The Most Majestic You - Chapter 3 Part 1

The Most Majestic You

Chapter 3 Part 1

Qianxi and Xu Jimo agreed upon when and where to meet. Afterwhich she threw it to the back of her mind.  Since she never took a finance course in university, her daily work was difficult and tedious for her.  Though nobody demanded her to accomplish much, she felt compelled to do some actual work as an employee of Yinyuan. Thus, in addition to her own work for her own department, she spent time learning from other departments.  She worked overtime with other employees, occasionally even overnight.

She had been working overtime for a whole week.  She didn’t give much thought when she agreed to her dad to return home for dinner that day.

Her mom came early to pick her up from work and took her to get her hair done and do her makeup. Her mom picked out a sweet and elegant skirt for her with an entire set of matching jewelry before heading home.

Qianxi blinked her false eyelashes and asked,  “Mom, which uncle is coming tonight.  Why am I dressed so formally?”

“En, your Uncle Pei is coming.”

Qianxi mentally prepared herself.  She was an expert at playing the role of the obedient girl in front of her elders.

The guest hadn’t arrived yet when she sat down at the dining table back home.  She was still relaxed and asked her dad randomly.  “I have a friend called Qin Xiao who’s planning to establish a streaming platform and I heard she sent proposal to Yinyuan.  Dad, do you plan to invest?”

“I don’t know about it.  You have to ask your Aunt Zhang.”

“......Is that so.”  Qianxi turned quiet.  The women managers in the venture capital business were all industry elites.  Their faces were covered with makeup with red lipstick and spoke to everyone as if it were business negotiation.  Qianxi couldn’t stand conversing with people like “Aunt Zhang,” she especially had no intention to ever become like one of them.

As she was deep in thought, Uncle Pei arrived with his son, an outstanding man.

Qianxi glanced at the man and felt a chill down her spine.  As expected, her mom quietly introduced the young man,  “Your Uncle Pei’s son already founded an investment fund while in university. Two of the companies he invested in have gone public already.  What were you doing when you were in university?  I asked you to invest in stocks and all you did was lose it all.”

“Mom!”  Qianxi responded in irritation.  “I made a profit later, ok.  I earned quite a lot!”

“How much could you make?”  Her mom sneered, then quickly nudged her as the guests took their seats.  “Come greet your Uncle Pei, hurry.”

Qianxi held her displeasure and showed a sweet, empty smile.  “How are you, Uncle Pei.”

Pei Shiqin was busy building his business when he was young, which didn’t leave much time for his family.  He had a son when he was much older.  His son was twenty-six this year, but he was already close to sixty.  He looked very amiable when he smiled.  “Qianxi has grown ever more beautiful.”

Qianxi smiled in embarrassment.  “......Thank you, Uncle Pei.”

Her mom hinted with her eyes that there was another person she had yet to greet.  Qianxi refused with her own eyes.  His age was similar to hers.  Did her mom want her to call him uncle?  Her mom expressed her disappointment with a stern expression before turning back to entertain Pei Shiqin.

Pei Shaoqing was sizing up the girl, who seemed to be at odds with her mother, across from him.  Her face, adorned with delicately applied make-up, was slightly red and she seemed to be a bit shy.

Nowadays, it was rare to see a girl so shy that she could not greet her matchmaking counterpart.  He smiled lightly at her.

Qianxi didn’t notice this deliberately warm smile.  She was so uncomfortable that it felt as if she was sitting on pins and needles.  Her mind had long ago begun to wander away.  At last she had a bit too much to drink and used it as an excuse to leave the table early.

Qianxi’s parents sent Pei Shiqin and his son off after dinner, then hurried over to demand an answer from their daughter.

Her mom was unusually angry.  “What’s wrong with you?  You think your mom doesn’t know how much you can drink?  Are you not happy with the man that dad and mom has arranged for you?”

“No.  He is pretty good.  He is a talented young man with a striking appearance.  But can you inform me in advance?”

“Are you capable of leaving the nest now?  Should dad and mom ask you before we do anything at all?”  Her mom put on a stern face.  “Do you know how many times your dad had to apologize for your disrespect to Uncle Pei?”

Drinking alcohol made people brave.  Qianxi straightened her back.  “Is it so hard to tell me in advance?  It’s not like I’ll run away if you tell me.  All you do is order me to do this and do that since I was a little child!  Did I say anything when dad arranged me to work at Yinyuan without discussing with me first?  I’m making great efforts to fit in.  I am already so obedient.  Is it too much to ask that you give me some right to choose?”

All these questions came from a usually well-behaved, charming, and completely naive daughter.  Her mom’s shoulder trembled in anger.  “You’re making great efforts to fit in?”  She then pulled out a stack of papers from a drawer and dumped it in front of Qianxi.  “Then explain to mom, what’s all these!”

Half of the thick stack of papers had scattered in a flurry in front of her eyes.  She could clearly see several keywords on the papers.  “Study Abroad”,  “North America”,  “MCAT (Medical College Admission Test)”......

Qianxi sat stunned for some time.  She opened her mouth, then closed it.  Finally, she spoke with some hesitation,  “I…...I was planing to tell you in a couple days.”

“I don’t think you care about your parents at all.”  Her mom sat in the middle of the scattered papers with overwhelming presence.  “Your dad and I have checked your mailbox.  I was wondering why you just listened to us and resigned from the hospital without any resistance.  You’ve been trying to weasel your way out from beginning of the year.  Do you plan to fly far away after you receive the offer from the university in America?  You dad took a lot of trouble to pave a path for you at Yinyuan, aren’t you letting him down?”

“Mom!  I didn’t mean to hide it from you.  There is still more than two months before school starts, and I did really want to try at Yinyuan to see if I’m interested in investment  banking. I don’t mean to contradict dad’s arrangement.  It’s just that I feel that I truly do not fit in this industry after working there for some time……”

Her mom stared at her.  “Where do you fit in then?  Is it at the surgery room operating on AIDS patients?”

Qianxi opened her mouth in an attempt to argue, but she couldn’t.  She lowered her head and in a small voice.  “But, somebody has to do it……”

Her mom scoffed at her reply.

She always seemed to lose in the end whenever she tried communicating with her elders.