Chapter 42: Putting on a Respectable Front

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Putting on a Respectable Front

When it was the painter’s turn, Song Yao explained what she wanted.

After listening, he first walked to the study doorway to check the lighting, then squatted down to feel the humidity in the corner of the wall.

Only then did he nod and ask about her specific color preferences and the type of paint to be used.

Once she answered, he took out several small sample cans from his toolbox, opening them one by one for Song Yao to confirm if she was satisfied with the shades.

After they had settled on the details, he packed up his tools and laid out his plan.

"I’ll paint the bedroom and the study first. After they’ve dried for two days, you can move the furniture in. It’s safer that way."

"Deal!"

Song Yao waved her hand.

"Let’s do it that way."

She unhooked a key from the keyring at her side and handed it to the painter.

"This is the key to the rooms. You can come in and start work anytime. No need to wait for anyone."

With that matter settled, she rubbed her stomach and went to find Xiao Li.

Just as she rounded the corridor, she saw him sitting on the stone steps, holding a lunchbox and wolfing down his food.

On the ground next to him was another untouched lunchbox, likely saved for her.

Song Yao grabbed it and started stuffing food into her mouth, grumbling as she ate.

"Mr. Li, that’s not very nice of you, is it? Eating so happily by yourself without waiting for me. Aren’t we comrades-in-arms? We’re supposed to share our meals, not eat alone, and endure hunger together."

Xiao Li didn’t even look up.

"Bleeding is fine, but going hungry is not."

Song Yao sighed.

’He’s got a point there.’

The most important thing right now was to finish this meal. Everything else could wait until she was full.

She didn’t care about her image anymore, shoveling rice into her mouth as if she were in a race.

Xiao Li was even more ferocious. He’d open his mouth and just pour the food in, looking as if he hadn’t eaten in three days.

After he finished, he flipped the box upside down on the ground and scraped it a few times with his finger, only stopping when he was sure there was nothing left.

But the man was handsome.

His features were well-defined with a high-bridged nose. Even covered in sweat, his refined air wasn’t diminished in the slightest.

They had just quieted down for a moment to catch their breath when a sudden flurry of footsteps came from outside.

Song Yao frowned and looked up, her gaze passing through the doorway to see a figure sprinting toward them.

The carpenter stumbled as he ran in, nearly tripping over the threshold.

After steadying himself, he immediately rushed toward Song Yao, his face full of guilt.

"Miss, I... I’ve let you down!"

Song Yao choked for a second, struggling to swallow the food in her mouth.

"What’s wrong?"

"I was about to go back and get the goods when I ran into my apprentice on the way. He said... someone came right after we left and bought that entire set of furniture. So... so..."

The carpenter looked extremely troubled.

He had promised it to Song Yao, but someone at the shop had accepted a deposit from another customer.

According to the rules, whoever paid first got priority.

He had been blaming himself the entire way back, even thinking about secretly borrowing money to cover the deposit, but he couldn’t scrape together enough.

Now he could only brace himself and deliver the bad news, hoping Song Yao would be understanding.

Hearing this, Xiao Li’s brows furrowed tightly.

"Didn’t you make it clear to the people at your shop before you left?"

The carpenter was so anxious he kept wiping away sweat.

"Don’t be upset, comrade, I did tell them! I clearly instructed them! But..."

He yanked his young apprentice out from behind him, fuming with anger.

"Hurry up and speak! Don’t just stand there like you’re mute!"

The apprentice, who was about twenty, looked very unhappy.

"Master did mention that we should hold on to that set of furniture. But the customer was some kind of official. He showed up with a few soldiers and demanded to take it away. I was in the shop at the time; I saw them push open the door myself."

"Who am I to stop them? I’m just an ordinary citizen, how could I dare get in their way? I didn’t even dare to ask a single question. I could only stand by and watch them move the furniture."

"Besides, business is first come, first served, right? He had official orders. All I had was a verbal agreement, no written contract. What could I use to stop him? It’s not like I cheated anyone..."

"Enough nonsense! Don’t blabber about things you shouldn’t!"

