Qiao An hung up the phone, leaving Fan Yingjiao stunned.
She couldn't think of a retort for a long time, and now she was in no mood to flaunt her wealth. She sat in the chair, looking left and right, trying to find a way to back down.
But the way she shook her head and swayed her body really made it look like she was playing with water in her head.
Everyone in the live stream room is laughing all the way to riches!
I love people like Fan Yingjiao; she's so obedient. Just tell her to shake the water in her head and she'll start immediately.
[Hahaha, I used to hate her for being pretentious, but now I find her kind of adorably silly, how come?]
[Tens of thousands of people have petitioned for Ha Zong to be a guest star; I'm dying of laughter! And he's even making phone calls and arguing with people offstage?]
Mu Hua checked online and found that there was indeed only one residential community here, surrounded by resort hotels, ecological parks and the like. He called the community's property management to ask.
The property management staff member who answered the phone was a girl with a sweet voice. She was probably watching their live stream too; you could clearly hear she was trying not to laugh.
"Ms. Mu Hua, all of our property management staff are waiting for you at the entrance of the community. Please just drive over."
[Huh? Is this really okay? I really found a dorm room.]
To be fair, Qiao An is indeed smart. He always seems to think one step ahead of others. I don't understand why Jin Xizhen doesn't like Qiao An, even though he's so much more outstanding than Qiao Qingchuan.
There's absolutely no comparison, okay? Don't compare me to a scumbag.
Everyone got into the van. Fan Yingjiao had arrived in her own Porsche that morning. She sat down in her car quite naturally, but was stopped by the photography assistant.
For ease of filming, the guests all had to ride together in a van equipped with cameras.
Fan Yingjiao glanced towards the nanny van; there were still two seats left, enough to sit in, but it was a bit cramped.
Seeing the sparse furnishings inside the van, a clear look of disdain appeared on her face. After a brief standoff with her assistant, Fan Yingjiao opened the trunk of the Porsche and sweetly coaxed the van driver.
"My suitcase is too heavy, is there any gentleman who can help me?"
Upon hearing this, Ni An was about to jump out of the van when Xia Qing, who was sitting next to him, grabbed his clothes, not wanting him to help her, and was annoyed with Fan Yingjiao.
Seeing this, Mu Hua had no choice but to get out of the driver's seat and kindly come over to help carry the luggage.
The suitcase was very heavy. Mu Hua used both arms to lift it with great effort, but when she put it on the ground, she didn't control her strength well and the suitcase crashed heavily to the ground.
Fan Yingjiao immediately covered her mouth and exclaimed in surprise.
"Be gentle, this contains very expensive perfumes, jewelry, cosmetics and the like."
Mu Hua's easygoing personality makes people easily overlook his status as a movie star. Fan Yingjiao's tone at this moment was anything but polite, as if she were scolding her own maid.
As soon as she finished speaking, even Director Kang, who was watching the monitor, frowned.
Mu Hua's fans in the live stream were even more unhappy.
[Is Fan Yingjiao crazy? Someone kindly helped her move her things, and she's being picky. She's really treating our Movie Emperor Mu like a servant.]
[She's giving her too much credit; Mu Hua, don't pay her any mind.]
Upon hearing Fan Yingjiao's words, Mu Hua maintained his gentle and warm smile.
"I'm sorry, I'm just a casual person. Maybe I shouldn't touch these luggage. They look really high-end, and it wouldn't be good if I damaged them."
After Mu Hua finished speaking, he returned to the nanny van by himself. His face showed no joy or sorrow, but his behavior indicated that he was angry and ready to quit.
Fan Yingjiao usually speaks freely and without restraint. Before participating in the show, she imagined that because of her family background, everyone would treat her like a queen. She never expected that the reality would be so different.
Looking at those heavy boxes, she felt a lump in her throat and tears welled up in her eyes.
Jin Xingming is only three years old and is usually spoiled at home. Instead of comforting his mother, he complained that it was too hot outside and asked, somewhat bewildered, "..."
"Mom, can I go to the car first? I'm so hot."
Her son's words brought Fan Yingjiao back to reality. No matter how wronged she felt, she couldn't let her precious son suffer. She told her son to get into the nanny van first, and then angrily went to drag the large suitcases away.
Under the scorching sun, a woman dressed in gorgeous clothes struggled to drag a heavy suitcase. Because of her tight dress and high heels, Fan Yingjiao's movements looked quite pitiful. If you didn't know what she had done before, just looking at this scene, it would look like the Beibei Restaurant bullying a newcomer.
