Love Has Fireworks - Chapter 78

Chapter 78: Yao Jingjing's Side Story (Part III)

After work in the evening, Lu Ze picked up Yao Jingjing to go see a movie.

Two movies were screening during the same period: one was an aesthetic romance film, and the other was The Avengers.

While buying the tickets, Lu Ze asked Yao Jingjing which one she wanted to watch. Without the slightest hesitation, Yao Jingjing pointed at The Avengers and said, "Let's watch the one with lots of men!"

Lu Ze fell silent for a moment before telling the ticket seller, "Two tickets for The Avengers, Very Important Person seating."

After exchanging their tickets, entering the theater, and sitting down, Lu Ze spoke up. "I thought you would choose the other one."

Yao Jingjing let out a chuckle and said, "The lead actor and actress in that other movie are both so ugly, yet they have the nerve to call it an 'aesthetic' romance? Just based on that false advertising alone, it's unwatchable! Watching it would definitely make someone stop believing in love altogether! This movie, on the other hand, is great. It's completely filled with handsome men who have superpowers and massive muscles. Just looking at them gets a person excited!"

Beside her, Lu Ze looked at her sideways and asked, "Then between handsome men and paper currency, which one gets you more excited?"

Yao Jingjing turned her head to look at him, smiling brightly as she said, "Neither of those can get someone as excited as you do!"

Lu Ze raised his right eyebrow. "Oh?"

Yao Jingjing said with absolute sincerity, "Because you have paper currency stuffed in your pockets! You are a combination of a wealthy man and a handsome man; you completely obliterate either of those items on their own!"

The corner of Lu Ze's mouth twitched slightly, and he turned his head back toward the screen.

During the movie screening, Lu Ze felt that Yao Jingjing's words from earlier required verification.

Looking at her expression, which practically screamed that she wanted to lick the screen, he felt that even if he had a thick stack of paper currency stuffed in his pockets, he still couldn't compete with Iron Man—who was already a middle-aged uncle—at getting her excited.

Frowning slightly, he decided that next time, he should just take this woman to watch the "aesthetic" romance films starring ugly actors and actresses instead.

●︶3︶●

After finishing the movie, Yao Jingjing still looked completely unsatisfied.

She said to Lu Ze, "You treated me to a movie, so let me treat you to a meal!" She thought about it for a moment, then rapidly added another sentence, "Don't pick somewhere too expensive, though. If it's too expensive, it's very easy for me to end up running to the restroom when it's time to pay the bill!"

Lu Ze remained expressionless. "It doesn't matter, I will wait for you to come back."

Yao Jingjing looked deeply sincere. "Don't be like that. I'll probably be squatting in there for quite a long time, so you can just pay the bill and leave first!"

Lu Ze raised an eyebrow. "Is this the sincerity you show when treating me to a meal?"

Yao Jingjing adopted a bashful expression. "Don't put it like that. Actually, my sincerity is still quite expensive! How about this: you choose the restaurant, alright?"

Lu Ze didn't refuse at all. He drove Yao Jingjing directly to a luxurious restaurant.

After going inside and sitting down, Yao Jingjing flipped through the menu while humming and groaning with a stiff smile. "Just looking at these prices makes me suddenly feel not hungry at all!"

Lu Ze pulled the menu out of her hands and said, "Then let me order. I am hungry."

Yao Jingjing asked the waiter for another copy of the menu.

Every time Lu Ze ordered a dish, she calculated the price in her head. By the time he finished ordering, her liver was trembling with fear.

A whole month of her salary was safely gone.

She thought to herself in deep sorrow that she would never let her mouth slip and offer to treat him to a meal ever again.

Once Lu Ze finished ordering, the waiter respectfully took the menu and then asked Yao Jingjing, "Miss, may I ask if you have decided on what you would like to order?"

Yao Jingjing looked up, her eyes shining brightly as she asked, "Do you have egg fried rice here? If you do, just bring me a portion of that and I'll be fine!"

The waiter looked toward Lu Ze with a face full of awkwardness. "We don't have that here..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Lu Ze. "If you don't have it, add it temporarily." His voice carried the commanding tone of a ruler looking down from above. Yao Jingjing felt that if she were the one being spoken to in that manner, she would definitely be extremely displeased. Yet, she watched the waiter, who possessed excellent manners, repeatedly bow and reply, "Understood."

While she was wondering how the employees of this restaurant had been trained to a level that could rival the service of a top hotpot chain, she heard Lu Ze speak again from the side. "By the way, bring a portion of everything I just ordered for this young lady as well." After giving the instructions, he waved the waiter away, completely denying Yao Jingjing any opportunity to say "no."

