Chapter 994: Nightmare
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Everything on her body added together did not surpass three hundred yuan.
This was his first impression of the girl. It was not that he was snobbish, but it had been an occupational habit that he had developed from being a manager for so long. When he looked at someone, he would first assess the person’s clothing, her temperament, and how she held herself, then he would quickly calculate whether the person was “Star Quality”, “Exploitable”, or “Useless”.
The girl in front of him was slightly hunchbacked, and her strides were not graceful either. Her skin was yellow and coarse, and he knew with one glance that she had not taken good care of it. Despite himself, he thought of Xia Ling, whose age was similar to this girl. Xia Ling had such touching eyes and fair, glowy skin. When she smiled, the whole world seemed to lit up…
Even during the last time they’d met when she’d looked at him in disbelief with a broken heart, it had still been so memorable. It was a kind of temperament that few people possessed. It was vivid, lively, and was able to shake one to the core regardless of whether they loved or hated her.
After interacting with her, other girls appeared to be plain as a glass of water.
Chu Chen was slightly distracted.
It was the girl who broke the silence first. “Do I have something on my face?” she asked while touching her face consciously.
Chu Chen realized that he had been staring at her for too long.
He invited the girl to sit and asked her what she wanted to drink gentlemanly. They ordered two drinks and started chatting idly. He was out of form and his mind wandered often. However, the girl was still very meticulous about this blind date. She racked her brains to search for more topics to talk about and tried her best to liven the atmosphere.
Halfway through, he received a call from Pei Ziheng.
Chu Chen said, “I’m sorry, Miss Li, I have matters to attend to, so I’ll leave first. You can stay here and finish your drink.” He called the waiter and took out his limitless card to pay for the four-digit bill.
Li Yingying stared fixated at his limitless card, his crocodile skin wallet, and the expensive receipt. She swallowed and watched as he hurriedly took out two hundred-dollar bills to tip the waitress. In comparison, she could not even bear to buy such an expensive dress for herself.
Where else could she find such a more outstanding man?
She held onto the bone china glass and came to a silent conclusion in determination. She must win him over.
Night fell and Chu Chen returned home.
His mother asked eagerly, “How was the blind date? The matchmaker gave me a call and said that the lady was very satisfied with you. Ah Chen, I think you have to stop being so picky, just like that female singer you brought over last time. What was her name again? Xia Ling? She did not even move a finger when she was here for dinner. Girls nowadays are getting more and more finicky, unlike Li Yingying. The matchmaker has said that she is well educated and knows how to cook. You’re so busy all the time and hardly have time to eat a proper meal, so you should find a wise and kind wife who can take good care of you. Then, I will be reassured.”
Chu Chen burst out laughing despite himself. “How could you compare her to Xia Ling? Didn’t Xiao Ling offer to help only to be rejected by you that day?” Besides, even if Xia Ling wanted to help out, he would not have dared to let her. If anything were to happen to this precious pampered lady, would Pei Ziheng not skin him alive?
His mother was not satisfied. “What was that girl capable of doing? Just looking at her carrying the bowl and you know that the posture is wrong. You better not let her break the chinaware you brought back with much difficult from Italy. Forget it, you won’t understand this kind of girl talk. Just find a wife that can be wise and kind, understand?”
Chu Chen could not win over her, so he just nodded in agreement.
In his eyes, women were not much different from one another. Other than Xia Ling’s kind, who were “capable of hitting it big time”, and Li Yingying’s kind, who “would not be famous or earn money even after a thousand years”, to him, the rest of the women were all the same.
Since his mother liked her, he started dating Li Yingying with no serious intentions.
During Spring Festival when he had to offer sacrifices to his ancestors, he brought Li Yingying along to visit the Chu family’s relatives. His brother-in-law’s expression turned shades of white and red, and he was very surprised. “You… why are you with her?!” He asked, tongue-tied.
The Chu Chen now was no longer the same lost youth who had stood outside his family’s restaurant in a predicament, waiting to borrow money in embarrassment while enduring his hunger. He had already managed to single-handedly pay off all the expenditure of the sacrifices for his family’s ancestors and had long become the most successful and authoritative figure in the Chu family. With a fake smile, he said, “Yingying is not snobbish like other people, I like that a lot.”
It was not just his brother-in-law, but all the other relatives who had refused to lend money to him before, all lowered their heads awkwardly.
If not for his mother pulling him and hinting to him not to overdo it, perhaps he would have satirized and mocked them until they could not stay any longer. Now that he had returned to his hometown in silken robes, all his relatives were following his orders blindly and saying yes to everything, afraid that they would offend him unintentionally.
Under the gathering of the stars, he, however, only felt lonely.
Late at night, he dreamt again about Xia Ling’s eyes, how her formerly pair of bright eyes and pupil displaying her quick-wittedness had shown despair and disbelief instead. It was as if she was asking, [Chu Chen, why did you lie to me?!]
He woke with a shock in cold sweat.
Li Yingying woke up too. She got up to switch on the lights and asked him what was wrong in concern.
He shook his head, “Nothing.”
Li Yingying said gently, “Sleep early, we have to go back to the city tomorrow. Oh yes, the north side’s shopping mall is having a sale these few days, do you want to accompany me shopping?”
Chu Chen agreed.
This woman was indeed great at housekeeping. She did not spend much when buying clothes and would pick them wisely so that they did not surpass one thousand yuan even when added together. Chu Chen thought of Xia Ling, how she would order people to hand her the custom-made shop’s catalog when she was lazy to leave the house. She would randomly point to one and say, “I don’t want this and this. I want all the rest in different colors each.”
He had once joked with her. “Only Boss can support your behavior.”
She had lifted her chin and smiled arrogantly. “I like him and he likes me.” While saying that, her whole body seemed to glow in a sweet and blissful manner.
Like. What on earth was that?
Chu Chen stared at the girl beside him and was unable to understand the sudden eager palpitation of his heart.
However, this did not stop him from holding her hand and going through a few branded shops to buy a few stylish fitting clothes for her. It was not considered expensive and was only one or two thousand yuan per piece. If it were placed next to Xia Ling, she would not even give it so much more as a glance. However, the girl in front of him seemed to be excited and happy for half the day.
Perhaps this was what his mother had meant by being satisfied with what one had.
He began to give serious thought to marrying the girl.
The second day, he went to Imperial Entertainment and saw Pei Ziheng sitting in his office drinking thick coffee. His eyes were bloodshot as if he had not slept for the whole night. Chu Chen asked in concern, “Boss, is there anything I can help you with?”
Pei Ziheng said, “Hand me the stomach medicine over there.”
Chu Chen handed it to him and watched him swallow it with a frown, before saying carefully, “This is because of Xiao Ling?” That butterfly-like and attractive girl seemed to have locked him up, causing him to vex over her. In just a few short months, so much trouble had happened because of her.
Pei Ziheng was silent for a long time. He waved his hand and gestured for him to leave.
Chu Chen closed the door for him and stood in the corridor. He suddenly felt that it was not a wise move to be considering marriage at this time.