"I'm not a good cook; I usually work outside doing handicraft."
"If you're not good at it, you'll learn slowly. I'll find the best chefs to teach you. Don't worry, I won't have you working for nothing. After this matter is settled, I'll give you a substantial sum of money. From now on, as long as you work for me, I'll give you a daily bonus – money you'd never earn in your lifetime. Rest assured, I, Hou Mingzhu, am wealthy and won't mistreat anyone who isn't efficient."
"Sister Mingzhu, I understand. I'll do whatever you say, don't worry."
After a week of preparation, Hou Xiaolin reappeared before Hou Mingzhu. As expected, with professional training, her appearance and demeanor had become increasingly similar to Hou Qing'er's, achieving at least a ninety percent resemblance.
"It's truly magical. Seeing you, I thought Hou Qing'er had returned. You're identical, it's incredible!"
Hou Mingzhu couldn't help but clap her hands in approval. A meticulous woman would find the two incredibly alike, let alone a man who was naturally less observant. Without close inspection, one wouldn't notice significant differences between Hou Xiaolin and Hou Qing'er.
"Remember what I told you. Work hard, and you'll have a completely different life."
When Hou Xiaolin appeared before Ye Tiancheng, she was even wearing clothes similar to Hou Qing'er's. Ye Tiancheng, who was instructing Wu Dazhi, sent by Xiao Pang, to look after the business downstairs, froze.
"Qing'er!"
The folder in Ye Tiancheng's hand dropped. Ever since Hou Qing'er had passed away, Ye Tiancheng had been trying to find ways to revive her, but all his efforts were in vain. When Hou Xiaolin appeared, Ye Tiancheng even suspected he was hallucinating from excessive longing.
"Brother Ye, hello. I've been away from Dahe Village for a long time, working outside. Returning this time, I see the hometown has undergone earth-shattering changes. This is all thanks to you, Brother Ye. You're truly a remarkable industrialist."
Ye Tiancheng didn't hear a word of Hou Xiaolin's praise. He walked up to her and, unable to control himself, took her hand.
"Is it you? You're Qing'er!" Ye Tiancheng was overjoyed, tears welling up in his eyes. "It's you, I wouldn't mistake you. If it were just a similar person, the voice and demeanor wouldn't be so alike. Qing'er, you're finally back."
After speaking, Ye Tiancheng couldn't hold back and pulled the girl into his arms, making Hou Xiaolin feel extremely uncomfortable. After all, she had never been in a relationship before, and she was naturally awkward when dealing with men.
"Brother Ye, I'm not Hou Qing'er, I'm Hou Xiaolin." Hou Xiaolin felt like she couldn't breathe and quickly pushed against Ye Tiancheng's chest. "Let go of me, you're going to suffocate me, Brother Ye!"
There was still a difference. After all, his Hou Qing'er was gentle and passionate, always running to hug him lightly. This girl in front of him, however, showed such panic. Ye Tiancheng finally came to his senses. It seemed he had been longing too much. The person before him was not the Hou Qing'er he yearned for, but another stranger.
"I'm sorry! You look so much like my former girlfriend that I mistook you. I apologize."
Realizing his mistake, Ye Tiancheng quickly let her go, unsure of what to say to apologize.
Fortunately, Hou Xiaolin was there to complete her mission and wasn't angry at all. She smiled sweetly.
"Then I'm quite lucky to look so similar to Brother Ye's girlfriend. It means we have some fate."
These were words Hou Xiaolin had been trained to say, so she spoke them quite naturally when facing Ye Tiancheng. Before meeting Ye Tiancheng in person, Hou Xiaolin had practiced them countless times. Any slight deviation would be immediately corrected by her professional coach.
"What kind of work do you do outside?"
Even the brothers nearby could see that Ye Tiancheng had always been cold towards women. This Hou Xiaolin, because she resembled Hou Qing'er, was receiving exceptional treatment. Ye Tiancheng was asking her all sorts of questions, clearly showing his interest.
"Brother Ye, we have time to chat slowly. No rush."
Ye Tiancheng deliberately looked for Hou Qing'er's shadow in Hou Xiaolin. In every smile and gesture, there were many moments that were so similar it was disorienting. However, Hou Xiaolin had existed before, and it wasn't reincarnation or anything like that. It was indeed magical.
Everything had been running smoothly lately. Xiao Pang was also preparing to marry Wang Xiaomiao, and the first step was to look for a house. Ye Tiancheng had already told him that he would gift them a house, so Xiao Pang could choose freely. However, Xiao Pang was reluctant to spend Ye Tiancheng's money and insisted on finding a place with better value for money. He had been looking for a week but hadn't found a suitable one.
Something strange happened today. Ye Tiancheng, who usually avoided people, actually invited Xiao Pang to meet. Xiao Pang was surprised and agreed to meet him, wanting to discuss the wedding house.
Upon seeing Xiao Pang, Ye Tiancheng could no longer hold back and poured out everything about the suddenly appearing Hou Xiaolin.
"Xiao Pang, you'll know when you meet her in person. She's truly too similar. I have to admit, this woman has captivated me."
