The Fake Rich Daughter Knows a Bit of Metaphysics and Leads Her Whole Family to Become Wealthy - Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Zhou Chenhao’s Hypocritical Face

“Zhizhi…” Zhou Chenhao hesitated, his eyes carefully tracing Jiang Zhixu’s face. To his surprise, she looked radiant, with no signs of distress.

Thinking back to her days at the Bai family, although she was equally gentle and bright, he could sense that she was carrying a burden.

“How have you been?” he asked, ultimately settling on a simple question.

Jiang Zhixu poured herself a cup of tea and took a sip. “Without all the endless troubles, I’m doing alright.”

“That’s good,” Zhou Chenhao said, relieved.

He lowered his eyes, his fingers absently rubbing the ring on his finger.

He recalled that this ring was a gift from Jiang Zhixu.

“Zhizhi, do you remember this ring?” he asked.

Jiang Zhixu’s gaze dropped, and she saw the plain ring. Memories flooded her mind.

“Of course, I remember,” she said.

That was the first gift she had given Zhou Chenhao, and she had even made it herself at the shop.

“I was so excited to give it to you back then, but you didn’t care. You just tossed it aside. What made you take it out again now?” Jiang Zhixu asked, her voice laced with sarcasm.

“Of course, I remember,” she said.

The memory of the first gift she had given him, one she had even made herself at the shop, came flooding back.

“I was so excited to give it to you back then, but you didn’t care. You just tossed it aside. What made you take it out now?” she asked, her voice laced with sarcasm.

“Are you trying to reminisce about the past?” Jiang Zhixu smiled wryly.
“CEO Zhou, don’t do something so… beneath you.”

“If you had always kept me at arm’s length like before, I would have thought it was just your personality, and I would have blamed myself for not being good enough for you. But now, it just makes me feel sick.”

“You knew I had feelings for you, but you let me get close to you anyway. You didn’t want my gifts, but you pretended to like them, and then threw them away. You didn’t want me around, but you pretended to be friendly, and then ignored me and dismissed me…”

“Zhou Chenhao, am I that desperate? Am I that obsessed with you? What makes you think you can push me away and then come crawling back, expecting me to go back to how things were before?”

By the end of her tirade, Jiang Zhixu’s eyes were red-rimmed.

Zhou Chenhao had no idea what she had to face every time she went home. The mistreatment from her family, her mother’s insults.

They called her useless, unable to even hold onto a man.

There were times when she wanted to end her life, but her family wouldn’t let her. They said she had to die in front of the Zhou family, in front of Zhou Chenhao, so that the Zhou family would have to pay compensation.

What a heartless family, only caring about their own interests.

But did Zhou Chenhao really not understand? Or did he just not want to?

“I’m… I’m sorry… I thought you were too young, and didn’t understand what love was. I was afraid it was just a phase for you, so…” Zhou Chenhao’s explanation sounded hollow, and his face was as white as a sheet.

“Zhizhi, give me another chance, okay?”

Zhou Chenhao reached out and grasped Jiang Zhixu’s hand, pleading with her. “You don’t know how anxious I was during that half-month when I couldn’t reach you. I couldn’t sleep or eat, and I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“Zhizhi, I’ve reflected deeply on my actions, and this time, I’ll definitely protect you.”

“No,” Jiang Zhixu said, mercilessly pulling her hand back. “You’re just realizing that Bai Liuli isn’t as easy to manipulate as I am.”

“Bai Liuli comes from an ordinary family and has a strong sense of self-respect. She won’t tolerate being cold-shouldered by you repeatedly. She’ll make a scene and argue with you.”

“And you’ll be annoyed by her behavior, which you consider beneath you. But the marriage contract was set by your grandfather, and you can’t back out of it. So, you thought of me.”

“Although I’m not the biological daughter of the Bai family, I grew up in their household and learned the proper etiquette and behavior. I’m the perfect candidate to be a Mrs. Zhou.”

“Am I right?” Jiang Zhixu ruthlessly exposed Zhou Chenhao’s hypocrisy, leaving him no face.

Zhou Chenhao’s face turned white, and his lips trembled. “N-no, that’s not it, Zhizhi. I really like you.”

“Really, I’ve liked you for a long time, I just didn’t realize it,” he claimed.

“Stop saying such disgusting things. I’m nauseated,” Jiang Zhixu said, her face filled with disgust.

“I’m doing well now, and I hope you won’t appear in front of me again. Besides, your ‘liking’ me is worthless.”

“The girl who liked you, Bai Zhixu, died in a car accident. The person in front of you now is Jiang Zhixu.”

Zhou Chenhao didn’t know how he left the flower shop. When he came to his senses, he was already sitting in his car.

“Boss, are we heading back to the company?” the driver asked.

Zhou Chenhao nodded, lost in thought again.

Did he really like Bai Zhixu? Yes, he liked her very much.

But whenever he thought about her being sent to him by the Bai family for their own interests, he couldn’t bring himself to like her.

The conflicting emotions led to contradictions, and he started to resent Bai Zhixu. He accepted her, yet rejected her at the same time, and even let her be belittled and bullied by the Bai family.

But he never expected things to turn out like this.

Bai Zhixu became Jiang Zhixu, and Jiang Liuli became Bai Liuli. Everything was turned upside down.

He thought he could let go, but he couldn’t.

He was wrong. His mistake.

He wanted to make things right. He wanted Zhizhi back.

…

At the flower shop, Jiang Zhixu closed up shop on time and rode the electric scooter home, with a bouquet of fresh flowers in the back.

As she passed by a computer store, