DM Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Hehehe, Something’s Up!

Jiang Xiaoyuan had her hands in her pockets, remaining silent for what seemed like a heartbeat cycle, then she quietly spoke up, “So it’s not going to work out in the future, right?”

Chen Fangzhou rubbed his hands together. “This isn’t your fault; there are many uncontrollable factors. Everyone sees your efforts. Can you accept it if I put it this way?”

Jiang Xiaoyuan couldn’t accept it, not even if she died.

Once upon a time, everything in the world seemed within her grasp. Even though she knew she was just an embroidered pillow, she always believed that if she was willing to make an effort, there was nothing she couldn’t achieve.

Why, all of a sudden, did it become so difficult for her to achieve even a little success?

She knew that this failure didn’t need to hit her hard because she had genuine skills. No customer ever complained about the twenty-plus orders she completed; everyone claimed they would come back next time—though none of them did.

They said her skills were better than those of professional makeup artists, so she could very well switch careers to become a professional makeup artist, start from the bottom, slowly build a client base, and after three to five years, become a senior makeup artist. Wouldn’t that be good?

But Jiang Xiaoyuan’s ambitions didn’t stop there.

After looking into the salary and job prospects of senior makeup artists, she realized she didn’t want to limit herself to just technical skills. She dreamed of one day running her own beauty business, like those xx teachers who participate in TV shows while promoting their own brands.

Jiang Xiaoyuan didn’t want to spend her life working for others with a plain face. Although that could be a decent career for others, it wasn’t enough for her. To her, it didn’t feel like truly living.

But now, even with the platform others provided, she couldn’t perform well. How could she start from scratch in the future? Jiang Xiaoyuan suddenly realized that perhaps her only asset was her technical skill.

For a moment, she began to doubt whether she was too ambitious.

Maybe she simply lacked the qualities of a successful person. Maybe she was just naive, essentially no different from Chen Fangzhou and the others, destined to live a modest life without ever achieving greatness.

She wished the world had a magical tool, like in fantasy novels, that could test one’s potential. Everyone could use it to know their future career and social status, so people would stay within their means and not dream beyond their capabilities. Wouldn’t that save so much pointless exploration and anxiety?

Chen Fangzhou sighed when he saw her dejected expression.

In the past, he too had lofty aspirations, feeling that one day he would walk a glorious path. But life is unpredictable, and now he was stuck in a never-ending cycle of debt, his head constantly buried in the grind of everyday life. He couldn’t afford to take a break, for fear of suffocating.

… And yet, many people envied him.

Chen Fangzhou said, “Although it seems like you won’t be able to become the chief makeup artist, I still brought you a job today. Do you want to take it?”

Jiang Xiaoyuan thought: “It’s all over, why bother?”

But her tongue betrayed her, and she reluctantly said, “… Yes.”

Chen Fangzhou said, “I have a blind date today, set for noon. Hurry up and get me ready.”

Jiang Xiaoyuan then noticed that this man in his thirties was wearing a suit that highlighted his short stature, making him look even shorter. His entire appearance made him look like a tiny man with only a short length left, with his feet barely touching the ground.

Chen Fangzhou shifted his shoulders awkwardly. “I feel like I look a bit like an insurance salesman. What do you think?”

Jiang Xiaoyuan replied, “… Not really.”

Chen Fangzhou smiled sheepishly: “Oh, even though I’m your boss, you don’t have to flatter me.”

Jiang Xiaoyuan promptly swallowed her honest thought of him looking like “a circus performer,” remembering that Chen Fangzhou was her boss.

She put aside her bad mood and decided to give her all for her beloved career, taking on the challenging task of preparing Chen Fangzhou: “Do you have any money?”

Ten minutes later, they locked the door and went out. Jiang Xiaoyuan intended to head to a nearby mall, but Chen Fangzhou pulled her back, and they ended up taking six bus rides to a crowded clothing wholesale market.

Jiang Xiaoyuan was shocked to see so many people carrying large and small bags in and out.

