Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“Cheng Chao!” I chirped, giving his shoulder a playful pat.

Cheng Chao was holding a drink. When he saw me, he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

I took the glass from his hand and took a sip. “How much can you make working here?”

“Two hundred,” he said.

“That’s so much hard work,” I sighed, feeling a pang of sympathy for him. I nudged him with my elbow. “Look at all these people in here-so much of that evil capitalist class. Doesn’t it make you feel a bit resentful?”

“Are you feeling resentful?” Cheng Chao countered.

I nodded honestly. “A little.”

After all, I had been poor for a long time. Even after winning the lottery, I was barely more than a nouveau riche upstart.

“Ji Lanchi is over there,” Cheng Chao said, his tone unreadable.

“So what? Everyone’s wearing suits, but you look much better in yours.”

I didn’t know why, but just seeing Ji Lanchi’s face made my teeth itch with irritation. Cheng Chao was different-a handsome guy working his way through school. It made me want to dote on him.

But… now that they were both in suits, why did they look so inexplicably similar?

I rubbed my chin. “In a bit, I’ll sneak you over to Ji Lanchi’s side and let you stand there for a while. Your looks will definitely deal a blow to his ego.”

“We can do it now. He’s right behind you.” Cheng Chao’s gaze drifted lazily to the space behind me.

My body froze.

My shoulders were gripped and turned around ruthlessly.

Ji Lanchi pinched my chin with considerable force, forcing me to meet his eyes. My pupils darted around, doing everything possible to avoid looking into those dark depths.

“I figured you came here looking for him.” The corners of Ji Lanchi’s lips curled up, but his voice was cold as ice.

I didn’t respond.

Ji Lanchi tilted his chin up, looking at the person behind me. “Chi Xing doesn’t know how to greet people properly. Do you lack manners as well?”

A clear, magnetic voice reached my ears.

“Brother.”

It was Cheng Chao’s voice.

It felt like a bolt from the blue. I turned to look at Cheng Chao in utter disbelief.

“Wait… weren’t your clothes always raggedy and old?”

Cheng Chao’s expression remained calm as he looked down at me. “That was the ‘distressed’ look.”

Me: “…”

Ji Lanchi added languidly, “He likes that style. His clothes are all custom-made without logos. It’s perfectly normal for a single piece to cost five or six figures.”

Cheng Chao didn’t deny it.

I was stunned. So, I had actually tried to buy Cheng Chao’s body for a measly ten thousand yuan?

Ji Lanchi’s fiancée, who had been eating a dessert nearby and listening to the whole exchange, curled her lips into a mocking smile. “Ji Lanchi, it seems your little mistress is a bit dim-witted. She can’t even recognize the quality of a fabric. You have terrible taste.”

I ignored the woman’s words and bit my lower lip, staring straight at Cheng Chao. “From the very beginning, you…”

Cheng Chao’s slender fingers wrapped around my wrist, pulling me into his arms. He lowered his voice. “You were the one who said I had no money and wanted to keep me.”

But he had also said he was having financial difficulties…

So, Cheng Chao wasn’t here as a waiter. Just like Ji Lanchi, he was one of the protagonists of this banquet.

How could Cheng Chao feel resentful? He was the evil capitalist himself!

In the end, I was the clown who had been running in circles for their amusement.

I broke free from Cheng Chao’s embrace, my tone stiff. “Well, it looks like we won’t be having any physical transactions after all. Goodbye.”
Ji Lanchi’s fiancée blocked my path with her slender, pale arm. “I was the one who brought you in just now. What, you think you can just come and go as you please?”

“What’s your name?” I asked her.

She froze for a moment, her brows knitting together. “You aren’t worthy of knowing my name.”

“Oh,” I said expressionlessly. “So, lady, are you going to keep letting everyone stare at us like we’re monkeys in a zoo?”

“Lady? Everyone calls me the Eldest Miss!” she hissed through gritted teeth, though she noticed a crowd had already begun to gather around us.

Cheng Chao knit his brows and stepped sideways to shield me from their gazes. He looked at me and said, “The previous deal still stands.”

What deal?

A deal for my body?

Ji Lanchi spoke up, his tone unfriendly. “Stop embarrassing the Ji Family.”

“And yet your reputation as a playboy precedes you; you’re far better at that than I am,” Cheng Chao countered mercilessly, a slight curve to his thin lips.

I stared at them, dumbfounded.

The next second, I was the one being called out.

“Chi Xing.” Ji Lanchi’s eyes were dark, and his smile seemed shallow. “Don’t degrade yourself.”

Me: ?

You didn’t say that back when you were my sugar daddy. Now that I’ve finally won the lottery and become the boss, it’s suddenly ‘degrading myself’?

Thirty million-even after taxes, I’ll still have half of it. Why on earth would I tie myself down to these two brothers? With that kind of money, what kind of male model couldn’t I hire?

I rolled my eyes at Ji Lanchi and then turned to Cheng Chao. “No thanks. Paying you ten thousand for one night feels like a rip-off.”

With that, I turned and walked away.

This time, no one stopped me.

However, Ji Lanchi’s fiancée followed me out.

“Hey,” she asked. “Back when you were with Ji Lanchi, how much did he pay you?”

Her long, wavy hair reached her waist, and her skin was so pale it practically glowed. Her phoenix eyes tilted up slightly at the corners. With her bold red dress and matching red lipstick, she was overbearing, but I had to admit she was a stunning beauty.

But I was in a foul mood, so I didn’t answer her. I just opened my phone to hail a ride.

Seeing that I was ignoring her, her expression instantly turned cold.

“Chi Xing, right? Whatever Ji Lanchi paid you, I can double it,” she said suddenly.

I looked up at her in surprise.

She seemed pleased by my reaction and let out a soft huff. “Relax. I’m not interested in women, especially airheads like you. I just want to use you for something.”

…If you want to make a deal, just make the deal. Why do you have to throw in a personal attack?

“No,” I refused.

She took out her phone, swiped across the screen, and handed it to me. “How about now?”

I looked down.

It was a medical bill-my mother’s.

My expression froze. I zoomed in, unable to believe what I was seeing.

“How can this be…”

“The million you transferred to your mother is now entirely in your father’s hands,” she said indifferently.

I knew my mother loved my father, but I never imagined she would rather go without treatment for her illness just to give him money for his gambling.

I lowered my eyes. “You investigated me.”

“So what?” She shoved a business card into my hand. “I can find foreign specialists to treat her, as long as you’re obedient.”

Without waiting for my answer, she turned and walked away in her kitten heels.

Her name was printed in bold on the card:

Pei Zhiying.