71 Qiao Xi X Shang Dan
◎My Banker's Daughter【Part 1】◎
In springtime in Shanghai, magnolias bloom all over the city.
At this moment, the sky was only showing a faint, pale light, and the Mingzhi Building, where Shanghai No. 1 Middle School is located, was already shrouded in various ancient poems and English words.
We read aloud early in the morning. There was no homeroom teacher in the classroom; only the grade leader patrolled the five floors.
In Class 1 of Senior Three, Qiao Xi stood holding a book, but her legs could no longer support her weight.
She swayed and leaned against Shang Xinuan.
"These senior year days are inhuman," Qiao Xi said dejectedly, her eyes almost closing.
Shang Xinuan first glanced out the window to make sure the head of the grade was not there before replying, "We just have no choice. You've already received an offer from the Florence School of Design, why do you still have to suffer like this?"
Upon hearing this, Qiao Xi tilted her head, looked at Shang Xinuan beside her, and asked, "What do you think, Miss?"
Shang Xinuan didn't answer her directly, but the expression on her face spoke volumes.
“Ladies, this is an English reading class, why are we having a movie performance?” Ruan Songyi, standing behind them, leaned closer and said, “If you don’t separate to a proper distance soon, I’m going to start spreading rumors.”
Before Qiao Xi could speak, Miss Shang turned around and snatched the comic book that Ruan Songyi had tucked into her textbook. "Tsk tsk, the level of this comic is so explicit, I'm about to start spreading rumors."
Qiao Xi immediately chimed in, "Tsk tsk, Ruan Ruan, you really are Ye Lou!"
"You're wrong, you're wrong! Give it back to me right now. If the prefect sees this, it will ruin my reputation."
Qiao Xi took the comic book directly and stuffed it into her backpack. "I asked you to come study abroad with me, but you wouldn't. This book is confiscated as punishment."
Ruan Songyi wanted to snatch it away, but was afraid of making too much noise, so she hid her explanation in the sound of reading, "The young lady also chose to stay in the country, so why am I being punished? Qiao Xixi, don't be so obvious about your favoritism."
"Besides, my main focus is traditional Chinese painting. Do you know any decent people who go to America to learn Chinese?"
Qiao Xi lowered her head. "That's why I don't want to stay at home. Once I go abroad, it will be difficult to get together and play around like we do now."
Their friendship began in elementary school, and they have witnessed all the joys and sorrows of growing up together.
Knowing secrets that even their own families don't know makes them the closest of friends who aren't related by blood.
“Studying abroad is like being exiled to the frontier in modern society,” Shang Xinuan said. “My brother was sent to America by my aunt and uncle when he was in elementary school. He was a perfectly healthy young man, and every time he came home, I thought he had come back from the Arctic. He was silent and cold.”
Qiao Xi knew the brother Shang Xinuan was talking about, but over the years, she had only seen him in the Shang family's family photos.
In my memory, he was very tall and fair-skinned. When he was a child, he wore thick black-rimmed glasses. In the family photo taken two years ago, he had changed to gold-rimmed glasses.
He seems to love wearing white T-shirts with black suit pants, his temperament oscillating between mature and reserved and sunny boyish.
"So your brother doesn't come home when he's studying abroad?" This was the first time Qiao Xi had asked about Shang Xin's brother. "Your family doesn't spoil the daughter and raise the son frugally, does it?"
The Shang family is a long-established and prestigious family in Shanghai, dating back to the Qing Dynasty. They started their business in textiles and fabrics. As a result, they accumulated a lot of connections with the imperial court and high-ranking officials from all over the country, and then used this opportunity to rise to the upper class.
After the 1860s, the Shang family began to expand its business, developing shipping and import/export trade. Until the current head of the Shang family, the elder Shang Zun, took over the family business, he also expanded into financial investment.
In just ten years, the influence of Shang Capital could be seen in two-thirds of the companies in Shanghai, and the Shang family thus became the most prominent wealthy family in Shanghai.
Shang Xinuan is known as a young lady of Shanghai for this reason.
“My aunt and uncle were also quite upset. At that time, I had just been brought back to China. Everyone’s attention was on me, and my brother was probably a little jealous,” Shang Xinuan said. “Although he loves me very much, he always felt that there was something to it about me that made him not come home when I was little.”
Because he is the older brother, everyone is asked to take care of his younger sister.
"Later, he wanted to go home more often, but then he got an offer from Harvard, so... he couldn't come back even if he wanted to." Shang Xin smiled bitterly.
