Wen Mubai's familiar voice came close to hers, pressing against her back, "Come inside with me."
"Me?" Xu Chacha pointed blankly at herself.
"Otherwise what?" Wen Mubai raised his hand, brushed her bangs aside, and turned to walk towards his office. "Your sister Panpan is calling you."
"Oh, oh, oh."
In this way, Xu Chacha could nod goodbye to the senior student, saving her the trouble of saying no.
...
"Hey, Lao Wen, did you and your husband have another fight when you got home this time?"
“Arguments are a two-way street; I was just listening to his emotional outburst.” Wen Mubai said calmly, already used to this kind of thing.
Ever since she rebelled and changed her college application, her father has been getting angry with her more and more often.
Sometimes she would rather the conflict between the two of them remain unresolved, so that they could stay in a state of cold war forever, and she could have some peace and quiet.
"Will we still have money to pay the rent?" Jiang Panpan asked with a worried look. "It's really expensive here, and we're not getting any big orders right now. We can't keep going like this for long."
"It's okay, I have money, I'll support my aunt."
Xu Chacha has saved enough money over the years to buy a villa in the city center, making her a genuine little rich woman in every sense of the word.
Wen Mubai pressed Xu Chacha's head towards him, saying, "I'm not that poor yet, I can't afford to spend a child's money."
"How many times have I told you I'm not a child!" Xu Chacha angrily pulled her hand off her head. "Don't touch my head, or I won't grow taller."
She suspected that the reason she was three centimeters shorter than Wen Mubai was because he patted her head too much when she was a child.
"Keep that little bit of money for yourself to buy food," Wen Mubai said with a smile.
Unlike Jiang Panpan, she seemed completely unconcerned about the uncertain future of her studio; she had made all the necessary preparations before returning to China.
Besides, she has never taken a single penny from the Wen family since she went abroad, and she didn't need it before and she doesn't need it now.
"Speaking of which, what did you two argue about this time?" Jiang Panpan sat on the table and leaned down. "Tell me quickly, what new reason did you have? I'm so curious."
"Let me go on a blind date."
"Sss—" Xu Chacha's straw made an inopportune noise. She shook the cup in her hand with an embarrassed look on her face. "I'm done drinking."
Jiang Panpan continued, "But you are indeed at the age where you should get married. Go on blind dates if you want, maybe you'll really meet the right person. I feel that your dad's taste can't be worse than yours."
“Why is it that I’m of age? Who says you have to get married at a certain age? Besides, my aunt is still young.” Xu Chacha leaned closer to Wen Mubai and tugged at her sleeve. “You’re not going, are you?”
Didn't we agree to make money first?
"We'll see."
“How can you say that again?” Xu Chacha said anxiously. “Finding a philandering husband is not as good as me supporting you. I can afford to support you.”
Wen Mubai pinched her cheek, coaxing her like a child, "It's not just those issues. You're still young, you'll understand later."
It's that kind of talk again. Xu Chacha is now traumatized by the word "little". Does Wen Mubai think she can only be an obedient and sensible child for the rest of her life?
She doesn't want to.
Xu Chacha was in a terrible mood, but because there were other people around, she didn't show it. She just turned her chair around and turned half of her body away, sulking with Wen Mubai on her own.
The two then started talking about work.
The gist is still the same few sentences: although many people are attracted by Wen Mubai's reputation and are eager to try, most of them are individual customers. These people come and go and can't stick with it for long. For larger orders with higher prices, people certainly won't easily risk coming to a newly established small studio with no track record.
Even if their quality is high, many people wear clothes not only for quality and aesthetics, but also for appearance.
If they could buy a well-designed haute couture piece for the same price, why would they lower themselves to choose Wen Mubai's studio?
"You should focus on finishing the orders you have on hand. We're still in the early stages. Building connections and maintaining a good reputation are fundamental. As long as nothing goes wrong, I'll be satisfied."
"What happens after that? We can't keep taking walk-in customers, can we?"
"I'll figure out what to do next." Wen Mubai's words had a magical quality that made people feel trusting. "Don't worry."
“Okay, then I’ll just be a cog in the machine. As for long-term development and expanding our customer base, I’ll leave that to you, the boss.” Jiang Panpan was an optimist who always looked on the bright side. “At worst, we’ll go bankrupt, and you can come back to our old ways with me. We’ll make a fortune.”
...
This Wednesday seemed to pass by just like any other day, but Xu Chacha kept thinking about Wen Mubai being called to a blind date.
She would occasionally ask him indirectly during conversations, hoping to hear Wen Mubai say, "I won't go."
But Wen Mubai always avoided the topic, changing the subject very naturally. Her maturity and composure sometimes made Xu Chacha feel like a child being unreasonable.
But she couldn't bring herself to be as indifferent to this matter as Wen Mubai.
Since Wen Mubai's path is blocked, she will take a different approach.
Xu Chacha: Is she going on a blind date?
Jiang Panpan: She told me not to tell you...
Xu Chacha: So you went there?
