novelraw Chapter 45 Cheap Services in Love
Chapter 45 Cheap Services in Love
He was surrounded by wealthy heiresses, and she was priced by the powerful and wealthy. The tenderness in their love became a service that could be replaced by money.
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While Wang Haowen was being kicked out of the house by his own father, Zeng Jia had just finished struggling in bed. She didn't have time to think about the "cold shoulder after leaving" thing and was staring blankly at her phone screen, as if flowers were blooming on the screen.
The WeChat message was sent by a guy named Shi Jun from last night's social gathering. He's a pretty good drinker, one of the few who didn't pass out at the table. But Zeng Jia racked her brains for ages, and still couldn't remember what Shi Jun did for a living. She'd added about twenty people on WeChat last night, like handing out flyers—even with her good memory, she couldn't possibly remember them all.
Shi Jun asked her to meet today, but he didn't say anything, just sent her a single message.
Should she just back down? Zeng Jia wondered to herself. After all, they were people Zhang Zhishan treated like royalty, and she couldn't afford to offend them.
Her fingers flew across the screen as she replied: Sure, afternoon tea, what time are you free? I'll choose the place!
She arranged to meet near the company so that if things went wrong, she could simply call Dong Miaomiao and tell her to call the company urgently, allowing her to slip away and escape.
But after the message was sent, Shi Jun's side was like a disconnected network, and there was no further response.
Zeng Jia didn't even have time to wait for his message. She quickly washed up and changed, and rushed to the company. On the way, she didn't forget to book the high-speed rail tickets to celebrate Grandma Zhang's birthday on Monday afternoon.
After arriving at the company, Zeng Jia threw herself into her work. At 2:30 p.m., her phone pinged again. Shi Jun sent her an address, inviting her to dinner at 6:30 p.m.
Zeng Jia was getting annoyed. Had this guy's tongue gotten stuck in a door or something? Was sending an address all he wanted? Couldn't he say even two extra words? Was he playing the word-saving game here?
She was feeling annoyed when she looked up and saw Wang Haowen carrying in a really fancy cake box.
Suddenly, this young lady, Song Yaxuan, had a craving and insisted on eating 21cake's cake. Now that she had the cake, she was beaming like a trumpet flower and insisted that Wang Haowen also try her favorite flavor.
Wang Haowen wasn't entirely upset about Zeng Jia; he disliked being too affectionate in public, so he twisted his body and shrank back. But the more he retreated, the more Song Yaxuan pushed forward, and the two of them jostled and shoved each other, their sticky and affectionate manner resembling flirting in the office.
Everyone in the office area kept their eyes down, pretending to be absorbed in their own thoughts, as if they had all undergone cataract surgery. I could only secretly complain to myself.
Zeng Jia was so angry she almost ground her teeth to powder. A surge of anger welled up inside her. She slammed her finger into her phone screen and replied to Shi Jun with "OK, see you tonight."
Everyone else is acting in romantic dramas right here, why should she stay in a cold cave like Wang Baochuan! Who cares if Shi Jun is a man or a ghost, she'll see what happens when she meets him. What if he's a rich and handsome man with diamonds? Who doesn't care about money?
As soon as it was time to leave work, Zeng Jia didn't dawdle. She took out her small makeup bag from the drawer, quickly touched up her makeup in front of the small mirror on her desk, and then headed straight for the restaurant address that Shi Jun had given her.
The restaurant's facade looked quite simple and unadorned, but inside it was a hidden paradise. With its green tiles, wooden windows, antique lanterns, potted plants in the corners, and even a faint aroma of tea in the air, it was like a secluded paradise.
Zeng Jia gave the room number, and the waiter led her upstairs. When the door opened, the room was packed with people, some smoking, some chatting, some urging others to drink, making a noisy scene. Zeng Jia was speechless.
She got scammed, didn't she? She thought it would be a private gathering for two, where she could have a quiet chat, but it turned out to be a chaotic mess. If she had known it would be like this, she would never have come!
"Secretary Zeng is here!"
When Shi Jun saw her, he stood up from the crowd, beaming. He was slightly overweight, wearing a neatly tailored shirt and glasses, and looked quite presentable.
Without a word, he led Zeng Jia to the seat next to him. "I wanted to have afternoon tea with you, but I couldn't get away. And tonight, these shrewd people have me glued to this place and won't let me leave. But I really, really want to see you." He explained quickly in a low voice, then turned and loudly introduced her to Zeng Jia.
The table was packed with lawyers. Some dealt with mergers and acquisitions, others with commercial disputes, some with large-scale arbitration, and one even worked on distressed asset cases in the US. Zeng Jia's head was spinning; she could only force a smile and shake hands with each of them, exchanging business cards.
In that short time, her vague impression of Shi Jun became clear. He was a senior executive at a mainstream social media company, in his early thirties, a native of Beijing, with some family connections. As for his looks, compared to Wang Haowen, that pretty boy, he was indeed a bit lacking. No wonder this looks-obsessed person hadn't remembered him last night.
During a drinking party, Zeng Jia listened intently to the lawyers' lively discussions, treating it as gossip. Shi Jun, with his sharp eyes, noticed Zeng Jia's brow furrow slightly and immediately came over to explain, delivering a lecture full of fatherly concern.
