“Wow, I didn’t expect to find such a beautiful girl even in Harbin. I’ve traveled all over for years, and I’ve only seen a few beauties like that.”
Zhao Hongsen reluctantly pulled his gaze back from Sang Sang’s table in front and looked at the strikingly handsome man across from him with a sigh of admiration.
Then he added regretfully, “Sigh, I’m heading back to the capital tomorrow. Otherwise, I’d ask around about her. A beauty like that—what a pity to miss out.”
Pei Che glanced at his friend, his refined brows lifting slightly, a meaningful glint in his eyes. “You’d better not ruin someone else’s life again, or another innocent person might end up suffering at the hands of the one in your family.”
At that, Zhao Hongsen instantly lost all interest in talking about beauties and said with displeasure, “Brother Che, don’t disgust me. She’s not ‘my woman.’ Arrangements made by the older generation don’t count.”
Pei Che raised an eyebrow and ignored the lecher across from him. He lowered his head, picked up a piece of braised fish with his chopsticks, and ate it leisurely and elegantly.
Hmm, not bad. That troublesome girl really knows how to pick her food.
Zhao Hongsen was surprised. “Bro, don’t you usually hate fish? Is the fish here really that good? Let me try.”
He picked up a piece as well, and after tasting it, he couldn’t help but comment, “Yeah, it’s really good. The chef’s skills are solid—not any worse than the capital.”
Pei Che suddenly found him unbearably noisy today.
He grabbed a steamed bun and stuffed it straight into Zhao Hongsen’s mouth.
There—peace and quiet at last.
Zhao Hongsen: “……”
The move was so ridiculous that even Yuan Yuan at a nearby table noticed.
She sized up the two men briefly, then turned to Sang Sang and whispered, “Look, those two guys over there are really handsome—so fair and clean. Especially the one sitting across from ‘Steamed Bun Guy.’ If my future partner looked like that, I wouldn’t mind eating corn porridge every day!”
Following Yuan Yuan’s gaze, Sang Sang glanced over. She was a little surprised when she saw that exceptionally handsome face, but she didn’t dwell on it. Instead, she couldn’t resist lecturing her friend.
“Yuan Yuan, when choosing a partner, you can’t just look at the face. Some people may look decent, but they’re useless—like an embroidered pillow, pretty on the outside but empty inside. Look at those two pretty boys, their skin so pale—they probably don’t do any real work. Who knows, they might even be freeloaders living off women. You have to be careful. Someone like you—chubby and a bit naive—is the easiest to get tricked.”
Yuan Yuan quickly promised, “Don’t worry, Sang Sang. I won’t go for a man who lives off a woman. When the time comes, you help me choose—if you don’t approve, I won’t accept him.”
Sang Sang nodded in satisfaction. Not bad—this girl wasn’t the type to abandon her friends over a pretty face. She’d treat her to some fried glutinous rice sticks later.
The two “pretty boys”: “……”
What did they ever do to deserve this? And if you’re going to badmouth someone, could you at least go farther away?
To be fair, it wasn’t entirely Sang Sang’s fault. She knew it wasn’t right to speak ill of others and had deliberately lowered her voice. Unfortunately, her luck was bad—these two men had undergone special training, and their hearing was far better than ordinary people.
Unlike Zhao Hongsen’s gloomy expression, Pei Che couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smile after processing what he heard.
It seemed that not only had that troublesome girl grown up—her tongue had gotten sharper too.
Although they had only met once three years ago, Pei Che recognized her at a glance the moment she stepped into the state-run restaurant.
The very same girl who had made him suffer back then.
She seemed taller now, more mature… more “grown.”
Sang Sang, however, had no idea that her words had been overheard.
She continued, striking while the iron was hot, trying to cure Yuan Yuan’s obsession with looks. “Look at the one across from ‘Steamed Bun Guy.’ Sure, he’s good-looking, but handsome men are usually fickle. Just from his face, you can tell he’s full of schemes. You definitely shouldn’t choose someone like that—you wouldn’t be able to handle him. You’d end up dealing with women coming to cause trouble every day. Life would never be peaceful.”
“Whoever marries him is bound to be unlucky.”
“Yeah, you’re right, Sang Sang. Looks like you really can’t choose a handsome man,” Yuan Yuan agreed quickly. She was Sang Sang’s loyal follower and always took her lead.
…
The two “culprits” had already left for quite some time.
Pei Che’s expression still hadn’t recovered—it was… complicated. This was the first time anyone had ever said that whoever married him would be unlucky.
Back in the capital, the older ladies in the courtyards all praised him as the perfect son-in-law.
How did he become someone to be despised in that troublesome girl’s eyes?
Meanwhile, Zhao Hongsen was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. Holding his stomach, he teased, “Hahaha! ‘Whoever marries you is unlucky!’ Hahaha! Brother Pei, I never thought I’d see the day you’d be disliked!”
“Eat your bun, ‘Steamed Bun Guy,’” Pei Che said darkly, snapping out of his thoughts.
That kick she gave him three years ago had left him bedridden for three days. Now she was badmouthing him behind his back, calling him a bad person at every turn.
Hmph. Even if he wasn’t exactly a good person.
…
In any case, that troublesome girl had better not fall into his hands.
Otherwise, he’d definitely make her pay.
“La la la…”
Humming a tune, Sang Sang walked into the textile factory residential compound, carrying several bags, her mood bright.
“Hello, Auntie Guihua,” she greeted cheerfully when she saw a familiar face.
Zhang Guihua had just returned from buying groceries. Seeing the beautiful young girl beside her, she immediately broke into a smile. “Oh my, Sang Sang, you look especially pretty today! Just came back from the department store? What did you buy? You’re carrying so much!”
“Mm-hmm, I bought clothes, fabric, and some snacks,” Sang Sang replied with a smile.
Zhang Guihua’s eyes were drawn to a piece of light blue fabric peeking out. She liked it so much she wanted to buy some for her daughter to make a blouse. She kept staring at it but didn’t dare touch it, worried her hands might dirty it.
So she asked Sang Sang how much it cost, which counter it was from, and whether there was still a lot left in stock.
Seeing them chatting happily, Sun Zhaodi, who was washing clothes by the well, shot Sang Sang a vicious glare.
Why? They were both just girls—yet Qin Sang didn’t have to do any housework, dressed well, ate well, and was just a stepchild brought along after remarriage. It was so unfair.
The more Sun Zhaodi thought about it, the angrier she became. She slammed the clothes hard against the stone. Even though she knew Sang Sang wasn’t easy to mess with and had suffered losses before, she still couldn’t help but speak up.
“Hmph, some people may look polished on the outside, but they don’t know how to run a household at all. Buying so many things for themselves—how much money must that cost? If it’s not their biological father or brother, of course they wouldn’t care. That money would be better saved to help Zixin get married.”
Sang Sang lifted her eyelids but didn’t even bother looking at her. Did Sun Zhaodi even hear what nonsense she was spouting?
Save money for Bai Zhixin to get married?
Heh—what a joke.
“Auntie Guihua, I’ll head home first. The air here isn’t great—staying too long might affect brain development. You should head back soon too.”
With that, Sang Sang swayed her slender waist and walked away in her newly bought chunky-heeled leather shoes, not sparing Sun Zhaodi a single glance.
Kind-hearted as always, Auntie Guihua tried to comfort her. “Zhaodi, Sang Sang wasn’t talking about you. Don’t overthink it.”
“Hmph, no need to worry about me. Why pretend to be a good person?” Sun Zhaodi snapped, even glaring at Auntie Guihua.
Auntie Guihua: “……”
Fine. Her mistake for saying too much.