I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

"Yes, it's tracking."

Lu Qianzi, pulling Liu Ruying along, followed Chen Ya and Xia You furtively. Lu Qianzi continued:

"Look, I'm not trying to ruin my brother's plans by betraying my own family. It's just that I can't stand by and watch. He is indeed very outstanding, and as his brother, I can be very proud of him. But if I were to ask you to be my sister-in-law, I would feel like I'm pushing you into a fire pit."

Liu Ruying said, "I think it's alright. Many people settle down after marriage... Sigh, but I also think that my engagement with him might not come to fruition... I can't say for sure..."

"Why do you say that?" Lu Qianzi turned around.

Liu Ruying remained silent.

Chen Ya had already revealed some of his strength to her, and she had a feeling that he and she were not from the same world.

He wants to be a level higher, even five, six, seven, or eight levels higher.

She still remembers what Chen Ya said: if she performs well enough, she won't care about her future or her uncle's small fortune.

Because of those words of his, she had tossed and turned in her sleepless nights.

Sometimes she would have a vague thought: Why can't I have it all?

If she could marry Chen Ya, wouldn't she have both her uncle's family fortune and Chen Ya?

Of course, this idea was just a fleeting thought, and she herself wasn't very confident about it.

She could only pin her hopes on Old Master Lu personally arranging another marriage.

I wonder if Old Master Lu's status is enough to keep Chen Ya in check.

She turned to Lu Qianzi and whispered, "My uncle told me that he will bring up the marriage agreement with the old master again at the old master's birthday banquet this time."

Lu Qianzi's eyes widened: "Isn't that the end of it? Hurry up and try to persuade him!"

“No,” Liu Ruying shook her head. “How could I possibly persuade them? This is something that both families decided more than a decade ago.”

While Lu Qianzi was still heartbroken over Liu Ruying, Liu Ruying said, "Besides, if we get married, I will definitely make him settle down."

Lu Qianzi was shocked by the sudden change in her mindset and said blankly, "Ruying, your mentality is really strong."

"Cough cough."

The two whispered to each other for a while when a cough suddenly came from behind them. They turned around abruptly and saw a slender girl wearing sunglasses and a beret, holding a magazine, and wearing a fitted white sweater standing behind them.

"What were you talking about just now?" the girl asked in a cool tone.

Looking at the girl, Lu Qianzi felt a strange sense of familiarity. After stammering for a while, she finally asked hesitantly, "Are you Sister Qingxuan?"

The girl pushed her sunglasses up her hair, revealing bright eyes. It was Lu Qingxuan.

When Lu Qianzi saw it was her, she panicked even more.

In the Lu family, Lu Qingxuan, as Lu Yuanbao's biological daughter, has always maintained a strong and consistent influence over Lu Qianzi, who comes from a collateral branch of the family.

Therefore, Lu Qianzi's respect for Lu Qingxuan came from the bottom of her heart and from the depths of her soul. Seeing her following behind her so furtively, she was speechless.

Lu Qingxuan said, "I heard you talking about engagements and marriages just now. What does that mean?"

Three women make a drama. Lu Qingxuan crossed her arms below her high breasts, her dignified demeanor making her look even more like a playboy.

“Uh, this is Liu Ruying, from the Liu family…” Lu Qianzi stammered as she introduced her to Lu Qingxuan. “Grandpa Lu arranged marriages for our family when we were young. She and Chen Ya were betrothed. And just now, when we saw my brother… he was like that, and we were very angry.”

Upon hearing about the arranged marriage, Lu Qingxuan raised her eyebrows slightly and said, "I know Liu Ruying, I know her. I've also heard a little about the arranged marriage, but why is it Chen Ya? Didn't he just arrive in the capital? Wasn't he just adopted by your family?"

This was a very unseemly thing to say, and when Lu Qianzi heard it, she stammered and blushed, unable to say anything.

Seeing her expression, Lu Qingxuan seemed to understand something. She waved her hand and said, "Fine, I don't care what you think. What era is this? People still arrange marriages in the womb. It's outrageous."

Lu Qianzi changed the subject and asked, "Sister Qingxuan, what are you doing here?"

Lu Qingxuan blushed slightly: "Me? I just came to stroll around and happened to run into you guys."

This is a lie.

In fact, Lu Qingxuan's smartwatch was left in Chen Ya's car yesterday. She used her phone's GPS to track the car and found her way here. She then saw Chen Ya and Xia You, and naturally discovered Lu Qianzi and Liu Ruying.

As for the meticulous and thoughtful Lu family darling, the reason she left her smartwatch in Chen Ya's car was simply because she did it on purpose.

Lu Qingxuan pointed in the direction of Chen Ya and Xia You and said, "Do you know who that girl is?"

"Who?"

Lu Qingxuan said, "She's from the Xia family, Xia Longju's daughter."