If I didn't go, why would I hide it? It's because I was afraid she would get angry, so I told Jiang Panpan not to tell her.
Jiang Panpan: Damn it! Don't say I told you!
Xu Chacha: Okay, then tell me the location.
Jiang Panpan: No way! If I tell you this again, Lao Wen will definitely pick me up and slit my throat.
Xu Chacha: QAQ
Jiang Panpan: No, no, no, don't do that!
Xu Chacha: Waaah
Jiang Panpan: Help! Please don't do this, it's really hard for me!
Xu Chacha: Sister Panpan, don't you love me anymore? [crying emoji]
Jiang Panpan clicked her tongue, turned around and sent a screenshot, then waited almost two minutes before slowly retracting it.
Jiang Panpan: Oops, I accidentally sent it to the wrong person. You probably didn't see it.
Xu Chacha: No, thank you, Sister Panpan.
Xu Chacha: *kiss*.jpg
The screenshot shows the chat history between Jiang Panpan and Wen Mubai, which includes the address and time of their blind date. Wen Mubai even discussed with Jiang Panpan that he would call her fifteen minutes after the blind date started, pretending that there was an emergency at the studio so that she could leave.
"If you don't want to go on blind dates, why do you still go?" Xu Chacha flicked her index finger and punched the screen.
The phone beeped again; it was a message from Wen Mubai.
Dear Auntie: Go to sleep early, don't overthink things, be good.
Xu Chacha didn't reply, put down her phone, and buried herself in the blankets.
No, I'm tired of being a good kid.
Xu Chacha has gradually begun to understand what it means for a child who cries and makes a fuss to get candy.
So, she's going to make a scene.
...
Wen Mubai's blind date with that man was scheduled for Saturday evening at a high-end Western restaurant where the average cost per person was four figures.
Xu Chacha had already secured a spot, sitting to the side and slightly behind them. This way, she could not only clearly see their interactions while eating, but also hear their conversations if she looked closely.
At six o'clock sharp, Wen Mubai walked in side by side with a man in a suit who was about the same height as her.
Xu Chacha picked up the menu and held it in front of her face, secretly observing the boy. Her gaze fell on his leather shoes, and she snorted, "I wonder how high his shoe inserts are."
Wen Mubai looked like he had just come from the studio; he hadn't even changed his clothes, and he was carrying his work bag.
The man pulled out a chair for her, and she politely thanked him before sitting down.
The waiter gave both of them a menu. Wen Mubai seemed to be quite hungry, and without much thought, he ordered foie gras and a salad that would be served quickly.
"Let's drink that bottle of wine we had stored last time." She handed the menu back to the waiter, seemingly a regular customer.
The man ordered the food a moment later, then clasped his hands together on the table, trying to find a topic to chat with Wen Mubai.
Before he came, he had heard his family introduce Wen Mubai. She was beautiful, from a good family, and had studied abroad. It would be a great honor to take such a woman out to dinner or social events.
He wanted to win the person over as soon as possible.
"I heard from your father that you love painting. Would you be interested in going to an art exhibition with me sometime?"
Wen Mubai sipped his wine and smiled politely, "No, I'm too busy with work to have time."
"Weekends are fine too, I can make time to spend with you."
"In our line of work, there are no weekends," Wen Mubai declined again.
"Ah, okay." The man, having run into a snag on this point, started talking about other things. "By the way, I heard you also write screenplays. You must be very interested in movies, right? Our company recently invested in a few. Do you want me to take you to the set? If there's any star you like, I can even get you an autograph."
Hearing this, Xu Chacha clicked her tongue impatiently.
This guy either has low emotional intelligence or he's chasing Wen Mubai like a twenty-year-old girl. What kind of topics is he even bringing up? He might as well just give her money directly.
Wen Mubai was clearly not very patient either, and this time he didn't even bother to smile. "No time, sorry." (Note: The last sentence appears to be an unrelated advertisement and has been omitted from the translation.)
"You must be incredibly busy."
"Likewise."
Xu Chacha peeked out and saw that their conversation seemed to have hit a roadblock, thinking it was time to make her move.
She stood up, smoothed her two ponytails that she had specially tied up before going out today, slung her pink backpack over her shoulder, and strode forward.
Wen Mubai was eating salad with a fork when she caught a glimpse of pink out of the corner of her eye. The familiar scent of gardenias made her look up, and she froze when she saw the person's face.
Xu Chacha, who is 1.75 meters tall and has pigtails, smiled sweetly at her and uttered two clear words with her pretty lips.
"Mother!"
"Cough cough! Cough cough cough—" The man choked on a mouthful of meat, his face turning bright red. He stared wide-eyed at Xu Chacha, "Who are you calling 'Mom'?"
Xu Chacha gently leaned towards Wen Mubai, then squatted down and took her arm, resting her head on her shoulder. "Oh, this is my mother."
"What's going on?" the man asked Wen Mubai.
Where did Wen Mubai, who is so young, get such a big daughter?