“It's fine, no one has to pay. I told all of you that I'm going to buy a meal today.” After saying that, Li Meng leaned her head closer to Helian Wei Wei's ear and whispered quietly, “Wei Wei, don't be shy. Aren't we cla.s.smates? Don't worry, I'll foot the bill for you.”
It would seem that Li Meng's offer came from a genuine place.
However, as she uttered the last sentence, suggesting to help her pay the bill, her words seemed to be underlined with a hidden mockery…
“True, true.” The other three female cla.s.smates chirped with a sugary smile, “Since Li Meng is buying us a meal, Wei Wei, don't hesitate anymore. Let's go now, we'll order more dishes for you. Don't stay here in such a sorry state and share a measly burger with your poor son.”
When she heard their comment, Helian Wei Wei instantly knew what they were implying. After all, she had a shrewd common sense, and their fakery echoed loud and clear in her ears.
However, she found their misconception very laughable, as she pondered to herself. Do they think that I can't even afford a meal in Burger King? That's what they thought when they saw us sharing a burger?
Do I seem very poor?
Little Qingchen clearly comprehended the situation, as well. However, he remained mum and did not speak up. These foolish humans, it's not worth it to waste my voice on them.
After all, they had already set their mind, firmly believing that he was a poor and penniless b.u.mpkin. No matter what he said, it would only sound like an excuse for the wretched women.
He silently sighed to himself. With a quick glance, he scanned over his attire and had an epiphany. Hmm, I'm not wearing any branded piece of clothing, even my shirt is given by Uncle Tang. He claimed that it was custom-made, so there isn't any logo on it.
Then, he raised his eyes to stare at Little Fatty Cheng, who was ravenously stuffing his face with the fries, like an overweight gluttonous Paul Frank monkey.
Thus, Little Qingchen suddenly realized that it was not unreasonable for others to perceive them as poor.
But… I actually love money to death!
Well, I just have to work very hard to earn a lot of cash!
As Little Qingchen was making up his mind on his future ambition…
Baili Shangxie was proudly carrying the black diamonds and black pearls from the demon realm in his hands, preparing to create a belt for his brother's figurines when he returned home.
Little brother doesn't know how to dress up well. So, of course, I have to keep that in mind and help him, as the older brother.
The demons in the demon realm did not dare to reveal themselves, and merely remained hidden timidly. One of them meekly asked his friend in a hushed whisper, “What is the Little Master doing?”
“I'm not sure as well. It seems like he had a newfound fascination with jewelry and gems.”
“This is my first time seeing him so well-behaved and obedient. He didn't hit anybody today, it's simply a miracle! Truly a jaw-dropping miracle!”
Suddenly, Baili Shangxie stood straight as a ramrod, and shifted his gaze toward them.
The demons trembled violently in great fear. Intense dread and panic paralyzed their entire bodies, as they wrongly a.s.sumed that he wanted to drag them over and began tormenting them. As they furtively glanced around, frantically deciding on the direction to flee…
Unexpectedly, the little master grabbed one of the demon's feet, and with a swift movement of his arm, powerfully flung the demon far away.
Then, he simply bent down, picked up the largest black pearl, and continued ambling forward, completely ignoring the demons' pitiful existence.
All the demons were absolutely flabbergasted and thunderstruck into complete silence…
What on earth is he doing?
They did not know that Baili Shangxie's heart and attention were solely focused on digging gems for his younger brother, he simply had no time to waste on them.
Meanwhile, Little Qingchen was still busily eating the burger that he bought earlier. He opened his mouth wide and took a huge bite, causing his squirrelly cheeks to bulge outward. As he quietly gazed at the adults sitting around him with his large, beautiful eyes, he seemed exceptionally adorable as he reached for his cup and drank the c.o.ke.
It was clear as day that Helian Wei Wei took no heed of their nonsensical balderdash. She ignored them and merely looked at her precious son, pinching his little cheek and playfully s.n.a.t.c.hing a piece of fries from his hand to eat.
Little Qingchen thought that she loved eating it, so he casually used another hand to take a fry and dip it in ketchup, before gentlemanly feeding it to Helian Wei Wei. Then, he turned his head around to face Li Meng and said, “Thanks for your invitation, Auntie. But my mom prefers to eat fries, so I think aunties should just head up and enjoy the meal yourselves.”
Little Qingchen spoke in an icy, indifferent tone. However, he uttered it so politely, Li Meng could not pick a bone with him.
On the other hand, Little Fatty Cheng was boiling and raging furiously. No longer able to contain his dissatisfaction, he tugged at his mother's sleeves with irate puffs of air from his nose, saying, “Mom, make him…”
Before Little Fatty Cheng could finish his words, he was instantly frozen by a taunting stare from Helian Wei Wei.