Yao Jingjing's heart bled. Her salary from last month was also going to say goodbye to her savings account. TT She looked at Lu Ze and said miserably, "Why did you order food on my behalf? Do you have any idea that by doing this, you have completely destroyed my original intention of getting egg fried rice? You have made my egg fried rice entirely lose its meaning!"

Although her wailing sounded tragic, when the lavish feast was served, she ate with more devotion, effort, and reckless abandon than any other customer in the restaurant. As she chewed on a piece of beef, she mumbled with a crying expression on her face, "How on earth was this meat prepared? It's simply too delicious! I literally can't stop!"

When the egg fried rice arrived, her expression became even more exaggerated after taking a single bite. "Oh my god! Is this chef the God of Cookery! This rice is fried so well; if I can't eat this for every single meal from now on, how am I supposed to live my life!"

While eating to the point of tears, she rapidly cleared every single plate.

 

Seeing how happily she was eating, a customer at a neighboring table also requested a portion of egg fried rice. The waiter walked over awkwardly to explain, saying, "I'm very sorry, our restaurant doesn't serve egg fried rice..." As he spoke, he cast a troubled glance toward Lu Ze.

Lu Ze said expressionlessly, "Since the customer wishes to eat it, you should satisfy their request. Just add this rice dish to the menu for today."

The waiter quickly scurried off toward the kitchen.

Yao Jingjing licked her lips, looked at the stone-faced wealthy man, and clicked her tongue. "You really are the textbook definition of an overbearing, arrogant, and outrageously dominant type. You love bossing people around wherever you go!"

Lu Ze ignored her comment, looking at her as he said something completely unrelated: "You look quite thin, so I didn't expect you to be such a heavy eater."

Yao Jingjing had already cleared the beef from her own plate, but she felt she was nowhere near full. Therefore, she casually extended her arm, acting as if she had accidentally reached for the wrong dish, and naturally snatched a piece of beef from Lu Ze's plate. While eating it, she said, "Hehe, it can't be helped. Maybe I have a hyperthyroidism gene in my body! My best friend, Qian the Baboon, and I are both like this—we can eat massive amounts, but we don't really gain much weight after eating!"

Lu Ze watched her "accidentally" snatch pieces of beef from his plate one by one, the corners of his mouth twitching imperceptibly.

●︶3︶●

Lu Ze finished eating before Yao Jingjing did. He set down his chopsticks and watched her continue to clear the plates. Then, as if casually, though the topic was brought up quite abruptly, he asked, "You seem to like muscular men very much."

Yao Jingjing lifted her head while licking her chopsticks. "Not necessarily. Muscles are actually secondary; the main thing is that it still depends on the face." After speaking, she seriously studied Lu Ze's face. After looking left and right, she clicked her tongue and said, "Oh wow, this is actually the first time I've calmed my mind to take a proper look at your face. The more I look at it, the more handsome it gets!"

She spoke with a playful smile, and after finishing, she lowered her head to grab more meat again, completely failing to see that the tips of the wealthy man's ears across from her had actually turned red.

"Then where exactly were you looking when you looked at me before?" he asked in a deep, low voice.

Yao Jingjing looked up and said with a beaming smile, "I was too busy looking at your wallet!"

After taking two more bites and popping the last two scraps of meat into her mouth, Yao Jingjing finally set down her chopsticks.

She patted her stomach, winked at Lu Ze, and said, "So full! The food here is truly delicious. Since it tastes this good, even if a single meal costs me two months of my salary, then so be it. It's worth it!"

She called the waiter over, saying she wanted to pay the bill.

Lu Ze asked leisurely from across the table, "Is there no need for me to step in?"

Yao Jingjing dug through her purse for her card. "Don't be like that! If I let you handle it for every single meal, wouldn't the fundamental truth that I am only this passionately enthusiastic for the sake of your money be exposed a bit too completely!"

She handed her card to the waiter, but the waiter didn't take it. He merely looked at Lu Ze with absolute respect.

Lu Ze raised his hand. "Give it to me, I'll sign the bill."

The waiter remained perfectly respectful as he handed the receipt to Lu Ze, saying in a mild and courteous tone, "Boss, here you go!"

Yao Jingjing looked at Lu Ze, who was writing a flamboyant signature on the bill across from her, and stood frozen with her mouth wide open.

This wealthy man was far too shameless; he was clearly playing games with her!!!

Yao Jingjing was enraged.

She decided to lock horns with this wealthy man. Since he wanted to play games with her, she would let him play to his heart's content and see who would face a Game Over first!

