Chapter 122: Everyone Will Find a Wife for Themselves

After finishing breakfast, Tang Yu headed out. She had arranged to meet Wang Qing at the commercial center. Upon seeing her, Wang Qing handed her five thousand yuan.

"Here, this is the income from this past period," Wang Qing said. "It all came from classmates who felt they hadn't done well on the college entrance exam and were planning to repeat the year."

Tang Yu took the money. "That's so much."

"And that's after deducting the commission," Wang Qing said, linking her arm with Tang Yu’s as they walked toward the mall. "It’s perfect timing—now I have money to buy gifts. My mom gave me some extra before she left, so I’m planning to buy some lipstick and foundation."

She gave a giggle, her eyes filled with anticipation. "After all, I’m going to college soon. I’m planning to learn how to do makeup during the break so I can stun everyone when school starts!"

The commercial center was massive. The first floor was for small goods, mostly various boutiques and the like. The second floor was for high-end cosmetics, the third for jewelry, and the floors above housed clothing, shoes, and restaurants. It was considered one of the more upscale malls in Liangcheng.

Tang Yu didn't know what to get for Bian Yang. After wandering around, she decided to accompany Wang Qing to the second floor to shop for cosmetics.

The two high school girls, with their youthful faces and simple attire, stood at the counter chattering away, looking like they hadn't seen much of the world as they tried out different shades. The sales assistant, assuming they were just browsing, had no intention of serving them.

"Xiao Yu, your skin is fair, you’d look great in this color!" Wang Qing picked up an orange-pink lip glaze, dabbed a bit on her fingertip, and reached out to apply it to Tang Yu’s lips.

Tang Yu felt the sticky texture on her lips and caught a faint, sweet scent of oranges.

"Pucker them slightly," Wang Qing instructed.

Tang Yu’s natural lip color was a soft pink, making it easy for the pigment to show. The glossy, shimmering glaze spread across her lips, making her skin appear even more luminous and fair. Tang Yu wasn't used to it; her mouth felt strange.

"It looks so good!" Wang Qing’s eyes lit up. "Why don’t you get one?"

Tang Yu glanced down at the price tag—a single lip glaze was over two hundred yuan. She had saved up some money, but it was meant for her tuition and her grandparents' medical expenses, so it really wasn't a suitable purchase for her.

"I won't buy it, but if you like it, you should," Tang Yu said, picking out a cherry-pink shade for her. "This one suits you."

Wang Qing tried it on and liked it quite a bit. She was about to pay when, as she raised her hand, she accidentally knocked over a perfume tester nearby.

*Clatter.* The perfume bottle hit the floor and shattered into shards.

Wang Qing was startled, frozen in shock. The sales assistant walked over, her face cold. "You two broke that, right?"

Tang Yu apologized. "We're sorry, it was an accident."

The sales assistant scanned them with a look of contempt. "You have to pay for broken testers at retail price. This bottle is twelve hundred yuan. Are you paying by WeChat or Alipay?"

People around them kept glancing over. Wang Qing had never encountered such a situation and was terrified of being gossiped about. Since she was the one who had broken it, she immediately pulled out her phone, prepared to pay through gritted teeth.

Tang Yu pressed her hand down and looked at the sales assistant. "Fine. If we are paying the retail price, that means we are purchasing the product at its full value, so please provide us with a receipt."

The sales assistant’s eyes flickered. "Of course."

Just as the assistant pulled out a receipt, Tang Yu added, "Please note on the receipt that this is for a damaged tester."

The sales assistant’s hand paused, and she immediately changed her tune. "I just remembered, we don't issue receipts for damaged testers here. Just pay the money." She shoved the payment QR code in their faces.

Tang Yu remained calm. "Are you sure?"

The sales assistant was clearly rattled.

Tang Yu said softly, "According to Article 22 of the Consumer Rights Protection Law of our country, business operators providing goods or services must issue invoices or other purchase vouchers to consumers in accordance with relevant state regulations or commercial practices. If a consumer requests an invoice or voucher, the operator must provide it. If a formal retail store like Dior refuses to issue a receipt, I wonder if you can justify that to the tax bureau."

The sales assistant was stunned, likely not expecting two young girls to be so assertive, and stuttered, unable to speak.

She soon waved her hand impatiently. "Consider it my bad luck! Are you buying anything or not? If not, go shop somewhere else!"

With Tang Yu’s words, Wang Qing felt an instant surge of confidence. She slapped the lip glaze down on the counter.

"Who would want to buy anything from your shop? Xiao Yu, let's go buy it somewhere else!"

She linked arms with Tang Yu and they walked out of the store.

"What is that middle-aged woman so smug about? Her eyes are practically on the top of her head—anyone would think she owned Dior!" She complained to Tang Yu, then looked at her with pure admiration. "But Xiao Yu, how do you know so much? And how did you know she wouldn't dare give us a receipt?"

Tang Yu smiled. "I’ve been reading up on the Consumer Rights Protection Law lately. Not to mention that the tester was already less than a third full, making it unreasonable for us to pay the full price. Furthermore, testers in formal brand stores are generally treated as normal wear and tear and cannot be sold as retail products. If she had issued a receipt for a 'damaged tester' at full price, we could have reported her to the Administration for Industry and Commerce. If she didn't provide a receipt at all, we could report her to the Tax Bureau."

