Translator: Lonelytree
Since Xiao Lingyu’s stock was sold out, she decided to leave. If she stayed longer, she might run into the UMALE officers.
After Xiao Lingyu left, the owner of one of the vegetable shops glared at her sinisterly.
…
Jiang Tao was working at the police station when he got a sudden call. “Uncle Chen,” Jiang Tao asked, “Is something wrong?”
Uncle Chen held the phone when Auntie Chen leaned over to ask, “Tao Zi, do you know if Lingyu’s crops have sold out? Is there more?”
Jiang Tao frowned. “I’m not sure.”
“You’re not sure too?” Uncle Chen sounded disappointed. Auntie Chen added, “Tao Zi, can you help us find out? Or Tao Zi, can you give us her number? We’ll call her to ask ourselves.”
Jiang Tao heard the anxiety in Uncle and Auntie Chen’s tone. He was suspicious. He asked, “Uncle Chen, is there anything wrong with Lingyu’s crops?”
Uncle Chen immediately explained, “No, of course not!” Then he paused, “If there is a problem, they are too delicious!”
“Huh?” Jiang Tao was confused. Since he went to meet Gong Tianhao, Jiang Tao hadn’t had the chance to cook Xiao Lingyu’s vegetables. They had been left in his fridge.
Uncle Chen smiled. “You definitely haven’t tasted her vegetables and fruits. How about this? Come to my place, and I’ll cook some for you. They’ll be so delicious, and it’s not because of my culinary skill!”
“Okay!” Jiang Tao was curious too. Uncle Chen was a five-star chef, so he was always picky about what he cooked with. There were not many ingredients that could get Uncle Chen’s praises. Therefore, Xiao Lingyu’s crops had to be very different.
…
Li Yuanhang drove a low-profile black car. Inside the car sat another man in a black suit, white shirt, and a grey tie. The car was driving out of Xing Yin County Town to head towards Taoyuan Village.
Li Yuanhang suddenly braked.
“What happened?” Gong Tianhao asked.
“We have rear-ended a tricycle!” Li Yuanhang said, “Tianhao, I’ll take a look.”
Xiao Lingyu had breakfast in the county town. After that, she rode the tricycle back to her rental. She forgot to check her oil tank, and the engine slowed down. Xiao Lingyu was easing the tricycle to the roadside when the vehicle shook. Xiao Lingyu was knocked forward, and her forehead hit the handle. It was bruised.
Xiao Lingyu felt like cursing. Yesterday, she was robbed. Then, her robbers got into a car accident. Until now, she had no idea if they survived or not. She didn’t ask since it was not her business. Today, her tricycle was rear-ended, and she was injured because of it.
In an instant, a wave of anger surged up in her heart.
She got down from the tricycle. When she saw Li Yuanhang walking over, she scolded, “Sir, what is the meaning of this? Do you know how to drive?”
When Li Yuanhang saw Xiao Lingyu as she turned around, he gasped, “It’s you?!”
“Huh?” Xiao Lingyu frowned. “Do you know me? Who are you?” She had not seen this man before. Then, she realized what was going on, “Don’t try to act chummily with me and think I’ll forgive you! You have rear-ended me. This is your fault!”
She glanced at the black car. She saw a vague silhouette of a man inside the car, but she didn’t take it to heart. She scoffed, “Do you think you’re above the law since you’re driving a limited edition Maybach?”
“Wait, you know this is a limited edition Maybach?” Li Yuanhang narrowed his eyes. His gaze swept over this woman and the tricycle behind her. No matter how he looked at it, she was just a country bumpkin. So how did a country bumpkin recognize a limited edition Maybach? Interesting!
“That doesn’t matter. The fact is you’re responsible for rear-ending my vehicle!” Xiao Lingyu claimed.
“Yuanhang, give her two thousand. We have to go. We’re in a hurry!” Gong Tianhao said from inside the car. ‘Clearly, this woman is looking for money.’
Xiao Lingyu originally didn’t care about the person inside the car but when she heard the voice, her expression changed. She was incredulous. She would never forget this voice!
‘It is that man! Xiao Tong’s father! Why… is he here? Is it for Xiao Tong? No, Xiao Tong hasn’t been born, so that can’t be it.