●︶3︶●

Their second date took place during an evening right after Yao Jingjing finished working overtime. Lu Ze suggested they grab a meal together.

This time, the location was chosen by Yao Jingjing. It was recommended to her by her supervisor, who said it was opened by a friend of his.

Yao Jingjing thought with relief that there was absolutely no possibility this restaurant was also owned by Lu Ze.

This restaurant was quite crowded. After Yao Jingjing pulled a number for the waiting line, she dragged Lu Ze over to a sofa by the entrance to sit and wait.

Just as they sat down, a person dressed in a full Western suit walked over. He looked at them with an expression that suggested he wanted to say something but was hesitating.

Yao Jingjing was completely baffled, having no idea what the person in the suit wanted to express. Beside her, Lu Ze spoke up: "No need."

The person in the suit silently walked away.

Yao Jingjing asked curiously, "Was he trying to pitch some product to you?"

Lu Ze looked at her and raised his right eyebrow. "Perhaps."

After waiting for a while, Lu Ze suddenly asked Yao Jingjing, "Have you been in a relationship before?"

While drinking the free fruit tea, Yao Jingjing answered, "I absolutely have! For a peerless beauty of my caliber, claiming I've never been in a relationship would simply be an insult to your intelligence!"

Lu Ze narrowed his eyes. "Can you talk about it?"

Yao Jingjing mimicked him, narrowing her eyes at him as well. "Which one do you want to hear about?"

Lu Ze frowned slightly and said, "Then talk about all of them."

Yao Jingjing didn't bargain either. Clearing her throat, she began to speak.

"The first one started back when I was in kindergarten."

As soon as she opened her mouth, she heard Lu Ze clear his throat from the side.

She turned her head to look, and he said with a calm face, "I just choked a bit, it's fine. Continue."

Yao Jingjing curled her lip. "Did my first love happen so early that it scared you? Let me tell you, I've navigated the romance scene for many years, so don't underestimate me!" She paused, then continued, "Back when I was in kindergarten, there was a little boy who particularly loved to gravitate toward me. He ran over to hold my hand every single day. At first, I let him hold it, but as time went on, I refused to continue."

Lu Ze raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why did you refuse?"

Yao Jingjing said with a face full of sorrow, "Because I grew taller, but he remained so short! After barely half a year, he was shorter than me by at least half a head! We couldn't even breathe on the same level anymore, and holding hands was uneven and incredibly exhausting, so we had no choice but to break up."

Beside her, Lu Ze lightly cleared his throat again. Then he asked calmly, "What about the second one?"

Yao Jingjing said, "The second one was during my primary school years. That boy was my desk mate. Originally, he liked me very much and said he would marry me after graduating from primary school. But one day, he got beaten up by another male classmate, so I went and beat up that male classmate on his behalf. As a result, he never dared to like me again after that, and he even requested the teacher to move his seat away from mine. He said he had thought about it seriously, and the decision was very painful for him, but he couldn't marry me after primary school graduation because the way I beat people up was simply too terrifying. He still wanted to find a pure, delicate, and weak young girl."

Yao Jingjing paused, looked at Lu Ze, and asked seriously, "Don't you think he was sick in the head? I went to help him seek revenge, yet he acted like that. It was simply returning good with evil!"

Lu Ze cleared his throat with restraint once more and asked, "Then what about the third one?"

Yao Jingjing said, "The third one was in junior high. You won't even be able to guess who he was!"

Just as she said this, the line waiter called out their number.

Yao Jingjing pulled Lu Ze along as they walked inside. The spot they received was a good table next to the window. After sitting down, just as Yao Jingjing was about to order, Lu Ze waved the waiter away. "We will order later." Then he turned to Yao Jingjing and said, "Continue. Finish talking about the third person first."

Yao Jingjing froze for a moment, then began to laugh. "I didn't expect you to be quite interested in my romantic history. Fine, then I'll continue. But let me tell you, this is actually a somewhat sorrowful story, truly!"

Yao Jingjing asked for a glass of lemon water. After soothing her throat, her expression gradually turned peaceful.

That kind of serious gaze that comes from sinking into memories began to surface on her face. Looking at her, Lu Ze couldn't help but tighten his brow.

"The third person—the reason I said you wouldn't even be able to guess who he was—is because he was that exact same boy I had beaten up in primary school! One day, he ran over to tell me that he liked me. Looking at him, I remembered my primary school desk mate. Out of sheer frustration, I beat him up yet again. After the beating, I told him, 'You can't even win a fight against me, and you still want to be with me? That really makes me chuckle! Come back and talk to me about this whenever you can actually defeat me!'