She tried to move the suitcase to the nanny van, but with her strength, it was impossible to get it into the trunk. She tried several times, but the suitcase remained unmoved.
This stalemate couldn't go on forever, so Mu Hua jumped out of the car again and silently helped her put the boxes away.
When Mu Hua offered his help a second time, Fan Yingjiao didn't even say thank you. After he put the suitcase away, she got into the car as if it were her right, with a cold poker face.
Now everyone knows that Fan Yingjiao has very low emotional intelligence.
Yingge Community is a high-end residential area. The main gate of the community looks very classy. The community has excellent greenery, and it is lush and green. Because the trees absorb heat, the community is much cooler than outside.
To the guests' surprise, the production team had prepared a detached villa as their accommodation. Previously, they had been thoroughly annoyed by the noise from upstairs, but this spacious and bright villa was truly their dream home.
The group went to check out the rooms. The views from the second and third floors were great, but the rooms on the first floor were a bit cramped, with poor privacy and lighting.
Previously, rooms were assigned by the manager, Mu Hua. This time, Mu Hua didn't assign rooms but instead announced the new assignments directly.
"As you've all seen the rooms, this time we'll be using a 'first come, first served' policy. Whoever moves their luggage in first gets to keep the room."
As soon as Mu Hua finished speaking, everyone scattered and ran back to the van to get their luggage.
As everyone can see, Mu Hua is blatantly biased in his house-grabbing strategy. He clearly saw Fan Yingjiao struggling to move her luggage earlier, so isn't he obviously setting a trap for her?
Xiaoruo's luggage was very simple to begin with, and with her strong physique, she easily carried it up to the third floor.
This was the room she and Lele had chosen before. It was a large room with a small loft. Looking out the window, through layers of tall trees, you could see the lake in the distance, which was where their restaurant was located. The view was exceptionally beautiful.
When they arrived at the room, Lele very considerately carried his luggage up to the attic, feeling it was only right to leave the big bed for his mother to sleep in.
Du Xiaoruo climbed up to the attic and looked around, her face full of envy. When she was a child, there was a girl in her class who lived in the attic. She went to see the girl's room once and longed for this kind of design that was both private and had a good view. She especially liked the pointed roof of the attic, which was like a fairy tale house.
Xiao Ruo doesn't know if she's just not meant to live in an attic, but she has lived in more than a dozen places, yet she has never lived in an attic.
Perhaps Du Xiaoruo made her envy too obvious, because even a child like Lele with her unique logic could see her mother's longing.
He silently carried his own luggage downstairs again, and even tried to help Du Xiaoruo carry her suitcase upstairs, but his mother's suitcase was bigger, and Lele tried but couldn't lift it at all.
He found a clothesline pole and used it as a crowbar, then pried the box up the steps one by one.
Du Xiaoruo was looking out the window of the attic when she heard the noise. She turned around and saw Lele prying her luggage upstairs.
Lele's face was flushed, and she scratched her fluffy curly hair shyly.
"Don't you like this room?" Du Xiaoruo asked.
Lele's face turned even redder. He wasn't good at lying, but he decided to tell the truth anyway.
"I like it, but I think you like it too, and it's more important that you're happy."
Du Xiaoruo was a little surprised. Lele was the kind of child who didn't like to express herself, and Du Xiaoruo wasn't good at expressing herself either. Her relationship with Lele was more like that of mutual respect and courtesy. She never expected that Lele would have such a heartwarming side.
She teased Lele on purpose, "Our Lele is such a sweetheart, there must be a lot of girls who like you at school, right?"
Everyone in the live stream room perked up their ears for gossip.
[Hahaha, whether or not someone is dating at school is definitely a gossip topic that every parent cares about.]
[Lele is so well-behaved, has such a great personality, and comes from a wealthy family—isn't he the perfect male god in novels? I'm sure lots of girls would like him.]
[Ahem... We still need to be careful in guiding them; early romantic relationships among elementary school students are unacceptable.]
Hearing Du Xiaoruo's words, Lele wasn't shy as expected. He shook his head with a righteous expression.
"Even if they like me, I won't date. Dating before the age of 18 is illegal. I want to take the civil service exam in the future, and I can't have a criminal record."
"Huh?" Du Xiaoruo never expected this answer, no matter how hard she tried. "Who told you that dating is illegal?"
