Wu Маngmаng's ехрression аt this mоmеnt раrticularly аngеred Ning Zheng. Whаt did her indifferеnt аttitudе еvеn mеan?
She still hаdn’t taken off her sunglasses. Yоung girls thеse dаys trulу hаd nо mаnners аt аll.
Аs fоr Wu Мangmаng, the sun was simplу tоo strоng, and her skin was аlreadу starting to fееl thе strаin. Nаturаllу, she keрt hеr sunglassеs оn аs long аs she соuld—at leаst thеy сovered hаlf her facе.
Ning Zhеng’s gаze lingеred on Wu Mаngmаng’s fаcе fоr nо lеss thаn fivе seсоnds, his attеntion grаdually shifting frоm initial сritiсism tо her liрs.
А vibrаnt, driрping red.
Sincе the sunglasses obscurеd most of her fеatures, thе small, ехpоsed part of her lips became the most striking highlight of her entire face.
Wu Mangmang’s lips were exceptionally beautiful—not the thin, sharp kind that suggested pettiness, but a plump, glossy fullness, like the freshest cream, tempting one to lick their lips.
Ning Zheng gradually drifted into a daze but quickly snapped back to reality, even angrier than before.
Truly, walking too many dark paths had led to him being played by a little girl today.
"Mangmang, how did you end up here too? This morning, after dropping you off at Dongshan Middle Road, I remembered something I’d forgotten and went back to look for you twice, but I couldn’t find you anywhere," Ning Zheng said, smiling as he looked at Wu Mangmang.
Wu Mangmang had indeed felt a tiny bit of guilt toward Ning Zheng, but this guilt wasn’t based on any fondness for him. Rather, it stemmed from her slight adherence to the principle of keeping promises, especially since she had extended the invitation herself.
However, when it came to Ning Zheng, that guilt could be halved. A playboy like him would never lack companionship.
But now, Ning Zheng’s words came across as utterly lacking in grace.
Although the two of them had no substantial relationship, Ning Zheng’s misleading statement made it seem as though she had spent the night with him.
Sure enough, Shen Ting’s sharp gaze instantly shot over.
Shen Ting hadn’t expected that he and Ning Zheng would take an interest in the same girl. And this girl might even be suspected of keeping her options open.
"You couldn’t find me? I suppose it just wasn’t meant to be," Wu Mangmang replied lightly. Did they really have to stand on the deck making small talk?
The luxurious yacht, spacious enough to land a plane, had several cabin levels.
Ning Zheng sensed the blatant hostility radiating from Wu Mangmang. This girl had mentioned the word "fate" just yesterday, yet now she was outright denying it.
It seemed that once she found a new prospect, her confidence had soared.
"Why are you all standing here chatting? We’ve been waiting for you for ages," said a woman in a peacock-blue printed maxi dress, holding a champagne glass as she stood on the gangway, looking down at Wu Mangmang and the other two.
Wu Mangmang recognized her—a socialite of the city, rare in both talent and beauty, hailing from a prominent family, a graduate of a prestigious university, and now serving as the editor-in-chief of a well-known fashion magazine.
Shen Yuanzi.
If Wu Mangmang remembered correctly.
Although Wu Mangmang knew Shen Yuanzi, Shen Yuanzi certainly didn’t know Wu Mangmang. They came from completely different social circles—Shen Yuanzi belonged to the lofty circle of goddesses, while Wu Mangmang estimated she would need to marry into a wealthy family to even qualify for Shen Yuanzi’s circle.
But at this moment, Shen Yuanzi looked at Shen Ting and the girl beside him with clear surprise.
"Big brother, is this the girl you went on a blind date with today?" Shen Yuanzi had already seen Wu Mangmang’s photo from her mother.
Her surprise now stemmed from the fact that she had never imagined Shen Ting would succeed in a blind date.
And on such an occasion, he had even brought Wu Mangmang along.One could imagine how serious he was.
Ning Zheng raised an eyebrow, only then realizing he had misunderstood.
