Chapter 15: I have been sidelined!!!

At noon, Song Tianyang went to eat with her roommate.

Xu Yuning, seeing her unusually troubled expression, asked, “Why the long face? Did you quarrel with your ancient-style beau?”

“Chi Zhiqing is not my boyfriend,” Song Tianyang sighed, “It’s more like, after someone heard what I said, there was a misunderstanding, and as a result, he permanently lost one of his important organs.”

Xu Yuning thought for a moment. “A kidney?”

“External.”

Song Tianyang shook her head.

“Amputation surgery?”

“Kind of.”

Amputated is amputated, after all.

Xu Yuning’s face showed shock, but after a moment, she softened her tone: “I understand your guilt. Besides comforting words, probably the only thing you can do is to pay for him to get a good prosthetic later. But since your finances aren’t great, don’t push yourself too hard. Figure it out after you find a job.”

Song Tianyang turned her head and leaned heavily against the glass window.
The waiter brought a plate of meat to assist with the barbecue. The pork belly sizzled upon contact with the hot iron pan, and the smoke blurred her vision.

“This is the only way.”

I will do my utmost to find my future subordinate a decent-sized prosthetic!

……

After finishing the barbecue, Song Tianyang returned to the hotel and took a shower to avoid getting the smell of grilled meat on her gown.

All the He family’s clothes were custom-made. When she first went home and caused a ruckus with everyone, she didn’t even give the He family’s private tailors a chance to take measurements. Now it was too late for urgent tailoring, so Master He gave her a generous budget to buy her own clothes.

Whether her attire was appropriate was also an invisible test of her.

Chi Zhiqing said he would accompany her shopping, but he didn’t know much about women’s clothing.

Song Tianyang: “You never buy clothes for your female companions? Stingy!”

“I never bring female companions.”

Song Tianyang didn’t believe him: “Don’t all business tycoons bring beautiful companions to events? —That’s how TV dramas always show it, the domineering CEO makes the female lead his date and warns her not to dream of being unworthy.”

Chi Zhiqing smiled wryly at His Majesty’s vivid description, raising his brows: “That’s because they want to bring one. If I don’t want to, no one can force me. Remember, etiquette is a demand for the lower ranks. Can you imagine anyone criticizing He Mingyi for eating steak with chopsticks instead of a knife and fork?”

He Mingyi liked his steak well-done and always used his ivory chopsticks.

Every invitation extended to him took this into account.
When the youth circles sneered at well-done steak as uncultured, financial magazines had already praised Chairman He’s eating habits as embodying the old-school elegance of traditional Chinese gentlemen in the details.

You can imagine that even if He Mingyi wore a classic red Wangzai Milk T-shirt, he wouldn’t be turned away at the door.

“I remember you said you’re not a rich second generation. Don’t you have occasions you have to attend?”

They got into the ride-hailing car they just ordered.

Chi Zhiqing thought for a moment:

“Yes, at those events—business companions were sometimes arranged. But they weren’t there to serve me. To the client, there was no difference between me and the business companions from the event; we were all there to smile and entertain, to make the client happy.”

From their recent interactions, Song Tianyang knew her loyal minister had a mild cleanliness obsession and carried a noble pride both in life and morality. Yet when he spoke of his humble past, there was no shame or embarrassment, only steady, deep eyes calmly fixed on her. His words were deliberate and measured.

The car’s air conditioning was set a bit low. He lowered his eyes to look at His Majesty.

Song Tianyang didn’t feel cold at all. After fastening her seatbelt, she looked out the window, watching the ordinary street scenes with great interest—

The rapidly passing street scenes were like a frame-rate extremely high picture.
The constantly changing images were the only way to hold her fleeting attention.

With the Vice Card her grandfather gave her, Song Tianyang walked confidently toward the big shopping mall.

But she hadn’t gone two steps before Chi Zhiqing pulled her back.

Facing His Majesty’s protesting look, Chi Zhiqing calmly said, “That side is the food court, no clothes are sold there, Your Majesty.”

“…Uh.”

Song Tianyang lowered her head guiltily.
She had been lured by the smell and wandered over.

Chi Zhiqing had come intending to be a decoration and keep an eye on things but soon realized Song Tianyang was like a puppy without a leash, getting distracted by novel things and slipping away from under his watch.

Her roommates all knew this about her and always held her arm tightly when shopping together.

