No reconciliation, no forgiveness! Mr. Pei leaves with nothing.

Bai Wenjing, still feeling uneasy, said to Xia He, "Marriage is a big deal no matter what. Have you talked to Huo Tingshan about it? If he doesn't know and just makes a decision on his own, I'm afraid it will cause a misunderstanding and we won't be able to handle it."

Xia He thought about it carefully. "Tingshan told me that Azhan still has some things to take care of in the capital, but he didn't tell me what they are. However...Tingshan said that whatever he does in the capital will be irrelevant after he returns to France."

"What if... I mean, what if... he's already married and has a girl he likes, not Qingran? What should we do then?"

Xia He stood up, smiled, and took Bai Wenjing's hand, telling her, "I had already done my research before coming here. Qingran was born into poverty, but fortunately, she is good at studying and hardworking. For so many years, I have kept her by my side and even personally picked her up and dropped her off from get off work. I also inquired about the servants at Fan Hua Si Jin. They have been living together for many years."

"The bond between these two is unmatched by anyone else. If A-Zhan didn't like them, I wouldn't have gone to so much trouble to bring them together."

Bai Wenjing was also a little confused. Everything she did in the capital was invalid? Then her marriage to the eldest daughter of the Jiang family was also invalid? Then why did the other party go to such lengths to find her and ask her to arrange for the eldest daughter of the Jiang family to choose some furniture to decorate their new house?

"But... you don't know about his relationship with Miss Jiang from the Jiang Group?"

Speaking of this person, Xia He's eyes turned cold. Bai Wenjing had never seen Xia He like this before. She was always an easy-going and approachable person with a gentle temperament. She treated everyone equally and never held any opinions against others because of differences in status.

It was rare to see any disgust on her face. She just snorted coldly, "It's a pity that not long ago, I was taking Qingran back to school when I encountered an arrogant and domineering young lady on the way. She was disrespectful to me and even said that I was old and blind and couldn't judge people well. Even if she has something to do with Zhan, I will never agree to them being together."

"This woman... I didn't know until I investigated her, and what I found was quite a surprise."

Bai Wenjing listened as she continued.

Xia He: "Although I don't know what A Zhan is doing in the capital, he has to humble himself to help a small Jiang Hua manage the company. Before A Zhan took office as the president of Jiang's Group, he humiliated and beat Jiang Hua in front of many employees, showing him no respect whatsoever."

"At school, he was even more hostile to Qingran. Relying on his relationship with the Shen family, he targeted Qingran many times. Once, he almost fell into the lake and drowned, and was bedridden for many days."

“She is such a vicious woman, without a shred of kindness. Even if Zhan marries her, I will never acknowledge her or let her step into the Huo family’s gate.”

Bai Wenjing was completely unaware of all this and never expected things to turn out this way. She frowned and said, "I guess I was also deceived by her disguise. She is indeed stunningly beautiful and devastatingly gorgeous. When I first met her, I thought she was a well-mannered girl. But her thoughts... are really ill-mannered and so vicious."

"No wonder you would try to bring him and Qingran together."

"She's absolutely vicious. If she really became the matriarch of the Huo family, she would turn the entire Huo family into a complete mess."

Bai Wenjing changed the subject, asking again, "From what you're saying, are you really determined to bring him and Qingran together? What if, in the unlikely event, he marries someone else, and you don't want..."

"Impossible!" Xia He interrupted her without hesitation. "All that glitters is not gold. She is indeed prettier than other women, alluring and seductive, but her heart is incredibly wicked. I don't think A-Zhan would even be interested in her. Even if he were, it would only be a fleeting infatuation, bewitched by her appearance. The Huo family needs a well-educated, gentle, virtuous, and kind matriarch. She... cannot shoulder such a responsibility; she will only cause trouble for the Huo family."

Bai Wenjing nodded thoughtfully. Since that was the case, she had nothing to say. What she hadn't expected was that Pei Zhan and Qing Ran had known each other for so many years. She didn't care much about what was going on in the capital's social circle, and only occasionally heard about it.

But this Jiang Hua... doesn't seem to be the way Xia He described. When I first saw her at the banquet with Shen Yebai, she was quite poised and elegant, and got along well with the other ladies.

I just don't know if this bad reputation is true or half true.

No matter what, this is a matter for the Huo family, and has nothing to do with her.