“Xia Longju…” Lu Qianzi repeated.

She had naturally heard of this name before, but she could hardly believe it.

"How could my brother know Xia Longju's daughter?"

“How would I know?” Lu Qingxuan said. “Believe it or not, it’s up to you. Anyway, I’ve met her a few times at the clan meeting, so there’s no way I could mistake her.”

After saying that, she turned around and saw that Chen Ya and Xia You had gone upstairs. Without saying a word, she decisively abandoned Lu Qianzi and Liu Ruying and turned around to follow them.

Lu Qianzi and Liu Ruying exchanged a glance.

Then, the two of them followed without prior arrangement.

Chapter 258 A went up.

Chen Ya and Xia You took the escalator upstairs. Xia You nudged his arm and said, "You've made quite a few female friends here, haven't you?"

“No way,” Chen Ya laughed. “One of those two people is my sister. It’s not what you think.”

"And the other one?"

"Hey, there's an arcade on the third floor. Want to come play King of Fighters '97 with me?"

Chen Ya's technique for changing the subject was so awkward, like a cold bun left out overnight, that Xia You puffed out her cheeks.

"So it seems like the other girl is involved?"

Chen Ya quickly said, "Don't make wild guesses. That one is someone I'm training to become a key business employee."

"Then why specifically choose such a good-looking one to train?" Xia You's eyes narrowed as sharply as a cat's.

"Maybe it's because she just happens to be fairly good-looking." Chen Ya turned to look at Xia You and suddenly asked, "Are you planning to go to Jinghua University or Peking University next year?"

"Kyoto University."

Chen Ya laughed and said, "Then she's doomed. She'll have to hand over her title as the most beautiful girl at Peking University."

"How to say?"

Chen Ya said, "That girl's name is Liu Ruying, and she's the campus belle of Peking University. If you enter Peking University next year, she'll be an older, past-her-prime senior, and the title of campus belle will definitely have to be given to you, the rising star."

He said he would give up Liu Ruying's position as the school beauty to Xia You, meaning that he thought Xia You was prettier than Liu Ruying. Xia You was overjoyed to hear this, but pretended not to care on the surface.

“I think you should tone it down a bit. Before I went back to Beijing, Sister Xinhai told me to keep a close eye on you.”

Chen Ya walked towards the arcade: "Why are you keeping such a close eye on me? I'm not going to do anything reckless."

"You're the most reckless one."

Halfway there, Lan She saw the large characters "Jiang Lizhi" on the adjacent display board, with dazzling diamonds in the photo below.

"Oh, I almost forgot, there's a charity auction here today," Chen Ya said with a smile.

Xia You glanced back at the display board and read it aloud: "A Gift of a Century, The Queen's Choice... What the heck?"

"Recently, the Queen of Britain passed away, leaving behind more than 600 pieces of jewelry. Some of these pieces were on loan from a company in China, but they have now been taken back, hence this charity auction."

"Rent? The British royal family's jewels need to be rented?"

Chen Ya smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes, the luxury goods from that company are more like cultural relics than commodities. The ownership cannot be transferred outside the country. The agreement signed with the British royal family is similar to that of giant pandas. The owner owns the items while they are alive, and the items are taken back after their death."

"Wow, that's incredible! With terms like these, who would actually be willing to rent it?"

"Hmm." Chen Ya shrugged. "So this auction is for the right to use the item, not the ownership. As long as the owner is alive, the item belongs to him; it will be taken back after he dies."

Xia You became somewhat interested.

It's really rare to see a domestic company daring to offer such domineering terms.

The most amazing thing is that the Queen of Britain was actually willing to accept such an overbearing clause.

She became somewhat interested in the company.

“Jiang Lizhi, I’ve never heard of this name before,” Xia You said, pointing to her lips. “Domestic luxury brands are mostly Gucci and Hermes; there are very few domestic luxury brands.”

"Of course, this company's strategy is to be popular abroad while remaining relatively unknown domestically, first penetrating the high-end foreign market. This company is not well-known domestically, but it is quite famous abroad. Perhaps it's true that foreign companies are always more successful."

Xia You approached the display board and looked at it for a while, then said:

"It says here that a total of fifteen pieces of jewelry will be auctioned off, and all proceeds will be donated to the bipolar disorder treatment industry... This company seems pretty good. Who's the boss? You don't know him, do you?"

“We know each other,” Chen Ya said. “It’s me.”

Xia You turned around and stared at Chen Ya.

She felt that luxury goods and Chen Ya were completely incompatible.

It's amazing that they can be combined like this.

"Did you think you were cool just now?" Xia You asked irritably. "You beat around the bush and kept everyone in suspense, and then it was just you. This isn't how you show off."

Chen Ya chuckled, a little embarrassed.

Xia You's cheeks flushed slightly. There was something else she didn't say: she actually thought he was quite handsome.

