Chapter 59

"He Qingzhao, you are really, really, really bad."

After Cheng Jiamo walked out of the first floor of Jinfu Building, she looked everywhere for a tobacco shop and finally found one, but it didn't have any Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes.

She had to go to another store to buy it. After walking several hundred meters, she finally found it. However, this tobacco shop had several kinds of Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes, with prices ranging from 20 to 100. She didn't know which one He Qingzhao smoked; she had left in a hurry and forgot to ask.

So she called He Qingzhao, but the call was busy. She then sent him a message, but no one replied after several minutes.

The cigarette seller was a young man in his early twenties, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, lounging in a recliner playing video games.

Cheng Jiamo sweetly said, "Little brother, I'm buying this for someone else, and I don't know which kind he smokes. How about this, I'll buy one pack of each kind of Yellow Crane Tower cigarette you have here, and take them over to him to show him. After he chooses, I'll bring the rest back to you for a refund, okay?"

After all, Huanghelou cigarettes aren't cheap; the cheapest pack costs at least 20 yuan, and some cost over 100 yuan.

Although for someone of He Qingzhao's status, even cigarettes costing over a hundred yuan wouldn't be expensive, it was her who bought them, and she couldn't treat money like dirt.

The cigarette vendor had just finished a ranked game. He looked up as he puffed out smoke. He was about to refuse, but when he saw Cheng Jiamo's appearance, he changed his mind immediately: "Okay, sure."

He took out his phone, pulled up the QR code for adding friends, and handed it to her: "You can add me. After you take the cigarettes to your friend and he makes his choice, call me and I'll come pick them up."

Cheng Jiamo didn't want to add the other person as a friend and wanted to say that it wasn't necessary and that she could just deliver it, but when she thought about her request, she felt embarrassed to refuse.

Besides, the other person might not have those kinds of thoughts; maybe she's just overthinking it.

"Okay." She smiled and took out her phone to scan the QR code.

With a ding, the QR code was successfully scanned.

She added the cigarette vendor as a friend and thanked him with a smile, saying, "Thank you."

The cigarette vendor smiled and replied, "You're welcome."

The delivery guy packed the cigarettes she chose into a plastic bag, took a strawberry-flavored lollipop from the candy box, and handed it to her: "Here's a candy for you."

Cheng Jiamo waved her hand: "No need, no need."

The cigarette vendor stuffed the lollipop into the plastic bag and smiled, "Consider it a free gift with all the cigarettes you bought. A pack of Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes isn't cheap, you know."

Cheng Jiamo smiled sweetly and said, "Thank you."

Stepping out of the tobacco shop, Cheng Jiamo took out a lollipop, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth. Carrying a bag of cigarettes, she walked towards the Jinfu Building with the sweet strawberry-flavored candy in her mouth, feeling delighted.

-

He Qingzhao hung up the phone, pressed his thumb against his temple and rubbed it hard, clenching his teeth to suppress his emotions.

When Zhao Qingman returned to her seat, she saw that his expression was indifferent and his eyes were cold. Feeling a little uneasy, she asked in a low voice, "Has something happened at the company?"

"It's alright." He Qingzhao quickly suppressed all his negative emotions, raised his head, and smiled gently. "I told you before that I wasn't really going to marry you, it was just a meaningless wedding. You can still back out now."

If Zhao Qingman changes her mind, he will have a reason to convince himself to do so.

Zhao Qingman shook her head firmly, looking at him with tenderness: "I won't go back on my word, Brother Zhao. Even if it's just a formality, I'm willing."

He Qingzhao was incredibly perceptive; he could often discern a person's thoughts from just a glance or a word. Moreover, Zhao Qingman made no attempt to hide her feelings for him, so he didn't need to think twice; he saw right through her at a glance.

But he didn't like Zhao Qingman. It wasn't that Zhao Qingman wasn't pretty or good enough; it was just that Zhao Qingman wasn't his type.

