Chapter 48.1

Tsk, tsk, as expected, Boss Zhang’s intentions were not innocent.

“My brother is elusive, who knows where he is now.”

Ruan Mingfu had no intention of telling the fat man.

This person was obviously making a big effort to get to her, clearly having been rejected by Qi Yangyan, and probably more than once.

Boss Zhang’s smile faltered for a moment before he regained his composure.

“Is Miss Ruan not very close with Young Master Qi?”

“Not really,” Ruan Mingfu said with a seemingly casual frown, showing her disdain. “He just likes to meddle in everything, even what I do.”

Boss Zhang’s small eyes sparkled.

“Miss Ruan is very fortunate to have such a brother,” he said, patting his belly with a grin. “I would have liked to have such a brother, but unfortunately, I only have three sisters.”

Ruan Mingfu curled her lip.

“I just don’t like him controlling me.”

Boss Zhang’s smile grew wider as he looked at Ruan Mingfu.

He then took a package from his bag and opened it.

The item inside drew everyone’s attention.

Ruan Mingfu looked at it with a hint of surprise.

Inside the box was a pearl necklace.

The pearls were perfectly round and uniform in size. More stunning was the iridescent glow they emitted, and hanging from the necklace was a ten-carat diamond ring.

The brilliance was dazzling, almost blinding.

Boss Zhang successfully captured that moment of astonishment in Ruan Mingfu’s eyes.

He smiled knowingly.

No woman could resist the allure of beautiful jewelry.

Besides, he had spent a lot of money to find this set of jewelry.

“Miss Ruan,” Boss Zhang said with a smile as he handed the jewelry to her, “You’ve done me such a great favor. I couldn’t find anything better to give you. This is something I came across by chance, and now I’m offering it to you as a token of my gratitude. Please accept it, Miss Ruan.”

Xie Yin watched the scene with burning jealousy.

This was the first time in her life that she had seen such a beautiful necklace. If she wore it outside, everyone would probably pay attention to her.

Why was it being given to someone named Ruan? She wanted it. It should be given to her!

Xie Yin bit her lip, her eyes filled with longing as she looked at the beautiful jewelry.

She looked at Ruan Mingfu with even more envy.

Ruan Mingfu repeatedly shook her head.

“It’s just a small favor. There’s no need for such an expensive gift. I appreciate Boss Zhang’s gratitude, but please take the item back.”

What a joke!

Every gift given eventually comes back to the giver a hundredfold. The fat man’s gift was clearly meant to serve a greater purpose.

She’d be foolish to accept it.

“How can this be possible? You’ve done me such a big favor, and this small gift must be accepted.”

Boss Zhang saw that Ruan Mingfu didn’t take the bait, so he simply stuffed the thing in her way.

Ruan Mingfu quickly stepped back.

“Boss Zhang, really, it’s not appropriate,” she continued, “If you genuinely want to show your gratitude, just buy more of our tea to support us.”

The tea factory representative, who had been listening attentively, was moved to tears after hearing these words.

Comrade Ruan… is truly a good person.

Woo woo woo ~

Gu Qingsong, who had been keeping a close eye on the situation, breathed a sigh of relief.

He really thought Ruan Mingfu might accept the gift.

This fat man was clearly not a good person. It was best for Comrade Ruan to keep her distance.

Unlike others, Xie Yin was about to explode with anger.

She couldn’t understand why Ruan Mingfu wouldn’t accept such a good thing. Even if she didn’t want it, she could at least pass it on to her.

So frustrating!

Boss Zhang’s eyes flashed with anger but he concealed it well.

“Alright, I was being too forward,” he said, putting away the jewelry. “As Miss Ruan suggested, I’ll place an order for two hundred pounds of tea from yesterday. How does that sound?”

That sounds great.

Ruan Mingfu felt like giving him a thumbs up.

The two hundred pounds of tea would need to be shipped from the original factory. Boss Zhang signed the order contract, exchanged a few more pleasantries with Ruan Mingfu, and then left.

As he departed, he cast a sidelong glance at Ruan Mingfu, who was standing not far away, smiling and chatting.

