At this moment, the woman who had been standing at the doorway walked in and approached Huo Jingchen.
“Brother Jingchen, she’s just the daughter of a fallen family. Why do you have to wrong yourself like this?”
Hearing the voice, Huo Jingchen looked up and saw a woman in her twenties standing in front of him. “Who are you?”
“The principal is my uncle,” the young woman explained softly. “I stayed on at the school and work as a teaching assistant in our department. I don’t have classes this afternoon, and I heard a photo studio opened here, so I came to take a look.”
A chill flashed through Huo Jingchen’s peach-blossom eyes. “If you’re not here to take photos, get lost. Don’t follow me.”
The woman froze in place.
Zhou Yu immediately stepped in to smooth things over. “Miss, next time you see him, you should call him Professor Huo. Also, he’s in a bad mood right now why don’t you head back first?”
The woman stamped her foot and turned to leave.
She had fallen in love with him at first sight and had quietly asked around about him. She had greeted him several times, but he never remembered her. Today, on her way home, she saw him standing at the entrance of the photo studio and couldn’t help but walk in.
She had thought he was good-tempered. She hadn’t expected him to be so blunt and unaccommodating.
And she hadn’t even said anything wrong.
Huo Jingchen crossed his long legs over the coffee table in front of him, leaned his head back against the sofa, and looked as though he were resting with his eyes closed.
Zhou Yu glanced at him and, for a moment, didn’t know what to say.
“Couldn’t you at least be a little more polite to that young lady? If word gets out, it’ll be bad for your reputation.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Huo Jingchen said indifferently. “My reputation was never good to begin with.”
After a while, he slowly opened his eyes.
“So, are you still taking these whatever-kind-of photos or not? If not, I’m leaving.”
Outside, a joint photo of Huo Jingnian and Qiao Zhiwei was already posted. Putting up Huo Jingchen’s photo next to it didn’t seem appropriate. Even if customers didn’t know, anyone among those three would feel uncomfortable seeing it. Zhou Yu immediately refused.
“No, no, that won’t be necessary.”
Huo Jingchen shot him a sidelong glance.
“Right. With Huo Jingnian around, what use is there for me?”
He stood up casually.
“Alright, I’m leaving.”
Zhou Yu grabbed him.
“Don’t let me treat you to a meal.”
Huo Jingchen stopped. “You don’t visit the Temple of the Three Treasures without a reason. Spit it out.”
Zhou Yu smiled. “My dad said the bridge you designed for our hometown is extremely sound beautiful, sturdy, and material-efficient.”
“And you’re treating me to dinner just for that?” Huo Jingchen laughed lightly.
Zhou Yu hesitated, then nodded.
“Yeah.”
Huo Jingchen put his hands in his pockets.
“Give me cash instead.”
Zhou Yu: !!!
“Come on, Huo Jingchen, you’re not serious, are you”
Huo Jingchen turned back to look at him. “Didn’t you see that my patron has gone bankrupt and run into someone else’s arms? Is it really strange that I’m poor now?”
Seeing Zhou Yu still not moving, he urged again, “Hurry up. Twenty yuan. I’m in a rush.”
Zhou Yu shakily pulled out his wallet, hesitated, and then slowly pulled out two large-denomination bills. The moment the wallet came out, Huo Jingchen snatched the money away.
“Jingchen, my dad’s superior wants you to help design and renovate their old family residence.”
Huo Jingchen stopped in his tracks.
“Five hundred yuan.”
“No, Jingchen, you didn’t use to be like this.”
Huo Jingchen turned to him.
“You said it yourself that was before.”
With that, he turned and left.
Zhou Yu helplessly shook his head and went back into the shop. After being busy for a while, he came back out and saw two young women standing at the door, arm in arm.
He recognized Huo Jingli and greeted her warmly. “Jingli, what brings you here? Did you bring a friend to take photos?”
As he spoke, his gaze fell on the girl beside her. She looked delicate and composed, with a refined, elegant air, standing motionless in front of the photo of Huo Jingnian and Qiao Zhiwei.
