You Must Be Good 51

Chapter 51

—Touch me.

Qiao Xiaoxiao pouted, her expression extremely serious. “I didn’t walk at night. Just touch me.”

She wanted to see if it was the same as with her sister.

Yang Feitang stood there in a daze, looking at her. How could someone make such a “seductive” gesture with such an innocent gaze?

Sister Yang had really endured too much on Qiao Xiaoxiao’s path of growth.

She sneered, rolled up her sleeves, spat into her palms, and with the attitude of pulling up a mountain, said, “Here I come!”

…

Chu Xinrou was washing the enoki mushrooms that Xiaoxiao loved to eat. After this child had returned, her mood was clearly much better, and she was already humming a little tune in her heart.

When Xiaoxiao wasn’t at home, she always felt that her heart was empty.

It wasn’t so much that Xiaoxiao was afraid to leave, but that she couldn’t leave that child now.

Suddenly, Qiao Xiaoxiao stood behind her like a big unlucky fool, her voice muffled. “Let me do it.”

Chu Xinrou turned her head and was stunned when she saw her red and swollen cheek. “What happened?”

What happened?

Qiao Xiaoxiao was really fed up with her Sister Yang. Isn’t it good to be a human? Why did she have to pinch her so hard that she was grimacing?

This hot pot meal was hearty and satisfying. The red oil broth bubbled in the copper pot, and the tender beef slices curled up as soon as they entered the pot. Coated in sesame sauce and sent into the mouth, the fresh and savory flavor instantly exploded on the tongue.

The coolness of the iced coke just right neutralized the numbness and spiciness on the tongue, making Qiao Xiaoxiao let out a satisfied sigh.

It’s still good to be home.

Yang Feitang looked at the brat and felt that she had lost a little weight. “How was it? How much did you earn on this trip?”

“You’re so vulgar. Why are you talking about small money?” Qiao Xiaoxiao shook her head. Yang Feitang was stunned for a moment and smiled at Chu Xinrou. “Oh my, look. Our brat has grown up.”

The person who loves money the most is not even talking about money anymore.

Qiao Xiaoxiao took a bite of enoki mushroom. “If I’m going to earn money, I have to earn big money.”

Yang Feitang: …

Qiao Xiaoxiao picked up a piece of tripe and swished it in the red broth. Her eyes were particularly bright in the rising steam. “This trip to Yiwu wasn’t just for getting stock. I also specially found a few bosses who do wholesale jewelry.”

She put down her chopsticks and took out a few red string bracelets from her bag. “Here, I showed them this, but they all shook their heads.”

Yang Feitang took the bracelet and examined it carefully. The red string was exquisitely and delicately woven, and every knot was made with care. She and Chu Xinrou had also helped Qiao Xiaoxiao weave bracelets, but they were not as skilled as her.

“They said that Yiwu’s business model is small profits and quick turnover,” Qiao Xiaoxiao rested her chin on her hand, her fingertips lightly tapping the table. “For a purely handmade product like mine, I can’t make many a day. I can’t compete with machine mass production at all.”

Chu Xinrou took a sip of plum juice, the water droplets on the glass rolling down to her slender wrist. “So?”

“So—” Qiao Xiaoxiao suddenly sat up straight, her eyes dancing with an eager flame. “I want to register a brand!”

She had been thinking about it for a long time and was now starting to work on it.

Hearing this, Yang Feitang was amused. She looked at Chu Xinrou. Look, the brat has grown up and is starting to have plans.

Chu Xinrou gently put down her cup, the porcelain bottom making a crisp sound as it touched the glass turntable. “Are you sure?”

“Yes!” Qiao Xiaoxiao took out her phone and scrolled through her memo. “I’ve already asked around. First, I’ll do a trademark search, then prepare the application materials…” her fingertips slid quickly across the screen. “It’s a bit tedious. I’ve asked a senior sister to find a reliable agent.”

Although it would cost a little more, this was a must.

In the past six months, Qiao Xiaoxiao had already changed her thinking of doing everything herself to save money. Professionals should do professional things. The time she saved could be used to earn more money.

Yang Feitang looked at the faint dark circles under Qiao Xiaoxiao’s eyes. She remembered the countless days and nights Qiao Xiaoxiao had toiled. She knew all too well how hard she had worked for every penny. She felt it was necessary to give Qiao Xiaoxiao a reality check. “Xiaoxiao, starting a business is not that simple.”

What if she loses money?

She would be so heartbroken.

Qiao Xiaoxiao nodded. “I know, Sister Yang, but—” she looked at the two of them and showed a bright and cheerful smile. “I’m young. I have to go out and try.”

