Chapter 317 I Am Willing to Squander Money for You

When Du Xiaoxian arrived at the villa, Lu Haochen was sitting in the living room and drinking coffee leisurely. He changed into a long T-shirt with a V-shape neck and wore loose, light-gray sweatpants under it. His feet were draped over the solid wood coffee table. He was usually a well-dressed president in the office which had a constant room temperature. When he suddenly changed his style and became a neighborhood brother, Du Xiaoxian was not used to it. She could not help but look at him a few more times.

Lu Haochen raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, “It turns out that you like me to dress like this. Okay, I will go to work in this style in the future!”

Du Xiaoxian was already used to his cheeky manner. She ignored him and silently went to the storage room. She took out the cleaning tools and was ready for work.

Lu Haochen walked over, snatched the vacuum cleaner from her hand and threw it aside, saying, “Stop it. Anyway, you know it’s just an excuse.”

Then Du Xiaoxian held a rag in her hand. “I have to clean up the house because I am paid to do it. If you don’t let me do the cleaning, I will leave.”

“Fine, fine, fine, I’ll let you do it,” Lu Haochen pushed the vacuum cleaner into the storage room and said, “Anyway, it’s not dirty as someone cleans it every day. You don’t have to take it seriously.”

Hearing this, Du Xiaoxian felt something was wrong. “Do you mean that other than me, there are other people who clean this place every day?”

“Yes, a housekeeping company has been hired to keep this place clean.” Lu Haochen blinked at her. “How can I bear to let you be tired!”

Du Xiaoxian looked at him for a while. Then she suddenly threw the rag onto the floor and cursed, “You’re squandering money!”

She rarely lost her temper like this, and her enraged look was extremely cute in Lu Haochen’s eyes.

He laughed. He pushed her to the sofa and sat her down. “I am willing to squander money for you.”

Recently, he often spoke so directly, making Du Xiaoxian embarrassed and annoyed. “Boss, what do you want to do?”

“You don’t know what I want to do?” Lu Haochen went to the kitchen and made a cup of tea for her. He said slowly, “If you really don’t know, I’ll tell you.”

Du Xiaoxian was afraid that he would say something that would make her feel embarrassed again, so before he continued, she quickly answered.

“Boss, I know what you mean and thank you for your appreciation. But it is impossible for us to live together. Please spare me, okay?”

“No, I should beg you to spare me,” Lu Haochen sat down and looked straight at her. “Xiaoxian, to be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever been in love. I didn’t know that the feeling of liking someone would be like this. I always miss you. When I go to work, I think about you. When I return home, I think about you. When I eat, I think about you. When I sleep, I still think about you. What do you want me to do?”

Du Xiaoxian was shocked and helpless. She didn’t know how to respond. So she simply looked at the teacup on the tea table in a daze. It was a white and light bone-china cup. Only its edge was colored with gold lines. The simple color made the teacup look noble and flawless.

“Xiaoxian,” Lu Haochen reached out and gently placed his hand on the back of Du Xiaoxian’s. “I really like you very much.”

As soon as his big warm hand touched her hand, Du Xiaoxian hurriedly retracted as if she had been scalded. She stammered, “Boss, don’t be like this. I am just an unmarried mother. You are out of my league. You should find a girl who is a hundred times better than me.”

“But I only like you.” Lu Haochen’s eyes were as deep as the sea under the starry sky as he looked at her affectionately.

Du Xiaoxian was in a trance for a moment. It was a familiar scene. The two faces overlapped. She looked at it in a daze and slowly reached out her hand. It seemed that she wanted to touch his face…

Lu Haochen’s eyes dimmed. He knew that she had thought of him as someone else again. He grabbed her hand and said fiercely, “Can you see who I am?”

Du Xiaoxian was shocked. She came back to her senses and wanted to pull her hand back. However, Lu Haochen refused to let go of it. “Since you want to talk, let’s talk about your past, shall we? I know that you have another man in your heart and that man is Niannian’s father. But he is already married. I don’t know why he left you. But in this life, you will never be able to return to his side. However, I can swear to the heavens that I will never abandon you for anything. Therefore, Du Xiaoxian, please wake up!”

“No” Du Xiaoxian cried out. “The truth is that I left him. He never thought of abandoning me!”

“Then why didn’t he come to find you?” Lu Haochen snorted. “Since you have been thinking about him, why did you leave him?”

“You won’t understand,” Du Xiaoxian’s eyes were red as she struggled in vain. “Let go of me.”

“No,” Lu Haochen’s eyes were also red. “I won’t let you go for the rest of my life. Even if you leave me, I will chase you to the ends of the earth and will not let you go.”

“Lu Haochen!” Du Xiaoxian suddenly called his name. Her chest was heaving. She was clearly agitated. “I don’t like you. In the past, now, and even in the future, I won’t like you! Is there any meaning for you to be like this? Will you feel happy when you stay with someone who doesn’t love you?”

Lu Haochen was stunned for a moment. He could not help but loosen his grip a little, and his voice also lowered, “As long as you give me a chance, I will definitely replace that man!”

“Impossible,” Du Xiaoxian shook her head in pain. “No one can replace him. In this life, I only love him. I beg you, please let me go. I will not betray him, never!”

Lu Haochen finally let go of her hand, and his lips curved into a self-deprecating smile.

He opened his heart to her, but what he got in return was that in this life, that man was the only one she loved.

This one sentence alone had negated everything he had done. She could not see his good, nor could she see his infatuation. In her heart, there was only that man.