He had just remembered Shen Ting's blind date arrangement; otherwise, today's gathering wouldn't have been specifically scheduled to wait for him. After all, for the Shen family, who were eagerly hoping for a grandchild, Shen Ting's blind date was a top priority.
What Ning Zheng never expected was that Shen Ting's blind date would be Wu Mangmang.
It seemed that, at her wit's end, Shen's mother had already relaxed Shen Ting's criteria for a partner.
But Shen Ting had acted too quickly, accurately, and decisively, leaving Ning Zheng no time to intervene and steal her away.
After all, one should not covet a brother's wife.
Ning Zheng withdrew his gaze from Wu Mangmang's delicate collarbone.
Shen Yuanzi walked downstairs, nodding and smiling at Wu Mangmang before linking arms with Ning Zheng. She said to Shen Ting, "Let's go upstairs. We're just waiting for you and Lu Sui."
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
The roar of a helicopter descended, landing steadily on the circular helipad of the yacht under everyone's watchful eyes.
Wu Mangmang had ridden in a helicopter before.
She had taken one while traveling abroad to overlook the Earth's wonders.
There was also one at the LA Tower in the city. During promotional events, if you spent over a hundred thousand yuan shopping at LA Plaza in a single day, you could enjoy a helicopter tour of the city.
So, it wasn't exactly a rarity. Unable to bear the sun any longer, Wu Mangmang retreated under the cabin's edge to await His Majesty's arrival.
As Lu Sui and his group passed by Wu Mangmang, whether intentionally or not, she was completely ignored.
Standing behind Shen Ting, Wu Mangmang glared at her rather unqualified quasi-boyfriend.
He didn't even have basic manners. Was he angry?
From behind, Wu Mangmang observed the three men ahead. It seemed Lu Sui was slightly taller, no wonder he could be the boss.
When Wu Mangmang followed them upstairs into the ship's hall, she realized she was truly the odd one out this time.
The hall was filled with elegantly dressed guests. Although the gentlemen were in casual attire and the ladies wore tropical-style dresses, everyone could still be described as well-dressed.
Only Wu Mangmang stood in the hall in an inappropriate bikini, thankfully covered by a knitted cardigan.
Her entrance caused quite a stir among the guests.
With sharp ears, Wu Mangmang overheard a lady asking Ning Zheng disdainfully, "Didn't you know today is Lu Lin's divorce celebration? Why did you bring an escort girl?"
Wu Mangmang cursed inwardly, shooting a resentful look at Shen Ting, who was nearby sipping his wine. The corner of his mouth even held a faint smile.
She couldn't have been mistaken.
Taking a deep breath, Wu Mangmang swayed her hips as she walked over, wrapped her arms around Shen Ting's, and cooed in a sweet, drawn-out voice while stomping her foot and pouting, "Godfather~~"
"Pfft—" Shen Ting couldn't hold back the wine in his mouth, spraying it onto Ning Zheng's face in front of him.
If one humiliates oneself, others cannot humiliate them further.
Wu Mangmang couldn't afford to offend anyone present. She would have loved to slap the lady who called her an escort girl, but she had long been frightened out of her wits by Lu Sui.
"Godfather, someone called your goddaughter an escort girl. Aren't you going to explain for me?" Wu Mangmang complained, pinching Shen Ting's arm.
"Stop fooling around," Shen Ting removed her hand and introduced Wu Mangmang to the lady. "Zhu Xin, this is my friend, Wu Mangmang."
"Hello, Miss Zhu," Wu Mangmang greeted Zhu Xin graciously.
Zhu Xin snorted and turned away.Wu Mangmang released Shen Ting's hand, feeling rather bored. She had never liked their circle to begin with, nor did she have any intention of climbing the social ladder. When she agreed to go out on the yacht today, she had thought it would be a casual leisure trip—a chance for her to swim. Little did she know she had miscalculated.
