Chapter 7: A False Dream 1
After finally getting rid of that group of gossipy classmates at school, Qian Mengmeng had a rare Saturday without work. She was lying on the bed drooling and dreaming about getting rich overnight, when the doorbell rang.
"Who is it?" Qian Mengmeng went to open the door in a bad mood, and saw the courier boy standing in front of her with a very exquisite gift box in his hand, showing a standard smile with eight teeth.
"Ms. Qian Mengmeng, there is an urgent express delivery for you. Please sign for it."
"My package?" Qian Mengmeng looked at the courier suspiciously. She took the box from the boy and looked down. "Who sent it? I didn't buy anything..."
Qian Mengmeng opened the gift box, then she widened her eyes slightly and looked at the courier who delivered the gift: "What is this?"
"If I'm not mistaken, it should be a little skirt." The courier boy had a gossipy expression on his face.
Qian Mengmeng was silent for a moment, then stuffed the gift box back into the boy's hands: "I didn't buy the skirt, you can take it back, I won't sign for this express delivery." After saying that, she closed the door without waiting for the delivery boy to answer.
Who would send her a skirt so early in the morning?
Qian Mengmeng was no longer sleepy. She noticed the brand of the gift box. Although it was not a big brand, she had seen it in shopping malls. One box cost two to three thousand yuan. Either the people around her were poor, or they had no reason to give her this. Who could it be? Qian Mengmeng thought for a long time, but she couldn't think of anyone who would give her these things. She simply gave up thinking about it. But before she could completely let go of the idea, the doorbell rang again.
Qian Mengmeng opened the door, and the courier boy looked at her again with a smile showing his eight teeth: "Miss Qian, please sign for the package."
There was an irrepressible gossipy look in his eyes.
Qian Mengmeng opened the box, and this time it was no longer a skirt, but a pair of pure white strappy stiletto sandals. They were exquisite and beautiful, and it was obvious at first glance that they were worth a lot of money.
Qian Mengmeng handed the box to the boy expressionlessly: "I won't sign it."
Then close the door.
But this was just the beginning. In the next three hours, Qian Mengmeng could hear the doorbell ringing every hour, and when she opened the door, the familiar face of the courier boy would appear in front of her.
A small and chic dark blue leather bag...
A necklace with gemstones that sparkles in the sun...
And a beautifully designed silver bracelet...
Qian Mengmeng refused all the visa applications.
"Ms. Qian, you should at least sign for it. If you don't accept it, I will have to return it to the owner. Aren't you tiring..." The courier boy's standard smile disappeared and he looked at her with a bitter face.
"No merit, no reward. Look at this delivery note. The other party didn't even write his own name. Maybe they made a mistake. Anyway, I won't sign for it. Thank you for your hard work. Please take it back."
After sending the courier away, Qian Mengmeng had no time to think about anything before her cell phone rang.
Qian Mengmeng took out her cell phone and saw that it was Pei Haochuan calling. She didn't know what he wanted to talk to her about, but when she saw the name on the screen, some strange feelings couldn't help but spread in her heart.
"Hello?" Qian Mengmeng answered the phone.
"Qian Mengmeng, come to my house right now. I have something very important for you to do."
"What's the matter? Do you want me to buy something for you?" Qian Mengmeng asked puzzledly.
"Don't ask so many questions, just come directly."
After saying that, he hung up the phone without waiting for Qian Mengmeng to say anything.
"What..." Qian Mengmeng muttered to herself, then put away her phone and did as Pei Haochuan said.
There's nothing I can do about it, after all he's her employer now.
In order to save money, Qian Mengmeng rode a shared bicycle to Pei Haochuan's home. When she appeared in front of him sweating profusely, Pei Haochuan frowned and looked at her.
"I remember the weather wasn't that hot today."
In the slightly cool spring, even if the midday sun is very strong, it will never make people get so sunburned.
