Chapter 13  

That man eating the steak gracefully and slowly, coughed and put down his fork and knife in his hands. Then he picked up the cup of coffee and took a sip.

Why didn't he choke to death and be done with it?

Jia Shao quickly threw him a supercilious glance and nonchalantly shifted her gaze back to the man in front of her with a dignified posture and a fake smile.

In the exquisite small dish, a few pieces of banana chips lay beautifully and sparsely. The man's eyes and hands were quick and he reached out his hand to the dish to grab the chips. When he withdrew his hand, there were only two pieces left in the dish.

"Miss Jia, don't be polite with me. I will treat you to this dinner. Order whatever you want to eat." The man pushed the menu back to Jia Shao.

When one is faced with food in times of hunger, usually the only result is surrender....... especially with someone like Jia Shao. Her eyes would always involuntarily slipped towards the table diagonally from her and looked fiercely at the steak in front of Zhen Lang.

Her finger slid down the menu and stopped at the steak position.

"This is really too expensive." The man pointed his finger at the menu in front of Jia Shao. His eyebrows wrinkled tightly. "Look, it cost $8 for these few pieces. How many banana chips were there? For $8, it is possible to buy a catty from the shop outside and it can last for half a month."

Jia Shao lifted her eyes and glared at the man. She noticed that the waiter beside them scowled and just as quickly he regained his calm expression and maintained his professional smile.

In her mind, only two words were imprinted by Fang Qing Kui.......elegant.

Yes, she must be elegant........she must be elegant.

Forget it. It is better for her to drink a cup of coffee and later stuff herself with food.

She turned over two pages and her finger moved to the coffee section, pointed to a spot and nodded towards the waiter......

"A cup of coffee costs $25." The man held up his glass of water and drank a sip. "A pot of coffee costs between $80 to $100. If I were to buy instant coffee, a box will only cost $10 plus and it is enough for me to drink for half a month."

Jia Shao's elegant smile froze on her face and her finger that was pointing on the menu slowly shrank back. The waiter holding a pen in his hand looked at Jia Shao with questioning eyes.

"It's alright." Jia Shao shook her head and unexpectedly she saw someone behind the waiter, talking to another waiter with his head lowered. After catching her eyes, that someone smiled at her warmly, picked up the cup of coffee and took a sip. Feeling satisfied with his meal, he leaned back on the chair.

Inexplicable anger erupted in her heart and Jia Shao calmly withdrew her gaze and forced herself to concentrate her attention on the person in front of her, silently smiling to maintain her ladylike posture.

"Just look at this place. The décor style is plain, the environment is ordinary and the music is not even refined either." The man in front of her swept his eyes around the place and his fingers point at the corners of the café. "With such low standards, this place can even be known as the most exquisite café and the tablecloths are not even pleasant to the eye."

Jia Shao noticed that the waiter standing not too far away had a stiff expression on his face with his mouth pursed and conscientiously standing there without speaking.

She gave a laugh and really did not know how to carry on with the conversation as she was feeling ill at ease as if thorns were pricking her back.

The waiter was acting as if he did not see nor hear and she who was usually thick-skinned began to feel humiliated. But the man in front of her obviously did not notice and was still looking around the place.

"Miss Jia, can you see......." The man pointed with his chin and motioned Jia Shao to look in a direction. "Look at that person......he looks so weird. The shop is not good and even the guests also look unpleasant."

Jia Shao's eyebrows lifted and she nearly blurted out a sentence ~ 'What the fart has that got to do with you?'. Her fingers gripped the corners of the table and nodded unnaturally. She tried hard not to let her eyebrows knot together.

*Cough, cough* Someone sitting diagonally opposite her coughed twice and once again used his hand to cover his mouth and then gave another cough. His eyes were looking at the document in front of him and he was studying it seriously, completely ignorant that his unintentional move had once again attracted the attention of others.

She is an impetuous person, hot-tempered and straightforward. What she detests most are people who nag, people who are long-winded and people who like to find fault in others. And the man in front of her gave her the impulse to get up and just leave.

"Look at their waiters. Some are short and some are tall, there is no standard at all......" The man did not even notice that the corners of her mouth had drooped and he said those words loudly with a disgusted expression.

"Sorry, I......." Jia Shao interrupted the man and she was ready to get up and leave.

Just as she was speaking halfway, her eyes fell on the Zhen Lang who had turned his face around to look at her. That pair of smiling eyes full of mischief and that relaxed look on his face made Jia Shao swallowed back the words that were on the tip of her tongue. In doing so, she almost bit her own tongue.

"Let's talk about something else." She suggested. Although her ass felt uncomfortable as if she has a sore, she still endured and her mind was silently calculating.

With the distance between them, Zhen Lang should not be able to hear what they were talking about, right? That should be the case.

"That's right, let's talk about something else." The man finally withdrew his critical eyes away from the waiter and rested his gaze on Jia Shao. "Can Miss Jia tell me how much is your monthly income?"

Monthly income?

Jia Shao blinked her eyes. Searching through her memory, she tried hard to recall the amount that Fang Qing Kui tells her every month.

After a long time, she finally found a possibility and was about to open her mouth to tell him when the man in front of her spoke first. "It is alright if it is inconvenient for Miss Jia to tell me. However, can I know whether you are working in a private business unit or a public institution? Is it a private enterprise or a state-owned enterprise? Is it stable?"

Business unit? Institution?

Private enterprise? State-owned enterprise?

This question once again caused Jia Shao to think deeply and she tried to find a position that described her work.

"Oh......" Finally, after much difficulty, she was clear about her position and was about to speak when the person opposite her raised his chin and said. "Can it be you are not working?"

