The orphans did not have much confidence in themselves to begin with, and were a timid lot. When the young man shouted at them, they all got scared and took a few steps back.
“It’s okay, nobody’s gonna hurt you.” Xiaoyao quickly comforted them. She then turned and glared at the young man. “Xiao Jianzhong! Watch your tongue! These are my friends you call pests! You are scaring them!”
Watching all that happened, Chen was disgusted by the man, but also changed his impression of Xiaoyao for the better. This girl was much kinder than she appears to be and would very much be a good friend.
“Aiya why didn’t you say so! I love kids!” Xiao’s expression changed instantly. “Hey little friends, why don’t big brother bring you all to the karaoke? Won’t that be fun?”
“No…” The kids all hid behind Xiaoyao as if hiding from the big bad wolf.
“Jianzhong are you nuts? They’re kids! Why’d you want to take them there?” Xiaoyao was angry.
“Xiaoyao, how can you say that to your boyfriend?” Xiao responded with a cunning smile.
“Pssst! I’ve rejected you more than eight hundred times! Since when have I ever agreed to become your girlfriend?” Xiaoyao’s expression hardened. She then grabbed Chen by the arm and leaned against him before saying, “You better open your eye wide and see this clearly! This guy here is my real boyfriend!”
“What?!” Chen and Xiao both exclaimed, unable to believe what she just said. Especially Chen, who was still trying to get a grip on the situation.
“Wait, everybody just hold on for a minute, okay…” Chen pulled Xiaoyao away from the others and whispered, “What’s this? You called me here to act as your shield against that asshole?”
“Yep! I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend to get that hateful bastard away from me!” Xiaoyao nodded.
“You think I’m stupid? Look at him! He looks like he’s from a rich and powerful family, and you’re asking me to piss him off while you have everything to gain from this? You must be dreaming!” Chen is no fool and out rightly rejected her.
“Don’t you think that he’s an asshole and want to beat him up so bad?” Xiaoyao asked instead.
“Oh, you don’t say! I wanted to slap him in the face when I heard him yell at the children!” Chen replied.
“If that’s the case then what’s the matter? Are you scared?” Xiaoyao was obviously trying to taunt Chen into doing her bidding. But Chen isn’t one to fall for her tricks.
“Scared? I don’t remember seeing that word in my dictionary!”
“Then it’s settled! Help me get him to piss off!” Xiaoyao pressed on.
“Don’t pull me into your mess! What do I get from doing this? I’m not doing this for nothing.” Chen replied.
“Nothing? You get the privilege to act as my boyfriend and you still want more?” Xiaoyao replied angrily.
Chen pouted and stared at her chest before condescendingly say, “You’re as flat as a washboard. What privilege are you talking about?”
“You’re the one that’s flat! Your whole family is flat!” Xiaoyao was angrily stamping her foot on the ground. “Chen Xiaobei! Don’t forget that I know your secret!”
“What the f*ck? You literally just said that you didn’t want to blackmail me, that it was just for protection, and now you’re threatening me with it? Again?” Chen winced.
“Hmph! Didn’t you know that a woman can be fickle minded? You better not test my patience!” Xiaoya held both her fists up tightly and stared at Chen.
“Fine! You win!” Chen said, through his teeth. He then wrapped his arm around her waist and placed his hand on her belly before pulling her close to his side.
“What are you doing?” Xiaoyao was surprised. She had never let any guy get this close to her before.
Chen looked at her with raised eyebrows. “Didn’t you want me to be your play pretend boyfriend? This is me acting my part!” he said in a serious manner. However, he was smiling cunningly on the inside. “B*tch! You still dare threaten me? If I don’t do take this chance to touch you all over, won’t I be the one losing out?” Chen thought. His paws were now boldly touching and feeling her small waist up. Her skin soft and smooth, and nice to the touch. Xiaoyao was very angry at Chen for touching her like that and wanted to beat him up so badly! But with so many people watching them, she could not do so or her lie will be exposed. She could only leave him be as they both made their way back towards the others.
“Xiaoyao… Is this punk really your boyfriend?” Xiao’s face twitched when he saw how close the two of them are.
“Of course he is! What? Did you think that I’d simply make this up?” Xiaoyao glared at him while pushing herself closer to Chen’s side, making them appear intimate to the others.
“How could you!” Xiao’s face was turning purple from anger. “My grandfather saved your family once, even your father has agreed to our union! How can you be so ungrateful!”
“Hello! Are you dreaming? Father merely said that we can try getting along first, since when did he agree to us being a pair? And please, stop going around telling people I’m your girlfriend! Even if you’re not embarrassed, I still am!” Xiaoyao replied sternly.
“I don’t care about that!” Xiao did not back down, and instead held his rose up and said, “Either way, you have to accept my rose today! Or I’ll tell everyone that you, Murong Xiaoyao, are an ingrate, and that your father, Murong Tian, never keeps his word!”
“Jianzhong! You lying bastard!” Xiaoyao was gnashing her teeth. “If it wasn’t because of dad saying not to go physical on you, I’d have beaten you up by now!”
“I don’t give a flying f*ck about that! You must accept my rose!” Xiao didn’t budge.
“This bad guy is bullying Sister Xiaoyao!”
“Liar liar pants on fire! How can a grownup be so shameless!”
“You jerk! Stop bullying Sister Xiaoyao!”
“Stop bullying Sister Xiaoyao…”
A few of the older kids who were much mature than him stood out to defend Xiaoyao, but were screamed at by Xiao instead. “You vermin, better shut the f*ck up! This is not your place to talk! Step aside, if you don’t want to die!”
The kids retreated after being yelled at. They were just kids after all. But just at that moment, a hand came out and grabbed at Xiao’s rose. It clenched into a fist with the rose in it and destroyed the flower right in front of Xiao!
Chen then looked at Xiao with one eyebrow raised, a gleam of fervor in his eyes, as he said in a condescending tone, “Xiao Jianzhong! Am I invisible to you?”