She said this lightly, but the youthful vigor and spirit in her eyes could not be hidden.

Chu Xinrou looked at her, the pride in her heart like the bubbling broth of this hot pot, about to overflow.

In just one short year, the once-shy smile had transformed.

The way she smiled now was like a firework that had suddenly bloomed in the summer night, bright, fiery, and reckless.

The wind rises from the tips of the green duckweed, and the waves form from the gentle ripples. And the journey of a young person never needs a reason.

This was the good thing about chatting with her experienced sisters.

They wouldn’t be perfunctory but would truly listen to Qiao Xiaoxiao’s ideas and give her advice.

Yang Feitang swished a piece of tripe in the pot, but her eyes were exceptionally serious. “The most important thing in building a brand is positioning. Who is the target audience? Do you want to take the high-end boutique route or the affordable route? You have to think about all this in advance.”

Chu Xinrou gently stirred the dipping sauce in her bowl, her voice as gentle as jade. “You have to take it one step at a time, but your vision—” she looked up at Qiao Xiaoxiao, her eyes filled with expectation, “has to be far-reaching. Only by seeing far can you go far.”

Yang Feitang looked at Qiao Xiaoxiao curiously. “Look at you smiling so much your face is full of wrinkles. You must have thought of a name, right?”

Hearing this, Qiao Xiaoxiao was a little shy. She bit her lip and lowered her head.

Yang Feitang cursed in her heart. Don’t tell me it’s related to Xinrou again?

Qiao Xiaoxiao said with a blush, “It’s called ‘Qingxin.’ It’s from the ‘Book of Songs’—’Green, green, the collar of your robe, long, long, my heart.’ It can also be understood as seeing one’s true heart amidst the green mountains and ink wash paintings.”

She spoke in a literary and refined manner. An ordinary person would definitely be impressed and clap, and be fooled.

But what kind of person was Yang Feitang? She laughed and looked at Chu Xinrou. “It’s a good thing you’re not called Chu Heiyou. Otherwise, the brand would be called ‘Heixin’ (black heart), and probably no one would buy it.”

Qiao Xiaoxiao: …

Chu Xinrou: …

To see through but not expose. Her Sister Yang is really too annoying!

As the night deepened, Qiao Xiaoxiao dragged her tired body out of the bathroom. Her hair was still dripping as she fell onto the bed. Her eyelids were as heavy as lead weights, and she could fall asleep the moment she closed her eyes.

The hardships of her childhood had indeed taught her to be strong earlier than her peers. But who would have thought that this girl, who was so resolute in the eyes of others, was actually venturing out on her own for the first time?

Yuan Lu could act cute, show weakness, and rely on her as a matter of course. But what about her? Who could she rely on?

Qiao Xiaoxiao knew she had to hold on. Even if she had to grit her teeth, she had to stand up straight in front of others. That weakness and fatigue were things she absolutely could not let others see.

In a daze, Qiao Xiaoxiao received a video call from Nuonuo. After a few months at school, Nuonuo was a new person. Her little hair was neatly combed, and her face was fair and tender. She knew her sister was tired and signed with her hands.

—Sister, look at me!

She was able to make a muffled sound today and was so excited that she had to call her sister, no matter what time it was.

Qiao Xiaoxiao propped her eyelids open. “Hm?”

Her heartbeat was also a little unnatural. Could it be that her sister can speak now?

At this thought, she sat up straight and stared at Nuonuo.

At such a critical moment, she had to be serious. In fact, Qiao Xiaoxiao had even started to record the screen.

Her sister’s “high-end” treatment made Nuonuo nervous. She stared at her sister for a long time, opened her mouth forcefully, and “wu wu wu”ed for a long time. Finally, with a “pop,” a crystal-clear bubble came out of her mouth.

Qiao Xiaoxiao: ???

Nuonuo: …

Qiao Xiaoxiao almost fell on the bed laughing. When Chu Xinrou came in, Nuonuo had just hung up the phone, her face flushed with anger.

“What are you laughing at? So happy?”

Chu Xinrou walked over and stroked her wet, long hair. She knew Xiaoxiao was exhausted and would definitely sleep with her hair wet.

This one action made Qiao Xiaoxiao freeze as if she had been acupunctured. “Nuonuo… Nuonuo’s phone, she meant that she can speak now. She was showing off for a long time and then blew a bubble.”

“You, you’re laughing instead of encouraging her?”

Chu Xinrou gently shook her head and gathered Qiao Xiaoxiao’s wet hair in her palm. The moment she plugged in the hairdryer, a warm breeze, wrapped in a slight electric current, flowed through her hair.

