Chapter 24
Jiang Minghua gently shook her head, her long, black hair swaying slightly with the movement.
"We have no grudge against each other."
Qin Shuyi let out a cold laugh through her nose, a sarcastic smile playing on her lips.
"Come on, Jiang Minghua. Don't make me think you're hypocritical. Aren't you the one pulling all this behind the scenes? Otherwise, where did Wen Chuqing get the money to make those marketing accounts turn against her at the last minute?"
"You're wrong, Qin Shuyi."
Jiang Minghua stared directly at her, her eyes clear and sharp.
"You've ended up like this entirely because of your own fault. When you paid those marketing accounts to fabricate those rumors to attack Wen Chuqing, didn't you ever think that you would one day be the one to suffer the consequences? Did you ever consider that those fabricated words would really destroy her completely?"
"So what?" Qin Shuyi suddenly raised her voice, her eyes surging with resentment and stubbornness. "Who told her to be so tactless and keep clinging to Fu Yanzhi? Fu Yanzhi was mine to begin with!"
“Since you’re so certain,” Jiang Minghua leaned forward slightly, “then what are you afraid of? You’re afraid that all the good things Fu Yanzhi has done for you are based solely on the premise that you’re his savior, right? But if a relationship needs to be maintained by gratitude, then such love is better off without. Qin Shuyi, you have outstanding looks, top-notch education, and your own career. Why do you have to make yourself so miserable for a man?”
She paused, her voice calm yet firm.
“As long as you are willing to confess the whole truth and sincerely apologize to Wen Chu, I assure you that your Qin family can still stand in this circle.”
Qin Shuyi was stunned. She looked at Jiang Minghua in disbelief, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
Why are you helping me?
"Because I always feel that it's such a waste for you to ruin your promising future for a man. If you'd like, you can come to my house on Saturday, and I'll help you."
At night, Qin Shuyi sat alone in her dimly lit room when her phone screen suddenly lit up. It was a message from Liu Qingya:
[Shuyi, what should I do? Jiang Minghua asked me to go to her house on Saturday. Is she planning to settle scores later? I'm so nervous. Can you come with me?]
Qin Shuyi stared at the few lines of text, her brows furrowed tightly. Why is it Saturday again? What on earth is Jiang Minghua up to?
However, Qin Shuyi had her own dignity and pride. It was absolutely impossible for her to bow her head and admit her mistakes. Since she could no longer stay in the country, she might as well go abroad and leave.
On Saturday, filled with unease, Liu Qingya arrived alone at the heavy, ornate wrought-iron gate of the Jiang family villa. Her message to Qin Shuyi the previous night had gone unanswered, and her palms were now damp with cold sweat. She couldn't fathom why Jiang Minghua had specifically summoned her here.
"If you're here, please come in."
Jiang Minghua's clear voice suddenly came from the intercom next to the door, startling Liu Qingya. She took a deep breath and pushed open the heavy door.
Upon entering the living room, Liu Qingya didn't even bother to look at the elegant and understated furnishings. She went straight to Jiang Minghua, who was standing there, and bowed deeply. Her voice trembled slightly with nervousness.
"Jiang, I'm so sorry! I trusted Li Xiangjun too much before and unintentionally hurt you. I'm really... so sorry!"
Jiang Minghua waved her hand gently, a faint smile playing on her lips:
"Let's not rush into an apology. I recently started an entertainment live streaming company and am recruiting streamers. Liu Qingya, I've noticed that your makeup is always impeccable. If you can generate one million in revenue through a makeup tutorial live stream in one night, we can call it even. As for how to achieve that goal, you'll have to figure that out yourself."
"One million?" Liu Qingya gasped, her eyes widening in shock. Her monthly allowance was only 100,000 yuan; earning a million in one night? Did she think the audience were fools?!
As she was lost in thought, a gentle and clear voice drifted over. Liu Qingya followed the sound and stopped in front of a half-open door. Through the crack in the door, she saw Wen Chuqing sitting in front of a professional lighting fixture, calmly teaching in front of a camera.
Those complex knowledge points that once baffled Liu Qingya in class became so clear and easy to understand under Wen Chuqing's insightful and simple explanations.
As if by some strange twist of fate, Liu Qingya took out her phone, entered Wen Chuqing's live stream, and sent a dazzling rocket with a flick of her finger.
Before the gift effects had faded, Jiang Minghua's teasing voice came from behind:
"Give Chu Qing a rocket gift? You should worry about whether someone will give you a rocket gift first."
Liu Qingya hurriedly hid her phone behind her back, her cheeks slightly flushed, and she stubbornly maintained her composure:
"Who, who sent her a rocket? You must be mistaken."
Jiang Minghua merely raised an eyebrow, not pursuing the matter further, and turned to lead her to another room. This room had been set up as a professional live-streaming studio, complete with ring lights and high-definition cameras. The table was neatly arranged with makeup products from various brands, from foundation to eyeshadow, in a complete range of colors, a dazzling array.
"This is your workspace. All the makeup you need is ready. Good luck!"
