"Although the school anniversary celebration is indeed a bit rushed, it's not urgent for a day or two. Besides, Fang Yu is going to the South China Expo tomorrow, so you can give it to her then. There's no need to deliver it to my house."
She was already in a bad mood, and on a beautiful Sunday she had to see his annoying face, which made her more and more depressed.
"Pfft—cough cough cough cough—"
Jiang Haozhe, who was drinking juice, was startled by her sudden question and spat out the juice. His fair and handsome face turned bright red, and it was hard to tell whether it was from his rapid breathing or from his genuine blush.
"Ugh—it's disgusting! What are you doing!" Cheng Yongxin wrinkled her nose in disgust. How could this guy be so rude, even drinking water is so uncouth, unlike Brother Jiang—
Thinking of this, she lowered her eyes again, her voice muffled, "Um... are you alright now? If you're alright, then I'll..."
"Something's up! Something else has come up!"
Guan Xinyi, who had been sitting on the sofa watching from the sidelines, answered hastily before Jiang Haozhe could reply.
She finally figured it out: it turned out that Xiao Zhe actually liked her Yongxin!
She knew it! Xiao Zhe isn't the kind of person who lacks magnanimity, and her daughter isn't the type to actively cause trouble. There are so many kids who've grown up together, so why is it that the atmosphere between these two is so unusually tense, with a small argument every three days and a big one every five? If they really didn't get along, why would Xiao Zhe go to the trouble of bringing that unimportant proposal on Sunday? It's obvious he wanted to see Yong Xin! It seems Xiao Zhe must have noticed Yong Xin's strange expression that day and was worried about her too!
She understands! She understands everything! After all, she's been through it all. When a young boy is too shy to express his feelings to his crush, he can only resort to teasing. But Yongxin is so oblivious, her mind is completely on Xiaochen, and she doesn't realize Xiaozhe's feelings at all... Even she, as his mother, can't stand his slowness, so she's determined to help him out!
My dear daughter, don't blame me for being biased or unfair. I'm determined to get involved in this matter!
"Xiao Zhe, Aunt Guan is cooking today, so why don't you stay for lunch?" Guan Yi quickly wrote down a list of items on a piece of paper, then shoved it into Cheng Yongxin's hand, smiling at Jiang Haozhe. "You and Yongxin go to the supermarket to buy these things for me. I'll go get ready now!"
"Huh?" Before Cheng Yongxin could react, her mother shoved a densely written form and a wallet into her hand, followed by Guan Xinyi's beaming smile.
"Yongxin, you and Xiaozhe go together, take your time buying, I'm not in a hurry."
With a smile, she pushed the two still bewildered people out the door. As soon as she closed the door, Guan Yi immediately called Xiao Hui over, "Xiao Hui, quickly help me get my coat downstairs."
"Madam, are you going out?" Xiao Hui, who was a little confused, couldn't react for a while. Just now, she heard Madam say that she was going to stay at home to prepare a meal to entertain the young master of the Jiang family. Why did she suddenly want to go out?
"Of course!" Guan Xinyi blinked her smiling, crescent-shaped eyes, her smile so cunning, like a fox that had just stolen a grape.
She raised her index finger and shook it triumphantly:
"I want to go out—to see a play!"
couple??
Staring at their tightly closed front door, Cheng Yongxin and Jiang Haozhe stood outside, looking at each other with wide eyes.
"Um... what should we do now?"
Staring blankly at the menu and wallet that Guan Xinyi had just handed her, Cheng Yongxin looked up and asked with a bewildered expression.
"What else can we do?" Jiang Haozhe seemed indifferent, unfazed by her imposing expression. "It's just going to buy groceries, right? We'll just go."
It's just going grocery shopping together, what's so difficult about that? Why is this woman making that face like she's facing a major disaster?
“…That’s not what I meant.” For once, Cheng Yongxin did not immediately retort in the face of his sarcasm.
She forced a smile and gave a dry laugh.
"What I want to ask is... do you—know how to choose vegetables?"
Nowadays, most families have only one child, who is the apple of their eye. Whether it's a middle-class family or a wealthy family, they naturally cherish their only child and treat them like a precious treasure. If ordinary families are like this, how much more so are the Jiang and Cheng families, who are considered wealthy? At home, Miss Cheng Yongxin and Young Master Jiang Haozhe are used to being waited on hand and foot. Let alone cooking, they don't even know what the dishes look like before they are served.
So, in the supermarket—
"Green cabbage? What is that? Hey, Jiang, do you know what this is?" came the puzzled tone.
"...I think it's probably a type of leafy green vegetable." A confused look in his eyes, a guessing tone in his voice.
"What do you mean 'probably, should, might'! Are you really not sure?!"
