The two of them were seated one row diagonally in front of Zhan Bei Jue. Upon settling down, Vice President Gao had his back to Zhan Bei Jue, while Jiang Nan Fang was directly facing him.
Their gazes met mysteriously in the air. Zhan Bei Jue's eyes held a flicker of confusion upon suddenly seeing her, but he quickly turned away with indifference.
Jiang Nan Fang took in his expression.
She thought, *What's with that look? You don't want to see me, and I don't want to see you either! You clearly have plenty of women around who want to have your children, yet you deliberately cling to my child. You're just sick!*
"Mr. Zhan?"
The person opposite called out, and Zhan Bei Jue came back to his senses. "Are you finished?"
"...Do you have something on your mind? Is the coffee not to your liking?"
Zhan Bei Jue picked up the coffee in front of him, took a sip, and shook his head. "No. Continue speaking if you haven't finished."
It hadn't even been three minutes.
She could sense his absentmindedness, but the woman didn't seem to mind.
Being fortunate enough to sit with him, especially on the premise of a blind date, had already fulfilled a long-held wish and was enough to brag about for quite some time. How could she expect him to fall in love at first sight?
The woman smiled. "I was saying there's a concert at the Lan Xin Grand Theater tonight, would you like to go?"
Do women nowadays have no other hobbies besides watching operas, plays, stand-up comedy, listening to concerts, and traveling the world?
It was the same line, the fourth time she had heard it within two hours.
Zhan Bei Jue shook his head, showing no courtesy. "No. I don't like musicals."
"You don't like musicals? Then would you like to watch a movie? A new one just came out..."
Jiang Nan Fang found the woman's voice somewhat familiar. She seemed to know her, and her back also looked very familiar.
To be honest, she was truly curious about who his current girlfriend was. When they were still married, he already had someone else on the outside. Could this be her?
Ignoring whatever Vice President Gao was saying, she perked up her ears and held her breath, straining to listen to the woman speak.
"I haven't been to the cinema in many years. The last time was when our school organized a trip in high school. Do you remember? At that time..."
Jiang Nan Fang remembered! It was her! The eldest daughter of the Huo family, whose family made their fortune in cosmetics – Huo Dong Ning!
Speaking of Huo Dong Ning, Jiang Nan Fang felt a deep connection.
Since her mother's death, her stepmother had brought her stepbrother into the home. To survive, Jiang Nan Fang had feigned ugliness and weakness after an accident.
At school, most people looked at her with sympathy. Only this Huo Dong Ning not only publicly humiliated and mocked her, but they even got into physical altercations.
What a coincidence!
Such a former enemy unexpectedly had an affair with her ex-husband!
Jiang Nan Fang didn't care who Zhan Bei Jue was with. After all, chewed gum spat out becomes trash; whoever wants it can pick it up. But he was the father of her child!
The thought of Huo Dong Ning, such a hateful woman, marrying into the Zhan family and becoming her child's nominal stepmother made Jiang Nan Fang restless.
No! She wouldn't consent to this marriage!
She absolutely could not stand by and watch her former enemy prosper!
But refusing was one thing, yet what right did she have to stop them from dating?
Just because she was the mother of Zhan Bei Jue's child?
Direct confrontation would definitely not work. It might even provoke Zhan Bei Jue's rebelliousness; the more he was told not to do something, the more he would do it.
Therefore, Jiang Nan Fang decided to use strategy.
Vice President Gao was still chattering away. Jiang Nan Fang thought of an idea and suddenly raised her hand to interrupt him. "Vice President Gao."
"Yes?"
"I've run into an acquaintance. I'm going to say hello."
Saying this, she picked up the coffee the waiter had just served her and gracefully walked over to Zhan Bei Jue's table.
"Oh, isn't this Mr. Zhan? What a coincidence, why are you here too?"
They had already been seated for two minutes and had seen each other, yet she only came over to greet him now.
And with such a tone, it was clear she was up to something!
Zhan Bei Jue couldn't be bothered with her. He lowered his eyelids, picked up his coffee, and took another sip. "Do you need something?"
"Nothing much. It's been so long since we divorced, and it's rare to run into each other here. I just came to say hello."
Fortunately, she had already swallowed the coffee in her mouth, otherwise...
In front of everyone, she suddenly brought up the divorce, and with such a strange tone, what was she trying to do?
"Is this your girlfriend? How long have you been dating? She's quite pretty, and I feel like I've seen her somewhere before. Let me think..."
Huo Dong Ning also found the woman in front of her familiar. She knew Zhan Bei Jue had been married before and even had two young children, but no one knew who his ex-wife was. So it turned out to be her.
