“I can’t be like you. Brother Wei lets you do what you want. I have a contract with my company. They’ll shout at me if I get exposed,” Wei Shanshan kept her mirror. She was feeling guilty.
Getting filmed and becoming a meme for a while wasn’t something serious, but if someone got hurt over this, she would be in trouble.
Actors didn’t hire those bodyguards because they loved the glamor. They had their own considerations too.
“Don’t worry about it. Stand proud. Don’t you find this exciting?” Yun Xiangxiang asked,
“It is quite exciting,” Shanshan found it fun.
Xiangxiang went to buy two ice cream cones and gave one to Shanshan. The waiter didn’t recognize them.
“I’ll just have one. Don’t tempt me anymore,” Shanshan gave in to her sweet tooth and took the cone.
She wasn’t like Yun Xiangxiang, who wouldn’t get fat easily. She was fortunate her agent was a man. He did tell her to mind her body shape, but he didn’t do anything crazy like asking her to weigh herself every day.
Xiangxiang let her have her way. She didn’t buy any snacks after the ice cream cones and went on with her shopping.
Xiangxiang then moved toward her destination. From the data Song Qian sent her this morning, Qian Yongnian would set up a stall near a school every day. He was selling wooden sculptures for a living.
Yun Xiangxiang found him easily. He was a white-haired, gaunt old man in his sixties.
“They’re so detailed,” Shanshan saw him and went toward the stall.
No officers were chasing them away at this time, which would explain why there were many stalls outside the school. Yongnian looked at Shanshan as he kept on sculpting.
“I like this one. It’s my zodiac sign,” Shanshan picked up a sculpture of a monkey holding a peach.
It wasn’t a big sculpture, yet even the details of the eyes were striking.
Xiangxiang also chose one. It was of a young girl reading on a windowsill. The lines of her hair were smooth.
There was a puddle beside them. Looking at the sculpting Qian Yongnian, she let the sculpture fall. Water was splashed onto the ground, dirtying the sculpture.
“Xiang…I mean, you should be more careful,” Shanshan quickly picked it up.
“I didn’t mean it,” Yun Xiangxiang wasn’t apologetic.
Shanshan looked at Xiangxiang in confusion. Xiangxiang pulled her back and gave the dirtied sculpture back to Qian Yongnian, “This sculpture is dirtied. I don’t want it anymore.”
“You brat. I saw you letting it fall on purpose!” The seller beside them stood up.
“Oh yeah, you got any proof of that?” Yun Xiangxiang retorted.
“You millenials are rude. Trying to weasel your way out even when it’s your fault?” The stall owner was furious.
“You’re rude. Must be a bad guy. I’m not buying anything,” Xiangxiang snatched Shanshan’s sculpture before tossing them back and toppling a few sculptures.
“You’re looking for a fight! Don’t think I won’t beat you up just because you’re a girl!” The stall owner was enraged.
He stood up and was going to wallop Yun Xiangxiang, but was stopped by Yongnian. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Just some minor inconvenience.”
“Uncle Qian, you can’t let them get away with this. You have to ask for compensation. Look, she dirtied one and spoiled one. She’s obviously looking for trouble.”
“I know, I know. Calm down. Cool it,” Yong Nian persuaded patiently.
Yongnian put the sculptures back up after calming down the stall owner. He then picked up the sculpture Xiangxiang dirtied and cut away the wet parts.
“What are you looking at? Scram,” the stall owner was angry at Xiangxiang and Shanshan.
“Please, leave if nothing catches your eye,” Yongnian said calmly. He didn’t even look at Xiangxiang, but he still smiled warmly at Shanshan.
Shanshan felt guilty. When she was about to say something, Xiangxiang dragged her away.
“Uncle Qian, aren’t you going to ask for any compensation?” The stall owner was disgruntled.
“The little lady didn’t want to embarrass herself. She didn’t have to be so demanding if she had money,” Yongnian replied.
“Even so, we should get her parents to settle this for her.”
“It’s just a little sculpture. I could sell a few more of them if I don’t try to get back at them.”
“What were you doing, Xiangxiang?” Shanshan escaped Xiangxiang’s grip when they were far enough. She was still in a daze.
Xiangxiang was wicked back there.
“That was a test,” Xiangxiang stood at a corner, looking at Yongnian who was focusing on his sculptures.
“A test?” Shanshan was puzzled.
“He used to be a jade sculptor…,” Xiangxiang told her the story.
“He doesn’t look like a bad guy to me,” Shanshan looked at Yongnian after understanding the events that happened.
“Shanshan, a villain could have been a good guy back in the day. Similarly, a villain can also turn a new leaf.”
Xiangxiang wouldn’t judge Yongnian’s past, although she did find the current Yongnian likable.
“Then… are you still going to ask him for help?” Shanshan couldn’t know for sure that the nice old man had always been this way.
What if he only turned good because of his experience, but turned greedy again once he saw Xiangxiang’s black jadeite?
“Of course I will. Why won’t I?” Xiangxiang said matter-of-factly. “Everyone deserves a second chance. A man’s past is his own business, our business is with the him now.”
Xiangxiang was confident because she didn’t think anyone would dare to target her. She had a strong backer after all.
“Please think this through. There’s no way anyone would ignore your black jadeite. Even if someone like that exists, the chances are slim,” Shanshan reminded.
“Let’s go,” Xiangxiang wouldn’t mention Song Mian to Shanshan.
The pair had the famous Yunnan vermicelli as dinner. Xiangxiang asked Shanshan to call her agent and tell him an address. She wanted him to pick them up there.
“What is this place?” Shanshan was puzzled.
“Qian Yongnian’s home.”
Xiangxiang and Shanshan entered a squalid alley. The way the houses were built was against the law.
One of the buildings had a motel sign hanging outside. Lingerie and underpants were strewn all over the place.
Dusk was approaching, and barbecue stalls were starting their business for the night.
Xiangxiang found a place to sit down and randomly ordered some food. Not long after, Yongnian came back with a one meter seventy-three tall boy.
Yongnian was holding a book, while the boy was carrying a sack which probably carried Yongnian’s sculptures.
“Mr. Qian.”