‘So, why is he here? But wait, what does that have to do with me?
‘In his eyes, we only had a one-night-stand, and he probably doesn’t even remember me.’
Xiao Lingyu’s panicked heart slowed down. When Li Yuanhang shoved two thousand into her hands, Xiao Lingyu came back to her senses. She felt humiliated.
She said angrily, “What is the meaning of this? Do you think I need your money?”
Li Yuanhang frowned. “Isn’t what you want? Or you think 2000 is not enough?” He then added with sarcasm, “Two thousand is more than enough to buy a new tricycle, much less repair one!” In other words, don’t be too greedy! “Since you’ve taken the money, then move out of the way!” Li Yuanhang said directly. Then, he turned back to the car.
Xiao Lingyu was furious. She was humiliated. Xiao Lingyu moved to block the car. The black car started and then stopped.
Li Yuanhang got out again angrily. He demanded, “What do you want? Do you want more money? Fine, I’ll give you another one thousand. Move out of the way!” For him, one thousand was no different from one cent. Li Yuanhang opened his wallet. Just as he was about to pull out the note, he heard the girl say, “An apology!”
“What?” Li Yuanhang thought he heard wrong.
“I don’t want your money.” Xiao Lingyu said firmly, “What I want is your apology!”
Li Yuanhang finally snapped back to reality. The girl didn’t want their money, but she wanted their apology. However, Li Yuanhang didn’t think it was his fault. He argued, “Miss, you were the one who slowed down suddenly. It was why we crashed into you. We’re already giving you face by paying you money. Now, you want us to apologize? How ridiculous!”
Xiao Lingyu countered, “How is that my fault? Don’t you know that vehicles should maintain a safe distance from each other when they’re on the road? Shouldn’t you understand that? If you don’t, then I’ll explain it to you. Vehicles should maintain a safe distance from each other so that there would be enough buffer space just in case of an emergency. Look at how close you were to me earlier! How did you even get your driver’s license?”
Li Yuanhang’s ears burned.
“You have nothing to say for yourself?” Xiao Lingyu pressed. “In that case, apologize! If you don’t, I’ll call the police and let them handle this!”
Li Yuanhang was angered by Xiao Lingyu’s unreasonable attitude.
“I’m sorry!” Just as Li Yuanhang was hesitating on what to do, a cold voice came from inside the car. “Miss, since I’ve apologized, can we go now? Please make way!”
When Li Yuanhang heard Gong Tianhao’s apology, his eyes were full of surprise.
‘What did I just hear? Did Gong Tianhao apologize to a country bumpkin? The most powerful man in Beijing just apologized to a country girl? This is rarer than a blood moon!’
“Yuanhang, let’s go!”
Li Yuanhang walked back to the driver’s seat in a daze. He started the engine again.
“Wait a moment!” Xiao Lingyu stopped them again.
Li Yuanhang snapped out of his daze. He looked at Xiao Lingyu angrily and questioned her sternly, “We’ve paid you the money and apologized to you. What more do you want?”
Xiao Lingyu held the money and took out her bag. The repair fee would cost 20 RMB, so she pulled out 1980 RMB and walked to the car window. She threw the money into the car and said, “I don’t want your money!”
Xiao Lingyu tried to glance into the backseat. She was quite disappointed when she realized she could only see a perfectly curved jaw.
She wanted to know what Xiao Tong’s father looked like and did Xiao Tong look like him.
Xiao Lingyu turned and left with her tricycle.
Li Yuanhang was confused after Xiao Lingyu left. He caught Xiao Lingyu peeking at the backseat earlier. He also noticed her disappointed expression. ‘The girl knows Gong Tianhao? But how is that possible? Why would a simple country girl knows Young Master Gong?’
Li Yuanhang turned to Gong Tianhao and asked, “Tianhao, do you know her?”
“No!” Gong Tianhao said coldly.
“But then, we ran into her two times already in a short amount of time. Isn’t fate interesting?” Li Yuanhang teased. “Tianhao, did you notice the way she secretly looked at you? Her initial anticipation turned into disappointment.”
“Drive!” Gong Tianhao ordered coolly.. He pretended not to hear Li Yuanhang.