"Zhao Tianhao, Suosuo's boyfriend."
"Jiang Nansun, Suosuo's best friend."
Jiang Nansun's small hand and Zhao Tianhao's large hand clasped together.
"Um, thank you for today,"
Jiang Nansun was referring to pretending to be her boyfriend to help her out of an awkward situation.
"Haha, Nansun, you caught that perfectly! Wouldn't we be considered heroes rescuing a damsel in distress?"
Zhu Suosuo laughed at Jiang Nansun. Before Jiang Nansun could speak, Zhu Suosuo added worriedly.
"But won't your dad be furious?"
"How did you even come up with this idea?" Jiang Nansun retorted, shifting the blame.
"It's not my fault. I set off as soon as I got your message, but the distance was quite long, plus there was traffic. I couldn't get through to Zhang Anren either, so I had to lend you my man."
The two women joked and teased each other for a while. At this moment, Jiang Nansun saw Bai Xianchu being held in Zhao Tianhao's arms.
"Is this a fox?" Jiang Nansun asked curiously.
"Yes, an Arctic silver fox. Its name is Bai Xianchu, you can call her Xiaobai."
"Xiaobai."
Jiang Nansun looked at Bai Xianchu curiously, her curiosity prompting her to let her touch it.
"Can I touch it?"
Jiang Nansun couldn't resist and voiced her desire.
"Sure,"
Zhao Tianhao handed Bai Xianchu over.
Jiang Nansun thanked him and took it. Seeing that Bai Xianchu didn't struggle, she carefully reached out and gently placed her hand on her body, slowly stroking it.
Zhu Suosuo looked at her cautious best friend with amusement. If she knew that this fox could actually transform into a human, she would probably be very surprised.
Thinking of that scene, Zhu Suosuo laughed.
Well, at this point, Zhu Suosuo had already tacitly accepted that Jiang Nansun was also Zhao Tianhao's woman.
After all, to see Bai Xianchu transform, she had to be his woman first.
Hearing Zhu Suosuo's laughter, Jiang Nansun assumed she was laughing at his earlier cautious actions.
Jiang Nansun said, somewhat embarrassed and annoyed.
"This is your family's pet. As an outsider, of course I have to be careful when petting her."
"Okay, okay."
Zhu Suosuo bowed her head in surrender, not wanting to argue with Jiang Nansun.
Jiang Nansun hugged Bai Xianchu affectionately. He realized that petting a fox was such a blissful thing; no wonder he liked it so much, even bringing her along when he came to pretend to be her boyfriend.
Da Mao took Jiang Nansun to school.
Jiang Nansun reluctantly said goodbye to Bai Xianchu.
Back at the villa, Zhao Tianhao pinned Zhu Suosuo down and continued what had been interrupted earlier.
...
The next day, Jiang Nansun learned that Zhang Anren had gone to the department to give a report to a teacher the previous day, and his phone was on silent.
Jiang Nansun said nothing and returned home. Unexpectedly, her father seemed to have been waiting for her.
"What about that man who left with you yesterday? What's your relationship with him? He's a really big shot, Nansun! If he were your boyfriend, I wouldn't have a problem with it."
Jiang's father looked at Jiang Nansun excitedly.
When he returned yesterday, he had already learned some basic information about Zhao Tianhao from Li Yifan.
He was a big shot whose every sneeze would shake the entire city of Shanghai.
Thinking that his daughter might be related to him, Jiang's father was so excited he couldn't sleep all night.
"No relationship,"
Jiang Nansun's words were like a bucket of cold water poured on her excited father.
"What did you say?"
Jiang's father was somewhat dissatisfied with Jiang Nansun's answer.
"I have no relationship with him whatsoever."
Jiang Nansun naturally knew her father's intentions.
She knew he wanted to sell her daughter and force her into a relationship with Zhao Tianhao. Although she didn't dislike the man, she already had a boyfriend. Why couldn't her father approve of Zhang Anren?
Last night, out of curiosity, Jiang Nansun looked into Zhao Tianhao's identity.
It was outrageous. She hadn't expected him to have such a powerful background. No wonder her best friend had confidently told her that Zhao Tianhao was her biggest backer.