Chi Zhiqing, however, was in a difficult position.

Though they lived in the same apartment, there was no physical contact between them, let alone holding her arm.

“Your Majesty, stay close to me, okay?”

After the sixth time retrieving the little emperor who had slipped away to the claw machine, Chi Zhiqing sighed heavily: “Want to try for a doll inside?”

Song Tianyang stared at the screaming rabbit toy in the claw machine and nodded.

She had never played claw machines before.

She wasn’t short of toys even if she didn’t ask, Song Huafeng would buy her some. It was her obsession not to let her live a life inferior to other children. Especially when they saw dads in the mall spoiling their kids with toys, her maternal competitive instinct flared up and she insisted on having the same toys.

But claw machines, these rigged things that required investment but didn’t guarantee a prize, had never been considered by mother and daughter Song.

“If you want it, try to catch it first, then we’ll pick clothes.”

Chi Zhiqing went to exchange money for tokens nearby.

Colorful tokens poured out of the machine, and he packed them into a plastic bag provided by the mall, handing it to His Majesty.

The moment Song Tianyang happily took the tokens, he heard a system prompt:

【“Charm” +10】

This value was exclusive to the Loyal Minister System. It evaluated whether he was a loyal or treacherous minister based on every interaction with the emperor. The system didn’t specify the rewards or penalties but would decide which skills unlocked later based on his accumulated loyalty.

Chi Zhiqing: ?

Giving His Majesty some toys counted as gaining charm?

He thought the system was biased.

The claw’s grip was looser than Song Tianyang expected. Without experience, catching anything was impossible. After six failed attempts, she started to feel the money was wasted. Clutching the remaining tokens, she said, “Can we exchange these back for money?”

Chi Zhiqing frowned, not wanting His Majesty to be disappointed: “Let me try.”

Ten minutes later, they stared at each other helplessly.

The claw machine played a cheerful voice: “You have reached the maximum number of coins, please try again. If you still don’t catch anything, please contact the staff; you can choose any doll in the machine~”

Song Tianyang: “…Damn, there’s a guarantee.”

When she moved the joystick again, the claw suddenly tightened with all its might and snagged her favorite screaming rabbit—though when she finally got it in her hands, she didn’t like it as much anymore.

Song Tianyang posted a photo on her Moments:

“One shot, pure luck. The claw machine’s magic is broken.”

Soon after, He Yuan sent her a WeChat message: “Are you at the mall?”

“Yeah, buying a birthday party dress.”

“Do you know how to pick one? I can come with you.”

Song Tianyang hesitated a moment and agreed.

……

Half an hour later, He Yuan found her at the Dior store.

At this time, Song Tianyang was holding a short, square-neck little black dress, looking somewhat stunned.

“You want to wear that?” He Yuan’s tone was a bit exasperated.

“Uh…”

Having never studied fashion, Song Tianyang only knew black, white, and gray were hard to go wrong with.

At worst, it might look old-fashioned but not frivolous.

After hearing Song Tianyang’s thoughts, He Yuan said, “Black, white, and gray are safe choices, true, but Dior is too cheap, and that’s not a formal dress. Didn’t they tell you where the event would be held? —Oh right, the signal is bad there, so your brother probably didn’t send it to you. Put that dress down… If you like it, you can buy it, but you can’t wear something that plain to a He family banquet. You’re the main character.”

After saying that, He Yuan quickly made two calls: “Yes, send me the address of the styling studio. I’m bringing my friend over now, it’s urgent.”

The styling studio was on one of the floors of the commercial district building.

The three had just entered when Song Tianyang was immediately ushered into makeup.

“Weren’t you here to buy clothes?”

“The dress will be delivered later. First, try the makeup and styling,”

He Yuan’s fingers flew over her phone as she did her rhinestone manicure:

“Grandpa gave you a Vice Card. You’ll pay when you check out. I’m building a little stash… Sister, will you bring a male companion? That companion’s tuxedo needs to match,” she locked eyes on the tall man trailing behind Song Tianyang but couldn’t place him among any local wealthy young masters, so she smiled politely: “Hello, I’m He Yuan.”

“Chi Zhiqing.”

The one surnamed Chi…

He Yuan racked her brain but still couldn’t figure out which family this young master belonged to.

China was vast and prosperous, so she couldn’t have met every rich young master. Yet just from his few words and demeanor, she could tell he was no ordinary man.

She turned her gaze back to Song Tianyang.