Her fingertips ran through Qiao Xiaoxiao’s hair, her thumb brushing against her scalp. The ends of her hair, charged with static electricity, suddenly lifted slightly, and a fine, tingling sensation shot up her spine. Qiao Xiaoxiao unconsciously shrank back.

“What are you hiding from?” Chu Xinrou’s voice was mixed with the humming of the wind, her warm palm resting on the back of her neck. The warm air from the hairdryer swept over the sensitive skin behind her ear. The electric-like touch made Qiao Xiaoxiao tremble all over, her fingertips unconsciously clutching the hem of her pajamas.

She… she didn’t know what she was hiding from either.

The alluring feelings that had been diluted by exhaustion had now faintly resurfaced.

Her hair danced in the hot air, and Chu Xinrou’s long fingers ran through it. Every unintentional touch was like a small static spark, setting off a fine tremor.

Qiao Xiaoxiao bit her lower lip, her whole being trapped in that dizzying, tingling sensation. She was like a feather floating in the clouds, her consciousness even becoming light and airy.

After drying her hair, Chu Xinrou carefully put the hairdryer back in the drawer. When she turned around, her eyes were shining, and she eagerly held out her hand. “Where’s my gift?”

From the moment she had heard there was a gift, her heart had been itching like a feather all day.

Qiao Xiaoxiao smiled and took out the velvet box she had kept close to her for a whole week from under her pillow. For this gift, she had specially squeezed out half a day from her tight schedule in Yiwu and had visited every jewelry store in the mall.

“Close your eyes,” she said softly, watching the other’s long eyelashes tremble slightly. It wasn’t until the cold metal touched her skin that Chu Xinrou opened her eyes and saw the silver leaf hanging between her collarbones in the mirror, its delicate luster flowing in the light.

“This is…” her fingertips gently stroked the texture of the leaf.

“The rustling of the parasol leaves sends a cold sound,” Qiao Xiaoxiao hugged her from behind, her chin resting on her shoulder. “The moment I saw it, I felt that this leaf was waiting for me.”

Chu Xinrou smiled, a smile that seemed to have dropped a gentle weight on Qiao Xiaoxiao’s heart. “I will always wear it.”

The two of them chatted for a while longer. Qiao Xiaoxiao always had endless things to say to Chu Xinrou. In the end, she was so sleepy her eyelids were stuck together. Chu Xinrou smiled and stroked her hair. “Go to sleep, be good.”

When she came to her senses, Chu Xinrou’s figure was long gone from the room. She couldn’t even remember when her sister had left or what she had said to her. She only remembered that when she fell onto the pillow, the faint scent of jasmine still lingered in her nose. That scent seemed to have grown wings, gently carrying her into a dream.

There are always many unforgettable firsts in life. The first time you open your eyes to see the world, the first time you take a wobbly step, the first time you call out “mama,” the first time you have a crush, the first kiss…

And Qiao Xiaoxiao’s first wet dream came unexpectedly, in the season when her second year of high school began.

Perhaps it was because she had accidentally stumbled upon the lively scene of Yang Feitang and Xue Youyou that a seed had been planted in her heart.

In her dream, she was sometimes sinking into a bed as soft as a cloud, and sometimes being pressed against a dark piano. The woman under her had skin as white as snow, and her dark hair was like a waterfall. She kissed her way up that beautiful neckline, her ears filled with the other’s rapid panting and the sound of the piano keys, sometimes tight, sometimes loose, with her movements.

“Xiaoxiao…”

A voice tinged with tears, like a plea, like an indulgence.

Pecking at the small earlobe, the moment she finally saw the other person’s face clearly, a thunderous piano note exploded.

Qiao Xiaoxiao’s eyes shot open, her chest heaving violently. In the morning light, Chu Xinrou’s figure stood against the light, her silhouette plated in a golden light. Only then did she realize that her back was cold, her cotton pajamas already soaked with cold sweat, clinging to her skin.

“What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?” Chu Xinrou’s voice was as gentle as water, a wisp of steam rising from the glass of milk in her hand. She leaned in slightly, her hair falling over her shoulder, a soft, warm brown.

Qiao Xiaoxiao’s breathing suddenly stopped.

In the morning light, Chu Xinrou’s face perfectly overlapped with the infatuated figure from her dream.

This realization was like a bolt of lightning splitting her reason, and a burning sense of shame and transgression shot up from the soles of her feet to her heart.

The sunlight suddenly became harsh, exploding into a white light on her retinas.

Qiao Xiaoxiao felt the world spin, and all she could hear was her own deafening heartbeat.