First report
Murong Bai didn't seem surprised by Ling Xiuqing's answer, and the smile on his face deepened.
"Very good." He pulled a gold-stamped business card from his pocket and handed it over. "Here's the address and phone number of the Jin family's housekeeper. A car will come here to pick you up tomorrow morning."
Ling Xiuqing took the card. It felt slightly heavy in her hand, and the texture was excellent. It contained only a surname and a phone number, revealing the owner's status and style.
"Why are you helping me?" She raised her eyes, looked straight into Murong Bai's eyes, and asked the doubts in her heart.
Murong Bai was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then he smiled carefreely: "Maybe... it's because your story can help me sell more newspapers?"
This reason sounded impeccable, yet it seemed to conceal something deeper. Ling Xiuqing didn't ask any further questions, but simply carefully put the business card away.
"I'll remember this favor," she said solemnly.
"What I hope to see more is how you make the whole of Shanghai remember you." After Murong Bai finished speaking, he put on his top hat, turned around and left the porridge stall in a leisurely manner.
Looking at his departing back, Ling Xiuqing slowly clenched her fists.
Mrs. Jin, French lace, evening gowns… This wasn't just an opportunity, it was a trap. If she got it right, she'd soar to fame; if she messed it up, her reputation as the "embroidery fairy" she'd painstakingly built up from the bottom of society would crumble in an instant, turning her into the laughingstock of Shanghai.
But she has no way out and will never back down.
The next day, when a brand-new black Ford sedan pulled up to the door of the dilapidated porridge stall, the entire southern city slum was in an uproar. Everyone craned their necks to watch the usually taciturn orphan Ah Xiu calmly get in after the driver respectfully opened the door.
The car sped away, leaving the mud and hustle and bustle of the slum far behind.
This was the first time that Ling Xiuqing returned to the extravagant world that once belonged to her after her rebirth.
The opulence of the Jin Mansion was beyond imagination. Gleaming marble floors, shimmering French crystal chandeliers, and priceless Western oil paintings adorning the walls. The air was thick with the scent of money.
Jin Meiling, the most popular beauty in Shanghai, was lazily leaning on the velvet sofa, looking at the girl in front of her in coarse and old clothes from head to toe with a critical and scrutinizing gaze.
"Are you the... fairy who can embroider?" Her voice was a little lazy and hoarse, but full of undisguised contempt.
"It's me." Ling Xiuqing looked back at her calmly, neither humble nor arrogant.
Jin Meiling was obviously dissatisfied with her attitude. She raised her chin, and the housekeeper beside her immediately understood and came over holding an exquisite velvet box.
When the box was opened, inside was the torn lace evening dress.
Even at a glance, Ling Xiuqing couldn't help but secretly admire it. The lace on this dress was top-grade Levis lace, with intricate patterns, yarns as fine as spider silk, and extremely complex craftsmanship. And yet, at the hem, a three-inch rip, like an ugly scar, marred the overall beauty.
"See?" Jin Meiling touched the crack with her nail polish. "All the tailors in Shanghai say it's beyond repair. Murong Bai praised you to such high praise, I want to see if you can restore it to its original state."
She paused, her red lips curled up in a sarcastic arc: "I'll give you three days. Once you've fixed it, this check will be yours."
She casually threw over a check that had already been filled in with numbers, and the number of zeros on it was dazzling.
"If it can't be fixed..." she drawled, her eyes instantly turning cold, "...then don't blame me for treating you like a charlatan and sending you to the police station!"
This is a typical combination of kindness and power that belongs to the upper class.
Ling Xiuqing didn't look at the check; her entire attention was focused on the dress. She reached out and carefully picked up the torn piece of lace, gently brushing it with her fingertips, feeling its texture and veins.
After a moment, she raised her head, her eyes flashing with absolute confidence.
"Three days is too long," she said calmly. "This time tomorrow, I'll return it to you in perfect condition."
Jin Meiling and the housekeeper were stunned. They didn't expect that this seemingly insignificant girl could be so arrogant!
And that very afternoon, in an inconspicuous corner of the entertainment section of Shen Bao, a new report written by Murong Bai was published.
The title is: "Challenging the Impossible: A "Strange Girl" from the Slums Challenges the Top French Lace"
In the report, he used highly dramatic brushstrokes to describe the accidental damage of Mrs. Jin's expensive dress, her dilemma of searching for a famous craftsman in vain, and finally, her hope placed on a mysterious darning girl from the slums.
At the end of the article, he left a huge suspense:
"...Will the traditional skills of the East triumph over the top Western craftsmanship, or will this be the downfall of a talented young woman? Tomorrow, at the ball at the Golden Mansion, the answer may be revealed. Will this be a stunning miracle, or a farce that becomes a laughing stock? We will wait and see."
This article, like a pebble dropped into a calm lake, quickly sent ripples through Shanghai's upper-class social circles...
Everyone's attention was focused on the little-known orphan girl "A Xiu".
Murong Bai, with the pen in his hand, set up a stage for Ling Xiuqing that attracted everyone's attention.
He pushed her to the edge of the cliff.
Or, become a dragon overnight.
Or, be torn to pieces.
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