Part 2
Lu Ciheng’s eyes under the baseball cap swept coldly over Song Yi. His tall figure stood by Xie Shibai’s side. When he turned his head slightly to ask a question, his shoulder inevitably brushed against Xie Shibai’s. He feigned a pitiful, low voice, sounding like an abandoned puppy. “Honey, didn’t you just say I was your one and only? Who is he?”
Feeling the approaching heat source, Xie Shibai’s body suddenly tensed, his fingers trembling as they curled slightly. The vague tension and anxiety overpowered the sensation on his wrist. If there weren’t people present, he would want to slap Lu Ciheng right now and tell him to get lost.
Lu Ciheng asked, “He mentioned bringing documents. am I disturbing your conversation by being here? This gentleman seems to think I’m superfluous. I know everything before was my fault and I shouldn’t have made you angry… are you going to drive me away?”
Xie Shibai looked at Lu Ciheng, who was acting up a storm. A second before he pulled away, he felt Lu Ciheng lean close to his ear. Warm breath swept over the tip of his ear, and a lowered, whispery voice carried a light chuckle that differed from his pitiful tone.
“Husband, say something.”
Xie Shibai froze imperceptibly for a few seconds. He absolutely had not expected to hear such a disgusting word come out of Lu Ciheng’s mouth. For a moment, even his cool, aloof expression showed faint cracks.
Even the brief physical anxiety and slight pain solidified for a few seconds.
He glared at Lu Ciheng, stepped sideways to avoid him, and said to Song Yi, “I apologize. Your travel expenses and lost wages will be compensated at double the rate. I will ask Chen Qisheng to transfer it to you later. If that’s not enough, you can make any request. Goodbye.”
Song Yi stood dazed, unable to accept this ending. He stared at Xie Shibai’s back, a nameless anger rising in his heart at having been played.
Song Yi didn’t lack that bit of money; he just wanted to ask why he wasn’t chosen.
In what way was he inferior to this secretive guy?
Song Yi chased after them and abruptly reached out to grab Xie Shibai’s arm tightly, shouting through gritted teeth, “Xie Shibai, make yourself clear! In what way am I inferior to this secretive guy who has no face to show—”
Smack.
The atmosphere in the tea room changed in an instant.
Lu Ciheng clamped onto Song Yi’s hand like an iron vice. His expression was unreadable, but the force he used was terrifyingly heavy. The veins bulging on his hand looked as if they could snap a person’s wrist.
“Hss—” Song Yi cried out in pain, his expression twisting.
Lu Ciheng narrowed the black eyes under his baseball cap. His slightly frivolous tone contained an inexplicable chill, hiding a biting frost. “What are you doing? Touching my fiancé in front of me—do you take me for a dead man?”
Xie Shibai turned sideways, watching the hand that had nearly touched him with eyes as cold as glaciers. The temperature around him dropped abruptly.
Song Yi struggled to free his wrist, took two steps back, and couldn’t help but say, “Stop pretending. You just arrived a few minutes earlier than me, didn’t you? If not for the traffic jam, you wouldn’t have had a chance.”
Song Yi intuitively felt that this person must have submitted a resume just like him, only arriving a few minutes earlier.
If he had arrived earlier, this guy wouldn’t have had any business here.
“You came from Yueshui Bay?” Xie Shibai asked abruptly.
Song Yi nodded subconsciously.
As soon as he returned to the country, his family had bought a large flat there. Although it wasn’t a super-luxury mansion, it was top-tier among properties worth tens of millions.
Xie Shibai said lukewarmly, “Next time, draft your lies before you speak.”
Song Yi froze for a second, a layer of cold sweat instantly breaking out on his back.
Yueshui Bay was two streets away; there was no such thing as a traffic jam there. Even walking wouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes. He had deliberately delayed coming by twenty minutes.
“I don’t cooperate with people who have no concept of time,” Xie Shibai said mercilessly. “And stop using Air perfume in the future. The smell of alcohol mixed with low-grade fragrance makes people want to vomit.”
With that, Xie Shibai turned and left.
Lu Ciheng’s black eyes swept over Song Yi. He hooked his lips, following Xie Shibai’s footsteps with the air of a victor.
Song Yi opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, he suddenly realized that Air was the perfume brand created by Xie Shibai’s stepmother. Many people bought it to flatter Mrs. Xie, and his mother had bought many bottles, stuffing them into his home. Today, in an attempt to cover the smell of alcohol, he had randomly chosen a strong-smelling perfume, completely forgetting this point.
“Stepmother” was just a polite term; he had heard from his parents’ generation that she was basically a mistress.
He had stepped on a landmine this time.
Song Yi watched the retreating figures of the two men, clenching his fists, his eyes full of unwillingness.
On the way to the parking lot, Lu Ciheng asked as if soliciting credit, “How was my performance?”
Xie Shibai swept a cold glance at him and stabbed mercilessly, “Exaggerated. Terrible. Zero acting skills.”
Lu Ciheng leaned in with a smile. “A double negative is a positive. I didn’t expect Teacher Xie to rate me so high. But who found that contract candidate for you? I’m much more reliable. Like I said, cooperating with me is a sure win with no loss.”
Xie Shibai opened the car door expressionlessly. He got in and closed the door in one fluid motion, without saying a word.
Suddenly, the car door, which hadn’t yet latched, was abruptly held by a large hand with well-defined joints. In an instant, the immense pulling force froze the air.
Xie Shibai looked up slightly through the car window to meet Lu Ciheng’s gaze. His cool demeanor carried impatience. “Don’t want your hand anymore?”
Lu Ciheng lowered his head. His black eyes curved, hiding a glimmer of light. His tone was light, sounding once again like a puppy about to be abandoned. “Teacher Xie, are you going to leave me here alone?”
Xie Shibai stared at him for a few seconds. The corner of his mouth suddenly hooked up. His beautiful face was like melting ice and snow, but it was fleeting, vanishing in the next second to leave behind a silent provocation.
Lu Ciheng was stunned for a second. The force in his palm loosened for a moment as he stared straight at him, only to hear a cold, heartless voice.
“I’ll give you a choice. Shut your mouth and get in obediently within one minute, or I don’t mind changing contract partners right now.”
Bang.
The door slammed shut. The roar of the coupe’s engine exploded, and the black GT63S drove mercilessly out of the parking lot, leaving Lu Ciheng with nothing but a retreating rear bumper.
The Civil Affairs Bureau wasn’t crowded on a non-special day. Few people paid attention to them from the moment they entered the lobby. Those here to get their certificates had mostly booked follow-up photographers and were happily taking pictures. In contrast, sitting in the corner with their attire, Xie and Lu looked more like photography staff.
No one paying attention to them saved a lot of trouble.
Since they came on short notice, they didn’t have prepared photos with a red background and needed to take them first.
There wasn’t even a line at the photo area. For something like getting a marriage certificate, most people prepared retouched photos in advance. The photographer uncle was idly playing Gold Miner. When he saw people arrive, he instantly perked up, overly enthusiastically promising to take the most perfect photo.
Xie Shibai didn’t care how the photo turned out and nodded, saying thanks for the trouble.
Lu Ciheng, however, excitedly discussed with the photographer uncle what kind of shot would look better.
The photographer gave a thumbs up. “Young man, you know your stuff. But you’ll have to take off your mask and hat for the photo.”
Lu Ciheng nodded. “No problem.”
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