Chapter 12 Gift

In the themed store, customers leisurely strolled through each product section with shopping baskets in hand, picking up items they fancied and waiting to queue for payment later—except for one among them.  

As a result, shoppers couldn’t help but glance repeatedly at the child being followed by a camera crew.  

The little girl was exquisitely pretty, with soft, chubby cheeks. As she ran, her skirt fluttered behind her, like a fledgling bird tirelessly darting back and forth between the product sections and the checkout area.  

Viewers in the livestream were also subjected to watching Zhi Li swipe her card four or five times, each purchase totaling less than a hundred yuan—barely even breaking fifty.  

[I’m done…]  

[Before, I tuned in to see if Zhi Li could actually swipe her card. Now, I’m here to see if she’ll ever swipe it for something expensive.]  

[I’m baffled—why not just pay for everything at once?!]  

[Probably not enough money in the card.]  

[Right, the application conditions said a deposit of 3 million was required. Who knows if there’s still 3 million left in there now?]  

As soon as these skeptical comments about the card balance popped up, the previously calm livestream erupted into heated debate, with discussions escalating rapidly.  

Watching this, the staff in the control room clicked their tongues in amazement.  

No wonder Director Huang had decided to invite Xu Qingying to their variety show—Xu Qingying was clearly a magnet for attention!  

Zhi Li paused briefly when passing a large SpongeBob plushie, but upon seeing the three-digit price tag, she quickly moved to the side and picked up a small pink paw-shaped pillow instead. Hugging it tightly, she dashed back to the checkout line.  

Xu Qingying walked over, directly picked up the large plushie, and placed it atop a shopping basket already overflowing with items Zhi Li had hesitated over due to their prices. She tilted her head slightly toward the accompanying sales assistant and gave a faint nod. “Thank you.”  

“No trouble at all, no trouble!” The sales assistant beamed, her face lighting up with joy.  

Truly, even if a celebrity had a bad reputation, their star power remained undeniable—not only had she drawn crowds to their store, but she was also buying up a storm!  

The sales assistant hurriedly grabbed two colleagues, and together they carried the three fully loaded baskets to a separate checkout counter.  

Xu Qingying’s gaze lingered on the sets of paintbrushes in one of the baskets.  

Last night, Zhi Li had seemed to adore plush toys, yet today, the first thing she’d rushed toward in the store was art supplies. After agonizing over the prices, she’d settled on a 12-color pencil set and a sketchbook before finally heading to the plush toy section.  

Come to think of it, on the first night at the villa, Zhi Li had also been intently studying the landscape mural on the wall.  

“Zhong Wei, arrange for someone to acquire a few ink wash landscape paintings—some oil paintings too, price is no object.” Xu Qingying selected a few plush toys that Zhi Li might like and placed them into a new empty basket before adding, “Earlier, I noticed Zhi Li mostly picked SpongeBob-themed items. Have someone replace the height chart in the bedroom with a SpongeBob one as well.”  

Zhong Wei acknowledged the request. “I’ll have it done right away.”  

Meanwhile, Zhi Li obediently stood at the end of the checkout line, one arm hugging the small pink paw pillow and the other clutching the black-and-silver bank card. She rose onto her tiptoes, peering ahead to see how many people were left in the queue.

A young woman, eager to see Zhi Li, had already let three or four people cut in line ahead of her to check out. Finally, when Zhi Li joined the queue, the woman smiled warmly and asked, “Why didn’t you put your things in the cart to check out together?”

Up close, the child looked even more delicate—her cheeks were smooth and flawless, her eyelashes long and curled. She was definitely the most beautiful celebrity child the woman had ever seen!

Meeting the woman’s smile, Zhi Li shyly pursed her lips, her dimples sweet and soft. “I was afraid the Black Card wouldn’t have enough money.” It wasn’t even half the size of red paper money—how could it possibly buy expensive things?

Not enough money?

“Your card—” The woman hesitated. “It should be enough.” Although people online were debating whether the balance was three million or not, buying a few hundred yuan’s worth of items shouldn’t be a problem.

Zhi Li looked puzzled. “R-Really? But it’s smaller than a hundred-yuan red paper money.”

The woman couldn’t help but laugh. “The total from your previous swipes already exceeded a hundred yuan, didn’t it?”

