You Must Be Good 65

Chapter 65

The moment Yang Feitang’s tragic cry rang out, it was a cry from the soul, a cry of heartbreak.

Not only did the surrounding people stop to look, but Qiao Xiaoxiao and Bai Fei also heard it and looked over together.

The moment she saw her sister, Qiao Xiaoxiao excitedly walked over and stared at the bag in her hand. “Are we having hot pot tonight?”

Chu Xinrou let go and said lightly, “It’s not for you. You have someone to treat you.”

Qiao Xiaoxiao: ???

Not for her?

Chu Xinrou stared at the flowers in Qiao Xiaoxiao’s arms. They were so vibrant, so glaring. She called out, “Feitang.”

Yang Feitang was still hissing at the bruise on her arm. When she heard her name called, she immediately stood up straight. “Yes, I want to eat! No one is allowed to fight with me!”

Sob, sob, why is she always the one who gets hurt?

Qiao Xiaoxiao was full of disbelief. “Aren’t you on a diet? Sister Yang, you’re eating so much?”

Yang Feitang: …

Don’t ask. The more you ask, the more tears there will be. She’s just a pitiful person who was “innocently implicated.”

Bai Fei slowly walked over, nodded at Yang Feitang, and when she saw Chu Xinrou, she called out respectfully, “CEO Chu.”

They had met a few times before.

Qiao Xiaoxiao could clearly feel Bai Fei’s fear of Chu Xinrou. She was clearly a cheerful and straightforward person, but the moment she faced Chu Xinrou, she would immediately lower her head and be submissive. She had asked Sister Yang about the reason before, but she couldn’t believe it when Yang Feitang had said that Chu Xinrou was the “Jade-faced Shura” in the workplace.

Her sister is so gentle!

Chu Xinrou’s expression was very light. She looked at Qiao Xiaoxiao. “What time are you coming home tonight?”

Qiao Xiaoxiao calculated the time. She didn’t have to take the college entrance examination now and was as free as a bird out of its cage. “I’m going to the factory with Sister Bai to take a look.”

As Qingxin’s scale grew, Bai Fei had the intention of establishing a branch factory. She had even selected the candidates who would be transferred from the main factory and had recently been choosing a location. She was wavering between buying and renting. In recent years, property prices had risen too fast. They had even joked internally that no business was as profitable as buying a few houses back then. Especially since 2015 was a sensitive time. Under the environment where control policies were frequently introduced in 2010, but property prices still rose, many people thought that the real estate market would cool down in the future, but many others thought that it had not yet reached that point and would continue to rise.

Bai Fei was very hesitant. She had some savings, but compared to the Chu family’s group, it was not even an ant. So she was particularly cautious.

So it’s going to be very late?

Chu Xinrou didn’t speak. She calmly cast her gaze on Yang Feitang. Yang Feitang would not be used as a pawn. She tilted her neck up and pretended not to understand the hint. Chu Xinrou touched her arm and asked, “Are you hot?”

Goosebumps instantly appeared on Yang Feitang. She immediately put her hands on her hips and looked at Qiao Xiaoxiao fiercely. “Just because you’ve been recommended for admission, you’re getting cocky. You have to check the time to come home? I’m telling you, you have to be back before 8:30 tonight! Otherwise, you can sleep on the street!”

Qiao Xiaoxiao: …

Bai Fei: ???

Chu Xinrou gave Sister Yang a string of carnivals in her heart.

Because she had to work, before Qiao Xiaoxiao left, she specially handed the flowers to Chu Xinrou. “Jie, help me take them.” As she spoke, she smiled at Bai Fei. “I’ll take them home and put them in a vase. They’ll last longer.”

Although she was not interested in flowers, feeling that they couldn’t be eaten or spent, and were just for looking at, and would wither in a few days, it was, after all, a kind gesture from Sister Bai. She was too embarrassed to refuse in front of her.

Chu Xinrou stared at them. They were roses in full bloom. She was silent.

It’s as clear as day.

Seeing that Qiao Xiaoxiao was about to leave, Yang Feitang secretly sent her a message.

—Come back early. We were going to celebrate for you.

How can you spend such an important day with an outsider?

On the way, Qiao Xiaoxiao received the message and grinned, quickly replying.

—Sister Yang, you’ve grown up. Be good.

At home, Yang Feitang, who was washing vegetables, frowned and replied.

