Chapter 47: Will You Let Me Have Sister Jiao Jiao?

It was already 6:30, and the translators were gathered in the hall. There were ten people in total: two women and eight men.

Xu Jiaojiao looked at the girl standing next to her, with her hair neatly tied up and wearing glasses, exuding the confidence of a typical academic achiever.

She admired this girl a lot. In this day and age, it wasn’t easy to be like her, as many people had experiences resembling cheating from later generations.

“Wu Yufeng.”

“Here,” the girl responded clearly, just one word, but it revealed her sharp speaking skills.

“Xu Jiaojiao.”

“Here.”

Director Hu called out each name, then assigned Xu Jiaojiao and Wu Yufeng to the first row, with three seats between them. The others were scattered throughout the venue.

Xie Zhi and Shen Guanqi were called away as they were accompanying foreign leaders, serving as one-on-one personal translators. Xu Jiaojiao gave a supportive smile as she watched the man look at her before he left.

“Is he your boyfriend?” Wu Yufeng asked out of the blue.

The girl was surprised but nodded.

“I heard you can type too. Why are you so excellent? Looks like I need to increase my daily study tasks,” she muttered to herself.

Xu Jiaojiao glanced at the serious-looking girl beside her. Was she indirectly promoting the competitive culture? Oh no, she had personally experienced the harm of such competitiveness. This wasn’t helpful at all.

Carefully choosing her words, she said, “I think a good balance of work and rest is better.”

The girl gave her a cold glance and replied indifferently, “What, you don’t allow others to work hard? You haven’t gone abroad, yet your spoken English is so fluent. You’ve put in quite a bit of effort behind the scenes, haven’t you?”

Xu Jiaojiao’s eyebrows twitched. That wasn’t her intention, but thinking about it, it’s the reality of today’s society. It’s a world where effort will eventually pay off. If you don’t put in the effort now, will you wait for the next generation to work harder?

She couldn’t let herself go further down the wrong path.

With some embarrassment, she replied, “Learning from Comrade Wu.”

Their brief conversation ended. They sat in their seats and stood up one by one to greet the incoming foreign guests with warm smiles. Xu Jiaojiao made sure each smile was perfectly delivered because these foreigners represented walking money bags. However, by the end, her face was about to crack from smiling so much.

Jeff sat next to the girl, feeling lucky to be seated beside such a beautiful woman. With a gentlemanly demeanor, he took her hand and kissed the back of it.

Xu Jiaojiao knew the foreign etiquette, but she didn’t know what to say, fearing her reaction might be too enthusiastic and come off as inappropriate. She could only give an awkward smile and sit back down.

Jeff’s face turned slightly red, dressed in a sharp suit, exuding an elite vibe. He looked like a player but, in reality, was quite innocent and pure when it came to emotions.

His blue eyes squinted with delight, and his voice was deep and alluring as he spoke in English, “Beautiful girl, what’s your name?”

Xu Jiaojiao confidently answered, “My name is Xu Jiaojiao, Mr. Jeff. Hello.”

Jeff politely distanced himself from her and leaned back in his seat, his expression one of admiration. “What an interesting name. Your family must really love you.”

Before Xu Jiaojiao could respond, the event started, and as the presenter spoke, she translated in a slow, deep, yet clear voice, with a soothing tone that made the listeners involuntarily captivated by her translation.

When the break came, Xu Jiaojiao scanned the room and finally spotted Xie Zhi. He was sitting next to a foreigner with graying hair, looking serious and focused on his work.

The angle of his slightly turned face highlighted his perfect bone structure. From his forehead to his chin, every inch of his face was meticulously sculpted, making him the most handsome and charming man Xu Jiaojiao had ever seen in all her years.

Jeff followed Xu Jiaojiao’s gaze and, disappointed, lowered his eyes. It turned out the girl he liked had already chosen someone: “You like him.”

