Chapter 42: Such Good Luck

Even though the little teahouse offered cheap fare, now was not the time to spend money recklessly.

Yi Xiaoyan was determined to live frugally, so she could help He Haoxuan repay the one hundred thousand yuan he owed the Li family. Once he divorced that female CEO, then the two of them could—

Yi Xiaoyan, basking in happiness, dared not think further. As long as they could be together, it didn’t matter how hard life became.

As for who had played that prank years ago, writing those words in He Haoxuan’s love letter, it no longer mattered.

What mattered was that he hadn’t disliked her back then; he had taken the initiative to write her a love letter. That was enough.

He Haoxuan fixed his gaze on Yi Xiaoyan. “If you won’t eat, then I won’t eat either.”

“I really have eaten already,” Yi Xiaoyan said guiltily.

He Haoxuan’s face was stern. “You’re still like you used to be—whenever you lie, your ears turn red. Well, if you’ve eaten, then I don’t need to eat either. Let’s pay the bill and leave.”

“No, I’ll eat!” Yi Xiaoyan said hurriedly.

When she saw that He Haoxuan hadn’t put away the three thousand yuan, she said irritably, “Do you not want my money?”

“I do have money,” He Haoxuan replied with a smile.

“You’re still so proud, just like before. What’s so terrible about being poor? We have hands and feet—if we work hard, we can earn a living. If you don’t accept my money, I’ll really be angry. I’ll never speak to you again.” Yi Xiaoyan’s words ended with clenched teeth, her anxiety palpable.

He Haoxuan glanced at her, recognizing that she was truly angry now.

If he didn’t listen, her stubbornness might really make her disappear from his life, never to be seen again.

“Fine, I’ll do as you say. I’ll put the money away right now, all right?” To avoid upsetting her further, He Haoxuan hurriedly pocketed the money.

He’d repay her later.

“I’ll eat with you, but you have to eat more. I heard you’ve been having a hard time at the Li family, often going hungry and losing sleep, like—” Yi Xiaoyan had meant to say “like a dog,” but refrained, fearing it would wound him.

He Haoxuan chuckled. “Don’t worry, I eat very well at the Li family. I haven’t suffered at all. But you—just a few days and your complexion looks worse. Are you skimping on buying good food?”

“I—I did buy some,” Yi Xiaoyan replied, uneasy.

He Haoxuan had guessed right. She really hadn’t bought any meat these past few days, only vegetables.

She was young, and besides, women who eat too much gain weight; vegetables were healthy anyway.

“Then hurry and eat,” He Haoxuan said, seeing right through her situation.

He immediately called the waiter over and ordered some meat dim sum.

Yi Xiaoyan saw He Haoxuan ordering and felt no distress; instead, she hoped he’d order even more, so he could eat his fill and not gain weight.

He Haoxuan ordered so much that Yi Xiaoyan couldn’t finish it all. Reluctant to waste food, she asked the waiter to pack it up.

She excused herself to go to the restroom and slipped over to the counter to settle the bill. “Waiter, how much for table fifteen?”

“Three hundred sixty-eight yuan in total,” the waiter replied.

Yi Xiaoyan winced inwardly; He Haoxuan had chosen all the expensive dishes—beef tripe, lamb tripe, spare ribs.

But as long as He Haoxuan ate, she didn’t care how expensive it was.

As long as he was well, the day was bright.

“I’ll pay by card,” Yi Xiaoyan said, handing over her bank card.

“Miss, congratulations! Our teahouse just held a lottery, and your table fifteen was chosen for a free meal.” The waiter smiled at her.

“What? We don’t have to pay?” Yi Xiaoyan exclaimed with delight.

Had she known their luck would be this good, she would have told He Haoxuan to order even more meat dishes. She could take the leftovers home.

The waiter watched Yi Xiaoyan return to her booth and shook his head quietly.

Such a pretty girl, so naive. Where in the world does luck run so perfectly? Their little teahouse was a small business; they would never host such high-end lotteries.

Actually, a crew-cut young man had come earlier to pay for table fifteen in secret, saying it was for Mr. He.

The young man arrived in a BMW X7 and seemed to be a subordinate of that handsome Mr. He.

Ah, it must be another Cinderella and prince story. Mr. He was playing the fool, pretending to be poor to stir up the pretty girl’s sympathy.

Yi Xiaoyan returned to the booth, happily telling He Haoxuan, “Haoxuan, do you know? Our luck is incredible today! Our table was chosen for a free meal, so we saved more than three hundred yuan.”

“That’s wonderful,” He Haoxuan said, smiling deliberately.

Earlier, he had messaged Xiaoqiang to cover the bill. He didn’t want Yi Xiaoyan to feel embarrassed.

This girl, who gave selflessly for him, shouldn’t have to suffer any longer.

“All these years, I’ve never had such good luck,” Yi Xiaoyan said with a bitter smile.

“It’s different now. Maybe your luck will get even better today,” He Haoxuan said.

Yi Xiaoyan wanted to linger with him a while longer, but worried that if he went home late, the Li family would scold him. “It’s getting late, we should go.”

“Alright.” He Haoxuan stood and walked out with her.

On the street outside, Xiaoqiang’s driver was sweating as he hurried over. “Boss, Mr. He is coming out.”

“Then why are you still standing here? Hurry up and take away the old battery,” Xiaoqiang snapped.

He couldn’t procure a charger and fully charge the battery in such a short time, so instead he summoned the battery merchant to swap in a new battery and charger for He Haoxuan’s electric scooter.

After paying, Xiaoqiang kept a close eye on the scooter, worried someone might damage it.

When the driver reported that He Haoxuan was coming out, Xiaoqiang nervously retreated, careful not to be seen.

He Haoxuan stepped outside, spotting his scooter parked alone.

Yi Xiaoyan saw him sit atop the scooter, the key still in the ignition and the lock unset, and exclaimed, “You’re so careless! You didn’t lock the scooter and left the key there—what if someone stole it?”

“No one will steal it,” He Haoxuan said, glancing around and spotting Xiaoqiang hidden nearby.

Yi Xiaoyan rode off on her own scooter, while He Haoxuan approached Xiaoqiang.

“Mr. He,” Xiaoqiang greeted respectfully.

“Xiaoqiang, you did well today,” He Haoxuan nodded.

“All thanks to your guidance, Mr. He,” Xiaoqiang replied happily. “Should I just give Teacher Yi a million yuan?”

He Haoxuan shook his head. “No need. She’s proud. If there’s a chance, I’ll help her in secret.”

“In secret?” Xiaoqiang pondered, rubbing his crew-cut hair.

Yi Xiaoyan rode back to the school gate, where she saw a man in his thirties waving at her.

“Xiaoyan, where did you go just now? I wanted to invite you to dinner tonight, but couldn’t find you. I called, but you didn’t answer.” The man was Lu Huaxing, director of the school’s political education department. Divorced, he had long been pursuing Yi Xiaoyan.