Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Tao Youming nearly choked on his laughter.

He used to think Su Su was just wicked and venomous; now he could add shameless to the list.

Didn't she remember how they got engaged in the first place?

And she still dared to call herself kind?

What celestial maiden would stoop to such a despicable act as taking advantage of someone drunk?

He—Tao Youming—would never post such a blatant falsehood on his social media.

Su Su watched Tao Youming’s face cycle through a spectrum of emotions, then slowly drawled, “Actually, it’s fine if you don’t post it. At most, you can just borrow money from your buddies.”

“I’m sure your brothers would definitely lend you money if they knew you were in a tight spot!”

Su Su had already pieced together the situation when that woman approached earlier. How could she pass up this golden opportunity to mess with him?

“Or, you could just skip buying that thing. I’m sure the salesperson, seeing you so impeccably dressed, wouldn’t think you couldn’t afford it, right?” Su Su tilted her head, adding with a lazy, teasing tone.

Her expression was languid, her voice full of hidden meaning, and Tao Youming caught the mischievous glint in her eyes.

His jaw tightened as he bit out, “Su Su, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

“Doing what?” Su Su blinked innocently, feigning ignorance.

“Deliberately making things difficult for me, refusing to lend me money.” Tao Youming articulated each word with deliberate emphasis.

“How could that be?” Su Su’s voice was light, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “We little fairies love nothing more than helping others.”

She glanced at the opulent store. “Those watches must be quite expensive, huh? But even though it’s a lot of money, I’m still happy to lend it to you.”

Tao Youming was on the verge of exploding at her nonchalant words.

What kind of malevolent fairy was this? Forget borrowing—he wouldn’t take her money now.

Just as he was about to turn away, he noticed the salesperson’s gaze drifting towards the door.

She offered him a slight smile, the watch already packaged and resting on the glass counter in front of her.

Tao Youming’s heart sank. Was he really going to tell her, “Sorry, I didn’t bring my card today, I’ll come back in a couple of days”?

Or have it delivered to the family estate?

But the people there might just return it on the spot.

He knew his father was perfectly capable of such a thing.

Su Su observed the turmoil in his expression, but since he seemed unwilling, she decided to let it go.

Just a slight pity.

“If it’s that much trouble, then forget it.” Su Su rose smoothly, turning to the maid with a smile. “A-Ling, let’s go.”

Tao Youming abruptly stood, reaching out to grasp her wrist. “Wait.”

Not this accursed touching again!

Su Su flinched, swiftly pulling her wrist from his grasp. “If you have something to say, say it. What’s with the grabbing in public?”

Suppressing the faint stirrings of infatuation, she subtly retreated, widening the distance between them.

This was the second time she’d shaken him off, and Tao Youming was utterly bewildered. “It’s not like I’ve never held your hand before.”

Su Su pursed her lips at his bewildered expression. “That was then, this is now. We’ll soon have nothing to do with each other.”

“We need to maintain a proper, safe distance between unrelated men and women!”

Tao Youming frowned. The old Su Su used to cling to him constantly, wanting to be with him twenty-four hours a day. But now, she seemed utterly alarmed and repulsed by any physical contact.

Was she truly serious about calling off the engagement this time?

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

He glanced back at the salesperson, took a deep breath, and steeled himself.

A true man knows when to bend. If he could endure an engagement, what was a little social media post?

Besides, posting on his feed was the most trivial of concessions.

Slowly, he pulled out his phone, his lips pressed into a tight line. Then he conceded, “Fine. I’ll post it.”

A minute later, Tao Youming’s social media displayed a post completely unlike his usual style:

[The Third Young Master’s Humble Post: Su Su, you are the most beautiful, kind, and adorable little fairy I’ve ever met in my life!]

Su Su glanced at his post, then cheerfully followed him into the store.

Perhaps due to the wait, the salesperson looked at them with a slightly odd expression, but she quickly put on her signature smile. “Mr. Tao, will you be paying by card?”

Tao Youming glanced at Su Su, his face impassive, and nodded.

Su Su handed over her card, emphasizing with a beaming smile, “It’s my card.”

The salesperson smiled, clearly understanding the implication.

Tao Youming’s lips curved slightly. When you needed a favor, you had to endure!

The transaction was swift—swipe, sign, and it was done.

As Su Su took her card back, she seized a moment when the salesperson wasn’t looking, lowering her voice to Tao Youming: “Now I’m your creditor.”

“Remember, pay me back in two days. If you don’t, I’ll post about it on social media.”

Her attitude infuriated Tao Youming. He gritted his teeth. “You think I can’t pay you back?”

“No, I’m just reminding you.” Without waiting for his response, Su Su turned and strode out of the store without a backward glance.

As Tao Youming moved to follow her, the salesperson handed him the package. “Mr. Tao, don’t forget your watch.”

Tao Youming took the item from the salesperson, fuming, and considered deleting the post.

He picked up his phone, opened WeChat, and gasped at the dozens of red notification dots on his Moments.

[Friend A: Kidnapped? Hacked?]

[Friend B: Damn, haven’t seen you in days, and now you’ve learned to compliment people?]

[Friend C: Holy crap, what did Third Brother say before? Wicked and venomous! How long has it been? That’s a swift slap in the face.]

[Friend D: Hahaha, this is definitely because he’s broke! Did your dad freeze your cards again?]

[Friend E: No money? No problem, come sell your ass to me!]

[Friend F: No money? No problem, come sell your ass to me!]

[Friend G: No money? No problem, come sell your ass to me!]

Tao Youming only had a handful of "fair-weather friends," and since they were all connected on WeChat, they could see each other’s comments.

As he read the barrage of comments, his breathing grew slightly ragged. He raised his hand, intending to delete the post.

But his finger hovered mid-air for a moment before he withdrew it.

The post was already up—deleting it now would only confirm their suspicions.

Tao Youming’s face flushed crimson with rage, but anger aside, he still had to pay the woman back.

It was only 160,000 yuan.

What’s the big deal?

Then it hit him, and Tao Youming immediately dialed his secretary’s number: “Secretary Zhou, can you advance me this year’s annual salary right now?”

A faint, saccharine voice responded from the other end: “I’m sorry, Mr. Tao, but you’re not yet a formal employee of our company. I’m afraid I can’t process that request for you.”