“Jiang Li, don’t push your luck!”
Lu Ze’s expression darkened.
“What do you think you are? If Big Brother weren’t interested in your face, do you think I’d come to a dump like this?”
As he spoke, he tried to barge into the room.
Jiang Li stepped sideways to block the doorway. “Do you not understand plain English?”
Lu Ze froze.
He hadn’t expected her to show him such a cold shoulder to his face.
He’d thought the things she’d said on the phone last night meant she was throwing a fit and playing hard to get.
After all, what woman didn’t like money?
“Baby, stop making a fuss.”
Lu Ze lowered his voice, his eyes roaming over Jiang Li.
He swallowed.
“Look at this dump. Even dogs wouldn’t live here. Come with Big Brother—you’ll live in a mansion, drive a luxury car, and have anything you want.”
As he spoke, he pulled a wad of cash from his pocket.
Red hundred-yuan bills, at least ten thousand yuan.
Lu Ze tossed the money into the room, and the bills scattered.
“Here’s a little pocket money to start with. Don’t say Big Brother is stingy.”
Jiang Li stared at the pile of cash, a cold smile curling her lips.
She bent down and picked up the bills scattered across the floor, stacking them neatly one by one.
Lu Ze thought she was tempted, and his smile grew even more smug.
“That’s more like it. A woman should be practical.”
The moment he finished speaking, Jiang Li raised her hand and flung the stack of money straight into his face.
The bills smacked against Lu Ze’s greasy face, then scattered across the floor again.
“Lu Ze, do you think you’re rich?” Jiang Li folded her arms. “You think ten thousand yuan is enough to get rid of me? Do I look like some street-corner flyer girl to you?”
“Jiang Li, don’t you dare be ungrateful!” Lu Ze’s face flushed red.
“You’re the one who doesn’t know what’s good for you.”
Jiang Li sneered, looking at him like he was a clown.
“How much is that Maybach you rented for a day? Two thousand? Three thousand?”
“You’re talking nonsense! I bought it outright!”
“Is that so?”
Jiang Li pulled out her phone and opened a car-rental app.
A listing for a black Maybach was displayed prominently on the screen.
“Beijing A, 88668. Three thousand five hundred a day, twenty thousand a week, sixty thousand a month.”
“Got the license plate right, Mr. Bought-It-Outright?”
After reading it out, Jiang Li shoved the phone screen in Lu Ze’s face.
“And this chain,”
Jiang Li pointed at the gold chain around Lu Ze’s neck.
“Same one on Taobao: 9.9 yuan, free shipping. Buy three, get one free.”
“And your watch—an imitation. Wholesale price, eight hundred yuan, and you’re passing it off as a limited edition?”
Jiang Li looked him up and down, her eyes full of contempt.
“And that outfit you’re wearing? From head to toe, it’s worth no more than three thousand yuan.”
“And you think you can afford to keep me?”
“Lu Ze, that lousy shell company your father runs was audited last month. It owes eight million yuan in back taxes. Your own credit cards are all overdue, and you’re buried in online loans.”
“Quit pretending to be a big shot. You can’t even afford to support a single hair on my head.”
Jiang Li scoffed.
The original host might have been a gold-digging drama queen.
But Jiang Li had the script—she was a novel transmigrator.
In the original novel, this fatso was a complete fraud.
He specialized in cheating young women who hadn’t seen much of the world.
The fat on Lu Ze’s face twitched.
He’d never been humiliated like this in his life—called a penniless loser to his face by a woman.
“Jiang Li, you fucking bitch, don’t push your luck!”
Humiliated and enraged, he lunged forward.
He reached for Jiang Li’s collar, intending to drag her away by force.
“Let’s see who’s going to save you today!”
Jiang Li was ready for him.
She grabbed the pepper spray from the shoe cabinet.
Aimed it at his beady eyes.
And pressed the button.
Pssst…
The red spray hit its mark.
Lu Ze let out a pig-like shriek, clapped both hands over his eyes, and stumbled backward.
“My eyes! You bitch, how dare you—”
He crashed into the rusty iron railing.
His feet slipped.
He fell flat on his back in the corridor.
Jiang Li looked down at the fat man rolling on the floor.
She raised her foot.
And kicked him in the shin.
“You’re broke as hell and you think you can keep me?”
