Chapter 117: A Lavish Gift and a Palace Drama
For a full hour, Jiang Zhou walked out of the storage room and straightened his clothes, feeling completely refreshed. He had evolved!
He firmly believed he had become the coldest and most heartless capitalist.
Just now, he had scared Su Nan into tears five times.
The first time, he only held out for five minutes before giving in.
The second time, ten minutes.
Then fifteen.
Twenty.
Finally, he managed to keep a cold, mocking expression the entire time without wavering.
A raise?
Hah. A raise? Impossible. Not in this lifetime!
At that moment, Su Nan walked out of the storage room. Her little face was dirty, hair completely messed up, and her beautiful eyes were swollen from crying.
“Bastard. Damn Jiang Zhou!”
What kind of boss could be so heartless?
He actually made her cry for a whole hour!
And in the end, the promise of a raise didn’t count. He claimed it was just a simulation, unrelated to real work.
Tears dried, and she didn’t even get a single extra penny.
“Alright, stop crying. Get back to work,” Jiang Zhou said.
Su Nan looked dazed. “Still have to work? Boss, are you even human?”
Jiang Zhou tidied her hair. “Fine, you’ve had a tough day. Take the rest of the day off.”
“That’s more like it. Hmph!” Su Nan wiped her tears and turned to leave.
Just then, Jiang Zhou suddenly called out, “Xiao Nan’er.”
She looked back. “What?”
“I know you’ve been with me since the beginning of the business, worked hard, suffered a lot,” he began, “Others spend weekends shopping with friends. You stayed with the keyboard. Even though you always complain, you never left.
“I was a first-time boss. You were my first employee. In a way, I was raised by you as much as you were by me. So my feelings toward you are different from the others.
“I’ve never properly thanked you. So today, I just want to say thank you.”
Su Nan blushed. “W-Why are you saying all this? It’s so cheesy…”
Jiang Zhou pulled ten shopping cards from his pocket. 1,000 yuan each.
“You’re a little money-lover, so I picked a gift you’d like.”
“What is this?”
“Shopping cards for Times Square. Total of 10,000 yuan.”
Su Nan’s eyes turned red again. “I was only asking for a raise to mess with you…”
Jiang Zhou patted her head. “I know. Now go rest and enjoy yourself.”
“Mm. Thanks, Boss. Boss is the handsomest!”
As he watched her walk away, Jiang Zhou sighed quietly.
Why did my nose feel sore again?
Clearly, I am not cold enough yet.
Still too soft. Still not a true capitalist.
I’d have to practice more with someone else later.
—
That evening, the wind rustled the trees on campus. Jiang Zhou strolled to the girls’ dorm and called Han Rou down.
“Big brother, what’s up?” Han Rou appeared in her oversized bear pajamas — goofy and adorable.
Jiang Zhou handed her a bag. “Here, a gift.”
“For me? But… today’s not my birthday, or any holiday.”
“It’s one of the 24 solar terms, Cold Dew. Let’s just say it counts.”
Han Rou looked like she was about to cry. “Why do you keep finding excuses to give me things?”
He tapped her forehead. “I need an excuse to give my own sister a gift?”
“I wanna open it now!”
“Nope. Do it back in your room, or you’ll start crying again.”
Eyes reddening, Han Rou muttered, “So what if I cry? You spoil me so much…”
Jiang Zhou sighed. “Su Nan already soaked my collar in tears. You can skip it.”
“Su Nan? Oh my god, what did you two do?”
“None of your business. Now go.”
“Okay~” she replied with a playful pout, but inside, she was overjoyed.
She had never had a family until she met Jiang Zhou.
Despite being two years younger than her, he was mature and treated her so well.
Like Han Rou said, he was always coming up with reasons to send red packets or gifts.
He wouldn’t even let her get a part-time job. What blood-related brother would do this?
She didn’t care about the gifts themselves.
To her, it was the thought that mattered.
Back in the dorm, Han Rou opened the package.
“Wow, Han Rou, did you get a new Chanel bag?”
“This is Chanel?”
“Of course! I’ve seen it, 20,000 yuan!”
Her eyes widened. “H-How much?!”
Her roommate looked at her. “20,000. Didn’t you know?”
“This was… from my brother…”
—
Twenty minutes later, the sky darkened even more.
Streetlights bathed the road in golden glow.
Jiang Zhou arrived at Qingbei University, standing outside the girls’ dorm.
He called Chu Yuwei down.
She was thrilled. Jiang Zhou had never taken the initiative to find her, except when she went to the ER that one time, so she rushed down within a minute.
“Jiang Zhou! What are you doing here?”
“Checking in. Have you been behaving?”
Chu Yuwei scrunched her nose. “Of course. I’m super well-behaved.”
He handed her a box. “Good. Now get some rest.”
“What’s this?”
“Kids shouldn’t ask too many questions. I’m off.”
She blinked, confused, then opened the box.
Inside was a silver necklace, set with a small diamond that sparkled in the light.
She froze.
This— this was the one she had always wanted.
And Jiang Zhou… had given it to her?!
“Jiang Zhou…” She looked up, dazed, but he had already walked far ahead.
She dashed to catch up, arms out like she wanted to hug him.
“Stop! Stay there.”
“…Okay.”
Jiang Zhou looked at her, expressionless. “It’s fake. Only cost 30 yuan. Don’t get too excited.”
Chu Yuwei looked down at the four-leaf clover pendant.
“So what if it’s fake? I love it anyway.”
“Look at you, so hopeless. Now get lost.”
“Then I’m going… but when will you come see me again?”
“Depends on my mood. Maybe two or three years.”
Chu Yuwei huffed, then covered her mouth and giggled softly. Hugging the box to her chest like a treasure, she didn’t mind at all that it was fake.
So what if it was fake?
She liked fake things.
If it had been real, it probably wouldn’t even sparkle this much.
That little fake diamond really was bling-bling enough for her.