"Well, then it is, okay?"
"With so many eggplants, how am I supposed to choose? They all look the same to me!" came the complaining voice.
"Um... just take whichever looks good to you." Another uncertain guess.
"What about tomatoes?"
"The redder ones would be better."
"Chinese cabbage?"
"Just pick whatever you like, they're all pretty much the same anyway."
In a supermarket teeming with middle-aged housewives, Cheng Yongxin and Jiang Haozhe, a young grocery shopping duo, stood out conspicuously. Their appearances and demeanor were completely at odds with the shopping baskets they carried and the content of their conversation, drawing stares from everyone around them.
"What a young couple! They seem so affectionate! They're even shopping for groceries together..."
"They must be newlyweds. It's really rare to see young people getting married so young these days..."
Chirp chirp chirp—chatter chatter chatter—
Hearing the whispers around her, Cheng Yongxin's face turned even redder than the tomatoes she had bought. Although she usually seemed to have a thick skin, that was only in front of people she knew well. After all, girls are sensitive, and being pointed at and talked about in public like this naturally made her feel embarrassed.
"I'm only 17, why are you making it sound like I'm already 20?" Cheng Yongxin complained, glancing at the dishes on both sides to try and shake off her embarrassment.
"I'm in a worse situation than you, okay?" Jiang Haozhe scoffed coldly from the side, even more annoyed. At least she was only seen as 20 years old, a difference of only three years, while he was seen as 22, a full five years older than he actually was! Seriously—where are these people's eyes? Is he really that old?
"You think I've had it easy?! Seriously! How do we look like a couple?" They're more like enemies! I don't know what those people are thinking! Even if she's going to be misunderstood like that, she doesn't want to be associated with that guy! It's a disgrace!
“That’s true!” Jiang Haozhe rarely agreed with her. He raised his handsome eyebrows, glanced at Cheng Yongxin indifferently, and sneered: “Don’t those people even know that I, this young master, would condescend to be your match?”
"Jiang Haozhe! What do you mean? Do you think I'm not good enough for you?!" With a raised eyebrow, Miss Cheng immediately turned hostile.
"Facts speak louder than words, don't they?" Jiang Haozhe smiled smugly, his chin twitching slightly. Beneath the sinister glint of his smile, his usually handsome face now appeared somewhat grim, carrying the ominous undercurrent of an impending storm. (Source: Resource Bear - Million-level bundled resource provider )
"Jiang Haozhe! What did you say?! What do you mean?!"
"That's exactly what I meant, so what?"
"you?!"
Seeing the two standing in the middle of the supermarket, exuding an aura of explosives and glaring at each other as if they were about to start arguing, some onlookers finally couldn't help but step forward to smooth things over.
"Oh dear, stop arguing. You're a married couple; you should be considerate of each other."
"Yes, yes, taking a step back will open up a whole new world. Let's not quarrel as a family."
"That's right, it's bound to be a bit difficult when you've just gotten married. You two should just give each other a little compromise. After all, married couples often fight in bed but make up before they get out of bed..."
"Shut up, you guys!!!"
With a startling blush, Cheng Yongxin and Jiang Haozhe, filled with resentment, finally made the only move they agreed on since they met, which was truly a cause for celebration.
However, neither of them noticed that next to the food shelf behind them, a middle-aged woman in a trench coat was laughing so hard she couldn't stand up straight, clutching her stomach and shouting that she was thoroughly enjoying herself.
"It's all your fault! You made me a laughingstock!"
As soon as they stepped out of the supermarket, Cheng Yongxin yelled at Jiang Haozhe.
Honestly, she had never been so humiliated in her life! To actually argue with this brat in front of everyone, so disregarding her image and manners... She really didn't understand. Her ability to maintain her composure was unparalleled, so why did she always lose her composure in front of him? Frustrating!
"Didn't you start this argument first? Do you think I really enjoy arguing with you?!" Jiang Haozhe shouted out his pent-up frustration, only then realizing what he had said. Unfortunately, it was too late to cover his mouth.
Cheng Yongxin stared at him blankly, completely shocked.
What does he mean by what he said?
Just as the two were at a loss for words and the atmosphere was awkward, a lazy voice suddenly broke in.
"Oh—isn't this Chairman Cheng?"
Hearing the voice, the two subconsciously turned around and saw a black Cadillac slowly stop in front of them. The door opened, and the first thing to emerge was a hand wearing a white glove, followed by a pair of long legs. The person raised his head, and his slightly upturned peach blossom eyes flashed with an arrogant smile. He was dressed in a formal suit that was absolutely incongruous with his lazy voice, as if he were an emperor on a procession. Such a grand entrance left Jiang Haozhe and Cheng Yongxin stunned and speechless for a long time.
