Chapter One Hundred and Four: Buying and Selling Books

The proprietress was eating fried rice when she turned to me and said, “Tang, go and total it up.”

Since she had spoken, I had no choice but to pick up the books on the cashier’s counter and start adding up the bill.

Seeing me work with such solemn seriousness, Hua Jingjing leaned against the glass door, watching me with a laugh she was too shy to let out. Under her gaze, I did not even dare lift my head. I hurriedly ran the figures through the calculator and said, “Seventy-four yuan altogether. Thank you.”

Hua Jingjing gave a soft “mm” but did not rush to pay. Instead, she said to the proprietress, Zhuang Min, “Madam Boss, I’d like to buy a few more books about women’s beauty. I wonder if you have any here?”

Zhuang Min said, “Books on beauty? Of course. I think they’re over on that shelf.” She pointed to a corner inside the shop.

Hua Jingjing smiled. “Where? I just looked, and I didn’t see any.”

Zhuang Min frowned in surprise. “That can’t be. I remember putting them there. Tang, go help her check.”

I knew Hua Jingjing was doing this on purpose, but since she was a customer, I had to serve her. So I set down the calculator and walked over to the shelf to look for books on women’s beauty. Hua Jingjing followed right behind me, cleverly using her body to block the proprietress’s line of sight.

When I turned, I happened to catch Hua Jingjing making a mischievous, teasing face at me. I lowered my voice and said, “If you’ve looked, then that’s enough. Hurry up and pay, then leave. Don’t keep interfering with my work.”

Hua Jingjing said, “No way. I still want to buy a lot of books. How could I find them all in just an hour or two?”

I knew her far too well. I could tell she was deliberately making things difficult for me, and she must have had some ulterior motive. So I said, “What exactly do you want? Just say it straight. Don’t play games with me.”

Hua Jingjing pouted and said with injured innocence, “I’m a customer, you know. Is that the kind of attitude you use toward customers?”

I was starting to lose my temper, and said in a low voice, “Are you determined to make trouble here and ignore everything I say?”

Hua Jingjing opened her large, innocent eyes and replied in an even more wounded voice, “M-make trouble? I’m just buying books properly, aren’t I? It’s you with the terrible attitude. I haven’t even complained about you yet.”

I laughed in fury. I casually pulled several books from the shelf and handed them to her without ceremony. “Fine. My attitude is terrible. Go ahead and complain about me. Please, do!” Then I stopped paying her any mind and went back to the cashier’s counter to finish my meal.

Smiling, Hua Jingjing came over clutching the books. She said to Zhuang Min, “Madam Boss, do you have any books on clothing, cooking, or household medicine? I want to buy a whole lot today.”

At last Zhuang Min realized she had a serious customer on her hands. She hurriedly set down her chopsticks, beaming as she personally went up to greet Hua Jingjing. “Yes, yes, of course. Come, come, I’ll take you to look!” With that, she led Hua Jingjing off to search through the shelves.

As they walked, Hua Jingjing waited until the proprietress wasn’t looking, then turned back at once and made a huge face at me.

I could only smile wryly. Hua Jingjing was already well into adulthood, so why did she still act like a child? And she was a deputy general manager at Green Lady Company, no less.

Just as I was thinking this, my phone rang again. I took it out and saw that it was Xu Shu calling. I answered, “Hello?”

“Tang Qian, half an hour ago, my sister disappeared again!”

I asked in surprise, “Why? Did you have a fight with her?”

“Well... it doesn’t really count as a fight. She kept clamoring all day to go out and have fun. I didn’t realize she was just making excuses to come find you, so I didn’t agree. She put on a black face for me all afternoon. In a fit of anger, I told her I’d send her home tomorrow and wouldn’t let her stay here anymore. Later I went to take an international call, and when I came back, I couldn’t find her anywhere.”

“Your security is so tight, and you have so many bodyguards. How could she possibly get out? Maybe she’s just hiding somewhere and sulking. Look again.”

“I did look. I ordered everyone to search inside and out, and they’re still looking outside now. But I figure that little wretch has probably already slipped away somehow. Tang Qian, she’s acting so recklessly that she must be coming to find you. Listen to me: the moment you see her, call me right away. I’ll come get her immediately.”

“All right.”

I hung up and let out a long breath. My heart felt both sweet and sour, and I couldn’t quite tell what I was feeling.

That little witch had run away from home three times in a row. The first time, the reason was unknown. The second time, it was to get back at me. But this third time—could it really be just to see me once?

I thought about some of what had happened between us these past few days. From the beginning, when she teased me mercilessly, to now, when she had clearly grown attached to me. In just a few short days, such earth-shaking changes had taken place. The moment I let my mind dwell on it a little, I found myself smiling uncontrollably.

I found it strange too. Toward women who liked me, I felt guilt and pity for Qiu Jieqin, anxiety and a headache for Hua Jingjing, but toward Xu Xin, deep in my heart there was a kind of satisfied triumph, a smug delight that she had fallen for me. I didn’t know why I had such thoughts, but I was happy all the same. Perhaps it was because she was Xu Shu’s younger sister?

Hua Jingjing was some distance away from me. Though she kept glancing my way distractedly, she did not seem to have heard clearly what I was saying.

I found Xu Xin’s mobile number in my call log and dialed it, but all I heard from the phone was: the other party has turned off their phone.

After thinking it over, I realized that if Xu Xin had really run out to look for me, she would certainly call me. Worrying was useless.