Xiao Pang had already heard some rumors, but he didn't expect the resemblance to be so profound.
"I heard from Wu Dazhi. Is she really that similar?"
"Yes. Although there are slight differences, this is what I've always dreamed of. I thought I would never see Hou Qing'er again after she passed away."
Xiao Pang sighed, "Brother Ye, I don't need to persuade you. They say heroes fall for beauties. Now that you've found her again, you're naturally excited. I'm also deeply infatuated with Wang Xiaomiao. However, I must remind you, this Hou Xiaolin who suddenly appeared might not be quite normal."
"What? What's not normal?"
Ye Tiancheng could no longer think straight. He could only hope that Xiao Pang could help him analyze the situation. After all, an outsider sees things more clearly and might be able to help him out of his predicament.
"Wu Dazhi came back and told me about a woman who looks exactly like Hou Qing'er. He also mentioned that you, Brother Ye, were very excited. So, Wang Xiaomiao and I investigated this Hou Xiaolin. We discovered that she has a completely blank period of half a month. That is, for the half-month before her appearance, no information about her could be found anywhere. The place where Hou Xiaolin used to work also said that the girl had resigned a long time ago."
This was what Fatty found particularly suspicious. It was impossible for an ordinary working girl to be untraceable. Hou Xiaolin's appearances were definitely in ordinary places, so how could she be investigated? Unless she was involved in something secret, or someone was concealing her, which would lead to such strange results.
"Stop thinking about it. This is a second chance given to me by heaven, allowing me to continue the fate with Hou Qing'er that was never fulfilled. I no longer have the right to doubt. As long as Hou Xiaolin is willing to stay by my side, I don't want to be abandoned again. The pain of that time is still fresh in my memory, and I really don't want to experience it again. You see me as if I'm very strong, but I'm also human, and I can die!"
"Alright, Brother Ye, I don't want to dampen your spirits. A young girl can't do anything outrageous. Let's not worry about her for now. We'll deal with it if any problems arise later."
Seeing that Ye Tiancheng was deeply infatuated, Xiao Pang realized that reminding him now would only increase his distress and yield no benefits. He decided to let it be for the time being.
Ye Tiancheng had been interacting with Hou Xiaolin a lot recently. After eating the meals prepared by Hou Xiaolin, he became even more convinced that heaven had taken pity on him and truly sent Hou Qing'er back to his side.
"Xiaolin, you don't need to work outside anymore. Stay and work by my side. I will take good care of you. You can ask me for anything!"
"Actually, I feel quite compatible with you, a kind of indescribable connection. Brother Ye, I've never had any great ambitions in my life. I just want to find a man I love and live a good life with him. I know you're very wealthy, but don't worry, I'm not after your money. I simply feel very comfortable being with you, Brother Ye."
Hou Xiaolin's words brought a glimmer of warmth to the weathered Ye Tiancheng. Hou Xiaolin's performance was so professional that Ye Tiancheng didn't detect anything amiss, nor did he suspect that this woman had been sent by Hou Mingzhu.
"Good. If possible, I'd like to keep you by my side. Of course, you have the right to choose. If you feel unhappy with me, I can let you go at any time. But please accompany me well during this limited time. You look too much like my ex-girlfriend, and it's my fault for treating you as a substitute, but I can give you any compensation you want."
Hou Xiaolin smiled but said nothing. This was only the first step. Hou Mingzhu had said that once Ye Tiancheng started making promises, Hou Xiaolin could contact her.
Fearing discovery, the two had very discreet contact methods, rendering tracking useless. As soon as Hou Xiaolin went out, she would drive around for an hour or two before meeting her boss, Hou Mingzhu.
Hou Xiaolin once again took over an hour to circle around before getting into Hou Mingzhu's BMW.
"Is everything going smoothly?"
"Very smoothly. That Ye Tiancheng is such a lecher. From the first time he saw me, he seemed unable to move. Afterwards, he treated me incredibly well. It's hilarious; he completely mistook me for that woman, Hou Qing'er. He's completely bewitched! I heard from others that he wasn't interested in women and rejected many who approached him."
Listening to Hou Xiaolin speak so casually, Hou Mingzhu suddenly felt a pang of envy. The issues that Hou Xiaolin dismissed so easily were, for Hou Mingzhu, like heights that could never be reached, breaking her heart.
"Now Ye Tiancheng has handed over all his herbal medicine business to his apprentice, Lin Xue. This sector has significant profits. I hope you can find a way to take over all the herbal medicine business and completely monopolize Lin Xue's rights."
This plan not only included Hou Mingzhu's personal feelings, as she didn't want the ethereal-looking Lin Xue to get too close to Ye Tiancheng, but also aimed to seize the herbal medicine business. If Hou Xiaolin was responsible for this business, Hou Mingzhu could profit from it, making it a perfect plan with a double benefit.
"No problem. Ye Tiancheng listens to everything I say now. I'm afraid I could ask him to kill someone, and he would do it. This man has completely fallen."
Hou Xiaolin, a country girl who had worked outside, hadn't experienced anything significant. Now that a legendary figure like Ye Tiancheng was so easily manipulated by her, it made Hou Xiaolin feel a bit conceited.