"Ah......." Again she could only squeeze out a word.

The man in front of her took the opportunity when she paused and drank a few mouthfuls of water. "It doesn't matter if you are not working. My income can still support a wife. It doesn't matter if you just sit at home after marriage."

After sitting down for such a long time, Jia Shao thought that this sentence at least sounded pleasant to her ears.

"However......" His gaze fell on Jia Shao's clothes. "I think women should not spend too much effort on their dressing or else it will be a waste. A lot of women buy a few pieces of clothes a month, in addition to a few pieces of pants, bags, and shoes. It is a waste of money. Like the bags and shoes, they should be worn out before buying new ones."

Jia Shao propped up her face and thought to herself. If today, the person sitting in her place is Fang Qing Kui, what would the scene be like?

"And!......." The man drank a few mouthfuls of water again. It seems the man was prepared to be long-winded.

And Jia Shao.....had started on the process of separating her soul from her body.

Faced with the arrogant man's face with his upper and lower lips flapping, she naturally moved her gaze around.

The waiter who left a while ago had returned with a few packed food boxes and put them in front of Zhen Lang. He raised his hand as a gesture of thanks and continued to look at the document in front of him. From time to time, he would use his pen to write on the document.

Takeaway?!

Jia Shao began to scheme in her mind.......wait until they are on their way home, while Zhen Lang is driving, she will have a chance to grab his food.

If she does not grab his food, it would be a waste. Finish up all the food that he had prepared for his supper and let him go hungry!

On one side of her brain, she was rapidly scheming......and on the other side of her brain, she was still listening to the endless chatter of the man. "For example, many women like to makeup buying a lot of bottles and jars which is extremely superficial. Today, a bottle, tomorrow a jar.....it is such a waste of money. Just to smear and rub over the face, such vanity. Women should stay at home to take care of the children and not always think about shopping and having fun. Oh yes, talking about having fun......what I hate most are the places like the bar and KTV. Those places are such a waste of money. Miss Jia do you frequent those places?"

"No, I don't go." Subconsciously she answered. Jia Shao's mind had already flown over the horizon and was lost in her thoughts, deciding whether she should eat the shrimp dumplings first or eat the seafood risotto first.

"In future, after I married my wife, I will give her $200 pocket money every month. What do you think?" The man's eyes flashed a questioning look at Jia Shao and asked with an underlying indication.

"Oh....."

How much he gives his wife, is his business. What has it got to do with her?

"I have done some calculations. A piece of clothing will not cost more than $50, a pair of pants will not cost more than $50, a pair of shoes will not cost more than $50, and there will still be a balance of $50. For a thrifty woman, she will not buy clothes every month and she should not spend unnecessarily."

"And I don't like women who smoke and drink. Miss Jia does not have this kind of interests, do you?"

Jia Shao's gaze was locked on the food boxes sitting on Zhen Lang's table top. When the food boxes were hooked up with two slender fingers, she involuntarily stood up and quickly followed behind.

"Ai......." The man also stood up and chased after Jia Shao. "Miss Jia......"

An arm stretched out to block his path and the waiter was performing his duty again. "Sir, you haven't paid your bill yet."

The man hurriedly took out his money and from time to time looked at Jia Shao's figure walking away farther and farther with reluctance.

"Your service here is not up to standard. It takes such a long time for you to process the bill. I have only sat down for half an hour and you actually charged me more than $20. With this money, I can buy a dozen buns and eat them for a week which is not a problem."

The man carefully counted the balance of the money that was returned after settling the bill. Then he grumbled and collected the money with his heart aching, displaying a pained expression on his face.

"Sir......" The waiter slowly opened his mouth. "I advise you to look for a man. Men don't like to buy clothes, don't like to makeup, don't take care of their hair or nails and they don't even menstruate. Those hygiene products will save you a lot of money in this lifetime."

The man: "......"

The extremely hungry Jia Shao stared at the food boxes in Zhen Lang's hand all along the way and almost trotted over to his car. Just as Zhen Lang loosened his grip on the boxes, she snatched the boxes from his hand.

Someone sniffed and her eyes sparkled with a happy expression like a dog which finally got its food. She pulled and bit to open the bag and then took out the box of shrimp dumplings. Grabbing a piece, she threw it into her mouth and chewed with satisfaction and happiness.

Zhen Lang smoothly reversed the car. "That is my supper. Pay up."

She answered by stuffing her mouth with dumplings with faster movements. As she chewed on the dumplings, she thumped her chest and at the same time glared at him. "No money!"

Zhen Lang stopped the car and reached out for the food boxes. Skillfully she avoided his hand and popped another shrimp dumpling into her mouth. She smiled at him proudly.

"Miss Jia!!......" The man chased out of the café and shouted in the direction of the car. Jia Shao who was chewing a shrimp dumpling in her mouth glanced out of the car window with a slightly confused expression.

When the man was about two steps away from the car, the car suddenly started to move forward, brushed past him and sped away.

All of Jia Shao's attention was concentrated on the shrimp dumplings in her hands and did not show any reaction at all.

Zhen Lang's eyes did not waver and only looked straight ahead. "Next time tell the match-making agency not to introduce to you, men who like to nag."

"Pu!......." The shrimp dumpling that had just been popped into her mouth came flying out. Jia Shao looked foolishly at him and asked. "How did you know?"

"I can guess by looking at your expressions."

Biting on half a shrimp dumpling, Jia Shao was surprised. Suddenly in her mind, a sentence popped up.

The person who knows you the best in the world is your enemy!