Guide to Rising to Power as a Wife in Beijing's Elite Circle

While Fang Jingxiu was changing his clothes, his phone vibrated on the bed.

He stopped and took out his phone; it was a message from Chen Nuo.

"Brother Xiu... just woke up... so sleepy [rubbing eyes]"

Fang Jingxiu looked at the emoji of someone rubbing their eyes, and a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips. He glanced at the time; it was noon, indeed the time when she would usually sleep in.

He typed: "The sun's already high in the sky."

Chen Nuo replied instantly: "Vacations are for sleeping! That's the truth!"

Fang Jingxiu laughed, recalling how she used to sleep until late morning on her days off when she was on set. He replied, "Nonsense. Getting up early and eating breakfast is good for your health."

"Protest!" Chen Nuo sent a little person holding a protest sign emoji.

Fang Jingxiu smiled and shook his head, his finger paused on the screen, then he opened his mobile banking app and transferred 52000 yuan, with the note: "Happy New Year, Girlfriend"

The transfer arrived almost instantly.

There was a few seconds of silence on Chen Nuo's end, then he sent a shocked emoji: "??? Brother Xiu, you..."

"A New Year's red envelope," Fang Jingxiu replied simply. "Take it."

"That's too much..."

"It's not much," Fang Jingxiu said. "Just take it if I give it to you."

He doesn't lack that little bit of money.

The deputy director of the Development and Reform Commission of Jingjing City earns an annual salary of 500,000 yuan. With various allowances, subsidies, performance-based year-end bonuses, 13th-month salaries, heating subsidies, and meal allowances, he can easily take home more than 700,000 yuan a year.

His father earned more, and his mother was even wealthier, so he never had to worry about money growing up. The money in the trust fund was enough for him to live comfortably for several lifetimes. Apart from going to work, he hardly had any expenses.

Now that I have a girlfriend, it's only natural for me to spend money on her.

Chen Nuo hesitated for a moment before finally sending a message: "Thanks, boss [clinging to someone's coattails]".

Fang Jingxiu smiled.

At this moment, Chen Nuo sent another video.

Fang Jingxiu clicked on it...

The girl in the picture is wearing a bright red cashmere sweater, her hair is tied in two small buns, she has no makeup on, and she smiles at the camera with her eyes curving into crescents: "Boyfriend, Happy New Year! Wishing you prosperity! Give me a red envelope!"

The video was only five seconds long, but Fang Jingxiu watched it three times.

He replied, "Cute little devil."

Chen Nuo sent a smug emoji.

Just as Fang Jingzheng was about to say something more, his mother's voice came from downstairs: "Xiu-ge'er, are you ready? We're about to leave!"

He typed: "I'm accompanying my parents to the Yonghe Temple to pray for blessings today, so I might not be able to reply to messages in time."

Chen Nuo quickly replied: "We're in the same boat, boyfriend! I'm going to the temple to burn incense too! My mom says praying for blessings on the first day of the Lunar New Year is the most effective!"

Fang Jingxiu looked at the message, thought for a moment, and replied, "Then please light an incense stick for me as well."

"Okay! What does Brother Xiu want?"

Fang Jingxiu paused.

What do you want?

For twenty-nine years, he had never seriously made a wish at a temple. The men of the Fang family believed in materialism, in guns and pens, not in gods or Buddhas.

But at that moment, he typed a line: "Just pray for me."

"That won't work! Sincerity is key; you must state your wish yourself!"

Fang Jingxiu smiled when he saw this sentence.

He replied, "Then I pray... that your wish comes true."

Fang Jingxiu put away his phone and went downstairs.

The parents are ready.

Lin Wanqing was wearing a Chanel suit, while Fang Zhenguo was in military uniform with his epaulets removed.

"Let's go," Fang Zhenguo said.

---

Driving towards Dajue Temple, the road was indeed congested. There were too many people coming to pray for blessings on the first day of the Lunar New Year, and the traffic flowed from Yonghegong Street all the way to Beixinqiao.

Fang Zhenguo glanced at his watch: "How about..."

"No!" Lin Wanqing interrupted him, "It only happens once a year, you have to go."

Fang Jingxiu sat in the back seat, watching the slow-moving traffic outside the window, and suddenly remembered Chen Nuo's words: "Sincerity brings miracles."

Sincerity brings results.

He silently repeated those four words.

The car was finally moved to the entrance of Yonghe Temple.

Red walls and yellow tiles, the air thick with the scent of cigarettes; even through the car window, the rich aroma of sandalwood wafted through the air. Fang Zhenguo told the driver to park the car further away, and the three of them walked over.

As the largest Tibetan Buddhist temple in Jingjing, Yonghe Temple was packed with people on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

But as soon as the Fang family arrived, a monk greeted them. The Fang family came every year and donated a lot of money for incense, so everyone in the temple recognized them.

"General Fang, Layman Lin, Director Fang." The guest monk clasped his hands in a gesture of respect. "This way, please."