His eyes were filled with complexity.

He had thought she was a naive and easy-to-please person but found out she was also a tough nut to crack!

Boss Zhang finally left, and Ruan Mingfu let out a sigh of relief.

Gu Qingsong appeared out of nowhere. “Comrade Ruan, it’s a good thing you didn’t fall for his trick. He wasn’t really thanking you. He was clearly trying to get you to help him. Don’t be fooled.”

Ruan Mingfu looked at him closely, as if meeting him for the first time.

Gu Qingsong felt uncomfortable under her gaze and touched his face, looking a bit embarrassed. “C—Comrade Ruan, is there something on my face?”

“No.”

Ruan Mingfu withdrew her gaze.

This must be what they call “a wise fool.”

“Shameless!”

Ruan Mingfu turned to see Xie Yin’s angry face. The words were clearly aimed at her.

She frowned at Xie Yin, who seemed even more arrogant.

“A married woman is still attracting men everywhere,” Xie Yin felt like she was the embodiment of righteousness. “Do you have no shame?”

Looking so flamboyant and dressed up, one wonders which fool married her.

Such bad luck!

Ruan Mingfu ignored her.

She didn’t see any point in arguing with someone so foolish.

Xie Yin, noticing Ruan Mingfu’s indifference, became even angrier.

“Hey! Are you deaf?”

Ruan Mingfu continued to ignore her, but Xie Yin stubbornly followed her wherever she went.

It was truly an eye-opener to encounter someone more annoying than herself.

Just when Xie Yin was about to annoy Ruan Mingfu again, Ruan Mingfu couldn’t take it anymore.

“Shut up!”

“You dare to yell at me?” Xie Yin’s eyes widened. “Do you know who my dad is? How dare you yell at me?”

Ruan Mingfu was really fed up with her.

Always talking about her dad, she hadn’t learned to be independent. If she needed help, she should go home and find her dad. Ruan Mingfu wasn’t as spoiled as her.

The original owner was only eighteen, while Xie Yin seemed to be in her twenties.

“You keep shouting about your dad, your dad. As if he’s the only person in the world?”

Xie Yin’s eyes filled with rage as she raised her hand to slap Ruan Mingfu.

But Ruan Mingfu grabbed her hand.

“How dare you! Let go of me, or my dad will make sure you regret it!”

Damn, idiot!

“Qingsong, get this person out of here.”

Xie Yin’s eyes widened in shock. “How dare you!”

Even though she had just been scolded by Professor Hu, Xie Yin had no intention of leaving.

But now, Ruan Mingfu actually wanted to remove her.

How dare she?!

Xie Yin glared at Ruan Mingfu’s striking face, her anger and jealousy intertwining. She trembled with rage, wanting to scratch Ruan Mingfu’s face.

“Fine.”

Gu Qingsong had long disliked Xie Yin.

She lacked business acumen and couldn’t even behave properly. Besides that, she expected everyone to cater to her whims.

How could he tolerate that?

“Come with me.”

“I’m not leaving,” Xie Yin shouted loudly, attracting the attention of the tea factory representatives nearby. “What right do you have to make me leave?!”

“I’ll show you exactly why,” Ruan Mingfu frowned, “Qingsong, get Professor Hu over here.”

If she wouldn’t go willingly, inviting someone else would work just as well.

“Don’t you dare!”

Xie Yin understood that Professor Hu wouldn’t side with her and would surely have her taken away if he came.

She tried to grab Gu Qingsong, but he nimbly dodged and quickly escaped. Xie Yin’s eyes were bloodshot as she tried to slap Ruan Mingfu, but a large hand stopped her. With a forceful shove, she was pushed to the side.

Fortunately, there were tables and chairs nearby, allowing Xie Yin to barely stay on her feet.

“You—”

Xie Yin was mortified and was about to erupt in anger when she saw Qi Yangyan’s stern face. Her anger instantly subsided, and she stared at him blankly.

Qi Yangyan was wiping his hands with a clean handkerchief and looked at Ruan Mingfu.

“Are you alright?”

Ruan Mingfu shook her head.

Even if Qi Yangyan hadn’t arrived, Xie Yin wouldn’t have been able to hit her.

Ruan Mingfu quietly set down the tea tray and looked at him with bright eyes.

“Brother, why are you here?”

The people eavesdropping nearby were stunned.

Wow, this young man is actually Comrade Ruan’s brother?

Qi Yangyan cast a sidelong glance at the infatuated Xie Yin. “Can anyone bully you now? Otherwise, I’d better leave a few bodyguards for you.”

“No need.”

Ruan Mingfu refused without hesitation.

“You don’t know Xie Yanzhao’s profession. Besides, I’m living in the family compound now, so I can’t have bodyguards there.”

The family compound wasn’t a place where just anyone could come and go.

Especially someone like Qi Yangyan, whose background was too complicated. Even though he was Ruan Mingfu’s brother, Xie Yanzhao had not invited him to visit.

Qi Yangyan understood this.

“Just be careful yourself.”

He openly acknowledged that Ruan Mingfu was his sister, not knowing whether it would bring her trouble.

Apart from anything else, the Qi family itself is not stable.

“Don’t worry,” Ruan Mingfu noticed several people eavesdropping, and pulled Qi Yangyan aside. “Brother, what’s up with Boss Zhang?”

“He came to find you?”

Ruan Mingfu explained everything that had happened.

“Don’t worry about him,” Qi Yangyan’s gaze deepened. “He doesn’t have the courage to harm you.”

He knew that since the other party knew that Ruan Mingfu was his sister, there was no reason not to go after her.

Ruan Mingfu nodded.

Since her brother said so, he must be confident about it.

Ruan Mingfu didn’t dwell on the matter, “By the way, when will you go to visit Mom and Dad? They’re still living on very basic food there.”

“I’ll go the day after tomorrow, once I finish my business.”

His gaze returned to Ruan Mingfu, and he spoke with some irritation, “If you get yourself involved in such unreliable matters again, don’t expect me to intervene when Mom scolds you.”

“Oh, back then I didn’t know you guys would come as well~”

Ruan Mingfu shook Xie Yan’s arm, “I was forced into that situation by the Zhou family, and I had no other choice. You wouldn’t want your brother-in-law to be that scoundrel, would you?”

Not to mention Qi Yangyan, she herself couldn’t stand it anyway.

Better to force others than be forced!

“Is that so?” Qi Yangyan looked down at her, “What if Xie Yanzhao is also unreliable?”

“Then I’d leave~”

Ruan Mingfu shook her head, showing a carefree attitude.

Qi Yangyan: “……”

He suddenly felt a bit sorry for Xie Yanzhao.

As an outsider, it seemed to him that his sister was quite a piece of work.

Well, it’s not his sister who’s suffering, so Qi Yangyan couldn’t be bothered too much.

He took out a small box from somewhere and handed it over, “For you.”

Ruan Mingfu’s eyes immediately lit up.

When she opened the box, she saw a pearl ring inside. The pearl was similar to the ones on the necklace Boss Zhang had given her, but this one was slightly larger.

“It’s so beautiful.”

“Keep it safe,” Qi Yangyan, aware of the special nature of this era, said, “I’m giving you this ring for now. I have a whole set at home, and I’ll give it to you in a few years.”

Ruan Mingfu’s eyes sparkled even more, “Brother, you’re so nice.”

Although she couldn’t wear them yet, she was very pleased with the beautiful jewelry.

Qi Yangyan glanced at the surrounding people, “Alright, I won’t see you off today. Tomorrow, bring Xie… Xie Yanzhao over for a meal.”

“Got it.”

“I’m leaving,” he ruffled Ruan Mingfu’s hair, withdrawing his hand when she showed signs of irritation.

Ruan Mingfu was furious, “Why do you all have the same problem?”

“Alright, remember what I told you,” Qi Yangyan noticed the increasing number of onlookers, “I’m leaving.”

Ruan Mingfu adjusted her hair.

“Understood.”