Chapter 67

Is the price not negotiable, so you want to complain about me? What a joke!

The boss, with an air of waiting for him to complain, waved his hand and said, "Go ahead and complain, don't block my business... Two beautiful ladies, what would you like to buy?" He smiled at Ning Lan and Meng Zidan, who were behind Lin Zixian.

Beautiful ladies? Lin Zixian quickly turned around and saw two beautiful faces trying to hold back their laughter. He was momentarily stunned and lost all interest in haggling. If he continued, people would think he was crazy. This was something he could do secretly by himself; it would lose its charm if it was discovered.

He immediately turned back and cleared his throat, saying, "Boss, I'll take two pounds of water radishes."

The boss held up three fingers to remind him, "Three dollars a pound!" The implication was that there was no room for negotiation; he wouldn't sell for less than three dollars.

Lin Zixian helplessly said, "Three dollars it is! Two pounds, please."

The boss then became a bit more amiable, quickly weighing out two pounds and putting them in a basket. Lin Zixian fished out some loose change from his pocket, counted out six dollars, grabbed the basket, and left.

The boss wanted to greet the two beautiful ladies but found that they had already accompanied the frugal young man, one on each side. He suddenly realized that the frugal young man and the two beautiful ladies were acquaintances. The young man had acted generously because the beautiful ladies were there.

Meng Zidan and Ning Lan, who were on either side of Lin Zixian, couldn't help but burst out laughing. Meng Zidan patted his shoulder and said coldly, "Lin Zixian, you really have too much time on your hands. Why not do something else instead of making life difficult for a vegetable vendor over fifty cents? Lan Lan, is this guy not decent?"

Ning Lan smiled and nodded in agreement, looking at Lin Zixian with a somewhat ambiguous expression, unable to describe what she felt. She found this man to be like an unfathomable cloud, sometimes fierce and stormy, sometimes leisurely and carefree, utterly captivating.

Seeing Ning Lan's expression, Meng Zidan couldn't help but pout slightly, seemingly a bit disdainful of her infatuation.

"Until you've managed a household, you won't understand the value of daily necessities. This topic, I have no common ground with you." Lin Zixian snorted and looked around, saying, "What brings you two to the market to find me?"

"What? Not happy to see us? Fine! We'll leave, and don't come to me if you need anything in the future." Meng Zidan looked angry and pulled Ning Lan away.

"Hey! Don't misunderstand!" Lin Zixian grabbed her hand and bowed, saying, "Happy, very happy. A beauty like Meng Zidan, I dream about you, drooling, wishing I could see you every day. How could I not be happy to see you? Very happy, extremely happy."

Thinking about needing help with the store, he couldn't afford to offend her and had to be accommodating.

Meng Zidan, of course, wouldn't be fooled by his flattery, and said meaningfully, "Really? Then why don't you marry me? That way, you can see me every day."

"Uh..." Lin Zixian was speechless, not knowing what to say.

"This guy is just a scoundrel. When he doesn't need you, he wants you to go away and not bother him. When he needs you, he acts like a孙子 (grandson). He's a beast and a brute!" Meng Zidan shook off his hand and pointed at him, saying to Ning Lan without any courtesy.

Ning Lan burst out laughing. She found that these two couldn't have a calm conversation together, like a pair of sworn enemies. She quickly mediated, saying, "Lin Zixian, it's like this. The store you want is almost finished. Zidan asked me to find you to go and see if you're satisfied. If you are, we can prepare to stock up and open. Do you have time to go now?"

"This matter! I have time, I have time, uh..." Lin Zixian realized he had spoken too soon, checked his old phone, and said, "Today everyone in the apartment is on rest, and they're waiting for me to buy vegetables for lunch. How about this afternoon?"

Ning Lan, unsure if she could decide, looked at Meng Zidan, who had time today.

"Okay! Then we'll go to your place and have a free meal." Meng Zidan raised her eyebrows and asked, "You have no objections, right?" It had a bit of a threatening tone.

"No objections, no objections. You wait a moment, I'll buy some more vegetables." Lin Zixian didn't dare to refuse, said a quick word, and hurried to find suitable vegetables.

This time, he didn't haggle. As soon as he saw vegetables he liked, he paid for them. In no time, he had a full basket. Ning Lan and Meng Zidan followed behind, occasionally looking at the basket he was carrying, admiring his efficiency.

After buying the vegetables, the three of them left the market. Lin Zixian rode his bicycle, and the two beautiful ladies followed in their car. Meng Zixian, seeing his old bicycle, felt a bit annoyed and couldn't help but think about the events of that night...

