Chapter 21: CH 21

Before Cao Yi could even get back up after being very publicly and abruptly kicked to the ground to fight back, two young men grabbed both his arms and held him down firmly, before one of them reasoned, “Brother Pei, can you please just forget about this? We all know that trying to reason with scum that bullies women isn’t worth your time, right?”

In their desperation to persuade Pei Yan, they twisted Cao Yi’s arms even more, causing his face to turn ashen in pain.

It was clear for anyone to see that Cao Yi was the injured party, but strangely, everyone still agreed that he was in the wrong just because he had bullied a little girl almost to the point of tears. Fortunately for them, many of the young people here were kind-hearted, else they might have even been beaten up.

Cao Yi was dumbfounded with all the murmurs he was hearing. ‘Have I ever hit a woman?’

“Mr Pei?” Hua Jin never expected to be able to see Pei Yan twice in one day. She glanced at the two young men who helped Pei Yan pin down Cao Yi and smiled gratefully at them as well.

“I had just finished eating with some people when I saw that you were being bullied when I passed by.” Having seen Hua Jin being scolded, though Pei Yan kept his smile up, his heart was burning in anger. He glared at Hua Jin again for a few times before he took a deep breath and crossed his arms around his chest. He then looked towards Cao Yi for a few moments before flicking something nonexistent off his sleeves, “There’s a small park near here. Let’s just go out there and calmly talk about the meaning of traditional handicrafts.”

After saying that, he began to walk forward, but seeing that Hua Jin seemed to have no intention of following him, stopped and looked at her, “Let’s go.”

Hua Jin grabbed Tan Yuan’s hand and pulled her to follow behind Pei Yan, making him frown slightly at the sight of the two’s hand-holding. He paused to turn towards the cashier, took out a few bills from his wallet and put it in front of her, before striding out of the store.

Having been released, Cao Yi also silently invited himself out of the store, not wanting to be gawked at by the surrounding customers because of his inability to even fight back. When he got out of the store, his gaze turned towards Tan Yuan, but she didn’t look back at him at all.

“It’s better to talk here. Fewer people means it wouldn’t be so noisy. Also, because it isn’t in a dark corner, nobody can say that I’m bullying other people.” Pei Yan cleared a bit of moisture on a public bench before seating himself on it and then motioned towards Hua Jin to do the same, “Come and sit with me.”

Hua Jin pulled Tan Yuan and the two sat down together. After walking such a distance, Tan Yuan had managed to calm herself down, but she still felt quite depressed and had her head lowered.

“Tell me, has Hua Jin robbed your ancestors’ graves or has she reneged on a debt she borrowed from you for your to say such unpleasant things?” Pei Yan’s displeasure was evident with his eyes squinted.

Cao Yi couldn’t answer. At that moment, although he was the one standing tall and the man who had appeared out of nowhere was the one sitting down, he felt that the latter was the one who was looking down on him.

Seeing that the other party didn’t answer, Pei Yan continued his question, “Did the books you read give you a sense of superiority?” he asked as he recalled Cao Yi calling Hua Jin a village girl again, agitating him so much that he had to switch to a different sitting position, or else he might kick this guy down again. “What’s wrong with being a ‘village girl’ anyways? Are you telling me that since the 1800s, your family have been city-folk already? An adult in his twenties, not having achieved anything himself but seems to be only skillful in using his so-called ‘background’ to mock others? In the first place, is your family background anything to flaunt about?”

Pei Yan then raised his chin towards the young man standing on Cao Yi’s left, “Mr Wang, introduce yourself.”

“I apologize for my incompetence,” the man called Mr Wang smiled modestly, “My family is only ordinary, having only managed to open 20 supermarket chains. I, myself, have only managed to partner with others to open a few hotels. Truly unimpressive.”

Though Tan Yuan was at the brink of crying, hearing Mr Wang’s self-introduction, she couldn’t help but feel a bit funny. Feeling that laughing here would be too embarrassing, given the atmosphere, she had to rub the bridge of her nose a few times before she managed to stop herself from doing so.