"I just came here by bike. Recently, there is a promotion for shared bikes. I got a monthly pass and can ride for free!"
Pei Haochuan looked at Qian Mengmeng, whose fair face was covered in sweat under the sun, and was about to mock her for being money-grubber. But when he thought of the reason why she did this, he couldn't help but feel a pain in his heart. He pinched her face, frowned slightly, and said, "I'll give you the taxi fare in the future. Don't be so tired next time."
Qian Mengmeng stood on the steps and looked up at Pei Haochuan. He was wearing a light white cotton home suit today. In the spring sunshine, one could see the fine hairs with gold edges on his face. She felt the warm touch of his fingertips on her cheek, and she couldn't help feeling dazed and took a step back.
“It hurts…”
An unconfident voice.
In fact, he didn't use much force, but she just felt burning where he pinched her.
Pei Haochuan retracted his hand as if he had just noticed it. Unconsciously, his face felt a little hot. He could only cough lightly and said sideways: "I asked you to come here today to clean up for me. My house has been a bit messy recently." Seeing that Qian Mengmeng was about to refuse, Pei Haochuan hurriedly said, "You will be paid. This is extra work I give you, so don't worry, I won't let you work for nothing."
"Okay," Qian Mengmeng had to accept it, but she couldn't help muttering, "In fact, you should also learn to do some housework. If you live alone in such a big house, even if you only clean it once a month, you can keep it clean. At least it doesn't look so bad. Also, it's not good to always eat takeout. Don't your family members care about you? At least learn to cook a few simple dishes. That takeout is expensive, unpalatable, and not very clean. If you keep doing this, your stomach will definitely be damaged..."
Before Qian Mengmeng finished speaking, she heard Pei Haochuan behind her let out a low laugh.
"What are you laughing at?" Qian Mengmeng sensitively stopped talking.
"Nothing," Pei Haochuan suppressed a smile. Seeing the girl staring at him with wide eyes, he couldn't help but stepped forward and patted her head. "You're fine like this."
"What do you mean it's fine? What's wrong with me?" Qian Mengmeng was confused.
Everything is good, I like it no matter what.
Pei Haochuan didn't say this out loud. He just doted on Qian Mengmeng's forehead and said with a smile, "Go to work quickly, or your salary will be deducted."
"Hey!" Qian Mengmeng waved her fist at him.
But Pei Haochuan had already gone upstairs leisurely, leaving the mess downstairs for her to clean up. Qian Mengmeng had no choice but to resign herself to her fate and start cleaning.
Pei Haochuan doesn't do housework himself, nor does he hire people from a housekeeping company to take care of it, so after Qian Mengmeng cleaned the room for free last time, the house became a mess again. It took Qian Mengmeng three hours to clean the villa inside and out, but even so, Pei Haochuan still didn't let her go.
"The color of the tablecloth doesn't match the sofa at all. Change it and redecorate it."
Picking up an ornament that Qian Mengmeng could never reach with her height, she said, "There's still dust on it. Find a ladder and clean these places."
"Also, a lot of the clothes I put away are wrinkled. Please help me iron them."
"besides……"
Qian Mengmeng felt that Pei Haochuan was particularly picky and difficult to talk to today, as if they had returned to the time when they first met. She could only bite the bullet and accept it one by one. Who told her that she was now Pei Haochuan's employee? How dare she disobey the boss's orders? When Qian Mengmeng finally finished all of Pei Haochuan's orders, she was exhausted like a dog, only breathing heavily. However, the culprit just leaned against the door with a smile on his face, and raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "The work is done, come up and check with me."
When she heard about the bill, Qian Mengmeng immediately perked up. She followed Pei Haochuan and went straight to his study.
Meng Meng, who had originally imagined that she would suddenly have a few hundred dollars more, was obviously stunned when she saw the familiar silver-background gold-stamped invitation letter handed to her. She looked at Pei Haochuan: "Isn't this..."