“!!!” Zhi Li froze in place, her Barbie-doll-like long lashes stopping mid-blink, her eyes widening in shock.

It was true!

She had already used the Black Card to pay several times before!

Swiping a card felt different from spending cash. With cash, every time you spent, the bills in your hand decreased. But with the card, even after swiping four or five times, the card was still in her hand.

Money gone = spending.

Card still here = no spending.

Zhi Li had fallen into a mental trap, completely unaware that she had already spent several hundred yuan.

“Your turn to pay,” the woman ahead reminded her as she packed her groceries into a shopping bag.

Dazed, Zhi Li handed over the claw-shaped pillow she was holding, then expertly passed the bank card to the cashier before calling out in her childish voice, “Swipe!”

Of course she was skilled—she’d done it four or five times already!

The cashier, who had overheard the entire conversation between the woman and Zhi Li, handed the pillow and card back to her and kindly added, “That was 65.2 yuan just now.”

Zhi Li stared at the bank card in her hand, then looked up at the cashier with hopeful eyes. “Sister, can I keep swiping this forever?”

“This is a Diamond-level Savings Card,” the cashier explained patiently. “Normally, as long as there’s money in it, you can keep swiping.”

Zhi Li understood now.

This card was like the passbook Grandma had mentioned—it could store red paper money inside. But unlike a passbook, this card could be swiped.

Just as Zhi Li was about to ask another question, she remembered there were people behind her. Having queued many times before, she didn’t want to hold others up, so she quickly scooted forward to let the next person pay.

“Mommy!” Zhi Li ran up to Xu Qingying, waving her little hand and whispering, “Mommy, bend down.”

Xu Qingying obligingly leaned over, lowering her voice as if sharing a secret. “What is it?”

“How much money is in this card?” Zhi Li asked even more quietly. Grandma had said you shouldn’t talk about money loudly outside—people might steal it.

Xu Qingying had actually asked Jiang Yanheng’s assistant earlier—there was roughly four million left in the card.

Worried that stating the exact amount might overwhelm Zhi Li, she vaguely replied, “A lot, a lot. Enough for you to swipe many, many times.”

As she answered, Xu Qingying couldn’t help but marvel inwardly—the top-tier wealthy families in this novel world were truly on another level.

Jiang Yanheng met Zhi Li for the first time in the morning and immediately handed her a Diamond-level Savings Card with a remaining balance of over four million. The key point was that his sole purpose seemed to be getting Zhi Li to call him “Dad” directly?

Xu Qingying didn’t witness the scene of Zhi Li kissing Jiang Yanheng but only saw him pulling out the card to make her say “Dad.” So when she heard from Jiang Yanheng’s assistant about the balance in the bank card, she couldn’t help but wonder—was Jiang Yanheng secretly a doting father to his daughter?

How many times did “many times” actually mean?

Zhi Li wanted to ask, but suddenly, the sound of rolling wheels interrupted her.

Not far away, Zhong Wei pushed a fully loaded cart over, and sitting prominently on top was that life-sized SpongeBob SquarePants plushie—almost as tall as Zhi Li herself!

Ahhhh!!!

The smiling SpongeBob I love, love, LOVE!!!

“I’m ready!” Zhi Li hugged the plushie tightly with one arm while clutching the pink little claw plush in the other, burying her face into SpongeBob and rubbing excitedly, her sweet little voice overflowing with joy. “I’m ready! I’m ready! I’m ready!”

Zhong Wei had watched the English version of *SpongeBob SquarePants* with her nephew at home and recognized that Zhi Li was quoting one of the show’s classic lines—not only did she know it, but her pronunciation was also flawless.

Hearing Zhi Li speak English for the first time, Xu Qingying couldn’t resist asking, “Sweetheart, what other lines have you learned from it?”

Zhi Li lifted her head from SpongeBob, a stray hair sticking up cutely from her little head, and blurted out, “We to catch jellyfish!”

Besides that, she effortlessly rattled off seven or eight more English quotes from the show.

Xu Qingying was pleasantly surprised. “You really love watching *SpongeBob SquarePants*, don’t you?”

“Yes!” Zhi Li nodded vigorously.

She had watched SpongeBob and other cartoons at the neighbor’s sister’s house, but there were still so many episodes left unseen.

