Wang Shuang felt his taste had been insulted.
Qin Jiao insulting his taste didn’t even need rounding up, it was a flat-out rejection of his entire being!
Young Master Wang’s “girlfriends” spanned junior high, high school, and even college seniors, never once including Wen Ying’s type.
Wen Ying hadn’t expected anyone else in Qin Jiao’s car either, so when Qin Jiao introduced Wang Shuang, she was mildly surprised.
So this was the little playboy Wang Shuang.
He didn’t resemble Boss Wang at all.
Boss Wang was the rugged, boisterous type, while Wang Shuang had a delicate, almost feminine look—pretty, with a small brown mole near the silkworm pouch at the tail of his right eye, giving him a subtle charm beyond his years when he squinted.
No wonder he could be a playboy—it took capital, Wen Ying thought his look was a bit girly, but teenage girls ate it up, cue the cheesy line: Wang Shuang was “a少年 straight out of a manga”—Wen Ying cringed at her own description.
Wang Shuang might look refined, but his vibe was cocky, and Wen Ying, this round-faced chubby girl, sizing him up with an old-lady gaze, instantly grated on him, making him squirm in the passenger seat.
“So you’re Wen Ying? My dad raves about you at home, Qin Jiao too, I thought you’d be… forget it, let’s drop it, get in, today Young Master Shuang’s your flower-guarding knight!”
Wen Ying caught his jab.
Listen to that—guarding Qin Jiao’s flower was legit, but Wen Ying didn’t deserve one?
She tilted her chin, “Young Master Shuang?”
“Wang Shuang, if you can’t respect people, get out now, we don’t need you tagging along!” Qin Jiao snapped, protective.
Wang Shuang felt wronged.
The goods didn’t match the hype—couldn’t he be a little let down?
Plus, he’d known Qin Jiao way longer than Wen Ying had, yet she was siding with an outsider, so Wang Shuang sulked, zipping his lips and slumping in his seat.
Qin Jiao apologized, but Wen Ying brushed it off.
Qin Jiao was her friend, not Wang Shuang—why care what he thought?
Noticing a car trailing them, Wen Ying shifted the topic.
Qin Jiao looked sheepish, “My dad sent two guys to follow, said they’d carry bags, isn’t that overkill?”
Wen Ying shook her head, “Not at all, it’s Uncle Qin caring about you.”
Yu Wenhao’s gaze last night had put Wen Ying on edge, Qin Jiao must’ve mentioned it to Boss Qin, prompting the bodyguards, until they figured out Yu Wenhao’s game, Boss Qin couldn’t be too cautious.
Wen Ying had reverse-engineered Yu Wenhao’s schemes from last life’s events, but her limited knowledge left gaps.
Like why, with Boss Qin around, Deng Shangwei still fell so far as to sell off his seafood company last time.
If Yu Wenhao took it over, how’d he win Boss Qin’s trust?
Last night, they didn’t seem close.
Something must’ve happened, swaying Boss Qin’s view of her uncle and Yu Wenhao… at Boss Qin’s level, earning his trust or disdain was tough, not from him directly—maybe his family?
Wen Ying instinctively leaned closer to Qin Jiao, as if shielding her from Yu Wenhao’s shadow.
Qin Jiao’s eyes curved into a smile.
, Sure enough, Wen Ying didn’t mind!
Wang Shuang caught this in the rearview mirror, slapping a “bootlicker” label on Wen Ying.
Some small-time bosses ditched dignity for profit, kissing up to big shots and sending nieces to flatter their daughters!
Good thing Wen Ying wasn’t pretty, or she’d be after Qin Jiao’s brother, right?
Wang Shuang couldn’t wrap his head around it.
Plenty of suck-ups tried with Qin Jiao, who should’ve been seasoned, yet she fell for Wen Ying… Wang Shuang grew wary, this chubby girl didn’t look sharp, but her cunning ran deep!
He pulled out his phone, found Qin Jiao’s brother in his contacts, and texted Qin Yi:
“Yi哥, when’re you back for summer? Someone’s conning Qin Jiao!”
“?”
Qin Yi replied with a question mark.
Wang Shuang fired off a rant.
Qin Yi texted back, “My dad and yours combined aren’t as smart as you?”
Meaning if Wen Ying had bad intentions, the adults wouldn’t let her near Qin Jiao, Wang Shuang was meddling for nothing, Qin Yi told him to do some practice papers if he was bored—girlfriends couldn’t take his exams for him.
Wang Shuang nearly crushed his phone in fury.
In the backseat, Wen Ying and Qin Jiao giggled all the way to the mall.
Arm in arm, they shopped, Wen Ying, the bootlicker, praised every outfit Qin Jiao tried—pointless, Qin Jiao was gorgeous, did she need stating the obvious?
Wang Shuang wanted to butt in but couldn’t tell a plain white shirt from one with lace trim, yet they debated it for ten minutes!
When Wen Ying picked clothes for Qin Jiao, Wang Shuang contrarily pushed other styles, Qin Jiao sighed, “Wang Shuang, your taste is bizarre, just carry bags today, no opinions.”
Bizarre taste?
Wang Shuang wanted to spit blood.
He’d shopped with Qin Jiao before—why no complaints then?
Now with this chubby girl, she found fault everywhere!
Wen Ying stayed poker-faced: Looks like little Wang Shuang had a lot of question marks.
A straight guy vying for her spot?
Pfft, dream on!
Qin Jiao turned to pick clothes for Wen Ying, who only bought a tracksuit.
“I want to lose weight this summer, I’ll shop more when I’m slimmer.”
It was Deng Shangwei’s money, Wen Ying wouldn’t splurge, her earlier pricey buys were pure spite after his mess.
Wang Shuang nearly quipped, “Oh, you know you’re fat?” but swallowed it, fearing Qin Jiao’s wrath.
Qin Jiao sized her up, “Girls don’t need to be too thin, but exercise is good, active people are healthier, I’m with you.”
Ah, Qin Jiao小姐姐 was too sweet!
That day, Qin Jiao not only paid for everything but covered Wen Ying’s tracksuit too, Deng Shangwei’s “activity funds” barely touched.
To Wang Shuang, this screamed Wen Ying mooching off Qin Jiao!
Wen Ying felt bad.
She didn’t want to freeload, accepting Qin Jiao’s gift meant she’d reciprocate.
Time to kickstart magazine submissions—money was courage, no cash, no confidence!
On the way back, Wen Ying grabbed a stack of mags from a newsstand.
Mengya, a literary teen fave, was a must—she’d study its style for New Concept Essay judges’ tastes.
For youth campus mags, she was spoiled for choice!
She recalled a few big names, but in 2004, they were blooming… for a wannabe writer like Wen Ying, she’d landed in the golden age!
