Chapter 151: That Turnaround Was Much Too Fast

Especially after He Haoxuan rescued her, that heroic image was once again deeply engraved in her heart.

Arriving downstairs, Xiaoyu looked up at the pitch-black floor above, her heart filled with anticipation.

It was so dark; surely He Haoxuan would walk her up, wouldn't he?

If he escorted her upstairs, should she invite him inside for a seat?

And once inside the room, if he were to make some over-the-line moves, should she refuse or close her eyes and acquiesce?

The more Xiaoyu thought about it, the redder her face became. Her little heart raced, and keeping her head down, she didn't dare to look at He Haoxuan.

However, He Haoxuan actually said to her, "Xiaoyu, we're already downstairs. Just turn on your phone's flashlight function and you can go right up."

"I—" Xiaoyu was left speechless.

Weren't you talking about how dark it was just a moment ago? If you were just going to tell me to use my phone's light to find my way back, why did you even bother walking me home in the first place?

"What's wrong? Does your phone not have a flashlight function?" He Haoxuan asked, looking puzzled.

Your phone doesn't have a flashlight function! Everyone in your entire family's phones lack flashlight functions! Xiaoyu cursed angrily in her mind.

Still, He Haoxuan showed a shred of human decency and didn't leave immediately, waiting instead for Xiaoyu to head upstairs first.

With a huff of indignation, Xiaoyu stomped her way upstairs.

Only when He Haoxuan heard the sound of Xiaoyu's apartment door opening and then closing did he turn and leave.

When He Haoxuan drove the car back to the Li family villa, a young man hurried over. "Mr. He, I'm from the BMW 4S dealership. Our boss said the license plates need to be registered tomorrow, so we need to drive the car back first."

"Alright, go ahead and take it." He Haoxuan handed the car keys to the young man.

The boss of the BMW dealership had also called him about it; driving around on the road without license plates was indeed inconvenient.

"I'll bring it right back here tomorrow as soon as the plates are registered," the young man said respectfully.

Before sending him over, his boss had repeatedly admonished him: if he offended He Haoxuan, he would be going back to his hometown to farm the fields tomorrow. Whether he ended up raising pigs or cattle would entirely depend on his own performance.

"Fine, just give me a call when you get here," He Haoxuan said as he walked toward the front villa.

At this hour, the first floor was still illuminated, which caught He Haoxuan by surprise.

That was a rare occurrence indeed. Usually, as soon as Li Qingying and the others returned home, they would head straight upstairs unless they were having dinner on the ground floor or had pressing matters to attend to.

Just as He Haoxuan took out his keys to open the main door, he suddenly heard Song Li's voice drifting from inside: "Qingying, you must keep a close eye on He Haoxuan."

"Mom, what do you mean by that?" Li Qingying asked with a puzzled expression.

"Just look at the time—he still isn't back yet. He's probably out running around and playing. Men, you know, they get money and then they go bad. You have to be on your guard, or you'll have nowhere to cry when you get left behind," Song Li advised Li Qingying.

Sitting on the sofa, Li Qingying protested in a spoiled tone, "Mom, why are you saying things like that?"

"Exactly, honey. You shouldn't be telling Qingying things like that. Not all men are bad. Take me, for instance—I'm extremely devoted and I always stay right at home," Li Dong said, patting his chest in self-praise.

Song Li rolled her eyes in annoyance at Li Dong and sneered, "Li Dong, I'm not trying to crush your spirit, but the main reason you aren't bad is because you have no money to spare. Even if you wanted to go bad, you couldn't afford to. If you were as rich as He Haoxuan, I reckon you'd be out painting the town red every single night."

Dismayed by Song Li's rebuke, Li Dong immediately lowered his head, his complexion turning alternately pale and ashen.

Unwilling to listen to Song Li's endless nagging any longer, Li Qingying hastily intervened, "Mom, you and Dad should hurry up and go upstairs to rest. It's getting late."