Hua Jin tilted her head and whispered something in Pei Yan’s ears, “Mr Pei, do you know the phrase ‘hate the rich’?”

“Huh?” Pei Yan’s brows raised in question.

“That’s me right now,” Hua Jin pointed at her face, “Full of jealousy.”

Pei Yan then carefully gazed at Hua Jin’s face. Her skin was white and rosy, to the point of not being able to see any flaws. Her facial proportions were also quite good, though he noticed a pinkish white scar on her chin the size of a fingernail.

He quickly retracted his gaze and turned to look at the grass swaying in the wind a little distance away, “How beautiful.”

Hua Jin grinned at Pei Yan before turning towards Cao Yi. Facing him, her smile gradually faded, “Cao Yi, although you and Tang Yuan* have been in a relationship for the past few years, I haven’t really interacted with you that much. I can’t say that I’m a super likable person, but I don’t think I’ve ever done anything to offend you, so I really don’t understand why you’re using me to force Tang Yuan to make a decision.”

*Note: “Tang Yuan” is Hua Jin’s ‘cute’ name for Tan Yuan.

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“In my opinion, any arguments or spats between lovers should have been able to be resolved by just slowly talking things through, and that carelessly speaking words will only lead to deepening the problem.” Hua Jin’s tone then turned a little cold, “So why did you have to bully Tang Yuan like this?”

“Me? Bullying her?” Cao Yi couldn’t help but retort, “You’re the one who’s hurting her! If she hadn’t opened that store with you, she would have already found a promising job with a much higher salary. What could working in a small shop doing lacquerware ever achieve? Are you her friend? Since you say you are, shouldn’t you try to guide her to the correct path, not on one that would simply waste her life in, like lacquerware?”

“I am her friend, so I respect her choice.” The more that Hua Jin listened, the more she felt sure that he was wrong, “What does ‘the correct path’ even mean? Lacquerware has been passed down from our ancestors for thousands of years. It is a gift they left us. Are you saying that that isn’t the right path? Cao Yi, I think that all the studying you’ve done over these past few years have only gone into the belly of a dog.”

“Are you calling me a dog?!”

“What’s wrong about me scolding you? If you think you have the ability, you can bark or even bite me, if you want.” Hua Jin stretched out her hand wrapped them around Tan Yuan’s shoulders, as if she was shielding her from him, “Tang Yuan, you don’t have to be afraid anymore. I’ll take care of you in the future.”

“Screw you, you eat more than I do, so who’s going to take care of who?” Tan Yuan was obviously amused by Hua Jin’s words, “Shameless!”

“Even if I have to pick up trash for a living, I’ll take care of you,” Hua Jin took this opportunity to gently caress Tan Yuan’s soft face, “At least I’m more reliable than some men.”

Seeing the interaction between Hua Jin and Tan Yuan, Pei Yan’s expression grew even more subdued.

“Cao Yi, just go.” With Hua Jin by her side, Tan Yuan’s heart finally found its resolution, “I don’t know what’ll happen in the future, but for now, I will not give up. After so many years of love, let’s part ways in peace. Besides… My Hua Hua is the most beautiful village girl in the world and you are no match for her.”

After saying this, Tan Yuan didn’t want to talk with Cao Yi anymore, so she got up and left. Hua Jin was worried that something would happen to her if she was alone, so she quickly followed.

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“Brother Pei, what are you going to do now?” Having seen the two ladies go, the people who came with Pei Yan didn’t know what to do next.

“I’m not attending the dinner party tonight.” Pei Yan stood up and glazed at Cao Yi. He sneered, “What a joke.”

Being stared at with such contempt made Cao Yi furious, but he guessed that these people in front of him were by no means ordinary, so he didn’t dare talk back.

“I thought he was a man with that attitude of his, but he didn’t say a peep when he was in front of us. Seems like he can only raise his voice when he’s talking to women,” Pei Yan snorted, “How typical.”