Noticing how Zhi Li’s almond-shaped eyes sparkled with excitement when talking about cartoons, Xu Qingying decided that once they got home, she’d teach Zhi Li how to use the projector in her bedroom—so she could watch whatever she loved whenever she wanted!

[Ah, the familiar script vibes.]

[Memorizing lines so flawlessly? Probably spent nights rehearsing (eyeroll).]

[Seriously, Xu Qingying’s haters are toxic. My kid picked up a few lines too after binge-watching *SpongeBob*!]

[Looks like Xu Qingying’s daughter PR strategy is working—people are actually defending her now, lol.]

After leaving the cartoon-themed store, Xu Qingying took Zhi Li to other brand shops to pick out personal and daily necessities.

Anything Zhi Li glanced at more than once, Xu Qingying had the salesperson pack up before swiftly swiping her card.

Zhi Li only saw Xu Qingying making the purchases but had no idea how much money was actually spent.

She didn’t know, but the live-stream audience did!

After tallying everything up, Xu Qingying had spent at least 2 million on Zhi Li!

[Zhi Li’s card balance is a mystery, but Xu Qingying’s already holding several million in her hands.]

[Okay, I’m convinced this isn’t a fake rich family.]

[Not necessarily the family’s money though. Xu Qingying was famous once—she might be spending her own cash.]

[If she’s spending 2 million of her own money on Zhi Li, doesn’t that prove the online rumors about her neglecting her daughter are false?]

[Don’t trust everything you see on camera, folks.]

When they stepped out of the store again, Zhi Li was wearing a cute little hat with a small white rabbit plushie on top, and her new pearl-embellished purse hung from her shoulder.  

“Mommy, I want to buy gifts for everyone!” Zhi Li declared, pulling out the bank card that had been resting in her purse for a while. “Let’s swipe this!”  

Red paper money would dwindle once spent, but the Black Card wouldn’t. She decided to stash the red paper money at the bottom of her purse, just like Grandma said—no, not the bottom of a chest, but her purse! She’d use the Black Card for the gifts.  

Netizens who heard Zhi Li say she was about to swipe the card again instantly perked up.  

**[I came from another livestream just to witness Zhi Li swiping that card!]**  

**[Please, I beg you, let me see the legendary single purchase of 100 yuan! Otherwise, I won’t be able to sleep tonight!]**  

**[A card that doesn’t even have 3 million left is worth getting excited over?]**  

**[Whether there’s 3 million left or not doesn’t matter—what matters is that if I don’t see Zhi Li buy something expensive, I’ll be clawing at my chest in agony!]**  

**[Clawing at my chest +1!!!]**  

The hired trolls in the livestream:  

…You guys are freaking insane.  

Xu Qingying naturally agreed when Zhi Li said she wanted to buy gifts. “Do you have anything specific in mind?”  

Zhi Li nodded vigorously. “A bag for Mommy! I saw lots of bags in Mommy’s closet! A watch for Daddy, a tea set for Grandma, and a rubber ball for Lightning!”  

The well-organized plan surprised Xu Qingying.  

From last night until now, they had only met a few times, yet Zhi Li had already figured out appropriate gifts based on what they owned and used.  

Thankfully, though, Zhi Li had learned how to swipe a card.  

If Zhi Li had insisted on using red paper money, Xu Qingying might have had to take her somewhere else just to find a watch, bag, and tea set that cost a few hundred yuan.  

After listing out the gifts, Zhi Li scrunched her little brows in frustration. “But I still don’t know what to get for Wei Liang Gege and my new brother.”  

“Sweetheart, you’re already doing amazing,” Xu Qingying reassured, holding Zhi Li’s hand as they walked toward the shops. “Let’s first buy the things you’ve decided on, and then we can think about gifts for them.”  

As they strolled past the stores, the first one they came across was a watch boutique.  

Inside the pristine display cases were rows of exquisite, high-end watches, their surfaces gleaming under the soft embedded lighting.  

The moment the sales assistant spotted Xu Qingying and the cameraman, she hurried over. “We have tea and snacks ready in the VIP lounge—shall we discuss inside?”  

Xu Qingying tilted her chin toward Zhi Li. “My Zhi Li is the one shopping today. Just assist her.”  

The sales assistant lowered her gaze to meet Zhi Li’s eyes and beamed. “What would you like to buy, little one?”  