Chen Fangzhou: “Many people who sell things online get their goods from here. Retail is also sold here, but it’s a bit more expensive and chaotic inside. Be careful not to let anyone pickpocket you.”

Jiang Xiaoyuan silently pulled out her own wallet, and Chen Fangzhou, after a glance, fell silent—her wallet was so clean that even a single penny was missing.

As soon as she entered, Jiang Xiaoyuan was almost blinded by the sight. The wholesale market was filled with shelves and stalls everywhere. There was no place to try on clothes, so she could only buy by feeling, and the quality was uneven. Everyone was haggling.

The aisles were completely occupied by shelves, so narrow that it was almost impossible to move. It was crowded with people, and the air was filled with the various smells of breakfast from the stall owners coming and going.

Some clothes on the shelves were counterfeit brands that looked somewhat decent at first glance, while others were complete trash. Jiang Xiaoyuan stared at a skirt and thought, “Heavens, they’re even selling mosquito nets that haven’t been washed for half a year!”

Before she could look any longer, a cheerful shop owner rushed over, “Little girl, you like this? It’s very ethereal when worn. Fifty yuan, no bargaining!”

Jiang Xiaoyuan responded with a “haha” and turned to look for Chen Fangzhou, who was pushed out of sight by the crowd.

The shop owner: “Forget it, since you’re pretty, I’ll make it thirty. Is that okay?”

Chen Fangzhou hadn’t arrived yet, and Jiang Xiaoyuan’s gaze wandered around aimlessly.

The shop owner: “If you really want it, I can make it twenty.”

Chen Fangzhou, unable to push through, hopped and waved from a distance. Jiang Xiaoyuan had no choice but to squeeze past the crowd to him.

The shop owner shouted after her, “Ten yuan, just take it! Ten yuan!”

Jiang Xiaoyuan quickened her pace.

Forty minutes later, they emerged from the market, feeling as if they had lost five pounds. Jiang Xiaoyuan had picked out the clothes, and Chen Fangzhou had done the haggling. They managed to get him a new outfit and a pair of insoles. Chen Fangzhou found a mall’s restroom to change, and Jiang Xiaoyuan dragged him to the perfume counter.

Chen Fangzhou: “What are you doing? I’m not buying!”

Jiang Xiaoyuan: “I know, I just want to get some samples.”

Chen Fangzhou nervously followed her into the counter with beautiful women in elegant clothes, not daring to look up. He felt like a thief. He noticed the salespeople only sprayed perfume on paper strips for customers to sniff, with no opportunity for sampling.

He quickly pulled Jiang Xiaoyuan: “Let’s go, look…”

Jiang Xiaoyuan: “Be quiet, don’t make things worse.”

Chen Fangzhou could only watch as Jiang Xiaoyuan, with not a penny in her pocket, exuded an inexplicable aura and calmly interacted with the sales associate… or rather, the sales associate was completely overwhelmed by her.

Jiang Xiaoyuan, whether bluffing or genuine, spontaneously gave a high-end perfume review that left the salespeople in awe.

Jiang Xiaoyuan complained with a swagger, “Why do you only have new products? No classics at all… Tsk, the coffee beans aren’t fresh either.”

Salesperson: “We do have some, I’ll go check.”

While the salesperson rushed off, Jiang Xiaoyuan swiftly grabbed a sample bottle and sprayed it three times on Chen Fangzhou.

Success!

The shopping trip was a thrilling battle of wits and bravery, exhausting both mentally and physically.

What was it all for?

In the end, it was still due to being poor.

The two broke and exhausted individuals returned to the store, using its resources to give Chen Fangzhou a free makeover.

Jiang Xiaoyuan felt like her feet were going to fall off as she dried Chen Fangzhou’s hair, and couldn’t help but sarcastically remark, “Mr. Chen, you’re so broke, and you’re still thinking about getting married. Ambitious, aren’t you?”

Chen Fangzhou replied earnestly: “It’s important. My biggest task now is to get married and have a child.”

