NOVPUBSince he was little, Huo Ji'an had known that Qin Lie never liked him.
And Ye Lingfeng, who had once played the role of his father for a day, was no better.
Unlike Chubby Girl, who always earnestly fulfilled her jobs once taken the money, Ye Lingfeng didn't take it seriously at all. He was paid fifty yuan, yet he still held hostility to Huo Ji'an, afraid that he would snatch Chubby Girl away.
God knows, Huo Ji'an swore that he truly considered Chubby Girl as a his good buddy. He never once thought about anything beyond a friendship with her. But neither Ye Lingfeng nor Qin Lie believed him. Every time they looked at him, it was as though they were eyeing a thief.
Especially as he grew older, their suspicion grew even more obvious. Every time he invited Chubby Girl out, they would either call him every few minutes or even follow them in their car.
He often wondered if they were so free that they never worried about the company going under. Honestly, he was tempted to ask them how they managed it.
But he didn't dare speak to them. Mr. Ye... at least he would smile. But Uncle Qin... his cold face made Huo Ji'an feel like running away as soon as he saw him.
Out of desperation, Huo Ji'an decided to get a girlfriend. He thought that if he made it clear he had a partner, they would finally let their guard down.
But! To his surprise, they became even more wary. And they found a good reason for that. Since he was attracted to girl, they suspected he might try to date Zhouzhou sooner or later, because which girl in this world could be better than their daughter?
Huo Ji'an was baffled. What did they mean by that? Was he supposed to like boys instead?
One day, Huo Ji'an took his new girlfriend to visit Zhouzhou. Coincidentally, Qin Lie was home. As soon as Huo Ji'an spotted him at the door, his steps faltered, and he instinctively wanted to run. However, Qin Lie immediately noticed him and locked eyes with him.
Huo Ji'an braced himself and walked up, "Uncle Qin."
Qin Lie stared at him for several seconds, then shifted his gaze to the girl beside him.
Seeing this, Huo Ji'an, trying to act brave, pulled the girl behind him protectively and stood tall, facing Qin Lie's cold stare.
To his surprise, Qin Lie raised an eyebrow slightly.
Huo Ji'an thought this was the least hostile Qin Lie had ever been to him. He almost thought he was seeing things.
Before he could take a closer look, Qin Lie stood up and said lightly, "Take a seat. I'll go get Zhouzhou."
"Thanks, Uncle Qin," Huo Ji'an said, visibly relieved as he slumped into the couch.
His girlfriend couldn't help but laugh, "Why do you look like you're scared of Uncle Qin?"
"Of course I am," Huo Ji'an whispered as he looked toward the stairs, confirming that Qin Lie was gone and Zhouzhou hadn't come down yet. He leaned in closer to her and whispered, "Uncle Qin is fierce, he only smiles at Chubby Girl. He always thinks I'm going to do something to her."
"Oh," his girlfriend responded flatly.
Huo Ji'an was confused by her reaction. "Why are you just saying 'oh'?"
She blinked. "Well, didn't you say you two were friends?"
True, but every time his ex-girlfriends heard about this girl best friend of him from childhood, they were always on edge. They weren't exactly friendly to her, assuming she was just another girl trying to get close to him, even forcing him to choose between them. Of course, he chose Zhouzhou—she was his good buddy.
But his girlfriend's reaction seemed a bit off.
Before he could think further, Zhouzhou's footsteps were heard coming down the stairs.
"Little Skinny Pole!" Zhouzhou called out.
"Chubby Girl!" Huo Ji'an immediately forgot his previous worries and introduced his girlfriend, "Chubby Girl, this is my girlfriend Xu Xingyue.."
"Call me Yueyue if you like," Xu Xingyue smiled softly, exuding a gentle charm.
Zhouzhou sized her up, then glanced at Huo Ji'an. Her eyes sparkled as she realized that Little Skinny Pole might've found his destined one already.
She playfully hooked her arm around Xu Xingyue's, "Yueyue!"
Xu Xingyue's eyes curved with a smile, "Can I call you Chubby Girl?"
Zhouzhou nodded enthusiastically, "Sure, sure.