“My dad,” Lele asked, her innocent, clear eyes wide. “Don’t you know?”
Du Xiaoruo, "..."
[Hahaha, as expected of you, Mr. Ha! Even your way of educating your son is so unique.]
[I was wondering why Lele could be so silly sometimes; he's definitely a son raised by his father, Mr. Ha.]
[Hahaha, I laughed until I cried. While other rich kids inherit the family business, I, Le, am seriously preparing to take the civil service exam.]
Du Xiaoruo was amused by Lele and laughed for a long time while leaning on the windowsill. She was hesitating whether to tell him the truth when suddenly a high-decibel horn blared downstairs.
"Everyone, come downstairs for lunch, your takeout has arrived. Everyone, come downstairs for lunch, your takeout has arrived..."
Du Xiaoruo and Lele ran downstairs and saw Mu Hua holding up a very down-to-earth electronic megaphone, shouting upstairs.
Seeing them come downstairs, Mu Hua put away the loudspeaker. Having a big house also has its troubles; you have to shout to get your voice out.
During the live recording, the guests could not spend their own money; all expenses were covered by the budget provided by the production team. Therefore, Mu Hua was very frugal when it came to food, saving money to buy good ingredients to supply the restaurant.
We ordered dumplings for lunch. Several large plates of dumplings with various fillings were laid out on the table. The restaurant also provided bone broth and kimchi, which was more than enough for everyone's lunch.
Everyone ate like this during previous recordings without any problems, but Fan Yingjiao exploded when she saw a table full of dumplings. She screamed with a look of utter horror, as if she had seen a ghost.
"Don't you guys manage your body shape? Eating so many carbs will make you as fat as a pig."
Her words once again proved that her emotional intelligence was extremely low. With just one sentence, she offended everyone present, leaving them unsure whether to continue eating their dumplings or put them down.
"Fan Yingjiao, your emotional intelligence is so low, there's absolutely no bottom line to it!"
Xia Qing was the first to speak out. She had long disliked Fan Yingjiao, but hadn't found a chance to criticize her until now, when she could no longer tolerate it.
"If you're worried about gaining weight, then don't eat it. Who are you calling a pig?"
Fan Yingjiao rolled her eyes, completely unconcerned, "I'll scold whoever is fat."
Xia Qing wasn't actually fat, but she had a very full figure. Compared to Fan Yingjiao's youthful and thin figure, she was indeed more voluptuous.
The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere at the dinner table became somewhat awkward.
Xia Qing was amused by her, stuffed a dumpling into her mouth, and replied nonchalantly, "I'm just chubby for fun, unlike you, who takes being ugly so seriously."
Fan Yingjiao was furious and wanted to retort, but Mu Hua persuaded her to stop.
"Alright, alright, eat more of what you like, and don't eat what you don't like. You're still live-streaming, you're just making a fool of yourself in front of others."
[Mu Hua, don't try to stop me. I just enjoy watching them argue. Eating alone is so boring!]
[Hahaha, I don't want to see them argue, I just want to see Xia Qing scold Fan Yingjiao too.]
I just think Fan Yingjiao's name is really well-chosen; it's both annoying and arrogant. From now on, I'm going to call her Annoying and Arrogant.
Fan Yingjiao glared at Xia Qingye, but since Mu Hua had already spoken, she didn't continue arguing.
She would never eat dumplings, which are high in carbohydrates and fatty meat. Fan Yingjiao stood up, went back to her room on the first floor, and took out some chocolates.
Seeing this room made her angry. Mu Hua probably did this on purpose to mess with her, saying he was trying to steal her room, even though he knew she couldn't carry her luggage. In the end, she could only stay on the first floor, which had the worst lighting.
Back at the dining table, Fan Yingjiao didn't touch the dumplings at all, but instead ate the chocolate she had brought with her in small bites.
Children are naturally drawn to chocolate, and when they saw her eating it, several of them couldn't help but look at her.
"Do you want to eat?"
Fan Yingjiao deliberately shook the chocolate in her hand.
"It smells so good, it's so delicious, and this chocolate is the really expensive kind."
Xiao Shu licked her lips and said loudly, "Aunt Fan, I want to eat chocolate."
Fan Yingjiao raised her eyelids and looked at Mu Hua provocatively. "Look, your son wants to eat." She looked smug, as if she was deliberately waiting for Mu Hua to beg her.
Mu Hua ignored Fan Yingjiao and only said to Xiao Shu, "Eat dumplings first, and don't eat snacks while eating."
