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What’s the relationship between the three of you?!
Secretary Yang had never seen the young master being fed by someone—let alone with curry fish balls, something he normally wouldn’t even touch.
His jaw almost hit the floor in shock!
What’s more, the person feeding him was none other than the child bride of the young master’s cousin. This relationship was getting way too messy!
Young Master Chen Songxian had been sent to Africa by his father. He resisted for a few days, but it was futile. Today, he finally learned that it was his cousin who had suggested the idea to his father.
He stormed over, ready to confront his cousin about the Africa situation.
Secretary Yang, patting himself on the back for being sharp, had rushed ahead to “tip off” the young master. Otherwise, if Young Master Chen had walked in on this scene, it would’ve been a disaster!
Yet both parties involved were astonishingly calm.
Miss Lin, who already had a fiancé, sat as steady as Mount Tai. The young master and his cousin’s child bride acted like nothing had happened. The young master simply said flatly,
“Hmm. Take Miss Lin downstairs in the private elevator to buy some clothes.”
Secretary Yang was stunned again!
This was the first time the young master had ever bought a woman clothes!
Too many people in Hong Kong City were eyeing the young master’s marriage; countless women dreamed of marrying into the Cheng family. Who would’ve thought he’d show such interest in his cousin’s child bride…
Secretary Yang’s expression twisted like a bitter melon, but he could only lead Miss Lin out to the nearby mall to shop.
Cheng Wanting’s gaze cooled as he watched the figure in the white floral dress leave. In his mind’s eye flashed images of that casually revealed waist and slender wrist.
Those needed to be covered up more properly.
Moments later, Chen Songxian barged into his cousin’s office, all brash and reckless.
“Cousin, how could you send me to Africa!” Chen Songxian was frantic and utterly unwilling to suffer in Africa. “Do you know how barren and terrifying Africa is? How am I supposed to survive there?!”
Cheng Wanting frowned slightly, lifted a spoon, and slowly sipped some mung bean soup with an air of elegance—as if he wasn’t eating street food, but delicacies at the Peninsula Hotel.
Chen Songxian had never seen his cousin touch such street snacks. Surprised, he quickly sat closer and began pleading,
“Cousin, please talk to my dad.”
Africa was scorching hot and desolate—not even birds wanted to land there! He’d have to live on scraps and suffer!
And he had a girlfriend—how could they be separated for an entire month?
But Cheng Wanting was unmoved by his cousin’s whining. After a few spoonfuls of mung bean soup, his gaze swept over the golden curry fish balls, and a crisp voice seemed to echo in his ears—
“These taste really good.”
Chen Songxian kept whining about his miserable prospects in Africa, but soon realized his cousin wasn’t even listening—he had started eating the curry fish balls.
As far as he knew, his cousin never ate street food and wasn’t interested in rich cuisine either. He had always had very little appetite.
No—one could say his cousin had no desires at all. Be it food or romance, all he loved was doing business and making money.
“Cousin, I’m about to be exiled to Africa, and you still have the mood to eat this stuff?”
The curry fish balls were tender and springy, with a distinct, spicy flavor. Cheng Wanting tasted one, put down his chopsticks, and turned to his cousin:
“Going to Africa to toughen up is good for you. It’s settled.”
“But…” Chen Songxian wanted to argue, but fell silent when he saw the stern look on his cousin’s face.
He suspected he had somehow offended his cousin lately, but couldn’t figure out how. As he stood to leave, he switched topics,
“Then… Cousin… please help settle the matter of the child bride soon.”
As long as the child bride remained, he felt uneasy—worried about being forcibly separated from his lover and made to marry a village girl.
Gritting his teeth, Chen Songxian made up his mind:
“I’m willing to add another 200,000. Just get her sent away quickly. Cousin, tens of thousands isn’t a small sum. As long as you make sure she leaves and erase all her travel records in and out of Hong Kong City, just make sure my grandfather doesn’t find out.”
Cheng Wanting was wiping his large hands with a dark grey handkerchief. Without even lifting his head, he responded slowly and clearly:
“We’ll see how you behave.”
Chen Songxian: “…”
He dared not protest further and quietly slipped away.
When Chen Songxian took the elevator down to the lobby, he happened to run into Secretary Yang returning.
“Brother Yang, is something off with my cousin lately? I feel like he’s got a grudge against me!” Knowing Yang Minghui was his cousin’s confidant, Chen Songxian figured he’d get reliable intel from him.
Secretary Yang, who had just sent off one ‘big Buddha,’ nearly had a heart attack hearing that.
What exactly is the relationship between you three?!
“Young Master Chen, how would I know anything? I don’t know a thing.”
Chen Songxian: ?
After brushing him off, Secretary Yang breathed a long sigh of relief. Thankfully, Young Master Chen didn’t bump into Miss Lin just now—otherwise, who knows what mess that would’ve caused!
Still, who would’ve thought the young master, who always avoided women, would end up involved with his cousin’s child bride…
Sigh, what a mess!
After sending Lin Keying to shop at the Central shopping mall, Secretary Yang left—but not before mentioning that the entire mall was owned by the young master and she could choose freely.
Lin Keying: What a sweet deal!
She couldn’t help but marvel that, apart from being cold, annoyed with her, and resisting the feudal marriage arrangement, her fiancé really didn’t have any other faults.