Jiang Xiaoyuan said, “You’re broke, so your wife will be broke too. Can you two even afford a child? Even if you manage to raise him, by the time you finish paying off your debts, your child will be graduating college, and you’ll still have to go into debt to buy him a house.”

Chen Fangzhou: “So should poor people just stop having children?”

Jiang Xiaoyuan adjusted her aching ankle and said nothing. That was exactly how she felt.

Chen Fangzhou leaned back in his chair, eyes half-closed, “You’re still young… Well, actually not that young anymore, so why don’t you understand? The poorer you are, the more you want a child. For example, I want to have a child so I can see him grow up in the city, go to school, graduate from college, and buy a house for him so he doesn’t have any burdens.”

What kind of delusion was this?

Chen Fangzhou: “Only when I see my next generation doing better than me can I feel that my life has been worthwhile and that I’ve achieved something. Without such a reference point, I can’t see the value in all my hard work. In the future, when I see my child grow up carefree and successful, I can tell myself, ‘This is all because of what his father has earned for him,’ as if I myself have also achieved great success.”

Jiang Xiaoyuan paused with the hair dryer in her hand. She looked up at Chen Fangzhou in the mirror, but his face was gone. Somehow, the mirror had started showing another world. In this parallel universe, Huo Boyu was shamelessly trying to win her back, but she turned and jumped into a sports car, leaving him covered in dust. The next day, she had someone buy Huo Boyu’s “studio” and threw all his so-called “artworks” – fat little men – out of the room, smashing them into pieces. A line of cleaning ladies waited to sweep up the broken pottery shards and were promised extra bonuses.

Just then, Chen Fangzhou suddenly said, “Hey, hey, you’re going to burn yourself! Move the hair dryer. What are you daydreaming about?”

Jiang Xiaoyuan snapped back to reality, and there was only a clean mirror in front of her. The illusion had disappeared without a trace.

And she was talking to a barbershop owner about his terrible life trajectory.

Chen Fangzhou, seeing her looking unwell, thought it was still because of the failed promotion of the styling business, so he said, “They deducted your performance bonus for the past two months, which was unfair. You’ve done so much work, and even the big boss knows that. I’ll secretly put it in your year-end bonus. As for the upfront and backend costs, of course the boss will pay out of his own pocket, it has nothing to do with you. Listen to me, don’t worry about this anymore. Things don’t always go as planned, you’ll get used to it eventually.”

Jiang Xiaoyuan lowered her head deeply, her chin almost touching her chest, staring at the tip of her faux leather shoes.

These shoes were so uncomfortable, and the soles would come unglued as soon as they got hot. She had found a cobbler and glued them back together herself.

She had spent a winter in tattered clothes, with a runny nose that seemed to never end.

“Don’t be angry with Helen and the others,” Chen Fangzhou said with a worried look. “You’re grown-ups, I’m embarrassed for you. I feel like I’m a kindergarten teacher as the manager of this place – money is something you keep for yourself, and you live your own life. Even if you win an argument with someone, will you be able to eat more or wear more clothes? I think you look smart, but you are missing a string in your head, right?”

Jiang Xiaoyuan grabbed a handful of hairspray from his hair, her hand heavy as if she was doing it out of spite, and pulled out several of Chen Fangzhou’s hairs.

Sometimes, when doing something, at first it’s for the sake of earning money, but later on, if you put in too much effort, the result can end up seeming more important than the reward. She suddenly interrupted Chen Fangzhou’s ramblingL “Mr. Chen, what were you thinking when you first started as a shampooer?”

Chen Fangzhou was taken aback by her question and suddenly fell silent.

After a long pause, he interlaced his fingers, resting them on his thin chest, slightly tilting his head back in the direction of Jiang Xiaoyuan’s force, with a somewhat dazed look in his eyes.

