"Just do your work at home. Why are you always making my father angry?"
Ling San said this and helped her father into the house.
She didn't deny what her father said earlier—in fact, she seemed to agree with him.
When her father saw that his daughter was on his side and not helping outsiders, he immediately felt better, even forgetting the pain from his fall.
He proudly walked into the house with her support, feeling pleased with himself. As he passed An Su, he even rolled his eyes and smirked like he had won.
From start to finish, Ling San didn't say a word in An Su's defense in front of her parents.
△▽
That day was clear and breezy.
Hexiaoshuang put on his only set of new summer clothes, stuffed all his spare money into his pouch, and once again stepped into Jewel's restaurant.
As usual, he had bought some peanuts and sunflower seeds from a street vendor for a couple of coins. Then he ordered a free pot of tea at the restaurant and sat at the same window seat on the first floor.
The second and third floors were for big groups and private rooms, but he wasn't the sociable type, so he always stayed alone on the first floor in a corner.
The restaurant wasn't very busy today. Jewel took a break and had a small meeting with her staff in the back room.
After discussing some business issues and offering solutions, Jewel started casually chatting with her team.
As they laughed and talked, someone brought up the man who always sat near the window but never ordered food—Hexiaoshuang.
"Boss, do you think that guy likes you?" one of the girls asked boldly.
"Yeah, last time he was asking all kinds of questions about you," added another. She was sharp and could tell what was on Hexiaoshuang's mind, so she didn't tell him anything useful and even warned the other staff not to gossip.
Jewel was speechless…
Was this guy trying to win her over like one of those "CEO falls in love with me" stories?
In her past life as the CEO of the Xie Corporation, Jewel had only one thought: CEOs only love their own sweet husbands—not interested in others.
Besides, Hexiaoshuang kept showing up, which affected how people saw her. She didn't like people who couldn't stay loyal to their families. She found them unreliable, so she kept her distance.
Also, even though the first floor served basic meals, every table still brought in money. Hexiaoshuang taking up space without ordering anything was bad for business!
Most importantly, if Xavi found out about this, wouldn't he be upset?
Even though Xavi trusted her deeply, she still made sure to keep a respectful distance from other men to avoid any misunderstandings and not make her husband feel bad.
"What kind of things did he ask about?" Jewel asked.
"Mostly when you'd show up and what you liked," one of the girls replied. "But don't worry, Boss. We've all agreed not to tell him anything, no matter what he asks."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Lately, they had even been secretly helping Jewel prepare for her wedding with Xavi in the fall.
They could all tell how much Jewel loved her husband. No way would she be interested in someone else.
"Good job," Jewel said happily.
"But just ignoring him won't fix the problem. If this keeps up, it'll still hurt our business. Maybe you girls can think of a way to stop him from coming back."
"Boss… are you saying we should throw him out?" one of them asked.
She was a bit slow but always worked hard and seriously.
"No, we can't use force," another said. Then she smirked. "Just follow my lead when he shows up tomorrow. I'll make sure he leaves on his own."
The next day was gloomy and humid, with dark clouds hanging over An Town. It felt like rain was coming soon.
Because of the weather, the streets weren't crowded, and the restaurant wasn't very busy either. There were only a few people on the first floor.
As soon as Hexiaoshuang sat down in his usual spot, Xavia, who was behind the counter, frowned again.
He'd been coming like clockwork, rain or shine, trying to run into Jewel.
Xavia had a strong feeling that Hexiaoshuang was after Jewel's money, trying to get close to her because of her wealth and business.
Her own mother had two husbands, and she grew up in a messy home.
That taught her one thing: a woman with a chaotic home life will never have peace of mind.
And Jewel's husband, Xavi, was her own brother—of course she wanted to protect him. She couldn't care less about Hexiaoshuang.
Luckily, Jewel hadn't appeared on the first floor in recent days.
Another worker, Wang Yuehan, wasn't as frequent a visitor as Hexiaoshuang, but he happened to be there that day too, chatting and snacking with Xavia behind the counter.
He noticed the change in Xavia's mood and quickly figured out what was going on. After all, anyone paying attention could tell Hexiaoshuang was stalking Jewel.
Just then, the sharp-tongued waitress approached Hexiaoshuang.
Her tone wasn't the usual polite way they treated customers. Instead, she sounded impatient.
"Mister, are you going to order something?"
Hexiaoshuang was caught off guard. He hadn't expected a waitress to speak to him today. He wasn't planning to order anything, but saying he had no money felt embarrassing.
After thinking for a bit, he asked for the cheapest thing on the menu: "How much is a bowl of Dragon Beard Noodles?"
"Four coins," she replied.
Then she added, with full force, "But sir, not to be rude, you come here every day and take up space without ordering anything. Real paying customers have nowhere to sit! That hurts our business. So for you, the noodles cost twelve coins!"