Early the next morning, she heard from Zhuque that Qian Youliang was waiting outside.
"Madam Liu has invited him in. He's having breakfast in the front hall now. What should we do?"
This scoundrel had already put her in a bad mood, and now it was even worse. Annoyed, she started tugging at her hair and gritted her teeth. "This Qian Youliang really makes me sick. I've deliberately made myself look ugly, but he still won't let me go. I don't know who's bewitched him!"
Zhuque was also very anxious. "Why don't you, miss, just claim to be ill? I'll go and tell them right away."
Saying that, she was about to leave, but was stopped in time by Cheng Xiran. "Forget it. If he doesn't see me today, won't he come again tomorrow?"
Zhuque stood in front of the door with a worried face, and Cheng Xiran's brows were knitted tightly.
"Fine. I'll have to go and greet him sooner or later..." Cheng Xiran sat up abruptly and ordered, "Go and pick out the ugliest dress for me."
Zhuque casually pinned up her hair into a bun and took out an old dress from last year for Cheng Xiran to put on.
Looking at the somewhat disheveled figure in the bronze mirror, Cheng Xiran gasped. "Sure enough, the old saying is right. A man depends on his clothes just as a horse depends on its saddle."
When she and Zhuque walked to the front hall, they could hear Madam Liu's wanton and shrill laughter from afar.
Cheng Xiran wasn't afraid. Instead, she put on a smile and walked towards them pretending to be silly.
But in the end, she abandoned this tactic because Qian Youliang's ugliness had shocked her. The phrase "plain-looking" was not enough to describe him; it might even be too kind. With his scrawny, turtle-like body and lecherous eyes, looking every bit a villain, she felt that acting stupid in front of him was giving him too much credit.
Goodness! As soon as Qian Youliang saw Cheng Xiran, his eyes lit up. He couldn't help but stand up and walk towards her. But after taking a few steps, he realized it was inappropriate and stopped, then returned to his seat.
Madam Liu said with a smile, "Xiran, are you awake?"
Cheng Xiran walked forward expressionlessly, bowed, then sat down beside them. She reached out to take the teacup handed by the maid and took a sip.
Ignoring her impatient look, Madam Liu introduced him on her own. "Xiran, this is Young Master Qian I mentioned to you before. He came here specially to pay a visit today. You should entertain him well."
Cheng Xiran smiled politely. "I've heard about Young Master Qian's deeds for a long time. Seeing him today, it's really as I've heard."
Qian Youliang thought she was interested in him. After all, she had smiled at him. He thought she was no different from other women. As long as he was willing to spend money, lots of money, this beauty would surely be his one day.
While thinking happily in his heart, he didn't show it on the surface. "The jewelry I sent to Miss Cheng the other day through my servant, does Miss Cheng not like it? If not, I'll ask someone to choose some new ones."
How could the Qian family produce such a useless person?
While secretly scolding him in her heart, Cheng Xiran pretended to be polite. "How could I not like it? Since it was chosen by Young Master Qian, it must be of the highest quality. But this jewelry is too precious. We've never met before, and it would be really embarrassing for me to accept it."
Qian Youliang chattered on and on. Cheng Xiran regarded him as a timid person hiding behind bravado and didn't take him seriously at all. She had thought he had some tricks up his sleeve, but now she saw that he was just a good-for-nothing. She was more than capable of dealing with him on her own. Maybe she could even use him to teach Madam Liu and her daughter a lesson.
So she interrupted Qian Youliang appropriately and deliberately changed the topic. "Madam, why isn't my younger sister here? Where is she? Won't she come and have breakfast with us?"
The smile on Madam Liu's lips froze. "She went out early in the morning. Isn't your grandmother not feeling well recently? She went to Ende Temple to pray for your grandmother."
Cheng Xiran knew what Madam Liu was afraid of. Since she was afraid of something, she would give it to her.
Immediately, her bright black eyes rolled up and down, and an idea came to her mind. She immediately said with envy, "It seems I, as an elder sister, am not as good as my younger sister. Our Cheng family is so lucky to have such a good child like my younger sister. In the future, Madam and Father will be able to worry less."
Noticing Qian Youliang's lecherous and stupid look, Cheng Xiran twitched the corner of her mouth. Without waiting for Madam Liu to reply, she took the initiative to suggest, "Is Young Master Qian free later? Why not come and visit my newspaper office with me?"