...

Since it was a rare occasion, Jiang Hua took a fancy to a pair of high heels, a full ten centimeters high, inlaid with red gemstones, all cut into rose shapes using the latest technology, sparkling under the lights. The shoes perfectly matched her bright red dress, and even with the high heels on... looking at Pei Zhan in the mirror, she still looked a little shorter.

Boring!

Fortunately, it is indeed beautiful.

The sales clerk sincerely praised, "Ms. Jiang, only you can truly bring out the noble temperament of these shoes, and they suit you perfectly. These shoes were handcrafted by an Italian master over three years. The craftsmanship of the gemstones, including the hand-carving of just one small gemstone, takes three months. They are one of a kind in the world. Our store only managed to obtain the qualification to sell them after a lot of effort, and they just arrived today."

Everyone wants to hear nice things, and Jiang Hua's mood, which was neither good nor bad, was now slightly happier. "I'll take these shoes."

"Then I'll wrap up the pair you're wearing."

"Swipe the card." Jiang Hua didn't expect to get any money out of his pocket, since he had spent all his money on Song Qingran. As she took out the gold-embossed black card, Pei Zhan had already taken out his wallet and handed the bank card to the teller.

Jiang Hua crossed her arms and walked up to him, keeping her eyes level with his. It felt great; she wasn't inferior to him in terms of either presence or height.

"Didn't you say you had no money?"

"No wonder you and Song Qingran hit it off, you're both pretty good at pretending."

The fact that her tone wasn't sarcastic towards Pei Zhan meant that she wasn't Jiang Hua anymore.

At this moment, the sales clerk said, "Well... Mr. Pei, I'm really sorry, your card balance is... insufficient."

Pei Zhan seriously took out another business card from his wallet. "Swipe that one million, and this one still has six hundred thousand. That should be enough."

separate?

Jiang Hua sighed, speechless with a laugh.

"Bumpkin."

The sales clerk remained calm, clearly having witnessed this kind of thing more than once.

Indeed, Jiang Hua was a regular customer of this luxury haute couture high-heeled shoe store. She often brought Pei Zhan along. Back then, he was just a salesman, and she happened to see him serving a wealthy woman. The woman was constantly touching Pei Zhan's hand and body, and Mrs. Fu's face was all wrinkled with laughter; everyone knew what she was thinking. At that time, he remained composed, neither dodging nor speaking, his expression unchanged. Jiang Hua was there too, and she often mocked him in front of him.

I remember that Pei Zhan was the top salesperson in the sales department for six consecutive months. His monthly salary plus jewelry sales commissions amounted to about 100,000 yuan...

"Mr. Pei, here is your card, please keep it safe."

This pair of shoes alone cost 1.6 million.

Pei Zhan looked at the notification text message that had just been sent to his phone; his balance was 65.43 yuan.

He glanced at her phone and put it away. Pei Zhan, carrying shopping bags, followed behind Jiang Hua like a bodyguard, just like many years ago. "Don't you want to shop around anymore?"

Jiang Hua burst out laughing, her laughter bright and beautiful, like Bao Si in the ancient tale of the beacon fire that amused the feudal lords, all to make her beloved smile. "Go shopping? What can you afford with the few dozen yuan you have left?"

"After supporting Song Qingran for so many years, it seems you haven't saved any money at all. This seems to be the most money I've spent from you in all these years. Don't worry, I'll transfer the money I spent today to you later. With our relationship, I don't need you to spend so much money on me. I'm not Song Qingran."

A jewelry store manager approached and said, "Ms. Jiang, the materials you asked us to prepare are ready and have been placed in your car. Here are your car keys, please keep them safe."

"Hmm." After the manager left, Jiang Hua saw that he was just looking at her expressionlessly with his deep, dark eyes, unable to say a word. She felt inexplicably pleased. He kept saying he loved her, but she wanted to see how long he could keep up this pretense before he stopped pretending.

In his past life, he loved Song Qingran so much, but now he says he doesn't love her anymore...

...

After leaving the fish restaurant, Xue Ruyao and Xiaoyu helped Song Qingran.

"Qingran, you're so careless! How could you sprain your ankle like that? Can you even get home by yourself?"

Song Qingran shook her head, "It's okay. Aunt Bai said she's already sent a car to pick me up. I'll go visit her later; I haven't been back in a long time. Don't worry about me, you guys go back first."