She turned to leave, but paused at the doorway for a moment, turned her head to the side, and added casually:
"By the way, as long as you obediently finish the live broadcast, I will not only forgive you, but also ask my father to stop making things difficult for the Liu family."
Liu Qingya had initially considered giving up; she wasn't short of money, so why put herself through this? But Jiang Minghua's last words changed her mind. She bit her lower lip and finally resigned herself to sitting in front of the live-streaming equipment.
She took a deep breath and turned on the live stream. Faced with the sudden influx of viewers, she was initially a little nervous, and her voice was slightly hesitant: "Hello everyone, today I want to share with you a sophisticated makeup look suitable for evening occasions."
She first carefully showed off her clean face, then picked up a bottle of foundation and gently tested the color on the inside of her wrist.
"For nighttime makeup, the base needs to be more long-lasting and flawless. We can first use a flat foundation brush to spread it evenly, and then gently press it with a damp beauty sponge. This will make the makeup more adherent."
As the explanation deepened, Liu Qingya gradually forgot her nervousness and became completely immersed in her familiar territory. She carefully demonstrated how to use light brown eyeshadow as a base on the eyelid, dark brown to deepen the outer corner of the eye, and finally to lightly dab on fine glitter with her fingertip.
"See? Just a light dab of the product and your eyes will instantly brighten up,"
She leaned closer to the camera so that viewers could clearly see the details of her eye makeup, "but remember not to use too much, otherwise it will easily look puffy."
During the live stream, she answered viewers' questions from time to time, yet her hands moved with perfect precision. As she used a fine brush to draw a clean eyeliner, a few gifts began to appear in the comments section.
After completing her full makeup, Liu Qingya turned to the camera to show the final result. Under the soft lighting, her face looked exceptionally delicate; the makeup highlighted her features without being overly exaggerated.
"I hope tonight's sharing will be helpful to everyone," she said with a smile, her tone becoming more natural and fluent. "Makeup is to make yourself more confident. No matter what style you choose, the most important thing is to be happy."
At this moment, the number of gifts on the screen began to increase, from ordinary little hearts to virtual gifts with considerable value, and the data continued to climb. Looking at the enthusiastic feedback in the interaction area, Liu Qingya unconsciously straightened her back, a hint of relief flashing in her eyes.
The live stream has ended.
The final earnings data displayed on the screen was like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing most of the small flame that had just ignited in Liu Qingya's heart.
It was far from Jiang Minghua's million-dollar goal. A strong sense of disappointment and distress welled up inside her. She sat alone in front of the now-silent live-streaming equipment, looking at the messy cosmetics, feeling exhausted and defeated.
However, beneath the heavy sense of loss, a strange and peculiar emotion was also surging within.
Just now, during the most enthusiastic live stream interaction, when she saw the real numbers of her earnings from her labor jumping around, she felt an unprecedented sense of fulfillment.
It turns out that receiving rewards entirely through one's own abilities, without relying on family or asking for anything, feels so...reassuring and wonderful.
At this moment, the door was gently pushed open, and Jiang Minghua walked in, clearly there to inspect the results.
Liu Qingya didn't look up, her fingers unconsciously curling, her voice low, carrying a resigned sense of loss:
"You've seen the data, haven't you? We didn't meet your target. Do whatever you want with it."
Surprisingly, Jiang Minghua's voice carried a calm gentleness:
"It's okay, there's still a long way to go, and we'll eventually achieve our goal."
She took a few steps closer, her gaze falling on Liu Qingya's still lowered head.
"Liu Qingya, the reason I wanted you to try this tonight is to tell you that you don't necessarily have to rely on others to survive in this life. Look, you've done it on your own, haven't you? Although it's not much, every single one of these is earned by yourself."
These words were like a key, unexpectedly unlocking a tightly closed box in Liu Qingya's heart.
She suddenly raised her head, her clear eyes instantly becoming moist, a layer of hazy water quickly blurring her vision.
She recalled that when she was a child, from the day her mother remarried and entered the Liu family, her mother repeatedly told her: "The most important thing for a girl is to marry into a good family in the future, so that she can have a smooth life and have no worries about food and clothing."
This idea was deeply ingrained in her mind, so when she learned that Li Xiangjun was the godson of the richest man, she almost immediately had an idea, believing that it was her best and only way out.
But now, Jiang Minghua, with just one evening and with such a calm statement, has shown her a completely different path, a path that tells her she can rely on herself.
A surge of scalding heat rushed up from her heart and hit her throat. Liu Qingya felt her heart trembling uncontrollably, a mixture of grievance, shock, realization, and indescribable excitement churning violently in her chest.
She opened her mouth, but couldn't make a sound. Only her eyes, brimming with tears, stared unblinkingly at Jiang Minghua, shining with light and hope.
Late at night, Liu Qingya was still thinking about what had happened that day, and then she remembered what Jiang Minghua had said to her. After thinking for a moment, she picked up her phone and sent another message to Qin Shuyi:
[Shu Yi, maybe, emm, perhaps Jiang Minghua isn't as bad as we think.]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
