19: Chapter 19 The Insignificant Character in a Pampered Novel 19

Inside the Xu Family villa.

Father Xu and Mother Xu had gone abroad to visit the Old Master of the Xu Family, who had already emigrated.

The Xu Family owed its ability to join the ranks of second-rate prestigious families to Old Master Xu's efforts. Later, once the family was on the right track, the Old Master handed over the Xu Corporation to Father Xu and went abroad to enjoy his retirement in peace, accompanied by a group of female companions.

The three Xu siblings gathered in the hall to discuss tonight's events.

"You said you saw Xu Zhao?" Xu Congtao thought to himself that according to the timeline, Xu Zhao was only a senior. Instead of staying in H City, what was she doing back in A City at this time?

In her senior year of high school, Xu Zhao got into Qing University as the top scorer in A City. She had also tutored the three children from the Gu, Zhou, and Cheng families well enough to get them into university. The Xu Family immediately smelled a business opportunity and tried every possible means to reclaim this daughter; such a massive debt of gratitude had to be properly utilized. However, the Gu Family kept a very tight watch and gave them no chance to even see Xu Zhao.

As for that nerd, she truly lived up to the name. Every day was spent either at school or in the dorms; she basically never left the campus gates.

At that time, the Parents of the Xu Family began to harbor resentment toward Xu Zhao. Since she was so capable, why didn't she tutor Jiao Jiao properly back then? If she had put even a little heart into helping her sister, Jiao Jiao wouldn't have been expelled from Yinghua and brought such shame to the Xu Family.

They selectively forgot how, when Xu Zhao offered to tutor Xu Jiao, Xu Jiao would act spoiled and cute to avoid the lessons, insisting on sneaking out to play instead.

Once Xu Zhao went to H City for school, the Xu Family had even fewer ways to reach her. H City was the capital, and the Xu Family didn't dare act recklessly there.

Because they had neglected Xu Zhao for the past few years, even now, the entire Xu Family was unaware that she had actually completed her studies at Qing University in just a year and a half and had spent two years studying abroad, only just returning to the country.

As for the Gu, Zhou, and Cheng families who knew the details, they were even less likely to spread the word. Who knew if that girl Xu Zhao might become their daughter-in-law in the future? They didn't want to create potential competitors for their sons.

Keep it low-key, as low-key as possible.

So, in the Xu Family's perception, Jiao Jiao had returned from her studies and was very popular among the wealthy young masters. But what did Xu Zhao have? She was still just a poor student, not particularly good-looking, and had to find a job herself, working herself to the bone for a few thousand yuan.

The second Xu brother, Xu Congxuan, thought gloatingly, and his words were quite nasty: "So what if she's from Qing University? Does my Xu Corporation have few Qing University graduates? They're all lower-class people, destined to work for us, bowing and scraping to please us. If I say go east, they'd never dare go west."

"Alright, keep it down. The company has only just escaped its crisis, and morale is unstable. Don't let the people below hear this. Why bother getting worked up over these poor workers?" Xu Congtao scolded him mildly, though he felt the same way in his heart.

However, Xu Congtao was thinking further ahead than Xu Congxuan. Jiao Jiao said she met Xu Zhao at Yuming Pavilion, and Gu Yunjing, Zhou Chi, and Cheng Yi were all there at the time.

"I didn't expect this nerd to be not entirely useless. It's been years, and she still has those three firmly in the palm of her hand."

"Of those three, that second-generation heir Zhou Chi is the easiest to control, and the Zhou Family has only this one son. If Xu Zhao can latch onto Zhou Chi, the Zhou Family's assets will sooner or later belong to my Xu Family. No matter how shrewd that old fox of the Zhou Family is, in the end, he'll just be paving the way for us."

"Hooking the Cheng Family's younger son, Cheng Yi, wouldn't be bad either. Although the eldest son runs the family, the younger son is very pampered. It's said that even before he graduated, the eldest son, Cheng Xiao, allocated 100 million for his brother to start his own business," Xu Congxuan added sourly. Look at how generous other people's big brothers were, while his own 'good' big brother was extremely stingy with him.

The two Xu brothers reached a rare unspoken agreement to ignore the Gu Family. The Gu Family was, after all, a family of military and political prestige; the difference in status with the Xu Family was too great. Even if Gu Yunjing liked her, the Gu Family would never agree to a marriage with a small merchant family like the Xu's.

Xu Congtao thought about it back and forth, his heart burning with ambition. He wished he could call Xu Zhao before him right now and lecture her, making sure she hooked Zhou Chi and married into the Zhou Family.

Xu Jiao took in the ambition in her brothers' eyes and bit her lip unwillingly. Previously, all the family's attention had been focused on her, but as soon as Xu Zhao returned, she stole the gaze of both her brothers.

And on what grounds?

Why were her brothers planning for Xu Zhao, even wanting her to marry into the Zhou Family? In A City, the Zhou Family was second only to the Li Family. Xu Zhao wasn't as pretty as her, didn't have as good a figure, and her personality was foul and stubborn like a stone in a latrine—far from being as gentle and understanding as she was. She hadn't even married into the Li Family yet, so why should Xu Zhao get to marry into the Zhou Family so easily?

Moreover, from tonight's situation, Gu Yunjing clearly cared about Xu Zhao more than those other two did.

She hadn't heard her eldest brother mention Gu Yunjing, and she didn't want to bring up Gu Yunjing's concern for Xu Zhao in front of them. That would only make the Xu Family value Xu Zhao even more.

She wouldn't allow it!

She was clearly the most pampered one in the family.