Xiao Shu is actually very sensitive. He can tell his father's emotions from his face and tone of voice. Seeing that Mu Hua looks very serious, he can only lick his lips, suppress his desire to eat chocolate, and continue to eat dumplings.
She really wanted to eat chocolate, but she knew her mother had just argued with Aunt Fan, so even though she really wanted some, she had to bravely hold back and not say anything.
Du Xiaoruo looked at the children's eager but restrained expressions, and then at Fan Yingjiao's arrogant and domineering manner, and found her somewhat annoying.
She had initially intended to remain silent, but Fan Yingjiao's bullying of the child was going too far. She pursed her lips, mustered her courage, and spoke.
"Strictly speaking, this is not called chocolate, but Pralinen. It is different from chocolate. Based on traditional chocolate, Pralinen adds more ingredients, such as nuts, dried fruit, cream, or wine wrapped in chocolate."
Fan Yingjiao was momentarily speechless, then retorted,
"The Pralinen you mentioned is what foreigners call it. In China, it's called chocolate."
That's right.
Du Xiaoruo nodded, then changed the subject.
“If an ordinary person said that, there would be no problem at all, but you are the child of a grapefruit dessert family and a graduate of a prestigious school like Ferrandi. I think you should be more careful with your words to be worthy of your status.”
"I..." Fan Yingjiao knew she was in the wrong, so she started to act unreasonably. "You've said so much, but if you're so capable, show me one now." Fan Yingjiao was getting so angry that she was starting to argue like a child.
She's really being unreasonable. It wouldn't be difficult to go out and buy some, but Du Xiaoruo can't pull it out now; she's not going to do magic.
Even the usually mild-mannered Mu Hua couldn't stand it anymore and directly stopped Fan Yingjiao.
But Du Xiaoruo showed no sign of backing down. She turned to Lele and said, "Lele, go get it from my suitcase. It's a silver metal box."
Lele immediately stood up, ran back to her room, and returned a short while later carrying an iron box in her arms.
Upon opening it, various flavors of Pralinen were neatly arranged inside, even more exquisite than those Fan Yingjiao had, because this box was a collector's edition.
Fan Yingjiao blushed furiously, feeling both ashamed and angry at being slapped in the face on the spot. After stammering for a long time, she finally managed to argue, her face still red, "I was just teasing the kids, why did you all take it seriously?"
In the live stream room,
[Haha, Fan Yingjiao, why did you provoke her? Now you've really messed with her.]
Why does Xiaoruo always carry chocolate with her?
[No problem, other wealthy ladies wear jewelry and fashion, but Xiaoruo wears chocolates—that's her style.]
Mu Hua, Xia Qing, and the others were all dumbfounded. How could this plot be so scripted, that they could just pull it out like that?
Du Xiaoruo looked at Xia Qing and explained,
“These are what your parents bought for the children. In addition to toys, they also brought a box of snacks yesterday. I was worried that the food would expire if left at home, so I brought it over.”
Xia Qing also made no attempt to hide her feelings and gave Du Xiaoruo a heart emoji. Awesome!
Upon seeing the box overflowing with chocolates, the children's eyes lit up instantly. Even Jin Xingming, who had been daydreaming the whole time, held out his hand to Du Xiaoruo and said in his sweet, childlike voice...
"I want one too."
"Jin Xingming!" Fan Yingjiao scolded her son angrily.
Xia Qing rolled her eyes at him, "Why are you arguing with a child?"
After a hesitant lunch, everyone went back to their rooms to rest. They were to meet in the living room at 3 p.m. to discuss the division of labor for the next day's work.
After everyone left, only Mu Hua remained in the restaurant, and Xiao Shu was happily munching on chocolate in his arms.
Mu Hua pinched her brow wearily. The guests from the previous season would fight to the death over the smallest things. Mu Hua was originally quite glad that the guests this season were all easy to get along with, but now it seems that a few bad apples have spoiled the whole bunch.
Back in her room, Fan Yingjiao recalled what had happened at the dinner table and grew angrier the more she thought about it. While coaxing her son to sleep, she took out her phone and sent a text message to her husband to complain.
[This is so annoying! I really regret participating in this lousy variety show; I can't like a single person on it.]
Fan Yingjiao's husband, Jin Qihuai, usually works as an assistant at the company. Jin Jin doesn't think much of his abilities and hasn't let him take charge yet, so Jin Qihuai is quite idle most of the time.
