Chapter 70
Qin Yao had actually prepared so much, so generously... No, wait. What? Betrothal gifts?!
Tang Shiyu and Xu Chun’s father were both stunned; it took them a while to recover. She exchanged a glance with her husband and barely managed to suppress her shock, keeping the calm, refined air expected of a society lady. “President Qin, I don’t understand what you mean.”
She drew a deep breath, her gaze dropping to the thick stack of documents. She didn’t reach for it.
Qin Yao had given them time to digest the news, politely holding back until Tang Shiyu finally spoke. A smile curved Qin Yao’s lips. She set the documents directly beside Tang Shiyu’s hand and answered the question with one of her own. “Won’t Mrs. Xu take a look first?”
“Or we could look through it while we talk?”
Her words came slowly and softly, but the undercurrent in her tone brooked no refusal. Tang Shiyu’s fingertips trembled. After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded. “...All right.”
With that, she picked up the pristine list, which looked as though it had just been prepared, and had barely opened it to the first page when the few lines at the top caught her eye. Fifteen percent of Qin Group’s shares?!
Tang Shiyu nearly jumped out of her skin. Fortunately, her husband reacted quickly and pressed a hand to her before she could make a scene in public. Her mouth dry, she forced her gaze away from those two lines, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it might burst from her chest. “President Qin, this...”
“It’s voluntary on my part.” Unlike the distant, cold, unapproachable figure she cut onscreen, Qin Yao was gentle now, patient, tender, even approachable. Yet Tang Shiyu didn’t dare assume that, just because Qin Yao was being amiable in this moment, she was someone easy to push around.
The small motion of Qin Yao’s fingertip tapping lightly against the table struck Tang Shiyu’s chest like one heavy blow after another.
“This is the most basic respect and material security I can offer her.”
Tang Shiyu couldn’t find words for the shock in her heart. It was one thing for her daughter to have feelings for this woman. Who would have guessed that woman harbored the same intentions? Not only that, she had clearly planned ahead and prepared early... Tang Shiyu’s gaze shifted to the pile of betrothal gifts that could buy entire cities.
She hadn’t finished reading, but the first few lines alone were enough to prove Qin Yao’s seriousness and how highly she regarded this.
But—“Why?”
Tang Shiyu genuinely couldn’t understand. She knew her daughter was now a top-tier star, very popular. Even Zhao Ciying and Zheng Jinchan had thought about getting close to her and building a relationship. But building a relationship and making friends was one thing; sending betrothal gifts and proposing marriage was another entirely.
The Xu family was, at best, a bottom-tier wealthy household, nothing like Qin Yao, a magnate whose business empire spanned the globe. The gulf between them in status and wealth was like cloud and mud. How could the Xu family ever catch up to Qin Yao’s background in any short time? There were practically two Pacific Oceans between them.
And yet, under such circumstances, Qin Yao had taken the initiative to seek their daughter’s hand with such sincerity?
Their daughter wasn’t bad, of course, and she could even be called outstanding. But something still felt off to Tang Shiyu.
She couldn’t put her finger on it. She unconsciously knit her brows, studying every subtle shift in Qin Yao’s expression with bewilderment.
Qin Yao’s unhurried tone left Tang Shiyu and Xu Chun’s father in suspense. “Because I want to be at her side for the rest of her life, to take part in everything she does, to exist in every minute and every second she spends.”
It was an unexpected answer, one that could even be called somewhat romantic, but...
Tang Shiyu gently set down the documents, a flicker of difficulty crossing her face. “When it comes to matters as important as marriage, we’ve always gone by our daughter’s wishes.” She smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid we can’t give you a definite answer right now.”
“I understand.” The smile on Qin Yao’s face was faint, yet it melted away silently like early-spring snow, revealing a burst of radiant spring light. “My main purpose today was to make my attitude and sincerity clear to you.”
They had seen Qin Yao’s sincerity, and they had to admit that their feelings at this moment were exceedingly complicated.
Before coming, Tang Shiyu had considered so many things, been so nervous, and told her husband not to bring it up first. Yet who would have known—the moment they met, Qin Yao dropped such a bombshell that Tang Shiyu’s head was spinning, and even now she felt dazed, as if in an unreal dream.
“Why don’t Mrs. Xu and President Xu take a brief look at the list?” Qin Yao said, a faint, almost imperceptible note of urging in her voice. “If there’s anything you’re not satisfied with, say so now and I’ll revise it immediately.”
“Not satisfied? No, no, no. How would they dare be dissatisfied?”
They’d be grateful Qin Yao didn’t look down on the Xu family as small and humble; how would they dare have any other opinion?
Even so, Tang Shiyu and Xu Chun’s father couldn’t hold back their curiosity and read through it carefully. But the more they read, the more shocked they became. Qin Yao’s sincerity overflowed—it was as if she wanted to hand over every asset under her name and her entire salary to Xu Chun.
After the initial shock, Tang Shiyu couldn’t help but find it somewhat amusing as she read on.
Jiang Zhaolie had unceremoniously called things off with their daughter, and then Jiang Zhaolie’s own mother had taken a fancy to her. What was this? A born stepmother’s fate and a destiny of wealth?
After all, compared to Jiang Zhaolie, Qin Yao was beyond compare. She was light-years better.
Only... Tang Shiyu’s thoughts paused. Qin Yao had put everything she owned into the betrothal gifts without reservation. Wasn’t she afraid of losing? But soon Tang Shiyu reconsidered. Even if she lost, she could rise again quickly, and she had more than enough power to retaliate and make the other party wish they were dead.
