Chapter 82 The infiltration turned Windsor knots into red scarves
On Sunday morning, Zhuang Fuyao set her alarm and exercised with Liang Huaixu.
But she didn't have the stamina for running, so while Liang Huaixu was running, she did aerobics.
While Liang Huaixu practiced Tai Chi, she learned Baduanjin (Eight Pieces of Brocade) beside him, much like the daily exercise routine of an old married couple. Zhuang Fuyao couldn't help but chuckle, while Liang Huaixu said with a wooden face, "Concentrate and calm your mind."
Zhuang Fuyao: "..."
Aunt Yuan smiled from the side.
As the housekeeper watched, he felt that only when his wife was by his side did his husband seem like a healthy and vibrant person, capable of laughing, getting angry, and being jealous...
Although sometimes the reasons for her jealousy are quite unexpected.
During this period, he was the one helping his husband take care of Xiaobai. After spending time together day and night, Xiaobai's temper was finally not as stubborn as before in front of him. He thought it was a good thing, but his husband was not very happy when he found out.
They also handed Xiaobai over to Aunt Yuan for care, telling him not to worry about Xiaobai anymore.
Butler Cao had worked for the Liang family for so many years and was always very thorough in his work. He rarely displeased the master, but this time he was completely baffled.
He treated Xiaobai like royalty and never let Xiaobai suffer any grievances. What did he do to offend the teacher?
He overheard Aunt Yuan mentioning that "Xiao Bai is only close to her husband and wife at home," and only then did he realize that her husband didn't like Xiao Bai being too close to him...
...
After exercising, Zhuang Fuyao spent the morning playing with Xiaobai.
After lunch, Zhuang Fuyao received a message from Cheng Fan saying that business had been particularly good these past two days, with many celebrities coming to visit.
In addition to the reservation slots, Qingfeng Pavilion also reserves a portion of slots for internal referrals, such as those for Ms. Ji's friends.
When they came, they said they were recommended by someone: half by Ji Lan and half by Liang Huaixu.
Cheng Fan said excitedly, "It's like the two sides are having a competition."
Ji Lan's side mainly consists of members from the entertainment and performing arts circles, including popular young actresses, veteran actors, and even award-winning actors and actresses. Liang Huaixu's side, on the other hand, comprises world-class athletes and celebrities from various industries.
Interestingly, they all joined different sects within the Jianghu Hall, resulting in a particularly strong promotional effect.
Netizens joked that Qingfeng Pavilion has become a gathering place for celebrities and their fans, who are eager to try their luck at meeting them.
This has resulted in Qingfeng Pavilion being nearly fully booked for the past week.
Meanwhile, Bagel also received good news. After consistently posting daily for a while, one of her videos finally went viral, garnering 100,000 likes and bringing several thousand new followers to her account.
This is a good start. Once the momentum picks up, Bagel will have an increasingly smooth journey in the world of self-media.
Zhuang Fuyao had no doubt about this. After all, Bagel was the female protagonist of this world, and she would have some of the female protagonist's halo. As long as she was willing to do it, she would likely achieve twice the result with half the effort.
With these two pieces of good news, Zhuang Fuyao shook off her worries from last night, rode her little white bike around a few times, and then took a hot bath.
After blow-drying her hair, she took out the nail art equipment she had bought earlier. She has recently become obsessed with doing her own nails and enjoys the DIY process.
"Help me choose a color." She took out a color code card and asked Liang Huaixu.
Liang Huaixu pointed to a red one.
After Zhuang Fuyao applied the nail extensions, she painted them according to the color he had chosen, and then added her favorite rhinestones.
After finishing, she held out her hand in front of Liang Huaixu and asked, "Does it look good?"
Liang Huaixu praised the performance, saying, "It's beautiful."
Zhuang Fuyao was about to paint her toenails when Liang Huaixu saw her long, glittering nails and couldn't imagine how she would paint them. He sighed and said, "Let me help you."
Actually, with practice, it's not difficult to do manicures on toenails while keeping your nails long, but since Liang Huaixu offered to help, she naturally wouldn't refuse.
"Your hand is pretty steady... Yes, that's it."
"Could you use a nail lamp to shine it on me again..."
After it dried, Zhuang Fuyao kicked her feet and started to get restless, gently tugging at the fabric with her toes.
The red nail polish made her insteps appear even whiter. Liang Huaixu stared, his throat tightening, and as her casual pants billowed out, he suddenly pressed down on her foot…
She was incredibly flexible; her thighs almost touched her cheeks.
Zhuang Fuyao was startled. She had only meant to tease him, but she never expected him to be so direct.