“I want to buy a watch for my daddy!” Zhi Li had already spotted one she liked the moment she entered. She pointed at it through the glass. “I like that one!”  

The sales assistant’s smile brightened even more.  

The watch Zhi Li had chosen was a mechanical timepiece—ivory-white dial, handcrafted crocodile leather strap, minimalist yet elegant in design. Best of all, its price was *very* attractive: 320,000 yuan.  

The sales assistant carefully took the watch out of the display case and enthusiastically explained, “This is a Couple Watch released for the brand’s 100th anniversary. It’s great even when bought individually—perfect for business professionals, doubling the handsomeness!”  

Anyone who surfed the internet knew that Xu Qingying’s second husband lived in a villa. And from the glimpses caught on camera when he returned from business trips, he was unmistakably a corporate man.

“Couple Watch?” Zhi Li tilted her head. “What’s a Couple Watch?”

The sales assistant took out the women’s watch from the display case. “It’s a series of watches worn by couples, representing their longing for beautiful love.”

Zhi Li understood.

Then Mom and Dad can wear them too!

Although she didn’t know why Cousin’s dream showed scenes of her and Mom being kicked out of the wealthy family, Mom and Dad must be as loving as Shin-chan’s parents since they got married!

“Then I’ll buy these two!” Zhi Li handed over the card with flair, saying crisply, “Charge it!”

Since Xu Qingying had taken Zhi Li shopping earlier without asking about prices at all, Zhi Li no longer checked prices carefully as she did when buying the pillow. Besides, Mom said this card could be swiped many times, and Zhi Li trusted Mom!

[Zhi Li’s card-handling pose is so cool and stylish!]

[LOL, it’s only stylish if it goes through. Didn’t you see Xu Qingying’s frozen smile?]

[OMG, you’re right!]

[When Xu Qingying said “swipe many times,” she probably meant for Zhi Li to buy things worth a few dozen yuan. But now two watches totaling 600K are gone.]

Xu Qingying’s smile was indeed a bit stiff.

Mainly because Zhi Li bought two Couple Watches. Would Zhi Li later check whether she and Jiang Yanheng were wearing them?

The sales assistant didn’t expect to close a 600K deal so efficiently. Before swiping the card, an idea struck her, and she continued promoting, “Little one, we also have children’s watches. Look at this one—it’s quite similar in style to the Couple Watch. Round it off, and it’s practically a Family Watch! Wearing these outside will let everyone know you’re a family.”

Zhi Li listened in a daze.

So besides family portraits, there were other things that represented being a family?

“I—” Zhi Li reached for the children’s watch, her eyes shining with anticipation. “Auntie, do you have an Elderly Watch? One that clearly shows we’re family?”

She wanted to buy matching watches for Grandma and Granny too.

——

**[Buzz—]**

As the phone on the desk vibrated, the office door was pushed open.

The assistant came in to retrieve some documents but froze in shock upon entering.

His workaholic boss, who usually had a built-in focus shield while working, was actually distracted by his phone in the office?!

Whatever the boss saw seemed to relax his expression.

Assistant: “President Jiang, any progress on the B City project?”

Jiang Yanheng glanced at him coolly. “Progress in your dreams?”

Assistant: “…”

Jiang Yanheng looked at the seven-digit transaction notification of 1.63 million yuan that had just popped up on his phone, calmly closed the screen, and then finished reviewing and signing the last document on his desk.

Strangely, if Zhi Li had swiped 1.63 million right from the start, he wouldn’t have felt anything. But after a series of two-digit transactions followed by this sudden seven-digit one, he actually felt an inexplicable sense of accomplishment.

Jiang Yanheng leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes briefly and pinching the bridge of his nose. His tone was indifferent. “You came early today. Get out.”

“…” The assistant, who had timed his knock based on the usual document review schedule, silently picked up the newly signed file and quietly left the office.

The boss really got distracted during work hours! He even slowed down on one document!!

Even after returning to his desk, the assistant kept wondering—what could possibly distract a workaholic boss?

A major undisclosed project? The shareholder who caused trouble at last week’s board meeting?

The assistant couldn’t figure it out, muttering to himself while organizing documents, “It definitely can’t be something trivial.”

At the same time, Xu Qingying’s livestream was being flooded with a tsunami of screaming comments.

[Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Do you still need someone to call you Daddy?!!!]

300k for one “Daddy” – we believe it now!