Chapter 74: Not Allowing Others to Covet
He then turned to Su Zhaozhao and said, "This is my friend. His name is Cheng Mo, and he’s an architect."
Cheng Mo?!
Su Zhaozhao was surprised as well. In the novel, the male lead had never had a friend like this.
She remembered the male lead did have a very close friend, but even with her terrible memory, she knew his name definitely wasn’t...
If she remembered correctly, she had seen this man in front of her last night. He had even given her a warm smile.
And she had smiled back at him.
’What a coincidence.’
She immediately looked at Xie Huaizheng and said, "We ran into each other at the guest house entrance last night."
Xie Huaizheng’s lips curled up as he feigned surprise. "Really? What a coincidence."
Cheng Mo nodded awkwardly, hoping with all his might that Xie Huaizheng wouldn’t say anything reckless!
Su Zhaozhao noticed that Cheng Mo didn’t seem very happy to see her.
Feeling a little uneasy, Su Zhaozhao took the initiative. "Hello, it’s very nice to meet you."
’Whatever. Maybe Cheng Mo wasn’t mentioned in the novel, but he’s Xie Huaizheng’s friend—and the first friend Xie Huaizheng has ever introduced me to.’
’I still need to take this seriously.’
"Hello... So you’re Zhaozhao..." Cheng Mo managed a strained smile.
’Yesterday, I finally felt like I was falling in love, and today, I’m suddenly heartbroken!’
’Oh, cruel heavens! Why give me hope, only to plunge me into despair?’
"Yes," Su Zhaozhao said. She could feel that Cheng Mo didn’t seem to like her.
Ever since he saw her, his expression had been awful, as if she owed him a million dollars.
At this thought, Su Zhaozhao couldn’t help but look toward Xie Huaizheng, pleading for help with her eyes.
Seeing her innocent and bewildered expression, Xie Huaizheng’s lips curved into a barely perceptible smile. His hand, which was on the table, reached over, took hers, and gave it a squeeze.
The girl’s hand was supple and delicate, so slender and small that he barely dared to use any force.
But, it was surprisingly fun. He couldn’t help but knead it playfully, as if it were a piece of dough.
’I can’t believe Xie Huaizheng is playing with my hand under the table!’
’It’s bad enough his friend is clearly unhappy with me for some reason, but instead of helping me out, he’s just toying with me.’
Su Zhaozhao immediately pulled her hand out of Xie Huaizheng’s and glared at him.
Seeing that the mood was about right, Xie Huaizheng said to Cheng Mo, "Alright, let’s eat. You made this trip specifically to meet my fiancée. When you get back and talk to the old man, just tell him the truth."
Heartbroken, Cheng Mo focused on his food, silently weeping. He didn’t want to talk anymore.
After the meal, Cheng Mo handed a gift to Su Zhaozhao. "This is a little something for our first meeting."
Su Zhaozhao looked at the nicely wrapped gift. "Oh, you’re too kind! I didn’t expect a gift."
Cheng Mo smiled at her, though he felt completely empty inside. He turned to Xie Huaizheng. "I’m heading back this afternoon."
"Yeah. It was a long trip for you, so you should head back soon. If you can, tell my parents, so they can put their minds at ease."
Cheng Mo sighed deeply. ’If I had known, I never would have made this trip.’
’I was just curious before, but now... I’ve gone and lost my heart!’
His gaze fell upon Su Zhaozhao. Up close, the girl was even more beautiful.
The Northwest is dry and dusty, but she looked as fresh and dewy as if she’d been raised in the Jiangnan Water Village.
Cheng Mo said, "Zhaozhao, congratulations. Our Huai Zheng is truly a one-in-a-million kind of guy."
’What should I do? I really want to bad-mouth my best friend, but now that the moment’s here, I can’t bring myself to say a thing.’
’Even though I’m a little unhappy, I should just wish them happiness.’
Su Zhaozhao smiled. "Yes, I know. He’s wonderful."
She looked up at Xie Huaizheng, her eyes glinting like amber in the sunlight.
Those sparkling eyes made Xie Huaizheng’s heart pound in his chest.
Watching the two of them, Cheng Mo felt a pang of jealousy.
’That brat Xie Huaizheng... he’s really fallen in love.’
He had grown up with Xie Huaizheng; one look at his face was all he needed to know.
This was the first time he had ever seen Xie Huaizheng stare at Su Zhaozhao with such a gentle gaze.
’It’s a real eye-opener.’
’I never thought this cold, roguish man, who’d always been so dismissive of any admirer...’
’...would be like this when he finally fell for a girl.’
He still hadn’t forgotten what Xie Huaizheng was like before he was sent to the military camp.
He was the little tyrant of their social circle; everyone was terrified at the mere mention of his name.
But now, he was a completely different person.
But then again... he looked at the girl—as beautiful as a fairy, with a classic, graceful aura, and a gentleness like water.
’What man wouldn’t fall for a girl like that?’
Su Zhaozhao and Xie Huaizheng were heading to the hospital, so they parted ways with Cheng Mo.
Su Zhaozhao was still puzzled and couldn’t help but ask Xie Huaizheng, "Your friend didn’t seem to like me very much. When he goes back to Beijing, do you think he’ll say bad things about me?"
’He gave me a gift, but that was probably just out of politeness. He didn’t seem to like me at all.’
’Even though I’m going to marry Xie Huaizheng, and I’ll probably have to live with the army, if the conflict with my future in-laws gets too bad, I might not be able to stop myself from teaching them a lesson before kicking Xie Huaizheng to the curb and getting a divorce!’
"He won’t. Don’t worry, he likes you a lot," Xie Huaizheng said, letting out a low chuckle as he recalled Cheng Mo’s heartbroken expression.
He tilted his head back to look at the sky. The sun was bright, and he couldn’t help but squint.
But a lazy smile remained on his lips.
’It’s precisely because he liked her so much that he looked so utterly dejected when he suddenly discovered she was already spoken for, isn’t it?’
’Even if he’s a good friend, I won’t allow him to covet my woman.’
That’s why he’d changed his mind last night and decided to have Su Zhaozhao meet Cheng Mo—to crush any ideas he might have.
Su Zhaozhao stared at the gift bag, a little confused. ’Would a normal person really have that kind of expression if they liked someone?’
As they were passing the family residential compound, they suddenly heard the sound of a heavy object falling.
Immediately after, someone screamed, "Someone jumped! Someone jumped from a building!"
Su Zhaozhao turned to look, but in the next moment, her eyes were covered by a hand.
The man’s palm was warm and faintly calloused as it covered her eyes. His deep voice murmured, "Don’t look."
He seemed worried that seeing a bloody scene would give her nightmares.
But in her previous life, Su Zhaozhao had seen more than her fair share of horrific, bloody scenes. She had even been assigned to disaster relief sites on occasion.
And right now, a vague, ominous premonition crept into her heart, causing it to pound wildly.
"Let’s go take a look," she said, instinctively grabbing Xie Huaizheng’s arm and pulling his hand down a bit.
Xie Huaizheng’s hand froze. He hesitated. "Are you sure? You won’t be scared?"
Su Zhaozhao shook her head. "No, I want to go. I’m not afraid. Have you forgotten what I did on the train?"
She was the one who had cut that man, creating that bloody scene with her own hands.
Xie Huaizheng fell silent.