Xue Ruyao: "Qingran is a young lady now. How does it feel to be waited on by servants? Isn't it comfortable to have everything done for you? It's a pity that we don't have that kind of life."

Xiaoyu: "Yeah, everyone in the studio was so envious of you when they found out that Madam Bai had taken you in as her goddaughter."

"But we're happy for you too. This way, no one will dare to bully you anymore. And that Jiang Hua... let's see if she can still be so arrogant in the future."

Song Qingran was clearly in low spirits, which had started at the beginning of the meal. She seemed to have something on her mind, but she wouldn't say anything when the two asked.

The next second, Xiaoyu spotted a couple walking out of the elevator. "Qingran... what's going on between you and President Pei?"

"Weren't you two getting along fine before? Was it because of Jiang Hua that he was lured away?"

"I'll go teach her a lesson for you now."

Song Qingran quickly grabbed her: "No! Xiaoyu, I really have nothing to do with Mr. Pei. He just sponsored me, there's really nothing else."

"If there's nothing to it, why have you been so unhappy all this time!" Xue Ruyao is a very outspoken person and can't stand seeing her depressed and sullen all day after her boyfriend was stolen. "Don't worry about this, just leave it to us."

As darkness fell outside, the mall was bustling with people.

"Jiang Hua, you bitch, stop right there!"

Because of this shout, many people stopped in their tracks. Jiang Hua also stopped and turned around. She saw familiar faces not far away. She glanced at Song Qingran, then at the maid beside her, who was also looking at her with indignant eyes. Finally, a person whose name she couldn't remember, named Yao, walked towards her.

But before she could get close, bodyguards from Jinsha Shallow Bay suddenly appeared around her, blocking her way. After taking only a few steps, Xue Ruyao suddenly became frightened and dared not go forward.

"Who...who are you people? Why are you blocking my way!"

Jiang Hua watched her calmly, then saw Song Qingran rush over in a panic and grab Xue Ruyao, "Ayao, what are you doing!"

"President Pei, I'm sorry, Senior Jiang, for interrupting your date. I apologize to Ayao; she... was in a bad mood today and acted somewhat rashly."

Jiang Hua deliberately took Pei Zhan's arm in front of Song Qingran, saying, "I'm sorry to have bothered you, but I just heard someone cursing at me?"

"You, slap her back for me."

"Yes, Miss." The bodyguard was efficient; he stepped forward and slapped Xue Ruyao across the face.

The other party was tall and strong, and the bodyguards were all well-trained, having come from the front lines of gunfire. They exuded a powerful aura, which would indeed make ordinary people feel somewhat intimidated.

Xue Ruyao didn't expect the other party to be serious. She covered her face, tears welling up in her eyes from the pain.

"Where did your arrogance go? Why aren't you saying a word now?"

"Oh dear, didn't the bodyguards you hired go a bit too far with your ex-girlfriend's best friend? I just wanted them to teach her a little lesson..."

Pei Zhan lowered his eyes and watched her act quietly without stopping her.

Jiang Hua stepped forward, her posture arrogant and languid. "Your face is all swollen from being hit. Tsk, it really hurts!" The next second, a strong pressure emanated from Jiang Hua, and a powerful aura emanated from her. Finally, she coldly said, "Finish off the other side that wasn't hit. Also... don't be too gentle with her. If it doesn't hurt, she won't remember next time."

Jiang Hua turned to leave, and the next second, a violent scream rang out behind her.

Unable to bear it any longer, Xue Ruyao collapsed to the ground. "Ayao...Ayao...Are you alright!"

“Senior Jiang, A Yao was in the wrong first, but she stood up for me. I know you have a problem with me, and you can come at me if you have any issues. Why did you have to kill A Yao?”

Jiang Hua didn't turn around, but watched Pei Zhan's reaction. "This is your lackey; you failed to manage him properly, and that's your fault..."

Xiaoyu: "Jiang Hua, you're too arrogant. You were the one who seduced Qingran's boyfriend first, how can you still be so self-righteous as to tell him to hit someone?"

Is it something to be proud of to steal someone else's boyfriend?

"Mr. Pei, you are the president of a listed company, can't you see through this woman's tricks?"

"She just wants to break you and Qingran up..."