Chapter 27 : You Vicious Lady
In the morning on the weekend, Mengmeng knocked on the door when Ye Chen was still fast asleep. “Open the door, Daddy. Wake up.”
Ye Chen peeped outside the window after he opened his eyes. Realizing that the sky was bright, he got out of bed and put on his shoes to open the door.
His daughter was all giddy in her pajamas at the door with excitement filling her little face. She threw herself into his embrace the moment he opened the door. He squatted down immediately to catch her, worried that she would fall.
Mengmeng held onto his neck and rolled her cute eyes at him. “Daddy, I’ve been knocking on your door for so long. Why are you only opening it now?”
“Daddy was still sleeping. I’m sorry, alright?” Ye Chen revealed an embarrassed smile.
He had slept late because of Lin Tai’s phone call in the middle of the night. He had agreed to go to dinner. Besides that, he also had something else on his mind.
Mengmeng harrumphed arrogantly and sang while pouting, “Daddy is a lazy pig. A big, lazy pig.”
“If daddy is a big, lazy pig, then wouldn’t it mean that you, my Mengmeng, are a small, lazy pig?” Ye Chen pinched her soft, little hand and teased, not sure whether to laugh or to cry.
“Daddy, you’re naughty. I’m not a pig.” She could not stop giggling while playing with the stubble on his chin with her hand.
His mother, Wu Lan’s voice came from the kitchen, “Mengmeng, the toothpaste is already on your toothbrush. Come brush your teeth.”
The little girl then struggled out of Ye Chen’s embrace and ran to the bathroom while skipping and jumping, clearly happy.
Ye Chen caught up with her after changing his clothes. He saw his father playing with an old flashlight and he said with a smile, “Why did you wake up so early, Dad?”
“That girl Mengmeng woke your mom up before daybreak since you told her that you’re bringing her out. She can’t wait to head out now.” Ye Hai stifled a yawn as he chuckled.
Ye Chen looked towards the bathroom and saw Mengmeng holding a big bowl while brushing her teeth and standing next to the basin. There was a stool under her feet. He could not help but smile seeing her cute face.
Ye Hai took out 1,000 yuan and gave it to Ye Chen. “Take the money. Have a great time with Mengmeng today. Buy anything that she wants. Your mom and I feel bad. We’ve never taken her to the zoo although she’s already so big because we’re always busy working.”
“I have money, Dad. Take it back.” Ye Chen shook his head. He secretly made up his mind to withdraw money at the bank when he went out later. Besides spending it on himself, he would give his parents some too.
Ye Hai looked at him and did not insist upon seeing that Ye Chen did not seem like he was putting on a show.
A while later, Mengmeng walked out of the room wearing a little dress in white and blue. She had a bun piled on her head. She asked while pulling at the corner of the dress in anticipation, “Daddy, is this dress pretty?”
“Incredibly so! You are pretty no matter what you wear.” Ye Chen took a good look at her as love filled his eyes. She smiled sweetly upon hearing the compliment, appearing to be over the moon.
Ye Chen’s mother walked to the kitchen and began making breakfast after dressing Mengmeng up. As soon as she was done with her breakfast, the little girl impatiently urged Ye Chen to leave.
After saying goodbye to his parents, Ye Chen held her hand and walked out of the house bemusedly.
The little girl was all smiles along the way. “Where are we going, Daddy?”
“Let’s go to the bank first. I need to withdraw some money.” Ye Chen brought her to a bank nearby. The 1,000 yuan that his father had given him earlier was only down to a few hundred now and was insufficient.
…
Some 20 minutes later, the father and daughter rushed over to a China Construction Bank nearby. Ye Chen walked to the ATM machine and saw a notice on it. The machine was broken, so he would have to withdraw money at the counter. It was the weekend, so it was crowded.
He hesitated for a moment when the squeal of brakes screeched behind them just when he was going to bring Mengmeng in.
Ye Chen turned his head to see a Range Rover Evoque driving over and parking before him in an insolent manner, almost hitting him. Ye Chen retreated a few steps back while holding his daughter’s hand. He then glared at the Range Rover Evoque with grim eyes.
