It was the first time Shi Ran entered a high-end place like Bulgari. She was not in the mood to appreciate the luxurious environment and all kinds of rich people inside.
After taking a seat at the window, the waiter came to take orders.
Liu Min and Wang Shuqin were like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden, chattering and making noise, ordering whatever was expensive, and ordering portions that were too big for seven or eight people to eat.
Shi Ran didn't stop her. She seemed to have lost the ability to speak. She looked at her eyes, nose and heart. Sitting next to Cheng Xiuyan, her whole body was numb.
A table was filled with snacks and tea, and two women took out their cell phones and took pictures in various strange poses.
Liu Min also took a lot of photos of Zhang Cheng Xiuyan and Shi Ran in the same frame, and wanted to post them to Moments to show off.
Shi Ran slowly raised her head and looked at Liu Min with stagnant eyes. She opened her mouth and wanted to tell Liu Min: Your appearance really makes me sick.
Cheng Xiuyan gently patted the back of Shi Ran's hand under the table. When Shi Ran turned to him, he shook his head with an extremely serious expression.
This man understood the situation in Shi Ran's family, and he also understood Shi Ran's personality.
Leaving behind two thousand-yuan supermarket shopping coupons, Cheng Xiuyan took Shi Ran out of Bvlgari on the pretext that he wanted to have a private chat with Shi Ran while the two women were very interested in luxurious afternoon tea.
The big G was filled with the smell of Wang Shuqin's cheap perfume, and Shi Ran didn't know what to say to Cheng Xiuyan. It wasn't that this man was waiting for an opportunity to entangle him, but that Liu Min wouldn't let go of this one-in-a-million rich son-in-law.
Asking Cheng Xiuyan to unilaterally refuse to associate with Liu Min would only appear to be unreasonable and vexatious.
The car drove on the road, the direction unknown.
The two of them kept silent as the road was long and jam-packed, and finally they arrived at the edge of Dishui Lake.
Cheng Xiuyan got out of the car, and Shi Ran followed suit.
Dishui Lake was not far from the coastline. Cheng Xiuyan lit a cigarette and walked to the seaside. When he reached the seawall, he jumped on it and sat cross-legged on the seawall regardless of his dress.
Shi Ran jumped three times before she managed to get up. After sitting next to Cheng Xiuyan, she heard Cheng Xiuyan mocking in a low voice, "Are you particularly bad at sports?"
"I'm much shorter than you." Shi Ran defended and then realized that she was able to speak again after being blown by the cold sea breeze.
The tide was about to recede at this time, so people in small groups carrying small buckets and wearing rain boots climbed over the embankment to dig on the tidal flat.
Shi Ran had no experience in rushing to the sea. She followed a family of three not far away. The little girl squatted and dug. She didn't know what good things she dug out. She grabbed it with her hands and raised it above her head. She laughed from a distance.
They can all be heard by Shi Ran.
This sea was extremely yellow, and the scenery was far from beautiful, but its vastness and the fact that there were always people who could gain happiness from it still made Shi Ran's depressed mood much calmer.
Cheng Xiuyan turned his head and smiled naturally at Shi Ran.
He said that he had figured it out and that if he only remained friends with Shi Ran, the help he provided would not cause psychological pressure on Shi Ran.
Shi Ran looked at Cheng Xiuyan seriously for a while and sighed, "How could it be possible to figure it out so quickly?"
"Don't be so smart, let's pretend to be stupid together, and things will get over in time." Cheng Xiuyan raised his hand and placed it above Shi Ran's head.
Seeing that Shi Ran had no intention of avoiding him, he put his big hand on Shi Ran's hair and grabbed it twice, "I know how to adjust my feelings. Since you can't make trouble with the family, since I can't.
I don’t want to become alienated from you, so let’s just give in. You treat me as a friend, and I will help you deal with Liu Min at the lowest cost."
Friendship in exchange for help? It was as simple as Cheng Xiuyan said, how could Shi Ran be so hesitant?
