TSDT - 58

With the end of the year approaching, activities in various industries were frequent, especially in the beauty sector. Major brands successively launched their limited-edition products around Christmas and New Year’s Day, leveraging the festive and New Year’s buzz to stimulate public consumption. Every year at this time, influencers with some reputation would receive monetary greetings from brands, helping with various promotions.

Fu Xuan felt something was off. Two major brands had invited her in spring and summer this year, but now there was no news. She lowered herself to proactively contact the brand representatives, who only said that the company’s plan had changed, and they would have a chance to cooperate in the future.

What plan changed? It was clear that after her breakup, she no longer had the “dog food blogger” niche, her data wasn’t as good as before, and she was squeezed out by several newcomers who produced content in new and varied ways.

Why? Looking at the entire industry, few natural beauties could compare to her in appearance. Others just made some flashy videos, and they easily stepped all over her.

How could she be reconciled?

This wasn’t the only frustrating thing. Fu Xuan hadn’t expected that after her last direct confrontation with Jiang Ying, even after she had spoken like that, their relationship wasn’t damaged but instead grew stronger.

What was even more exasperating was that Jiang Ying now posted daily updates about her relationship on Weibo every few days, calling him “Classmate Meng” this and that. For example, on Christmas Eve, she posted several updates in a row—

“On a big holiday, I originally planned to meet a friend to eat stir-fried rice cakes at that XX Road place, but Classmate Meng insisted I accompany him to work overtime, I’m almost bored to death [dizzy face]”

“I was playing games on the sofa in his office, and whenever he passed by, he’d pull my hair. I’d glare at him, and he’d just smile... What’s he so smug about [question mark]”

“Case cracked... This guy doesn’t know where he got the gift list from, all stuffed into a giant box. It was a bit of a surprise when I opened the trunk... But, my small apartment is getting more and more crowded [smiling face]”

Attached was a picture of the contents of the box: several brand paper bags containing leather bags, a few sets of trendy earrings, and various Christmas makeup sets of different sizes. Among them were two brands that had just dropped Fu Xuan, and there was a limited edition eyeshadow palette she wanted but couldn’t buy...

Fu Xuan was furious. These things should have been hers, but now they were snatched by Jiang Ying!

Meng Jingshu was now indulging Jiang Ying, letting her post anything, even unconcerned about his own privacy.

Why was it so unfair? After all this, it was still Jiang Ying. Everything she had received, everything she hadn’t, he was now giving it all to Jiang Ying without reservation. So what was she?

Once, she was overjoyed, having found a young, promising, wealthy man, and her future path seemed secure. Everyone said he treated her generously, but she felt she could never truly enter his heart. So, she became even more demanding of material satisfaction, and the affection she couldn’t get from him, she sought from others. She was born a favored child of heaven; all good things should belong to her.

But Jiang Ying ruined everything! The two of them, how could they disregard her like this? She would make them pay!

Just as she was feeling agitated, Feng Xirou called.

She immediately said, “Xuan’er, I’m a bit short on cash lately, lend me another thirty thousand, will you?”

Her delicate eyebrows furrowed, “Lend again? You haven’t paid back the last one...”

“Oh, you know how it is. Old Hu’s family is causing a scene right now. Once Old Hu appeases her, I’ll naturally pay you back.”

Fu Xuan said coldly, “I’m not exactly rolling in money myself right now. I just inexplicably lost two ad deals. Where would I get spare money to help you out? Aren’t you and Mr. Hong doing well? Why is he so stingy with you?”

“Tsk, I can’t explain this clearly to you.” Every time she mentioned her relationship with Hong Binyu, she looked unwilling to say more. “How about this, you lend me the money first, and in a while, there’s a gathering. I’ll introduce you to someone there, I guarantee you’ll like who you meet. How about it?”

“I...” Fu Xuan hesitated a little.

Feng Xirou added, “Oh, right, didn’t you say last time that your ex-boyfriend’s current girlfriend is constantly showing off to you?”

Speaking of which, Fu Xuan got angry: “That bitch, she’s clearly doing it to spite me.”

