Chapter 7

He Shanshan awkwardly put the small comb and mirror back in her pocket, clutched the hem of her clothes, and sat down on the chair next to Lu Jingzhe.

She lowered her head shyly, then couldn’t help but look up at him again. After seeing his handsome, cold face, she lowered her head again, embarrassed.

She had been on many blind dates before, and she was used to the process. But this time, this man was too outstanding, and she couldn’t help but feel nervous, afraid that he wouldn’t like her.

Seeing that he didn’t intend to talk to her, she instinctively curled her fingers, tucked her hair behind her ear, and asked in a softer voice:

“You’re here.”

From her face, which was six or seven points similar to Wang Mingfang’s, Lu Jingzhe had already guessed her identity.

Looking at her contrived and affected manner, he was already a little disgusted. And hearing her say this to him out of the blue, he couldn’t help but frown.

Seeing that he didn’t respond, He Shanshan realized that he might not know who she was, and she quickly introduced herself:

“Oh, I’m He Shanshan.”

“So?” Lu Jingzhe asked in a deep voice.

It was ridiculous. Was she waiting for him to say welcome to her house, which had caused him to have no room now?

He Shanshan was stunned. She didn’t expect him to be so cold.

If it had been a previous blind date who had treated her like this, she would have turned around and left, or even cursed at him. But facing Lu Jingzhe’s face, she couldn’t bring herself to be angry.

“I think you…” He Shanshan looked up at him, paused, her lips curved slightly, then lowered her head and whispered three words: “Are pretty good.”

Lu Jingzhe had initially found her affected and annoying, but he didn’t expect her to speak so abnormally. He couldn’t help but feel even more disgusted.

At this time, Wang Mingfang came out of the kitchen. He Shanshan, who had just confessed her feelings to Lu Jingzhe, was blushing. Seeing her mother, she immediately stood up from her chair and said:

“Mom, I’ll help you cook.”

Then she shyly lowered her head and went into the kitchen.

Her daughter, who was usually very lazy, was actually taking the initiative to cook. Wang Mingfang was a little puzzled, but she didn’t think much of it. She smiled at Lu Jingzhe and said:

“Jingzhe, you must be hungry. I’ll go to the restaurant to call your brother and order some meat dishes. We’ll eat when we get back.”

Lu Jingzhe sat at the table, only raising his eyes slightly, without saying anything.

Facing Lu Jingzhe’s indifference, Wang Mingfang didn’t get angry at all. She happily went out.

Xia Qingning had already dried her hair in the room. There was no hairdryer here, but thankfully, the weather was such that her hair would dry quickly even without blowing it.

She opened the window to let the wind in. As soon as she opened it, she heard a teasing voice:

“I say, Aunt Mingfang, isn’t Jingzhe back? You’re not cooking, why are you going out?”

“I’m cooking, I’m cooking. Oh, this child didn’t say anything when he came back. There aren’t any decent dishes at home. So, I was thinking of going to the state-owned restaurant to order some good dishes for him to eat.”

Wang Mingfang had her usual unchanging motherly smile on her face. She raised the lunchbox in her hand.

“You’re so kind-hearted.” The aunt praised her and continued, “You take care of the whole family, old and young, so well. It’s really rare.”

“Look at what you’re saying. It’s just a matter of lending a hand,” Wang Mingfang replied modestly.

This aunt was really good at playing the good person. And she could do good deeds and let everyone know about it, and everyone would praise her. This was a lot of scheming. No wonder the original owner was completely unsuspecting and obedient to her.

Xia Qingning sat back down at the table, brushing her hair and looking at a small notebook. She had found it when she was cleaning out the closet. It recorded the original owner’s monthly salary given to Wang Mingfang, and the occasional money Wang Mingfang gave to the original owner for emergencies.

After subtracting the two, Wang Mingfang still had 478 yuan of the original owner’s money.

Turning to the back of the notebook, Xia Qingning found that it also recorded the cloth coupons that He Shanshan had “borrowed” from the original owner over the past two years. Over the past two years, it totaled 28 feet.

The two of them, one taking money and the other taking coupons, had basically squeezed the original owner’s monthly salary dry.

A smile curved Xia Qingning’s lips. She wouldn’t be giving her salary to her anymore. She would also get back all 478 yuan and 28 feet of cloth coupons.

When her hair dried, Xia Qingning put away the notebook and started braiding her hair in front of the mirror.

