Lin Xiao first met Jiang Yu at the luxury home furnishing exhibition in Star City International Convention and Exhibition Center. At that time, she had just graduated from university, and her degree in design had not helped her find a desired job. She could only earn rent by working part-time as a "guide" at the exhibition—wearing an ill-fitting black suit and uncomfortable leather shoes that rubbed her feet, standing for eight hours a day, and repeating phrases like "Hello, this way please" and "Please do not touch the exhibits".
One afternoon, a commotion suddenly broke out in Hall 3. A crowd gathered around the central exhibition stand. The man at the front, dressed in a neat suit with a stern side profile, was none other than Jiang Yu, the heir to Jiang Group. Someone held up the "Jiangnan Series" sofa he designed and questioned, "The interlocking lotus pattern on this sofa is highly similar to the work of a foreign designer last year. Is this plagiarism?"
Jiang Yu's expression grew increasingly gloomy. His assistant beside him was so anxious that he broke out in a sweat, yet no one could explain the origin of the pattern. Lin Xiao happened to pass by. When she saw the pattern on the armrest of the sofa at the exhibition stand, she stopped involuntarily—she was all too familiar with this pattern. During her university years, when she was doing a research project on "traditional pattern textual research", she had seen "Jiangnan boudoir embroidery" from the Qing Dynasty in a museum. The interlocking lotus pattern on it had an extra "curled leaf stroke", which was specially added by Jiangnan embroideresses at that time to distinguish between "household use" and "tribute items". The pattern in Jiang Yu's design exactly retained this detail.
"It's not plagiarism," Lin Xiao said in a soft voice, but it instantly silenced the noisy exhibition hall. All eyes turned to her, and Jiang Yu also looked over, his gaze filled with scrutiny. She tightly gripped the guide card in her hand, mustered up the courage to take two steps forward, and said, "This pattern is a variation of the Jiangnan boudoir embroidery from the Qing Dynasty. Look here—" she pointed to the curled leaf pattern on the sofa armrest, "ordinary interlocking lotus patterns have three curled leaf strokes, but this one has four. It was added by embroideresses back then to mark 'private use'. There is an identical embroidery piece in the museum, with the number J-8207."
Someone in the crowd took out their phone to check, and soon exclamations rang out: "It's true!" "So that's the story behind it!" Jiang Yu's expression softened, and there was a hint of surprise in his eyes when he looked at Lin Xiao. He asked his assistant to verify the information. When the assistant returned with the museum materials, Jiang Yu walked up to Lin Xiao and handed her a business card, saying, "I'm Jiang Yu. Thank you."
The business card was thick and of high quality, and the gold-embossed words "Jiang Group" made Lin Xiao's head spin. Later, she learned that the "plagiarism accusation" that day had been deliberately arranged by a competitor. Jiang Yu had been struggling to find evidence to refute it, and her words had just gotten him out of the predicament.
Three days later, Lin Xiao received a message from Jiang Yu, asking her to meet at a western restaurant in the city center. She specially borrowed a white dress from her best friend Chen Yao and arrived at the restaurant half an hour early, but hesitated at the door for a long time—the glass door of the restaurant reflected her awkward appearance, which was completely out of place with the customers inside who were wearing formal clothes and holding red wine glasses.
When Jiang Yu arrived, he directly led her into a private room. He didn't beat around the bush and said straightforwardly, "I need a wife. The Jiang family is satisfied with your family background and education. If you agree, we can give it a try." Lin Xiao was stunned. She had thought Jiang Yu wanted to talk to her about a "job opportunity", but never expected it to be about "marriage".
Jiang Yu noticed her confusion and added, "I know this is sudden, but I don't have time to get to know each other slowly. The Jiang family has been urging me to get married for a long time. You are intelligent and have a 'clean' background—no complicated family ties, so you won't cause trouble for the Jiang family." He paused and then said, "After marriage, you don't need to work. The Jiang family will give you enough living expenses. You just need to play the role of 'Mrs. Jiang' well."
Lin Xiao's heart felt like it had been hit by something. She thought of her parents haggling with vendors over a dime in the vegetable market, the frustration of sending out dozens of resumes that never got a response, and the way her parents held their heads high in front of relatives after her classmate married into a slightly better-off family—the title of "Mrs. Jiang" was like a huge temptation, making her forget to ask "why me" and also forget to ask "do you love me".