Upon receiving a complaining text message from his wife, Jin Qihuai immediately replied.
"Then don't participate anymore, come back quickly. Those chores are too tiring; only servants do them."
Seeing that Jin Qihuai wanted her to go back, Fan Yingjiao was unwilling.
[I'm just not reconciled. My parents only care about my sister. I just want to appear on a variety show and let them see my abilities. Du Xiaoruo, an amateur, can earn such a good reputation by making two small cakes and ice cream, while I've had professional training. I refuse to believe I can't surpass her.]
Jin Qihuai patiently coaxed, "Then behave yourself. If you insist on throwing a tantrum, you should be glad my dad doesn't watch these kinds of variety shows. If he saw you embarrassing yourself on a show like an idiot, he'd start lecturing you with all those high-sounding principles."
Fan Yingjiao sent an angry emoji.
Who are you calling an idiot? Who are you calling shameful? I'm angry.
Jin Qihuai realized he had said the wrong thing and quickly tried to appease her, saying, "Honey, don't be angry. I'll pick you up tonight and take you to the mall near Yingge to buy a gift. I heard Xia's Jewelry has new arrivals."
[Jin Qihuai, are you deliberately trying to annoy me? I'm so fed up with Xia Qingye, I don't want to buy anything from her.]
Okay, okay, anyway, Yinge Department Store is all ours. You can buy whatever you want.
Fan Ying gave a charming snort, "That's more like it."
Jin Qihuai, still a little worried, added, "Don't throw a tantrum. This is a live broadcast. If my dad sees it, it'll implicate me too."
Although Fan Yingjiao spoke harshly, she was actually afraid of Jin Jin. Despite Jin Jin's gentle and refined demeanor and slow, deliberate speech, Fan Yingjiao had long seen through her. She realized that Jin Jin was ruthless. However, she then thought that a soft-hearted person couldn't run such a large business.
With Jin Qihuai's reminder, Fan Yingjiao became much more restrained in the afternoon.
During the afternoon meeting, Mu Hua asked Fan Yingjiao and Xiao Ruo to take turns managing the dessert room.
Although Fan Yingjiao disdained associating with an amateur like Du Xiaoruo, she remembered her husband's instructions and felt that there was plenty of time. She thought that once she gradually demonstrated her abilities, Mu Hua would have to beg her to do things, so she reluctantly agreed for now.
The restaurant will officially start operating tomorrow, and everyone will be free in the evening. Around 8 p.m., Jin Qihuai will drive to pick up Fan Yingjiao on time.
First, I took her out for a kaiseki meal, and then the two of them took the child to the mall to pick out gifts.
As she walked into the women's clothing section, Fan Yingjiao's gaze fell upon a tall and elegant figure in the Yase women's clothing store. She stopped and looked at the figure with great interest.
"Let's go take a look at Yase." Fan Yingjiao stepped into the store.
Qiao An and Yu Pan came to Yingge to check out the store today. Qiao An was talking to the store manager about the precautions for display when a large group of people walked into the store, including a photographer carrying equipment.
Although he had just confronted Fan Yingjiao during the day, Qiao An was generally a bit face-blind when it came to people he wasn't interested in. Plus, Fan Yingjiao had changed her clothes at this moment, so he didn't recognize her immediately.
Fan Yingjiao curled her red lips into a smile, her eyes full of provocation.
"Mr. Qiao, I didn't expect to meet you so soon. I was just telling my husband that you have a good way of speaking and that it would be great to meet you in person."
Hearing the other person's sickeningly sweet voice, Qiao An remembered Fan Yingjiao.
"Mrs. Jin? It's a pleasure to meet you," Joan greeted her. "Please feel free to take a look around."
Fan Yingjiao pretended to look around the store, picked up a pair of dark red pointed-toe velvet high heels, and said to the sales assistant,
"Find me a size 36 of these shoes to try on."
The shop assistant brought out the shoes, and Fan Yingjiao was already sitting on the sofa. Her back was ramrod straight, her chin held high with pride, exuding a queen-like air. She pointed a finger at Qiao An.
"I want him to personally help me try on the shoes."
Fan Yingjiao's words stunned everyone present. The store manager, with a forced smile, quietly explained...
"Mrs. Jin, this is our boss. He doesn't do these things. Let me help you change your shoes."
Fan Yingjiao persisted.
"What? Aren't customers supposed to be king? Does my word, as the king, have no effect?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