Xu Jiaojiao smiled and replied, “He’s my boyfriend.”

Jeff nodded understandingly, his expression a little dazed. But as the second half of the meeting began, his focus returned to work, and he kept his distance from the girl. Finally, when the last file was presented, Xu Jiaojiao knew the event was coming to a close.

After three hours of translating, she was exhausted but still maintained her professional demeanor, ensuring she didn’t show any weakness in front of the foreigners.

Just before sending Jeff off, the tall man couldn’t resist giving her a light hug. It was gentle, not enough to be considered inappropriate.

His voice was low and seductive, “Beautiful girl, may God bless you.”

“May God bless you too, Mr. Jeff,” Xu Jiaojiao thanked him politely.

After sending the group of foreigners off, Xu Jiaojiao turned to find Xie Zhi, only to see that he had quietly appeared behind her, smiling warmly.

She ran toward him, like a reckless little animal, and was met with a tight embrace and almost bone-crushing strength.

His voice was low, “He kissed you.”

“How do you know?”

“Jiaojiao, I can’t take my eyes off you.”

Xu Jiaojiao gently rubbed his back and comforted him, “That was just a polite gesture, and I told him you are my boyfriend.”

As Shen Guanqi approached, he was suddenly pulled back by Director Hu, who scolded, “Go back and think carefully! You caused a scene at the event, do you think no one noticed?”

The boy turned around, his eyes filling with tears, his lashes trembling. Though it was his fault, his actions now seemed to suggest that someone had wronged him.

His voice, calm as if sinking into the deep sea, said, “Dad, I really like Sister Jiaojiao. Can you let Xie Zhi ge give her to me?”

Director Hu, unable to reprimand his spoiled son, especially when he looked so wronged and pleading, sighed. Shen Guanqi had been less fortunate than others from a young age. While others could run and jump, he had been bedridden in the hospital for a long time.

This was the first time he had asked for something, and his father couldn’t bring himself to scold him harshly.

Director Hu’s gaze lingered on Xie Zhi and Xu Jiaojiao laughing together. “Guanqi, matters of the heart can’t be forced.”

Xu Jiaojiao and Xie Zhi politely refused Uncle Hu’s suggestion. They followed the bus route back to the hotel, where they immediately bought three mangoes for nine yuan, which seemed like an absurdly high price.

Xu Jiaojiao happily held the juicy mangoes and said, “Thank you, hubby.”

“We don’t need to say such things between us,” Xie Zhi replied softly.

They soon reached the hotel lobby, where a couple was sitting on the lounge chairs—Xie Zhi’s parents. The once pleasant atmosphere turned awkward in an instant.

Xie Zhi took Xu Jiaojiao’s hand and walked toward his parents. “Dad, Mom.”

“Uncle, Aunt,” Xu Jiaojiao greeted them.

Xie’s father snuffed out his cigarette and spoke with a slightly open mouth, “Xiao Zhi, your mother took Wenjing back. She won’t be coming again. Come stay with us, and Jiaojiao too.”

After a long pause, he added, “Your mom and I haven’t seen you in a while. We miss you.”

Xie Zhi’s mother stood up, tears in her eyes, and took Xu Jiaojiao’s hand, her voice choking with emotion. “Jiaojiao, I didn’t mean to. I really apologize for throwing those things away. I wasn’t trying to hurt you. Please come back and stay with us.”

“Really, I’ve missed you both so much.”

As she spoke, Xie Zhi’s mother couldn’t hold back her emotions any longer and started crying quietly. Her red, swollen eyes and trembling back made it clear that she was deeply distressed, and even Xie’s father was moved to tears.

Xu Jiaojiao felt deeply uncomfortable seeing this and couldn’t help but feel a lump in her throat.

Xie Zhi, seeing his mother’s emotional breakdown, remembered the last time he saw her sad face when he was sent to the countryside. At that moment, he had thought there could be nothing sadder in the world.