Chapter 20: She's Not My Girlfriend, I Have No Obligation to Accompany Her

"No, it isn't!" Jiang Heming immediately shook his head, then asked her, "Have you chosen your license plate yet?"

Mo Yanyu quickly took his hand and pointed to the numbers on the vehicle management system: "Could you help me pick one? What do you think of this...?"

Jiang Heming frowned slightly, pulled his hand away, and said lazily, "Choose it yourself, so you won't be dissatisfied later."

Mo Yanyu was taken aback, her expression turning aggrieved. "Brother Heming, are you angry with me?"

Jiang Heming retorted impatiently, "Mo Yanyu, Zhaojing isn't here, so stop acting in front of me! If you want to choose, choose quickly. Don't waste my time!"

Mo Yanyu felt stifled. Frustrated, she turned away and, after spending 100,000 yuan, carefully selected the license plate "MYY66."

Suddenly, she looked up and asked the beautiful staff member who was busy at the counter: "By the way, a Miss Xia was also registering this same car model earlier, right? What license plate did she choose? Was it one of the free ones, or did she pay?"

Jiang Heming froze for a moment, his gaze flickering. He suddenly opened the voice recorder on his phone and hit record.

"Oh," the beautiful clerk glanced at Mo Yanyu, then at Jiang Heming, who was looking down at his phone, and answered simply, "She didn't choose the 100,000-yuan option."

"Huh?" Mo Yanyu was surprised. "Did she choose a free one? That's impossible, right? She bought a car worth over a million; why wouldn't she pick a decent license plate for a few tens of thousands?"

The clerk looked at her in astonishment, feeling a mix of amusement and annoyance. "Miss Mo, you've misunderstood. Miss Xia did choose a paid license plate, but it was in a different league than yours."

Mo Yanyu suddenly realized, her tone filled with smugness and disdain. "So she only bought a 50,000-yuan one?"

Jiang Heming rolled his eyes.

The clerk looked at the smug Mo Yanyu with renewed disbelief, then cast a sympathetic glance at the eye-rolling Jiang Heming, her expression unreadable.

She thought for a moment and finally decided to clarify for Xia Huajiao once more: "Miss Mo, you are mistaken. Miss Xia chose the best license plate we had—it cost 800,000 yuan!"

The smug smile on Mo Yanyu's face froze instantly. She asked in disbelief, "What? 800,000 yuan? What kind of license plate could possibly cost 800,000 yuan?"

The clerk looked at her with pity. "We don't even have 800,000-yuan plates available anymore. Even if you wanted to change yours, the highest tier available is only 500,000 yuan!"

Mo Yanyu’s face went completely rigid.

So, not only had Xia Huajiao beaten her to the car, but she had also completely overshadowed her in the choice of license plate?

Was that bitch doing it on purpose?

Was she intentionally buying the best, one-of-a-kind plate to show off in front of Brother Heming, just to make sure she could never recover, and then use that to get closer to Brother Zhaojing?

The more Mo Yanyu thought about it, the angrier she became. Her once beautiful face slowly twisted into a hideous mask.

***

Just you wait, you Xia woman. You dared to scheme against me—we’ll see about that!

Watching the changes in Mo Yanyu’s expression, Jiang Heming felt great. He quickly ended the recording and sent it to Xia Huajiao, along with a message: "Beautiful, listen to this clip. It might make your day."

...

Xia Huajiao was currently near the commercial district, driving around to scope out traffic and amenities near a newly finished, high-end apartment complex she was considering.

Her phone was mounted on the passenger seat, streaming to earn tips from the live chat.

When she heard the notification, she found a spot to pull over. Seeing it was from Jiang Heming, her eyes flickered.

*Huh, he's with Mo Yanyu picking up her car, yet he still has time to chat with me?*

Feeling a bit amused, she opened the message. After listening to it, she burst into laughter.

Handsome Jiang was right; she was indeed happy. It was nice to have accidentally shown Mo Yanyu up and dealt a blow to that "green tea" childhood friend!

*Heh, a mere 100,000 yuan? She has the nerve to compare that to mine?*

She quickly replied to Jiang Heming with a smiley face and a "thumbs up," then continued driving.

