"Do you have any idea who I am?" Li Luxian wanted to make sure whether or not she knew who he was. But inevitably, his dark tone held the answer to his own question. It explicitly implied that 'I'm a very important, do-not-mess-with type of guy'.
Chen Yi glanced at his face. She frowned. A little uncertainty arose in her expression. She tried to recognize that face. But she couldn't. "Who are you?" When she looked down at the poorly done sweater he wore, she froze.
The next second, she started laughing.
Li Luxian was utterly lost. What happened to her now? This woman was so unpredictable. Did she get mania after finally recognizing the identity of the person she had offended?
"You bumpkin, I'm telling you. Don't try to play that you-know-who-I-'m card with me. It won't work on me."
Li Luxian: "..." She did not just call him that. Li Luxian couldn't believe her. He had lost the number of times this girl had surprised him in a short span of time.
"You don't know who I am." He sighed. Then he smiled. That was interesting. He wondered how her expression would look once she realized who he was.
Chen Yi glared at him: "Wipe off that you-don't-know-anything smile from your face, bumpkin." Did that bumpkin think he was smart? Hah! "Are you trying to scare me for compensation by playing this card?" Her tone was bitter. Chen Yi glanced at his smashed phone and assessed its worth. Being responsible, she grabbed out some dollar bills and threw them at that bumpkin. "Here. That will make up for your loss"
Li Luxian stared at those notes in his hand. How long has it been since he had touched material currency? His financial matters were normally taken care of by Zhang Xin. And if he even went out to do some personal shopping he would bring credit cards.
Watching him inspecting the bills like it was some alien object, Chen Yi was assured this man was a bumpkin who hadn't even ever seen this much money.
"What if it doesn't make up for my loss?" Those bills wouldn't even make up for the one percent price of that custom-made phone.
"Listen, bumpkin. Don't get greedy. I'm already giving you more than it could have cost."
"Then you definitely have no idea how much that cell cost"
"It cost your mother!" Chen Yi burst.
Li Luxian froze and stared back at her, taken aback. One word surfaced in his head. 'Feisty'. This woman was feisty and he so wanted to tame her.
"This is all you are getting from me. So don't think of more. It was not entirely my fault that your cell fell from your hands. You should have gotten too much involved in a random kiss and paid attention to your phone." Was this guy really trying to rob her in broad daylight? Huffing, Chen Yi turned over her heels and walked away.
A fire sparked in Li Luxian's eyes. He crunched those notes in his hands. A devilish smile unfolded on his lips: "You are so going to regret this."
...
Chen Yi walked into her apartment. Everything was messy and untidy. Clothes were everywhere. Not a single thing was in its place.
Who cared to clean? She had to leave the apartment soon anyway.
She walked to couches and slouched down. She lazily threw her head on the armrest of the couch and stretched her long, slim legs along the whole length of the sofa. She folded her arm and rested it over her forehead as she contemplated what to do with her life next.
In front of the couch, on the table, laid the stack of bills. Notices by the bank. Notices for the final date of submission of her apartment rent. Notices for the final date for submission of her university fee.
At that moment her phone rang. She groaned and pulled it out to see the identity of the caller while still lying on the couch. She wasn't going to attend if it was one of those loan sharks. Her cherry-red lips curled up into an ironic smile to see the ID of the caller. She picked up the call.
She had been waiting for that call.
"How came my dear boyfriend stealing bi**h for a cousin cared to call me?"
Silence followed from the other line. Chen Ying was stunned to hear such hostile words from her cousin out of a sudden. Temporarily shocked, she didn't know how to rebut. It was so out of character of Chen Yi to talk in such a venomous manner. According to Chen Ying's memory, Chen Yi used to be a polite and quiet girl with a phlegmatic personality.
"Didn't you get your lesson after losing your job?" Chen Ying finally said after a long pause of silence.
She wanted to threaten Chen Yi. Chen Yi would be on the streets-homeless and broke. And then she would have no choice but to agree to their terms. That was their plan.
Chen Yi had that teasing smile on her cherry-red, luscious lips. If one was to see her laying on the couch with that alluring smile on her face, he couldn't help feeling his heart thumping loudly in the presence of such heavenly beauty.
Because she looked so flawless, so innocent. Like a pure, pristine girl who had never done anything wicked in her life. Just like an angel, unblemished, and impeccable.
"And my dear cousin is definitely not calling me to ask whether I've found a new one?"
"Since you are smart I'll get to the point" Chen Ying was harsh. "Stay away from Jianguo and don't you think about getting close to him now that he might have said he would forgive you for Fu Liling's sake. He belongs to me."
Chen Yi chuckled lightly.
Such a cute couple, she thought ironically. Worthy to be shipped together. They were so similar. Two manipulative, backstabbing cheaters.
"My dear cousin" Chen Yi faked sweetness in her tune and twirled a strand of her silky brown hair between her fingers. Her brown eyes flashed with a crafty glint that made her look like a seductive devil capable of making wrapping any man around her fingers. "How can I control it if someone gets seduced by my looks? I would only blame that on your incapability to serve your man well in bed."
"Chen Yi!" Chen Ying was speechless.
How could her cousin that used to be so gentle and polite not just two months ago could suddenly say something this vulgar? Wasn't she the one who kept fawning around Fu Jianguo and couldn't hear a word against him?
Chen Yi laughed inwardly imagining the shocked face of her cousin.
People change. So she had to as the adversary of circumstances and predicaments forced her to. When the deceptive masks of those who surrounded her were unveiled, she had no choice but to change in order to survive.
"Dear big sister Chen Ying I suggest you better focus on taking good care of your boy toy and f**k him on a regular basis to keep him satisfied rather than threatening me. Because there is no lack of women skilled in seducing other boyfriends and you might end up losing your man", as Chen Ying was silenced with astonishment at the crude words spoken by her cousin, Chen Yi continued, "Just like I did by your hands"
Implications in Chen Yi's words were clear as water.
"Chen Yi!" Chen Ying broke out of her stupor and snarled at Chen Yi. "You better watch out your mouth! Jianguo and I always were sincerely in love with each other. Only you were the third wheel between us!"
Chen Yi couldn't help but feel surprised at the hypocrisy and pretense in Chen Ying's words. How could someone lie like that so fluently and shamelessly?
Third wheel and she? Did Chen Ying really think that Chen Yi didn't know a thing? She had only kept her silence before because of Fu Jianguo and his family. She was always careful to leave a good image of herself.
Chen Yi's cherry-red lips curved up. A tempting smile adorned her jade-like white face.
"Oh do I tell you a secret?" Chen Yi purposely lowered her voice as if she was telling a secret."I know Jianguo's character and I'm sure he will never look at you again once he learns about the affair between my dear cousin, Chen Ying, and the second son of the Jiang family, Jiang Li."
Without waiting for a response from Chen Ying and giving her the opportunity to mitigate her shock, Chen Yi switched off her phone, laughed, and carelessly threw her phone away.
Chen Ying was left flabbergasted. She was in a cold sweat. Fear coursed through her veins.
"How-How could Chen Yi know about me and Jiang Li?"
No one knew about it! Chen Ying had kept it a secret and had been careful with every minute detail. If her relationship with the second son of the Jiang family was revealed, her engagement with Fu Jianguo would be in danger. And her whole plans to get the roles by the Fu family would turn to ashes.
In her desperation, Chen Ying dialed Chen Yi's number. But to her dismay, her phone was off. No matter how many times she tried, Chen Yi wouldn't pick up.