Volume One, Chapter 7: A Dead Broke Guy Playing the Domineering CEO?

“Canxia, I think... I’m married.”

“What?!”

A sharp burst of noise came from the other side; Yaxuan instinctively moved the phone away.

“You, Yaxuan! How could you not tell me such a huge thing? Who’s the other party? What’s their background? Where do they live? Spill it all!”

Canxia bombarded her with questions, and Yaxuan was momentarily stunned, unsure where to begin. “Canxia, I’m going to buy some daily necessities now. Can we talk later?”

After hanging up, Yaxuan looked awkwardly at Zhengchu.

Should she tell him she had mistaken someone else?

They were already married; would bringing this up now seem pretentious?

It was as if their marriage had been a mistake from the start.

After some thought, Yaxuan decided to keep silent for the moment.

Zhengchu, seeing Yaxuan finish the call, approached her with his coat. “Let’s go.”

He deftly draped the coat over her shoulders. The scent of a man’s body drew near, invading her senses completely.

As the years passed, she hadn’t been close to Jing Sheng for over ten years.

Every time she made a request, Jing Sheng would humiliate her.

He accused her of being improper, always thinking about shameful things.

But her needs were normal physiological ones, and being a traditional woman at heart, she suppressed them.

Yet now... that familiar feeling surged back again.

Especially the scent on Zhengchu, which felt extraordinarily comforting.

Blushing deeply after so long without such closeness to a man, Yaxuan pushed Zhengchu away, stammering, “I’ll do it myself.”

Then she fled like the wind.

Zhengchu paused, catching a suspicious flush on her ear, and smiled quietly.

Why did his newlywed wife feel like a little girl?

Just as they stepped outside, Zhengchu skillfully headed toward a large shopping mall.

The location was convenient, and the mall belonged to him.

The prices were reasonable, fitting his status perfectly for buying daily necessities.

Sensing Zhengchu’s intention, Yaxuan immediately grabbed his arm. “Hey? The stuff in that mall’s too expensive. You work hard for your money; let’s go somewhere cheaper!”

Zhengchu was slightly taken aback—the first woman to suggest saving money to him.

All his previous blind dates seemed eager to empty the mall.

This woman was truly something.

But people’s hearts were hard to read; time would tell.

Yaxuan pulled Zhengchu to a nearby wholesale market for daily goods.

It was his first time visiting such a place; the surroundings were chaotic and filthy.

Boxes of goods were tossed randomly outside stalls, resembling trash.

Could these things be any good?

“Boss, give me a bottle of shampoo, some body wash, and...” Yaxuan rattled off a list.

Surprisingly, even this humble stall carried all those items.

At checkout, two large bags of goods cost only three hundred and twenty.

Zhengchu was astonished—never before had he seen so many items for such a low price.

This woman kept reshaping his worldview.

With their purchases mostly done, they passed by the big mall again on the way back.

A couple strolled hand in hand.

“Baby, don’t worry, I’ll definitely spare no expense on your wedding gold!”

“Thank you, hubby~”

They snuggled as they entered the mall.

Yaxuan’s gaze lingered on them, quietly admiring, *Youth is truly wonderful.*

Suddenly, Zhengchu tugged on her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Buy the gold.”

Yaxuan was stunned, then declined. “At our age, why buy gold? Only young folks buy wedding gold!”

She spoke honestly—being in her second marriage, her expectations were modest. As long as Zhengchu stayed loyal, she was content.

Material things didn’t matter.

Zhengchu frowned, perplexed.

He had seen her envious just moments ago; why now refuse?

Was she playing hard to get, wanting something bigger?

“Young people buy wedding gold, you’re older, buy ‘five gold’—that’s fine.”

With that, Zhengchu pulled Yaxuan into the mall.

At the entrance was a jewelry store boasting varied designs; the gold’s unique allure dazzled her eyes.

“Look for something you like,” Zhengchu added.

Yaxuan snapped back to reality, pulling Zhengchu out. “I really don’t need these things. If you have money, save it for your daughter’s dowry. At my age, wearing these is pointless.”

Though she longed for a large gold bracelet, as a laborer, Zhengchu’s earnings were hard-won. At their age, these flashy things weren’t necessary.

Besides, they were expensive.

A quick glance showed a simple gold bracelet cost thirty thousand.

That was enough to feed them for a year if saved carefully.

Seeing Yaxuan genuinely concerned about money, Zhengchu was touched. He took her hand reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, the money for your five gold has long been set aside. You’ll spend half your life with me; you deserve this security.”

“You’re my wife; spending my money is only right.”

Hearing this, Yaxuan’s nose tingled, overwhelmed with emotion.

She hadn’t expected to find such a good man at her age.

She vowed to cherish their life together.

Unable to argue with Zhengchu, Yaxuan pointed to a gold ring of modest weight. “How about this one? I think it’s pretty.”

Zhengchu glanced at the ring, barely thicker than a strand of hair, and frowned deeply.

The wife of the Cheng Group’s CEO wearing something like this—wouldn’t it invite ridicule?

“Pick a bracelet!”

Zhengchu’s tone turned cold. Sensing his anger, Yaxuan quickly chose the cheapest bracelet from the many.

“This one! Miss, please help me take this out.”

Zhengchu’s face darkened further when he saw Yaxuan pick a bracelet under fifteen grams.

“Take this one!”

He pointed to a large three-hundred-gram gold bracelet nearby.

“Don’t be silly, little girl, this small one is fine.”

“Listen to me, I’m paying.”

The young woman looked troubled but took out both.

“Ladies, please take a look. This is our store’s treasure, simple design but quite exquisite.”

“Can they afford such things with those plastic bags they’re carrying?” a sales clerk sneered.

“What’s that smell? Could it be garbage? This is a big mall, not just any riffraff can come in!”

“Chen Jie, that’s a customer! You can’t—”

“Slap!”

The clerk slapped the young woman, who immediately burst into tears.

“How can you hit her? She’s a person, not merchandise!”

Yaxuan quickly pulled the girl away.

The clerk remained indifferent. “I run this counter. She’s new and might not even pass probation. She dares defy me? If not her, then who?”

“You—”

Yaxuan was furious. Zhengchu spoke sternly beside her.

“Call your manager.”

“What do you think you are? You want to call the manager? Get lost! Don’t let your poor vibe scare off my customers!”

Zhengchu said nothing but dialed a number: “Have the manager of Aiyue Mall come here.”

“Heh—poor folks trying to act like tyrant CEOs, how pathetic! At your age, dressed like that? Don’t think a bit of charm makes you a CEO!”

“Chen Jie, is this how you treat our customers?”