Half an hour later, after looking at the surroundings of two complexes, her tax-deducted earnings from the stream had reached over 80,000 yuan. It was faster than the morning, though still not as good as the night.

Her phone rang; it was the new landlord, Mr. Gu.

She quickly pulled over to answer. "Mr. Gu, is something the matter?"

Mr. Gu’s voice was as magnetic as ever. "I’ll arrive at the complex around 6:30 PM. Will you and Miss Qin be there?"

"I will be. Let me check with her," Xia Huajiao replied without hesitation. After hanging up and confirming with Qin Lijuan, she messaged Mr. Gu back: "Qin Lijuan has a night shift and has to leave by 7:00 PM at the latest, so you’d better come earlier!"

Seeing Mr. Gu reply with an "OK" gesture, she prepared to continue her house hunting but received another message from Jiang Heming: "Where are you??"

Xia Huajiao quickly replied: "Driving around town!"

Ten seconds later, Jiang Heming’s message arrived: "There's a light show at the Lakeside Gaming Park tonight starting at 7:00. Want to go together?"

Xia Huajiao was stunned. She immediately typed back: "Thanks for the offer, but I'm busy tonight, I can't go. Besides, isn't today Miss Mo's birthday? Aren't you supposed to be with her?"

Dozens of seconds later, another message from Jiang Heming: "She’s not my girlfriend; I have no obligation to accompany her. If you’re busy tonight, how about tomorrow night? I’ll invite a few friends, and we can all go together!"

Xia Huajiao replied earnestly: "You don't have to wait for me. If you want to go tonight, just go."

She wouldn't go out for a stroll with a man at night unless he was a boyfriend she could trust.

She continued her rounds. Another half hour later, after finishing her inspection of the third complex's amenities and withdrawing another 50,000 yuan, she drove back to the vicinity of her rental. She grabbed a 25-yuan salted chicken rice set at a nearby tea restaurant and walked back home.

As soon as she walked in, she saw Qin Lijuan poking her head out of the kitchen, looking disappointed. "Oh, it's you? I thought it was the landlord! Have you eaten? Do you want to join me?"

"Thanks, I ate out!"

Just then, Qin Lijuan noticed the gift boxes in her hand and gasped in surprise: "Wow, you actually bought Estée Lauder and a new laptop? Did you win the lottery? You dare to buy Estée Lauder? This set costs at least 3,000 yuan—that's two months of my salary!"

Xia Huajiao felt a little smug, but she tried to sound nonchalant. "I've made some money recently. I'm only planning to renew my lease for one more month; I'm going to buy a house."

"What?" Qin Lijuan walked out of the kitchen, spatula in hand, looking at her in disbelief. "How much money did you make to be able to buy a house? Don't tell me you decided to accept the pursuit of some rich young master?"

She advised her solemnly, "Don't do it, Jiaojiao. Don't give up on yourself just because Zhong Hanlong cheated! He's a scumbag, but you haven't even slept with him yet!"

"Listen to me, don't become a kept woman. Unless a rich kid puts a ring on your finger, don't move in with him!"

"Besides, what's the point of him just buying you cosmetics and a laptop? If they're going to buy anything, it should be gold or diamonds—something of value! At least Zhong Hanlong bought you gold earrings, right?"

Xia Huajiao felt a warmth in her heart, but she retorted impatiently, "Oh, so I can't earn money on my own?"

Qin Lijuan looked at her with suspicion. "You could! But you have no capital; what kind of business makes enough money to buy a house that quickly? Besides, you're not that stupid, are you? A laptop is all it takes to win you over? You’ve kept yourself for 26 years, and that's only worth a ten-thousand-yuan laptop?"

Xia Huajiao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Go back to your noodles! What are you thinking about? I don't have a boyfriend! And I'm still going to be staying here for another month!"

Qin Lijuan retreated to the kitchen, muttering, "Fine, I'll eat my noodles first, we'll talk about this in detail later!"

But before they could talk, at about 6:20, the front door lock turned.

Qin Lijuan immediately whispered happily, "Hey, he's here! Pretty punctual!"

Xia Huajiao was also satisfied. If the new landlord could coordinate with Qin Lijuan, it would save her a lot of trouble.

The door pushed open, and a top-tier, handsome man in an azure shirt walked in, carrying a leather briefcase.