The Arrogant Jerk

"Xiao Xue, you know something? I liked you very, very much from the first time I saw you. And back then, you were still a virgin," Xu Mingxian said suddenly, his tone oddly off.

"Heh." Cheng Dongxue forced a smile. So I'm not a virgin now, and you're still trying your luck?

"Sorry, I'm already married," Cheng Dongxue said, hoping to put an end to whatever he had in mind.

"That doesn't matter. Zhang Yang is just a live-in son-in-law. After all these years, he hasn't helped your family one bit. What use is he to the Cheng Family? I'm different. I own a company, and five million is nothing to me. I could take care of it with a wave of my hand."

Ignoring how Cheng Dongxue felt, Xu Mingxian went on spouting nonsense.

"Besides, so what if you're married? You can get divorced. I promise I can make you happy."

Now Xu Mingxian was making promises about something that had no chance of happening. His nerve was astonishing.

"Xu Mingxian, we've only just met. I don't know what you told my mother, and I don't want to know. But when you talk to me, please show some respect for my feelings. Whatever else you think, Zhang Yang is my husband."

Cheng Dongxue was genuinely angry. What kind of man Zhang Yang was had nothing to do with an outsider.

"I'm sorry, but I'm telling the truth. Can Zhang Yang help the Cheng Family through its financial crisis? No!"

Xu Mingxian still sounded supremely sure of himself.

"So if I marry you, you'll give the Cheng Family five million to get through the crisis?" Cheng Dongxue almost laughed. This was more than an arranged marriage. It was selling a person.

"You could put it that way, but I really do like you!" Xu Mingxian had forgotten to order food so they could talk over lunch. He was too busy talking rubbish.

Cheng Dongxue gave a cold laugh and abruptly stood up.

"Sorry, I have to go home for lunch!" Cheng Dongxue couldn't bear to eat with someone as ill-mannered as Xu Mingxian.

She had only taken a few steps when Xu Mingxian grabbed her arm. With a sneer, he said, "You can run away today, but sooner or later you'll be mine. Plenty of women would strip naked and climb into my bed if they had the chance. Do you know why you have one? Because I like you."

"Let go of me!" Cheng Dongxue shook her head. He was acting like a thug.

A waiter headed their way, alert to the possibility of trouble.

Cheng Dongxue jerked her arm. Xu Mingxian didn't dare cause a scene here, and she broke free. Clutching her bag, she stormed toward the door.

"I'm sorry. That girl has a quick temper. I'll talk to her." Yang Su, who had been hiding and watching, rushed out to soothe the furious Xu Mingxian.

"Auntie Yang, didn't you say you could handle this? What happened?" Xu Mingxian was annoyed. Yang Su had told him Cheng Dongxue was a good, reasonable woman, yet after only a few words, she had rudely walked out.

Xu Mingxian couldn't seem to work out who had ruined the date.

"Mr. Xu, don't rush. Give it time!" Yang Su said, humbling herself to placate him.

Xu Mingxian shook his head and walked off, leaving Yang Su behind.

"Mr. Xu..."

"Excuse me, your bill..."

Xu Mingxian headed for the door. Yang Su tried to follow, but a waiter stopped her and asked her to pay.

"How much?"

"Three hundred, ma'am."

"What? But we only ordered two glasses of water, and I haven't even drunk mine!"

Yang Su was stunned. The prices here were more than ordinary people could afford.

"Ma'am, you need to pay, or I'll call the police."

"Here! Spend it on medicine!"

Yang Su took out three hundred and tossed it to the waiter, then hurried out the door.

Outside, neither Cheng Dongxue nor Xu Mingxian was in sight.

"Where are you?" At that moment, Cheng Dongxue felt utterly defeated. She wanted a shoulder to lean on, and the only one she wanted was Zhang Yang's.

Cheng Dongxue hadn't even gone to work that afternoon. She had rested at home.

But Yang Su had spent most of the afternoon lecturing her, urging her to divorce Zhang Yang and accept Xu Mingxian. She insisted that only Xu Mingxian could help the Cheng Family.

Cheng Dongxue sent Zhang Yang a message.

Zhang Yang was enjoying the cool air in the courtyard. When he saw her message, he replied at once.

"I'm in Long'ao."

"Wait for me. I'm coming to see you."

After sending the message, Cheng Dongxue left her nagging mother in the room.

"Hey, Cheng Dongxue! Do you hear me? I'm talking to you! You have to divorce Zhang Yang and marry Xu Mingxian."

"Mom, I won't get divorced. Even if I did, I wouldn't marry again. And even if I did marry again, I'd rather die than marry that ill-mannered Xu Mingxian."

Cheng Dongxue met Yang Su's ultimatum head-on.

"Auntie, stop it. Xiaoxue and Zhang Yang are a good couple. What mother urges her own daughter to get divorced?" Lin Xiaofei was shocked too.

The Cheng Family had brought up divorce countless times before, but she hadn't expected them to mean it this time.

"Where are you going? I'm talking to you! You have to listen to me, or you'll ruin your whole life!"

Seeing Cheng Dongxue pick up her bag and Lin Xiaofei go with her, Yang Su followed them, shouting after them.

"If I listen to you, I'll ruin my life! I'm your daughter, not someone you can sell to whoever you please!"

Bang!

Cheng Dongxue slammed the door behind her. With Lin Xiaofei accompanying her, she went to find Zhang Yang.

"Xiaoxue, let me drive." Lin Xiaofei saw Cheng Dongxue still practicing her breathing exercises and didn't want her to have an accident on the road. "I'm not as good a driver as you, but I'll be careful. Besides, with you beside me, I'm confident."

Lin Xiaofei took the keys and got into the driver's seat. Cheng Dongxue let out a breath and climbed into the car.

"Try not to let it get to you, Xiaoxue. Your mother might just be grasping at straws because she's worried." Lin Xiaofei comforted her, then blamed Zhang Yang. "It's Zhang Yang's fault too. How could he let you go through this?"

"Zhang Yang hasn't done anything wrong. He just doesn't have much ability or many opportunities." Cheng Dongxue sighed. Thinking about Zhang Yang gave her a headache too.

Lin Xiaofei grinned. It would take her family some time to come up with five million; otherwise, she could have helped. But Zhang Yang had said they didn't need it, so she would listen to him.

The brown Volkswagen CC sped out of Gong City toward Long'ao.

"Mom, Xiaoxue is coming!" Zhang Yang told Liu Mei.

It was nothing new. This had happened often before: Zhang Yang would retreat to Long'ao, and Cheng Dongxue would drive over to take him home, loading his electric bike into the car.

"Xiao Yang, don't be angry with the Cheng Family. You're not the Zhang Yang you used to be. Hold your head high and stand tall. You don't need to be afraid of anyone," Liu Mei said, encouraging him.

Zhang Yang felt comforted. His mother, Liu Mei, had always quietly supported and believed in him. That was what drove him more than anything else.