Chapter 394: Not Familiar
Chapter 394: Chapter 394: Not Familiar
"Young Master Meng!" Kang Ziweng looked at Meng Chenghui with an aggrieved expression, the very picture of a damsel in distress. She reached a hand out to him, hoping he would pull her up and stick up for her.
Unfortunately, her hopes were misplaced. She never expected Meng Chenghui to completely ignore her. Instead, his burning gaze was fixed on Su Qing.
’So cool!’
That was the only thought in Meng Chenghui’s mind.
Meng Chenghui thought the slap Su Qing had just given Kang Ziweng was the coolest thing he’d ever seen. He never imagined he’d use a word like "cool" to describe a girl’s actions.
Su Qing saw Meng Chenghui looking at her and jutted her chin toward Kang Ziweng, who was still on the floor. "Your girlfriend?"
"Nope." Meng Chenghui shook his head like a rattle drum. "We’re not close. Miss Kang and I are just acquaintances."
Kang Ziweng was stunned. Just moments ago, he had been all smiles, calling her Ziwen and offering to cover all her expenses in the store for the day. Now he was claiming they weren’t close and calling her Miss Kang!
Su Qing chuckled. "From the way Miss Kang was talking, I thought you were her boyfriend."
"How could that be?" Meng Chenghui wouldn’t admit for the life of him that he’d originally planned to hit on Kang Ziweng.
"Young Master Meng!" Kang Ziweng stared at Meng Chenghui in disbelief. "You just said you were going to..."
Before Kang Ziweng could finish, Meng Chenghui looked at her with a grave expression. "Miss Kang, we are not close. Please have some self-respect. I saw you were short on funds today, and out of consideration for the friendship between the Meng Family and the Kang family, I thought I would help you by covering the cost for now. You are expected to pay me back later. It was just a friendly favor. I hope you haven’t misunderstood my intentions."
Meng Chenghui’s words struck Kang Ziweng’s heart like a heavy hammer. She knew he was only saying this because he’d taken a liking to the woman standing before him, which was why he was in such a hurry to distance himself from her. A wave of indignation washed over her. She scrambled to her feet and, crying, made to run out of the store.
The shop assistants standing by had seen their fair share of drama between the rich and powerful, so it was nothing new. As long as a fight didn’t break out, they pretended not to see anything. But seeing Kang Ziweng about to run off while still wearing the store’s clothes was another matter. An assistant quickly stepped forward to stop her. "Miss Kang, you haven’t paid for this dress yet."
Kang Ziweng’s face turned ugly. She barely had any money on her card and couldn’t afford the clothes from this store at all. She looked at Meng Chenghui, who was pretending he didn’t see a thing. She stomped her foot resentfully, shot Su Qing a furious glare, and then went back to the dressing room to change. Then she fled as if on wings.
Meng Chenghui couldn’t care less about Kang Ziweng’s anger and embarrassment. In the past, he would have just put a mere dress on his tab. After all, the things he casually gave to women were countless; one more or less made no difference. But now, in front of Su Qing, he suddenly found his past behavior cringeworthy. He especially didn’t want Su Qing to think he had any interest in Kang Ziweng. All he wanted now was for Su Qing to have a good impression of him.
Unfortunately, Meng Chenghui’s efforts were doomed to be a waste. Su Qing wasn’t paying him any attention at all.
Cheng Beilin and Li Huan hurried out of their dressing rooms. Cheng Beilin asked Su Qing, "I heard Kang Ziweng’s voice. Where is she? Was she giving you trouble?"
Even though Cheng Beilin was in the dressing room, she had heard Kang Ziweng’s voice loud and clear. She had rushed to change and come out, afraid Kang Ziweng would bully Su Qing. ’Daring to curse at my friend and benefactor?’ she thought, making a mental note against Kang Ziweng. ’When I get back, I’m definitely telling my brother and parents. The Kang family needs to be taught a lesson.’
"It’s fine. I sent her running," Su Qing said with a slight shrug.
"Nice one." Cheng Beilin gave Su Qing a thumbs-up. Seeing Meng Chenghui standing so close to Su Qing, she couldn’t help but frown. "Young Master Meng, Kang Ziweng already left. Why didn’t you go with her?"
Meng Chenghui was speechless.
Li Huan, on the other hand, pulled Su Qing behind her and watched Meng Chenghui warily. ’The woman who was bullying Qingqing is with this man. I have to be on my guard. I’m the older sister, so I have to protect my little sister.’
Meng Chenghui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He gave a faint smile. "I mean no harm."
"Young Master Meng." Cheng Beilin took a step forward, blocking Su Qing. ’I can see it now,’ she thought. ’This Meng Chenghui has his eyes on Su Qing. That won’t do. This playboy is not good enough for Su Qing.’ "My friends and I are going to continue shopping. Young Master Meng must have other business to attend to, so we won’t keep you."
Meng Chenghui could also see their resistance toward him. Although he was extremely interested in Su Qing, he knew it wasn’t the time to be too hasty. He smiled and said, "I do have some other matters to attend to, so I won’t disturb the three of you any longer. We’ll have a chance to talk again."
With that, Meng Chenghui glanced at Su Qing. Though he was reluctant to leave, he knew he had to.
Seeing Meng Chenghui leave, Cheng Beilin whispered to Su Qing and Li Huan, "That guy’s a huge womanizer. If you see him in the future, stay far away. He changes girlfriends so frequently. It’s ’love at first sight’ with every new girl he meets, and he gets tired of the old ones especially fast."
"Ah, so he’s a scumbag!" Li Huan’s eyes widened upon hearing this.
"Yup, that’s him," Cheng Beilin said, pursing her lips into a smile.
After that, the three of them didn’t talk about Meng Chenghui anymore. They each picked out some clothes, browsed a few other shops, and after an afternoon of shopping to their hearts’ content, returned with their hands full.
「The next day.」
Cheng Beilin had to stay home to entertain friends and family. Li Huan, perhaps not yet used to the new environment and feeling a bit under the weather, was resting in her room. After sending some green mist to Li Huan, Su Qing went to the house where Du Chaoran and Mr. Gong were staying. Now that Mr. Gong had arrived, she felt she had to go and see him.
Seeing Su Qing arrive, both Mr. Gong and Du Chaoran were very happy. Mr. Gong smiled and said to Su Qing, "Su, last time you saved Chaoran, I never got to thank you in person. Thank you so much."
"It was nothing." Su Qing smiled. "The police did most of the heavy lifting."
"Chaoran told me everything. You were instrumental in that matter. If it weren’t for you, who knows what kind of suffering that brat and the Cheng Family’s girl would have gone through," Mr. Gong said hurriedly.
Du Chaoran scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.
Mr. Gong waved a dismissive hand at Du Chaoran. "Alright, you’re going to be the groom tomorrow. Go check if there’s anything else you need to prepare. Don’t mess anything up tomorrow."
"Yes, Master." Du Chaoran quickly responded, gave Su Qing another smile, and then left the room.
Seeing Mr. Gong do this, Su Qing guessed that he probably had something he wanted to discuss with her alone. She asked, "Mr. Gong, is something the matter?"
"Sigh, yes, there is something," Mr. Gong said, nodding with a slight frown.