Rebirth: How A Loser Became A Prince Charming

The head cleaner of the Hilton Hotel was Qin Guan’s customer. Both Chinese and American women loved to gossip. As a result, they knew every detail about the hotel and its large-scale redecoration.

The two girls were negotiating about the prices, each with her own axe to grind. The price was getting close to a price that both sides would accept.

Suddenly, Hilton looked at Qin Guan.

Qin Guan had been reading a newspaper on the couch, as if there was no one else present. At her look, he gave her a smile and stood up leisurely.

"Take your time. I’ll go check on Lan Jing. It’s taking him too long to make that tea. He did not get this job based on his resume."

"Oh!"

Hilton was caught off guard by Qin Guan’s smile. When they stopped talking, she fell into deep thought again. Meanwhile, Cong Nianwei made a new offer about the catalogue.

"What about this, Hilton? Is that better?"

Hilton turned back to Cong Nianwei reluctantly and fixed her eyes on the list in annoyance.

"Let me have another look..." Suddenly, Qin Guan walked over again.

"Lan Jin is boiling water for the tea, but I think it will be too hot for this summer heat. I have some herbal jelly in the fridge. Would you like a taste? Wei loves it!"

Mesmerized by his smile, Hilton forgot about the paper in her hand.

"What’s that? An Asian refreshment? I would like to try it!"

She paused as Qin Guan set the tray down before them.

Hilton saw several small dishes with bows on them. all looking fine and elegant. She had no idea what they contained though. What’s this black one?

Cong Nianwei winked at Qin Guan and pointed to the list. Qin Guan shot a supercilious look at her and made an impatient introduction.

He lifted gently the celadon bowl, the crystal herbal jelly inside it shaking. Then he pointed at it with his slender finger.

"This is herbal jelly, a popular snack among Chinese women. It tastes good and it’s very nourishing. It’s the best snack when you want to cool down in the summer. You are really lucky. This is no ordinary supermarket product. It’s handmade by one of my customers, an experienced herbalist from Chinatown."

"Which taste do you prefer?" He pointed to the small dishes one by one. "There’s traditional honey, condensed milk, coconut milk, red beans, osmanthus sugar... They are all good. You can mix them up with the jelly."

Hilton’s eyes were fixed on his fingers.

"Anything that comes from your hand must be delicious..."

Cong Nianwei shook her head. The girl is hopeless. She poured honey onto her jelly and then enjoyed it.

Qin Guan was speechless. He mixed all the sweet dressings with the jelly, hoping to cover up its bitterness. This was the first time Hilton would taste it after all.

When Hilton took the bowl, he realized that he had been worrying unnecessarily. Her eyes were still fixed on his face as she swallowed the jelly up hurriedly.

Who cared about the taste?

"Is it good?"

Hilton nodded again and again, like a chicken pecking at grains.

Then she gave him the most splendid smile in the world, making the scorching summer feel cooler.

Glad that her plan was working, Cong Nianwei pulled Hilton’s attention back to business.

"What do you think of our final offer?"

"If all goes well, my legal adviser will send you the contract in a week."

Hilton had no time to argue with her. The price had been close to her own expectations after all. She was not about to waste energy on negotiating over pocket money.

She had more important things to discuss with Qin Guan than the bookkeeping of the Hilton Hotel in New York.

When Cong Nianwei put away the catalogues in satisfaction, Hilton got up the courage to tell Qin Guan about her reason for visiting New York.

"I wonder if you would meet my unreasonable demands. Of course, I’m well-prepared to negotiate with your agent if I need to."

Cong Nianwei and Qin Guan were confused. Is this about the Hilton Hotel business? What happened?

"Do you remember that artist who gave you his card at the Hilton Art Fair?"

"Which one? I get a lot of cards every time I walk down the street."

Qin Guan pointed to a small case on the desk helplessly. "I keep them all in there, but I never call anyone back."