—Your sister is a little unhappy. Didn’t you see?

This time, the message was replied to in a second.

—I’ll definitely be back before 8:30!

Just as Sister Yang had let out a sigh of relief, another breath was caught.

“Yang Feitang, there’s a bug in the vegetables you washed!”

“Ah ah ah ah!!! A bug?! Where is it!”

…

Unhappy?

Qiao Xiaoxiao was a little confused. She thought for a moment and understood. It must be because she had just found out about her recommended admission today, and her sister probably wanted to celebrate for her.

It wasn’t that Xiaoxiao was sensitive. In the past, her countless sensitivities and acuities had been severely hurt by Chu Xinrou’s heart, which was full of “sisterly” pure feelings. Thinking about it for a second more was like stabbing herself in the heart.

Bai Fei looked at Qiao Xiaoxiao, a faint smile on her lips. “How about… we go to the Yingfeng Noodle House across the street?”

That was the first shop Xiaoxiao had taken her to when she had first arrived. She remembered that at that time, looking at the cramped shop and the mottled walls, Bai Fei had subconsciously frowned. She had nonchalantly smoothed out the wrinkles on her dress, her fingertips hovering over the greasy tabletop, not landing for a long time.

At that time, Bai Fei was still putting on airs. She hadn’t expected Xiaoxiao to take her to such a hole-in-the-wall restaurant and was a little dissatisfied in her heart.

But Qiao Xiaoxiao’s eyes were full of sincerity. “Jie, for your first meal here, let’s eat something delicious. I’ve booked a table at the Rose Restaurant for tomorrow. We’ll have Western food.”

Bai Fei had pressed her lips together and had not said a word, thinking to herself, how good can the “delicious food” of a little girl be? The moment the bowl of crab roe noodles was served, the golden crab roe was wrapped around the thin noodles, and the hot steam, carrying a fresh and savory aroma, rushed to her face. Her arrogance had instantly crumbled. When she had looked up again, the bowl was already empty.

After she had eaten her fill.

Qiao Xiaoxiao had told Bai Fei about her vision for the brand and her plans for the future. Bai Fei had done a background check before she came and knew that Xiaoxiao was from a poor mountain village and had even needed sponsorship in her first year of high school. She had even suspected that Qingxin’s current success was due to Chu Xinrou’s help. But looking at the person before her, who was talking with such confidence and was familiar with all the details, Bai Fei knew that the child before her was a talent with an unpredictable future.

Just a year and a half ago, when Qiao Xiaoxiao had seen her off at the train station, she had said half-jokingly, “Sister Bai, I know you have many other companies you’re cooperating with. I hope that in the year I graduate from high school, Qingxin will be able to win your heart, and maybe even open a branch factory here.”

At that time, Bai Fei had just taken it as a joke, but now, it had all come true.

She looked at Qiao Xiaoxiao. It had only been half a year since their last meeting, but she had become much more beautiful. Most importantly, the pressure in her eyes seemed to have dissipated a lot, and her brows were filled with more confidence and certainty.

“What major are you planning to study for your recommended admission?”

After talking about business, Bai Fei wiped her mouth with a tissue. She was actually a beautiful woman, only in her thirties, in the prime of her life. But the ravages of time and the hardships of her journey had left faint crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes.

“You’re good at and like so many things.”

Whether it was sports, Chinese, computers, or what… she saw that Qiao Xiaoxiao was good at and understood many things.

Qiao Xiaoxiao blurted out, “Business administration.”

Management, perhaps in the eyes of many, was a jack-of-all-trades major for those whose scores were not high enough to fill their desired majors. At that time, Song Yang had also persuaded her, asking if she would consider the currently popular majors of finance or computer science. But those were all for working for others. The current Xiaoxiao no longer needed to work for others. She needed to improve her management thinking and ability more.

The last time they had met, Bai Fei could still give Qiao Xiaoxiao some advice, but this time, she felt that this child was clearly more mature and had a plan. “Then you’ve also settled on a university. The pressure is not so great anymore. Have you thought about other aspects?”

Other aspects?

Qiao Xiaoxiao nodded. “These three years, I’ve received a very good education at No. 3 High School. If I have the ability, I want to give back.”

Bai Fei had meant to ask if she had thought about relationships. An ordinary person, not to mention a child, even an adult, after living a hard life in the first half of their life, wouldn’t they think about falling in love and enjoying themselves once they were stable? It was human nature to be content with the status quo.

