The beeping alarm clock rang, and the three girls on the large bed woke up together.
Chen Qing, lying in the middle with one arm around each girl, gave them a playful squeeze before sitting up with a smile. She pressed down on the petite girl on her left who was trying to get up: "Little Dou'er, you can sleep a bit longer."
The petite girl with a round, charming face didn't stay lying down, though. She sat up as well.
Thinking about last night, Sui Qingdou—her full name—blushed slightly but still obediently greeted Chen Qing.
Chen Qing responded, quickly slipped on a nightgown, and headed to the bathroom. Sui Qingdou, still groggy, watched her go, a bit stunned.
Getting out of bed was never easy, but for Chen Qing, it seemed so effortless?
The door opened.
Jiang Shanwu and Jiang Yuanchi, the sisters, came in carrying clothes. They ignored the two slightly flustered girls on the bed and began tidying up the clothes from the night before. When Chen Qing finished washing up and came out, they helped her change into a fresh outfit from head to toe.
Sui Qingdou, who had already quietly found her own clothes and dressed herself, greeted them again and headed to the bathroom.
The other girl finally got up, her slightly messy black hair framing a delicate, blushing face. When Chen Qing looked her way, she instinctively pulled the thin blanket up to cover her chest and greeted sweetly, "Good morning, Sister Chen."
Chen Qing, now dressed in a black fitted tracksuit, casually sat on the bed and let the Jiang sisters help her put on her sneakers. She reached out and pinched the girl's cheek: "Morning, Little Button."
The girl, seeming a bit embarrassed, shrank back and corrected softly, "Sister Chen, it's Kou Yu, not Button."
"Oh, Sister Chen was too poor to go to school when she was young, so she doesn't know many characters. You'll have to teach me more in the future."
Kou Yu symbolically blocked Chen Qing's wandering hand: "Haha, Sister Chen, you must be joking."
"Not at all, it's all true."
The Jiang sisters finished helping Chen Qing with her shoes and quietly stood to the side, resisting the urge to roll their eyes as they listened to their boss spin tales to the young girl.
Yeah.
So poor that she could only learn English, and now she speaks it better than a native.
Kou Yu, only 19, had no idea about Chen Qing's background and actually thought she had a chance to shine. Her little brain was already scheming as she added, "Sister Chen, why are you up so early? It's only six o'clock."
"If I don't get up early and work hard, how can I take care of you all?" Chen Qing withdrew her hand from the girl's embrace, still wearing a wolfish grin. "From now on, you and Little Dou'er belong to me. You can sleep in if you want; you don't have to get up this early. Just focus on keeping yourselves beautiful."
Kou Yu felt a bit dizzy hearing this and nodded instinctively.
Even though they had only been in Beijing for less than a week, the past few days had been a huge shock to Kou Yu's worldview, as well as to most of the other girls in the house. They had all begun to realize what they might be facing.
Last night, it had been Sister Chen, whom they had seen a few times over the past few days, who had come over. This had slightly refreshed Kou Yu and Sui Qingdou's understanding of the world. So, women could also do... that? But no matter what, this kind Sister Chen was much better than suddenly having a strange man appear.
So, the two girls had accepted it quite easily.
Chen Qing continued to tease Kou Yu for a bit before leaving the bedroom.
When she wasn't with her boss, Chen Qing's daily routine was quite similar to his. She woke up at six sharp, dressed, washed up, exercised, and had breakfast at seven.
Today was no different.
After a workout in the mansion's gym, Chen Qing sat down in the dining room. Sui Qingdou and Kou Yu, now fully dressed, followed her in.
It was almost Mid-Autumn Festival in China, and the sweltering heat had given way to cooler weather, the perfect time for the girls to show off their outfits.
Sui Qingdou, standing at just 156 cm, wore a loose camel-colored base layer paired with skinny, washed-out jeans. One piece was Chanel, the other CK, both bought during a shopping spree in Wangfujing after arriving in Beijing. When she saw the price tags on the pile of clothes and shoes that belonged to her, the girl from a remote farming village in Guangxi nearly fainted from guilt, feeling like she wasn't even worth selling.
If it weren't for the fact that all the clothes she had brought to Beijing had been thrown away, she wouldn't have dared to wear these.
Kou Yu, on the other hand, wore a bold black Versace mini dress. She was only slightly taller than Sui Qingdou at 161 cm, but her proportions were excellent, and the dress showed off her slender legs.