Feng Xirou knew she had hit the mark and asked with a smile, “How about we teach them a lesson?”

________________________________________

Shufeng Technology.

In the CTO’s office, there was always someone sprawled on the guest sofa.

It had been like this these past few days: Jiang Ying would leave work on time, then diligently come here to accompany her boyfriend while he worked overtime.

The first time she came, Jiang Ying felt like she was facing a formidable enemy. To clear up her childish image in the eyes of her boyfriend’s colleagues, a thorough makeover was a given. She also prepared many snowflake crisps in advance, packed them into separate boxes, and brought them to share with her colleagues who were working overtime. The hardworking techies were flattered and quickly ate a few pieces, their eyes sparkling with delight.

Thus, her first appearance successfully won people over.

At that time, Wei Zhanfeng had just returned from running errands outside. He saw a box of snacks on everyone’s desk. He casually took a piece, asked a certain programmer, “What is this? Did you order takeout? It’s pretty good.”

The programmer, eating and diligently working, mumbled indistinctly, “The boss’s wife gave it. Said it’s called snowflake crisp.”

“What? What boss’s wife?”

The programmer pointed to Meng Jingshu’s office.

Wei Zhanfeng was very curious. He strode over and saw Meng Jingshu embracing a beautiful and slender woman, talking. He didn’t know what he heard, but that guy was smiling charmingly, his usual composed demeanor completely thrown out the window.

He knocked twice on the door and walked in with a laugh.

“Old Meng...”

Caught in such an affectionate moment, Meng Jingshu showed no discomfort, saying leisurely, “Perfect timing, come say hello to my wife.”

Wei Zhanfeng followed suit, “Hello, sister-in-law. I’m Wei Zhanfeng. Old Meng must have mentioned me, we’ll probably see each other often in the future. We’re all family, so no need for formalities.”

The woman smiled brightly, “Hello.”

Wei Zhanfeng thought to himself, This girl Old Meng found this time is a bit different. No airs, quite pretty, pure... but she seems a little familiar.

Then he heard her say, “You really don’t remember me? I’m Jiang Ying, we met in college.”

Wei Zhanfeng was stunned, then suddenly understood.

“Ah! You’re that... high school classmate!”

Jiang Ying smiled, “That’s me.”

“Tsk, I knew it!” Wei Zhanfeng slapped his friend on the shoulder. “I was wondering why Old Meng kept you so hidden. Eight out of ten times, he was afraid I’d laugh at him!”

Meng Jingshu coughed twice.

Jiang Ying asked curiously, “Laugh at him for what?”

“I used to think sister-in-law was pretty good, and told him to pursue you. But Old Meng is stubborn and even ridiculed me for being a busybody. Isn’t that why your good thing was so difficult? It’s all his fault. This guy, he’s so arrogant, he can’t pursue girls at all. Sister-in-law, you really have to be very tolerant of him...”

Meng Jingshu interrupted helplessly, “CEO Wei, I believe we have a meeting tonight.”

________________________________________

Shufeng’s game project was in internal testing, and various issues urgently needed fixing, so working overtime was common.

After a few days, Jiang Ying had become a familiar face there, coming and going freely.

Meng Jingshu mostly didn’t work in his office, only occasionally returning to handle documents or make calls. After finishing, he would come over to pinch her face or give her a couple of kisses, then head back to the server room. Jiang Ying, meanwhile, stayed in his office doing her own thing: writing, binge-watching shows, or playing on her phone, essentially no different from being at home.

In truth, the two of them hardly spent time together, but he said that knowing she was very close to him, just a few steps away, made him feel very comfortable.

Unless there was an emergency, the company would enforce dismissal before 10 PM. Meng Jingshu openly held her hand as they left together, drawing envious glances from everyone.

Wei Zhanfeng announced that when Ke Nian wasn’t busy, he would also make her come accompany him for overtime, so he wouldn’t be shown up for nothing.

Meng Jingshu couldn’t be bothered with him.

Privately, Jiang Ying asked Meng Jingshu if their behavior would have a bad impact.