Qiao Xiaoxiao’s words had stirred up a vortex in Bai Fei’s heart. She asked, “How will you give back?”

“Although the country has scholarships and other financial aid for poor students,” Qiao Xiaoxiao drank a mouthful of her drink, her eyes burning with a brilliant light, “but I’ve found that times have changed, and everyone wants to be self-reliant. I want to provide some support and help for those children who want to work hard but have no way.”

It is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.

Qiao Xiaoxiao had never forgotten her original intention.

She remembered clearly what her sister had said when she was injured and had retired.

“Xiaoxiao, why did you want to join the track and field team back then?”

“I remember… at that time, I was watching them train on the sports field. They were running in unison, shouting ‘bring glory to the school,’ ‘bring glory to the country.’ I got goosebumps.”

“So, our Xiaoxiao also wants to bring glory to the country?”

…

Her sister’s words had guided and illuminated Xiaoxiao from the very beginning. She had never forgotten them.

Now, her ability might still be small, and her shoulders might not be able to bear such a weight, but if she did it bit by bit, she would eventually achieve it, right?

Bai Fei stared at Qiao Xiaoxiao in a daze. After a long while, she nodded and said softly, “If there’s anything I can help with, you can tell me.”

In the past… when Bai Fei was running around for business with Qiao Xiaoxiao, looking at the sweat on the young girl’s forehead, the thought of protecting her and taking care of her, so that she wouldn’t have to be exposed to the elements, had risen in her heart more than once.

Perhaps, this was a case of a sparrow not knowing the ambition of a swan?

She knew that in the near future, she would have to look up to this girl.

After dinner, Qiao Xiaoxiao and Bai Fei went to the factory’s base to take a look. Bai Fei was still wavering between buying and renting. With a loan, she had the ability to take down this nearly five-hundred-square-meter factory, but… everything she had worked for for so many years would be invested here, and there wouldn’t even be enough working capital for the main factory.

Qiao Xiaoxiao saw her hesitation. “Sister Bai, you should think about it again, look around, and ask around.”

This was not a small matter.

Bai Fei nodded. When they went back, Qiao Xiaoxiao even took her to her “small workshop” to take a look. Now, Xiaoxiao’s Qingxin studio was no longer the simple rented house from before. She had rented a spacious hall, less than a hundred square meters. Although it was not big, she had partitioned out a pantry and a lounge.

The sunlight was particularly good, and the mood would be particularly cheerful when she came to work in the morning.

When Qiao Xiaoxiao brought Bai Fei in, only Wang Ning was left in the studio. She was there, settling the accounts for the past two days. Seeing the two of them come in, she stood up awkwardly.

Bai Fei recognized Wang Ning at a glance and looked at Qiao Xiaoxiao in disbelief.

How could she be here?

Wang Ning was a little nervous. She knew that Bai Fei knew clearly about her running away with the money back then, but that gaze still made her heart feel stuffy and painful.

Qiao Xiaoxiao smiled and lifted the bag in her hand. “Sister Ning, we went to eat. I’ve packed your favorite mango pomelo sago.”

Wang Ning took it. Xiaoxiao looked at the time. “Sister Ning, you should go back soon. Yuan Lu and the others will be here tomorrow.”

…

After coming out of the studio, Bai Fei couldn’t wait to ask, “How can you still dare to use her?”

She had seen with her own eyes how miserable Qiao Xiaoxiao had been back then. A person like that, no matter what “excuse” they had, shouldn’t they be thrown in jail?

Not to mention how hard it had been for Xiaoxiao to earn money back then, and how much pressure she had been under. Even if it had happened to her, she wouldn’t have been able to accept it.

Qiao Xiaoxiao looked at Bai Fei and didn’t hide anything, very sincerely. “Sister Bai, when I was little and so poor that I couldn’t even get a bowl of rice and no one cared, it was Sister Ning who secretly gave me food and talked to me.”

There was no need to say more.

A drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring.

“Sister Ning has already paid me back all seventy thousand.”

These past two years, Wang Ning had been so frugal it was “outrageous.” She rarely went home and would sleep at the company. She would also eat her meals hastily. The moment her salary arrived, she would only keep five hundred and save the rest.

