Despite being in the middle of the day, there didn't seem to be much activity. He could see some housewives gathering in a group as they talked, their young children running circles around their legs. Further ahead, a flock of school children wandered around eating popsicles.
How quaint.
"Wow, you used to live here?" Jingwei asked wonderingly.
"Go straight on the road till the traffic light, then turn left," was Xue Ning's tense reply. "You'll see a bunch of houses."
Jingwei eagerly obeyed and sure enough, houses came into view. The roads got even narrower, and Jingwei paid more attention to driving, just to make sure the car didn't bump against the motorcycles parked along the side of the road.
"We're here," Xue Ning said as they eventually arrived at a two-story house with a blue door. It looked exactly like all the other houses in the area, and if Jingwei had not gotten precise instructions from Xue Ning, he would definitely, without a doubt, be hopelessly lost!
Jingwei then looked around.
"Does this area have any carpark?"
"You make your own parking spot. Just pick wherever you want, as long as it's not blocking someone's entrance."
As such, Jingwei decided to just park the car at an empty spot further ahead that wasn't infested by plants or insects, since there wasn't any actual parking spot demarcated.
"Remember to lock the car," Xue Ning said. "You don't want the chickens flying inside and making a mess."
"There are chickens on the loose?" Jingwei asked with much confusion.
"Pretty much," Xue Ning shrugged. She took a deep breath, calming herself down. "Okay, let's go."
She led their party to her home, and Jingwei's fancy suitcase got stuck in the loose gravel twice in that short distance, and when he tugged it extra hard to dislodge them, one of his wheels actually fell out!
That was not a good omen.
"Such an expensive suitcase, but it's so useless," Xue Ning lamented, shaking her head.
Jingwei laughed awkwardly. Hopefully Xue Ning's parents wouldn't think the same about him!
Xue Ning rang the doorbell, and within a minute, the door was opened by a young, relatively handsome man.
"I told you, we're not interested in buying vacuum cleaners!" The man yelled. Then his eyes registered who was at the door, and he grinned, immediately grabbing to hug Xue Ning, who bore it with good humour.
Jingwei raised an eyebrow. Who was this man?
"Xue Ning! You're here!"
"Who's selling you vacuum cleaners, Ge?" Xue Ning asked as she squirmed out of his hold.
"Faster to answer who isn't," Li Tai Xuan said, smiling adoringly at his baby sister. Then he remembered that they weren't alone. He looked up and his smile faded, replaced with something more hostile as he saw the face of one of Shanghai's elite, Sun Jingwei.
Jingwei, to his credit, wasn't going to be cowed by another older brother that wasn't his own. No matter what, surely Tianwei was way scarier! He gave a polite smile and reached out his hand, offering a handshake.
Li Tai Xuan stared at it suspiciously, refusing to acknowledge Sun Jingwei's hand, despite his sister elbowing him in the ribs.
"Ge! Come on, since when are you so rude?"
"Me? Rude?" Tai Xuan turned to look at his sister in confusion, demanding an explanation. Since when did his younger sister care about being polite to the son of rich billionaires?
"Meimei, why is Sun Jingwei standing in front of our door?" He asked warily, his eyes flitting between Jingwei and his companions who were standing slightly further behind, watching him with alert eyes. "And who are the other two men with you?"
"Hahahaha, funny you should ask Ge," Xue Ning began laughing sheepishly, trying to diffuse the tense situation. "Would you believe me if I told you this guy - Sun Jingwei is my friend? And the other two are his bodyguards."
"HUH?" Tai Xuan's head swivelled disbelievingly between his precious younger sister and Sun Jingwei. "I believe your second statement, but not your first."
He said frankly, eyeing Jingwei from head to toe judgmentally, as though he was an auntie during Chinese New Year. He took in his expensive collared shirt with the first two buttons undone, along with his shirt sleeves rolled up to expose his forearms, a watch that was worth more than a year's income, along with his fitted slacks, leather belt and shiny shoes.
His eyebrow twitched in irritation. There was no way he could be friends with his sister! His sister, as much as he loved her, was dressed slightly better than a hobo. And with her lack of family wealth, he could see no reason why someone like Sun Jingwei would befriend his sister, unless he had some ulterior motive!
And with his playboy reputation, Li Tai Xuan didn't need to use his imagination to wonder what Jingwei might want from his sister. He snarled at the thought. If Sun Jingwei thought his sister was a gullible country girl that he could easily impress with his wealth, and toy with her heart and body as he pleased, he had another thing coming!
"Ge! I'm not lying!" Xue Ning insisted, even though she technically was. "We really are friends!"
"Yes! Mr Li, I consider your sister to be one of the dearest people in my life. I love her!" Jingwei declared adamantly.
Tai Cheng's face nearly purpled with indignant shock, and he raised a meaty fist. This man claimed to love his sister after a few short weeks? Who was he trying to kid?! Maybe Xue Ning, because she had very little experience with relationships.
At that thought, Tai Cheng growled. Sun Jingwei would only get close to his sister over his dead body!
Jingwei had no sense of self-preservation, he was still determinedly not flinching from her brother's deadly glare. Behind Jingwei, Wei Yan and Ming Guang tensed, prepared to shield him and incapacitate the threat, even if said threat was Sun Jingwei's fake wife's older brother.
Xue Ning wanted to facepalm. How could Jingwei forget their agreement so quickly! They haven't even entered her house yet and he had already pissed off her older brother. Now she had to salvage this mess!
"As friends!" Xue Ning hastily interjected, purposely waving her hands to get her brother's attention. "Ge! He loves me as a friend! You know how rich people have no normal friends? I am that normal friend!"
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