"A seemingly insignificant move made a few years ago. China, the land of civilization, is called Xia because of its great etiquette and Hua because of its beautiful clothing. With 5 years of civilization, belts, shoes and bags are all things our ancestors have already mastered. It doesn't make sense that we can't compete with others in the high-end luxury market, does it?"

The quote Chen Ya just made comes from "The Righteous Interpretation of Zuo Zhuan in the Spring and Autumn Annals". It means that the two characters "Hua" in "Huaxia" refer to the beauty of clothing and "Xia" refer to the etiquette.

Since the time of Confucius, the ancient Chinese people have attached great importance to the distinction between "Chinese and barbarians". Confucius repeatedly said, "It is better for the Chinese not to have a ruler than for the barbarians to have one", and "Without Guan Zhong, we would be wearing our hair loose and our robes fastened on the left", and so on.

The distinguishing mark between the Chinese and the barbarians is not bloodline; the answer lies in the two characters "Huaxia" (华夏), which signify "greatness of etiquette" and "beauty of clothing." The former is an intrinsic mark, while the latter is an extrinsic one.

In other words, the ancient Chinese held the power to define civilization, and the visual marker that distinguished civilization from barbarism was "clothing." Beautiful clothing meant civilization, while unbeautiful clothing meant it was not civilized and was considered barbaric.

Therefore, the "shaving of the head and changing of clothes" and even the Westernization of clothing and appearance in modern times are signs of the decline of the center of Chinese civilization. If we want to revive it and regain the right to define "beauty", it is both a process and a result.

So a few years ago, Chen Ya started this company. After facing various pressures in the domestic market and making slow progress, he turned to the overseas market and unexpectedly became unstoppable, developing like wildfire.

The fact that it can now persuade the British monarchy to sign a humiliating agreement is proof of its brand power.

Although Xia You was unaware of the many twists and turns behind the scenes, just hearing about "reclaiming the Queen's jewels" made her feel a surge of excitement. She looked down at the display board and said:

"Then what's the name of this company, 'Jiang Lizhi'...? Which of your confidantes is this in memory of?"

Chen Ya explained, “This is not a person’s name. These three characters come from the ‘Li Sao’ (a famous poem), ‘Hu Jiang Li and Bi Zhi Xi, Ren Qiu Lan Yi Wei Pei’ (meaning to adorn oneself with fragrant herbs, angelica, and autumn orchids, as a metaphor for cultivating and improving one’s self-cultivation and virtue).

Although Xia You was full of distrust towards Chen Ya today, after hearing this explanation, she suddenly felt that the name was very suitable as the name of a luxury goods company.

Her interest was suddenly ignited, and she said, "Then let's go to the scene and take a look?"

“What’s so interesting about that?” Chen Ya said casually. “The best items that are put up for auction are only first-class. The Queen’s top-class items have all been taken back and sealed away. They won’t be put up for the next few years. Besides, the British royal family is not worthy of using the truly top-quality items.”

"I'm not going to the auction, I'm just going to watch the fun," Xia You said.

Chen Ya looked at her. She hadn't been this fond of watching the excitement before, so she had no choice but to agree: "Okay, but it hasn't started yet. We can do something else first before we go over."

A short while after the two left, the three-person team that had been following them arrived at the spot where the two had just stood, in front of the display board.

"What were they saying here? Did you hear it?" Lu Qianzi asked.

Liu Ruying smiled wryly: "It's not like I have super hearing. How could I possibly hear you from that far away? Qianzi, let's go. It wouldn't be good if we were discovered."

Lu Qingxuan rested her chin on her hand, staring at the display board in front of her, and said, "I remember now, today is Jiang Lizhi's charity sale."

“Jiang Lizhi?” Lu Qianzi turned to look at her.

Liu Ruying also looked at the display board, nodded, and said, "That rumor is true, the luxury items that the Queen used have really returned."

Lu Qianzi looked at the two of them with a puzzled expression and said, "What are you talking about? Am I the only one who doesn't know who Jiang Lizhi is?"

Liu Ruying explained to her, "Jiang Lizhi is a luxury brand that has recently become quite popular in high society circles in Europe and America. It is said that many film and television stars are proud to use this brand."

Lu Qingxuan said coldly, "Of course those minor celebrities will be proud of this, because this brand usually serves royalty. Even the top entertainment stars are still considered low-end users in front of this brand."

Liu Ruying nodded and said, "Yes, it is said that among foreign celebrities, Taylor Swift once wore one of Jiang Lizhi's dresses on the red carpet, which caused a sensation. The media said they did not expect Swift to be so famous."

"That's amazing?" Lu Qianzi asked in surprise.

In her opinion, Taylor was already famous enough, but it was unbelievable that she could elevate her status again with just one outfit.

But she looked at the two of them with an air of self-righteousness and said with her head down, "Okay, I'm the only country bumpkin here, boohoo..."