They entered through a side door, avoiding the crowd queuing in front of the main hall. But they followed all the proper procedures: offering incense, washing their hands, burning incense, and kneeling in worship.

He received a materialistic education from a young age and, like his father, always held reservations about matters of gods and Buddhas.

But standing before this solemn Buddhist hall, smelling the rich sandalwood fragrance and listening to the melodious chanting, I felt a sense of piety arise in my heart.

Fang Zhenguo and Lin Wanqing knelt on the prayer cushions, closing their eyes in prayer. Fang Jingxiu stood behind them, looking at the solemn and dignified Buddha statues in the hall, and for the first time, he didn't think of this as feudal superstition.

He thought of Chen Nuo.

I remember her shivering in the cold in the Qinghai wilderness, still trying to take pictures of the starry sky; I remember her helplessly crying at the Ningbo airport; I remember her sleeping peacefully in his arms.

Then, after his parents got up, he stepped forward and knelt down on the prayer mat.

Lin Wanqing looked at her son in surprise. In previous years, he would stand behind her and give a symbolic bow, but he had never knelt down so formally before.

Fang Jingxiu closed his eyes.

Inside the hall, the chanting of Buddhist hymns was low and the fragrance of sandalwood wafted through the air.

He clasped his hands together and silently recited in his heart:

My first wish is that Chen Nuo enjoys good health and is free from illness and disaster.

My second wish is for her career to go smoothly and for her talents to be fully displayed.

My third wish...

He paused.

My third wish is that all her wishes be fulfilled and that all her paths be smooth.

Then he opened his eyes, looked at the compassionate Buddha statue with lowered eyes in the hall, and a thought suddenly welled up in his mind:

If all these gods and Buddhas cannot protect her, then...

Then I'll protect her.

If the rules of this world cannot grant her a smooth path.

Then I'll lay it.

I am her Buddha, her path, and her support.

The idea came suddenly, but it was firm.

He stood up and walked back to his parents with a normal expression.

Lin Wanqing asked softly, "Brother Xiu, what did you just ask for?"

"It's nothing," Fang Jingxiu said. "I just want peace and safety."

He recalled Chen Nuo's words about making a wish, and a tender feeling suddenly welled up in his heart.

If Buddha really exists...

If making a wish really works...

He would give up all his luck to ensure her a smooth and successful life.

---

Yongzhou.

Chen Nuo followed behind his parents, slowly walking towards the main hall with the flow of people. The temple was packed with people on the first day of the Lunar New Year, with incense burning brightly and the air filled with the rich scent of sandalwood.

She wore that red sweater today because Fang Jingxiu said she looked cute in red!

Thinking of him, Chen Nuo couldn't help but smile.

She was genuinely surprised by the 52000 yuan red envelope. It wasn't that she'd never seen so much money before, but... it was from him.

It wasn't pocket money from my father, nor was it New Year's money from an elder; it was a New Year's red envelope from my boyfriend.

The meanings are different.

After queuing up to reach the main hall, Chen Nuo knelt on the prayer mats with her parents. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together in prayer.

Chen Nuo knelt on the prayer mat, closed his eyes, and made a sincere wish.

There were many worshippers in the hall, but she remained calm.

My wish is for my family to be healthy, and for my parents to be safe and well.

My second wish is for wealth, not out of greed, but because I hope my father's business will be stable and that nothing else will happen to our family.

My third wish...

She secretly opened one eye, glanced at the Buddha statue in the hall, and then quickly closed it again.

My third wish is for my career to flourish, and for me to one day stand shoulder to shoulder with him.

After making this wish, she couldn't help but laugh. Surpass Fang Jingxiu?

How is that possible?

That's the youngest division chief with real power in the National Development and Reform Commission. He'll be a director-general next year, and he's backed by a family like the Fang family.

But then I realized it's not illegal.

She opened her eyes, respectfully kowtowed three times, then stood up and gave her seat to the worshippers behind her.

Stepping out of the main hall, she took out her phone and texted Fang Jingxiu: "Brother Xiu, I've finished offering incense! I also prayed for your safety!"

Fang Jingxiu quickly replied, "What did you ask for?"

"You can't tell! It won't work if you tell!"

"Let me guess."

You'd never guess!

"First, my family's health. Second, my career's success. Third..."

He paused for a moment: "Missed me?"

Chen Nuo sent a blushing rabbit emoji: "No way!"

But then another message came: "...just a little bit."

He replied, "You were in my wish."

There was a long silence on Chen Nuo's end before he replied, "Really?"

"Um."

"Then...you're in my wish too," Chen Nuo said. "Many of you."

"Me too."

Chen Nuo pouted at her phone, but the corners of her mouth were upturned.

She put away her phone and walked to the wishing tree in the temple.

This is a several-hundred-year-old ginkgo tree, its branches covered with red wishing plaques. She bought one for twenty yuan and carefully wrote down:

May my loved ones be safe and happy.

The name wasn't written down, but she knew who it was.