Of course, no matter what they wore, the most striking feature of both girls was their... impressive chests.
So impressive.
All nine girls in this mansion were at least a G-cup, if not larger.
This was rare in China, unlike in the West.
Chen Qing gestured for the two girls to sit down while she couldn't help but marvel once again at their... assets, which made both girls blush, whether genuinely or not.
Because of their figures, they had faced various troubles growing up.
Now, was this their reward after all that hardship?
Breakfast was served, and Chen Qing began eating in silence. The two girls followed suit, eating quietly.
However, after a brief moment of quiet, voices came from outside the dining room.
Chen Qing signaled to Jiang Shanwu beside her, and soon two more girls were brought in.
Unlike the petite Sui Qingdou and Kou Yu, these two girls were not only similarly endowed but also very tall.
The girl with a sharp ponytail and a cool, melon seed-shaped face was named Lin Zhao. At 179 cm barefoot, she was the tallest of the nine girls. With low heels on, she easily cleared 180 cm.
The other girl, Xia Panxi, was 175 cm tall. With her dignified face and shoulder-length black hair, she looked like she could be a TV news anchor. However, her presence was much weaker compared to Lin Zhao, and she instinctively lagged a step behind her.
Chen Qing watched the two girls approach, put down her spoon, and after a brief glance at their expressions, didn't invite them to sit. Instead, she asked, "What's the matter?"
Sui Qingdou and Kou Yu, sensing a change in Chen Qing's tone, naturally stopped eating.
Xia Panxi, when Chen Qing looked her way, averted her eyes and glanced at Lin Zhao beside her.
Lin Zhao hesitated for a moment but quickly met Chen Qing's gaze and got straight to the point: "Sister... Sister Chen, I don't think you brought us here just to shoot an ad, right?"
Chen Qing smiled and nodded: "Of course not."
The two girls were stunned, and even Sui Qingdou and Kou Yu were surprised.
Even if...
But to admit it so openly?
The girls in this mansion hadn't just appeared out of thin air. After failing to find suitable candidates among the Super Girl contestants, Chen Qing had used Elite's China branch and the name of a lingerie brand invested in by the Verstov system to place an ad across the country.
The conditions were, of course, the girls before her.
With a population of 1.2 billion, the base was there.
Since the ad promised that selected candidates could sign with Elite and receive a 500,000 RMB endorsement fee, and even offered to cover the cost of sending resumes via collect-on-delivery (COD), they received a flood of applications in a short time. With a team of over a hundred people screening the candidates, they quickly found a group of girls who met the initial criteria.
The team then rushed to various locations to meet the girls in person, conducting interviews, physical exams, and signing contracts before finally bringing them to Beijing.
According to the agreement, each of the nine girls had already received a 10,000 RMB deposit, and they were to undergo three months of training, with all expenses covered.
Some had suspected it was a scam. The girls, aged between 18 and 22, had initially come with their families. The organizers even covered round-trip airfare for the parents, which, for families who had never flown before, significantly reduced their suspicions.
After settling in and receiving the 10,000 RMB deposit, all doubts were erased.
Training? Fine.
After all, the mansion was right there. Even if the organizers ran, they couldn't take the mansion with them.
However, once the parents left, the girls discovered that the so-called training... well, it wasn't too harsh. In fact, it felt like heaven.
Just the shopping spree a few days ago, where each girl spent over 100,000 RMB, left them in a daze.
Is this how money is spent?
Then, in the following days, not only were their daily lives meticulously taken care of, but the "training" itself only lasted from 9 to 11 in the morning. After that, they were taken to various high-end restaurants in Beijing for lunch.
They were told it was to learn dining etiquette.
For an ad shoot, do they really need to learn dining etiquette? Moreover, during the meals, no one actually taught them any etiquette. Instead, they were left to marvel at the fact that each meal cost tens of thousands of RMB.
Is this how money is spent?
So, after just a few short days, the girls couldn't help but start thinking: With all this money being spent, they weren't even worth selling.
And that ad?
A 500,000 RMB endorsement fee?
In just a few days, the nine girls had already spent over a million.
A million RMB.
They weren't even worth selling.
Finally, when Chen Qing showed up last night, Sui Qingdou and Kou Yu, who had been chosen, naturally accepted their fate. But early this morning, Lin Zhao, the most striking and strong-willed of the nine girls, decided to confront Sister Chen and get to the bottom of things.