He even thought about letting her freely choose new clothes!
The bustling malls of Hong Kong in the 1980s weren’t outdated at all—on the contrary, they were trendy, orderly, and filled with classic Hong Kong flair.
While the mainland didn’t yet have malls with 20 or 30 floors, Hong Kong’s skyscrapers already pierced the sky magnificently.
On the second floor of the mall, dazzling clothing displays made it hard to look away. In her past life, Lin Keying had treated herself well, buying many skincare products. But because of work, she always wore business attire—mostly in black, white, and gray.
Now that she had nothing left, after working so hard and not enjoying anything, she was determined to indulge in beautiful clothes.
Though it was an era of opening up, decades later people might still be gossiped about or judged for wearing revealing clothes. But in the 80s, people here were surprisingly open-minded.
Women shopping in the mall wore bold outfits: tank tops, short sleeves and shorts, sexy red dresses… it all seemed completely normal.
Lin Keying dove into the clothing section, admiring the bright colors, comfort, fashion, and excellent designs that made her fall in love with everything.
However, her patched floral dress stood out, drawing side glances from the sales clerks. A few exchanged looks full of disdain.
“Miss, you just came from the mainland, right? These clothes aren’t made from cheap fabrics…” A short-haired clerk approached, blocking Lin Keying’s hand from touching the fabric, clearly worried she might dirty the clothes.
Lin Keying calmly withdrew her hand, unbothered and unafraid. She lifted her chin slightly and replied coolly,
“Is that so? Well, this silk dress here is too thin with mediocre texture. This chiffon fabric is better suited for scarves… And this polyester shirt has a nice cut but is too stuffy and thick—not breathable at all. Uncomfortable for summer wear.”
The short-haired clerk had smuggled over from the mainland ten years ago. At a glance, she could tell Lin Keying was a fellow mainlander. She’d approached deliberately, unable to stand the sight of someone dressed like that pretending she could afford high-end clothes—worried she’d ruin the merchandise.
Who would’ve thought this woman could talk about the fabrics so expertly? Her mind went blank.
“This mall is open for business. Are you saying you get to choose your customers? Think I can’t buy just because I’m dressed poorly?” Lin Keying moved away toward another clerk who had a kinder expression and hadn’t looked down on her. As she left, she tossed back a line:
“From your accent, you’re from the mainland too. You called me Bei Mei (northern girl), aren’t you the same?”
The short-haired clerk had expected this woman to blush, hunch her shoulders, and leave in shame after a few taunts—but instead, she spoke so confidently and carried herself like a true Hong Kong heiress.
She glared hatefully at Lin Keying’s back, and when she saw the other clerks watching like it was a show, she quickly grumbled in poor Cantonese,
“Just a thick-skinned Bei Mei. She doesn’t have two coins in her pocket but is pretending she can shop. Just watch—she definitely won’t buy anything!”
Lin Keying heard the buzzing whispers behind her but couldn’t fully understand them—though she could guess they were gossiping about her.
She didn’t care one bit.
Ignoring the noise, she focused on shopping. If nothing else, her current clothes were too worn and uncomfortable.
Thus, she picked seven or eight outfits. Just as she was about to wrap up, she remembered she should irritate her fiancé a little more—so she chose another seven or eight outfits.
If she didn’t have to carry them back herself, she wouldn’t have stopped!
Altogether, she picked over a dozen outfits, plus several pairs of shoes—heels, sandals—and a leather handbag. Lin Keying had basically gone on a shopping spree.
The clerks who had looked down on her were dumbfounded. Was she about to rob the store? How could she choose so much? If she couldn’t pay, was she going to pull a gun?!
Yet the next scene made their eyes pop.
The store manager hurried over and respectfully helped pack everything without charging a dime.
“What’s going on?”
“Why is Manager Liu…?”
When Manager Liu personally called a taxi and saw her off, the clerks swarmed over:
“Manager Liu, why didn’t you charge that Bei Mei? That stuff was expensive!”
“I’ve never seen someone buy so much at once.”
“Doesn’t she care about money?”
Manager Liu waved them off with a frown:
“Secretary Yang, who works for the Cheng family’s young master, told me to let her pick freely. If I dared to charge her, I’d be finished!”
Everyone: !!!
So much expensive clothing, shoes, and bags—she could just take them all?!
Sitting in the taxi surrounded by bags, Lin Keying looked around and was suddenly a little shocked—did she buy too much?
Then she glanced at all the price tags.
Whoa, it all added up to 7,000–8,000!
An astronomical amount!
But thinking it over, she comforted herself—it was all to annoy her fiancé. The more she bought, the angrier he’d get, and the sooner he’d break off the engagement and send her away.
Meanwhile, back at the Cheng Group’s 32nd floor office, Secretary Yang had already received a report from the mall manager.
He couldn’t help but smack his lips in amazement—so many clothes and shoes, totaling $7,788!
She really could spend. Did she not worry the young master would get mad?
While the man at the desk worked, he casually asked,
“Did Miss Lin finish buying clothes?”
Secretary Yang reported,
“Yes, Miss Lin chose thirteen outfits, four pairs of pants, five skirts, four pairs of shoes, and one bag. The total was $7,788.”
Without even lifting his head, Cheng Wanting replied,
“Why so little? She didn’t like the selection?”
Secretary Yang: “…?”