The Cold, Aloof Dominatrix After Parasitically Entering a Rich Family - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Agreed! Shark Sister, Want to Go to Cherry Blossom Valley Together?

Tu Si’s Predicament

After successfully reverting to her true form last night, Tu Si (涂偲) enjoyed a good night’s sleep and absorbed some low-level nutrients from other plants. When she woke up, the roses (月季) and clivia (君子兰)—even the money tree (發財樹)—looked hungry and were visibly wilting.

Alarmed, Tu Si quickly grabbed a watering can and anxiously asked, “What’s wrong with you all?”

“Yes, what is wrong with us?” the clivia asked mournfully. “My Lady, have you truly forgotten?”

Tu Si tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, a little embarrassed, and said, “I remember last night, after returning to my true form, I just shook hands with you all, and also checked to see if you were comfortable living here?”

The blue Hydrangea (藍色陰雨) trembled, its petals scattering on the floor. It weakly replied, “Before you were here, we were very comfortable.”

Tu Si was speechless.

The money tree coughed twice, “I have to be fair here, Lord Tu Si. If you had woken up any later this morning, we’d all be dead branches and rotten leaves by now.”

Tu Si was utterly speechless.

“I’m sorry,” Tu Si quickly apologized, pouring the large pot of alkaline water (堿性水) meant for the plants into her own stomach, then spraying her high-level nutrients (高階養分) onto their roots. These high-level nutrients were absorbed from Gong Shayu (龔沙) last night. She had intended to save them for a few days to use during her own cultivation, but now all the hard-earned sustenance was used to save these few small plants.

Wait a minute, she thought. She only brushed them with her vine, and they were poisoned this badly? What about Gong Shayu?

Tu Si shook her head, trying to focus, and planned to video call Gong Shayu once the plants recovered to check on her.

…

The Interrupted Meeting

After the high-level meeting ended, several key executives gathered for a smaller discussion. In the small conference room, Fang Yu (方瑜) was methodically reporting on the hotel’s current status: “ICC currently has two resort hotels and three resorts. The resort hotels are both in Huaguo (華國) [China], and the resorts are located in Yalu Port (亞鹿港), the Maldives, and New Zealand.”

The financial reports for the past two years showed that the locations in Huaguo and Yalu Port were incurring losses and mainly relied on the other two resorts and the Gong Group Headquarters (龔氏總部) for continuous financial support.

Gong Shayu stared intently at the PowerPoint presentation, listening seriously. “The three losing properties—their location, decoration style, pricing, and local market competitiveness?”

Suddenly, a shrill melody cut through the tense atmosphere—it was the ringtone for a WeChat video call request.

Fang Yu looked around for the clueless culprit who didn’t understand the meeting’s importance. Everyone was staring at her. She realized with a jolt that the sound was coming from her phone—specifically, the one dedicated to handling Gong Shayu’s private affairs. She frantically moved to tap the decline button, but for some reason, the video call request was answered.

Fang Yu: “?!”

Tu Si’s face unexpectedly appeared on the screen. Fang Yu instinctively looked at Gong Shayu, and after receiving an inquiring glance from her, she decisively hung up the video call.

However, everyone present clearly heard the sweet, soft voice asking, “Is Sister Shayu there?” Combining this with yesterday’s gossip, a few people had already guessed who it was. Now it was clear—on the very first day of Madam Gong taking office, the four words “already has a partner” were as impossible to hide as her exquisite face.

…

The Consultation

Tu Si was hung up on, and she felt a little frustrated.

Inside the room, the rescued plants were thriving. The rose bloomed more brilliantly than before, the money tree was denser, and the clivia’s old flower stalks showed signs of re-sprouting. They all swayed their heads, enjoying their new lease on life.

Tu Si, too, was shaking her head, contemplating her new life. She thought she might have hurt Gong Shayu, which was why she was unhappy and hung up the phone.

The fox spirit (狐貍精), rabbit spirit (兔子精), and butterfly spirit (胡蝶精) in the living room were all passed out, having reverted to their true forms after drinking too much.

