Chapter One Hundred Fifteen: Was I Bullied?

Jian Anan still delighted herself on the way, marveling at how far the prices of clothes could climb in Flower City.
Perhaps this was one of those rare occasions when spending money paid off: if Song Wanning became her friend, Jian could pretend to pop over every day, and on those visits, she could also keep an eye on Wen Jingxing.
She was still in the group chat, asking Song what kind of dresses she liked.

In truth, the moment she had stepped out of the car, she had only been checking whether there was any chance to get into Wen Jingxing’s vehicle.
But Wen Jingxing, truly, was no man to pamper her. The instant he pulled away, he brushed past her side as though nothing of consequence.
To keep up with them, she swallowed her irritation and quickly pulled Shen Yue back into her own car.

The four cars sped along, and after half an hour they reached the gates of Central Flower City.
One side of it opened onto a vast square; the other three sides were enclosed by eight or nine tall commercial towers, giving the whole place a crescent shape.
Those towers were all shopping buildings.
Behind them stretched pedestrian lanes—some for fun, some for dining—yet everywhere the same pair of words seemed to haunt every sign and shopkeeper: expensive and money.

Every one of those walkways led to the truly famous place of Flower City: the Yeting Flower Fields.
In a city where every square meter of central land was worth more than gold, someone had been lavish enough to reserve a whole swath of it just for flowers.
The fields held countless rare blossoms, and around them stood elegant pavilions for visitors to rest and cool off.
At the very center rose a two-story glass conservatory, built at exorbitant cost but stunning to behold.
On the second floor, all four sides were made of floor-to-ceiling glass, giving a free view of the surroundings.
Aside from marble columns placed in the corners to support the level above, there were no interior walls at all, so the sightlines opened out in every direction.
It was a vast space, easily holding five hundred people at once.
It even provided dedicated service staff for food and drink.
The service was first-rate, and the food, naturally, was the most expensive.
The upper floor was decorated in a lush, grand style, and the heirs of wealthy families liked to hold gatherings there to announce their rank.
So bookings for the entire venue went up in a constant stream, day in and day out.

Song Wanning had spent the ride on her phone, not for idle curiosity but to learn as much as possible about Flower City—
especially which brands of clothing commanded the highest prices.
There was so much online information about Central Flower City that she pulled together all its details in no time.
She even confirmed that the place they were to go to this afternoon was the glass villa inside the Yeting Flower Fields.
When she spotted it, Song got out and waited for Nan Yan beneath one of the goddess statues in the square.

Everyone else had to drive into the city parking lot and then walk over.
Wen Jingxing had no such bother; he tossed the keys to Cheng Mu and sent him to park.
Jiang Mingzhao, who had been hiding in the car all this while, saw Cheng Mu drive in at last, and finally had nowhere to hide. He got out, lingeringly and unwillingly.

But Jiang Mingzhao was not the sort to give in easily. He insisted, dragging Cheng Mu, that he should come with him to the nearest clothing shop.
Cheng Mu refused at once.
“Mr. Jiang, your assignment has already been delivered. Please leave me be and go have fun with the others. If I go with you, that is abandoning my post.”
Jiang Mingzhao replied, “We’ll go and return quickly. If I don’t say it, you don’t say it—how would Wen Jingxing ever know?”

To go seeking Wen with him, what difference was there from seeking one’s own death?
There was no chance of romance there. Shen Yue was not his type, and he did not want her to waste effort on him.
Even if he died, he would never be with her.

But when Cheng Mu frowned and snapped, “Who do you seem to be so afraid of?”
Jiang Mingzhao laughed without pretense. “Oh, I’m absolutely terrified! My variety-show partner is terrifying, and I don’t want her to discover where I am.”

He did not bother to hide it, and then he added one more line.
It was that one line that made Cheng Mu change his mind instantly.
“Besides, that partner of mine already seemed to take Song Wanning as a target from the beginning. She really doesn’t like the way Song looks.”

That reminder struck something important for Cheng Mu. Song Wanning was no busybody; she had stopped Jiang Mingzhao and that partner from meeting repeatedly before.
Wasn’t that clear proof that Song did not like her either?
Whoever Miss Song disliked, Cheng Mu disliked as well.
And Song was the boss’s fiancée; helping Song meant helping the future mistress of the household, after all.
So helping Jiang was now his duty.
“Then let’s go and come back fast.”
Jiang never paused to wonder how Cheng Mu had changed his mind; he cheerfully pulled him along.

So when Wen Jingxing saw Cheng Mu again, he was dressed all in black: black cap, black sunglasses, black mask, black leather gloves.
Beside him stood an older man dressed exactly the same.
Had Wen not known Cheng Mu’s build so well, he might not have recognized him at once.
Song Wanning saw the two figures in their odd black garb approaching and shifted slightly, slipping behind Wen for a moment.

“Don’t be afraid,” Wen Jingxing said, lightly patting her head. “The one on the left is Cheng Mu.”
Song Wanning gave him a slight, startled glance but no fear. “Then the right one is Jiang Mingzhao.”
She was bluffing, yet it turned out to be right.

Jiang Mingzhao came striding over and grinned shamelessly. “Song Wanning, look—can you tell me this outfit doesn’t make me unrecognizable to everyone?”
Before she could even answer, Jian Anan and Shen Yue arrived at last.
Jian Anan first stared at the two black-clad odd men, then moved as if to take Song Wanning’s hand.
Song Wanning sidestepped him cleanly.
So Jian only managed a laugh. “Heh… I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, Ningning.”

Shen Yue pointed to the two dark figures. “Who are these two strange men, and why have they been staring at us?”
Wen Jingxing did not reply.
Song Wanning, unable to hold back a laugh, said only briefly, “They’re Jingxing’s bodyguards.”

While they waited for Nan Yan, Jian Anan would strike up conversation with Song Wanning whenever she was in the way and she had breath to answer.
Song’s interest, though, was low, and her replies were scattered and half-hearted.
Only when Nan Yan finally came did her spirits return; her eyes brightened at once.

“Nan Yan, I’m here!”

But Song saw that the corners of Nan Yan’s eyes were a little red, and she stepped quickly out of the car without saying a word to Yun Ze.
Song felt an involuntary jolt in her chest—had Yun Ze bullied Nan Yan?
Yet she judged the chance low. Yun Ze was perverse in odd ways, yes, but he had never truly harmed Nan Yan physically.
Then what had happened?
End of the chapter.