Qiao Xi rested her chin on her hand and sighed, "My parents are already busy with work, and I guess when I go abroad, I'll be in a similar situation to your brother."
"Alright, my dear banker. You said you wanted to go back to China, how could we not accompany you!" Shang Xinuan interrupted promptly.
Ruan Songyi chimed in, “Reject emo. I can’t forget your parents’ classic saying: sighing will drive away good luck.”
"Then you still have to sigh. Sigh! Sigh."
Seeing that she was in low spirits, Shang Xinuan changed the subject and said, "I suddenly remembered that my brother is returning to China today. I'll find an opportunity to have him tell you about studying abroad."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Xi's eyes lit up. "Okay."
After they finished chatting, their morning reading session ended.
I hurriedly ate breakfast at the cafeteria and then started another day of classes.
By the time we had another break, it was already evening after school.
Ruan Songyi took a different route from the two, carrying her schoolbag and heading towards the south gate.
Qiao Xi's driver received a last-minute arrangement from Qiao's mother today to take the family's pet dog for surgery with the nanny.
So she made an appointment with Shang Xinuan early in the morning to take the Shang family's car home.
The two walked hand in hand toward the school gate.
However, before they even reached the school gate, Shang Xinuan paused unusually for a moment, then suddenly called out towards the front, "Brother!"
By the time Qiao Xi realized what was happening, Shang Xinuan had already pulled her to a man.
The man was tall and fair-skinned, wearing a white printed T-shirt and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses that she recognized very well. He stood against the light, making his features appear exceptionally deep.
However, she has a somewhat cold demeanor.
Shang Xin was practically clinging to him, but the man just ruffled her hair and said indifferently, "Your classmates are still here. Aren't you afraid they'll laugh at you?"
Qiao Xi knew that the classmate he was talking about was herself, so she subconsciously looked up at him.
At that moment, it was like a slow-motion movie clip; the two suddenly looked into each other's eyes, and the man's eyes held a very gentle smile.
“We’re best friends, she won’t laugh at me.” Shang Xinuan said sweetly to the man before introducing him to her, “Xi Xi, this is my brother, Shang Dan.”
For some reason, Qiao Xi's palms started sweating as she gripped the shoulder strap of her backpack. After a few seconds of hesitation, she spoke first, "Hello brother, I'm Qiao Xi."
Shang Dan nodded and replied, "I know."
Those three simple words were enough to light a lamp in the girl's heart: "You know?"
“I often hear Nuan Nuan mention it.” He spoke in a calm tone, smiled politely at her, and then opened the back door for the two of them.
After getting into the car, Shang Xinuan leaned her head against the driver's seat and started chatting with Shang Dan.
When did you arrive in Shanghai?
"noon."
"Then you haven't adjusted to the time difference yet, wouldn't that count as driving while fatigued?"
“...”
Shang Dan ignored her, and Shang Xinuan was not embarrassed at all. She turned to look at her and said, "That's how my brother is. When he encounters a question he doesn't want to answer, he just becomes mute."
A soft "tsk" came from inside the carriage. "I just think that answering your question would be incredibly stupid."
Qiao Xi watched the brother and sister bickering and felt an indescribable envy in her heart.
She is an only child and has no cousins. Her parents were busy with work when she was young, so apart from occasionally leaving her with her two uncles, she only played with a few friends, including Shang Xinuan and Ruan Songyi.
"My best friend is right here, can't you be a little more respectful to me, like a brother and sister?"
Shang Dan didn't respond, but when the light turned red, he picked up the two gift bags from the passenger seat and handed them over.
"I knew you had prepared a gift. It would have been better if you had brought it out sooner." Shang Xin patted Shang Dan's hand, took the gift bag, and presented one of the gifts to her. "Xi Xi, this is yours."
Qiao Xi looked on incredulously, "Mine?"
Shang Dan then spoke, "I guessed you two would be inseparable, so we prepared together."
Qiao Xi didn't know how Shang Xinuan would mention her in front of her family, but the fact that this legendary cold-faced brother remembered her meant that her name was a catchphrase that Shang Xinuan often used.
"Thank you, brother," Qiao Xi said sweetly.
"Thank you, brother! I'll start unwrapping my presents now!" Shang Xinuan immediately followed Qiao Xi, acting all cute. "Xi Xi, together!"
Qiao Xi originally thought it was just a courtesy gift, but when she opened it, she found that it was a rare hand pickaxe by a famous designer.