"You know it's getting late too, so why aren't you eating anything? Could it be that seeing He Haoxuan hasn't come back yet has put you in such a bad mood that you've lost your appetite?" Song Li asked.

Li Qingying's cheeks flushed slightly, and she shook her head hurriedly. "Mom, don't get the wrong idea. I just don't have much of an appetite tonight, that's all."

Li Qingying glanced up at the wall clock. It was almost ten o'clock. Why hadn't He Haoxuan returned yet?

He hadn't even sent a text message. Who knew how his drinking session with his colleagues was going?

Fortunately, he hadn't driven; otherwise, drinking and driving would be a terrible idea.

Actually, when Li Qingying first heard He Haoxuan say he was going to have dinner with his colleagues from Section Four, she had felt a lingering sense of joy inside.

Ever since He Haoxuan had first married into the Li family, he had remained cooped up at home all day, leading others to regard him as a good-for-nothing. People mocked him, and by extension, they mocked her too.

Now that he had pulled himself together and even started working at the Bairui Group, it secretly made her happy.

Even though he was currently just a sales representative, that was still pretty good. She didn't care how much salary he made, as long as he wasn't idling away his days.

She would take it slow; for now, she would keep his financial situation hidden from her mother, otherwise her mother wouldn't show him an ounce of care.

Suddenly, Li Qingying recalled how, near the end of the workday, Mo Xiufang had mentioned that He Haoxuan had barely arrived in the sales department before he started constantly hanging around the female staff. She had no idea what his intentions were.

At first, when Li Qingying heard that, she had simply laughed it off and hadn't paid it much mind. How could any girl possibly take a fancy to He Haoxuan? Besides, he probably wasn't that kind of person.

Yet, for some unknown reason, ever since she came home from work, Li Qingying had felt a knot of discomfort in her chest, her mind repeatedly conjuring up images of He Haoxuan dining and drinking with female colleagues.

Consequently, even though she had prepared dinner, she couldn't bring herself to eat it. It was left sitting untouched on the dining table, and instead of retreating to the third floor, she had remained seated in the first-floor living room watching television the entire time.

Whether the television programs were actually that captivating or not, she was still sitting there watching when Song Li and the others returned.

Upon hearing that Li Qingying hadn't eaten yet, Song Li grew anxious and immediately urged her to hurry up and have her meal.

"Qingying, don't you worry. Once He Haoxuan comes back, I'm going to give him a severe scolding. Even if he goes out for dinner, he should come home early, or at the very least bring you along!" Song Li vented angrily.

He Haoxuan had originally planned to continue eavesdropping from outside, but upon hearing that Li Qingying hadn't eaten yet, he pushed the door open and walked right in.

"Oh, Haoxuan, you're back," Song Li immediately called out.

A jolt of alarm went through Li Qingying's heart. A moment ago, her mother had been in a state of absolute fury; seeing He Haoxuan return now, she would surely unleash a torrent of abuse upon him.

"Yes, I'm back. It's getting late," He Haoxuan nodded and said.

Song Li scurried over to He Haoxuan's side and flashed a ingratiating smile. "Haoxuan, you work hard every day. If you feel tired, it's fine to stay out a bit longer to relax. Men need to socialize outside sometimes—that's only natural, and our Qingying is understanding enough to realize that."

Li Dong stared at Song Li in utter astonishment. *Good lord, is this really my wife? How did she turn into this?*

*Didn't you just tell our daughter that you were going to tear into He Haoxuan the moment he walked through the door? Why are you sucking up to him now?*

Li Qingying shot her mother a shocked, sidelong glance as well. *How can the weather in this household change faster than a summer sky?*

Noticing Li Dong staring at her, Song Li snapped irritably, "What are you looking at, Li Dong? Why aren't you hurrying upstairs to take a bath? You useless parasite—if you had even a tenth of Haoxuan's capability, I'd know I married the right man."