He said, “My wife comes to my company, what’s so bad about that? Besides, we didn’t do anything.”

“Oh.” You’re the boss, you call the shots.

A few seconds later, he added, “Or, should we do something next time? In the office?”

“...”

This man was never serious for a day!

Meng Jingshu laughed from being hit.

After returning home, Jiang Ying wanted to do a set of swan arm exercises while he showered. Unexpectedly, the man finished shaving in a few minutes and started calling her,

“Mommy.”

Jiang Ying suppressed a laugh, ignoring him.

He raised his voice again, “Mommy mommy!”

Jiang Ying didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. What kind of boyfriend was this...?

“What!”

He said frankly, “Come shower with me.”

When he said shower, he truly meant just showering. Due to space constraints, no extra activities could be carried out.

But even without doing anything else, just showering together was quite time-consuming. To make it interactive, they’d always end up washing each other’s hair or applying body wash, then somehow start laughing, and then kiss. When they embraced like that, every nerve from their hair to their toes was filled with pleasure.

Meng Jingshu grew even more clingy, and increasingly felt that she had become a part of him. Everything they did together felt natural and right, and all the time they spent together was not wasted.

And Jiang Ying, who disliked wasting time, simply liked that he liked to cling to her.

She liked his pure love and enthusiasm for her, hidden beneath his cold and sharp exterior.

She liked his tolerance, extreme attention, and care for her. Since he learned she couldn’t eat cold food before her period, he had remembered the timing and strictly enforced it. She wanted to eat the new durian ice cream cone from KFC, but he firmly refused. After her period passed, the KFC near her home no longer sold it. He quietly checked other stores in the city and, after work, took her a long distance just to buy an ice cream.

She also liked how he completely let go of everything in front of her, being utterly genuine. He would get angry, get annoyed, and also be happy, love to act spoiled, and occasionally bicker and argue with her over trivial things, which in retrospect seemed incredibly childish. But next time, he would still continue to be childish.

She even liked how he was completely relaxed after every lovemaking session, talking one second and then falling into a deep sleep, holding her, the next. Whenever this happened, Jiang Ying felt hopelessly that he was so adorable.

Tonight, Jiang Ying had a bit of insomnia, perhaps because... the process was gentler, not excessively depleting her physical energy, but instead exciting her and making her mind active?

She opened her eyes amidst his steady breathing, gazing aimlessly at the darkness above, seemingly thinking, yet also in a daze.

After a long while, her eyes felt a little sore.

She turned and buried her head in his arms, attempting to use his body heat to obscure her jumbled thoughts.

Ten minutes or more later, it turned out that his body heat only made her breathing difficult.

Jiang Ying flipped over again, turning her back to Meng Jingshu, sighing in boredom.

Meng Jingshu, however, stirred awake, asking her hoarsely and groggily, “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Ying felt a bit apologetic: “Did I wake you?”

He pressed close to her, shaking his head, kissing the back of her ear, and murmuring, “What’s wrong, baby? Unhappy?”

Jiang Ying turned back to lie flat again and asked him, “Am I ‘baby’ or ‘mommy’?”

He actually thought about it seriously, “Jiang Jiang is mommy, Ying Ying is baby.”

Jiang Ying chuckled, playing with his firm, elastic arm, pinching it.

Meng Jingshu half-closed his eyes, letting her pinch him, alternately kissing her cheek and rubbing her hair. Jiang Ying’s head felt extremely comfortable from his petting, and she hummed softly.

He asked again, “Baby doesn’t want to tell me? Can’t I know?”

Jiang Ying’s heart softened from his questioning. He had said before that he didn’t want there to be any reservations between them, and he really did practice what he preached. He wasn’t a particularly sensitive or delicate person, yet he was increasingly able to sense her little emotions.

The feelings he brought her were far greater than just sweetness; they were the sum of all tenderness.

Her vexation was appeased.

“It’s nothing, really. I’m just a bit tired of posting all that stuff on Weibo every day. I feel like I’m making myself seem very ostentatious just to get back at others, and it’s annoying.”

Meng Jingshu gently squeezed the back of her neck, “If it’s annoying, then don’t do it. Leave it to me to handle.”