Unknowingly, he felt that a pair of menacing eyes were piercing through him.
“If that's the case, both of you eat first.” As though an idea had popped into her mind, Li Meng swiftly interrupted her son and looked at Helian Wei Wei with a sickening grin, saying, “We'll meet at Starbucks on the second floor later.”
Helian Wei Wei merely responded lazily with a lukewarm smile and placed one hand on the back of the chair, muttering, “Fine.”
Li Meng quickly stood up with an ingenuine smile, and signaled to her three cla.s.smates with her gaze. The other people haven't arrived for the reunion yet. It will only be interesting to expose all her dirty secrets when all of them are here.
The three cla.s.smates did not understand her gesture. However, they had always been following her blindly like a shadow, so they made no attempts to stay when they heard her leaving.
After they exited from Burger King, Little Fatty Cheng was still tightly clenching his little chubby fist, fuming and dissatisfied. He did not understand why his mother would not let him vent his anger on them.
Li Meng pulled her son to the side and quietly said, “Cheng Cheng, remember this. It's not worth it to be upset about that little brat. How many times have I told you? You must maintain your image and decorum. It's unsightly and worthless to lose your temper on penniless beggars like them, do you understand?”
“I understand.” Little Fatty Cheng unwillingly said through gritted teeth, “But mom, you need to teach them a lesson for me.”
Li Meng said with a menacing smile, “Of course, I told you that I would punish them for you. Let's go and eat first, it's almost dinner time…”
In the meantime, Little Qingchen was drinking the last sip of his c.o.ke in Burger King. With a babyish tone, he said, “Pretty Wei Wei, it seems like your cla.s.smates have something else planned for you at the cla.s.s reunion later.”
“Little Qingchen, remember that every cla.s.s reunion is a sort of contest.” Helian Wei Wei flicked his temple with a cheeky yet evil grin, saying, “But, it seems like they had a misunderstanding, thinking that I'm very poor.”
Little Qingchen raised his hands to defend his head and nagged Helian Wei Wei in a serious manner, “But, they really seem to think you're penniless. So, you should give me more allowance when I help you with the household ch.o.r.es and errands, do you understand? You must not abuse child labor!”
“I'm merely indirectly showing you how difficult it is to live in society.” Helian Wei Wei bent over to carry him up and continued preaching, “Furthermore, look at your elder brother. He's helping your imperial father manage so many official affairs, without receiving any allowances. Compared to your imperial father, I'm already being overly generous.”
Little Qingchen was speechless. He finally comprehended the reason his older brother wanted to flee from home. Their parents were too shameless, even outright refusing to provide them with some spending money. Luckily, he still had some money stowed away.
When he thought of that, Little Qingchen peeked into the little pocket that contained his hidden savings.
However, just as he lowered his head, the dozens of hundred-yuan bills were instantly seized by Helian Wei Wei, leaving only one sad fifty-yuan note in it.
“Pretty Wei Wei, I will leave you if you continue to do this!”
“Be a good boy now. Bringing a large amount of money is not safe. Weren't you kidnapped the last time because of it? Let me destroy them for you, then you will be safe and sound.”
Little Qingchen thought to himself. Trickey, this is all a trickery. It was just an accident that I was kidnapped!
However, his efforts at retaliation were still futile in the face of an all-powerful bandit-like mother. Soon after, Helian Wei Wei managed to shift his attention to a demon-shaped plush toy.
When Little Qingchen saw the plush toy, he was immediately reminded of his older brother.
The plush toy was extremely delicate, sprouting a pair of onyx black wings on its back and wearing black piercings on its ears. Its expression was cool and cold, striking a curious resemblance to his elder brother.
Little Qingchen was elated and hurriedly took out his allowances to buy some tokens. His intention was clear as day – if he could not obtain the doll, he would not take a step away from the arcade.
Helian Wei Wei took ten hundred-yuan notes to the counter to exchange one thousand tokens. It was so that they could collect ten thousand lottery tickets, to trade for the all-black little demon toy.
Little Qingchen was quite adept at the arcade games, especially those machines that rewarded lottery tickets. With each token, he could obtain an explosive amount of lottery tickets from them.
Meanwhile, the arcade owner felt uneasy and was glaring at them miserably. He did not expect the winning probability to be so high, and had even ordered his employees to tune the machines. However, no matter how much they adjusted the machines, Little Qingchen would still be able to win all the lottery tickets from it.
Eventually, he managed to win the most expensive plush toy from the arcade after using only about 20 game tokens.
The doll looked very realistic, and was even taller than Little Qingchen. It would surely cost about 600 to 700 yuan to buy it in the mall.