After the dinner party ended, Zeng Jia thought about calling a car to go home, but as luck would have it, it started pouring rain. She checked the taxi app and saw that there were more than 300 people in the queue. Zeng Jia cursed under her breath.
Shi Jun had also been drinking, and he immediately called a designated driver. Like a domineering CEO, he bluntly said, "Get in the car with me, I'll take you home!" He didn't give Zeng Jia a chance to refuse.
Zeng Jia pursed her lips, realizing it was indeed difficult to refuse; with over 300 people in line, it could take forever.
Inside the car, Shi Jun, slightly drunk, stared intently at her. Zeng Jia felt the air was freezing, but she forced herself to start a conversation: "Thank you so much, Mr. Shi, for introducing me to so many great lawyers today. I've learned a lot. But I didn't expect it to be a family gathering. I'm really sorry for coming." All the men at the table were accompanied by young women, except for her, who sat naked next to Shi Jun.
"What family members?" Shi Jun scoffed, speaking casually, "None of them brought their wives; they were all girlfriends from drinking parties."
Zeng Jia was stunned for a moment, then a surge of anger rose within her. What did this mean? What did they take her for? A hostess?
"Secretary Zeng, please don't misunderstand. I'm not like those people." Shi Jun leaned forward slightly. "I'll be frank, I like you." He paused, a hint of inexplicable superiority in his voice. "My liking isn't the kind where I just want to sleep with you."
"Mr. Shi, you flatter me. It's quite sudden," Zeng Jia said with a forced smile.
"Secretary Zeng, how about giving me a chance?" Shi Jun pressed on, his face full of confidence. "Let me briefly introduce myself. My family has been in Beijing for generations, with impeccable revolutionary credentials. My uncle was the former secretary-general of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and my parents are both university professors, now retired. As for me? I own a house and a car, more than one, and my annual salary is seven figures—more than enough to support you!"
Zeng Jia was speechless for a moment. She had only ever dated Wang Haowen and had never been on a blind date. Was this how the blind date market set its conditions? It was like breeding livestock.
This person is a good catch, but she really hates his "it's your good fortune that I've taken a liking to you" attitude.
"Mr. Shi is a straightforward person, but your arrival is too sudden. Besides, I'm so busy with work that I don't have time to rest. I really have no mind to settle down."
"It's okay if we don't get married yet, let's just date for now. Just let me know when you want to get married!" Shi Jun said confidently, as if the matter was already set in stone. "Don't worry, I have all of your boss's PR, leaks, and account bans under my control. If you're with me, he won't dare to bully you. I'll protect you."
Zeng Jia was too lazy to say anything more. She pretended to be drunk, rubbing her temples, listening to the pattering raindrops outside the car window, and Shi Jun occasionally answering his loud and boisterous phone calls.
After finally reaching the entrance of the alley, Zeng Jia felt like she had been granted a pardon. She made an excuse that the car couldn't get into the narrow alley, opened the car door, and plunged headfirst into the rain.
For the first time, she found this narrow, run-down alleyway endearing, a place that had kept this overconfident, successful man out of the way. The nephew of the Secretary-General of the Federation of Industry and Commerce, whose parents were both high-ranking officials, somehow felt strangely uncomfortable about being struck by such a privileged position.
She analyzed the situation carefully and realized that her remaining self-respect wouldn't allow her to be picked over like a cabbage. She ran into the house in one breath. The ceiling of her dark, leaky little nest was a bit damp. Looking at the leak, she gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Zeng Jia, Zeng Jia, you're a worthless piece of trash who can't even afford a house, and you've got your eye on someone? You have nothing yourself, yet you complain about this rich kid not being a suck-up!"
Looking out the window at the torrential rain, Wang Haowen was so worried he could wring water out of his skin. He was still stuck preparing for Tuesday's signing ceremony.
But the buzzing noise from the ancestor next to him was even more annoying than the sound of rain, making him want to explode on the spot.
"Wang Haowen, give me a hand-drip coffee!"
"Wang Haowen, how do I merge these two Excel spreadsheets? It won't cooperate with my copy and paste function!"
"Ouch, this stupid keyboard is acting up again, it's displaying gibberish. Come check it out..."
I worked overtime for two hours, and an hour and a half of that was spent serving my aunt, Song Yaxuan.
"Why don't you go back first? You're not helping much here, you're just causing trouble." Even Wang Haowen, who was usually very patient, couldn't help but start telling him to leave.
Song Yaxuan pouted, looking aggrieved: "I stayed here specifically to keep you company, don't be ungrateful. I never work overtime, those two words don't even exist in my dictionary!"
Wang Haowen rolled his eyes inwardly. So he was supposed to be grateful? He couldn't get rid of her, so he could only resign himself to continuing. But Song Yaxuan had no interest in working; she pulled out her phone and ordered takeout, filling a table with crayfish.
Wang Haowen glared at her with disgust. How could he work while eating crayfish? But when the crayfish arrived, the waiter who peeled them came to the door. The shells and veins were removed cleanly, and the crayfish meat was arranged neatly. Song Yaxuan shoved the chopsticks into his hand, and all he had to do was wait to eat.
Looking at the deluxe version of the crayfish, Wang Haowen suddenly thought of Zeng Jia. In the past, when they ate crayfish, he would carefully peel them and feed them to her, treating her like an empress dowager.
Now it's so much easier, you can just pay for the service directly.
So, are the services in love really so cheap and worthless? Then what exactly is love?