Chapter 17: Progress

Zhang Qiyao grew up in this kind of family environment. There were many people who flattered her, and she had seen a lot since she was young. She wouldn’t say she was scheming, but she understood what she needed to. With an outstanding brother at home, she could focus on doing what she wanted.

Qin Ruyan was a rare person she knew who was pure and clean.

In her sophomore year of high school, something happened to Qin Ruyan’s family. The school actually organized a donation drive. She didn’t know what her parents’ positions were, only that they were professors, and the accident happened while they were on a business trip.

At that time, she donated half a year’s worth of her allowance.

Actually, the amount of donations was quite a lot back then, but the school returned it all later. They said that Qin Ruyan refused to accept it, and that she had already gone abroad.

Zhang Qiyao felt very regretful at the time, she didn’t get Qin Ruyan’s contact information before she left.

To be honest, although the two of them didn’t interact much at school, Qin Ruyan was an outstanding figure in their class and even the entire grade.

Her grades were always at the top of the list, and she always maintained a 20-30 point gap between her and the second place. At the same time, she was also outstanding in her talents and interests.

Since she entered high school in her first year, she became the host of the school’s evening events, she was in charge of the class bulletin board, and she also played the piano very well.

Such a person had good relationships with the girls in the class, and she also developed a brotherly bond with the boys.

Strangely enough, back then, besides the boys in their class, boys from other classes wrote her many love letters. Qin Ruyan didn’t accept a single one, she returned every letter unopened.

So when they found out that Qin Ruyan had gone abroad, the boys and girls in their class were all very regretful.

After many years, Qin Ruyan came back, and the first person she contacted was Zhang Qiyao.

Qin Ruyan looked up at the ceiling of the coffee shop, trying to hold back her tears.

Why did she get so easily emotional when she came back here?

Seeing her like this, Zhang Qiyao felt a little helpless, “Yanyan, did I say something wrong? Don’t cry.”

Qin Ruyan wiped her eyes with her hand and said softly, “Yaoyao, you are the fourth person who has been so kind to me over the years, thank you so much.”

When Qin Ruyan was sixteen, she thought she wouldn’t be able to make it through, but after going abroad, she saw so many people who were suffering more than her, and they were all trying to live their lives. At seventeen, she met Zhang Qiyao again when she was lonely and helpless.

The two of them have been in constant contact over the years. She is slow to warm up, and if Zhang Qiyao hadn’t been taking the initiative to reach out to her, they might not have become best friends.

Zhang Qiyao couldn’t stand to see her like this, she frowned and pretended to be angry.

“Yanyan, you don’t look pretty like this. To be honest, I like your face, if you cry and make it ugly, I might not be friends with you anymore. So if you want to keep me forever, you have to smile more, okay? Smiling a lot can maintain your beauty.”

Qin Ruyan laughed after listening to Zhang Qiyao’s serious nonsense, “Okay.”

Zhang Qiyao felt relieved.

“Then Yanyan, do you think we should go to Hangzhou to take a look?”

Zhang Qiyao handed her a piece of paper, and the two began to talk business.

“I’m not busy lately. If you’re going to Hangzhou, we can go together.”

Zhang Qiyao picked up her coffee and took a sip. The slightly sweet latte. She had only mentioned her preference once, but during their few meetings, she knew that Qin Ruyan had kept her preferences in mind. She truly accepted her as a good friend from the bottom of her heart.

Zhang Qiyao couldn’t help but give herself a thumbs-up in her heart. She, Zhang “Little Sunshine” Qiyao, had performed steadily and finally became best friends with her goddess.

Of course, she didn’t expect that her best friend would soon become her sister-in-law. If she wanted to invite Qin Ruyan out, she would have to report to her brother beforehand.

Qin Ruyan pondered for a moment and nodded.

“I’m going. The early stage work is very important. I haven’t started recruiting yet, so I have to take care of a lot of things myself.”

She took out her phone and showed Zhang Qiyao the Weibo account she had registered.

“I haven’t verified it yet. What do you think of this name for the studio?”

Zhang Qiyao took a look. “Lingshi?”

Qin Ruyan nodded. “It means ‘to listen’.”

She explained her concept of expressing her thoughts through clothing to Zhang Qiyao.

Zhang Qiyao listened quietly. She found that when Qin Ruyan talked about business, she was truly radiating with passion.

Qin Ruyan talked a lot, and Zhang Qiyao just listened, occasionally expressing her own opinions.

Both of them were action-oriented, and soon they had everything planned out.

“So when are we going to Hangzhou?” Zhang Qiyao was a little excited.

“I’ll check the flights. If there are tickets, I plan to go the day after tomorrow.”

Qin Ruyan opened the ticket booking app and looked at the flight information.

“There’s a flight tomorrow afternoon. We’ll arrive in the evening. After we get off the plane, we’ll take a taxi back to the hotel to rest. The next morning, we’ll go sightseeing for a while, and in the afternoon, we’ll go see the fabrics. What do you think, Yaoyao?”

Qin Ruyan had never been to Hangzhou. Since she was passing by, she thought she should take some time to go sightseeing, but she didn’t know what Zhang Qiyao thought, so she just said it directly.

Zhang Qiyao’s eyes lit up. Was there such a good thing? Could she go shopping?

She quickly nodded, smiling brightly. “No problem, Ruyan, I love this arrangement! You don’t know how long it’s been since I went on a trip. Even half a day is great!”

Qin Ruyan smiled. “Then Yaoyao, send me your ID number, I’ll book the tickets. This is a business trip, don’t be too picky with me. We’ll talk about it later when we make money.”

Qin Ruyan used the identity of a partner to talk to Zhang Qiyao. Zhang Qiyao pouted and obediently gave her her ID number, letting her arrange the tickets and hotels.

After Qin Ruyan booked the tickets and hotel information, she sent a copy to Zhang Qiyao’s WeChat.

“I haven’t booked the return flight yet. We’ll see then. If we want to stay longer, we’ll come back later.”