"I've always heard Nuan Nuan say that you like fashion design." Shang Dan seemed to enjoy looking at people's facial expressions, so when she looked up, she saw eyes looking at her in the rearview mirror.
Qiao Xi pursed her lips, a feeling she couldn't quite describe welling up inside her.
She found it hard to imagine that someone could accurately choose a beloved gift based solely on someone else's description.
"Thank you, brother. This designer is someone I admire very much." Qiao Xi held her favorite designer's sketches, but her eyes couldn't look away.
"Yes, I'm glad you like it," Shang Dan replied casually, and then the car continued driving.
But in the swaying, dim twilight, the book miraculously sprouted a tender bud.
-
Qiao Xi was dropped off at her doorstep by Shang Dan, and after getting out of the car, she waved goodbye to the two of them.
Shang Xinuan rolled down the car window. "Xixi, it's your turn to pick me up from school tomorrow!"
This is a little joke between the two sisters, and usually she'll immediately retort, "You can walk to school then!"
But looking at Shang Dan, who had rolled down the car window, she nodded and replied, "Okay, I understand."
Watching the black car disappear around the corner, the banker's daughter, who had received all sorts of gifts, squatted in front of her house and grinned foolishly for a long, long time.
She remained in a semi-conscious state throughout the entire night.
In her dream, all she heard were a few short sentences from Shang Dan. When she woke up, she looked through the designer's sketches by the light of a night lamp.
This unusual reaction even puzzled Qiao Xi herself; why would she feel such a strong liking for someone she had just met?
She pondered this in confusion, then typed "love at first sight" into her phone's search engine.
The page immediately redirected her to the idiom's explanation: it refers to a man and a woman falling in love upon first meeting.
"Love?" Qiao Xi murmured softly.
Then, amidst the abnormal heartbeat, Qiao Xi got up very early.
A high school in Shanghai requires students to wear school uniforms, and girls are not allowed to perm or dye their hair, wear their hair down, or wear makeup.
She sat in front of the vanity mirror, repeatedly selecting from the vanity box, until she found a pair of small silver stud earrings that would go unnoticed.
She then took out a color-changing lip balm and gently dabbed it onto her lips a few times.
Qiao Xi didn't get up until the nanny knocked on her door.
But before she left, she went back to the dressing room and took a small vanity mirror with her.
As soon as the car turned onto Huashan Road, Qiao Xi immediately rolled down the window.
The black Maybach that Shang Dan had picked them up yesterday was parked outside the Shang Mansion, and the driver was waiting by the car.
Qiao Xi patted the driver's seat. "Let me out. The car in front belongs to the Shang family."
Before getting off the bus, she quickly took out a mirror and glanced at herself.
Only after confirming that they were satisfied did they push open the door and get out of the car.
As if drawn by some unseen force, she heard footsteps as soon as she reached the Shang family's door.
Qiao Xi tightened her grip on the hem of her school uniform. The next moment, she saw Shang Dan adjusting his suit cufflinks as he walked towards the car.
"Good morning, brother!" She mustered her courage and greeted him naturally.
Shang Dan paused briefly, without any further expression, replied with "Good morning" to her, and then hurriedly got into his car and left.
Qiao Xi stared at the Maybach's scarlet taillights, recalling Shang Xinu's description of Shang Dan's personality, and couldn't help but chuckle, "He really is serious and taciturn."
"What do you mean, serious and taciturn?" At that moment, Shang Xinuan's voice suddenly exploded behind her.
Qiao Xi replied, "I just ran into your brother."
"My brother went to the company for the first time today, and he was so serious that he didn't even acknowledge me," Shang Xinuan explained.
“He really… doesn’t seem to talk much.” Qiao Xi shrugged.
Shang Xinuan pursed her lips. "Personally, I think my brother's intelligence is just out of his range, which is why he doesn't like talking to normal humans. He actually has a lot in common with the monkeys in the zoo."
"Huh?" Qiao Xi exclaimed in surprise.
“My brother absolutely loves monkeys,” Shang Xinuan continued, laughing as she spoke. “You probably won’t believe me…”
"While other rich kids were keeping female celebrities and internet influencers as mistresses, my brother went and adopted a monkey."
A note from the author:
The story of Qiao Xi and Shang Dan begins, unlike the unrequited love story of Nuan Nuan and Lao Li...
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2023-07-05 22:21:06 and 2023-07-10 01:29:55!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: yuki (10 bottles); and Wuxinsushuo (5 bottles).
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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