Cheng Zheng glanced at her from sideways. The speed of the car was not too fast or too slow. They remained silent for at least half a street before he opened his mouth to explain slowly.
âFalling in love is a troublesome matter. Womenâare also troublesome. A personâs time and energy are limited. I donât want to waste my time unnecessarily!â
â?â Xiang Wan was taken aback for a moment.
This was the most perfect excuse she had ever heard.
However⊠the baffled expression on her face got deeper.
âSo, Iâm not considered a woman?â
D*rn! Iâve got all the feminine features, alright?
Cheng Zheng gave a light snort under her skeptical glance. âYou donât like me, so you wonât trouble me.â
That makes a lot of sense!
Xiang Wan lowered her head, smoothed her hair, and chuckled softly.
âIâm 26 years old, and my family keeps urging me to get married. You have seen for yourself about my situation. Iâm not exactly an ideal candidate in the competitive marriage market. Whereas you, Captain Cheng, youâre a much better candidate than myself. My family members were tickled pink when they see you. So, if I do not agree to be your girlfriend, are you surprised?â
Her drastic change of tone startled Cheng Zheng slightly.
âOf course not,â he replied with a smile, âI know you donât like me.â
âNot only that I do not like you,â continued Xiang Wan, âwe have great disparity with regards to our viewpointsâŠâ
Cheng Zheng narrowed his eyes as he swept a glance at herâthat unperturbed attitude of his finally showed some cracks.
There should hardly be any girl who would reject a man like him, right?
Xiang Wanâs eyebrows were curved, showing a glimmer of smile. âAlthough I did not manage to find love, Iâve always believed in love, and this will stay the same in the future. Never will I settle for someone who doesnât like me. Captain Cheng, do you understand what I mean?â
He understood. How could he not?
Nevertheless, Cheng Zheng did not believe in all these lines that many young women liked and embraced. He never thought deeply about it, and he wasnât bothered about it, either.
He was similar to a capitalist who was calculating his resources and regarded the time spent for courtship as a waste of resource. Hence, he wanted to use the smallest amount of investment to obtain the highest amount of gain.
Since it was about looking for a girlfriend, why not choose someone that looked pleasing to the eye?
Cheng Zhengâs fingers seemed to be tapping on the steering wheel as he pondered over for a while. He let out a peal of self-mocking laughter, âSo, Iâm being rejected?â
âNot exactly!â Xiang Wan could not help giving a chuckle, âthis is because youâre not sincere.â
âIfââ said Cheng Zheng as he moistened his lips. This little act of licking the lips was particularly sexy. If she had not been âtaught a lessonâ by Bai Muchuan, an inexperienced girl like her would have easily been attracted to a mature, charming guy like him.
She asked in response, âIf?â
Cheng Zheng paused for a while then suddenly turned around to look at her intently. âWhat if Iâm sincere?â
Xiang Wan was stunned for a while.
Pffft! The next moment, she laughed softly as she tried hard to suppress her laughter.
Sure enough, it felt good to reject people!
The smile on her beautiful face was as if a delicate and exquisite Chinese ink painting was being presented. Her face was sparkling and beautiful; every movement of her lips brought about a tinge of playfulness.
âStop teasing me! Sincere? Hahaha⊠my tears are coming out from all the laughing. Why donât we do this? Iâll give you a chance to dig your heart out for me to take a look. Is it orange, red, or black?â
Cheng Zheng looked at her.
For a long time, he did not say anything.
âŠ
The weather was hot.
There was air-conditioning inside the car.
After the laughter, it was followed by silence which aggravated the already uncomfortable atmosphere.
Xiang Wan pulled her skirt as she felt hot.
âŠ
It was getting embarrassing to be alone with him. She felt like getting off the car as time went by.
However, Cheng Zheng was very persistent. He drove her all the way to the alley of her neighborhood.
âEh? Captain Cheng, you know where I stay too?â Xiang Wan was slightly shocked.
Cheng Zheng did not have much expression. âThose in the 720 task force has a copy of your personal particulars. It so happened that I have a good memory as well.â
Uh, okay!
Xiang Wan gave her thanks, took her bag, and opened the car door when Cheng Zheng asked a question unexpectedly.