Composing herself, Xu Jiao happily shared with her eldest brother, "By the way, Big Brother, A-Yan is back. He came back for me."

"Li Yan still values you after all," Xu Congtao nodded.

Xu Jiao pouted her pink lips and acted spoiled. "Big Brother, I don't want to deal with Brother Jie anymore. When we were on a date today, A-Yan caught us. A-Yan was very angry and got into a fight with Brother Jie on the spot."

"Jiao Jiao, are you alright then?" Xu Congxuan stood up in concern, looking his sister up and down.

"I'm fine. But A-Yan said I shouldn't associate with Brother Jie anymore."

"But the Miao Family just invested in the Xu Corporation. If you fall out with him now, I'm afraid the Miao Family will withdraw their investment immediately."

Xu Congtao looked at his younger brother disapprovingly; he really had no brains. "Li Yan is back. Do we still need to fear the Miao Family withdrawing their investment?"

Xu Jiao also nodded in agreement, saying shyly, "Compared to Brother Jie, I still prefer A-Yan. Besides, A-Yan told me the Li Family will invest in our family, and there will be many cooperative projects between our two families in the future."

Xu Congtao finally nodded in satisfaction, reaching out to stroke Xu Jiao's smooth long hair, praising, "Our Jiao Jiao has done very well."

Xu Zhao had no idea what the Xu Family was plotting. Even if she did, she would at most cold snort: They're dreaming.

But for now, Xu Zhao was a bit troubled.

—The movie ticket in her hand felt a bit like a hot potato.

How did she get brought into the cinema?

It seemed that after a welcome dinner where everyone was happy, Zhou Chi got drunk and clamored for the next round—KTV—before being stuffed into a taxi by Cheng Yi and taken away.

Then, Gu Yunjing asked her if she was tired.

She politely said she wasn't.

After that, she was brought to see a movie. Fortunately, it wasn't some romance film.

Gu Yunjing had chosen a disaster relief themed film. The emotions were positive and uplifting, depicting our army's rescue operations during a once-in-a-century flood. The unity between the military and civilians was very powerful.

When the lights went out, everything in the darkness was magnified, including the senses.

Gu Yunjing seemed to be able to smell the fragrance on the girl, just like what he had smelled earlier in the corridor of Yuming Pavilion when he helped her steady herself. It was faint, almost imperceptible, like the fresh sweetness of citrus.

His ears felt hot, and he couldn't focus on the movie at all.

Suddenly, a warm touch came from his arm. A fair, slender finger was poking his arm, and he felt as if he had been hit by an electric shock.

Afraid of affecting the viewing experience of the people behind them, Xu Zhao typed on her phone and handed it to Gu Yunjing to see.

"Is your usual training also this hard?"

Glancing at the military and drill scenes on the screen, Gu Yunjing also took out his phone, opened WeChat, typed some words, and handed it to her: "Yeah, we usually have to undergo military and political training organized by the army and the university; it's a mandatory course for us."

Gu Yunjing wanted to type more, but he felt the girl's movements suddenly stop. He turned to look at her in confusion and saw her gaze fixed on his WeChat contact nickname for her. Fortunately, the lights were off, as Gu Yunjing's face instantly turned beet red. He hurriedly put his phone away, sat up straight with his hands on his knees, and didn't dare look at the reaction of the person beside him.

Xu Zhao wasn't faring much better. Although she had suspected it before, she wasn't confident enough to be certain that Gu Yunjing liked her.

After all, Gu Yunjing was indeed good-looking, had upright values, and came from a prominent family. He used to be a poor student and a school bully, but that was ancient history; now he was a promising young man of the country.

She wasn't nearsighted anymore, and she had seen those few words very clearly.

She stole a glance at the person sitting next to her. Good heavens, he was even more nervous than she was. Suddenly, Xu Zhao didn't feel so nervous anymore; she even found it a bit funny. Was she really that scary? Look at how she had frightened him.

Xu Zhao simply focused on watching the movie on the screen to distract herself.

The film was well-made, perfectly interpreting human insignificance, fear, and helplessness in the face of natural disasters, as well as the many instances of self-sacrifice by civilians and soldiers during the rescue. It was very moving.

Xu Zhao's eyes felt hot, and she was quickly absorbed by the plot of the film.

At first, Gu Yunjing was afraid she would question him, but after waiting and waiting, the person beside him didn't move. Instead, she started watching the movie seriously. A sense of disappointment rose in his heart, though he didn't know exactly what he was disappointed about.

As the movie neared its end, many people began to leave early one after another.

Gu Yunjing was about to turn and ask her something when he was met with a small head leaning over, nodding off. If he hadn't caught it in time, she probably would have hit the seat in front of them.

Their seats were in the corner, so no one would pass in front of them.

At that moment, the lights came on.

He gently placed her small head on his shoulder. Turning his head slightly, he could see her tightly closed eyes, long lashes, and delicate skin which looked fair and translucent under the lights. The faint dark circles under her eyes showed her exhaustion.

Indeed, she had flown back from Country Y for over ten hours, and as soon as she returned, they had dragged her to eat without stopping. After eating, he had brought her to see a movie. How could she not be tired? Yet, she still hadn't refused his invitation to the movie. So, did he have a place in her heart?

Her shallow breath blew warmly against his neck, itching. A tiny numbness swept through his entire body with lightning speed. Gu Yunjing felt like his whole being was heating up, as if he were about to catch fire.

He held his body rigid, not daring to move for fear of waking her.

Unexpectedly, while he didn't want to wake her, someone else did.

"Little girl, wake up. The next show is starting soon, I need to clean up."