Cheng Xiuyan's next words struck a chord in Shi Ran's heart.
"Your moral bottom line is still quite high. When facing Liu Min and your father, you can't even say an unpleasant word. How can you fight Liu Min like this? People with different moral standards cannot get along well with each other. Your
For Liu Min, the rules of life are just pretending to be aloof. If you really drive her crazy, she can spurn and trample on you arbitrarily. When it gets to that point, what can you do to her?"
Yes, Shi Ran thought: What can I do to her? After all, she is her stepmother, the woman Shi Jianning loves.
Shi Ran didn't need to answer, so Cheng Xiuyan, as if wishful thinking, gently pushed the back of Shi Ran's head, making her make a gesture similar to a nod.
The shopping coupons left for Liu Min and Wang Shuqin were given by a friend's family. They had no cost and were wiped out by Cheng Xiuyan.
Cheng Xiuyan took the initiative to calculate the cost of the Bvlgari afternoon tea. Together with the debts that Shi Ran had calculated before, he opened a document in the notepad on his mobile phone, "Look, you owe me, one by one,
Sooner or later it will be paid off. Between you and me, it will be as clear as this bill in the future. I promise you."
Cheng Xiuyan repeatedly promised that he would not have any emotional expectations for Shi Ran and would not contact Shi Ran privately when nothing happened.
They will not hide anything from Lin Huan. Their common goal in the future is to wait for time to dilute everything and then get along with each other like true friends.
As for Liu Min, as long as it creates the illusion that Shi Ran refuses in every possible way and Cheng Xiuyan is still heartbroken and wants to pursue Shi Ran back, it will be enough.
In the evening, Shi Ran prepared a meal and waited for Lin Huan to come back and have dinner together. Lin Huan expressed her thoughts.
Liu Min suddenly came to Shengqian, which made Lin Huan feel that things were about to get out of control. She was afraid that Shi Ran would be tortured in various ways by Liu Min, and she was also afraid that Cheng Xiuyan would be "publicly executed" by Liu Min in Shengqian.
After much deliberation, I still think it would be safer for them to continue pretending to be a couple.
Shi Ran didn't know how to tell Lin Huan her latest agreement with Cheng Xiuyan.
Lin Huan often acted before thinking when she was anxious. She started a WeChat group of three people on the spot and renamed it "The Road to Learning".
[Mr. Cheng, I won’t talk in circles anymore. You know the situation at Shi Ran’s family. I really can’t help but can only worry. But if you take action, this matter can be settled easily. 】
Shi Ran said she was sorry many times in her heart. Even though she and Cheng Xiuyan had agreed that their future affairs would have nothing to do with each other, she still felt uncomfortable.
Cheng Xiuyan was Lin Huan's favorite person. Shi Ran was extremely contemptuous of her compromise today. How could she hide so many things from Lin Huan? She simply did not deserve to be regarded as a best friend by Lin Huan.
Soon, Cheng Xiuyan's message was replied to the "Path of Learning", [I can continue to help, and there are two conditions in exchange.]
Lin Huan immediately asked: [What conditions? We all agree!]
[First, pay me back on time every month. Second, Shi Ran will become a producer in the future, make a good game, and let me distribute it as an agent. I will make more money from her.]
"Ouch, is this person obsessed with money?!" Lin Huan cursed and typed, [Okay, okay, we will definitely pay you back on time. No matter who of us makes big money in the future, I will definitely bring you with him.
, I’ll let you take the big share, okay? 】
Cheng Xiuyan said this just to make Lin Huan think that he didn't do what he wanted to Shi Ran.
With the superb acting and the fact that Cheng Xiuyan was a mild-mannered person in the past but was keen on making money to buy a house, Lin Huan would not have the slightest suspicion.
Even though he was full of apologies and shame towards Lin Huan, life still had to go by. Shi Ran could only comfort himself by thinking: This is not betrayal, this is an expedient measure and a last resort.