What was truly headache-inducing was Hua Jingjing. If she refused to leave, I really had no way to deal with her. She was absurdly rich, and if she bought out every book in the shop in one breath, she probably wouldn’t even blink. If I were stuck with her until closing time, then getting rid of her would be even harder. And if Xu Xin suddenly appeared before me, how was I supposed to explain any of this?

After thinking it over, I had no choice but to step outside the bookstore and call Hua Jingjing from there. It rang three times before she answered with a light laugh. “What is it?”

I said, “My dear lady, as long as you don’t interfere with me and leave this shop quickly, I’ll be endlessly grateful to you. I’ll remember your kindness forever, all right? Please, I’m begging you.”

“I don’t want your gratitude forever. I haven’t had dinner yet, and I’m hungry. What do you expect me to do?”

“Well then, go eat! I’ve already had my meal, and my shift isn’t over yet. I’m afraid I can’t keep you company. Let’s talk next time.”

“No. You have to keep me company. At worst, I’ll just endure the hunger and wait until you get off work.”

How could that be allowed? I said with a mournful face, “My lady, please stop this. If you just sit there waiting, people will start to suspect something.”

“Hmph. What’s there to be afraid of? It’s not as if this is something shameful.”

“Honestly, if you had come in just now and greeted me normally, that would have been much better. But now you’ve been pretending not to know me for so long, and then if people suddenly realize you’ve actually been waiting for me, how am I supposed to explain that to the proprietress?”

“I don’t care. That’s your problem. You handle it yourself.”

I was about to beg her again when the proprietress suddenly called out from inside, “Tang! Hurry over and help me carry these!”

I had no choice but to rush back inside. Zhuang Min was already holding a stack of books high in her arms. From the look of it, there were a dozen or twenty volumes, and she was nearly unable to carry them.

When she saw me come over, she quickly said, “Tang, take these first and total up how much they cost!”

I agreed at once and hurriedly took them from her, carrying them to the cashier’s counter, while Zhuang Min kept helping Hua Jingjing pick out more books. Hua Jingjing kept glancing back at me now and then, smiling with open provocation. I glared back at her.

After about ten minutes, Zhuang Min and Hua Jingjing finally returned from their selection spree. Hua Jingjing was carrying another dozen books, all of which she piled onto the counter. I grabbed the calculator and painstakingly totaled the amount.

By then, the two of them were already chatting like old friends. From clothing to beauty, from beauty to hairstyles, and from hairstyles back to clothing again, Hua Jingjing showed no sign at all of wanting to leave.

I checked twice. In total, Hua Jingjing had bought thirty-nine books, for an exact total of eight hundred and forty-seven yuan.

I knew very well that most of these books would probably never be opened, never mind read, once she took them home. What a shameful waste.

And indeed, Hua Jingjing didn’t even blink. She casually took out a wad of cash and counted out nine hundred-yuan notes for me.

I thought to myself: since she’s paid, she ought to leave now, shouldn’t she? So I promptly and attentively found her fifty-three yuan in change, then packed the new books she’d bought into two large plastic bags and placed them before her.

To my surprise, Hua Jingjing didn’t even glance at them. Instead, she said to the proprietress, “Madam Boss, I can’t possibly carry so many books. My car is parked outside. Could you have your clerk carry them out for me?”

She had just bought nearly forty books in one go, so of course the proprietress was delighted to oblige. She instructed me, “Tang, hurry and help this lady carry the books out!”

I happened to want to say a few more words to Hua Jingjing anyway, so I agreed and lifted the two large plastic bags to take them outside. The proprietress personally escorted Hua Jingjing to the door and called after her, “Come again whenever you have time to buy books!”

Hua Jingjing followed behind me. Once we had moved a little farther from the bookstore, she gave a cold snort and said, “You’ve been working here less than half a day, and already it’s all Tang this and Tang that, so affectionate. No wonder you made me pretend not to know you. Were you afraid I’d get in the way of your good fortune?”

I said angrily, “What good fortune? Don’t talk nonsense. People think I’m married!”

“Then why wouldn’t you let me recognize you? If you have nothing to hide, why do this?”

“Please. Miss, in their eyes I’m just a man who’s just lost his job and can barely afford food. And on my very first day at work, a gorgeous woman driving a Ferrari and wearing clothes worth tens of thousands of yuan shows up to see me. How am I supposed to introduce you? My former boss? People would say your former boss treated you so well that she came to see you on your first day back at work. Then why did you resign?”

Hua Jingjing broke into a happy laugh when she heard me praising her beauty. “Then you could just say I’m your girlfriend, you idiot!”

“You’re the idiot! I’m a broke nobody—could I possibly have such a lavish girlfriend? Who would believe that if I said it out loud? Besides, wouldn’t that be lying?”

“Hmph. And pretending not to know me isn’t lying?”

“I...” I was left speechless and had to shut my mouth.

We had already reached the Ferrari. Hua Jingjing took out the remote key and pressed it, unlocking the car and all its doors, then opened the trunk so I could put the books inside.

As I did so, I muttered to myself, “Just to come see me once, you bought so many books you’ll never even look at. What a waste. Such a waste.”

Hua Jingjing suddenly bent down and whispered softly into my ear, “Who says it’s a waste? I think it’s worth it. As long as... as long as you can keep me company a little longer tonight, you can have me do anything you want. I’m telling you now, I’ll sit in the car and wait for you to get off work. And I haven’t even had dinner, so you’d better decide what to do for yourself.”