Zhang Ling refused without even thinking.
"I don't think my hairstyle looks bad."
She wore her hair long, with strands as dark and smooth as silk, far softer than any chemical straightening could achieve. Tang Shiyu envied her above all else for her jet-black, lustrous hair.
Secretary Qi smiled and said, "Miss Zhang's hair is dark, bright, and very pretty—all natural."
Still, a different hairstyle might make her look even better.
However, since Zhang Ling refused to change her hair, Secretary Qi dropped the subject.
In the president's office, Zhang Qing was interrogating her father: "Dad, why did you have her come here? I don't like seeing her, and I don't want a sister like that."
Yuan Qiuying gazed at her husband with a grievance-filled look in her eyes and remained silent.
Zhang Mutian stood up, walked around his desk, and came to his wife's side. He first reached out to embrace his wife's shoulders, but when his hand was swatted away, he didn't get angry and explained, "Qing'er didn't want to go on a blind date with the eldest young master of the Mu family, so I had no choice but to arrange for Zhang Ling to go in her place."
"Who could have known that the eldest young master of the Mu family plays by his own rules? The moment the blind date was over, they went and got their marriage license—a direct whirlwind marriage."
"When the Mu family found out we swapped people, they were furious, but since the marriage certificate was already issued, there was nothing they could do either. Now, Old Madam Ning's eightieth birthday banquet is tomorrow, and we obviously have to attend."
"Zhang Ling married the eldest young master of the Mu family in Qing'er's place, which makes her Old Madam Ning's maternal granddaughter-in-law, so she naturally has to go and offer her birthday greetings. You know very well how poorly Zhang Ling and her mother have been living, so I called her here and had Xiao Qi take her to buy two sets of evening gowns."
"That way, she won't make a laughingstock of our family at tomorrow night's banquet. No matter what, she is still Zhang Mutian's daughter."
Hearing Zhang Mutian's explanation, Yuan Qiuying's complexion improved slightly.
Zhang Qing cried out instead, "Dad arranged for her to go on the blind date in my place? He didn't even say a word to me! I didn't want to go on a blind date with Mu Lingfeng, but my best friend was willing to go in my place. I was still waiting for Dad to talk to me again so I could arrange for my best friend to go, but Dad went ahead and arranged for Zhang Ling instead."
"Even if Mu Lingfeng grew up in the countryside, he is still the eldest young master of the Mu family. Dad arranged for her to take my place on the blind date, so she'll become the eldest young mistress of the Mu family in the future, eating fine food, living in luxury, and enjoying endless wealth. When I marry into the Mu family as the third young mistress later on, I'll even have to call her eldest sister-in-law."
Zhang Qing was extremely dissatisfied.
The one she adored was the eldest son of the Mu family's second branch—the third young master of the Mu family.
Yuan Qiuying's face lengthened all over again.
That's right. Even if Mu Lingfeng grew up in the countryside and held no position in Mu Group, he was still the eldest young master of the Mu family. Marrying him meant becoming the eldest young mistress of the Mu family, and the Mu family was a family of billions.
Zhang Mutian must still dote on his eldest daughter after all. When there were benefits to be had, he hadn't even mentioned a word to her, yet he directly arranged for Zhang Ling to go on the blind date instead of Qing'er.
"Qing'er, are you foolish? No matter what, Zhang Ling is my daughter and your own flesh-and-blood sister. If she marries into the Mu family, our Zhang family will be the one forming an in-law relationship with them, and the benefits she brings will also belong to our Zhang family."
"If your best friend had taken your place in marrying into the Mu family, who would be forming the in-law alliance? That would be your best friend's family, and all the benefits would go to them. What would be left for our family?"
Zhang Mutian rebuked his daughter for a bit, then explained to his wife, "Wife, everything I did was for the sake of our Zhang family, not to favor Zhang Ling. Just think about it—what kind of reputation does Mu Lingfeng have in high society? So many people don't even know what he looks like."
"Let alone the fact that he still lives in the countryside, working the fields every day without any official title in Mu Group. Which young lady would be willing to marry him? A woman who marries him merely occupies the title of eldest young mistress."