“I imagined that one day, this whole chain of stores would be mine,” he said. “I wanted to register a company, start a beauty and hairdressing brand, with beauty and hairdressing salons, high-end clubs, and my own factory to produce my own salon products, with premium limited editions for VIP clients and regular products sold in supermarkets…”

His daydream was so detailed that by the end, he even felt a bit embarrassed: “Ah, this is all nonsense.”

In the end, Jiang Xiaoyuan managed to give the inherently disadvantaged Chen Fangzhou a decent appearance and sent him off to his blind date lunch before noon.

Jiang Xiaoyuan saw him off: “The bill’s waived this time, I did it for free. Don’t forget to bring me a double portion of wedding candy.”

Chen Fangzhou: “Get lost, even this little favor you won’t let me have.”

A petty person who wouldn’t even let him have this small favor still wanted to get married?

Bah.

Chen Fangzhou didn’t dare to ride his little electric scooter—he was afraid the wind would mess up his look. He shivered and walked towards the subway station. Just after he turned a corner, a car suddenly appeared and blocked his path.

Chen Fangzhou was first startled, then upon closer inspection, he recognized the driver.

He raised his eyebrows and put his hand on the car roof, saying to the person inside, “Why is it you again? What’s going on with you recently, why do you keep coming to me? Do you have a crush on me?”

Qi Lian was momentarily at a loss for words, stunned by this short person’s shamelessness.

“Oh, by the way,” Chen Fangzhou said unceremoniously as he opened the car door, “You came at just the right time. I need to go meet your future nephew’s mother. Let me borrow your car.”

Qi Lian cursed under his breath, then got out of the passenger seat, took off his coat, and handed over the car.

“How is it?” Qi Lian asked, pulling out a cigarette and offering one to Chen Fangzhou.

Chen Fangzhou initially wanted to take it but remembered he had sprayed perfume on himself, so he resisted: “What do you mean ‘how is it’—stay away from me, don’t get your smell on me.”

Qi Lian glared at him: “Aren’t a lot of women annoyed by men wearing perfume? Who gave you that terrible idea?”

Chen Fangzhou said, “A woman. If you’re talking about the makeup style you suggested last time, I’ll tell you, it’s a failure.”

Qi Lian frowned.

“What are you looking at? It’s a failure if it’s a failure,” Chen Fangzhou said, “No matter how well you plan, if no one buys it, it’s useless. I’ve long thought it was unreliable…”

Qi Lian: “Don’t be so smug. If you thought it was unreliable, you should have said so earlier. Now… hmm, how’s Jiang Xiaoyuan? Feeling a bit down?”

Chen Fangzhou stood up straighter and gave Qi Lian a once-over: “I’ve always felt something was off. Aren’t you a bit too concerned about her?”

Qi Lian: “…”

Chen Fangzhou, unable to hide his sordid expression, said with a grin, “Aha, there’s something going on!”

Qi Lian slapped him on the back: “Speak properly.”

Chen Fangzhou, suddenly becoming serious as if wound up, said, “If you really care, why not lend her some money to finish her studies and do what she wants to do? How can she just be drifting around in my place? Don’t you know how hard a shampoo girl’s life is?”

Qi Lian was silent for a while, not offering any further explanation, only vaguely saying: “… Her mindset is a bit unique.”

He fumbled with a cigarette, bringing it to his mouth twice, then putting it down again, and after some contemplation, he said, “I still have some spare money from the racetrack. What do you think about investing it in a cosmetics business?”

Chen Fangzhou was stunned: “You, you, you… Young master, you haven’t even started anything, and you’re already investing so much? You’re something else!”

Qi Lian let him misunderstand, not knowing why he suddenly had this idea, perhaps remembering the scene of Jiang Xiaoyuan leaning on the salon counter, wiping her nose while talking to him, which sparked a sense of enthusiasm in him.

He was entrusted by Xu Jingyang to take over failed lives, like a lone guardian of a barren wasteland, only to unexpectedly see a small green sprout in the corner.

Qi Lian kept the cigarette in his mouth, waved goodbye to Chen Fangzhou, and walked away on his own.

“Let’s talk about it later.”