But this wasn’t really Wu Mangmang’s fault. In her experience, yacht outings were mostly associated with champagne, bikinis, and lounging on the deck to tan into a wheatish complexion.
Of course, she had only been on such trips once or twice before.
In this mutually unsuitable setting, Wu Mangmang felt bored, while ladies like Zhu Xin felt their social standing was being dragged down.
They simply couldn’t stand each other.
Unfortunately, the boat had already left the dock. The only thing that could save Wu Mangmang now was probably Little Uncle Lu’s helicopter.
But compared to facing Little Uncle Lu, Wu Mangmang would rather continue being an invisible person ignored by everyone.
Not that she could even get close to Little Uncle Lu anyway. Out in the vast expanse of the sea, he was followed by two stern bodyguards dressed in black from head to toe, complete with dark sunglasses.
Fortunately, Wu Mangmang’s awkwardness was soon alleviated by Ms. Lu Lin.
Lu Lin was said to be Lu Sui’s sister. The Lu family had only one male heir for three generations, so Little Uncle Lu was absolutely the treasured root of the family.
Wu Mangmang figured Lu Sui’s level of preciousness was probably on par with her family’s Wù Dàndàn.
After witnessing the utterly idle yet rather formal divorce ceremony between Ms. Lu Lin and Mr. Lin Jinnan, Wu Mangmang exclaimed on Weibo and her social media circle: “I just saw the live version of the divorce ceremony from If You Are the One!”
Lu Qingqing was the first to react, replying instantly: “How did you manage to sneak in?”
Clearly, Lu Qingqing had heard about Lu Lin and Lin Jinnan’s divorce through the grapevine.
Although the Lu family was influential, the Lin family couldn’t be underestimated either. However, this couple’s divorce was remarkably peaceful and even somewhat amusing.
The story went that after ten years of marriage, Lu Lin suddenly realized she was a lesbian, while Lin Jinnan also discovered that he actually preferred men.
So, they happily held a divorce banquet and both came out of the closet.
It didn’t really matter anyway, since the two had already had children, ensuring the family line continued. Thus, the elders didn’t care whether they came out or not.
After being enlightened about Lu Lin’s story in the WeChat group, Wu Mangmang suddenly realized her own issues weren’t such a big deal after all.
Once people have money and have experienced everything they’re supposed to, they start wanting to try things they shouldn’t. So, it’s quite understandable for someone to suddenly change their sexual orientation halfway through life.
The partial photos of the luxurious yacht on Weibo earned Wu Mangmang quite a few new followers—her count surged by three hundred. Meanwhile, the girls in the WeChat group merely sighed with an “extravagant” before going about their business—some heading out shopping, others off to karaoke.
Wu Mangmang missed her life with Shen immensely.
After the divorce ceremony, there was nothing else to do. The handsome men and beautiful women went their separate ways, and Wu Mangmang headed to the lowest deck to swim.
The boat had stopped by then, making it perfect for swimming. At least her maxed-out credit card for the bikini wasn’t wasted.
In movies, the moment a female star emerges from the water after swimming is often where directors love to use slow motion or repeated shots.
Classic examples include the yacht scenes with Black Pearl Halle Berry, and more recently, Qiu Ya’s swimming scene in Goodbye Mr. Loser.
It truly is beautiful, especially when water droplets trickle down the chest.
Wu Mangmang imitated the movie gesture of smoothing back her hair, striking a beautiful and sexy pose.
Just as she stepped ashore, she saw Little Uncle standing on the opposite side of the deck, watching her.Or perhaps he was looking at her abdomen.
Wu Mangmang lowered her head and looked, only to find that aside from the belly button ring on her navel, there was really nothing remarkable about her abdomen—no stretch marks or anything like that.
Although the belly button ring was adorned with a white diamond of considerable carat weight, it still didn’t warrant such attention from her uncle-in-law, did it?
Wu Mangmang’s first reaction, of course, was to wrap herself in a bath towel.