Pei Haochuan nodded and continued: "Invitation letter for Shengtian Group's anniversary celebration, your reward for this afternoon."
"Didn't I reject you yesterday?" Qian Mengmeng didn't reach out to take it, but showed an embarrassment, "Pei Haochuan, if I accept your invitation today, what does it mean that I rejected you yesterday? Besides, if I appear at this anniversary party with you, what will Brother Yu Zheng think? You should take it back, I won't go."
"You don't have to go." Pei Haochuan didn't force her at all, but gently placed the invitation on the desk. "But I have to make it clear to you first. I invited you to go because you saved my life before. It's completely different from your brother Yu Zheng wanting to invite you to be a dance partner. Since you refuse, I won't force you, but Qian Mengmeng..."
Pei Haochuan paused here, and a playful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "There will be no salary for this afternoon's work."
"What..." Qian Mengmeng was shocked.
"Not only will you not be paid, but you will also have to ride your bike home and eat dinner alone at night," Pei Haochuan said as he slowly walked around behind Qian Mengmeng and bewitched her with a seductive voice. "After working hard all afternoon, don't you want to sit in a comfortable restaurant and have a good rest while eating delicious food carefully prepared for you? Just imagine, the smooth and tender roasted chicken legs, the delicious dim sum that melts in your mouth, and your favorite hairy crabs, each crab leg is as thick as your little arm..."
"Stop talking!" Qian Mengmeng swallowed her saliva, closed her eyes, and said loudly, "I'll go! Isn't it okay for me to go?"
In fact, she was made greedy by Pei Haochuan!
Pei Haochuan saw that his goal had been achieved, and the corners of his mouth curved up with a hint of success, and he smiled and said, "That's right, don't think about everything so complicatedly, it's just a meal, ok?"
Qian Mengmeng looked at him speechlessly, thinking that the way he achieved his goal was really irresistible. But before she could have any extra thoughts, Pei Haochuan pushed her to the door of another room.
"You can't go to the banquet without proper attire. Considering your good performance this afternoon, I have prepared all these things for you. Go and try them on."
Pei Haochuan took a step forward and opened the door. Then, Qian Mengmeng saw the familiar boxes that she had rejected in the morning appear in front of her again.
"This..." Qian Mengmeng opened her mouth wide and looked at Pei Haochuan at a loss.
"Since you don't want them even if I give them to you for free, I can only use money to give them to you," Pei Haochuan leaned against the door gently, raised his eyes and smiled, "No merit, no reward, right?"
Listening to the boy's dull laughter, Qian Mengmeng's face somehow became hot. On the one hand, she felt that Pei Haochuan's concern for her was very considerate, but on the other hand, she felt that he was making a fuss by going through such a long detour to invite her. But it was undeniable that there seemed to be a small spark in her heart, which was slightly blooming with brilliant light because of Pei Haochuan's thoughtful action for her.
Qian Mengmeng entered the guest room and opened the exquisitely packaged boxes one by one. There was a large dressing mirror in the guest room. Qian Mengmeng touched the fabrics that she had never dared to think about before, and a hint of sweetness passed through her heart.
Pei Haochuan didn't have to wait long before Qian Mengmeng, looking brand new, appeared in front of him.
He had good taste. The light green chiffon dress looked perfect on her, not too much or too little. The girl's ponytail was now let down, her long black hair was loose, making her look more gentle and graceful.
Qian Mengmeng stood in front of Pei Haochuan nervously. She seldom dressed herself up so carefully. Pei Haochuan's guest room was fully equipped with cosmetics. After getting dressed, she put on some light makeup, wore high-heeled sandals, and carried a palm-sized pink handbag in her hand.
Pei Haochuan couldn't help but smile. The girl in front of him looked petite and elegant, like a fairy descending from the sky.
He bent down slightly, put his left hand behind his back and stretched out his right hand forward.
"Let's go, my princess ."