Why did she feel like she knew this ex-wife?
After a few seconds of mutual observation, Jiang Nan Fang simply placed the coffee cup in front of Zhan Bei Jue, sat down next to him, and suddenly wore an expression of sudden realization.
"I remember now! It's you, old classmate! Huo Dong Ning, right? You're Huo Dong Ning!"
"You know me? Who are you?"
"Jiang Nan Fang. I'm Jiang Nan Fang. The one who was very ugly back then, who you always mocked, and who you even beat to the ground!"
Huo Dong Ning's face suddenly turned pale. After a moment of hesitation, with some embarrassment, she asked, "You're Jiang Nan Fang? Did you... get plastic surgery after graduation?"
Jiang Nan Fang smiled and didn't answer the question. "Oh well, let's not dwell on that. Let's talk about something else."
"Long time no see. I didn't expect to meet you here today. What a coincidence, so you two are dating."
"My ex-husband is very difficult to please. Seeing that you're the one taking over, I'm relieved. Not only is he ill-tempered, but he's also not much in that regard... In short, please be understanding. Congratulations!"
Huo Dong Ning and Zhan Bei Jue: "?!"
She pulled Huo Dong Ning along, continuing to chat. "This is my first time meeting an old classmate after graduation! Oh, I'm so happy."
"Do you remember the foolish things we did when we were in school? Back then, you formed a clique of sisters and didn't study properly, only focusing on me. You called me Pigsy, you called me Voldemort, haha! You always poured ink on my clothes or stuck things on my back, haha!"
"Thinking about it now, it's really funny. We even fought over it, do you remember? Several of you pinned me to the ground and beat me. You beat me up badly that time, haha! I remember it very clearly. You haven't forgotten it all, have you?"
Huo Dong Ning certainly hadn't forgotten, but it wasn't something to be proud of. Deliberately bringing it up in front of Zhan Bei Jue like this, wasn't she trying to embarrass herself?
She looked at Jiang Nan Fang with an awkward expression, then at Zhan Bei Jue.
Huo Dong Ning retorted, "Heh, I'm happy to see you too. I didn't expect you to be Bei Jue's ex-wife..."
The three-minute mark had long passed. Zhan Bei Jue, weary of listening to them reminisce, coldly interrupted, "We're not suitable. There's no need to say more. Miss Huo, I'll pay the bill. You can go."
Huo Dong Ning: "..."
Only then did Jiang Nan Fang realize they were on a blind date. "You two aren't dating? You're leaving just like that? We haven't even had lunch yet, don't rush off."
"Stay for lunch. Let's reminisce about the good old days in school."
Zhan Bei Jue had rejected her. What was the point of staying in front of this ill-intentioned ex-wife? Huo Dong Ning wasn't shameless.
She gave Jiang Nan Fang a forced smile and a sideways glance. "No need. I have other things to attend to. Haven't you two seen each other in a long time? I'll leave some space for you two to catch up privately. I'll be going now."
After saying that, she grabbed her bag and left the restaurant in exasperation.
Watching her retreating figure, Jiang Nan Fang turned her head to look at Zhan Bei Jue. "Pah, what a person! And she wants to be my son's stepmother?"
"Zhan Bei Jue, even if you're getting old and anxious to get married, you don't have to be so desperate, do you? You'll settle for any woman?"
"Didn't you hear about her bad reputation at school back then? Can a child have a good life with someone like that as a stepmother? Even if you don't have feelings for the child, you're still the biological father. You can't be so selfish for your own happiness!"
How strange, the feeling of disgust was slowly fading.
Feeling a bit better in her chest, Zhan Bei Jue turned his head and glanced at her coolly. "Do you know what you're saying?"
"Of course, I do. I'm reminding you that if you're so irresponsible when you find a partner in the future, please return the children to me as soon as possible! I don't want the children to go through what I did, having a stepmother means a father who's always wary, living a life of looking at others' faces since childhood."
"Oh? If that's the case, if I give you the children, will you remain single for life and not remarry?"
"..." He was quite good at grasping the key point. Jiang Nan Fang herself hadn't considered this issue.
But she quickly thought about it. "Yes! Making money is so much fun, why would I need a man! With the two of them, money, and friends, it's enough. If you give them to me, I guarantee I absolutely won't find a stepfather to bother them for the rest of my life!"
Zhan Bei Jue chuckled. "A woman like you, who has no credibility, how trustworthy are your guarantees?"
"Still harboring a crush on me and having intentions towards me, just say you want to get back together, no need to be so indirect."
"..."