Although he was possessive, he only wanted to possess what he desired, such as Cheng Jiamo. The moment he saw her at the Hongyu Club, he felt an urge to possess her. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken the initiative to talk to her, much less to help her out of an awkward situation.

He liked Cheng Jiamo, a liking that was irrational, an intense physical attraction. The moment he saw her, he felt desire, an uncontrollable urge to kiss her, to hug her, to possess her madly.

Before getting up to leave, He Qingzhao said to Zhao Qingman in a calm voice, "We are both adults. We need to think carefully about any decisions we make so that we won't regret them. Don't blame me for taking advantage of you afterward; it's no use blaming me."

After saying that, he turned and left, his departure resolute and ruthless, without revealing even a trace of tenderness.

Zhao Qingman gripped her hands tightly on her lap, then relaxed them as if in relief.

He Qingzhao walked out of the coffee shop and was about to go downstairs when she saw Zhong Qi coming down the escalator from the third floor.

Zhong Qi had a fair-skinned, beautiful girl with long legs and a slim waist in his arms. When he saw He Qingzhao, he smiled at him, but when he turned his head, he saw Zhao Qingman sitting in the coffee shop not far away, and his smile deepened.

He Qingzhao glared at him and walked down the escalator with a sullen face.

Zhong Qi released the curly-haired girl from his arms and hurriedly caught up with him: "Boss He, why didn't you even greet me when you saw me? You're pretending not to know me."

He Qingzhao: "I really don't know him."

Zhong Qi smiled and put his elbow on Zhao San's shoulder: "Brother Zhao, are you on a date with Miss Zhao San?"

He Qingzhao raised her shoulder, pushed his arm away, and brushed her shoulder dismissively.

Zhong Qi wasn't angry at being rejected, and continued, "What about that female college student? You really don't want her anymore?"

He had just finished asking when he turned around and saw Cheng Jiamo standing on the escalator next to him.

"Damn!" Zhong Qi exclaimed in surprise.

Cheng Jiamo, carrying a bag of cigarettes and with a lollipop in her mouth, ran quickly into the Jinfu Building with her head down, not even glancing around, and went straight up the escalator.

He Qingzhao pinched the bridge of his nose helplessly and called out, "Cheng Jiamo."

Cheng Jiamo turned around when she heard the sound, only to see He Qingzhao standing on the descending escalator, while she was standing on the ascending escalator, the two going in opposite directions.

She took the lollipop out of her mouth and glared at him resentfully: "Why didn't you call me sooner? You deliberately waited until I got on the elevator before calling me."

He Qingzhao was preoccupied with something and was quite upset, so he didn't pay much attention. If it weren't for Zhong Qi's "Damn it!", he wouldn't have even noticed Cheng Jiamo.

Cheng Jiamo said helplessly, "Don't go back up after you go down. Just wait for me downstairs. I'm coming down."

Upon reaching the second floor, Cheng Jiamo quickly stepped onto the descending escalator and, with trembling legs, began to walk down.

He Qingzhao watched her thin legs tremble as she took one step at a time, her heart clenching with worry. She frowned and said, "The elevator will take you down. Don't move. Stand still. I'm not going to run away."

Zhong Qi was stunned. He lowered his voice and asked, "What happened? Didn't you and her break up?"

He Qingzhao glanced at him and said coldly, "What are you talking about dividing?"

Zhong Qi had a "I haven't lost my memory" expression on his face: "Last year, didn't you break up with her? You even said she wasn't suitable for the He family. Not long after, you got engaged to Zhao Qingman. In just over a month, you'll be holding your wedding in Haicheng."

He Qingzhao lowered his eyes and remained silent.

Zhong Qi slapped his arm: "I'm not trying to be mean, bro, but what the hell is going on with you? You're marrying Zhao Qingman all high and mighty, and you're secretly keeping a female student on your side? You're even more impressive than Tang Jingyao, playing the double game here?"

He Qingzhao roared coldly, "Get out!"