The original owner had good hair. It was a little fluffy and she had a naturally high forehead. Xia Qingning didn’t braid two stiff braids like the original owner used to. Instead, she combed all her hair to one side and braided a five-strand braid.

After braiding it, she gently pulled each strand, and soon a fluffy side braid was done.

It was neither messy nor unkempt, and it made her small, delicate face look even more exquisite and beautiful.

It would be even better if she had a ribbon at the end of her hair. Xia Qingning thought, and after searching for a while, she found that besides a few rubber bands, there were no other hair accessories.

As a fashion design student, Xia Qingning had always paid attention to her appearance. After all, what girl doesn’t love beauty? Especially now that she was going to cling to Lu Jingzhe, it was definitely a good idea to dress up nicely.

Although she didn’t have anything now, it didn’t matter. She could make them. There was a sewing machine at home, and she could buy some fabric and make many hair ties and ribbons, and then make herself a few new outfits. She wanted to be beautiful and elegant, not a drab little pitiful thing.

The room also needed to be redecorated. The curtains were very dark, making it look gloomy. She needed to change them. She also needed to buy some vases, get some flowers, a table lamp, and some skincare products…

Xia Qingning looked at the pitiful one yuan and five jiao in the box and smiled slightly. All she needed now was money, but it didn’t matter. Soon, she would make Wang Mingfang deliver the money to her.

After tidying up and dressing up, Xia Qingning walked out of the room.

The clothes she had just changed out of hadn’t been washed yet, so she went into the kitchen to get a basin and fetch water to wash them in the room.

He Shanshan was in the kitchen, fiddling with her hair in frustration. She was taking it out and then putting it back in, and she was never satisfied.

Sensing someone coming in, He Shanshan immediately turned her head and asked:

“Mom, the man’s family conditions…”

When she saw that it was Xia Qingning, she swallowed the rest of her words, gave her a sideways glance, and muttered:

“Why is it you?”

Xia Qingning ignored her, took a basin, and used a scoop to fill it with water.

He Shanshan noticed that Xia Qingning was wearing a different hairstyle than usual. It looked particularly beautiful. She also saw that she was wearing a white shirt and a green skirt, obviously dressed up with care. She became even more annoyed.

Why was she dressing up so nicely when she was on a blind date? Was she trying to steal her man? He Shanshan thought this, walked over to Xia Qingning, and grabbed her braid, saying:

“Your hair looks good. Let me see how you did it.” As she spoke, she had already pulled off the rubber band and pulled out her hair.

Xia Qingning knew she was deliberately picking a fight, so she didn’t indulge her. She raised her hand and knocked over the basin in front of her.

“Ah!”

“Clang!”

The sound of the basin hitting the ground and He Shanshan’s scream rang out at the same time.

The water spilled out, and He Shanshan tried to dodge, but it was too late. Her pants and shoes were soaked. She didn’t expect Xia Qingning, who had always been submissive to her, to resist. For a moment, she glared at her and roared:

“What are you doing?”

Looking at He Shanshan’s disheveled appearance, Xia Qingning calmly picked up the basin on the ground and looked at her innocently, saying:

“Nothing. I just accidentally knocked over the basin.” Then she paused for a moment before continuing, “Just like you accidentally messed up my hair.”

He Shanshan’s little trick was exposed, but she didn’t feel ashamed. Instead, she said arrogantly:

“So what if I did it on purpose? Who told you to dress like that and try to seduce people?”

Who was she trying to seduce? Xia Qingning didn’t understand what she meant. After a moment, she seemed to suddenly understand something and said pointedly:

“You wouldn’t be… jealous, would you?”

“Haha, jealous? Who am I jealous of? You?” He Shanshan, whose thoughts had been exposed, was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She was furious and asked, “What am I jealous of you for? Jealous that your husband hasn’t been home for years? Jealous that no one wants you?” After saying this, she seemed to have found Xia Qingning’s sore spot and continued to mock her triumphantly: “I say, you shouldn’t have come here. It would have been better if you had just married someone in the countryside. You wouldn’t have to wait and hope every day like this. It’s so pitiful!”

“But don’t lose heart. Just wait slowly. Haha, maybe he’ll come back in another thirty or forty years.”

After saying this, she strutted out like a victorious hen. As soon as she stepped out of the kitchen, she saw her blind date standing at the door, looking at her coldly.