"Oh my god, if it weren't for you, I would have paid that twelve hundred just now! My mom would have killed me when I got home! You are so amazing—you shut that sales assistant up in an instant!"

Tang Yu blinked. "Is it really that amazing?"

"It is! You are absolutely amazing!"

Wang Qing’s eyes sparkled with adoration. The two girls walked arm-in-arm, chatting and laughing toward another store.

Little did they know, two men over six feet tall were crouching, using flyers to hide their faces, and stealthily following them.

Realizing what he was doing, Qi Mingzhou tossed the flyer away, his handsome face looking thoroughly miserable. "Brother-in-law, that’s enough."

Honestly, why was he listening to Bian Cheng and stalking two teenage girls? It was like being a pervert; was he out of his mind?

Bian Cheng, terrified of being discovered, quickly picked up the flyer and covered Qi Mingzhou’s face again. "You’ll get caught! Hide yourself!"

Qi Mingzhou’s brow twitched as he pushed the flyer away. "Setting aside the fact that I’m doing nothing wrong, even if I were caught, it wouldn’t matter. Besides, the girl doesn't even know me."

Bian Cheng thought about that, then used the flyer to cover his own face and peered sneakily toward Tang Yu.

"Brother-in-law, haven't I already told you? She’s an adult..." He had hired someone to look into her last night and had sent the information over as soon as he got it. He had just stepped off the plane when Bian Cheng dragged him here in a panic, thinking it was something urgent, only for it to be... this.

Qi Mingzhou pinched the bridge of his nose. "I told you, things aren't at all what you think they are!"

However, Bian Cheng didn't see it that way. "Even if she’s an adult, you can't rule out that... possibility. You didn't see those corner protectors on the tables in the apartment. Forget it, you’re a single guy, you don’t know anything. Explaining it to you is useless."

Qi Mingzhou’s mouth twitched violently. His usual elegant and gentle demeanor was being dragged down several levels simply by Bian Cheng's presence. Many people around them were staring. Qi Mingzhou shoved his hands in his pockets, stepped aside, and chose to put some distance between them.

"Where are you going? You’re going to expose me!" Bian Cheng grabbed him and pulled him back.

"..."

Bian Cheng had seen the earlier confrontation, and a look of admiration appeared in his eyes. "As expected of a daughter-in-law of the Bian family. Reasonable, articulate, and has a backbone. You have to admit, that little beast Bian Yang might be useless in some ways, but his taste is just like mine." He knew how to find himself a wife.

No matter how good Qi Mingzhou’s manners were, he couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You have the nerve to talk about yourself? If my sister hadn't been so soft-hearted back then, and if you hadn't pestered her for three years, do you think you would have succeeded? And besides..."

He added in a low, hollow tone, "The girl hasn't even agreed to marry into the Bian family yet, and you're already calling her your daughter-in-law."

"Is that how you talk to your brother-in-law?" Bian Cheng smacked the back of Qi Mingzhou’s head.

Qi Mingzhou staggered from the blow and took a deep breath, clearly suppressing something. After their parents passed away, Qi Mingzhou and Qi Mingwan relied on each other, and the two siblings were very close. When Bian Cheng was pursuing Qi Mingwan, he hadn't hesitated to use Qi Mingzhou as a way in. After marrying Qi Mingwan, he treated Qi Mingzhou like his own son. For a man who was ten years his senior but even less mature than he was, Qi Mingzhou found every encounter a massive headache.

"Brother-in-law, look at them skipping along. Do they look like..." He felt it was a sin to even apply those words to such pure young girls. "Anyway, follow them if you want; I’m done."

Qi Mingzhou turned to leave.

Bian Cheng grabbed him by the neck and forced him back, his voice fierce. "If you’re not going to follow, then go ask her."

Qi Mingzhou was dumbstruck for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure. It wasn't surprising that such words would come from Bian Cheng.

"I’m not going!"

"You have to."

"Why do I have to be the one to go!"

Bian Cheng spoke with an air of complete entitlement. "Because I need to be sure, otherwise I won't be at ease."

Qi Mingzhou’s temple throbbed. How did he manage to make asking for a favor sound like giving a military order? Bian Cheng was a man who had grown up on a military base; Qi Mingzhou was no match for him and was completely suppressed, unable to resist. In such a large mall, Bian Cheng was thick-skinned enough not to care about appearances, but Qi Mingzhou cared about his face.

"Let go of me, I’ll go, okay?" Qi Mingzhou compromised.

Bian Cheng released him with satisfaction. "Should have done that earlier instead of forcing me to use force." Seeing Qi Mingzhou’s reluctant expression, he gave him a kick. "What are you standing there for? Stop dragging your feet, go!"

"..."

Qi Mingzhou took a deep breath and brushed the footprint off his clothes. The biggest regret of his life was not stopping his sister from marrying this beast. But thinking about it, stopping her wouldn't have worked anyway—they were so deeply in love at the time that they didn't even notice he existed. Recalling his sister’s final wishes... Forget it, he would just have to endure this brother-in-law.

Qi Mingzhou walked over, while Bian Cheng hid his face behind a flyer and observed from the back. He didn't know what Qi Mingzhou had said to the girl, but she actually walked away with him.

Then, his phone vibrated.

Bian Cheng opened the message. It read:

【See you at the coffee shop at the entrance.】