Chapter 34: Down Payment
"Hey Sister, what do you think? Isn’t she beautiful? I have good taste, right?"
Shen Zekai got out of the car and leaned in close to Shen Xi, his voice full of pride.
"Ah, yeah, sure."
Shen Xi smiled politely but secretly thought, Good taste? I don’t know about that, but your eyes are definitely not working.
At that moment, Susie ran up to them with a forced smile, quickly linking her arm with Shen Zekai’s as if they were close.
"Dear, who’s this?"
Her gaze toward Shen Xi carried a clear sense of hostility.
Shen Zekai froze for a moment. This was the first time his girlfriend had taken the initiative to get close to him like this, even calling him "dear." The sudden affection made him feel like he was floating on air.
Still smiling, Shen Xi spoke first.
"Hi, I’m Xixi. I’m Zekai’s friend, you could say we grew up together. I heard he got a beautiful girlfriend, so I thought I’d come and meet you."
She casually observed this fake designer. She had some looks, sure. And with her high-end outfit, she definitely looked more like a returning designer than Shen Xi did in her simple, neutral-toned clothes.
It was funny, really. Even the Shen family only knew she had gone abroad to study, but no one knew exactly what she studied or even her English name.
Is that because of the Shen family’s indifference? Or was the original author just lazy?
"Oh, so you’re just Zekai’s friend? Nice to meet you."
Susie forced a smile, tightening her grip on Shen Zekai’s arm. Her chest was practically pressed against his arm, squeezing out of shape.
She was polite with her words, but her eyes were full of caution.
Meanwhile, Shen Zekai was completely lost in the moment, enjoying the soft benefits of Susie’s sudden affection. His grin was so wide, it looked like he was struggling to hold it back.
Before coming here, Shen Xi had told him not to reveal her real identity yet.
He didn’t know why, but he still listened to her. He figured she had her reasons.
"You know, both of your names sound like ‘Xi’/’Si’, that must be fate!"
"Alright, beautiful ladies, let’s not just stand here. Let’s go eat."
With that, the three of them walked back to the car.
Shen Zekai opened the back doors for both women.
Susie, however, casually threw her Chanel bag at Shen Xi, as if handing something over to an assistant.
Seeing that Shen Xi wasn’t carrying any luxury bags, she assumed she was just from an ordinary family.
"Sweetie, you seem to really like the bag Zekai bought me. Here, hold onto it for a while so you can admire it up close."
Then, she walked straight to the front passenger seat.
Before getting in, she even patted the seat, as if cleaning off invisible dirt.
Even as dense as Shen Zekai could be, he still noticed something was off. He glanced at Shen Xi, feeling a bit awkward.
Shen Xi, on the other hand, simply smirked.
How much money did Zekai lose to this scam?
What a useless handbag. She has an entire row of them in her closet.
She just didn’t like carrying bags that could barely fit a phone.
To her, it was completely impractical, just a burden.
Other women might carry them around, but in the end, their boyfriends were the ones stuck holding them.
Ah, the pain…
In her past life, she had imagined a girlfriend sweetly asking her to hold her bag, thinking it would be romantic.
Now, she just found it annoying.
Still smiling, Shen Xi tossed the bag into the back seat without a care and got into the car.
……………………………………………
On the Way to the Restaurant.
Shen Zekai felt like Susie was extra sweet today.
She kept saying affectionate things, making his face turn red.
Despite his flashy blonde hair and rebellious street-thug look, he was actually still a clueless virgin deep down. His whole bad boy act was just his way of rebelling against his family’s strict control.
Meanwhile, in the back seat, Shen Xi was being force-fed their sickening lovey-dovey act. She shuddered, feeling goosebumps all over.
Unable to take it anymore, she pulled out her phone and sent a message to her dear husband.
After all, in this world, she only really knew a couple of people. Keke was still recovering, so she didn’t want to bother her. And it wasn’t like she was going to chat with Butler Wang.
