Chapter 43 - 043: Dare to Marry Me?
Tears of excitement… Shen Chi couldn’t hold it in and laughed out loud.
“What’s so funny,” Xu Chaomu grumbled softly.
“Get in the car!”
“I’m not getting in!” Xu Chaomu turned and walked away.
Shen Chi opened the car door and dragged her onto the passenger seat.
“You’re getting in even if you don’t want to! Sit tight! Don’t move!” Shen Chi fastened her seatbelt, his tone imperiously commanding.
Xu Chaomu made a ghost face with gnashing teeth: “Yeah, sure, ‘getting in’ is more like it!”
‘ Shen Chi’s face was lined with frustration as he once again realized the failure of his own family’s upbringing.
He drove towards the villa, and Xu Chaomu still ignored him. By the time they reached the garage, she huffily got out of the car by herself and went upstairs with her handbag.
Once upstairs, she took out a tie box from her handbag.
She didn’t know much about ties or brands. She simply thought it was attractive and that it would look even better on Shen Chi.
She changed her mind again, she no longer wanted to give it to Shen Chi. He was about to get married. Wasn’t there someone else who would give him ties? Even if she gave it to him, he wouldn’t cherish it.
Just as she was staring at the tie, Shen Chi came in through the door.
Xu Chaomu put the tie back in the box, and just as she was about to put it away, Shen Chi grabbed her hand.
“Not planning to give it to me?” he said indifferently.
“Why would you need me to give you a tie, Shen Chi? Doesn’t Miss Bai Man buy you plenty of nice ones? This one is for Lou Yanli, don’t flatter yourself!” Xu Chaomu tried to pull her wrist free, but this man’s grip was so strong!
She tugged, tugged, tugged…
Okay, she couldn’t pull it free.
“I bought it with my money, I’m taking it!”
With one hand holding Xu Chaomu, Shen Chi took the box in his other hand.
“Shen Chi! You’re shameless!”
Xu Chaomu tried to snatch the box back. Damn, she had never seen someone so shameless. If she wouldn’t give it, he just took it himself!
She really had her eyes opened!
“Isn’t it only right that I take it?” He raised his eyebrows and only then released Xu Chaomu’s wrist.
Xu Chaomu continued to try to snatch it back, but she was no match for this man.
So, she could only watch helplessly as the tie was taken away…
What a bandit of a man! Where’s the promised courtesy? The elegance? All gone to hell!
“Xu Chaomu, what’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is still mine.” Shen Chi smirked and touched her cheek.
Xu Chaomu really wanted to kick him to death: “I always said your character was terrible. How could anyone dare to marry you?”
“Would you dare to marry me?”
“Right, didn’t I hear that you have midterms coming up?” Shen Chi cut her off. Actually, he was afraid to hear the answer she might say aloud.
“So what if we do, I’ll just try not to come in last!”
“Ambitious,” Shen Chi frowned, his voice low.
How could he, Shen Chi, have raised such an uninspired girl!
“It’s not like you just met me,” Xu Chaomu gave up all pretense.
“If you get into the top ten this time, I have something for you,” Shen Chi spoke lightly.
Xu Chaomu looked up and met Shen Chi’s gaze. His eyes were always so deep, like an endless sky, with no sight of their limit.
“What is it? If it’s not tempting, I don’t have much motivation,” Xu Chaomu pouted.
“Something you want.” Shen Chi stood up without saying anything further and walked out of Xu Chaomu’s room with the tie box in hand.
Xu Chaomu watched his retreating figure for a long time. Something she wanted?
When it was time for dinner, Shen Chi was not at home.
Liu Rumei was “concerned” about Xu Chaomu while eating: “Chaomu, how’s your studying going recently?”
“Not bad. My ranking at the bottom is pretty stable,” Xu Chaomu replied without looking up.
“If you don’t understand something, you can ask your third brother, or even your second sister,” Liu Rumei said.
“Third brother, I believe, but second sister? Does she even know?” Xu Chaomu sneered.
Shen Yanrou, who was sitting nearby, felt humiliated and said sourly, “As if I never came in last.”
“Coming in last doesn’t mean I’m not smart. Consistently being at the bottom takes skill too,” Xu Chaomu argued illogically.
Whenever Shen Chi was not at home, they would inevitably create a ruckus at the dinner table. But the moment Shen Chi returned, nobody dared to speak.
After eating for a while, Xu Chaomu felt like it was akin to chewing wax and stopped eating. However, just as she was about to leave, she saw a newspaper on the sofa.
It was probably Shen Chi’s rule that newspapers and magazines were not allowed in the living room. Xu Chaomu could hardly ever see newspapers and magazines at the Shen’s residence.
The newspaper today must have been left by a careless servant, right?
She casually flipped through it until she paused on the entertainment section.
A giant photo nearly occupied the entire page!
“Popular actress Bai Man seen in a bar date with a mystery man, suspected to be Shen Group CEO Shen Chi.”
Xu Chaomu stared at the photo, her eyes not moving at all.
In the photo, the woman was ambiguously untying the man’s tie with her head lowered, her body partially shielding the man. Their poses were extremely intimate, leading one to suspect they were kissing.
Xu Chaomu’s heart skipped a beat!
Although the man’s face was not shown in the photo, she knew his every move too well!
The watch on his wrist was something she didn’t recognize by brand, but having seen him wear it for so many years, she couldn’t be mistaken!
Moreover, the person with Bai Man had to be Shen Chi!
Her heart pounded wildly, her entire body’s blood boiling.
Her little hand clutching the newspaper tightened and tightened…
Suddenly, she noticed a tie box on the table in the photo, containing a black diagonal-striped tie!
Xu Chaomu crumpled the newspaper into a ball in her hand and rushed swiftly to Shen Chi’s room!
Rage fused within her chest, the feeling that she had been deceived and played with overwhelmed her!
Bai Man gave him a tie, and yet he insisted on taking hers away.
He just thought it was fun to bully her.
All these years, hadn’t he always treated her as a pet?
When he was unhappy, she would play with him to cheer him up; when he was displeased, he would vent his irritation on her; he commanded, and she had to obey; when he was in a bad mood, she was subjected to his unreasonableness, his tyranny!
Yet, he didn’t inform her about the dance; she was the last to know about his fiancée.
He would ruthlessly throw her on the bed, leaving her with a broken head and bleeding, but would he do that to Bai Man? No, he would be too distressed.
What did he consider her? Merely a pet. A pet for him to order around and amuse himself with.
Swallowing back her tears, Xu Chaomu bit her teeth and began banging furiously on Shen Chi’s door!
She knew he wasn’t there, and she knew he had a habit of locking his door, but she still wanted to knock, as if with each hit, she was striking at him, soothing her feelings bit by bit!
“Shen Chi… you bastard… all these years treating me as a pet, funny to you, isn’t it…”
As Xu Chaomu continued to knock, she eventually broke down crying and slowly squatted down by the door. She buried herself in her knees, tears streaming uncontrollably….