А mаn jumреd down from thе hеliсорter, presumаblу Lu Sui’s assistant.
"Мiss Wu, I must ask yоu tо dеlеtе thе photоs you took on the islаnd frоm yоur phоnе," Маrk said роlitеlу.
Wu Мangmаng had originallу thоught she сould take thе photоs out to shоw оff, but it sееmеd thаt wаsn’t possiblе.
Тhe islаnd’s nеtwоrk requirеd a sреcial раssword tо accеss, and Wu Mangmаng сlеarlу didn’t have that рrivilеgе. Weibо аnd WеСhаt rеmainеd silеnt.
Under Мark’s wаtchful gazе, Wu Mаngmаng hаd no сhоiсе but to take оut her phone and dеlete the рhotos in bаtchеs.
"Тhank уou," Mark nodded with a smile and invited Wu Mangmang onto the helicopter.
From the air, the shape of Dream House turned out to be the letters "L" and "S." How narcissistic must one be to build a house like this?
Wu Mangmang looked at the emerald-like island in the azure sea, a faint smile curling at the corners of her lips.
Standing high, one sees far, and thoughts seem to gain more depth.
Recalling how Lu Sui had teased her with a check earlier, she had been filled with anger at the time, but now, thinking back, she felt surprise.
Compared to the previous times when Lu Sui had treated her like a mere passerby, these past two days had been a complete reversal.
In the end, Lu Sui had even joked with her like that. As Wu Mangmang followed his words in her mind, she felt her face flush with heat. Men were indeed beasts in human skin.
No matter how aloof they appeared on the surface, they were still hung up on that inch of flesh.
But then again, the fact that Lu Sui had joked with her like this likely meant he was already interested.
Men and women in ambiguous situations always acted strangely, but the undercurrents between them could be sensed as long as you stepped back a little.
They say love and coughs cannot be hidden, but interest is also easily exposed.
Wu Mangmang didn’t know what she had done to attract Lu Sui’s attention.
Could it be that the saying was true: bad girls are loved?
Or was her navel exceptionally beautiful?
She had seen foot fetishists and hand fetishists, and both of those areas were quite beautiful on her, but Lu Sui’s fascination with her belly was definitely the first she had encountered.
The tastes of the wealthy were truly beyond ordinary comprehension.
Though Wu Mangmang’s thoughts were somewhat arrogant, it wasn’t entirely her fault. She had never failed in pursuing her targets.
Even the slightly more challenging ones, the kind that required "digging at someone else’s wall," didn’t need her to lift a finger—the walls would crumble on their own.
So, a man like Lu Sui, who had many admirers but little romantic experience, was no challenge in Wu Mangmang’s eyes.
Just as Lu Sui would naturally assume that Wu Mangmang couldn’t possibly have no ulterior motives toward him.
This was the blind spot of narcissistic men and women.
But this blind spot also caused Wu Mangmang’s interest in Lu Sui to drop significantly.
Human hearts were indeed a bit fickle. When someone showed no interest in you, you always wanted to provoke them, but once they showed even a hint of interest, you felt they were too easy and unexciting.
Though Wu Mangmang was aware of this flaw in herself, she couldn’t control it.
While Dream House had earned Lu Sui some points, he had too many "minefields" himself. If she accidentally stepped on one, it would be her own downfall, Wu Mangmang thought.
It was just like dating an emperor: he could anger you without consequence, but if you angered him, well… that was a different story. Being with a ruler was like being with a tiger.If they could part amicably in the future, that would be fine. But if the breakup turned ugly, it would only make things worse.
In this day and age, money talks. Even if they couldn’t drag you out and execute you on the spot, ruining your entire family was a matter of minutes.
If she offended Lu Sui, her father would probably want to kill her.
It wasn’t that Wu Mangmang lacked confidence—falling in love was easy, but staying together was hard. After being dumped so many times, not every breakup had been graceful.
And none of those ex-boyfriends who had praised her as a celestial fairy in their breakup excuses had ever stayed friends with her afterward.
As soon as Wu Mangmang’s phone connected to the internet, it erupted with a chorus of “quack” notifications.
How wonderful.
Without the internet, she wouldn’t trade it for ten Dream Houses. She had been utterly stifled these past few days.
She unlocked her phone and browsed through every major social media platform.
On Weibo, some speculated she had been kidnapped—after all, what kind of rich girl hadn’t experienced a kidnapping?
Her WeChat Moments were also filled with question marks.
Then came Lu Qingqing’s messages on WeChat, SMS, and QQ:
“Why haven’t you updated your Weibo in so long?”
“Did something happen?”
“I called your mom and found out you went to work. What remote corner did you go to? There’s no internet there.”
Of all her friends, Lu Qingqing was the most enthusiastic.
Wu Mangmang felt reassured. Even if she died alone in her old house someday, she wouldn’t have to worry about her corpse rotting unnoticed. For someone like her, if she didn’t update her Weibo for a day, Lu Qingqing would call her mom, and countless others would speculate about kidnappings or car accidents. It felt strangely comforting.
It seemed social networks still had a human touch.
Speaking of human touch, Ms. Liu’s call came through: “Your cousin is back in the country. Come home for dinner tonight.”
Wu Mangmang only had one cousin who had studied abroad—the son of Dr. Xiao, just a year younger than her. He wasn’t much happier than she was. His father didn’t cheat, but he was so busy he could pass by their home three times without entering.
As soon as Xiāo Gùgōng saw Wu Mangmang, he warmly greeted her with a cheek kiss.
Xiao Sen frowned at the sight.
“We’re Chinese. Don’t imitate foreign greetings—it’s neither here nor there,” Xiao Sen said.
