with her.
Two bowls of tofu pudding, a plate of braised pig's head, and a basket containing pancakes and sesame seed cakes.
It's not that he hasn't eaten this kind of food before, it's just that the last time he ate at a five-star hotel, the environment wasn't like this.
Youzhen handed him disposable chopsticks: "There are condiments over there. You can take whatever you like to add. I love this plain tofu pudding."
Qin Lingchuan picked up a pancake, brought it to his mouth, but paused for a moment.
Youzhen also picked up a sesame seed cake and took a bite. It was so crispy that it crumbled. Youzhen carefully dipped her ring finger in it, which was quite cute.
Qin Lingchuan could tell that she wasn't wearing makeup, but her lips were bright red, showing her natural beauty.
He had never eaten in such an environment before; it was crowded and noisy, which he disliked. But the rich aroma of cooking and her satisfied expression seemed to filter out the atmosphere.
The first bite of the sesame seed cake revealed the meat filling inside, and Youzhen's dimples sank in deeply: "Freshly baked is so delicious, wow, it's so good."
Hearing Qin Lingchuan laugh, she looked up and realized he hadn't started eating yet: "What's wrong? Don't you like the food?"
Qin Lingchuan shook his head: "No, I'll let it cool down a bit."
"It's not hot." Youzhen's movements were faster than her voice as she took the pancake from his hand. "I'll roll it up for you, the most authentic way we eat it."
Watching her lay the pig's head meat upright, drizzle a little vinegar on it, roll it up like a bundle, folding the bottom inside, Qin Lingchuan smiled even more deeply.
She was very outgoing and generous. He took the pancake, took a bite, and found it to be delicious. The noisy crowd didn't seem so bothersome anymore.
The tofu pudding was savory. He watched as Youzhen, sitting opposite him, broke the tofu pudding into smaller pieces, then picked up the bowl and drank it in big gulps, occasionally blowing on the scallions and cilantro on top.
The two had only been sitting for five minutes when Youzhen's phone rang. Judging from her expression, something very important had happened.
She put down the phone, looking apologetic: "I'm sorry, I..."
He interrupted her: "It's okay, work is important. I'm almost finished eating, and I want to go sightseeing elsewhere, so I won't go the same way as you."
She smiled gratefully and packed two fennel-filled buns to go. The owner smiled knowingly and said, "Yuanli loves this."
She jogged past him like the wind, saying, "I'm really sorry, thank you for treating me to breakfast."
He nodded, but his gaze followed her the whole way. Youzhen ran a few steps and then turned back to look, not expecting Qin Lingchuan to still be watching her.
She blinked, her feet moving erratically on the stone path.
Halfway through the run, she inexplicably wanted to look back. The sunlight refracted the water droplets, making them dazzling, just like Qin Lingchuan standing out in the crowd.
As she looked up, she saw him again.
Why was he still looking at her? Youzhen had no choice but to turn her head away immediately.
The turn is just ahead; he probably won't be watching her anymore.
However, Youzhen didn't dare turn around to verify the answer. If... if he was still looking at her, how should she react?
After all, it was her turn to look back; how would she know he was looking at her if she didn't look?
Youzhen paused, then turned left without looking back and ran back into the store.
Qin Lingchuan noticed this moment of hesitation.
As he expected, the store was indeed experiencing financial difficulties. Although she hadn't said much, a few key words and Zhou Yuanli's tone on the other end of the phone gave him a rough idea of what was going on.
Zhou Yuanli rarely showed any signs of nervousness or emotional outward expression. He knew his opponent quite well.
This was precisely the purpose of his trip. The Xia family's unique secret formula for porcelain glaze was a crucial tool for them to expand into new markets. He planned to acquire everything at once when the small shop ran out of funds and could no longer sustain itself.
The funds were originally invested by the neighbors, so if someone were to withdraw their investment at this point, the goal could be achieved even faster.
He finished his meal at a leisurely pace, returned to the guesthouse to change into formal attire, gave Tao Bei a few instructions, and then set off for the city to meet his partner.
Boss Li was the one who paid the bulk of the bill, allowing Qin Lingchuan to come to this small town from abroad without any worries.
He wanted to get his hands on the Xia family's secret recipe, their shares, and all the people in the family.
This is something the Xia family owes him.
A note from the author:
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Initiating a wave of nostalgia... *cough cough* I know the click count is going to drop again [doge emoji]
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