For a moment, Tang Shiyu’s heart was a tangle of emotions. After she and her husband quietly finished reading the list, they had gone from initial shock to a kind of numbness.
This could well be called the most extravagant betrothal gift in history; never in her wildest dreams had she imagined she’d one day see such a thing.
Under Qin Yao’s slightly expectant gaze, Tang Shiyu forced a smile. “It’s quite good. No problems.”
Then she deliberately added, “As long as our daughter likes it, anything is fine.”
Qin Yao set down her water glass and said pointedly, “She will like it.”
Secretary Zhao and Tang Shiyu both felt their eyelids twitch at the same time, a vague premonition rising in their hearts that Xu Chun was about to be in deep trouble. But neither intended to warn her. This wasn’t something they could interfere in, after all.
Two people fated to be together would find their way to each other no matter what.
The atmosphere at the table became considerably more relaxed and pleasant after that. Tang Shiyu and Xu Chun’s father gradually let go of their restraint and took the opportunity to discuss cooperative projects with Qin Yao. They benefited greatly and grew much more confident. Spurred on by Qin Yao’s priceless betrothal gifts, Xu Chun’s father had already imagined hundreds of ways to make big money fast before the meal was even over.
By the time dinner was drawing to a close, Xu Chun’s father had finally made up his mind: before his daughter married, he would grow the company as much as possible, so that in the end they wouldn’t be looked down upon, with rumors flying everywhere.
After dinner, Qin Yao personally saw President Xu and Mrs. Xu to their car. The two felt awkward and more than a little flattered. Once they had finally taken their leave of her, Tang Shiyu sat in the back seat and couldn’t help but let out a long breath of relief. Xu Chun’s father blinked and asked, “Honey, I wasn’t dreaming just now, was I?”
His answer was a sharp pain in his waist. Xu Chun’s father hurriedly clutched the sore spot, grimacing. “All right, all right, I get it.”
So it really wasn’t a dream.
What had Xu Mingye done to deserve this? To actually have such a powerful and influential son-in-law in his lifetime.
Seeing her husband grin so wide his face looked ready to split, Tang Shiyu frowned slightly and couldn’t help reminding him, “Don’t forget the gap between us and President Qin...”
“Not a big problem.” Xu Chun’s father rubbed his hands together eagerly. “Just you wait, honey. In three years, I may not be able to grow the company to Qin Group’s level, but breaking into the mid-tier of the wealthy class will be no problem at all.”
That would be for the best, Tang Shiyu thought with some anticipation.
If Qin Yao truly had feelings for their daughter in that way, all the better. Otherwise, their daughter would have to suffer far too much in love. She looked out the window and unexpectedly found herself thinking of when Xu Chun was little, back when she’d taken her to have her fortune told. The fortune-teller had said, “This child is doomed to die young!”
“No, wait... there’s still a sliver of a chance. The worst can turn for the best, like winter-withered wood blooming in spring.” The fortune-teller had calculated carefully for a long while, and only after an hour did he smooth the furrow from his brow. “She’s fated to face a tribulation. If she survives it, all will be well. If she doesn’t...”
Tang Shiyu didn’t need the fortune-teller to finish; she understood.
Just as she was worrying, the fortune-teller spoke again. “She’s destined to have a noble benefactor. If that benefactor is willing to step in and save her, she’ll live without worry for the rest of her life.”
At the time, Tang Shiyu had been anxious and couldn’t help asking, “Then will that benefactor step in?”
The fortune-teller stared at her for a long while, then said ambiguously, “No. But also yes.”
Such words had left Tang Shiyu flustered and at a loss. Now, suddenly recalling it, she couldn’t help pressing her lips together. That tribulation the man had spoken of. Could it have been Jiang Zhaolie heartlessly breaking off the engagement with her daughter?
If Qin Yao was sincere, then Tang Shiyu had to admit that her daughter had indeed found life where there had seemed to be none.
After thinking it over, Tang Shiyu still couldn’t resist reminding her daughter, “From now on, be a bit more reserved and self-respecting in front of President Qin. Don’t scare her off.”
Xu Chun’s immediate reaction was: “?”
“Mom, what do you mean by that? It’s not like I stripped naked and climbed into her bed. How did I scare her off?”
Tang Shiyu’s eyelid twitched hard. “...”
She should have known.
Tang Shiyu wasn’t about to keep bantering with Xu Chun and meant to go about her own business. But Xu Chun insisted on pestering her about what had happened when they dined with Qin Yao, even pretending at one point to be dejected as she talked about her own inferiority complex in front of Qin Yao.
Tang Shiyu was so worn down by the noise that her head was buzzing. When Xu Chun chattered on yet again, she finally couldn’t hold back and raised her voice. “Stop agonizing over how strong and capable Qin Yao is! If you like her, chase her. If you can’t catch her, snatch her. If you can’t snatch her, steal her. I believe that where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Xu Chun paused, suddenly doubting her own ears. “...???”
“Mom, that’s not at all what you were saying just now.”
TL Note:
cloud and mud (云泥之别) = an idiom for an extreme disparity, like heaven and earth.
"winter-withered wood blooming in spring, the worst turning to the best (枯木逢春，否极泰来)" are chengyu meaning a miraculous recovery from adversity.
noble benefactor (贵人) = in Chinese fortune-telling, a fated person who brings help or salvation.
"born stepmother’s fate (天生的后妈命)" jokes that marrying Qin Yao would make Xu Chun the stepmother of Jiang Zhaolie, the man who dumped her.