Chapter 6: Big Brother, Let’s Talk Calmly
“If you don’t want to act lovingly like we agreed before, that’s fine too. But you should believe me, creating fake evidence of a financial dispute is as easy as moving my fingers, even between two completely unrelated people.”
“......”
Hearing this, Cheng Fei originally wanted to say he was bluffing. But then she remembered what Shuohua Company (Gao Ming’s company) used to do. Even though their main business was online games now, they had originally started in cybersecurity.
To put it simply, compared to hackers, the only difference was morality.
Checking her income records, creating fake evidence, ruining her reputation a little, that really would not be difficult for them.
And if such “evidence” was submitted, would her family still be able to get her savings?
Her already restless heart took another heavy blow.
Ever since childhood, she had never liked studying very much. She had only realized her mistake in her second year of high school and desperately worked hard alongside the top students. That was the only reason she managed to get into the university she dreamed about.
But finding work in society was difficult. Those grades meant nothing in the real world. She entered a small company and nearly worked herself to death, throwing away her pride just to save this little amount of money.
Other than the small savings she wanted to leave for her parents, she had almost nothing left!
“How dare you!”
This was not even something she should have been doing in the first place. Why should she be punished for it?
Cheng Fei gritted her teeth and stared at Gao Ming.
She tried her best to make the fiercest expression possible. But with such a beautiful face, her threatening look failed completely. Instead of looking scary, she only looked adorably angry and pitiful.
Gao Ming’s heart shook slightly.
Forget everything else, just her wronged expression alone made people want to protect her. He almost could not bear to even speak loudly to her.
Still, this was exactly the effect he wanted. Now he knew what mattered most to her. This was also the perfect chance to calm down her growing thoughts of escaping.
“You used your sales position to secretly take private jobs behind your company’s back. As long as money is involved, people can always be bribed. I could easily claim that you took payment and failed to do the work properly, causing a financial dispute. Once that happens, all the bank cards under your name could be frozen.”
Cheng Fei was completely stunned.
She thought this guy was unbelievably ruthless. He could even use ‘that’ against her?!
The truth was, Gao Ming was not making things up randomly.
She really had accepted private work like that before, and more than once. But at least she kept her promises. She had never done something shameless like taking money and disappearing.
As the saying goes, if your conscience is clear, you are not afraid of shadows.
But... the problem was greedy people blinded by money!
If a financial dispute really happened, then that money might never reach her parents.
After speaking, Gao Ming curled his lips slightly. Seeing Cheng Fei completely frozen, he casually picked up his phone and pretended to dial a number.
Suddenly, he felt his arm tighten.
Turning his head, he saw Cheng Fei leaning over and hugging his arm.
There was no trace left of the tough attitude from earlier.
“Big brother! We can talk this out calmly, okay?”
Cheng Fei’s voice trembled. She was almost crying.
“If you listened to me earlier, there wouldn’t be so much trouble...”
Yeah right, listen to your ass.
Why should she listen to this guy?!
The thought appeared unconsciously, making Cheng Fei feel even more wronged.
And then there was her current position, a grown man pretending to act soft and clingy while hugging another man’s arm...
Good heavens!
At this point, she would rather be struck in the head by lightning.
Although Cheng Fei was extremely unwilling, Gao Ming still pulled her forward by the arm while she silently cursed him in her heart.
“And another thing. I didn’t tell anyone about your injury. Don’t accidentally let it slip later and make them worry.”
What a completely cold and emotionless fake marriage.
Even if they did not tell relatives, at least they should tell friends when something happened! Sure, small injuries did not need to be mentioned and might only make people worry for nothing, but this felt completely lacking in human warmth.
By then, Gao Ming’s father and mother had already walked over.
Gao Ming himself did not seem especially welcomed. The smiles from both parents were all directed at Cheng Fei instead.
Since they were greeting her so warmly, the least she should do was call them properly. But calling these strangers by those titles felt extremely awkward.
Forget it.
Her savings were still being controlled by Gao Ming, this evil capitalist. Whether she wanted to or not did not matter anymore.
Gao Ming quietly nudged Cheng Fei. The meaning could not have been more obvious.
Fine.
Since the knife was already at her throat, she would just go all out today!
She would use every bit of skill she had learned over the years from flattering bosses and pleasing customers to create one giant smoke screen for this black-hearted guy.
Showtime!
Cheng Fei encouraged herself, forced out a smile, and sweetly called out:
“Dad, Mom.”
Her soft and pleasant voice sounded comfortable to anyone who heard it, making the smiles on the couple’s faces grow even bigger.
Guo Rui was especially satisfied with this daughter-in-law. Now seeing her thoughtfully come all the way here to pick them up at the airport, she felt sweetness in her heart like honey. Without caring about anything else, she directly pulled Cheng Fei away from Gao Ming.
“It’s so hot outside today. Why did you come all the way here? There was no need to pick us up. You could’ve just waited at home.”
From far away, Cheng Fei had already thought Gao Ming’s mother looked impressive. But seeing her up close made her sigh inwardly even more.
Wow!
She still looked incredibly elegant and charming. Her skin was no worse than a young person’s at all!
She had heard Gao Ming was twenty-eight years old this year. His parents had married relatively young and had him when they were still very young themselves.
Calculating it that way, even if they were not that old, they still had to be close to fifty.