Jiang Ying immediately said, “No way! This is a woman’s war.”

He gave her a smiling kiss, “Don’t worry, I’m always on your side.”

Jiang Ying sighed, “How can she be so patient? When will she make her move?”

“Perhaps, they are also waiting for an opportunity.”

“What opportunity?”

“It should be very soon,” he said.

________________________________________

A light snow turned the page on time, and a new year had arrived.

Meng Jingshu was still busy, and Jiang Ying was no longer as idle. New Year’s Day had passed, but there were still many things to complete before the Lunar New Year.

Shufeng’s game internal testing was nearing its end, and promotional matters were put on the agenda.

CEO Wei treated this project like his own child, vowing to hire the most popular endorsers and place the most ads for it.

Meng Jingshu scanned the proposal and, seeing the budget column, immediately rejected it.

His uncompromising stance infuriated Wei Zhanfeng, who declared that he was the CEO and had his own methods. “You don’t need to worry about this!”

Meng Jingshu was very calm: “Promotional spending exceeding the current R&D costs means it’s already gone off track. Also, considering the fan demographics of these candidates, are you sure they can become long-term players?”

“Is there anything that can be 100% guaranteed? These few have been incredibly popular this year. Look at these data, what do they represent? Popularity! That’s what we lack most! The fan demographics don’t affect their eagerness to promote their idols. Think about it, spending this money is like having millions of free internet trolls...”

Wei Zhanfeng talked himself hoarse, but Meng Jingshu remained unmoved.

He gritted his teeth in frustration, slapped his palm down, “Fine, want to save money, do you? We’ll go with Plan B!”

________________________________________

In mid-January, Shufeng Technology, an internet industry newcomer, released a promotional video for its lovingly crafted dating game, “Stars Turn for You.”

Within two days, this video, posted by the official Weibo account which originally had only dozens of followers, received tens of thousands of comments and reposts, with over a million views.

Jiang Ying was at work when she received a WeChat message from Huang Yanfei. She forwarded a Weibo post:

“Hahahahaha look at your man, so many people are coveting him!”

Jiang Ying opened the video with a face full of question marks and burst out laughing.

This was a teaser promotional video, filmed in documentary style, capturing the entire process of the game’s development. Meng Jingshu was highlighted as the primary selling point, occupying over eighty percent of the character footage.

Although he was very handsome, there was a script for the shoot, so it looked a bit unnatural. However, this slight unnaturalness, combined with his cool and handsome face, created a huge contrast, unconsciously hitting the girls’ sweet spot.

The top comment was: “I! CAN!”

No wonder he had been somewhat hesitant recently, with a look of being utterly exhausted. Once, he even suddenly said he wanted to break up with Wei Zhanfeng, which made Jiang Ying worry for nothing.

She laughed and reposted it: “Classmate Meng is awesome [proud][heart][heart]”

Unexpectedly, the next morning, her own Weibo exploded, with all reposts, comments, and likes exceeding 9999+.

Jiang Ying’s followers had already tripled from before, approaching ten thousand, thanks to her recent “selling” of her boyfriend’s good looks and relationship updates. But this data was unprecedented.

She had a premonition when she clicked on it.

Indeed, she saw Fu Xuan’s name frequently mentioned in the comments section.

The incident started when a netizen named “chili and hotpot are a better match” posted on Weibo:

“CEO Meng of Shufeng, who has gone viral these past two days, is suspected to be the cheating ex-boyfriend of the wealthy and beautiful influencer Fu Xuan. And Meng has been constantly showing off his new girlfriend lately, while Fu quickly deleted a Weibo post a few days ago saying someone was shameless... I’ll show you comparison pictures.”

The netizen’s accompanying images were professionally made, featuring photos from Fu Xuan’s early “showing off her relationship” Weibo posts, with blurry side profiles and backs of the man, and a few hand photos. These were compared one by one with photos from Jiang Ying’s Weibo taken from similar angles, the most convincing being the detailed hand photos and matching watches.

Most importantly, Fu Xuan liked this Weibo post.