"President Cheng, what a coincidence! I saw you in the car just now. I was a little suspicious at first, but now I'm 100% sure." Mo Zijin smiled gently, took Cheng Yongxin's hand, and kissed it with gentlemanly grace. "We are destined to meet. Even on the road, fate arranged for us to meet."
"Wow! What are you doing!" Cheng Yongxin only snapped out of her shock when a wolf's kiss was branded on the back of her hand. She hurriedly withdrew her hand, her face pale as if she had been stung by a scorpion. However, Mo Zijin naturally interpreted her actions as girlish shyness.
"Mo Zijin, what are you doing!" Upon seeing the person who came, Jiang Haozhe felt a headache coming on. Without even thinking, he immediately shielded Cheng Yongxin behind him, keeping her away from the "clutches" of the "Great Pervert of Chaotic Times".
"Oh, President Jiang, you're here too. I'm sorry, your presence was so faint that I didn't even notice you." Mo Zijing said with a look of surprise, her tone sincere, but her expression was completely devoid of apology. "Well, there's nothing I can do about it. President Jiang is dressed so plainly, it's only natural that I wouldn't recognize you, oh?"
He deliberately stopped the car to let Jiang Haozhe know that he shouldn't think he could be proud forever just because he was popular at school. He and Jiang Haozhe were not on the same level at all!
"Who's a commoner? It's clearly your outfit that's too outrageous!" Cheng Yongxin and Jiang Haozhe rarely thought alike.
"Huh? Chairman Cheng, are you... buying groceries?" Noticing the bags the two were carrying, Mo Zijing raised an eyebrow in surprise. "This is such a hassle, Chairman Cheng. I'm going to the Hilton for dinner right now. If you don't mind, would you like to come along? Of course—"
He deliberately dragged out the last syllable, glancing at Jiang Haozhe with a half-smile, "If Chairman Jiang wants to come, I won't force him."
Faced with his dismissive tone, Jiang Haozhe merely snorted, his beautiful black eyes completely blocking Mo Zijing's view, and looked directly at Cheng Yongxin, "They're inviting you, are you going?"
"Huh? Me?" Cheng Yongxin had never understood why, even though it was a conflict between the two of them, she was always dragged into it. It was the same when she first met Mo Zijin, and it was the same now. Every time, she was dragged into it without even understanding what was going on.
"How about this, I can call your house first and let you know, then I'll bring you back after dinner, okay?" Mo Zijin said with delight, her gaze towards Jiang Haozhe filled with provocation and smugness.
Hmph, as expected, their expressions changed. Targeting your sweetheart is indeed the fastest and quickest way to bring you down. Although the method is a bit dishonorable, a true man doesn't concern himself with trifles; the result is what matters most.
"President Cheng, what's the phone number?"
"Um...I..." Cheng Yongxin smiled awkwardly. She really didn't understand why Mo Zijin was so enthusiastic towards her. They didn't seem to know each other very well at all, OK?
"Phone number?" Thinking she hadn't heard clearly, Mo Zijing repeated it again with a smile, her face beaming with joy, in an extremely good mood.
It's rare to see your opponent's face look so ugly, like they've been splattered with excrement. That feeling is just so incredibly satisfying!
"Um, Mo, I... Jiang Haozhe!" Just as she was hesitating about how to refuse, a guy ran off without saying a word. Watching that figure disappear into the distance, Cheng Yongxin was furious and yelled. This guy actually left her to face Mo Zijing alone. What kind of guy is this!
"It seems—there is an answer."
Mo Zijin smiled smugly, his face beaming with the smile of a victor. He walked to the front door of the car, bent down and gave instructions to the driver, leaving Cheng Yongxin standing there dumbfounded, still unable to come to her senses.
"What are you standing there for! Let's go."
The tall, slender figure that had been walking straight ahead suddenly stopped, and the face that always looked so annoying turned back. His tone was still rude and unpleasant, but the hand that was slightly outstretched behind his back betrayed the secret in his heart.
This guy! He's a hypocrite!!
Cheng Yongxin suddenly smiled, ignoring Mo Zijin's surprised shouts behind her, and quickened her pace to catch up with the figure walking forward with his back to her. After hesitating for three seconds, she finally reached out and grasped the hand that was reaching out to her. As soon as he felt her palm covering his, his five long fingers gently closed, holding her hand in them. A faint warmth spread from his palm to hers, warm and comfortable, like being bathed in sunlight.
Cheng Yongxin covered her mouth and chuckled secretly, her cat-like eyes glancing sideways at Jiang Haozhe's still expressionless profile. For some reason, she didn't find this repulsive.
Perhaps this guy isn't as bad as she thought. She wondered.
But this peace and tranquility lasted only a moment—