“Alright, alright, I’m shameless, and you’re pure. Let’s go, let’s go, go out and take your call. I’ll help you speak to President Chu. I’ll drive you back.”
President Chu had always been fond of Liang Bo. Upon hearing that Chu Xi was with him and having a good time, with no accidents, she was finally relieved.
Liang Bo said he would drive her back immediately. President Chu agreed, and the two waited at the entrance for a designated driver.
Liang Bo lit a cigarette. Looking at Chu Xi from the side, with her slightly messy hairstyle, a hint of sweat, and a wilder overall look, he couldn’t help but smile again.
Chu Xi glanced at him. “What? Why are you keep smiling at me secretly? Mocking me?”
“No. What’s there to mock about you?”
“Hmph! You know it yourself!”
To be honest, Chu Xi felt a bit embarrassed.
She felt it was somewhat odd that after seven years with her boyfriend, she still hadn't been proposed to.
Afraid she would get angry, Liang Bo gently coaxed her, “I’m really not mocking you. I just find you cute.”
Growing up, everyone praised her for being beautiful, elegant, and intelligent. It seemed Zhan Jingrui had never praised her for anything.
This was the first time someone had called her cute.
People are strange; upon hearing the word “cute,” they instinctively want to do something cute.
Chu Xi pouted, walked up to him, and stared at him with wide eyes.
“You think I’m cute? Don’t you know calling a woman cute means she’s not beautiful?”
Liang Bo lowered his gaze to meet hers, the cigarette between his lips looking incredibly manly.
“Who says? Can someone not beautiful be described as cute?”
“So, are you saying I’m both beautiful and cute?”
“That’s right, beautiful and cute.”
“Like a doll?”
“Like a doll.”
“Do you like this type?”
“Yes.”
Zhan Jingrui had left some parts of her wanting, but Liang Bo’s words filled those voids.
Chu Xi seemed to regain some confidence and thanked him sincerely.
“Liang Bo, you’re a good person.”
Suddenly becoming so serious, it made Liang Bo feel awkward smoking in front of her.
He stubbed out the cigarette, stood up straight, and looked at her. “You’re a good person too.”
“Beautiful and cute, intelligent and wealthy, a perfectly good person. There’s no need to negate yourself because of one relationship. Ninety percent of men in the world would long to have someone like you.”
Liang Bo drove her to her doorstep. President Chu and Mrs. Chu were waiting.
Seeing the two of them acting so wildly, Chu Xi smiled happily and didn’t scold them.
As it was late, Liang Bo was about to leave after saying his goodbyes. Before Chu Xi went inside with her parents, she called out to him again.
“Liang Bo. Can I still come to play with you in the future?”
“Sure, you’re always welcome.”
“Will that delay your work?”
“It might a bit. But, you can compensate me with business.”
“Hahahaha.” They both laughed.
Liang Bo waved, got into his car, and said, “Off I go, cheer up.”
This was the first time Chu Xi had drunk so much. When she took a shower later, she felt lightheaded and hummed a song in the bathtub.
Mrs. Chu and the nanny helped her, and they couldn’t help but feel happy along with her.
After her shower, she collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep, waking up naturally.
Recalling yesterday’s events and her conversation with Liang Bo, as well as her friends’ teasing, Chu Xi couldn’t help but smile.
However, no matter how good her mood was, she still remembered Zhan Jingrui and He Yao.
So, she called Zhan Jingrui. Before he could say anything, she asked directly.
“Do you know where He Yao is now? I want to go see her.”
Zhan Jingrui had just come out of He Yao’s place and paused slightly. “Why do you suddenly want to see her?”
“I feel bad for not visiting her since she’s injured. Send me her address when you find out.”
Chu Xi hung up.
After hanging up, she started changing, putting on makeup, and eating breakfast.
Around ten in the morning, Zhan Jingrui sent her He Yao’s phone number.
She called He Yao, and they agreed to meet at a coffee shop.
He Yao wore a long, black wig, a fisherman’s hat, an oversized hoodie, jeans, and sneakers.
She looked like a lively, ethereal young girl.
When Chu Xi saw her at the coffee shop, she felt a pang of intense jealousy.
No wonder everyone spread rumors about her beauty when they were in school, and no wonder Zhan Jingrui had never been interested in anyone else, but had liked her for so many years.
She truly was hiding her brilliance.
Chu Xi’s mood had improved, and she wasn’t going to quarrel with Zhan Jingrui, but that didn’t mean she would let He Yao off the hook.
In Chu Xi’s deeply ingrained perception of marriage, she could do without a dazzling academic record or a particularly impressive career.
But she couldn’t do without a happy marriage.
Her future husband had to be capable, wealthy, of a matching social standing to her family, handsome, and love her.
From childhood, she had never lost to any woman in any aspect, and she wouldn’t lose to He Yao, who only had beauty, in the matter she valued most.
Therefore, she had to win this game.
Since Zhan Jingrui hadn’t ended up with He Yao back then, it meant he clearly understood the gap between them.
After his return, nothing intimate had happened between them immediately, and the fact that he was still hiding it from her now indicated that Zhan Jingrui still cared about her, feared her anger, and was still wary of her family’s influence.
Given this, it meant Zhan Jingrui didn’t desperately need He Yao.
Therefore, getting rid of her was still relatively easy.
Chu Xi sat down, took He Yao’s hand, and smiled sweetly.
“You’re so beautiful. I’m relieved to see you’ve recovered so well. That blow from Liang Bo that day truly scared me to death. What did the doctor say? Will the wound have any lasting effects?”
He Yao said no and explained her reason for wearing the wig.
After some casual chat, Chu Xi invited her shopping.
“Jingrui and I are getting married soon, so I want to buy some gifts to prepare in advance for his family. Will you accompany me?”
“He has two sisters and one brother; they’re quadruplets. Do you know his family?”
He Yao, of course, did not.
Even though she and Zhan Jingrui had experienced intimate moments, she was indeed inferior to Chu Xi in this regard.
“We’ve known each other for many years. Every Christmas and Thanksgiving, we’d return from abroad and visit each other’s families.”
“His family likes me a lot, and my family likes him a lot too. Do you know how funny his two sisters are? They’ve been calling me ‘sister-in-law’ since six years ago. I was so young then, I was so embarrassed by the title.”
Chu Xi told He Yao a lot, dragging her through luxury boutiques again and again. She generously bought a famous bracelet for each of his two sisters, a necklace worth hundreds of thousands for Jiang Nan Fang, and brand-name ties and scarves for Zhan Bei Jue and Zhan Jing Yu respectively.
In one afternoon, Chu Xi spent nearly 3 million.
3 million was just for gifts for his family during one shopping trip.
But it was an astronomical sum in He Yao’s eyes.
Based on this alone, she deeply understood that she was not qualified to marry into a wealthy family.
This display of dominance was indeed formidable.