Chapter 793
"The Wind-Chasing Youth"
"Are you crazy? I've already bought it, and if you don't want it, am I supposed to use a women's bag?" Chen Xiao said irritably.
Who wouldn't be overjoyed if he gave them a gift now? This woman even calls herself "tiger"!
"Then give it to someone else," Diao Chan said, slightly afraid of him after his harsh words.
"You're giving this to your girlfriend."
Chen Xiao shoved the bag into her hand: "Enough with the nonsense. Does my girlfriend need a bag like this?"
Diao Chan looked at the bag that had been stuffed into her arms and said, "You're such a braggart."
An 80,000+ yuan bag? His girlfriend doesn't need one? No normal person would believe that. You're a working person, earning a little over 10,000 yuan a month, and you spend over 80,000 yuan on a bag to please a woman. The thing is, you've only met this woman a few times, and only in those kinds of settings.
She sighed, "How about I go ask if I can return it and get my money back?"
"You're out of your mind," Chen Xiao said, ignoring her and turning to leave.
Qianqian and Sister Juan came out of the LV store and saw Diao Chan arguing with a handsome young man who looked refined.
Seeing the man hand a shopping bag to Diao Chan, Sister Juan laughed: "Every time Diao Chan goes out, men try to chat her up."
Qianqian laughed too: "I don't know what that man gave her, Diao Chan definitely won't accept it. She never accepts gifts from strangers."
No sooner had she finished speaking than the boy forcefully shoved the gift into Diao Chan's hand, said something, and then turned and left!
"Wow, this handsome guy is something else. Is he forcing himself on me?" Sister Juan said, noticing that Diao Chan was holding a shopping bag and staring at the boy's back as if she hadn't quite caught up in the moment.
"I think that man has successfully caught Diao Chan's attention."
"Qianqian, you're right, Diao Chan is distracted. Come on, let's go over there."
Diao Chan stared at the bag in her hand, utterly speechless! She didn't like this. Even if it was about pursuing a girl, one should act within their means. You earn a little over 1 a month, and you buy an 8+ yuan bag as a gift? Even if you win her over, how will you afford to support her afterwards?
"Xiao Chan—"
When Qianqian called out to her, Diao Chan turned around and saw the LV shopping bag in Qianqian's hand, knowing that she had already bought the bag she wanted.
"Let's go back. I asked the company for three hours off, and it's almost time." Diao Chan was always punctual and was afraid of breaking her promise if she went back late.
"It's okay, there's no traffic now, it'll be quick!" Qianqian replied, then asked curiously, "Xiaochan, who was that guy just now? I think he forced a gift on you."
Diao Chan replied casually, "One guest, a very nice person."
Huh?
Qianqian was even more incredulous. "The sun must have risen in the west! This is the first time you've ever received a gift from a guest!"
Diao Chan smiled faintly and remained silent. She thought to herself, "I can't exactly throw it back, can I?"
Qianqian added, "I remember that when people tried to force flowers on you before, you would either throw them in the trash or give them to your colleagues."
Diao Chan strode towards the elevator. How could that be the same? Those people were even more annoying than Chen Xiao. Besides, that bag cost him over 8 yuan—half a year's salary. If she threw it away, would she even be human?
Qianqian owns an Audi A3, which is basically just a rebadged Golf. But people like Qianqian have dreamed of owning a BMW, Audi, or Mercedes-Benz since they were young. Once she could afford it, she immediately made her dream come true.
Sitting in the car, Qianqian started the engine, shifted gears, and accelerated in one smooth motion. "Xiaochan, I think you could buy a car too; it would be convenient to go out regularly."
Diao Chan turned to look out the window. "Why waste that money? It's more convenient for me to take the high-speed rail back to my hometown. When I'm in Jiangzhou, I'm either at work or in my dormitory. What use would I have for a car?"
Sitting in the back, Sister Juan took the opportunity to say, "Hey, it's easy for Diao Chan to want a car, isn't it? That Boss Liang drives a Land Rover. Diao Chan can just wave her hand and he'll give her a BMW."
Every three sentences she spoke mentioned President Liang, which annoyed Diao Chan. She said calmly, "I can do anything, except take my pants off."
The car fell into a deathly silence!
Qianqian's fingers tightened on the steering wheel, and Juanjie's smile froze completely. Both of their faces burned, as if they had been slapped by an invisible hand. Diao Chan's words were like a sharp knife, both drawing a line between herself and certain "shortcuts" and subtly piercing some of their unwillingly scrutinized survival rules. The awkward atmosphere almost solidified.
