"Hello?"
After a moment’s hesitation, Su Ruoxi answered the call.
"You brat, why did you hang up on my video call? I’m asking you, where the hell are you, and who was that man?"
"I’ve already found you a blind date, and you’re out there fooling around with other men, is that it?"
An angry woman’s voice came through the receiver.
"Who that man is has nothing to do with you!"
"And another thing, a blind date?"
"Heh, which rich heir are you planning to sell me to this time?"
"’For my own good?’ Don’t you just want to trade me for money?"
"Stop with the fake sincerity!"
With that, Su Ruoxi hung up again and immediately switched her phone to airplane mode.
Lin Feng and the other two watched the distraught Su Ruoxi.
For a moment, they were frozen in place, unsure of what to say.
However, from her side of the conversation, Lin Feng had pieced together the gist of the situation.
Her stepmother clearly didn’t treat her very well.
Her family’s company was facing a crisis, its funding chain on the verge of collapse, so her stepmother wanted to use Su Ruoxi in a marriage alliance to secure a capital injection.
Realizing this, Lin Feng couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for Su Ruoxi.
’No wonder she always looks so downcast and preoccupied,’ he thought.
’So this is the problem she’s been facing.’
"Ruoxi..."
"Are you okay?"
Yang Qingqing asked cautiously.
Su Ruoxi looked up, saw the worried expressions on their faces, and forced a smile. "I’m fine. You don’t need to worry."
She said, feigning nonchalance, but her heart was filled with despair.
"As long as you’re okay."
Although they knew Su Ruoxi must be feeling terrible right now, Lin Feng and the others didn’t know how to comfort her, so they could only change the subject.
Just then, the waitress who had left earlier returned, carrying a tray with two bottles of red wine.
She placed the wine on the table and took out a decanter.
She opened one of the bottles and poured half of it into the decanter.
"Sir, shall I have the food brought out now?"
Yang Qiniang nodded. "Yes, bring it all out!"
Lin Feng also chimed in, "That’s right, let’s get some food. Eating something will make you feel better."
Su Ruoxi managed to twitch the corners of her lips into a smile.
But her gaze was fixed on the red wine in the decanter on the table.
"Let’s drink!"
Su Ruoxi suddenly suggested, seemingly forgetting she had just said she wouldn’t drink.
Lin Feng and the other two didn’t object. They went along with her wish and started drinking with her.
"Thank you all..."
"In my whole life, you’re the only ones who have ever genuinely just had a drink with me..."
Su Ruoxi said suddenly, looking at the three of them as she sipped her wine.
"Ruoxi, don’t say that. We’re all friends!"
"Come on, cheers!"
Yang Qingqing said boisterously, raising her glass.
"Cheers!"
The four of them raised their glasses and clinked them together.
Su Ruoxi tilted her head back slightly and downed the entire glass of red wine in one go.
The rich aroma of the wine spread through her entire body.
Soon, a blush crept onto Su Ruoxi’s pretty face, and her eyes grew hazy. She looked at Lin Feng and the others and began to speak, her words halting.
"You don’t know..."
"My stepmother... no, that woman, Liu Yan!"
"After she married my dad... she’s always... always had it out for me..."
"And now she even wants... to sell me off... for money..."
"I definitely... won’t let her get her way!"
Su Ruoxi grew more agitated as she spoke, finally waving her arm so wildly she nearly fell over.
Fortunately, Lin Feng was quick to react, rushing to steady her.
"You’re drunk. Don’t drink any more."
Lin Feng couldn’t help but advise, looking at the tipsy Su Ruoxi.
"That’s right, Ruoxi. You should take a break. The food hasn’t even arrived yet and you’re already almost drunk."
Yang Qingqing added, trying to persuade her.
"I... I’m not drunk!"
"I won’t let that woman, Liu Yan, succeed!"
"If it weren’t for her... my mom wouldn’t have died... That vicious woman."
"Even if I die... I won’t marry the person she’s arranged for me."
Su Ruoxi’s words were a wake-up call for Lin Feng and the others.
They hadn’t expected Su Ruoxi to be so resolute, to the point of considering death to prove her point.
"Don’t, Ruoxi! Don’t do anything rash!"
Yang Qingqing cried out, grabbing Su Ruoxi’s arms tightly.
Just then, Yang Qiniang also chimed in to persuade her. "That’s right. If you die, your stepmother will be even happier. There’ll be no one left to split the family inheritance with her!"
"Wouldn’t that be giving her exactly what she wants?"
Yang Qiniang’s words seemed to jolt Su Ruoxi, sobering her up considerably.
"Then... what should I do?"
"If Liu Yan is dead set on forcing me to marry that guy, my dad will definitely agree for the sake of the company."
"I really have nowhere else to turn!"
Su Ruoxi said, her head hung low and her voice choked with sobs.
"It’s actually simple..."
"As long as you have money, you can solve this problem."
Yang Qiniang paused, then continued, "Your family’s company is in trouble right now. As long as you can find a boyfriend who can stand up to them before they force you to marry their choice..."
"...everything will be resolved easily."
"Er... of course... the prerequisite is that you have to actually like the person."
Yang Qiniang said, letting out a drunken hiccup.
’Find a...’
’...boyfriend who can stand up to them?’
Hearing this, Su Ruoxi began to murmur to herself, her gaze subconsciously shifting to Lin Feng.
’Among all the people I know, isn’t Lin Feng the only one who fits both criteria?’
Ever since those two incidents, her feelings for Lin Feng had been... indescribable.
She didn’t know if she actually liked him.
’And... judging by his daily behavior, he seems to be pretty rich, doesn’t he?’
’Those two things fit exactly what Yang Qiniang just said.’
"Lin Feng..."
Emboldened by the alcohol, Su Ruoxi looked at Lin Feng, her eyes hazy.
"What is it?"
Hearing Su Ruoxi call his name, Lin Feng turned his head and looked at her, confused.
Their eyes met.
This time, Su Ruoxi didn’t look away.
She bit her red lip as if she had made up her mind, and suddenly asked, "Can... can I be your girlfriend?"
The moment the words left her mouth, Lin Feng froze as if struck by lightning.
’What... is happening?’
He had never imagined that Su Ruoxi would suddenly confess to him.
’This is too fucking ridiculous, isn’t it?’
Yang Qingqing and Yang Qiniang were also stunned.
Although Yang Qiniang’s earlier words had, intentionally or not, been aimed at guiding things toward Lin Feng,
he felt that even if things between them developed quickly,
it would still take some time for things to progress naturally and for them to get together.
But now...
Su Ruoxi had just thrown a straight pitch?!

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