After Wang Ning came back, she had been prepared for Qiao Xiaoxiao to never trust her again and to be on guard against her everywhere. But that hadn’t happened.

Xiaoxiao was the same to her as before. The first thing she had reminded her was, “Don’t worry about anything else for now, Sister Ning. Go back and see Grandma. She misses you very much. She doesn’t know about our business. She’s old…”

Wang Ning’s tears flowed uncontrollably.

In the face of such “kindness,” if she didn’t do her best to repay it, her conscience would never be at ease for the rest of her life.

In August, she had already paid back all the money to Xiaoxiao. The big stone in her heart had eased a little. Wang Ning had to continue to work hard. She had to pay back the interest as well.

…

Qiao Xiaoxiao was busy with her career outside.

But it was hard on Yang Feitang at home.

Sister Yang was on pins and needles during this hot pot meal.

What was salty in the sesame sauce, what was wrong with the chopsticks, what was too hot with the meatballs, was it on purpose? She even poured her cold water…

Chu Xinrou had found fault with her all through the meal. In the end, Yang Feitang couldn’t take it anymore and slammed her chopsticks on the table with a smack. She stared at Chu Xinrou and said, one word at a time, “One person does things, one person bears the consequences. If you’re angry, take it out on the brat. What does it have to do with me?!”

Being yelled at like this, Chu Xinrou seemed a little dazed and stared at her blankly.

Yang Feitang: …

Oh my.

Who can stand Chu Xinrou looking at them with those watery eyes?

Yang Feitang immediately deflated and helplessly comforted her, “They just went out for a meal. If you’re unhappy, just ask Xiaoxiao to come back.”

In the past, she had always thought of herself as a jealous person. But now, it seemed that Chu Xinrou was the founding ancestor of the jealous world.

In the rising steam, Chu Xinrou’s gaze gradually drifted into the distance. “You said, she accepted Bai Fei’s flowers. The next step, is it to accept her ring?”

Yang Feitang: ?

Amid the curling mist

Chu Xinrou’s voice was as light as a wisp of smoke. “The property prices here are so expensive. If Bai Fei can’t afford it… will Xiaoxiao go to Yiwu with her? The summer is hot and humid, and the winter is cold and damp… can she stand the environment there?”

Yang Feitang: ??

Chu Xinrou’s eyes were a little hot. She tilted her head up. “Xiaoxiao eats a lot, poops a lot, and has a bad temper… she doesn’t know how to be polite to others, and she loves to wear short sleeves all year round… can she take care of her? She—”

“Hey, stop, stop.”

Yang Feitang was simply speechless. She looked at Chu Xinrou. “Are you marrying off your daughter? Who told you Xiaoxiao likes her?”

Chu Xinrou blinked, the moisture in her eyes not dissipating. “Didn’t she say… she likes older people?”

Yang Feitang: ???

Chu Xinrou tilted her head up and looked at the ceiling, her voice already a little choked. “I won’t go with her. Then, Xiaoxiao will have someone to take care of her, so I can rest assured… she… doesn’t need me anymore, right?”

Yang Feitang: …

She had already given up on treatment.

She even thought, has Chu Xinrou already come up with names for Qiao Xiaoxiao and Bai Fei’s future children?

Chu Xinrou hummed and hawed for a long time. At first, her tone was still weak. In the end, she seemed to become more and more resentful and couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you called Yang Feitang?”

Yang Feitang: ???

What???

Chu Xinrou looked at her coldly. “This ‘Fei’ character is not good.”

Just as Yang Feitang was being told she was emo, with a click, the door rang.

Chu Xinrou immediately wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and pretended to be an ordinary person, picking up her food. She even poured a glass of water for Yang Feitang. “Don’t eat so much. You’ll get heartburn later. Drink some water.”

Yang Feitang: …

The moment Qiao Xiaoxiao came in, she saw the two of them eating “alone.” She was a little unhappy and asked knowingly, “What are you talking about that’s so happy? You’re already having hot pot?”

Chu Xinrou sat up straight and ignored her.

Yang Feitang, who had been enduring it all night, had a sense of impending revenge and shouted, “We’re talking about your wonderful life after you marry into the Bai family!!!”

Chu Xinrou: …

Qiao Xiaoxiao: …???

【Author’s Note】

Qiao Xiaoxiao: What?

Chu Xinrou spreads her hands: I didn’t.