“I’m not bringing him.”

Song Tianyang said.

Originally, they had planned to go together, but now that Gu Shangyang’s attitude had changed, bringing a male companion to a public He family banquet would only play right into He Jianshen’s hands—he was eager for their engagement to be broken off.

Chi Zhiqing quietly stood aside without comment.
Just standing there, his presence was hard to ignore.

After a moment, several sets of dresses were delivered to the styling studio. He Yuan asked her sister to try on each one: “Let’s see how they look on you before deciding. Since this is your first appearance in the social circle, you shouldn’t dress too flashy. Lean toward elegance and grace.”

After trying on four dresses, Song Tianyang almost wanted to hang herself.

Each one was extremely difficult to put on and needed help.

The better the dress looked on her, the more uncomfortable it was—if she hadn’t seen herself in the full-length mirror looking like a different person, she would have suspected her cheap younger sister was out to get her.

Putting on the matching stilettos made Song Tianyang dazed; she almost admitted to burning down the Old Summer Palace.

The mouths of female celebrities and socialites were truly harsh!

No one told her wearing high heels hurt so much.

She thought maybe she was putting them on wrong, so she asked the stylist and her sister: “My feet hurt when I walk in high heels. Am I wearing them wrong? Any tricks?”

They gave the exact same answer: “Wear them more, you’ll get used to it.”

“…”

Is that even possible?

So everyone silently endured the pain?

The beauty shrank into an M-size dress, and the person became M-shaped too.

Chi Zhiqing and He Yuan exchanged opinions: “This feather gradient evening gown suits her well. The sophisticated gray makes her look elegant.”

“This one is this spring-summer’s haute couture. It’s elegant but slightly old-fashioned.”

The stylist also offered a few comments.

But Chi Zhiqing did not forget his ministerial identity—how could he decide on the dragon robe? So he lowered his eyes and gently reminded, “Actually, the most important thing is her own wishes.”

“I—”

Song Tianyang almost cried:

“I want to wear a T-shirt and jeans. Which haute couture has T-shirts this year?”

“…”

He Yuan said, “I think sister’s wishes aren’t always that important.”

Chi Zhiqing was silent for a moment: “You’re not wrong.”

“Hey? I said I want to wear a T-shirt. Did anyone hear me? Anyone?”

Then Song Tianyang saw her loyal minister turn his back, pretending not to hear.

I’ve been sidelined!!!!

How could this be!!!

With the stylist’s help, Song Tianyang finally changed into a camellia embroidered sheer dress.

The ivory-white silk gauze dress had five layers. Once worn, it was immune to any big movements. One false move and it would snag—a warning sign. But this dress perfectly outlined her delicate curves, and the flowing skirt made her captivating—compared to the little black dress she picked, even someone less beautiful would be the dazzling star in this gown.

The stylist bent down and helped her put on silver rhinestone-decorated heels.

It wasn’t that Song Tianyang suddenly felt like a rich heiress demanding to be waited on. Rather, the moment she put on this dress, she realized she couldn’t bend her waist anymore.

Realizing this, Song Tianyang asked: “How do you go to the bathroom wearing this dress?”

She was met with shocked looks from He Yuan and the stylist.

He Yuan: “You… just don’t go?”

Song Tianyang’s pupils trembled: “Don’t go? What do you do then?”

“Heads don’t drink much, just sip wine. If you don’t drink much, you won’t need to go until the banquet’s over. Just hold it.”

He Yuan explained.

“…”

Song Tianyang looked anxiously at her minister.

Chi Zhiqing said men didn’t have that problem.

Oh no.

Now she truly carried a most inconvenient burden.

They say the prime minister’s stomach can hold a boat, but no one said the emperor’s bladder could!

Unexpectedly, the first challenge at a high-society banquet was for her bladder.

Song Tianyang looked gloomy.

But then she thought, that was at the birthday banquet. Now that the dress was chosen, she could rest: “Can I take off the dress now?”

“No, you have to get used to talking to people while wearing it first.”

When they finally saw Song Tianyang in the dress, He Yuan was a little annoyed.

It was beautiful her modeling was flawless.

But at the same time, Song Tianyang was genuinely not used to it.

After two hours of practice and her bladder starting to protest, Song Tianyang had a sudden idea and pulled Chi Zhiqing aside to a corner.

“I remember you have a skill that lets us swap bodies, right?”