"Mr. Chen, I think I ought to say sothing. Since we’re all here for matchmaking, the idea is to assess each other. If there’s mutual interest, then we can see how things progress. If there’s none, we can simply walk away. Why the aggression? And besides, who said that working in the palace ans you’re free to take liberties?" Li Si calmly countered his words.
"Oh, little girl, got quite the sharp tongue, huh? Are you working in the palace too? Tell your na! I’ll make sure to show up and support you soti!" Chen Dahai replied with a vulgar smirk.
Li Si shot him a disdainful glance, preparing to retort, but Jiang Fan arrived and placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"Chen Dahai! So, I wasn’t mistaken! Looks like you’ve got so nerve!" She hesitated at first but beca certain after he introduced himself, recalling him as that distant, cash-poor relative who visited them seeking money by beating around the bush back in the day.
"And you are?" Chen Dahai squinted, sizing up Jiang Fan from head to toe, but seed utterly clueless about who this sharp-eyed young woman might be.
"Forgotten already? You really do have a selective mory. My dad is Jiang Zheng. Does that ring a bell?" Jiang Fan sneered coldly, her lips curling into a mocking smile.
"Jiang Zheng? Oh, oh, you’re the little princess from Third Uncle’s family! My apologies, my apologies! And these two are your friends?" Chen Dahai froze briefly before plastering on a fake smile, pointing inquisitively at the two.
"Exactly. Got anything else to say?"
"No, no, not a thing. Just now, I failed to recognize greatness and accidentally offended these two beauties. I sincerely apologize! You chat; I’ll take my leave now." Chen Dahai nodded and bowed awkwardly as he slunk away.
The three sat down and resud their conversation.
Zhou Rou looked at Li Si gratefully. "Li Si, thank you so much today! Just now, he really grabbed my hand tightly and even said he’d take away! I was terrified! And thank you, too. Excuse , how should I address you?"
Li Sian patted her hand resting on the table consolingly. "It’s all over now, isn’t it? Don’t be scared; he’s gone! This is my good friend Jiang Fan. Jiang Fan, this is Zhou Rou!"
The two exchanged simple pleasantries.
"Sigh, he’s gone, but how am I supposed to explain this to my mom when I get ho?" Zhou Rou’s face was full of worry as she rambled on, genuinely seeming troubled about how to report back.
Li Si pursed her lips but said nothing. Every family has its own struggles, and this wasn’t sothing she could help with. Jiang Fan, sitting across from them, keenly observed Zhou Rou’s every move.
From the stairs ca the sound of footsteps. Li Si instinctively turned to look and unexpectedly saw Brother Leng descending with a beautiful, tall woman dressed in yellow with long hair.
Leng Mochen spotted her imdiately, his expression unchanging, yet he naturally walked toward their table.
"Girl, what are you doing here?" He asked with a hint of doubt, thinking Li Si should’ve been at school today. At the sa ti, his gaze passed over Zhou Rou, whose eyes seed swollen as though she had cried, and a trace of gloom flashed across his eyes.
"Oh, just dealing with sothing, Brother Leng. Who’s this?" Li Si stood up and casually explained, while carefully scrutinizing the strikingly familiar woman beside Leng Mochen.
"This is Miss Qin. And this is my sister, Li Si." Leng Mochen succinctly introduced them, and the two exchanged polite greetings.
"Mr. Leng, your sister is truly beautiful! She still seems to be studying, isn’t she?" Miss Qin’s voice was elegant and soothing, her tone pleasant and comforting.
"Yes, currently in her second year of university. Miss Qin flatters us; compared to your beauty, she’s just a small-town girl at best!"
Li Si suddenly realized where she had seen her before—it was that girl standing in front of Villa No. 2 the other day, paired with a man. Could it be that Brother Leng and her already knew each other? Her heart swelled with curiosity.
"Mr. Leng, she’s such a smooth talker! Miss Li, how about joining for a shopping trip one day when you’re free? I just returned to China and don’t know much about the places here. You’d make the perfect guide!"
Miss Qin’s soft smile carried a touch of charm. Even as a fellow woman, Li Si had to admit she was a top-tier beauty, let alone in the eyes of n. No wonder Brother Leng treated her with such courtesy.
"I’m afraid not, Miss Qin. Sorry, I’m a hopeless navigator. You’d better find soone else!" Li Si replied bluntly, realizing she felt uncomfortable for no apparent reason, and decisively declined.
"If that’s the case, I won’t force you! Mr. Leng, since you’ve run into acquaintances, I’ll take my leave for now. Miss Li, till we et again!" Miss Qin still smiled sweetly as she said goodbye to the two.
"Alright!" Li Si responded with a smile. Leng Mochen gave a slight nod as acknowledgnt.
As she gracefully departed, Zhou Rou imdiately wore a pitiful expression and timidly greeted, "Brother Leng!" Leng Mochen glanced at her indifferently, ignored what seed to be her attempt at an act, and turned to ask Li Si with concern, "Girl, what happened?"
"Oh? Zhou Rou had a bad experience at her matchmaking; the guy tried to get physical, so she called for help!" Li Si summarized the situation in brief, noticing Leng Mochen’s face darken.
"Girl, let’s leave now. I need to talk to you about sothing!" Leng Mochen grabbed her hand and began leading her outside without giving her room to object. Li Si could only give a hurried apology to Zhou Rou and Jiang Fan, while Jiang Fan simply gestured with a phone sign, indicating she could contact him later.
At the Century Tiancheng Villa, under the weight of an oppressive atmosphere, the two sat silently on the living room sofa.
Li Si sensed that Brother Leng seed angry, though she had no idea why.
After hesitating for a long while, Li Si finally spoke, "Brother Leng, what’s the matter? Why do you seem angry?"
"Hmm!" Leng Mochen kept the pose he held earlier, arms crossed, without so much as sparing her a glance.
Li Si shifted closer, tugging at his arm as she continued, "Brother Leng, if you don’t tell , how will I know why you’re upset?"
"Do you realize what you did wrong?" He finally turned to her, his tone icy.
"Oh, I get it. I shouldn’t have refused Miss Qin’s invitation!" She racked her brains and arrived at this conclusion. A dull ache tightened her chest; was that really the reason? Did it an in Brother Leng’s heart, Miss Qin ranked higher than she did?
"You silly girl, what nonsense are you thinking?" Leng Mochen angrily smacked her forehead hard.
Li Si clutched her now-aching forehead in grievance, accusingly whining, "Isn’t that it? What else could I have done wrong?"
"You!" Leng Mochen replied in a tone that expressed exasperation at her naivety. "Today at Century Tiancheng, I ran into Miss Qin for business discussions and happened to see Zhou Rou. She was obviously chatting and laughing with a man. Why would she craft excuses and stage an act to call you over? Haven’t you realized?"
It took Li Si a while to process what he said. "So, was she trying to test while also causing a misunderstanding between us?"
Thinking about it further, she felt the situation amusing. If Zhou Rou were truly his girlfriend, jealousy would’ve made sense. But the fact was, they were nothing more than siblings, so what kind of misunderstanding could arise? Her disappointnt in Zhou Rou deepened profoundly. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to visit Qidian at qidian to cast a recomndation or monthly vote. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users may visit m.qidian for reading.)
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