One day, Huayan sold several handbags and seven or eight pieces of clothing online, earning a small sum of money. It wasn't until after six in the afternoon that Cheng Jie finally arrived. Huayan observed that Cheng Jie looked even more handsome in person than in photos, but while she maintained a polite demeanor, she couldn't help but think to herself: "He's just an oblivious pretty face, what's with the arrogance? I already know how to settle the score later."
Without disturbing her sleeping father, Huayan got into Cheng Jie's car, ready to find a quiet place in the city to talk.
"A coffee shop will do," Huayan said calmly, facing Cheng Jie's murderous gaze from the back seat. She didn't want to eat with Cheng Jie, fearing she might lose her appetite under his scrutinizing eyes.
The sudden acceleration of the car almost caused Huayan to hit her head, further infuriating her. She decided to remain silent and not say anything, letting the tension build. In this situation, whoever exploded first would lose.
Cheng Jie parked the car in front of a coffee shop, attracting curious glances from passersby with his erratic behavior. Huayan rolled her eyes helplessly, feeling even more disdain for Cheng Jie.
"Get out of the car!" Cheng Jie waited for Huayan to get out before he did, tossing the keys to the waiter at the door and leading the way inside. Once seated, a waiter immediately approached to take their orders. Huayan glanced at the menu and ordered a coffee and a piece of cake. This prompted Cheng Jie to comment, "Only someone from a poor background would drink such tasteless coffee."
Huayan wasn't in the mood to educate Cheng Jie on how to behave like a decent human being. She lowered her head and looked through the trendy magazine provided by the coffee shop, ignoring the angry man.
At first, Cheng Jie thought Huayan was afraid of him and didn't dare to speak. But then he noticed her leisurely flipping through the magazine, her anger palpable. If it weren't for the timely arrival of the food, Cheng Jie would have exploded.
Seeing Cheng Jie's anger, Huayan already had a plan to prank him. After taking a sip of coffee and a few bites of cake, she sat up straight, continuously building in her mind: "I deeply love Cheng Jie, love him to madness. Without him, I can't live. I want to remarry him, remarry..."
"Yesterday, you didn't come back to the villa all night just to avoid me?" Cheng Jie's mouth curled with sarcasm, making people want to scratch his face. Fortunately, Huayan took a few deep breaths and managed to restrain herself.
As Cheng Jie spoke, Huayan suddenly realized how firm and inappropriate she had been earlier. Tears began to fall onto the table as she explained, "I didn't avoid you. I was so happy when I found out you wanted me to return to the Cheng family. I didn't sleep all night. But the next morning, when everything was ready and I was about to leave, my father suddenly collapsed upstairs. My father is my only family, how could I possibly not take care of him?"
As she spoke in tears, Cheng Jie's heart softened. He had always detested women who clung to him endlessly, but now he began to realize that the woman who used to obey his every command was learning to ignore him. Now he couldn't help but feel disdain for himself for thinking so highly of the timid Huayan.
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Seeing the woman in front of him crying with snot and tears, Cheng Jie felt that coming to find this woman in a hurry was the worst decision of the day. Suppressing his disgust, Cheng Jie comforted Huayan kindly, asking her not to wander around during this time and promising to speak well of her to Alice when he had the chance.
Leaving a few hundred bills on the table, Cheng Jie escaped as if his life depended on it. The idea of interrogating Huayan had long disappeared from his mind. Halfway through the drive, Cheng's mother called to ask if her son had asked Huayan about standing them up. Feeling aggrieved, Cheng Jie made excuses to his mother, then called Li Meier to ask her out and change his mood.
Unexpectedly, her acting skills were so good that she managed to deceive Cheng Jie on her first attempt. With no annoying presence around, Huayan realized she wouldn't make it back in time for dinner. She decided to settle in the coffee shop instead. Ordering a serving of beef curry rice and a cup of unsweetened coffee, Huayan leisurely enjoyed her meal while flipping through a stack of world-renowned fashion magazines. It was then that she stumbled upon something related to herself.
It turned out that there were seven or eight handbags in the villa, all limited edition designs by famous designers for the summer, priced seven to eight times higher than she had originally thought. Leaning back in her chair, Huayan decided that once she got back, she would immediately raise the prices of these handbags several times over online. She had been puzzled why no one had bought those handbags yet; now she realized it was probably because the prices were too low, making customers doubt their authenticity. With stars in her eyes, Huayan found the food in front of her even more delicious.
As the saying goes, misfortune may be a blessing in disguise! Huayan had been worried about those handbags not selling for the past few days, but now she was no longer concerned about having excess inventory. While eating and contemplating, Huayan suddenly felt someone staring at her. She looked around, but everyone seemed to be immersed in their meals or chatting with companions. There was no one acting strangely.
"It's strange. Clearly someone was staring at me, but why can't I find them? Could it be that Cheng Jie doesn't trust me and has someone secretly watching me?" Setting aside her thoughts, she lowered her head to drink her coffee and read her book, but she remained cautious, keeping an eye out for the person.
On the third occasion, Huayan finally made eye contact with the person who had been staring at her. It was the man who had delivered fish to her at the Fish Farm last time. Huayan smiled friendly at him and then resumed reading her book and drinking her coffee. Outwardly calm, she couldn't help but think to herself: "Staring at people is very rude, don't they know that? But since he's the one who gave me fish, I'll let it slide for now."
Interestingly, the coffee shop they had come to was also where Cheng Cheng and his friends were, sitting diagonally across from Huayan's table in the corner. At first, Cheng Cheng didn't notice Huayan and her group coming in, but when he heard Huayan's voice, he felt a sense of familiarity. Looking up, he saw Huayan, and beside her was Cheng Jie. Cheng Cheng couldn't help but eavesdrop on their conversation, watching Huayan tell lies with wide-open eyes and tears streaming down her face. If it weren't for Cheng Cheng knowing the truth, even he, with his discerning eyes, would have been deceived by Huayan's performance.
"It's none of my business." Watching Cheng Jie being deceived by Huayan, Cheng Cheng couldn't help but sigh inwardly. At the same time, he felt sorry for Cheng Jie for getting involved with such a cunning woman. It's pitiful when someone is being deceived and doesn't even realize it.
Afterwards, Huayan enjoyed her meal leisurely, reading, drinking tea, all of which made Cheng Cheng admire her ability to remain composed and calm despite her delicate appearance, revealing her strong and cunning inner self.