When the car door opened, a lady walked out from the passenger seat. She was dressed rather flashily and had thick makeup which included an outrageous purple lipstick on her lips. At the same time, a middle-aged man in a suit with a huge belly walked out of the car too.
The lady took a glance at Ye Chen and his daughter by instinct. Stunned at first, disbelief overtook her features as she asked, “A-are you Ye Chen?”
“Y-yuan Yue?” Ye Chen frowned and said in an unsure manner.
The lady’s dressing was very revealing. She wore a sheath dress with black stockings. Her collar was wide open as if she wanted to flash everything underneath.
“It really is you!” Yuan Yue was elated. She took a few steps forward immediately and exclaimed, “I wouldn’t have recognized you if you didn’t call my name just now.”
“I almost didn’t recognize you too,” Ye Chen responded with a smile.
The lady before her was his university mate. Before getting to know Su Yuhan, Yuan Yue could not stop courting Ye Chen back then, perhaps because of his excellent grades. Never had she thought that Ye Chen would not have feelings for her, hence leading to her giving up later on.
Yuan Yue studied Ye Chen as faint disdain flashed through her eyes upon noticing his poor dressing. However, she still smiled as she spoke, “It’s been seven to eight years since we last met. What are you up to now?”
“Are you done chatting? I’m in a hurry!” The man next to her scoffed. He did not even look at Ye Chen and was insufferably arrogant.
Ye Chen replied calmly, “I’m unemployed at the moment.”
Yuan Yue smiled lightly, the scorn in her eyes sharper now. She said while pretending to be shocked, “How can it be? You were the top student in our business course. How are you unemployed?”
She held the balding man’s hand next to her in a coquettish manner and continued sweetly, “Oh yeah, let me introduce you to my man, Zhao Bin. He’s currently the supervisor of a listed company and he makes 500,000 yuan annually.”
“Not bad.” Ye Chen nodded. His ignorant attitude made Yuan Yue frown a little. Annoyed, the feelings she had for Ye Chen surfaced again.
‘Why is he pretending to be so calm? He can just tell me directly that he’s looking for a job. Perhaps I can ask Zhao Bin to get him a position in the company since we’re old friends. It’s fortunate that I failed to court you back then. Otherwise, I might be suffering with you now,’ she thought.
She only noticed Mengmeng who was next to Ye Chen at that moment. At first, she was stunned, then she spoke subsequently, “Don’t tell me that this is your daughter?”
She walked over and extended her arm to touch Mengmeng as she spoke. The little girl hid behind Ye Chen immediately and said shyly while pinching her nose, “Don’t touch me, you vicious lady. You stink.”
The smile on Yuan Yue’s face froze immediately. She chided coldly, “Ye Chen, you should teach your daughter properly.”
“That’s my own business. I teach her well at home.” Ye Chen pinched the little girl’s hand softly.
Zhao Bin huffed impatiently from the side, “Why are you still talking to this person? I’m in a hurry!”
“We’ll catch up when we have the time.” Yuan Yue smirked arrogantly. She held Zhao Bin’s hand and went into the bank after saying that.
Mengmeng said in her baby voice after the duo left, “Daddy, who are those bad people?”
“They’re daddy’s old classmates,” Ye Chen squatted down to pat her head and asked, “Oh yeah, why do you say that they’re bad people?”
“Because they’re bad people!” She pouted her lips and said with a scoff, “That uncle especially, he’s the worst. He almost hit us with his car, yet he didn’t even apologize. That aunty knew that you don’t have money, and she told you that the uncle is wealthy. She’s just showing off. I have a classmate who showed off the mobile phone that his daddy bought him, and it was stolen the next day. Also, the perfume that aunty is wearing is too much. I almost threw up.”
Ye Chen felt his insides go warm when he heard that. He hugged the little girl and tapped her nose with his hand. “You’re so smart to be protecting your Daddy. Let’s go. I’m wealthy, so I’ll give you a lot of money.” Ye Chen walked into the bank after picking her up.