Wow. As expected from a highly educated family of intellectuals. They really knew how to take care of themselves.
Cheng Fei instinctively swallowed.
In the eyes of Gao Ming’s parents, it looked like shy and polite behavior that made her seem even more refined. But Gao Ming knew her true nature very well. He understood exactly what a man would think when facing a beautiful mature woman.
“It’s only right for the younger generation to do their duty. Besides, Mom and Dad have already worked hard for most of their lives. This should be the time for you two to rest, yet you’re still running around under the hot sun because of our wedding. If I stayed home enjoying the air conditioner while only caring about my own comfort, that would be far too inconsiderate of your efforts.”
After saying that, Cheng Fei even handed over a bottle of iced orange juice, Gao Ming’s mother’s favorite drink.
The more Guo Rui looked at her, the more she liked her. She smiled so much she almost could not stop. Gao Limin finally said,
“But the weather really is hot. It’s only May, yet it already feels like a furnace. Let’s stop chatting here and hurry home.”
“Yes, yes, let’s go home and start cooking.” Guo Rui smiled warmly while holding Cheng Fei’s hand.
“I’ll cook today.”
“But you just officially joined the family...”
“Mom has been traveling around all day. Let me do it instead! It’ll be my way of showing filial respect, and I can also help check whether Gao Ming eats properly. If there’s anything lacking, I can correct it early.”
When it came to their son’s meals and health, Gao Ming’s parents naturally had no objections.
Everyone liked considerate people. Everyone liked hearing nice words. As long as flattery was not badly timed, only an idiot would dislike it.
The couple felt extremely pleased hearing her words.
Cheng Fei secretly winked at Gao Ming.
In her mind, she quickly reviewed every good daughter-in-law character she had ever seen in movies, TV dramas, and novels. She picked out all the sweetest lines and mixed in every bit of flattering skill she had learned over the years.
Well?
Maybe her acting could not win an Oscar, but getting some domestic acting award should not be a problem, right?
Not bad.
Her performance really did resemble how Cheng Fei originally acted. Thanks to that, Gao Ming temporarily suppressed his dissatisfaction.
On the drive back, Cheng Fei continued showering Gao Ming’s parents with compliments, making the two of them feel happier and happier.
No matter how fake flattery was, it still worked.
Even when people knew they were being praised on purpose, they still enjoyed hearing it. Their son had always been cold and distant, so they did not mind getting a little extra warmth from their future daughter-in-law instead.
Rather than returning to the old family house, they drove straight to the apartment complex where Gao Ming lived.
His car looked low-key, but the place he lived in immediately impressed people.
Cars, no matter how expensive, always lost value over time. Houses were completely different.
As a successful businessman, Gao Ming probably thought the same way.
At the supermarket inside the apartment complex, Cheng Fei could only suppress her restless thoughts because Gao Ming’s parents were nearby.
“You’re acting a little too much, don’t you think...”
While Guo Rui went to pick fresh fish, Gao Ming lowered his head and quietly muttered to Cheng Fei.
Cheng Fei casually placed a box of bacon into the shopping basket, then turned and smiled at a pretty female employee restocking shelves nearby.
Right after that, she stepped closer to Gao Ming, stood on tiptoe beside his ear, and growled through gritted teeth:
“If I don’t act, you won’t let me go. But when I do act, you complain I’m overdoing it. So what exactly do you want?!”
“I...”
“Feifei.”
Before Gao Ming could finish speaking, Guo Rui called out again from nearby.
Not daring to speak loudly, Gao Ming only quickly said, “Just act more natural. Don’t try so hard.”
“Heh~”
Cheng Fei gave him a fake smile while secretly looking at him with contempt.
Back in the car earlier, he had already been expressionless and barely responded during conversations. The most obvious moment was when his parents praised her...
That face of his. Those eyes glaring at her!
It looked like he was simply staring, but actually...
Thinking further back, judging from Gao Ming’s expression after meeting his parents, she could tell his relationship with them was probably not very good.
Still, they were his real parents. And the woman in front of them was not someone Gao Ming truly loved, nor some perfect noble lady worthy of endless praise.
Even if Cheng Fei was only acting under orders, who could feel good watching their parents completely ignore them while openly praising an outsider instead?
Hah.
So the little guy was jealous!
Thinking about it that way, Cheng Fei suddenly felt much less unhappy about being bullied by him.
She happily ran over beside Guo Rui, acting attentive and trying to win her favor purely to annoy Gao Ming even more.
Unfortunately, the floor tiles had just been cleaned and were slippery.
With slightly higher heels, it was easy to lose balance.
Cheng Fei was already struggling enough just learning to walk in women’s shoes. On this kind of floor, it was even worse. Her footing slipped and her body tilted to one side.
Luckily, the female employee from earlier was still nearby and quickly caught her in time.
Supported by the woman, Cheng Fei leaned against the soft body behind her. Feeling the warmth and softness in the woman’s embrace, she almost did not want to get up anymore.
After being stared at by Cheng Fei’s somewhat suspiciously excited eyes for too long, the female employee started feeling uncomfortable, even if she did not actually suspect Cheng Fei’s sexuality.
“Ma’am, are you okay?”
“Uh!... I’m fine. Just a little dizzy.”
Taking advantage of the moment, Cheng Fei subtly rubbed her shoulder against the woman’s soft chest before slowly standing back up.