After he finished speaking, he then kicked Cao Yi in the knee again before bending down and staring at Cao Yi on the ground yet again, “Although that Hua Jin is an annoying woman, you’re not qualified to scold her, ever, do you understand?”

After saying these harsh words, Pei Yan stood up straight and straightened his sleeves, “Let’s go.”

Only when Pei Yan was already some distance away did the men who were still surrounding Cao Yi comment, “Dude, you’ve got balls to even dare to bully Brother Pei’s friend.”

“Respect for being a man!”

“But I advise you to not harass those girls in the future. Being able to live a good life is the most important thing.”

Cao Yi picked himself up from the ground and looked at the backs of the rich second generations. His face was aghast, looking whitish blue. Suffice to say, he no longer had any urge to go looking for Tan Yuan ever again.

Hua Jin and Tan Yuan hadn’t gone very far before Pei Yan was able to overtake them in a car, “Get in.”

This time, Hua Jin didn’t hesitate and immediately pulled Tan Yuan into open vehicle.

“I think we should drive her back first before sending you home?” Pei Yan asked Hua Jin.

“Okay,” Hua Jin nodded, “She’s been out all day, so she should really go back home first to rest early.”

Pei Yan didn’t say anything else so the inside of the car grew quiet. Only when they arrived outside of Tan Yuan’s gated community did Tan Yuan stretched out her hand and hugged Hua Jin, before emotionally saying, “Hua Hua, thank you, and I’m sorry.”

“What are you even saying?” Hua Jin patted her back slightly, “Just go back and have a good night’s sleep. Everything is in the past now. Your ex was simply spewing mindless things, so since he’d got nothing to do with you anymore, you don’t have to feel burdened to carry around all this emotional baggage.”

Tan Yuan teared up and laughed, eventually loosening her hold around Hua Jin’s neck. She then wiped her tears away before saying, “See you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow then.” Hua Jin watched as Tan Yuan walked into the gate before she averted her gaze.

“Aren’t you going with her?” Pei Yan asked.

“Nope.” Hua Jin shook her head, “At this time, what she needs the most is silence. My very presence would have only increased her sadness and guilt.”

Pei Yan started the car, “Weren’t you angry when that man was scolding you like that?”

“Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?” Hua Jin replied.

Pei Yan: “……”

With a chuckle, Hua Jin leaned against her chair and closed her eyes before slowly saying, “I would have said something like ‘there’s nothing to be angry about since I didn’t really know him,’ if I was lying.”

“What about the truth?”

“Of course I’m angry! I’m no saint!” Hua Jin curled her lips, “But I’m used to it. I arrived in this city before I was 18. Since then, I’ve received many kinds of scolding. Life is already tough as it is, so why should I care about why other people are angry?”

“Nevertheless, no matter how difficult the day has been, whenever I find myself unable to endure, somehow, I would alway meet someone kind-hearted along the way.” Hua Jin opened her eyes and looked at the back of Pei Yan’s head. She continued on softly, “So, I consider myself lucky.”

“Someone kind-hearted?” Pei Yan stopped the car at a traffic light before turning his head towards Hua Jin.

“Yup!” Hua Jin’s eyes narrowed as she smiled, “I’ve actually met many kind-hearted people.”

Pei Yan felt that Hua Jin’s eyes were a bit too gentle at that moment, so he avoided her gaze, “Then you’re really lucky.” Unlike him, who’s only surrounded by people who are only there to get him to invest. Sometimes, even when he was out for a meal, these people would follow him there.

“Then let’s find a place to have dinner later,” Hua Jin looked out the window, “My treat.”

“You’re treating me?”

“Yes. Treating you is a gesture of my appreciation,” Hua Jin smiled again.

“No need,” Pei Yan said sullenly, “I only happened to pass by.”

“Even if it’s just a coincidence, I’d still like to thank you.”

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