“My man is ten thousand times better than you!”
“Even if he laid bricks for a living, he’d still be richer than you, you fake big shot!”
Just then, footsteps sounded at the end of the corridor.
Huo Yan stood at the stairwell landing.
“Baby?”
His gaze swept over Lu Ze, who was covering his eyes and wailing on the floor.
Then it fell on Jiang Li’s bare feet.
“Why are you standing barefoot on the floor? Isn’t it cold?”
Huo Yan’s voice held a hint of helpless reproach, but far more than that, it was filled with unreserved indulgence.
He scooped her up in his arms.
Jiang Li’s feet left the ground.
Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I was in a hurry,” Jiang Li said, pursing her lips and offering a perfectly respectable excuse.
“In a hurry to do what?” Huo Yan carried her inside.
“To chase away a fly.” Jiang Li leaned against his shoulder.
She tipped her chin toward the doorway.
Lu Ze finally managed to catch his breath.
The searing pain from the pepper spray had left his face a wreck.
Tears and snot covered it.
“You shameless couple!” Lu Ze grabbed the rusty railing and hauled himself up.
“You sprayed me with pepper spray, you bastards! Just you wait—I’m calling the police right now!”
He fumbled his phone out of his pocket and, with trembling hands, started to dial.
Huo Yan stopped.
He turned around.
His shadow completely engulfed Lu Ze.
Nestled in Huo Yan’s arms, Jiang Li shifted into a more comfortable position.
“Go ahead. If you can’t press those three numbers today, you’re my grandson,” Jiang Li sneered.
“You think I don’t dare?” Lu Ze shouted, trying to sound tough.
“Of course you dare.” Jiang Li toyed with the button on Huo Yan’s collar. “But who the police arrest first is another matter.”
“What do you mean?” Lu Ze’s expression changed dramatically.
“Have you paid off that eight-million-yuan tax bill yet?”
Lu Ze’s hand shook, and he nearly dropped his phone.
Sweat ran down his forehead as he scrambled toward the stairs.
At last, the corridor fell quiet.
Huo Yan carried Jiang Li into the room.
He kicked the door shut behind him, cutting off all the commotion outside.
He set Jiang Li down on the folding sofa.
Then knelt on one knee.
His large hand closed around her slender ankle.
“The floor’s cold.” Huo Yan furrowed his brow.
“I told you, I came out to chase away a fly,” she muttered.
“That still doesn’t make it okay.” Huo Yan looked up at her.
“Next time, leave this sort of thing to me.”
“Leave it to you?”
Jiang Li raised an eyebrow.
“What can a bricklayer like you do? Pick a fight with him? What if you get hurt? Who’ll earn money for me then?”
“Baby’s right. I have to stay alive to earn money for Baby.” Huo Yan chuckled softly.
He stood, went to the table, poured a glass of warm water, and handed it to Jiang Li.
“Did you wear yourself out yelling at him?”
Jiang Li took the glass and had a sip.
She really was a little thirsty.
“But… Baby… what you said just now… was it all true?” Huo Yan sat down beside her.
“Why do you care so much?” Jiang Li held the glass and looked away.
She didn’t dare meet his eyes.
Huo Yan braced one hand against the back of the sofa.
“Baby, you just said I’d be richer than him even if I laid bricks for a living?”
“Y-yeah. So what? Was I wrong? That fatso even paid for his rental car with a credit-card cash advance. At least you can earn money yourself.” Jiang Li forced herself to stay calm.
“So what you mean is…” Something stirred in Huo Yan’s eyes. “I’m better than him?”
“Obviously.” Jiang Li rolled her eyes. “If you couldn’t even beat someone like him, I’d have dumped you ages ago.”
As soon as she finished, Huo Yan gently hooked a finger beneath her chin.
“Baby, you also said…” Huo Yan’s thumb traced her jawline. “That I was your man.”
“I only said that to piss him off!” Jiang Li tried to turn her head, but he held her in place.
“Is that so?” Huo Yan lowered his head until the tip of his nose was almost touching hers. “Then why did it sound so much like you meant it?”
“Huo Yan, what’s wrong with you?” Jiang Li pressed a hand against his chest. “I was just saying it off the cuff. You’re taking it seriously?”
“I took it seriously, so you have to mean it too, Baby…”