"He took my words seriously and came to find me for a beating whenever he had the chance. It was also strange; as I kept beating him up, seeing him didn't actually frustrate me anymore. Instead, it became a bit frustrating when I couldn't see him.

"Later, we entered high school. I beat him up for another two years. During our senior year, he said to me, 'Shouldn't the two of us finally establish an official relationship?' I asked him, 'Can you defeat me?' He said, 'Do you truly think I can't defeat you? I've been letting you win since we were kids, alright?'

"And so, the two of us officially got together. We planned to test into the same university, studying together every single day. After striving for several months, I passed the exam." Speaking up to this point, she lowered her head to drink water.

Lu Ze asked, "What about him? Did he fail to pass?"

Yao Jingjing raised her head and said with a smile, "Him? He didn't take the exam at all." She stopped, the corner of her mouth trembling slightly. Only after a moment did she continue to say with a smile, "Two days before the college entrance examination, he accompanied his mother to the supermarket to buy things. When they came out, they were struck by a drunk driver. At the critical moment, he only managed to push his mother out of the way, while he himself was pinned against a corner of the wall. After he was rushed to the hospital, the emergency rescue efforts failed, and he passed away.

Yao Jingjing turned her head to look out the window. "The family responsible for the accident was extremely wealthy. They cleared out obstacles through connections from top to bottom, and in the end, the perpetrator suffered no consequences at all. If his family had possessed even a bit of money back then to hold out against them and fight a lawsuit, they could have helped claim justice for him." She was still smiling, but the smile was entirely filled with irony. "Money, this thing is truly a massive scoundrel! Yet, it happens to be something people can't leave behind or do without!"

Lu Ze looked at her profile, watching the smile she was striving to maintain, and watching her lightly trembling lips and eyelashes. His heart stirred faintly.

She always claimed with her mouth how much she loved money, yet her actions were precisely the opposite. Now he knew exactly where the contradiction between her words and actions stemmed from.

Toward money, she didn't actually love it at all. From the depths of her heart, she deeply loathed this thing, and she also loathed the fact that despite her loathing, she still couldn't do without it. Therefore, she simply mocked herself by saying she loved it.

He suddenly experienced a strange sensation. It was identical to the feeling he got whenever he saw a pitiful stray kitten on the side of the road meowing at him.

●︶3︶●

Yao Jingjing turned her head back, looking at Lu Ze in a daze. "What kind of expression is that? Is it heartache? Wait a minute! You can actually have expressions on your face!"

Lu Ze lowered his head to take a sip of water. When he raised his head again, he had completely recovered his expressionless, stone face.

"What happened after that? Were there any more?"

Yao Jingjing said, "No more, I've told you all of them!"

Lu Ze looked at her and said, "Since you've finished talking, let's order food."

Yao Jingjing froze for a moment. "Hold on, something seems wrong here! Since I've finished talking, shouldn't it be your turn to talk?"

Lu Ze raised an eyebrow. "I never said I was going to talk."

Yao Jingjing froze again. "Mister, acting like this is a bit shameless, isn't it? This is what you call catching a white wolf empty-handed!"

Lu Ze lowered his head to look at the menu. "I didn't force you. Next time you encounter this sort of thing, you can also choose not to speak." He gestured for the waiter to come over and asked Yao Jingjing, "What are you eating?"

Yao Jingjing was utterly furious. She glared at Lu Ze, raised her head, and said to the waiter, "Bring me one portion of every single one of your most expensive dishes!" Then she turned her head to Lu Ze and said, "You are treating me to this meal!"

Lu Ze raised his eyebrow. "Fine by me."

After a moment, the young man in the suit whom they had encountered while waiting at the entrance earlier walked over with hurried steps. Looking at Lu Ze, he bowed respectfully and said, "Boss, it's like this. We ran out of lobster today. Should we switch to a different dish?"

Yao Jingjing, who was currently drinking water, couldn't hold it in and sprayed it straight out.

"Boss?!" She looked at Lu Ze, asking in utter disbelief, "This restaurant is also opened by you?!"

Lu Ze calmly glanced at her and said, "Yes, Tian Duan and I opened it together."

Yao Jingjing was instantly turned to stone...

It turned out that her supervisor's friend was equal to Tian Duan...

In that case, the young man in the suit earlier had wanted to ask him if he needed to arrange a table for him in advance...

She looked at Lu Ze's stone face, feeling as though she were about to faint.

She would never trust this world again, never again…