The carpenter sensed things were about to get worse and immediately cut him off with a gruff voice.

He glanced at Song Yao’s expression and saw her eyes darken. His heart sank.

Xiao Li felt a knot in his stomach.

’This was the first job the young miss gave me, and it’s already turned into a mess.’

A faint, cold smile played on Song Yao’s lips as she stared at the carpenter.

"What a coincidence. That pile of goods in your shop, no one asked about it for days, and no one cared about it for days after. But the moment Xiao Li placed an order, someone else suddenly snatched it up?"

She looked down to brush off the corner of her clothes, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and tilted her chin at the carpenter.

"Lead the way."

The carpenter froze.

"Where to?"

"Right now, two people want the same set of things. I’m not giving it up, so the only option is to find the other person and make them back down."

Song Yao said it calmly.

Sweat beaded on the carpenter’s forehead. He wiped it away while forcing a dry laugh.

"Good heavens, Miss, this..."

Before he could finish, Song Yao had already walked past him and started forward.

Xiao Li followed close behind.

The carpenter had no choice but to sigh and follow them.

Just as they reached the archway, a group of people entered the courtyard gate, laughing and joking. They came face-to-face.

Song Yao had intended to walk around them, but to her surprise, the leader of the group, Sheng Hui, suddenly reached out an arm to block her path.

She didn’t look at him. Instead, she turned her head toward Shen Shuangshuang and sneered.

"Shen Shuangshuang, are all the lapdogs you keep this pathetic? Blocking people’s paths and getting physical. They have no manners at all."

The faces of the people behind Shen Shuangshuang and Sheng Hui turned pale in an instant.

"Song Yao, you’ve gone too far! Brother Sheng Hui just wanted to talk to you, why would you insult him like that?"

Shen Shuangshuang’s voice trembled as her eyes quickly reddened.

Sheng Hui’s face darkened, his eyes fixed on Song Yao.

’Ji Xianbei, Ling Qinghan, Cheng Hai, Wu Yufeng... they all rush to her defense one after another, and now a ’Brother Sheng Hui’ pops up?’

Song Yao’s face filled with disgust.

"None of the girls in our village are as good at attracting men as you are. Knowing so many devoted ’big brothers’... I guess the upbringing of city folk really is different, huh?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire group became uncomfortable.

Cheng Hai, who usually acted as Sheng Hui’s lackey, turned especially red.

"Brother Hui, this country girl is just spouting nonsense, don’t listen to her."

He defended weakly, his voice a notch softer than before, his tone lacking confidence.

Shen Shuangshuang, however, suddenly turned her head to look at Sheng Hui, her eyes welling with tears.

"Brother Sheng Hui... you see now, it’s not that I’m not magnanimous, it’s just that..."

Before she could finish, she covered her face and ran into the house.

Seeing this, Cheng Hai’s eyes went wide, the veins on his neck bulged, and his face flushed red.

"Song Yao! What gives you the right to bully Shuangshuang in front of us!"

he roared at Song Yao.

"Do you really think you can do whatever you want just because you have backers? Don’t think we can’t deal with you just because Uncle Shen protects you! You just wait!"

"Ooh, scary!"

Song Yao mimicked him in a high-pitched voice.

"’You just wait!’"

She rolled her eyes, her tone dripping with contempt.

"Still won’t admit you like her? But I have to hand it to Shen Shuangshuang, she’s really something else, having all of you head over heels. I think you’d all be better off getting together for a game of cards than causing a scene here."

Yao Yuzhen completely lost it.

She burst out of the crowd and, without a word, raised her hand and swung at Song Yao!

SMACK! With a crisp sound, the slap landed on the back of Song Yao’s hand.

The force wasn’t light; a red mark immediately appeared on her skin.

Song Yao winced in pain and instinctively pulled her hand back, then looked up to glare furiously at Yao Yuzhen.

"Still pretending to be some respectable person? Comrade Yao Yuzhen, your daughter is turning the Beijing Community upside down, with all the second-generation rich kids flocking around her, and you’re actually proud of it?"