âDid you notice that Iâm actually rather similar to Bai Muchuan?â
Eh? Xiang Wan was baffled for an instant.
Cheng Zhengâs thin lips formed a slight smile. âWell, perhaps you can consider me.â
What? Xiang Wanâs cheeks burned in an instant.
Did he think that she rejected him because she liked Bai Muchuan? And that he didnât intend to back down?
Therefore, he was actually doing some self-promotion by comparing himself with Bai Muchuan?
In actual fact, he was wrong.
Xiang Wan was a girl who treated her relationship matters seriously.
A person only lives once. A good romance might only come once. She did not want to waste her energy and time on meaningless things, either. Thus, even though her family kept pressuring her to get married, she was still waitingâŠ
Waiting for the right person to appear at the right time.
âCaptain Cheng, thanks for thinking so highly of me.â Xiang Wan inhaled a deep breath and smiled, slightly alleviating the rigid atmosphere. âLook, itâs hard for me to reject you too. Youâre such a good catch, right? Well, Iâm the one whoâs not suitable for you. Thatâs it, bye!â
âŠ
The alley was quiet.
It was around two to three oâclock in the afternoon when the sun was unusually hot. There was hardly any pedestrian.
Xiang Wan walked along the alley, stepping on her own shadow as she recalled the two horrifying occasions where she nearly got into an accident. Since then, a lot of things had changedâŠ
Be it Bai Muchuan or Cheng Zheng, both were fine men.
It was easy to get captivated with men standing at the top of the modern pyramid.
Xiang Wan admitted that she was just an ordinary human who could not resist temptations.
Nonetheless, she knew exactly what she wanted.
She would not and did not want to easily settle with regards to this aspect.
âMiss, youâre Xiang Wan, right?â The voice of the security guard, Uncle Wang, pulled Xiang Wanâs random thoughts back to reality.
The security guard uncle waved at her. âYouâve got a parcel thatâs been here for days. Since youâre here, do take it back with you.â
Xiang Wan had rented the apartment for quite some time, and she frequently came to collect her parcel. The security guard uncle remembered her.
She collected the parcel with a smile and said her thanks. When she opened it in her apartment, she was shocked.
It was a laptop.
The latest MacBookProâŠ
Who sent it to her?
âŠ
The Bai Family residence in Jin City.
Nanny Li was packing up the luggage bags.
Bai Lu was holding a tray of freshly cut fruits and walked up to the second floor.
The second floor was so quiet that even a needle falling to the floor could be heard.
Bai Lu knocked on the door slowly, âLittle uncleââ
No one answered.
She opened the door and saw Bai Muchuan sitting leisurely on the sofa, smoking. Her puzzled expression immediately changed into a bright and cheery smiling face. âLittle uncle, Iâve cut some fresh fruits for you. Do eat some to get rid of the greasiness.â
âHm.â Bai Muchuan put out the cigarette in the ashtray.
âLittle uncle, when are we leaving this place? I canât wait to get back to the capital. My pet Dumpling must be missing me so much. Little uncle, I donât like this place at all. We should leave as soon as possibleâŠâ
She couldnât stop rambling which made Bai Muchuan frown.
âYou can leave now!â
Bai Lu: ââŠâ
She was stunned, and she peered surreptitiously at Bai Muchuanâs expression. âLittle uncle, are you angry? Is it because of that bad woman?â
âGet out!â
âI donât want to! Youâve already made mom so unhappy that she left. Are you going to do the same to me? If you really do that, thereâll be no one else to help you within the family. Little uncle, donât tell me you donât know why Grandpa and the others insisted to get you transferred back to the capital? Isnât it all because of that woman?!â
âScram!â
Bai Muchuan stood up suddenly and pushed the tray of fruits.
âYou have no right to lecture me! Do you still know who I am to you?â
The sound of the tray of fruits falling to the floor and his face which was as black as thunder had daunted Bai Lu so much that she took a step back.
Waah! The next moment, she ran out of the room crying.
Bai Muchuan sat on the sofa leisurely, flicked his hair, and lit another cigarette.
The light from the flame reflected a dashing, handsome, and melancholic faceâŠ
âŠ
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