While Little Qingchen was hugging it, his gait became even more adorable, as he could not see in front of him.
The arcade owner could not believe his eyes, hence he hastily inserted a token into the machine. Much to his dismay, he did not even win a single lottery ticket. F*cking h.e.l.l, I lost a lot of money today!
Having won an expensive plush toy with just 20 tokens, Little Qingchen was on cloud nine. Especially since the doll was a present for his brother, he did not even realize that his little forehead was drenched in sweat. He wiped himself dry and continued walking toward Starbucks.
When they arrived, they saw that many of her cla.s.smates had arrived.
Li Meng was sitting in the center, and spoke in an overly enthusiastic manner when she noticed Helian Wei Wei walking in, “Why are you so late? I thought that you would finish eating first. Do you want to order some dessert for your son? Since you ate so little at Burger King, you must be very hungry now.”
“Li Meng, don't make Wei Wei order anything here. The price of a slice of cake in Starbucks is easily the price of a set meal from Burger King. Of course, she can't afford it.” The female cla.s.smates around her broke into a peal of mocking laughter, and said, “Never mind. I have a member card here, you can get one free when you order a cup of coffee. You can graciously give the free one to Wei Wei to drink.”
Helian Wei Wei merely remained silent, and smiled widely as she glanced at them. Her raised eyebrows and ambiguous irises seemed to add a tinge of wickedness to her placid expression.
As her eyes fell onto them, her female cla.s.smates were stunned and terrified. For no apparent reason, a cold eeriness began to arise in their hearts.
Meanwhile, the other oblivious people were still urging Helian Wei Wei to order something from the menu.
Helian Wei Wei did not head to the counter. Instead, she sat down on the sofa with Little Qingchen and indifferently said, “Compared to coffee, I actually prefer wine. Since I have just eaten, I won't drink anything here.”
When they saw it, Li Meng and her nosy friends exchanged gloating glances with one another, becoming even more certain that Helian Wei Wei could not afford the drinks there.
“Since Wei Wei doesn't want to drink, that's fine.” Li Meng pretended to pacify the others. Then, she lowered her gaze and took a sip of coffee. She seemed elegant, but it was no more than a pretentious facade. She continued, “Right, Sisi will be here soon as well. Wei Wei, do you still remember her? When we were in high school, she was sitting behind you. Now, she's an impressive career woman. Not only is she very beautiful, but she's also an elite lawyer. She was even paid a huge sum of money for an interview a few days ago. She's so busy nowadays. If we have any problems in the future, we can give her a call, but I'm not sure if she'll even take our call.”
“No matter what, I will still take your call, Madam Cheng.”
Just as Li Meng finished speaking, Du Sisi waltzed in gracefully from the door. Clutching a luxurious handbag in her hand, she had silky long hair set in a trendy hairstyle, while her face was adorned with gorgeous makeup. She was wearing a pair of very high heels and her luscious lips were painted in a humble color, making her appear like a n.o.ble lady with a professional look. Perhaps, because she was from the Southern region, she seemed pet.i.te and amicable. In reality, her eyes were sullied with an evil glare.
After entering the coffee shop, she merely cast a quick glance at Helian Wei Wei, before instantly looking away and chatting with the others.
When someone asked her what she wanted to drink, Du Sisi purposely ordered frappuccino in English and p.r.o.nounced the word with great fluency.
“Du Sisi is so fluent in English!” Someone exclaimed, “When I was studying in university, I could still manage a few sentences. After I graduated, I don't speak the language anymore.”
Du Sisi took a sip of coffee and said, “My English is just decent. Li Meng, however, is much better at it than me. Everyone knows that her husband is none other than a manager in an international corporation, even all his friends and clients are foreigners. Sometimes, when I encounter a word that I don't know, I have to ask Li Meng to translate for me.”
“Hey there now, don't think that I can't hear your excessive flattery,” Li Meng warned playfully, although her eyes were brimmed with ecstasy. She was clearly enjoying the shower of compliments and admiration.
As a child who was raised by six crude and gruff men, of which two of them were foreigners, Little Qingchen simply could not comprehend how merely ordering a cup of coffee was a display of impressive English.
If they saw how Helian Wei Wei communicated entirely in English in the court when she was in America, they would surely combust in adulation.
Little Qingchen was bored by the mundane and artificial conversation, so he began to fiddle with his little demon toy. After some time, he leaned over and whispered quietly to Helian Wei Wei, “When will big brother arrive? He promised to be here after his meal. Perhaps, he couldn't find me because I'm not in school?”
Before Helian Wei Wei could reply to him, Du Sisi who was seated next to them opened her mouth, “Wei Wei, what about you? We've been talking for ages, but we still don't know where you are working?”
