During the meal, Lin Xiazhu mentioned wanting to buy another shop. Bai Ru'an raised an eyebrow, feeling somewhat helpless. He knew Lin Xiazhu was thinking of ways to make money again.
“Leave the money-making to me from now on, you don’t need to worry about it anymore.” He had previously wanted to give Xiaozhu his bankbook and property deed, but Xiaozhu refused to keep them for him.
"You make your money, I have my own ideas." She doesn't have much of a business sense, and buying a house is the only better option for her.
Sigh, although she didn't have much contact with the wealthy, she realized one thing deeply: the consumption concepts of the rich were vastly different from those of ordinary people like her. She wasn't trying to compete with them; she just felt a sense of crisis.
Xiao An is now the young master of the Bai family, with a very high status. As his girlfriend, she can't be too poor either. What if one day she goes out and is recognized by some rich girl who deliberately makes things difficult for her? That's when money becomes important.
"Have you been watching too much TV? You always think that when you go out to buy clothes, someone will be watching you, and if you see something you like, someone will try to take it from you. If the other person is rich, you can't even compete with them. So you're starting to make more money now, just so you can outdo others when it comes to buying clothes?" This was what Yan Xin asked her before. At the time, she didn't admit it, but that's what she really thought.
"Do you feel a lot of pressure being with me?" Bai Ruan frowned slightly. He hoped she could be happier instead of worrying so much.
"It would be a lie to say I don't. I'm always worried that someone will cause me trouble, and I'm not smart enough to deal with it properly, so I can only resort to brute force to beat them up, which will only hold you back." Yes, she was worried that someone would deliberately cause trouble, and she would end up taking action.
"Who dares?" He meant whoever dares to cause them trouble.
He spoke with such certainty, but he was soon proven wrong. Halfway through the meal, someone came over to greet him; it was an old acquaintance.
"Lin Ru'an? No, it should be Bai Ru'an now. I had something to do at the last Bai family banquet and couldn't attend. So many years have passed, and you've changed a lot. I almost didn't recognize you. I looked at you for a long time before I could confirm it was you."
The person who came was Chen Zinan, formerly Tie Zhu, now the eldest young master of the Chen family. He was wearing a sharp black suit, had his hair slicked back, and wore black-rimmed glasses, looking very refined.
He gestured with his chin to his seat, which was three tables away from Lin Xiazhu and the others, diagonally opposite them. There sat a stylishly dressed woman who looked like a minor celebrity.
Chen Zinan was so outgoing and friendly, showing no trace of his former gloomy and introverted self. However, Bai Ruan felt that she wasn't very familiar with him. Although they had socialized before, their relationship wasn't very good, and since they hadn't seen each other for so many years, they seemed even more unfamiliar with each other.
"What's wrong?" Bai Ru'an was in a bad mood because her date had been interrupted.
Chen Zinan was taken aback. He stared at Bai Ruan for a while, then suddenly chuckled. Yes, Bai Ruan's personality had always been cold. He hadn't expected that after so many years since returning to the Bai family, she hadn't changed at all.
"We're all acquaintances, why don't we share a table?" Chen Zinan said with a smile.
"Don't disturb our meal. If you want to share a table, find someone else." Bai Ru'an refused on the spot with a cold face.
"You..." Chen Zinan was so angry that he almost swore. Did he like sharing tables? If it weren't for the fact that Bai Ruan was a member of the Bai family, he wouldn't even glance at him, let alone lower himself to eat with him.
Unexpectedly, when he took the initiative to make amends, the other party completely ignored him. Chen Zinan was furious. He was the last person he wanted to see was someone he had known before. Before returning to the Chen family, he had lived a humble, miserable, and utterly wretched life. He wished he could erase everything from the past.
Bai Ru'an's current attitude makes him believe that the other party looks down on him, but what gives Bai Ru'an the right to look down on him? Apart from having a better family background, Bai Ru'an's past is just as unbearable.
He was adopted, but his adoptive parents died unexpectedly. Then, his adoptive uncle sold him to human traffickers. He was taken to the south and got into a car accident, almost dying. He was then taken in and adopted by the Lin family, who were orphans and widows. He only had a few years of good life, but so what? He was still a country bumpkin for more than ten years.
Chen Zinan's face twisted for a moment, but he quickly recovered and smiled good-naturedly, though the smile didn't reach his eyes. "I'm sorry, I was being presumptuous. Please enjoy your meal. I'll go now and treat you to a meal another time."
He said "you" which means he recognized Lin Xiazhu, but he only glanced at her once he was confirming her identity, and after recognizing her, he didn't even want to spare her a glance.
In Changhe County, Lin Xiazhu came from a very wealthy family, someone he couldn't possibly befriend. Now that their positions have reversed, he is the one Lin Xiazhu can't possibly befriend, and he doesn't want to have too much contact with her.
It's all for naught if you live well in a small county town; you'll still be a country bumpkin when you come to the capital.
"How inexplicable, how annoying." Lin Xiazhu could see clearly that Chen Zinan's gaze towards her, though unintentionally glanced at her, was filled with deep contempt, just like when they had met once in her previous life.
She spoke very softly, but Bai Ru'an had keen hearing and heard every word clearly: "She boasts of her noble status and is very arrogant in her dealings with others, but it is just an extreme cover-up made by someone who is extremely insecure. It's ridiculous."
These words struck at someone's deepest, most secret thoughts. Luckily, Chen Zinan didn't hear them, otherwise he would have been so angry that he would have bled on the spot, and might even have gotten into a fight with Xiao An.
Chen Zinan did not return to his original seat to continue eating, seemingly having no interest in the meal. He paid the bill and left with his female companion.
After a quiet dinner, Bai Ru'an and Lin Xiazhu walked out of the restaurant. It started raining heavily outside, and since they didn't have umbrellas, they could only wait for the rain to stop in the lobby.
"There were stars in the sky when we came, how come it suddenly started raining? The weather changed so fast." Lin Xiazhu couldn't help but complain.
At this moment, a beautiful woman walked up to them. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Chen Zinan's female companion from earlier. She was wearing a strapless tank top with a transparent white veil over it, a tight-fitting skirt, a diamond necklace, and a lot of jewelry on her hands, making her look glittering all over.
"Hello, I am Lin Meiyu from the Linfeng Group. We met once at the Bai family banquet last time. It's a real coincidence that I ran into Young Master Bai here."
After the other party gave a long introduction, Bai Ru'an, who initially thought she was a stranger, immediately recognized her when she heard that Lin Feng Group was involved. Lin Meiyu was the only daughter of Lin Feng Group. Because she loved acting, she did not work for her family's company after graduating from university, but instead went into the entertainment industry.
He brought his own investment to join the production team and filmed several movies. Now he's quite famous and a minor celebrity.
Bai Ru'an had read all the information about these young ladies and gentlemen from prominent families, and had even met many of them. He had a good memory, and all the information was stored in his mental database. He just hadn't looked at them directly, so he couldn't recall them immediately.
He could remember who was who as soon as the other person mentioned it.
"What's the matter?" It was that same scathing question again. Relying on the Bai family's power and influence, Bai Ru'an really wasn't afraid of offending anyone. Her emotional intelligence was questionable.
Lin Meiyu was surprised by Bai Ruan's attitude. Her heart skipped a beat, and she almost lost her temper and slapped him. However, she remained rational and did not do anything impulsive.
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