Lu Haochen suddenly felt that he was very ridiculous. He had done so much. But in the end, it was as futile as drawing water with a holey bamboo basket…

Du Xiaoxian had once said that he was cheeky when she was helpless. In fact, he was never a thick-skinned person. He regarded pride more important than anything else. For her, he even changed his personality and became a stranger to himself. But this still failed to move her…

Lu Haochen suddenly felt a little disheartened, and there was a vague hint of anger.

Forced love did not last, and it would not bring him any good result if he went on like this. He picked up the cold coffee and took a sip. Then he leaned back on the sofa and said coldly, “I’ll let you go. You can leave.”

Du Xiaoxian looked at him in disbelief. She didn’t expect that in just a short while, Lu Haochen had come around. On her way here, she didn’t have much hope at all. So she was stunned.

“Hurry up and leave before I change my mind!” The man’s body exuded an oppressive chill.

Du Xiaoxian didn’t have time to think. She picked up her small bag and quickly ran away.

The moment she ran out of the door, she heard the sound of a teacup falling to the ground. After the crisp sound, the room returned to silence. She did not know if Lu Haochen had smashed his cup of coffee or her cup of tea, but it was not important. What mattered was that she was free!

Du Xiaoxian was indeed free, completely free!

Because the next morning, when she arrived at the company, an HR agent asked her to go over to talk. The meaning was very clear. Lu Haochen fired her!

The one who was talking to her was Guo Zheng, the manager of the Administration Department. He said with a tone of regret, “Du Xiaoxian, I hardly find any problems with your work. It’s just that you are too stubborn. The boss is so good to you, but you… forget about it. I think you should be mentally prepared, right?”

Du Xiaoxian nodded. She was mentally prepared. Once Lu Haochen turned his face around, he would definitely be heartless. He would break up with her completely. That was exactly what she wanted.

This was the best result!

In fact, there was nothing to pack up. It had only been a few days since she was transferred to the secretary’s room. She did not have many personal belongings. The only thing she had to take away was her teacup.

Looking at the empty paper box she received from the Administration Department, Du Xiaoxian shook her head. Holding the paper box in one hand and the cup in the other, she went downstairs to the Administration Department. Guo Zheng was sitting in the office. When he looked up, he saw Du Xiaoxian passing by the window. It seemed that she was going to the Logistics Department. His heart moved. Could it be that she was unwilling to leave? If that was the case, there was still room for maneuver. Before he could figure it out, he saw her returning and passing by his window again. He was curious, so he went to the Logistics Department to ask why Du Xiaoxian came there.

Chen Liyi pointed at the empty paper box on the table and said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, “She is here to return this.”

This empty paper box was the last benefit the company gave to the leaving employees. Even if they had nothing to put in, it could be used in homes. No one had ever returned it. She was the first one who did this. Guo Zheng shook his head and said with a smile, “What a blockhead.”

Chen Liyi said emotionally, “In this world, she is the only one who can refuse the boss.”

On the way home, Du Xiaoxian thought that since he had fired her, she probably wouldn’t have to go to the villa anymore. However, the contract made her a little worried. After thinking about it, she still braced herself and called Lu Haochen.

She thought that Lu Haochen would not answer her call, or he would roughly hang up without waiting for her to finish speaking. However, he did not. He quietly listened to her and only said that there was no need.

Sure enough, there was no need to go again. Du Xiaoxian was completely relieved now. Without work, she still needed to earn money. Since she had no diploma and skills, it was not easy to find a job. After being rebuffed a few times, she stopped wasting time and began to resume her old occupation. She started to sell fruits on the street under the scorching sun.

At this time, the sun was not as scorching as summer, but the ultraviolet rays were stronger. After a week, she became dark and thin. She was originally slim, but now she looked even thinner because she got darker. Du Niannian laughed at her, saying that she was now like a monkey under the sun. Although she laughed at her mother, Du Niannian was very sensible. She would help her mother sell fruits once she came back from kindergarten.

She was cute and sweet. She shouted at the crowd, “Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, Auntie, take a look at our fruits! They taste fragrant and sweet. Come and have a look!”

Her crisp voice attracted everyone’s attention. There really was someone who came over to buy the fruits. Someone bought a handful of bananas. Then others purchased a few other fruits. Several deals were made in a short time. Du Niannian was very proud. She helped her mother by handing over the bags and collecting money, as if she was extremely good at doing business.

When it was dark, Du Huayue came over to deliver food to them. The three of them sold fruits together. It was easy to pass the time as they chatted and laughed. When it was past 8 o’clock, Du Huayue took Du Niannian back first because she had to go to bed on time at 8:30 every day. Du Xiaoxian would stay up until 10 o’clock. When the fruits were almost sold, she packed up the stall and went back.

When she got home, she quickly washed up and went to sleep because she had to go to purchase fruits at 5 o’clock in the morning. When she came back, she had to pick up the rotten ones. After breakfast, she could finally take them out and sell them. Then she stayed outside for an entire day. The weather was too hot, so she had to sell all the fruits that day. Otherwise, they would be rotten.

This was indeed hard work, but this down-to-earth way of earning money made Du Xiaoxian feel at ease. She smoothed her hair and tied it up again. She took out her phone and looked at the time. It was 9:35 pm. She could close the stall in half an hour! There were only two handfuls of bananas and a few small muskmelons left in the basket. If no one bought them, she would take them back for Du Niannian to eat. She had no money to buy snacks for the child, but it was not difficult to give her daughter some fruits.