"Doesn't Zhang Anren know his own shortcomings? Doesn't he know what it means to back down when things get tough?"
Jiang's father's angry voice brought Jiang Nansun back to reality.
Jiang's father was furious.
Now, an incredibly powerful figure had appeared before him.
And he was involved with his daughter; how could he let this go?
Now, this Zhang Anren wasn't letting his daughter off the hook either. In Jiang's father's mind, this meant both jeopardizing his daughter's happiness and blocking his path to wealth.
"Did that Li Yifan help you with stocks? How much money did you make?"
Jiang Nansun's temper flared. Her father had repeatedly belittled her boyfriend.
He wanted to expose them and then push her onto some so-called rich people she didn't even like.
"I'm asking you!" Jiang's father said, suppressing his anger.
"I'm asking you," Jiang Nansun retorted without backing down.
"I'm asking you."
"I'm asking you too," Jiang Nansun shouted.
"You haven't even made any money yet, and you've already given away your daughter. You sold the house, speculated in stocks, pawned Grandma's antique vases and furniture—that's your and Grandma's business, I can't interfere. You lost it all, and that's still none of my business. If I liked someone, I wouldn't care about their age, marital status, or how many children they had. But you, with your sweet talk and deception, introduced me to these 'Teacher Li' and 'Teacher Zhao' people. It disgusts me."
After a pause, Jiang Nansun continued, "They're fine, it's you who disgusts me. Even thinking about your face yesterday makes me nauseous."
"Your Zhang Anren, wasn't his face disgusting too? Huh? You treat him like your soulmate, but what does he treat you like? He's so obedient to you, but have you ever used your brain to think about it? Have you ever suspected that he wants to use you as a stepping stone to establish himself in Shanghai, to get a Shanghai residency permit in a few years? Have you ever thought about that?"
Jiang's father roared angrily.
"I'm willing. I'm willing to be Zhang Anren's stepping stone. I don't want to be the stepmother of that Li Yifan's child. It's none of your business. Mind your own business first."
"Say that again!"
Father Jiang stood up from his chair, pointing at Jiang Nansun.
"You should lock yourself up first."
Jiang Nansun wasn't intimidated and repeated loudly.
"Fine, I'll manage. I'll manage, okay."
Father Jiang started hitting Jiang Nansun. Hearing the argument, Mother Jiang rushed downstairs and shoved Father Jiang away. She yelled.
"Jiang Pengfei, what are you doing? What are you doing?" At the same time, she gestured for Jiang Nansun to leave.
"Where have you learned your lessons? How dare you talk back to me!" Father Jiang roared.
"Are you crazy?" Mother Jiang pushed Father Jiang back into a chair. Seeing Jiang Nansun going upstairs, she was worried and followed to check on her.
"Are you alright, Nansun?"
Mother Jiang entered her daughter's room and asked, looking at Jiang Nansun.
"I'm fine. When I came back this morning, I was prepared. I knew he would scold me, so I deliberately provoked him."
Jiang Nansun hugged her mother, and after a long while, she looked up at her mother and said.
"Mom, what do you want to say?"
"I've made up my mind. You move out and stay with Suosuo for a while."
Mother Jiang stated her idea.
"Grandma wants to say it."
Jiang Nansun didn't want to stay at home anymore.
"Let her say what she wants. You go ahead. I'll stay here; I can handle them."
"Mom, why don't you come with me? We can find a place to live together. You and Dad can divorce."
Jiang Nansun hugged her mother again.
"I can't leave."
Mother Jiang wiped away Jiang Nansun's tears.
"Why can't you leave?" Jiang Nansun protested.
"I've had ways of dealing with them for decades, but I've wasted most of my life at the mahjong table. I don't want you to be wasted too. Ah, don't cry. This isn't a home anymore. Don't linger. I'm going downstairs now."
With that, Jiang's mother went to find her secret stash of money.
Seeing that her mother had made up her mind,
Jiang Nansun quickly packed her luggage.
Then, suddenly remembering something, she called Zhu Suosuo. After all, she hadn't told her about moving in yet.
She still needed to tell her in advance; after all, it was her boyfriend's house.
"Hello, Suosuo..."
Jiang Nansun briefly explained the situation to Zhu Suosuo.