A bicycle and a car stopped outside the Sakura Snow Apartments. Ning Lan, getting out of the car, saw the BMW's license plate and was surprised, saying, "Mr. Qiao's car?"

Lin Zixian, pushing his bicycle into the courtyard, casually replied, "I borrowed it from Qiao Antian."

"This guy is willing to be Qiao Yun's chauffeur, I think he has ulterior motives. You need to keep an eye on him." Meng Zidan whispered to Ning Lan. As they entered the courtyard, she looked around and exclaimed, "It looks shabby from the outside, but it's a different world inside. The courtyard under the grape arbor is serene, with flowers, trees, and vines, and even an old well. The combination is quite tasteful! This building must be from the Republican era! To find such an old place in this city of concrete and steel, Lin Zixian, you really know how to enjoy life!"

Lin Zixian chuckled, looking pleased. Ning Lan also ran her fingers over the plants, feeling refreshed.

Tong Yinan, who was busy in the kitchen, came out and, seeing two beautiful ladies, nodded shyly, took the vegetables from Lin Zixian, and ran back to the kitchen. Her face was smeared with something black, and she felt a bit embarrassed.

Ning Lan and Meng Zidan were also surprised by her face, not understanding what it meant. Zhang Beibei in the kitchen also poked her head out, saw the guests, and quickly stuck out her tongue and retreated.

Seeing two faces smeared with something, the two beautiful ladies immediately thought of a beauty treatment.

Liu Yanzhi, wearing slippers, also came out of the living room, peeling an orange and putting it in her mouth. Seeing Ning Lan, she immediately widened her eyes, swallowed the orange, put down her things, wiped her hands, and came over to shake hands, saying, "Hello, Assistant Ning, I'm Liu Yanzhi from the Business Department!"

Assistant Ning was someone she couldn't usually get close to in the company, but now she had the chance to meet her at the Sakura Snow Apartments. She didn't want to miss this opportunity.

Ning Lan also recognized her and had heard about Lin Zixian's rumored relationship with Liu Yanzhi. She smiled and shook hands, saying, "Hello!"

"Assistant Ning, please come in! Miss Zidan, please come in too." Liu Yanzhi was very enthusiastic, but clearly focused on flattering Ning Lan, as Meng Zidan was just a supervisor in Ivory Coast in her mind.

Lin Zixian had already gone into the kitchen, and Ning Lan and Meng Zidan looked at each other, speechless, and had to follow Liu Yanzhi into the living room.

In the living room, only Qin Yue was playing with Tong Feifei. Li Mingcheng usually didn't come during the day, and Xia Qiu had been busy outside and hadn't returned in the past few days.

After Liu Yanzhi invited them to sit down, she was very busy, serving tea and water and chatting. Ning Lan and Meng Zidan responded perfunctorily, as they were not familiar with each other, and the difference in their living environments made it hard for them to find common ground.

Soon, Lin Zixian, munching on a cucumber, came in, not interrupting their conversation, and went upstairs. Ning Lan and Meng Zidan quickly found an excuse to get away from Liu Yanzhi and followed him upstairs.

In Lin Zixian's room, the two women finally relaxed and sat on his bed without being invited.

They didn't know why, but despite not meeting Lin Zixian often, he always had a certain charm. It wasn't exactly warmth, but something else. No matter how high your status or background, once you had a proper interaction with him, you wouldn't feel any gap between you and him. Even if you were an emperor, he would treat you like a regular person, speaking and laughing freely, riding an old bicycle, making it impossible to feel any distance. Perhaps this was what people called charisma.

Meng Zidan pulled the blanket over her back, took off her high heels, crossed her legs to avoid showing too much, and leaned against the headboard, asking, "Lin Zixian, living among beautiful women must be quite comfortable, right?" Ning Lan secretly glared at her, as if scolding her for messing up someone else's bed.

Lin Zixian put a small piece of cucumber in his mouth, chewed, and wiped his hands, saying, "Not bad! Having beautiful women around is better than being alone... I forgot to add some sugar."

"What?" Meng Zidan was puzzled, not understanding what he meant.

"Oh!" Lin Zixian pointed to his mouth, saying, "I meant cucumber. Raw cucumber tastes better with a bit of sugar. I used to eat it like that when I was a kid." He then lit a cigarette and crossed his legs.

Ning Lan, seeing Meng Zidan's confused expression, burst out laughing, and Lin Zixian looked puzzled, not knowing why she was laughing.

Just as Meng Zidan rolled her eyes, a chaotic noise suddenly came from downstairs, getting louder and more shrill, like women arguing. The two women looked at Lin Zixian, confused, and Lin Zixian also looked puzzled. In his memory, the women in the Sakura Snow Apartments, despite their different personalities, always got along well and never had a falling out.