Chapter 1182: Defeat After Defeat, Battle After Battle

Chapter 1182: Chapter 1182: Defeat After Defeat, Battle After Battle

"No matter how I decide to deal with you, you really think Ye Fei can help you?" Zhao Guqing let out a cold laugh. "In the end, not only will you fail to curry favor with them, you’ll end up offending me. Tell me, what exactly are you trying to get out of this?"

"With that little bit of IQ you’ve got, you still think other people are stupid?" Zhao Guqing looked Ye Ning up and down, annoyed and disdainful.

Ye Ning hurriedly forced a smile, grabbed Zhao Guqing’s hand, and fawned, "Of course I wouldn’t go tell Ye Fei and Zhao Gushen. We’re the ones in the same boat here, how could I possibly do anything that’s bad for you?"

"I only said that just now because I was curious. You’re so at ease telling me everything, I got curious, that’s why I asked. I think asking out of curiosity is normal, right? It didn’t mean I was planning to tell Ye Fei and Zhao Gushen." Ye Ning swore to the heavens. "Really, you have to believe me."

"We’ve been together this whole time. Even if you feel like we’re just using each other, that’s not how it is in my heart. I treat you like my own." Ye Ning said anxiously. "I would never betray you."

"Enough. I’ve already made myself clear. As long as you listen to me and do what I say, you won’t miss out on the benefits." Zhao Guqing gave her a slap, then handed her a sweet date.

"Same as before, if your restaurant runs into trouble or you need business, I can help." Zhao Guqing said coldly. "From now on, we’re in a cooperative partnership."

Ye Ning was stunned for a moment. "A cooperative partnership?"

This... this doesn’t even count as fuck buddies anymore?

Ye Ning felt deeply that without that layer of relationship as a tether, if it was just a simple cooperation, it wouldn’t be solid.

But it never occurred to her that even with that layer of relationship, it didn’t necessarily make it solid.

Didn’t Zhao Guqing still curse her out at the drop of a hat?

Didn’t he still look down on her?

Ye Ning could never understand that, at the core, Zhao Guqing just didn’t think she was worth anything.

"That’s right, from now on we’re just purely in a cooperative relationship." As it happened, Zhao Guqing was thoroughly sick of her too.

Ye Ning wasn’t even that pretty.

If he wanted pretty, he could go find fresh young models.

Every single one of them all dolled up and gorgeous.

Even if they all looked kind of the same after surgery, they were still prettier than Ye Ning.

And they only wanted money, they had enough self-awareness, unlike Ye Ning who was this annoying.

He knew damn well that even though she was a fool, she had big ambitions. A fool isn’t scary, what’s scary is someone stupid with ambitions way out of their IQ’s league—that’s hopeless.

Zhao Guqing had no intention of bringing that kind of headache on himself.

He was sick of Ye Ning anyway, so he might as well take this chance to get rid of her.

Stop letting her sit around having those unrealistic daydreams.

Just thinking about it made Zhao Guqing feel nauseated.

"Good, this way if you want to go after someone else later, go ahead." That way he wouldn’t have to feel like she was putting a green hat on him.

"But I’m warning you, forget about setting your sights on anyone from the Zhao Family." Zhao Guqing warned. "No matter how hard you try, not a single one of them will ever think you’re worth a look."

Ye Ning felt humiliated.

Was she really that worthless?

"And of course, if you want to find someone else in the future, you can wait until our cooperation is over." Zhao Guqing said. "But I need to warn you in advance, whether it’s now or later, when you go out you don’t need to mention my name at all. And don’t go flaunting yourself under my banner, bullying people in my name."

"If you keep things low-key and we maintain a discreet cooperation, I’ll keep helping you the way I did before. But if you insist on being high-profile, waving my name around and showing off—"

By now, Zhao Guqing knew exactly what kind of person Ye Ning was.

"Then we’re done, clean break. However I decide to go after Zhao Gushen, I can just find another way. It’s not like you’re my only option." Zhao Guqing said.

"Got it." Ye Ning agreed immediately. "Don’t worry, I definitely won’t go around using your name for anything. It’s just..."

"Weren’t we getting along pretty well before? Even if you won’t admit I’m your girlfriend."

Seeing the mocking look on Zhao Guqing’s face, Ye Ning quickly corrected herself. "No, it’s not that you won’t admit it, it’s that in your eyes, I’m nothing at all."

Only then did Zhao Guqing look a bit more satisfied.

Whatever the reason, at least Ye Ning had finally learned a tiny bit of self-awareness. That was good.

"But even so, weren’t we pretty happy together?" Ye Ning gently traced the back of Zhao Guqing’s hand with her fingertips.

With a look of disgust, Zhao Guqing flicked her hand away. "You’re the only one who was happy. What, I’m supposed to keep you around so you can put a green hat on me?"

"I’m not in the habit of sharing a woman with other men at the same time." Zhao Guqing sneered.

Even with the young models and internet celebrities he found, he made sure that during the period they were with him, it had to be only him.

As for how many men they had before and after him, he didn’t care.

Same went for Ye Ning.

But Ye Ning had the nerve to be this ungrateful, even trying to hook up with Zhao Guoxian.

Especially when Zhao Guoxian was his younger brother—that was something Zhao Guqing couldn’t stomach.

"No! I wouldn’t! I swear!" Ye Ning hurried to reassure him. "I already said, it was all a misunderstanding."

"Forget it, I’m sick of you anyway." Zhao Guqing said. "You’d better agree to my conditions, otherwise we won’t even have a cooperative relationship."

It never crossed Ye Ning’s mind that after failing to hook up with Zhao Guoxian, she’d even lose that flimsy, unreliable connection she had with Zhao Guqing.

What the hell was going on?

Where exactly had she gone wrong?

On top of that, because of Zhao Guqing’s attitude now, she didn’t even dare try going after Zhao Guoxian anymore.

Ye Ning felt that after going in circles like this, she’d gained nothing and lost so much.

And during her cooperation with Zhao Guqing, she couldn’t look for anyone else.

Yet she really couldn’t do without Zhao Guqing’s help.

After coming to B City, she’d realized that so far, Zhao Guqing was the most capable person she’d ever met.

Anyone else she found wouldn’t be able to offer this kind of convenience.

Ye Ning thought it over and could only agree for now.

As long as she was cooperating with Zhao Guqing, she’d still have to keep seeing him.

As long as there was still contact, there was room to scheme.

Unlike Zhao Gushen, Zhao Guqing didn’t have that mind-reading ability.

He had no idea that Ye Ning actually had this tough, upward-clawing side to her.

Even though she lost battle after battle, she kept charging in again.

This kind of tireless, never-say-die determination was almost touching.

***

Zhao Guoxian still didn’t know that Zhao Guqing had already helped him out by making Ye Ning give up on pestering him.

Right now, he was having a meal with Ye Fei, and out of nowhere, Ye Fei got a video call from Zhao Gushen.

Ye Fei picked up the video call.

The back of her phone case had a hidden stand.

She just needed to pull it out to prop the phone up on the table, very convenient.