Chapter 115: Cry? Cry and I’ll Give You a Raise!
At Hongye Estate, the European-style white living room was silent for a long time.
Jiang Zhou slowly sipped his tea, one sip after another ntil nearly the whole cup was gone.
But Yin Shuya remained silent.
She didn’t say yes, but she didn’t refuse either.
So, Jiang Zhou stood up, grabbed the folder, and prepared to leave.
That’s how cooperation worked: a 50/50 chance of success.
It’s not like he had to partner with Yin Shuya.
He only brought it up to get her to back off Ganfanren.
If this method didn’t work, he’d just find another. He refused to believe he couldn’t handle this childish woman.
“Hey? Wait, where are you going?”
Jiang Zhou paused and turned slightly. “You’ve been hesitating for so long. Doesn’t that mean you’re not interested?”
Yin Shuya dropped onto the sofa. “I was imagining how I’d give my acceptance speech after winning an award.”
“…” Jiang Zhou was speechless. “Delusional. What a turnoff.”
“Okay, fine. I admit it. Your pitch convinced me.”
“So, you agree?”
Yin Shuya nodded. “I’m not doing anything anyway. Might as well play along.”
Jiang Zhou let out a deep breath. “Then remember that we’re in the same boat now!”
“Same bed, you mean? Uh, I mean boat.”
“Anyway, from now on, don’t sabotage me. And stop ordering delivery! That’s final!”
Yin Shuya immediately got worked up. “Who’s sabotaging you? I really like your project, okay? I don’t buy just any random company!”
Jiang Zhou didn’t care about her reasoning. “From now on, we’re family. What’s yours is mine. What’s mine is… still mine. Got it?”
“Got it…”
“Good, now that’s the attitude of the future queen of cinema.”
Yin Shuya giggled. “Then when I win an award, you have to write my acceptance speech!”
Jiang Zhou coughed. “The director’s the one who gets awards. You don’t have a damn thing to do with it.”
“Pfft, who cares about directors when you’ve got me? Oh right, when do I get the full script?”
“I’ll sketch it out first. Don’t bother me if it’s not urgent. I’m off.” He tossed the line casually and stepped out the door.
Now, the tables had turned.
He held all the initiative.
Whether she got the script or not depended entirely on his mood.
“You better hurry! I’m waiting!” Yin Shuya slipped on her slippers and followed him out, eyes full of expectation.
Jiang Zhou didn’t even look back, just waved a hand. “Yeah, yeah. Just don’t bug me unless it’s important.”
As soon as he said that, all the household staff looked at Jiang Zhou.
They’d been working in this house for years and knew exactly how temperamental their young miss could be.
Twenty-nine, unmarried, filthy rich. How could she not be moody?
Every guest that visited always smiled from ear to ear, walking on eggshells.
But this guy? He complained she was annoying.
And the most unbelievable part was that Miss Shuya wasn’t even mad.
She was smiling. Beaming, even.
Everyone felt like they were watching a fantasy drama.
At this rate, the sun might rise from the west tomorrow.
—
After leaving Hongye Estate, Jiang Zhou turned the car around and drove toward Times Square.
He’d been so busy lately, completely overwhelmed.
With the school trip happening tomorrow, he hadn’t prepared a thing.
Now that he had time, he figured he’d do a little shopping.
Even if he didn’t need anything himself, he could buy a few gifts for his little girls.
For Feng Siruo, who was already a little rich girl with no interest in luxury goods, Jiang Zhou picked out two matching couple outfits.
One was a pair of hooded sweatshirts — black and white, with lettered sleeves.
The letters could be pieced together to form a phrase: “If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving one be me.”
The other set was a pair of matching black baseball jackets with white sleeves.
Perfect for her to wear on the trip tomorrow.
If she dared refuse, he’d scare her, say he wasn’t planning to pursue her anymore.
She’d definitely show up wearing it with puppy-dog eyes.
Heh… just thinking about it is delightful.
For Han Rou, his little sister figure who loved to dress up, he visited the Chanel store and picked out a black, pebbled leather shoulder bag.
It was gorgeous, but the price tag was painful.
“Hello sir, that’ll be 25,000.”
Jiang Zhou swiped the card, heart aching.
Raising a little sister was even more expensive than having a girlfriend.
But hey, sisters and girlfriends were both meant to be spoiled.
Family was family. He’d spoil them all the same.
For Su Nan, who didn’t have any hobbies aside from loving money, he couldn’t just give her cash outright. He was her boss, after all.
Doing so might stir gossip among the other employees.
Still, she’d been with him since the early days of the startup, always grumbling about the workload, yet never once slacking off.
And her otaku dance performances were getting better and better.
So, Jiang Zhou happily gifted her a 10,000 shopping card.
She could pick out whatever she wanted herself.
And if she didn’t want anything, she could resell it for cash.
Gifts from the rich — simple, direct, and functional.
As for Chu Yuwei, that girl loved anything shiny and sparkly.
Like those cheap unknown-material earrings she bought in front of University of Technology.
And with anything “bling bling,” he knew he’d have to bleed a little.
So Jiang Zhou went to a jewelry store and bought her a diamond clover necklace.
20,000 — less than a carat.
But hey, it was a real sparkly diamond.
He figured he’d buy a better one after the venture expo.
That said… as soon as he left the store, he regretted it.
Damn it, this thing’s tiny.
Even a fake one would look the same.
And it’s not like she’d dare take it in for appraisal anyway.
Lastly, Huang Qi.
That fashion-forward beauty wouldn’t care for ordinary gifts.
So Jiang Zhou picked out a perfume bottle with pretty packaging.
If she didn’t like the scent, she could pour it out and use the bottle for flowers.
He didn’t understand perfume, so he just chose the most expensive one.
After two hours of shopping, Jiang Zhou’s legs were completely worn out.
But at least the gifts were all taken care of.
Doing the math, he realized that Feng Siruo’s gift was the cheapest of them all.
And Jiang Zhou wasn’t the type to show favoritism.
So, he turned right back around and bought a pair of Cartier couple’s wristwatches.
Good lord. 36,000 for the women’s watch, 42,000 for the men’s.
“If I don’t get a kiss from Feng Siruo for all this, it would just be unreasonable!”
Jiang Zhou, carrying bags of gifts, walked to a bench outside the mall and sat down to rest.
Buying gifts for so many people didn’t mean he was fickle, it just meant he wanted to be a pleasant surprise in their lives.
Thinking about the looks on their faces when they received their gifts, Jiang Zhou felt it would all be worth it.
But this time… he’d definitely spent too much.
An entire month’s income from the food delivery platform was gone.
Next time, he had to hold back. Seriously, he had to.