Chapter 130: Chapter 29: I Always Feel Like I’ve Been Cucked

There was no love or hate without reason in this world, and certainly, no one would help another out of nowhere. There were only transactions—exchanges of interests, emotions, and desires.

Having navigated society for many years, Li Huamei naturally understood this principle. Thus, she felt no resistance whatsoever to Zhang Yan making a request. The most she could do within her power was make their relationship appear closer, attempting to use personal affection to offset some of his demands. She reasoned that since they were now practically brother and sister, he surely wouldn’t have the heart to make any outrageous requests.

After all, she had a pretty good impression of Zhang Yan. As long as his request wasn’t too excessive, Li Huamei would do her best to satisfy it.

Zhang Yan didn’t actually have many thoughts, at least not at the moment. He simply weighed his words for a moment before calmly asking a preliminary question: "Sister Mei, forgive my presumption, but are you married? Or perhaps, are you currently seeing anyone?"

If an ordinary person had asked this, Li Huamei naturally wouldn’t have answered directly; she would have simply dismissed him as a sleazy creep. But at this moment, she needed Zhang Yan’s help. Coupled with the fact that it related to the request he was about to make, this kind of private matter could naturally be shared.

"Yan, I know your character, and naturally, I trust this... young lady as well. Neither of you are the type to gossip.

"I married the wrong man back in the day, losing both my love and my career at a young age. It’s been seven or eight years since then, I suppose.

"Traveling thousands of miles to make a living here was an escape, but it was also a sign of a dead heart.

"Since then, I haven’t felt anything for a man, and in the future... I probably never will again."

Although Li Huamei didn’t want to admit it, a large part of the reason her small restaurant did so well was because of her. It wasn’t that the male patrons who came to spend money necessarily had ulterior motives, but her mysterious and charming demeanor served as an invisible magnetic pull, making them happy to return time and time again.

It was somewhat akin to an idol or a streamer; people were willing to pay for this imagined companionship. An idol might even have a partner in private, but they couldn’t tag them online or let their fans know. Therefore, her romantic history and future romantic intentions were closely guarded secrets. If exposed, her restaurant’s business might not collapse entirely, but seeing its revenue slashed in half would be getting off lightly.

Zhang Yan nodded. He could tell that Sister Mei had given him the utmost trust.

"Sister Mei, I can play along with this act for you, and we can treat this act as a test—a test of Huo Shaoqi’s true intentions toward you.

"If he just wants to play around, he’ll naturally give up when he hits a wall. That would be a peaceful way to resolve the situation.

"But if he truly has genuine feelings for you... I hope that when the time comes, you can give yourself a chance to try finding love again.

"Meeting the wrong person is a tragic regret, but I don’t think your life should be forever stuck in the past.

"If you can agree to this condition, then I will help you with this matter to the best of my ability."

Li Huamei’s eyes flickered as she fell silent. She could feel the sincerity in Zhang Yan’s words. His carefully chosen phrasing and thoughtful gentleness brought her a long-lost trace of warmth—the kind that warmed her straight to the heart.

For so many years, closing off her heart had become a habit. When encountering strange men, her first instinct was always disgust and resistance. She truly had been trapped in the year of her divorce, even if she could no longer remember her ex-husband’s face.

Perhaps it was time to finally let it go.

After a long while, Li Huamei seemed to have made a firm decision. "All right, Yan, I promise you! No matter what happens after this, I will try my best to truly forget the past and start a new life of my own! Regardless of the outcome, thank you!"

Spirits high, the newly minted brother-and-sister duo substituted tea for wine and toasted each other. Because of this, neither noticed Xia Xiqing sitting off to the side, staring blankly at Zhang Yan’s profile, lost in her own thoughts.

"Yan, meeting you was truly my good fortune! This meal is on me. I’m going to the kitchen right now to cook up something delicious for you!"

"Haha, I’ll be looking forward to it then!"

With Sister Mei’s departure, only the two of them were left in the small private room.

Xia Xiqing had already returned to normal, though her tone seemed to have softened a bit, and she was far more talkative than usual. "Where are my clothes? I’ve looked everywhere in the room and couldn’t find them. Don’t tell me you forgot to bring them?"

"What, if I really did forget to bring them, are you just going to skip this meal?"

"It’s a free meal, why wouldn’t I eat it? It’s just that, if you’re lying to me... then you’re a little puppy."

Zhang Yan chuckled softly. Although he didn’t know why Xia Xiqing’s attitude toward him had subtly shifted again, progress was always a good thing.

"All right, all right. If I’m lying to you, then I’m a little puppy, and I’ll go be an older brother to Big Orange."

Before the two could exchange more than a few words, a knock sounded on the private room’s door once again.

"Come in."

They assumed that one of the dishes had been prepared with surprising speed, but unexpectedly, the person who entered was Huo Shaoqi.

However, Zhang Yan quickly figured out the crux of the matter. He had chased away the group of street thugs outside ahead of schedule, causing Huo Shaoqi’s little scheme to fall through. The man had come to demand answers.

"Heh, Zhang Yan, I hope you don’t mind me showing up uninvited!"

If this were Brother Gan, Zhang Yan would have naturally told him to screw off right away. But since he and Huo Shaoqi were merely casual acquaintances up to this point, he couldn’t exactly kick him out.

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