"Didn't I agree when Qing'er said she didn't want to go on a blind date with Mu Lingfeng? I couldn't bear the thought of our Qing'er marrying a rustic man either. But Ning Hao was the matchmaker, and we finally got Madam Mu to relent. If we didn't handle this matter impeccably, my relationship with Ning Hao would shatter."
"It would also offend the Mu family, which wouldn't do our Zhang family any good. Why bother?"
Lowering his voice, Zhang Mutian said, "Let me tell you a little secret: Mu Lingfeng is a homosexual. He doesn't like women. He told Zhang Ling that himself, so when Zhang Ling marries over there, she's destined to live a widow's life."
Hearing him say this, Yuan Qiuying and her daughter instantly stopped being angry. Zhang Qing even burst into laughter, gloating, "She deserves to live as a widow."
"Dad, I'm sorry. I questioned you without thinking things through because I thought Dad didn't dote on me as your daughter anymore."
Zhang Qing apologized to her father.
Yuan Qiuying also softened her attitude.
Of course Zhang Mutian wouldn't stay angry with the apple of his eye, and the family of three was soon filled with warmth and harmony.
Over on her side, Zhang Ling followed Secretary Qi to buy evening gowns and two sets of jewelry. Since Zhang Ling was already the eldest young mistress of the Mu family, her attending tomorrow night's banquet was tantamount to meeting her husband's family; no matter how displeased Zhang Mutian was, he couldn't let his daughter look too shabby.
The two sets of jewelry Secretary Qi bought for Zhang Ling each cost hundreds of thousands. Upon leaving the jewelry store, Secretary Qi softly instructed Zhang Ling, "President Zhang asked me to pass along a message: you must learn to cherish the clothes and jewelry bought for you, and not take them out to pawn or sell them. From now on, whenever there is a banquet, you must wear evening gowns and jewelry to attend."
The implication was that Zhang Ling would only ever have these two sets of evening gowns and jewelry. If she pawned them and lacked gowns to wear for future banquets, she would have to spend her own money to buy them.
Zhang Ling replied, "Since they were given to me, they are my possessions, and how I choose to dispose of them is my freedom."
Secretary Qi: "..."
This Miss Zhang seemed particularly fond of going head-to-head with President Zhang.
"Lingling."
A familiar voice rang out abruptly.
Both Zhang Ling and Secretary Qi stopped and simultaneously turned their heads toward the source of the sound.
Standing at the entrance of the men's clothing specialty store next to the jewelry store was a young man with regular facial features, wearing a pair of glasses. Dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, he looked refined and cultured, bearing a striking resemblance to Tang Shiyu.
He was Tang Shiyu's biological older brother, Tang Xiaoxu.
"Brother Xu, why are you here? Are you here to buy clothes?"
Seeing the bag Tang Xiaoxu was holding, Zhang Ling didn't even need to ask to know it contained clothes.
"I ran into an acquaintance. Secretary Qi, wait for me in the car."
Signaling for Secretary Qi to head to the car, Zhang Ling walked back to Tang Xiaoxu's side and asked with a smile, "Are you on break, Brother Xu?"
The two families had been neighbors for over a decade, as close as a single family. In Zhang Ling's eyes, Tang Xiaoxu was her older brother, and he treated her just like a real younger sister.
"I accompanied my boss here to buy clothes,"
Tang Xiaoxu replied. "I'm not on break. I have to head back to the farm shortly; the boss hasn't been free these past couple of days, so I have to watch the farm for him."
As they spoke, Tang Xiaoxu's boss emerged from the clothing store.
It turned out to be none other than Mu Lingfeng.
However, upon seeing Zhang Ling, Mu Lingfeng showed no particular reaction. Perhaps he had no impression of her left.
When Zhang Ling caught sight of her own husband, her very first reaction was that Brother Xu's boss was extremely handsome, and her second reaction was still how handsome he was.
She didn't recognize Mu Lingfeng at all.
Though the couple had obtained their marriage certificate some time ago, they had only met on the very day they registered, followed by living apart in different places without even a phone call. Zhang Ling had been busy taking care of her mother, and had her father not called her, she would have completely forgotten she was a married woman.
As for her whirlwind marriage husband—well, she had forgotten what he looked like.