How... how come it's having a sudden resurgence?
Her whole body was tense, yet she felt inexplicably excited.
The room was heated, and during the intense moments, he sweated a few drops of sweat on her body.
She urged, "Hurry up..."
She was not only worried that the aunties would come in, but also that someone would pass by outside the window.
Liang Huaixu: "It can't be done quickly."
Zhuang Fuyao: "..."
As time went on, her heart was pounding in her throat, and she had no choice but to take a shortcut.
Liang Huaixu grunted, his low, husky voice reaching her ears, "Don't close the curtains... Even if you don't draw the curtains during the day, no one can see inside. Between three and four in the afternoon, if you don't call for the housekeeper, they won't come in. My son is away on a business trip these past two days." He wouldn't have done this in the living room if he wasn't sure.
Zhuang Fuyao bit her lip shyly.
Although this is theoretically true, the psychological tension and excitement are still unavoidable.
It's like someone throwing a punch in front of you; no matter how much you believe they won't hurt you, you still can't help but blink.
She would tense up every now and then, and Liang Huaixu broke out in a thin sweat from being bitten. He had no choice but to carry her and move to another spot.
Once they reached a secluded space, Zhuang Fuyao finally relaxed. All that commotion had caused her to miss her mealtime…
Liang Huaixu even sent a message to Aunt Yuan with ease, telling them to prepare dinner and go back to the annex first, and come back to clean up after 10 p.m.
Zhuang Fuyao was so tired that she fell asleep. She was woken up by him in a daze, ate dinner, and lay down again. When she opened her eyes, it was already the next morning.
At this moment, Liang Huaixu had just finished washing up and returned to the dressing room.
Thinking about how she'd been adjusting her sleep schedule and couldn't give up halfway, Zhuang Fuyao forced herself to sit up in bed and clear her head. The events of last night flashed through her mind, and she glanced resentfully towards the walk-in closet.
She had previously told him to face his desires honestly.
But there's no need to be so nonchalant.
Four times in total! Is this the frequency and quality a 38-year-old man should have?
Her throat was parched last night, so she picked up the water glass from the bedside table and took a sip. She drank it too quickly and choked.
Hearing the cough, Liang Huaixu came out with his tie draped casually over his collar, not even having had time to tie it. Despite being tired all night, he didn't have dark circles under his eyes and looked to be in excellent spirits.
"Why don't you sleep a little longer?" he asked.
"No, if I keep sleeping, I'll probably wake up around noon, which will disrupt the healthy routine I've worked so hard to develop."
She lingered for a few seconds on his untied tie.
Liang Huaixu noticed her gaze and asked gently, "Will you help me tie it?"
"Okay!" She confidently worked on it for a while, finally tying the Windsor knot into a red scarf...
Zhuang Fuyao said in frustration, "Why don't you do it yourself?"
Liang Huaixu looked in the mirror. "It's fine, it's good like this."
He didn't find it inappropriate; on the contrary, he thought it was quite cute.
It's perfectly normal for other well-dressed executives to occasionally have their ties not properly tied when they're in a rush.
But this is unusual for Mr. Liang, who is usually meticulous and never even wrinkles his shirt.
After noticing Mr. Liang's crooked tie, Secretary Cheng immediately imagined a scene that made her cringe, and she was so disgusted that she quickly shared it with her friend:
[New material: My boss's tie isn't tied properly, you know? That's practically impossible for my boss, unless he didn't tie it himself. Hehehe, I've got some sweet moments...]
-
These past few days, Zhuang Fuyao has been busy again. The appointment system, coupled with the celebrity effect, has allowed Qingfeng Pavilion to move better and better on the track of boutique development, but it also faces many challenges.
For example, right now, the most important thing is to pay attention to quality control and find ways to maintain the buzz.
Zhuang Fuyao came up with the idea of blind boxes: customers who spend a certain amount on a meal here can open a blind box.
She instructed Bagel to design the blind boxes.
When she called Bagel and Cheng Fan to a meeting to discuss the design plan, Yu Heng suddenly sent her a message saying that he hoped to get an opportunity to work at the restaurant.
Unlike Zhao Zilin, who pursued a trending topic to gain traffic, Yu Heng wanted to experience life and find creative inspiration.
His offer was to add the name of Qingfeng Pavilion to the lyrics, and to promote Qingfeng Pavilion for free when the new song was released.
Before she could reply, Song Qing sent another message, this time speaking up for Yu Heng: "Sister, Ace is very popular overseas and has quite a few fans in China too. He's back this time to prepare for a concert. His overall popularity isn't quite on par with the top stars in China. Have you considered it?"
