Chapter 10: Chapter 10 Be My Lover_1
Ji Yao's disregard made Lu Jincheng feel uneasy, and what concerned him even more was why Ji Yao needed so much money.
Today he noticed that Ji Yao had called him but had hung up quickly, without knowing the reason.
He waited for Ji Yao to come and ask him in person, but later the calls never went through.
He had planned to inquire about the matter from Ji Yao when he returned to the villa at night, but now he saw Ji Yao coming directly to the Lu family mansion to ask Ji Zimo for money.
Could she really be so materialistic? Her deliberate approach to him before, and Ji Yao's actions, and their involvement with Qi Huai'an before she had completely cut ties with him.
It was not difficult for Lu Jincheng to associate Ji Yao with being a materialistic person.
Before leaving, Ji Yao glanced up at Lu Jincheng, who was on the second floor.
All he saw was Lu Jincheng with a furrowed brow, obviously harboring a misunderstanding about her because of this incident.
But was this really a misunderstanding?
In Lu Jincheng's eyes, she had always been a vain and materialistic woman, capable of serving a mistress to climb the social ladder and helping her sister Ji Zimo through her confinement after giving birth.
Ji Yao scoffed, curious as to why she would suddenly feel sensitive about such matters.
"Sister, don't forget the thing you promised me, okay?"
Her words were heavy with implications, and she even cast a dark look at Ji Zimo.
Ji Zimo's palms sweated, fearing that Ji Yao might suddenly say something at this moment.
"Aren't you leaving yet, sister? Are you planning to spend the night here?" Ji Zimo's words were gentle but she was clearly trying to get rid of Ji Yao without raising her voice.
"Get out! You even come here for money; our Lu family doesn't welcome you! If you come again, I'll have the servants throw you out!!" Lu's mother said angrily.
Ji Yao lowered her gaze and left the Lu family mansion, ignoring what everyone thought.
That night, she locked her room door tight, fearing that Lu Jincheng would go mad again.
Fortunately, nothing happened.
Since the last banquet, the contact between Qi Huai'an and Ji Yao had gradually increased.
Previously, given Ji Yao was with Lu Jincheng, Qi Huai'an, no matter what, would not actively pursue a married woman.
But now it was different; since the Lu Family had recognized a new Mrs. Lu, it meant that Ji Yao would soon no longer be Lu Jincheng's wife.
Today was the same, Qi Huai'an used the pretext of a business deal he wanted to do with Ji Yao to ask her out.
But once there, he just asked Ji Yao to drink coffee and chatted about various topics.
Ji Yao frowned and glanced at the clock in the center of the coffee shop; it had been an hour since Qi Huai'an had asked her to come, but he was either beating around the bush or asking Ji Yao to wait a little longer.
Ji Yao became impatient, as her time was very precious.
Just as she was about to tell Qi Huai'an that if there was nothing important, she would leave, the screen of the mobile phone on the table lit up.
Picking up the phone, Ji Yao found it was a buyer who wanted to purchase her design drafts. They had contacted her yesterday, but the details had not yet been finalized, so she immediately started to communicate with the other party through her phone.
Qi Huai'an, seeing Ji Yao suddenly become so serious, curiously leaned in to glance at their chat history.
Ji Yao did not expect Qi Huai'an to come over and look at the chat history without any defenses and he got a general idea.
Qi Huai'an uttered a meaningful "Oh."
"What's this? So in need of money, you're even asking this person for a private custom order?"
Qi Huai'an's words carried a hint of jest, and it was clear that he had only seen part of the situation and naturally took it the wrong way.
When Ji Yao heard his comment, two blushes flew across her face.
This man really has no sense of propriety!
"This is someone who wants to buy my design drafts. I was just asking if he wanted a private custom order. I can share my inspirations with him; this is also a form of transaction," Ji Yao replied with annoyance.
Qi Huai'an nodded, but his doubts grew stronger.
"Although you're no longer recognized as Mrs. Lu by the Lu Family, didn't you manage to get any benefits while you were there? You seem so short of money."
He asked this because, at the time, during a banquet when he jokingly offered money to get Ji Yao to consider him, Ji Yao hadn't outright refused.
It was apparent that Ji Yao was indeed short on cash, but he didn't know what she needed the money for.
The light in Ji Yao's eyes dimmed instantly; she knew that her reputation might have been tarnished, branded as a woman who only loved money.
If possible, she would also wish to start her own company and do something stable.
However, her mother's finances weren't sufficient to keep her new company afloat until it could stabilize and begin to profit, so she had no choice but to make some quick money this way.
Seeing Ji Yao's expression fall in an instant, Qi Huai'an immediately realized he might have said the wrong thing and became flustered.
"Don't be angry, I was just asking out of curiosity. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, after all, loving money is human nature."
Ji Yao fell silent for a few seconds, stirring the spoon in her coffee cup without actually drinking. She sighed and began to talk about her mother's situation.
After listening to Ji Yao, Qi Huai'an had a complex expression on his face, unsure which emotion was stronger.
He felt indignant for Ji Yao, yet thought how unpredictable life could be.
Ji Yao clearly wasn't a gold-digger; she was just in need of money at the moment, but the rumors about her were becoming more preposterous as they spread.
He felt indignant for Ji Yao, who had Qi Huai'an's child yet was usurped by Ji Zimo who didn't bear Lu Jincheng's child, and it seemed that Lu Jincheng himself was unaware of the situation.
"Then why don't you tell him that the child is his?"
Qi Huai'an really couldn't understand; if Lu Jincheng truly didn't love Ji Yao, then she could use the child to threaten him.
Whether she decided to keep it a secret or abort it, she could have just demanded a huge sum of money from Lu Jincheng.
Ji Yao touched her flat belly, uncertain whether Lu Jincheng would let her keep the child, but she wanted to keep it. She also didn't want to make things difficult for Lu Jincheng because of the baby.
Since Lu Jincheng had decided to part ways, then they should part on good terms, although she did want to make a bit more money before that.
Qi Huai'an watched Ji Yao's fine brows slightly furrow, half of her face bathed in sunlight, making even the tiny fuzz on her skin visible. Underneath her sparkling eyes was a small, upturned nose, and her cherry-like lips were firmly pressed together at this moment.
This picturesque scene smote Qi Huai'an into a daze.
After a long while, he caught himself and cleared his throat softly, leaning back in his chair, he turned his head to look elsewhere and intentionally asked, "So about selling these design drafts, one wouldn't fetch much money, right?"
Ji Yao looked at him curiously. Why would the high-and-mighty Qi Er Shao care about the price of design drafts?
But odd as it was, Ji Yao still answered truthfully, "A draft could be just tens of thousands to a hundred thousand or so, the higher-priced ones can be a few hundred thousand."
Qi Huai'an raised his eyebrows slightly, amused, "By the way you sell these drafts, how many years will it take to gather enough money?"
Ji Yao replied with a sorry expression, "What else can I do?"
Qi Huai'an's lips curled into a slight smirk, waiting just for this moment.
"How about... you become my lover?"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone