Chapter 20

She was not a naive girl. After working for several years, she already understood how society works and knew that the most important thing in life is to be content.

You can’t have everything go your way, but your heart can always be happy with what you have.

For the first half of her life, she worked hard to get a job abroad. Now she gave that up and came back home. She gained a lot — the warmth of family and care from loved ones. These things are essential in life and give her strength to move forward.

She was really happy with her life now.

So, she wouldn’t let the small prejudices of a few people bother her.

There are millions of people in this world — can all of them have the same vibe as you? Physically, it’s impossible. She was not gold that everyone loves.

Cheng Yanran always knew she was smart, but he didn’t expect her to be so clear and lively inside. His love for her was hard to hide.

Actually, he knew that since she was so excellent and capable, she couldn’t be living badly.

It was just that he always thought about her and wanted to remind her a little more. He looked down, hiding the feelings in his eyes, and silently said to himself, “To me, you are shining brightly.”

Chen Jing was stunned by what she said, then picked up his milk tea and clinked cups with Zhou Zhou, saying, “Director Zhou, this is just a dinner, you don’t have to give such a formal speech.”

Cheng Yanran joined in, “If you want to come out to eat, drink, and chat, Chen Jing and I will always be there for you.”

Zhou Zhou asked, “I’m single, are you two single too?” She looked at Chen Jing with disbelief.

Chen Jing smiled bitterly inside but said firmly, “I’m not a single dog — lonely, cold, and sad. But if you call me, I’ll definitely come. Because you’re Goddess Zhou.”

He didn’t say many serious things all night, but that sentence was truly sincere.

Zhou Zhou treated it as a joke, laughing and teasing, “You deserve a scolding! Saying that, I don’t dare to agree. Not that bold.”

Cheng Yanran quickly added, “Chen Jing is a loyal friend. Don’t think too much. Just call us if you need.”

Then he lowered his voice a bit, “I’m the same as you.”

Zhou Zhou laughed and clinked her milk tea with him, “Okay, let’s toast to a free life.”

“Does no one chase after you? You should be popular!” Chen Jing asked.

Zhou Zhou copied his teasing sound, waving her hand, “No way! No way!”

“Is Chi Yao single too?” He quickly changed the subject.

“Ah! Chi Yao? She is. What’s wrong, you wanna chase her?” Zhou Zhou’s expression became wary.

“I don’t dare. I was a troublemaker since young, scared of the police most. I mean her brother, you know? The boss in Xinwei.”

Zhou Zhou stammered, “I know, Wei Chengyuan, what about him?”

“I met him twice at some dinners. Someone wanted to arrange a marriage, asked him, but he didn’t say a word — very arrogant.”

Zhou Zhou laughed twice softly but didn’t reply.

Cheng Yanran gave the cold jelly dessert the waiter brought and shared it among the three. “Wei Chengyuan is a practical man. Not liking arranged marriages is normal for capable people. Only those without ability always think of connections or marriages. There’s no forever business deal — only interests bind two families.”

Zhou Zhou agreed, nodding.

“I know interests are the key, but I think his rejection was too cold. He should care about saving face a bit.”

“You think too simply. Once he says something, it’s harder to refuse later. Better to make it clear at the start.” Cheng Yanran shook his head.

“Haha, I know. But rich families are like that — arranged marriages are arranged marriages, but you do your thing, I do mine…”

Chen Jing kept rambling.

Since she was Chi Yao’s close friend, Zhou Zhou asked, “You’re not in the same industry, but you should know each other. How’s Wei Chengyuan’s private life? Like… does he have…?”

She said it vaguely, but the two understood.

Cheng Yanran’s heart dropped, “You like him?”

Zhou Zhou’s face changed suddenly, shocked, “What are you talking about? Am I a homewrecker?”

Excited, she accidentally knocked over her milk tea. It spilled on the floor.

Cheng Yanran didn’t expect his words would cause such a reaction. When he tried to catch the milk tea, it was too late.

The skirt was bright-colored and new — first time she wore it today. Seeing the stain, she teased him, “What are you doing?”

Cheng Yanran apologized nervously. He roughly understood what happened after her question, feeling relieved.

Chen Jing nodded mockingly, “Oh, I get it now. That’s why. He’s older than us by two or three years and surprisingly clean in private life. Once, a female host toasted him, and he only drank one cup, refusing to drink more to save face.”

Zhou Zhou was happy, “Really?”

Seeing Chen Jing nod, she relaxed and didn’t mind the stain on her skirt anymore.

They called a waiter to clean up. Cheng Yanran nervously asked, “Want me to buy you another?”

“No need, I’ve drunk enough tonight. There’s still jelly dessert.” Zhou Zhou touched her belly — all carbs tonight, she wondered how many pounds she’d gain.

When you reach middle age, gaining weight becomes something hard to control. She happily took a bite of the cold jelly dessert—it was very refreshing. She sighed, “After this meal, I’ll have to diet for several days again.”

“You’re so thin, you won’t get fat. You eat mostly green vegetables, and exercise will burn it off,” Cheng Yanran comforted her.

Then he remembered Chen Jing’s ideas about “exercise” and his face changed. He quickly corrected himself, “Just take a walk or run a bit, and you’ll digest it. Don’t feel stressed about it.”

Even though she knew these were just polite words, they still sounded nice. Zhou Zhou smiled happily and kept eating without guilt.

After finishing the jelly dessert, she said she needed to wash her hands and clean her skirt. She planned to go to the front desk and pay the bill first, but was shocked by what the cashier said:

“Sorry, your bill has already been paid.”