By the way, how did you two get together?"
Huo Ji'an coughed lightly and pointed upstairs. "I went out with her to deal with your dad. Otherwise, every time I visit, he gives me a cold shoulder."
Zhouzhou furrowed her brows, puzzled. "You two were together just to deal with my dad?"
Huo Ji'an nodded as if it were obvious, "Of course. Otherwise, why else would I need to date a girl?"
Naturally, it was because he was attracted to her.
Zhouzhou sensed something was off, "Wait, so all those other girlfriends you had before were just to deal with my dad?"
"Yeah," Huo Ji'an nodded, "Once I had a girlfriend, we could hang out together."
Zhouzhou was speechless. She didn't understand his logic at all and wasn't impressed.
She finally understood why his exes had always disliked her. She even started to wonder if there was something more going on between Huo Ji'an and herself.
"Then what about you?" Zhouzhou turned to Xu Xingyue. "Are you okay with it?"
Xu Xingyue smiled even more gently, replying casually, "He pays me."
Huo Ji'an might be unreliable, but he was generous with his girlfriend, always giving her whatever she asked for.
In this market, it wasn't easy to find a high-paying job. The boss wasn't a troublemaker, and the work was simple. All she had to do was being there for Huo Ji'an, while he spent time with Zhouzhou.
It was a good deal.
Zhouzhou, sensing Xu Xingyue's unspoken intentions, grew closer to her, "Exactly, that's how you should think. Take the scumbag's money and don't feel bad."
Huo Ji'an, suddenly realizing what was happening, defensively responded, "Wait, how did I become the scumbag?"
Zhouzhou shot him a disdainful look, "You're using the poor girl, how can you not be a scumbag? The more you do this, the more my dad won't like you, and I won't want to hang out with you either."
With that, she gave him another look of disgust.
Xu Xingyue couldn't help but laugh.
Huo Ji'an felt wronged and couldn't hold back the complaint. "And whom do you think I'm doing all this for?"
Later that day, Huo Ji'an couldn't help but told Yu Ze about what had happened. Yu Ze, after hearing the story, grew serious.
"I think Zhouzhou is right."
Huo Ji'an was confused. Wasn't Yu Ze supposed to back him up in saying that Zhouzhou was wrong?
Yu Ze, however, replied, "Since you've chosen to be with a girl, you need to take it seriously. You shouldn't be with her just because of someone else. Doing so will make things difficult for Zhouzhou too."
Huo Ji'an thought about it and realized that Zhouzhou didn't look happy when he mentioned it. He had been wrong. He truly was a scumbag.
Yu Ze sighed, "If you really want to hang out with Zhouzhou, just ask her out normally. As for Mr. Qin's suspicion, it's because you're a boy. He's like that with every other boys, so don't take it personally. The more you hide things, the more suspicious he'll get, and you'll hurt people in the process."
That made sense!
Huo Ji'an immediately nodded and sent a message to Xu Xingyue, apologizing, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have used you. That was my fault. Our cooperation ends here."
Then he sent her twenty thousand, half for her salary and half as compensation for breaking the agreement.
Xu Xingyue had just returned home and saw the message, her face instantly changing. She was unemployed now?
She quickly thought about confronting Huo Ji'an, but then she turned around and went to see Zhouzhou instead, telling her what had happened.
Zhouzhou, after reading the message, tapped her chin thoughtfully. "He does have a little conscience."
Xu Xingyue was panicking. "But I still want to keep working for him!"
Where could she find such a high-paying job?
She wasn't worried about Zhouzhou knowing and admitted openly, "He pays well, doesn't make too many demands, so there's a lot of free time that I can do another job. It meant that I can have two salaries."
Hearing this, Zhouzhou couldn't help but shake her hand. "We're kindred spirits!"
Xu Xingyue smiled back.
"Don't worry, I'll help you. Let's drain the scumbag's money!" 𝔫𝖔𝖛𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝖈𝖔𝔪
Just for doing such a scummy thing!
"Ah-choo!"
Huo Ji'an suddenly sneezed.
Who was bad-mouthing him?