As Cheng Jiamo came down the escalator, she heard He Qingzhao's cold shout of "Get out!" She walked over, took He Qingzhao's arm, and asked softly, "What's wrong? Why are you so angry?"

Zhong Qi seized the opportunity to complain: "Your man has gone mad, leave him immediately."

A double entendre.

He Qingzhao ignored Zhong Qi, took the plastic bag from Cheng Jiamo, looked at the bag full of colorful cigarettes, and smiled gently and indulgently: "Did you buy these wholesale from the farmers' market?"

Cheng Jiamo stuffed the half-eaten lollipop into his mouth, twisting it around in his mouth a few times as punishment: "You have the nerve to say that? You made me run to buy you cigarettes without even saying which kind. I couldn't get through to you when I called, and you didn't reply to my messages. I couldn't just stand there and wait, so I had to buy all the Yellow Crane Tower series."

She let go of his hand, allowing He Qingzhao to suck on the lollipop.

He Qingzhao was about to take the lollipop out of his mouth when Cheng Jiamo pressed her finger against his lips: "Don't spit it out."

Zhong Qi was stunned, so much so that he didn't want to leave.

Cheng Jiamo opened the transparent plastic bag: "You choose, I'll have to return the rest."

Zhong Qi asked, "You've already bought it, can you still return it?"

Cheng Jiamo said with a proud expression, "Sure, the young man selling cigarettes was very nice. I told him I was buying them for someone else and didn't know which ones to buy, so I asked if I could buy a pack of all the series and return the ones I didn't want. He agreed right away."

Zhong Qi smiled enigmatically.

He Qingzhao took the candy out of her mouth and sneered, "He added you as a friend, didn't he?"

Cheng Jiamo said matter-of-factly, "Yes, but he added me as a friend so he could contact me to pick up the rest of the cigarettes."

He Qingzhao stretched out his hand: "Give me your phone."

Cheng Jiamo frowned: "What are you going to do?"

He Qingzhao: "I'll take all the cigarettes so he doesn't have to come and get them."

Cheng Jiamo pushed his hand away: "I will tell him myself, you don't need to do it for me."

In front of outsiders, He Qingzhao didn't force her. He had plenty of ways to get her phone back that night.

He Qingzhao looked at Zhong Qi: "Aren't you leaving yet?"

Zhong Qi waved to the curly-haired girl, who walked to his side. Zhong Qi put his arm around the girl's slender waist, turned around, and walked out.

He Qingzhao took Cheng Jiamo's hand and led her to the elevator on the other side, which went directly to the restaurant upstairs.

Zhao Qingman, who was sitting on the second floor, saw the whole scene.

She saw a He Qingzhao she had never seen before; his eyes held a tenderness she had never seen before, something she had always dreamed of.

Zhao Qingman felt an indescribable sadness in her heart, and her originally calm heart was suddenly filled with anger.

She had heard that He Qingzhao had a girlfriend, but she didn't take it seriously, thinking it was just a fling.

In their circle, it's perfectly normal for men to have affairs with female college students and for women to have affairs with male college students.

However, while it's all just for fun, nobody takes it seriously or puts their heart into it.

Judging from He Qingzhao's expression, he wasn't just playing around; he genuinely liked that girl.

Zhao Qingman gripped the coffee cup tightly, her knuckles turning a cold white.

Cheng Jiamo was completely unaware of all this. She was happily walking arm in arm with He Qingzhao, and as she walked, she tilted her head back and a soft, sweet smile appeared on her lips.

He Qingzhao tapped her forehead with his index finger and said in a doting tone, "Stop laughing, you look like a little fool."

Cheng Jiamo pouted: "You're the idiot, the big idiot!"

He Qingzhao lowered his head and kissed her lips, then whispered in her ear in a voice only the two of them could hear, "You're stupid because you fucked me stupid."

Cheng Jiamo blushed and pinched him, saying, "He Qingzhao, you're so, so bad!"