“My second brother said yesterday that he’d come this morning to take sample photos for you. I came to look for him,” Huo Jingli said, clearly annoyed.
Zhou Yu smiled. “Your second brother just left.”
“Did he say where he was going?” He didn’t have classes today.
“No idea,” Zhou Yu replied. Seeing that Huo Jingli didn’t look too good, he asked, “What’s wrong? Did you two argue?”
“Why would I argue with him?”
“Then why do you look so upset?”
Huo Jingli pouted. “Why did you take such nice photos of Qiao Zhiwei and my big brother?”
Zhou Yu froze. Someone complaining that photos were too nice? Jingchen wasn’t even angry what exactly was this girl upset about? “Jingli, that’s your future sister-in-law.”
Huo Jingli snorted. “Who wants a fallen nobody as a sister-in-law?”
“Well, that’s not up to whether you want it or not it depends on whether your big brother wants her.”
“My big brother was forced into it,” Huo Jingli said angrily.
“I don’t think so,” the girl beside her finally spoke. “The way Brother Jingnian looks at her is exactly like someone deeply in love. If it weren’t mutual, you couldn’t fake that kind of gaze.”
Besides, he even had Zhou Yu hang those two photos at the front door as displays clearly a public announcement.
“Sister Xia, you don’t know what it was like that day,” Huo Jingli said, looking at Xia Yin with great distress.
Xia Yin took a deep breath and smiled gracefully. “Alright. No matter what the circumstances were, I still wish Brother Jingnian happiness.”
Zhou Yu smiled. “This young lady is really generous. Why don’t you come in for some tea?”
Xia Yin nodded. “Alright.”
Huo Jingli linked arms with her and went inside to sit down.
Zhou Yu poured two cups of tea.
After taking a sip, Huo Jingli was still unhappy. “Brother Zhou Yu, could you take these two photos down? Looking at them just makes people feel upset.”
“It makes it look like my big brother likes her that much.”
Xia Yin gently comforted her. “Alright, Jingli. If Brother Jingnian didn’t like her, he wouldn’t marry her at all.”
“I already told you he was forced. And it’s only been a few days. Falling in love that fast? Impossible.”
Xia Yin took another sip of tea, set the cup down, and smiled. “Maybe it wasn’t just a few days. Maybe it had been hidden in his heart for a long time.
“I’ve known Brother Jingnian for years. I understand his personality if he doesn’t like something, he will never touch it.”
Hearing this, Zhou Yu was startled. “Miss Xia, please don’t make wild guesses. That was just a candid shot it’s nothing like what you’re imagining.”
Given Huo Jingnian’s status, if rumors spread that he had secretly coveted his younger brother’s fiancée and then conveniently taken over the engagement, people would quickly attack his character and morality.
The circle he moved in was extremely sensitive to anything that could damage one’s reputation or standing.
Being forced to shoulder responsibility and marry Qiao Zhiwei in order to honor a family commitment was fundamentally different in nature.
But Huo Jingli didn’t understand. She widened her eyes.
“If that’s the case, then my big brother really isn’t a good person. No wonder he could have taken money earlier to help the Qiao family pay off their debt and let both families end the engagement peacefully yet now he insists on dragging himself into it…”
“Jingli!” Zhou Yu scolded her.
“What? Am I wrong?” Huo Jingli rolled her eyes.
“Why should Brother Jingnian take his mother’s money to pay off the debt of Jingchen’s fiancée? And such a huge debt at that?
“But if it’s to pay off his own wife’s debt, then it makes perfect sense.”
Xia Yin glanced at Zhou Yu, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. She patted Huo Jingli’s hand.
“Alright, Jingli. You shouldn’t say things like that casually.”
“I’m just feeling it’s not worth it for you. If that’s really the case, then Brother Jingnian is blind.”
Xia Yin smiled faintly.
“There’s nothing about worth or not. Brother Jingnian never promised me anything.”
Zhou Yu immediately nodded in approval. “See? Miss Xia is the one who really understands reason.”