Meanwhile, at Gu Corporation Headquarters.
In the office of the CEO of a top-tier entertainment company, the atmosphere was tense.
The powerful executive, Mr. Fang, was standing beside the massive mahogany desk, his forehead covered in sweat.
He looked like a guilty schoolboy who had made a huge mistake.
On the other side of the desk, Gu Hanling sat with a cold expression, staring at his phone.
On the screen was a video with over five million likes.
It was a recording of Shen Xi singing that night.
Someone had added a perfectly timed instrumental to the clip, making it sound even more polished.
Gu Hanling pressed his lips together.
His sharp jawline tightened, showing just how much force he was using.
A storm of indescribable emotions surged within him.
It felt like his most treasured possession, something he had hidden away with great care, had been suddenly placed under a spotlight for the whole country to admire.
"Bang!"
The phone was slammed onto the desk with such force that cracks appeared on the screen.
…It wasn’t even his phone. It was Mr. Fang’s.
The man trembled violently, his legs giving out as he dropped to his knees, too terrified to make a sound.
Outside the office, a secretary in a fitted business skirt was carrying a tray of tea, just about to knock on the door. At the sudden noise, she gasped in fright, almost dropping the tray.
Not far away, a man in a sharp black suit, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, Assistant Liu, shook his head slightly, signaling her not to enter.
Everyone outside the office could feel the icy pressure seeping through the walls.
The entire floor fell silent.
No one dared to speak, the only sound in the room was the rhythmic clatter of keyboards.
Just then, Gu Hanling’s phone lit up with a rare message from Shen Xi.
[Boss Gu, have you eaten lunch yet?]
The coldness in his expression faded slightly.
For some reason, the corners of his lips curled up.
[No. I'm sick of it.]
[?]
[Can my wife cook?]
[Does fried rice count?]
[Yes.]
Shen Xi smirked as she typed back playfully:
[Pay a 200 yuan deposit, and maybe I’ll make you the legendary Shanghai Grandpa’s Royal Fried Rice.]
Not even a second later, a notification popped up.
A red envelope.
Shen Xi's eyes lit up. She eagerly tapped on it.
…2 yuan?!
"Brother, that’s just cruel!"
But before she could even complain, another money transfer notification popped up. She counted the zeros.
20,000!?
[Deposit paid.]
Shen Xi couldn’t hold back her laughter, immediately accepting the money.
A bowl of fried rice for 20,000. Yep, truly worthy of fried rice.
Meanwhile, Gu Hanling had regained his usual composed, elegant demeanor.
Even when he looked at Fang Chen, his gaze was noticeably softer.
With a faint smile, he said, "Alright, explain."
Fang Chen was stunned. Just moments ago, he thought he was done for.
Now, the storm had miraculously passed.
His mind raced, what the hell was in that message that could calm President Gu’s fury so quickly?
……………………………………
Meanwhile, at a French Restaurant…
Shen Xi and the others arrived at a three-star French restaurant.
Susie had been waiting for this moment.
She deliberately handed the menu to Shen Xi, wanting to put her in an awkward situation.
After all, Susie couldn’t read it either.
But instead of admitting it, she pretended to be gracious, thinking that someone from an ordinary family like Shen Xi would surely panic in front of an expensive, French-only menu.
…But the moment Shen Xi took the menu, she didn’t even open it.
Instead, she casually called the waiter over and started ordering fluently, listing dishes like she was reciting a poem.
She even specified different cooking temperatures and seasoning preferences.
The waiter nodded repeatedly as he quickly wrote everything down, his eyes full of respect for Shen Xi’s expertise.
Susie’s smile froze.
But after a second, she reassured herself, this woman must’ve just freeloaded a lot of meals with Shen Zekai.
Once Shen Xi finished ordering, Susie forced out a sweet smile and turned to Shen Zekai.
"Dear, I heard your sister married into an elite family?"