Tu Si didn’t want to wake them, so she locked the balcony door from the outside and squatted among the three plants, whispering, “Am I… really that poisonous? Tell me the truth.”

The noisy balcony fell silent. Tu Si thought she finally understood the meaning of a phrase she saw in a video yesterday: All silence is deafening.

The clivia thought she was still blaming herself and comforted her, “Actually, it’s not bad. Look, we’re all healthier than before.”

Tu Si rested her chin in her hands and said, “I’m talking about humans. I wonder what will happen to her after I absorbed a human’s nutrients?”

The money tree replied, “We really don’t know about that. After all, we’ve never absorbed human nutrients.”

The rose suggested, “Why don’t you lick your own lips and see if you get poisoned to death?”

Tu Si: “………That makes sense.”

“Go see her, then you’ll know,” the clivia said. “Be bold and ask her out. Go meet up, and you’ll find out.”

Taking this advice, Tu Si sent another message to Fang Yu: “Shark Sister, the newly opened Cherry Blossom Valley is beautiful. Want to go visit it together?”

When Fang Yu received the message, she looked at Gong Shayu’s face and nearly broke character—that nickname was too fitting. However, Assistant Fang had an extremely high level of professionalism. She reported to Gong Shayu with an unflappable expression: “President Gong, Miss Tu would like to invite you to view the cherry blossoms.”

Gong Shayu was looking at a document and asked without raising her head, “Did you find out what I asked you to investigate about her?”

Fang Yu replied, “Yes. Her information is very limited. She only recently arrived in Z City and is indeed from the same place as the Hao family (郝家) member, but she is likely not her cousin, as she’s much younger. She just came of age this year.”

“Just came of age?” Gong Shayu looked up. “Shouldn’t she be in school at that age?”

Fang Yu thought of the WeChat messages Tu Si sent, where there were, on average, two mistakes in every sentence—more grammatical errors and typos than correct words. This had already led to her tolerance for errors in documents from her subordinates increasing. She cleared her throat and said, “Perhaps… she just arrived and hasn’t found a school yet.”

Gong Shayu had gone abroad in high school and only returned last year, so she wasn’t very familiar with the domestic education system. But she quickly grasped the main point: “Then she just graduated from high school?”

Fang Yu nodded in agreement.

Gong Shayu twirled the snake-shaped bracelet on her wrist, seeming to ponder Tu Si’s education, or whether to go to East Lake to see the cherry blossoms, or perhaps the documents she had just reviewed.

Just as Fang Yu’s mind was running through hotel-related data, Gong Shayu replied with three simple words: “Agree to it.”

“Okay.”

Her phone’s WeChat app dutifully broadcasted every word it received: “hao” (Okay).

Because Tu Si was illiterate, when the butterfly gave her the phone, she had set it to “Caring Mode.” Whenever someone sent a message, if Tu Si tapped the word, it would be automatically spoken aloud.

Tu Si stared at the word “Okay” on her phone screen, immediately dashed into the living room, and excitedly woke up the “three spirits.”

The fox spirit, A-Li (阿離), woke up the fastest. Opening her eyes halfway, she transformed into her human form. She rubbed her temple, realized they were in Haina Public Mansion (海納公館), and then relaxed her body back onto the couch.

“Little Tu Si, interrupting someone’s sweet dreams isn’t very nice,” A-Li yawned, using her not-yet-retracted fox tail to sweep the butterfly and the rabbit on the sofa.

“She agreed! Look, she agreed to go see the cherry blossoms with me!” Tu Si gesticulated wildly, spontaneously dancing a mix of ballet and street dance.

The butterfly, woken up by the commotion, frowned at Tu Si. The girl stood proudly, puffing out her considerable chest, her bright eyes sweeping over the three of them like a primary school student who scored a perfect mark and was waiting for her family’s praise.

Finally, the rabbit spirit woke up. The “three spirits” exchanged glances, each with their own thoughts, and began to help Tu Si dress and apply makeup.