But since her usually indifferent uncle-in-law had suddenly taken an interest in her, Wu Mangmang felt a spark of curiosity as well.
Even though the way he looked at her was as if she were a bamboo pole, Wu Mangmang still struck a pose from an elite model competition’s swimwear show, leaning against the ship’s railing.
Then she threw a flirtatious glance at her uncle-in-law.
“Lu Sui.” Ning Zheng called out as he walked down the stairs. Before his eyes could even find Lu Sui, they were drawn to Wu Mangmang standing nearby.
“Mangmang is here too?” Ning Zheng smiled.
Wu Mangmang picked up the bath towel draped over the nearby lounge chair and wrapped it around herself.
She was only willing to offer a bit of “cream ice cream” to Lu Sui’s eyes, who showed no interest in her, but she had no interest in someone like Ning Zheng, who was all too eager.
After dinner, the entertainment for the half-retired old men remained the same: organizing a card table.
The socialites’ hobby, on the other hand, was to stand by and watch the game.
Wu Mangmang regretted not bringing her yoga mat. Otherwise, practicing a session of soulful yoga on the deck under the starry sky would have been a truly high-quality leisure activity.
But due to the chilly sea breeze outdoors, Wu Mangmang had no choice but to retreat into the cabin. She changed back into her T-shirt and ripped jeans, with a bare face and a ponytail—instantly outshining a whole group of socialites.
The men present had already cast “unintentional” glances her way countless times, even including Mr. Lin Jinnan, who was openly gay.
Shen Ting’s luck at the card table was surprisingly poor, so much so that Ning Zheng glanced at Wu Mangmang, who was huddled in a corner happily playing mobile games, and said, “Last time, Mangmang helped Lu Sui draw a ‘Nine of Ten Thousand’ to turn the tables. Why not let her draw one for you too?”
The “Nine of Ten Thousand” was something of a legend, and several people present had heard the story.
Among them was Lu Sui’s sister, Lu Lin. “Oh, is that young lady here today too?”
Zhu Xin was Lu Lin and Lu Sui’s cousin, slightly closer in relation than Lu Qingqing. Hearing Lu Lin’s words, she gestured toward Wu Mangmang with her chin. “There, that’s her.”
“She’s quite pretty,” Lu Lin remarked, glancing at the oblivious Wu Mangmang before turning to Lu Sui.
Shen Yuanzi smiled and said, “Mangmang is my older brother’s girlfriend.” She stood up and walked over to Wu Mangmang.
Wu Mangmang only looked up when she noticed someone blocking her light. “Miss Shen.”
“Mangmang, right? My brother is calling you,” Shen Yuanzi said, pointing in Shen Ting’s direction.
Wu Mangmang let out an “oh,” stood up, and walked over to Shen Ting. “Is it time to go back? I still have to work tomorrow.”
Unfortunately, Wu Mangmang was the only salaried worker among those present who needed to clock in.
Lu Sui said, “Since this young lady still has to work tomorrow, let’s play one last round.”Ning Zheng laughed and said, "Mangmang, Shen Ting has lost terribly today. Go help him draw a card to change his luck."
Wu Mangmang had long been drowsy, only forcing herself to stay awake to play games. Hearing Ning Zheng's words, she didn't put on any airs and hoped to end the game as quickly as possible.
Without even asking Shen Ting, Wu Mangmang directly drew a card for him.
This man was truly despicable—bringing her to this remote, isolated place and then abandoning her without a word, without even warning her, causing her to make such a fool of herself in a bikini. She couldn't be bothered to ask for Shen Ting's opinion.
"Nine of Characters!"
Still the Nine of Characters.
And with three Nines of Characters already in Shen Ting's hand, drawing this one allowed him to form a kong.
Ning Zheng, refusing to believe it, called out to Wu Mangmang, "Draw another one for him."
"Two of Bamboo."
Another kong.
Wu Mangmang very naturally helped Shen Ting draw another card.
"Four of Characters."
A kong with a winning tile!
What incredible luck!
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