Chapter 234: Chapter 226: The Consequences of Underestimating Qiao Jing
The pair of trousers that Zhan Qipei had intentionally torn were restored to their original condition in no time.
Qiao Jing did not notice the subtle glances of the people around her, and after mending the clothes, she stood up.
“Thank you,” Zhan Qipei said, staring at the damaged part of the trousers.
Without halting her steps, Qiao Jing returned to her room with the blouse she had sewn, “No need.”
That afternoon, Qiao Jing received a message from Master Han.
“Miss Qiao, I’m hosting a charity auction, are you interested?”
“I’d rather not go,” Qiao Jing replied, her slender fingers tapping on the keyboard.
She had never been interested in events that required her to make a public appearance.
“The money from the auction will be donated to children in mountain areas and at the welfare institutes,” Master Han immediately responded to Qiao Jing’s message, touching on the point that mattered to her.
Qiao Jing looked down at the message from Master Han and agreed without a second thought, “Fine.”
“I will have someone send the invitation to your house, remember to take it.”
Qiao Jing did not reply to the message, instead returning to her busy work at the research institute.
“Are you going to the auction?” Zhan Qipei asked upon returning home in the evening, noticing the invitation on the table.
“Yes,” Qiao Jing replied after glancing at the red invitation.
Zhan Qipei’s eyes brightened, “I’ve also received an invite. Let’s go together.”
“Either way is fine,” Qiao Jing responded indifferently,
Several days later.
Qiao Jing stood in front of the hotel where the charity auction was being held.
Reporters wielding cameras were standing around the luxurious hotel entrance.
To attend today’s auction, Qiao Jing had finished her ongoing tasks half an hour early and rushed over from the research institute.
It was only after standing at the entrance that Qiao Jing remembered Zhan Qipei had planned to come with her.
“I’ve arrived early; no need to wait for me,” Qiao Jing sent a message to the other party.
The other party immediately replied to her message, “Alright, our seats are arranged together.”
Qiao Jing put away her phone, ready to enter.
As she approached the entrance, the security stopped her, “Hello, please show your invitation.”
Qiao Jing was taken aback, then slowly furrowed her brows—she seemed to have forgotten the invitation at the research institute.
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After finishing her work, she had hurried to the auction venue and forgotten about the invitation.
Seeing that Qiao Jing couldn’t produce the invitation after a while, an odd expression emerged in the doorman’s eyes, “Miss, if you don’t have an invitation, please don’t attend the auction, alright? This high-society auction isn’t a place for the poor or country bumpkins like you.”
After saying this, the doorman measured Qiao Jing with an overtly scrutinizing gaze, momentarily stunned by her stunning face but it did not prevent him from looking down on her as he continued to speak.
“The guests invited to the auction are all high-class individuals. You dare to come dressed so shabbily? Not even wearing makeup—are you here to be a joke? Or perhaps you’re here to seduce the wealthy?”
What the doorman did not know was that the clothes he considered shabby, just the blouse alone, were worth a year of his salary.
“Shut your mouth.” Qiao Jing’s eyes were as deep as a pool of black water, and her emotionless tone inexplicably sent chills down one’s spine.
The doorman was also intimidated by Qiao Jing’s gaze, growing timid.
The reporters seemed to smell gossip nearby and approached with their cameras.
“What’s going on?”
“Why isn’t she going in?”
Two reporters asked.
Qiao Jing naturally wouldn’t answer their questions and took out her phone, intending to contact Han Zhiyu.
Seeing the journalists arrive, the gatekeeper decided to retaliate against Qiao Jing for her earlier attitude towards him and began blustering, “Journalist friends, look at this woman. She doesn’t even have an invitation and she’s here to attend the auction. I tell her off and she tells me to shut up! You guys be the judges! I’m just a gatekeeper, I get paid to do my job, right? And she still won’t leave!”
The journalists exchanged glances.
“Really? Then I’ve got to report this.”
The journalist who said this received a cold look from Qiao Jing, and he silently turned off his camera.
“Exactly, report it, let more people know that someone like her exists! I think she came here to hook up with wealthy men inside,” the gatekeeper added fuel to the fire.
The journalists immediately began to gossip.
“Women like her are so disgusting.”
“Look at how she’s dressed, it’s so shabby. No wonder she would do something like this, probably ran out of money.”
Qiao Jing overheard these words, while at the same time, her call got through.
“I’m sorry, Miss Qiao, I was just dealing with the auction matters, what can I do for you?” Han Zhiyu’s voice came through, tinged with an apology.
“I forgot my invitation, how do I get inside?” Qiao Jing said, her voice neither too loud nor too soft, but just loud enough to be overheard by the gatekeeper.
Convinced that Qiao Jing was pretending to be more than she was, the gatekeeper said sarcastically, “I think you didn’t forget it, you never had one, right? Calling anyone won’t help! The organizer is Master Han!”
The journalists got ready to film the scene once more.
Qiao Jing noticed out of the corner of her eye. She moved swiftly, went up to one of the journalists, and turned off his camera, “If you want to keep your camera, don’t film.”
“Ouch, what can you do to me? Smash my camera? You couldn’t afford to pay for it!” The journalist got angry and tried to turn on his camera again right in front of Qiao Jing.
But his actions paused when another person came out.
Seeing Han Zhiyu emerge from the hotel, the gatekeeper began to complain, “Master Han, this woman doesn’t have an invitation and wants to come in. I can’t drive her away; should I get some people to throw her out?”
“Shut your mouth! She is a distinguished guest!” Han Zhiyu rebuked the gatekeeper for his lack of perception and turned to approach Qiao Jing. “Miss Qiao, come with me, the auction is about to start.”
The gatekeeper and the journalists had been hoping to see a spectacle but instead were surprised.
Master Han himself came out to greet someone!
Who on earth was this woman? To be treated so courteously by Master Han, putting aside his auction work to greet her?!
“Apologize.” Qiao Jing stopped in front of the gatekeeper.
The gatekeeper’s comment about her trying to hook up with someone had touched a nerve.
The gatekeeper was taken aback, sweat forming on his forehead, and he quickly bowed deeply. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, my bad just now. It was my fault for being judgmental. Please be magnanimous and don’t hold it against me! I have elderly and children at home, and I rely on this job to support my family! Please don’t ask Master Han to fire me…”
Qiao Jing, having received the apology, didn’t bother to listen to the rest of the gatekeeper’s plea and left him with a cold, “You will bear the consequences.”
Han Zhiyu followed Qiao Jing into the hotel. Before entering, he looked back at the gatekeeper.
The gatekeeper immediately understood the implication in Han Zhiyu’s gaze: he was about to lose his job.