However, when it came to actually making this decision, Lin Zhao couldn't help but drag her roommate, Xia Panxi, along for moral support.
Xia Panxi didn't really want to come.
She had already decided to accept her fate.
But after Lin Zhao's persuasive arguments—like "we can't really let ourselves be sold"—she reluctantly agreed to come along for support.
Lin Zhao's initial plan was that if, under her questioning, Sister Chen started making excuses, evading the truth, and refusing to tell them what was really going on, she would leave immediately.
But now...
Sister Chen had straightforwardly admitted it without any hesitation.
It wasn't for an ad.
So... what now?
In the dining room.
Amid the silence, Sui Qingdou and Kou Yu were relatively relaxed. After all, they now belonged to Sister Chen. Xia Panxi, who had come with Lin Zhao, though she didn't show it on her face, couldn't help but feel a bit resentful toward her roommate for pulling back the curtain.
No matter what the future held, this kind of life, no matter the cost, was something she wanted to hold onto.
Chen Qing waited for a moment, and when Lin Zhao remained silent, she continued: "Sit down and have breakfast. Also, it's fine to tell you now. You'll have a man in the future. In fact, I'm also his woman. Don't worry, he's not some old man in his seventies or eighties. He's my age and very handsome. If you can't accept it, you can leave after breakfast. Of course, you'll have to leave behind everything you've received recently. If you choose to stay, believe me, compared to living a mediocre life, you'll have a very exciting future."
After saying this, Chen Qing picked up her spoon again and began leisurely eating her beauty porridge.
Sui Qingdou and Kou Yu, seeing this, also picked up their utensils.
Chen Qing's frankness, even if the truth was slightly watered down, far exceeded the girls' expectations and their own limits of acceptance.
The Jiang sisters, seeing that Lin Zhao and Xia Panxi didn't immediately turn to leave, stepped forward in unison and pulled out chairs at the dining table.
Xia Panxi didn't hesitate much. What Chen Qing had just said also far exceeded her expectations, so she quickly sat down.
Lin Zhao, however, remained standing.
Chen Qing looked up at her again, still patient and smiling: "Lin Zhao, Wu Zhao, like Empress Wu Zetian. I wonder who gave you such a grand name. I bet that person had high hopes for you. But with your background—coming from a working-class family in a small city—you won't get far. Like how, after graduating from university this year, you went back to your hometown to work as a civil servant, only to quit after a month because of some incident. Then you went to Changsha to try your luck, hoping to make it on your own, but people only saw your chest. If you hadn't met me, the best outcome for you would be marrying someone with a decent family background, and that person wouldn't be marrying you for your degree from Central South University."
Lin Zhao, remembering how she had been forced to quit her job a few months ago because she refused to give in, felt her eyes well up. She couldn't help but retort, "Aren't you the same?"
"Of course, and that's your luck. Because if you were just ordinarily pretty," Chen Qing said, gesturing to the Jiang sisters beside her, "look at them. Without what you have up front, you wouldn't even have made it to me. My boss has no shortage of beautiful women around him. Compared to that, with the same effort, you'll get a platform far beyond what you can imagine, one with no ceiling. It's even possible that one day you could surpass me and truly become as radiant as the sun and moon."
Lin Zhao bit her lip lightly and shook her head: "I don't believe it."
Chen Qing gestured to the seat across from her: "Sit down and eat first. You'll follow me around today and see what I do. If you're willing, you'll do the same in the future."
Lin Zhao hesitated for a moment longer but finally stepped forward and sat down at the dining table.
Sui Qingdou and Kou Yu didn't react much, but Xia Panxi couldn't help but think: Isn't this... the squeaky wheel gets the grease? If she had hesitated a bit too, would Sister Chen have taken her under her wing as well?
"No, you didn't even finish middle school. Besides your chest, you have nothing. If you put on airs, I'll kick you out."
A voice suddenly rang in her ears, as if from a mind-reading devil.
Startled, Xia Panxi looked up and saw that Chen Qing had just glanced at her. She realized she had been sitting there motionless for a while. Not daring to argue, she obediently lowered her head and started eating the breakfast Jiang Yuanchi had served her.
The two petite girls beside Chen Qing pretended not to hear.
Lin Zhao, still feeling conflicted as she ate her breakfast, couldn't help but smile slightly at Chen Qing's blunt, unvarnished words. Her mood inexplicably improved.
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