Wu Mangmang immediately stepped forward, bending her knees with her left leg forward and right leg back, placing her hands together over her knee as she respectfully performed a traditional curtsy. “Greetings, Uncle. May you be blessed with peace and prosperity.”
Xiāo Gùgōng burst out laughing and wrapped an arm around Wu Mangmang’s shoulders. “Our Mangmang is still the cutest.”
But Xiao Sen remained stern. “Watch fewer Qing dynasty dramas. Is that how you greet someone? Find time to visit the National Library and read up on proper etiquette.”
Wu Mangmang replied with a respectful “Yes, sir.”
During dinner, Ms. Liu couldn’t help but bring up the old topic again—matchmaking.
Wu Mangmang couldn’t resist saying, “If only it weren’t for New China. In ancient times, I’d just marry Little Gùgōng. We know each other well, and marrying within the family would be lively.”
Xiāo Gùgōng leaned in close to Wu Mangmang and grinned. “Perfect. I told my mom the same thing.”
Wu Mangmang pushed Xiāo Gùgōng’s face away.
The next day, Xiāo Gùgōng whispered mysteriously to Wu Mangmang, “Come on, big brother will take you out to have fun tonight.”
He had only been back in the country for a few days, and he was already ready to party.Wu Mangmang curled her lip. What would a son raised by someone like Dr. Xiao know about being "wild"? Just putting on a show to look impressive.
Sure enough, Xiao Gugong's so-called wildness was actually his new boss throwing him a welcome party.
The other party had poached him from the U.S. with a hefty sum—truly an elite monster.
And the yellow Epsom calfskin Kelly bag Xiao Gugong spent a fortune on for Wu Mangmang wasn't without expectations in return.
According to Xiao Gugong, a young beauty had been relentlessly pursuing him abroad. After returning to China, he discovered she was actually his future boss's sister.
A rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow, and the boss's sister definitely shouldn't be touched casually.
"Why ask me to help block your romantic prospects?" Wu Mangmang shook her head, refusing. Blocking someone else's romance could easily cost her own—she was actually quite eager to get married herself.
"Only you can outshine her. If I just grabbed someone off the street, and she saw someone inferior to her, she'd never give up. Only you, my dear Mangmang, only you can instantly crush her."
Xiao Gugong really knew how to flatter. Wu Mangmang decisively changed into her battle attire.
A cheongsam with a dark green background and peonies as large as bowls.
The Forbidden City should be paired with a cheongsam, after all.
The welcome party was held at Starlight.
Wu Mangmang nudged Xiao Gugong's shoulder. "Your future boss seems to think highly of you."
As soon as they entered the courtyard reserved by Xiao Gugong's boss, a beauty dressed head-to-toe in Chanel haute couture came out to greet them. "William, why are you so late?"
Wu Mangmang stood quietly to the side, smiling, holding her clutch. Although her cheongsam wasn't as expensive as the beauty's haute couture, the old tailor's orders were booked three years in advance—in a way, it was even harder to obtain than the beauty's outfit.
Women just loved comparing these material things.
So Xiao Gugong had definitely prayed to the right bodhisattva by asking her to hold down the fort.
Shen Beauty's hostility hit them head-on. Though she desperately wanted to put on a look of disdain toward Wu Mangmang, she couldn't quite muster the aura.
Inside the hall, Xiao Gugong's boss, Shen Ting, was also present.
Wu Mangmang couldn't help but sigh—the world was too small; she wanted to go see the Milky Way.
Wu Mangmang immediately whispered in Xiao Gugong's ear, "I went on a blind date with your boss. He seemed interested in pursuing me, but I never returned his calls."
Xiao Gugong immediately wrapped his arm around Wu Mangmang's slender waist. "Well done. Otherwise, I'd really worry about people saying I got into his company through connections."
The dinner atmosphere was relatively harmonious. Shen Ting didn't speak much; his assistant was mainly responsible for livening things up. As for Wu Mangmang, she simply acted like a queen, commanding Xiao Gugong to serve her tea, pass water, pick dishes, and peel shrimp for her.
Xiao Gugong performed commendably, his gaze dripping with affection, his shrimp-peeling exceptionally diligent, even going above and beyond to help pick out fish bones for her.
Wu Mangmang sighed inwardly—truly a disciple she had taught well.
Originally, Xiao Gugong had wanted Wu Mangmang to act cute and clingy, cooing and fawning over him, but she had mercilessly mocked that idea.
That kind of intimacy would look fake at a glance.
Only like this, with Wu Mangmang playing the aloof queen and Xiao Gugong the humble servant, could they truly torture the single dogs, right?The meal left Wu Mangmang quite satisfied. The dishes at Starlight were innovative and the ingredients fresh, with only the occasional scrutinizing glance from Shen Ting passing by, which she simply treated as seasoning for her food.
After all, they were all people with reputations to uphold. Shen Yuanli might glare all she wanted, but she refrained from any more excessive behavior.
Only when leaving did Shen Ting flash Wu Mangmang a mocking, disdainful smile, betraying the host's true feelings.
Two weeks later, when Wu Mangmang ran into Xiao Gugong, she asked him how effective that meal had been and whether he had completely won over that Miss Shen.
Xiao Gugong stared at Wu Mangmang for a long time, so long that she began to wonder if she had a piece of green vegetable stuck between her teeth.
"What's wrong?" Wu Mangmang asked, puzzled.
"She's clinging to me even tighter now, determined to rescue me from the clutches of a fickle woman like you," Xiao Gugong said helplessly.
"That doesn't make sense. How could she spread such rumors?" Wu Mangmang feigned anger.
"She said it was my boss who told her that you change boyfriends faster than you change clothes. In the month she's known you, you've already gone through three boyfriends. She also said my days are surely numbered and that you'll dump me sooner or later," Xiao Gugong explained.
That gossipy Shen Ting!
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