Chapter 14: The Backup Guy

Song Xilan didn’t understand what PUA (Pick Up Artist) or the AA system was.

She just thought that since she and Qin Hailin weren’t compatible, she didn’t want to take advantage of him, so she paid for her own coffee.

But she also didn’t want him to take advantage of her, so she only paid for her own share.

It made sense, right? Everyone came to the blind date with an attitude of just seeing how things went. Since it wasn’t going to work out, she should just bear her own part of the cost!

Actually, when she took out three yuan, she felt a bit reluctant. It was expensive! Three yuan could buy so many tasty things. If she’d known, she wouldn’t have come to such a fancy café. She could have just gone to a cheap drink place and had a soda instead, still sit down and chat!

Even though the coffee wasn’t that good, Song Xilan still finished it all in one go. No waste!

The waiter took her three yuan and then smiled at Qin Hailin. “Comrade, your coffee is also three yuan. Would you like to settle your bill now?”

Qin Hailin’s face darkened. He had never seen anyone pay like that before. It was so shameless, and he felt embarrassed for both of them.

Without saying anything, he took out three yuan and slammed it on the table.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere at the table next to them wasn’t much better.

Jiang Chengxiao looked annoyed. “Comrade Jiang, I’m a bit confused. Are you more interested in hearing about Guangshan, or are you more interested in asking about me?”

Jiang Jingru didn’t expect him to be so blunt.

In matters like this between men and women, wasn’t it usually understood without being said?

Jiang Jingru was quite confident in her appearance. When she was just a country girl, she had been noticed by the visiting song and dance troupe and selected to join. Naturally, it was because of her outstanding looks and voice.

For all these years, in order to maintain her slim figure, Jiang Jingru had almost never allowed herself to eat her fill.

But today, when she came to meet Jiang Chengxiao, it appeared casual, but in reality, her outfit, every movement, even the angle and frequency of her tears, were all meticulously designed to present a delicate, tearful beauty, not the image of someone crying like a fool.

A young man, fresh out of a military bachelor’s lifestyle, how could he not be moved by such a sight?

However, Jiang Chengxiao showed such indifference, as though he paid more attention to the clumsy, plump girl at the next table than to her.

At that moment, Jiang Chengxiao overheard Song Xilan only paying for her portion of the bill and couldn’t help but smile slightly, but as a man, he couldn’t bring himself to do such a thing.

He said, “Let’s go.”

He placed a ten-yuan note under the cup and stood up.

Jiang Jingru hurriedly followed, realizing this was her last chance, and she couldn’t miss it.

Today, she had to latch onto Jiang Chengxiao. Otherwise, with his personality, she might never get another chance to see him again.

For a moment, she couldn’t think of a better plan. Walking beside him, she suddenly stumbled, her body swaying towards Jiang Chengxiao.

Being a soldier, Jiang Chengxiao reacted quickly, stepping two steps back. Jiang Jingru lost control, and her body went straight down to the floor.

With a dull thud, Jiang Jingru screamed, “Ah!”

Jiang Chengxiao turned around and saw the plump girl looking at them in horror.

Dazed, he instinctively spread his arms and explained, “It wasn’t me. She fell on her own.”

Song Xilan made a complicated face. She knew well how fast he was from the morning when she almost fell. Even though they were farther apart then, he had managed to catch her in time.

If he had wanted to help just now, there was no way the woman would have fallen that badly.

At that moment, Qin Hailin rushed over, shooting a glare at the two of them who were standing idly by, then carefully went to help Jiang Jingru up. “Miss, are you alright?”

To his surprise, Jiang Jingru pushed his hand away, looking at Jiang Chengxiao with tears in her eyes, “Comrade Jiang, my foot really hurts.”

Jiang Chengxiao immediately became alert. “It wasn’t me! Don’t blame me for this.”

He turned to Qin Hailin and said, “I see you’re a kind person. How about you take her to the hospital? Don’t worry, we can all vouch for you that you didn’t push her. You won’t be responsible for any medical fees. I’m sure you’d be happy to help her, right?”

Qin Hailin found himself in a difficult situation, but Jiang Jingru gritted her teeth and pushed herself to stand up. “No need, I’m fine.”

She didn’t want to be associated with someone like Qin Hailin. She had originally thought he was an intellectual, with his glasses and refined appearance, but he turned out to be just a worker at a farm machinery factory.

After hearing his comments about how a wife’s salary would be handed over to his mother, she couldn’t stand him.

She hated this kind of man!

She only despised Jiang Chengxiao for being so indifferent, like a stubborn rock in a toilet.

Was it because, last night, when Jiang Chengxiao gave her the watch, she had been too cold toward Lin Guangshan?

But back then, she had just wanted to send him off quickly because she was waiting for someone else.

That someone else was her opportunity to move up in life and become a part of the upper class. To seize this chance, she had been willing to abandon Lin Guangshan, her childhood friend, who had given everything for her. She even offered him her virginity and became pregnant.

But in the end, the baby didn’t keep him.

The man had told her that his family didn’t approve of their relationship, and he had already been arranged to marry someone else of equal status. They were getting married soon.

In the end, he threw her a hundred yuan and told her to abort the baby, as if everything that had happened was nothing.

“If you don’t listen, I have a hundred ways to make you unable to survive in this city,” the man had threatened.

Jiang Jingru had been terrified and didn’t know what to do. Then, she suddenly thought of Jiang Chengxiao.

She hurriedly searched through the letters Lin Guangshan had written her. She had originally planned to burn them, but luckily, hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

In one letter, Lin Guangshan had mentioned that a new recruit from the military, a well-born man from Beijing named Jiang Chengxiao, had joined. He was wild and arrogant, and everyone said they were going to teach him a lesson and show him his place.

Jiang Jingru ran her fingers over the words “well-born” repeatedly. That was it—her backup guy.