Chapter 32 A Man, More Than One Side!
While Hao Jian said sorry, there wasn\'t a trace of remorse on his face. He wanted Zhuang Yibin to experience what Xiao Qiang had felt before, to understand what it was like to be toyed with and deceived.
The baseball bat came crashing down, and everyone heard a crisp crack of breaking bone.
Right after, they saw Zhuang Yibin clutching his knee, convulsing and screaming on the ground.
Having taught Zhuang Yibin a lesson, Hao Jian then got into the sedan!
But the fierce look had not completely left his face. Xiao Qiang glanced at him and immediately lowered her head in fear!
At that moment, Hao Jian was truly frightening, completely unlike the somewhat goofy, somewhat lecherous thug.
Hao Jian didn\'t bother explaining, he simply started the car.
The atmosphere inside the car grew more and more eerie as time passed. Neither spoke; the silence was so uncanny, they could even hear each other\'s breathing.
"Where do you live?" Hao Jian suddenly asked.
"Ah, over at Huaiyuan Street." Xiao Qiang replied, and then the conversation dropped off, making the atmosphere awkward once again.
"Um, how is he?" Xiao Qiang couldn\'t resist and asked out of curiosity.
"You\'re better off not knowing." Hao Jian said expressionlessly.
"Oh." Xiao Qiang pouted, feeling somewhat aggrieved, and cursed inwardly: Stinky thug, why act so cool, making me too scared to talk to you.
"I have a question."
Hao Jian spoke, his face expressionless, his voice as cold as if he was deliberately keeping someone a thousand miles away.
"Ask away."
Xiao Qiang nodded, bothered by Hao Jian\'s tone, now even somewhat missing the sleazy Hao Jian.
"Do you think I look especially cool with a stern face?" Hao Jian suddenly turned around, grinning mischievously at her.
"Ah?"
Xiao Qiang was slow to react. Was this guy having a split personality? This quick switch in demeanor was too sudden, wasn\'t it?
"No? Wrong, huh? I think I look incredibly cool with a stern face."
Hao Jian fiddled with the rear-view mirror, admiring himself, even deliberately throwing a flirty wink at his reflection: "A man has more than one side, I see great potential in you."
Xiao Qiang had turned into stone, indeed, this guy was still the goofy one she knew, his \'silly\' blood hadn\'t changed one bit!
"Why are you not talking, were you amazed by my handsomeness? But don\'t think about offering yourself to me just because I saved you. I\'m quite sentimental, you know. My first time is reserved for my future wife," Hao Jian said, his expression as sleazy as it could be!
The first time, hm, today\'s first time indeed hadn\'t been used yet.
"Go to hell!" Xiao Qiang laughed out of exasperation, who wanted to offer herself to him? Did she look that foolish?
"Yo, you laughed?"
Hao Jian also laughed heartily, as long as Xiao Qiang laughed, it meant she could make a new start.
Xiao Qiang\'s smile faded, her face turned gentle, and she sincerely said, "Hao Jian, thank you."
She was moved; Hao Jian had done so much for her, even though she had once treated him in that manner.
"No need to thank me, just give me a raise," Hao Jian grinned.
"That might be up for discussion," Xiao Qiang responded.
Hao Jian scoffed, "Cheapskate."
Xiao Qiang didn\'t mind, a faint smile playing on the corners of her lips.
For some reason, she felt especially at ease with Hao Jian, able to drop all pretenses and be her true self.
And most importantly, this funny guy would go out of his way to make her happy.
Xiao Qiang\'s home was in a very ordinary apartment complex, which she had bought herself, and she was currently paying the mortgage.
Hao Jian escorted Xiao Qiang to her front door, but at that moment, Xiao Qiang seemed a bit nervous, as if she were worried about something.
"You should head back first," Xiao Qiang said with flushed cheeks, but she didn\'t invite Hao Jian inside.
Seeing this, Hao Jian\'s interest was piqued, and he leaned his arm against the door behind Xiao Qiang, his voice low, "So, you\'re not going to invite me in?"
Xiao Qiang shuddered all over, her expression frantic as she shook her head:
"No, absolutely not! It\'s too late, let\'s talk about it some other time."
Hao Jian couldn\'t help but laugh inwardly; this woman was scared he had ulterior motives. Seeing Xiao Qiang looking like a startled little white rabbit was exceedingly amusing to him.
"What are you afraid of? I\'m not a good person anyway," Hao Jian teased.
"Huh?"
Xiao Qiang stared at him blankly, feeling that something about that statement didn\'t quite sound right.
"Alright, alright, I\'m just teasing you. I\'m heading back now, see you tomorrow," Hao Jian waved at Xiao Qiang, then turned and left.
Xiao Qiang breathed a sigh of relief, then glared fiercely at Hao Jian\'s retreating figure: "This damn guy."
As he left Xiao Qiang\'s place, Hao Jian was about to head home, but he couldn\'t shake the feeling that he had forgotten something; however, he couldn\'t remember what it was right away.
As he was about to open his car door, the moment he reached for his keys, his expression froze, and he thought to himself:
Damn!
When Hao Jian got back to his place, he opened the door only to see Shu Ya sitting on the couch with her arms crossed, her slender feet clad in pink bunny slippers, swaying playfully.
But Hao Jian wasn\'t in the mood to appreciate the scene, as Shu Ya\'s face looked so gloomy it was almost dripping water.
He had forgotten to pick Shu Ya up from work. He didn\'t know how she got home, but it was evident that she was extremely upset.
"Shu Ya, you\'re still up?" Hao Jian said, trying to curry favor with a smile on his face.
"Where have you been?" Shu Ya asked coldly.
"I was out drinking with a few friends," Hao Jian replied honestly, scratching his head awkwardly.
"Oh, I see," Shu Ya nodded, her expression one of sudden realization.
Hao Jian, seeing this, was momentarily stunned, "Shu Ya, you forgive me?"
"Of course not," Shu Ya\'s face darkened again, saying:
"Do you know how long I waited for you at the office? Two hours, thirty-seven minutes, and twenty-five seconds. You didn\'t answer your phone, you didn\'t reply to messages. What are you, the boss or am I the boss?"
Such a trivial issue could have been overlooked, but he\'d gone out to mess around with a bunch of irresponsible friends—how could Shu Ya tolerate that?
Hao Jian was utterly exasperated, how could she even track it down to the exact second?
"My phone died."
"Is that an excuse? Just because your phone died, you think it\'s okay not to pick up your boss after work? If I didn\'t want to go to work, does that mean I shouldn\'t go either?" Shu Ya spoke with a commanding tone.
"Of course, if you don\'t want to work, I\'ll take care of you—you take care of the money!" Hao Jian joked.
"Go to hell!" Shu Ya burst out.