Zhuang Fuyao would agree if it were just an ordinary friend or a stranger.
But the other party is Yu Heng... Yu Heng doesn't hold any special place in her heart, but to Liang Huaixu, he might be a thorn in his side.
She would rather not have this publicity effect than risk this suspicion.
Her rejection was something Yu Heng had expected, but he wasn't in a hurry. He leisurely twirled his lighter while listening to Su Mei make a phone call.
Now, Qingfeng Pavilion and Qingyuefang are gradually diverging in their routes, each with its own target customer base.
In this situation, based on his years of business acumen, Zhao Ye suggested that Su Mei improve public favorability by taking the route of a specialty restaurant that offers good quality food at reasonable prices, thus differentiating herself from Qingfeng Restaurant.
After hanging up the phone, Su Mei asked Yu Heng, "What do you think?"
Yu Heng raised an eyebrow. "The route your husband mentioned might not work, but our original route, with Qingfeng Pavilion leading the way, is much easier and smoother if we just follow suit?"
Yu Heng has toured the world and is a truly worldly person. He has been to so many different types of restaurants and has a very discerning eye. In addition, Su Mei's relationship with Yu Heng makes her view Yu Heng's advice through a filter.
After weighing the options, Su Mei decided to do as Yu Heng suggested: "We're not really suited for a reservation system, but we can do limited releases and come up with other unique things."
What's unique about it?
"You'll find out when the time comes." Su Mei smiled meaningfully. She was barefoot, wearing a red dress, with her legs draped over his shoulders, her provocative gesture quite obvious.
Yu Heng, however, was not very interested, his eyes were indifferent, "Behave yourself, let's talk about business first."
He took her leg off and said, "Right now, the most important thing is to find a way to get the marinade recipe for Qingfeng Pavilion's Phoenix Nurturing Nine Chicks. If we can get it, we'll make a profit even if we rely on Phoenix Nurturing Nine Chicks."
Su Mei gave him a light scolding, still blaming him for his lack of romantic understanding, "You make it sound so simple. I've thought about that too, but these kinds of trade secrets are definitely very well protected. They're not so easy to get."
Yu Heng slightly curled his lips. "What if I told you I had a way to infiltrate Qingfeng Pavilion?"
"What method?"
Yu Heng replied to her exactly as she said, "You'll find out when the time comes."
Su Mei looked at him curiously.
Thinking that Yu Heng had no acquaintances or friends in China and had always stayed with him, what other connections could he possibly have?
-
Every day, Zhuang Fuyao would pass through the back gate of Qingyuefang on her way back to Qianyue Manor from Qingfeng Pavilion.
When I passed by tonight, I saw a figure coming out of Qingyuefang. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, and his figure and clothes looked a lot like Yu Heng.
She suddenly felt something was amiss, slowed down, and stopped nearby.
The other person leaned against a streetlamp, lit a cigarette, and though only a wisp of smoke remained, their face was not visible.
Zhuang Fuyao had no choice but to continue driving forward, and finally saw the face reflected under the streetlights when she pulled up to the side.
It really was Yu Heng.
But why would he come out of Qingyuefang in the middle of the night?
Zhuang Fuyao frowned and pondered for a moment.
It was already quite a coincidence that they were able to run into each other several times in a short period of time, but then Yu Heng suddenly became Song Qing's idol and even followed her on Weibo through Song Qing.
Is it really possible for such a coincidence to happen in the world?
Or is this some important plot point?
But Zhuang Fuyao is certain that the character Yu Heng did not appear in the original storyline...
etc.
She suddenly remembered a scene in the original plot: after the male and female leads had a fight, the female lead's friend's idol's career collapsed, and the female lead ran to comfort her, forgetting about her phone's battery.
After the phone automatically shut down, the male protagonist couldn't contact the female protagonist or see her location, and he panicked. It was during that incident that the proud and arrogant male protagonist realized that he couldn't lose the female protagonist and officially made up his mind to fight against his family.
Because the friend in this storyline did not specifically refer to Song Qing, Zhuang Fuyao had not previously made that connection.
Now that I'm sorting things out, I find it incredibly subtle and terrifying.
If the person whose house collapsed was Yu Heng, then what caused the collapse?
Furthermore, when Qingyuefang and Qingfengguan were engaged in malicious competition, Yu Heng's sudden appearance at Qingyuefang was hard not to arouse suspicion.
Did he join them? What role did he play?
Why did he want to go to Qingfeng Pavilion to find inspiration...? Was he really looking for inspiration?
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