Qianqian tried to break the silence, glancing out the window and exclaiming dramatically:
"Hey everyone, look! It's almost 40 degrees outside! There's some idiot riding a bicycle in this blazing sun! Doesn't he get heatstroke and faint?!"
Sister Juan immediately went down the steps and leaned forward to look:
"Exactly! It doesn't look right! Even if they're cycling, who would choose to come out in this scorching midday sun?"
She squinted, trying to make out the blurry figure struggling to pedal in the heat:
"Huh? This person... looks kind of familiar?"
Diao Chan didn't say anything, but just silently rolled her eyes.
How could it not look familiar?
Who else could it be but Chen Xiao, the "fool" who rode his bicycle like an ascetic in the heatwave?
"Please stop the car up ahead."
Qianqian and Sister Juan suddenly realized! Wasn't that "fool" on the bicycle the young man who had given Diao Chan such a generous gift in Junxiao City during the day?
Riding a bicycle?!
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing disbelief and a subtle hint of disdain in each other's eyes. This kind of transportation? This kind of financial strength? Their material conditions are far too inferior! How can they possibly be worthy of pursuing someone like Diao Chan?
Chen Xiao was indeed drenched in sweat, large beads of sweat rolling down his forehead and soaking his T-shirt. But his exposed skin, under the scorching sun, showed no redness or stinging sensation! He looked down at his arms several times; his skin maintained a healthy color, as if the blazing sun had no effect on him. His physique of 126 points had long surpassed the physiological limits of ordinary people.
Suddenly, he saw a white Audi A3 pull over. The passenger door opened, and a tall girl quickly got out and stood directly beside the non-motorized vehicle lane.
Chen Xiao didn't pay attention at first, but when the bicycle glided closer, he saw the pretty face with her eyebrows slightly furrowed in the sunlight—it was Diao Chan!
"squeak--"
He lightly applied the brakes, and the seemingly ordinary bicycle, as if by magic, came to a steady stop in front of Diao Chan, the frame not even wobbling. He wiped away his sweat, a habitual, slightly roguish smile playing on his lips:
"Beautiful lady, blocking my way in broad daylight, are you trying to rob me... or assault me?"
Diao Chan glared at him, annoyed. He was already so tanned, yet he still had the energy to chatter! The scorching sun made her skin burn, and she really wasn't in the mood to talk nonsense with him.
She pointed to the Audi's trunk, her tone leaving no room for refusal:
"Chen Xiao, put your bike in the trunk and ride with us. Riding a bike in this weather, are you crazy?"
Chen Xiao raised his eyebrows dramatically, as if he had heard a joke: "I'm not sick. Why would I put my bike in your trunk instead of riding it? What were you thinking?"
"..." Diao Chan was speechless for a moment, shielding her eyes from the glaring sunlight. She looked up at the incandescent fireball, then at his gleaming yet perfectly normal face, her tone filled with doubt:
Are you sure you're not sick?
"If you're worried about the trunk damaging your bike, just leave it on the side of the road. In today's society, no one should steal your bicycle."
"Steal?" Chen Xiao scoffed, his eyes filled with a mixture of mockery and seriousness.
"If I ride this bike out at night, do you believe someone would dare to steal it?" He wasn't joking. If people knew that this seemingly unremarkable "bicycle" was a Trek Butterfly, a one-of-a-kind piece worth tens of millions of dollars, there would be no shortage of people willing to take the risk!
"I don't believe you for a second!" Diao Chan didn't believe him at all, thinking he was just being unreasonable. Too lazy to argue further, she simply placed her hand on the handlebars and pointed at the roadside guardrail in a somewhat commanding tone:
"Park over there! Lock it! Who's so bored as to pick the lock on a beat-up car in broad daylight?"
She didn't know much about bicycles. Looking at Chen Xiao's bike, with its sleek lines but lack of special embellishments, she estimated it cost only a few thousand yuan. While it wasn't exactly a "beat-up bike," what was that little bit of money compared to human life and health?
Chen Xiao shook his head at the guards who had stopped and were riding electric scooters.
If Diao Chan hadn't been such a beautiful woman, they would have all swarmed around her. She looked like a bandit leader.
He knew Diao Chan meant well, so he gently removed her hand from the handlebars, his gesture carrying a hint of reassurance.
"Alright, stop meddling. I'm just exercising and enjoying the sun!"
A dog catching a mouse?!
Diao Chan's already large eyes widened instantly, and Chen Xiao then realized that when she got angry, her wide-open eyes were incredibly expressive, almost comparable to Xiao Yanzi's classic big eyes.
