Chapter 145: Chapter 26: Hanfu Beauty’s First Experience_2
"If he ever treats you poorly, remember that there is someone waiting for you." After saying this, he suppressed his grief and said, "You hang up first."
"Oh." Bai Feifei hung up the phone.
Then, right in front of Sun Dasheng, she blocked his number.
"He’s quite a devoted person," Sun Dasheng commented. Although he disliked the man’s parents, he thought the young man himself wasn’t too bad.
He’s just choosing to be a love-struck fool at such a young age. Sun Dasheng made no further comment on the matter.
Who would have known that the woman in his arms would snort coldly?
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
"I’m sorry, I wasn’t referring to you," Bai Feifei said, realizing her reaction had been too strong.
"Is there some story here that I don’t know about?" Sun Dasheng asked.
"Yes." She nodded.
She then shifted in his arms, finding a more comfortable position with her head resting on his shoulder. She slowly began to tell the story of her best friend from college.
It was a simple story about a girl who had fallen for a two-timing scumbag. The heroine of the story was her best friend, and the male protagonist was the same love-struck fool who had just called, Xiang Shaohua.
"Something like that actually happened?" Sun Dasheng was surprised. "Since he cheated on your best friend, how does he have the nerve to pursue you? Doesn’t he realize you know all about him being a scumbag?"
"My best friend and I went to different colleges; we were classmates in high school. She attended a dance academy. I never even met the guy when they were together.
"These ’masters of time management’ are very clever. They never introduce the girls they’re seeing to their own social circles because it would be too easy to get exposed. Naturally, they also avoid the girls’ social circles for the same reason. The most outrageous part is that they never even announce they’re in a relationship. Any photos of them as a couple on social media are set to be visible only to each other."
A true master of time management indeed. Sun Dasheng felt he had learned something.
His own approach as a ’scumbag’ is much simpler. I just lay my cards on the table. If they’re willing to accept it, they can stay. If not, we go our separate ways. But holding this girl in my arms... I have no idea how she would react if she found out about the other women. She’d probably break up with me, right? In that case, I’d better keep it a secret for now. You can’t be completely transparent with everyone. Honesty only works on some people; for others, it’s useless.
"What about you? I’ve told you my situation, but I still don’t know anything about yours," Bai Feifei asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Sun Dasheng gave her a brief account of his unemployment and divorce. He naturally omitted any mention of the system and also skipped over the other women. The story he could tell was a collection of tropes: enduring hardship to make a comeback, starting from nothing, an underdog’s success story, achieving fame and fortune... that sort of thing.
It was all a fabrication, without a single word of truth. He felt a little ashamed.
"Wow! I never would have guessed you’re already thirty-four!" After he finished, her first reaction was to his age. She truly hadn’t expected him to be an older man, over a decade her senior. He only looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight.
Handsome, mature, and distinguished. No wonder she found him so attractive.
It turned out she had a bit of an Electra complex. The boy she’d had a crush on in high school had been the same. Although they were around the same age, he had always seemed like the oldest among their classmates. That had been an important factor in her infatuation. Perhaps she had never consciously realized this about herself. She just knew that she felt a deep sense of security in the presence of a mature man.
Although she grew up with both parents, their presence was no different from their absence. They were always busy with their careers, leaving her all alone at home. Her parents would return long after she’d gone to sleep and would have already left by the time she woke up for school. They lived under the same roof, but they rarely saw one another. With no better solution, her parents could only give her plenty of money to spend. Little did they know, for a child, companionship is far more important than money. Of course, that changes when you grow up.
"Are you surprised? Do I not look my age?" Sun Dasheng asked with a smile.
Bai Feifei touched his face, studying it carefully before shaking her head. "No matter how I look at you, you don’t seem like you’re thirty-four."
"What kind of Elixir have you taken to be so well-preserved?" she asked, full of envy. If only she could look this good when she reached his age.
An Elixir?
Sun Dasheng smiled and shook his head. "If I had something like that, believe me, the moment I spread the word, investors would be breaking down my door the very next day. World-renowned pharmaceutical companies would beg to invest in my formula. It wouldn’t take long for me to become the publicly acknowledged richest man in the world."
"I believe you. Of course, I believe you," Bai Feifei nodded without hesitation. As a woman, she knew all too well that if such a medicine really existed, the result would be even crazier than he described. Many women would go bankrupt just to buy an Elixir like that.
"So, do you really think I have an Elixir like that?" Sun Dasheng pinched her cute nose.
Her voice came out nasally. "I was just joking. Of course, I know no such medicine exists in the world."
When he let go of her nose, her voice returned to normal. "I was just wondering if you had any secrets to maintaining your looks so well." Young girls were just so curious.
"Secrets? Oh, I have them!"
At his words, her ears perked up.
"Go to bed early, wake up early, and don’t stay up late. Eat three regular meals on time. Get regular, moderate exercise. And always maintain a cheerful mood."
"That’s it?" Bai Feifei was a little disappointed. It was all just a bunch of clichés.
"What did you expect? How many people today can actually manage all of that?" Sun Dasheng asked.
She thought about it for a moment and nodded in acknowledgment. "It sounds simple, but you’re right, the vast majority of people can’t do it."
"Mhm. And there’s one more thing," he whispered, leaning close to her ear. "Getting plenty of... ’exercise that’s good for the body and soul’ is also a key secret to staying young. I haven’t told anyone else that one."
Bai Feifei’s ears instantly turned red. She slapped him lightly. "You’re awful, trying to trick a young girl with that."
"I’m not lying, you know," Sun Dasheng said, spouting complete nonsense with a straight face.
"I’m done talking to you. I’m sleepy. I’m going to sleep."
To his surprise, the moment she said she was sleepy, she fell asleep almost instantly, still hugging his arm.
He gently laid her down on the bed, turned off the bedside lamp, and went to sleep himself.
「The next day.」
When he woke up, he found himself ensnared by an octopus. The blanket was nowhere to be seen.
"This girl seems so quiet and gentle, yet she’s such a restless sleeper," he muttered to himself.
He carefully peeled her arms and legs off him, settled her back down flat, and picked up the blanket from the floor to cover her. Then he got dressed and went downstairs.
When Bai Feifei woke up, the room was empty. The silence made it feel lonely. Suddenly, a tightness gripped her chest, and tears welled up in her eyes without warning. She couldn’t say why, but she was overcome with an inexplicable sense of grievance, as if she had been abandoned.
"Whoa, what happened here? Why are you crying? I didn’t realize yesterday that you were such a little crybaby."
The door opened, and Sun Dasheng walked in, his hands full of breakfast.
Bai Feifei quickly pulled the blanket over her face, feeling utterly mortified.
The blanket was suddenly pulled away. Her soft body was lifted up and placed on his sturdy thighs. A pair of large, warm hands gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. He then held her close and comforted her like a child.
"Alright, alright, don’t cry. I just went out to buy you something to eat."
It was surprisingly effective. Sometimes, women just needed to be coaxed like children; trying to reason with them was often pointless.
"Here, I bought a little bit of everything. There are soup dumplings, pan-fried buns, milk-flavored steamed buns, shumai, fried dumplings, tofu skin, soy milk, and fried cakes. See if there’s anything you like." Sun Dasheng laid out the dazzling array of breakfast items in front of her.
"I want the soup dumplings and the tofu skin," Bai Feifei whispered, burying her head in his shoulder.
"Okay, I’ll get them for you."
Taking the breakfast, she sat on Sun Dasheng’s lap and began to eat with delicate movements.
She found it strange. I eat this kind of food all the time, so why does it taste exceptionally good today?