A surge of resentment and anger welled up inside me!
"You're the one who's 'biting the hand that feeds you'—unappreciating kindness'!" She gritted her teeth in anger, her cheeks slightly flushed. She'd seen ungrateful people before, but someone as stubborn and obstinate as Chen Xiao, taking kindness for granted, was a first for her!
"Let's go, let's go, stop worrying!" Chen Xiao waved his hand, his foot already on the pedal, ready to exert force.
"Wait a minute!" Although Diao Chan was furious, she felt a sudden tightness in her heart when she saw Chen Xiao's nonchalant attitude and his readiness to continue his "self-torture." She stomped her foot, turned around, and rushed towards the Audi.
Chen Xiao watched her back with curiosity.
Diao Chan opened the passenger door, quickly grabbed a thin, light purple women's sun-protective clothing from the seat, rushed back, and shoved it into Chen Xiao's hand without a word.
"Here! My sun-protective clothing! You can make do with this for now!"
Her tone was urgent, tinged with disappointment:
"Otherwise, your skin would peel off in just one day!"
It turns out she went to get a sun-protective shirt...
Chen Xiao looked down at the light purple sun-protective clothing in her hand, which had a faint, pleasant fragrance and was clearly a women's size. A look of extreme disgust crossed her face, as if she were holding a hot potato.
"What?! You want me to wear women's clothes?"
He pushed the clothes into Diao Chan's arms:
"Hey lady, have you lost your mind from the sun?"
Diao Chan was furious. She thought he was a nice person, they got along well, and he even gave her a gift today. This was the first time she had ever shown any concern for a man, and this was it?
"Let's go!" Chen Xiao seemed completely oblivious to her impending emotional outburst, waving casually. With a push of his foot, the priceless Trek Butterfly glided forward like an arrow, leaving a smooth trail in the scorching air. Riding it didn't feel like pedaling; it felt more like riding the wind and soaring through the clouds.
Inside the Audi A3, Qianqian and Sister Juan witnessed the entire scene, their mouths agape in disbelief.
"My God... Xiao Chan... she actually gave her sun protection clothing to that kid?" Qianqian murmured, her tone full of disbelief.
Sister Juan also looked shocked and clicked her tongue:
"Yeah! The sun must have risen in the west! She barely acknowledges Ms. Liang who drives the Land Rover, but she's so interested in this guy who rides a beat-up bicycle... What's her motive?"
Diao Chan angrily sat back in the passenger seat, slammed the door shut, and tightened her seatbelt. Through the windshield, she stared intently at the receding figure of the bicycle rider in the heat, silently swearing a vicious oath:
"Chen Xiao! If I, Diao Chan, ever meddle in your business again... I'll make me gain ten pounds! Ten pounds!"
Qianqian started the car, cautiously observing Diao Chan's ashen face, and tentatively whispered:
"Xiao Chan... this is the first time I've ever seen a guest make you this angry..."
She thought to herself: It seems that Diao Chan really doesn't like the type like President Liang? Could it be... that she likes this kind of handsome but penniless, bad-tempered hothead?
It would have been better if she hadn't brought it up, because bringing it up stirred up Diao Chan's grievances. She snorted, "Who's angry? What do I have to be angry about?"
He paused for a moment, then added, "I've never seen anything so insane, riding a bicycle in this weather!"
Chen Xiao, who had been called a pervert by her, was secretly delighted. Today's cycling trip had thoroughly demonstrated the power of his physique (126). He was feeling a bit cocky, even wondering if he could become invulnerable.
Back at the Junxiao Lakeside CBD, Chen Xiao handed his bicycle to the guards to park, and then took the private elevator upstairs.
Zhang Ziqian and Ma Jing were waiting in his office. As soon as he entered, they both glanced at him, scrutinizing him from head to toe. Chen Xiao knew what they were looking at; they were probably wondering why his skin hadn't changed color at all.
He couldn't really explain it. He just coughed lightly and said, "Ziqian, we got the bag Xiangjun wanted back. Did you send it to her?"
"Sister Xiangjun said she's arranged for someone to come and pick it up—"
Chen Xiao simply said "Oh," without paying any attention.
"Huh, she sent me a WeChat message. She's probably asking me to pick up my bag." Zhang Ziqian clicked to accept the request.
Chen Xiao shook his head. They really didn't treat the village chief like a government official. The special assistant to the boss of the prestigious Junxiao Group was behaving like a personal shopper.
"Boss, this Mr. Shi says he's Sister Xiangjun's brother-in-law." (End of Chapter)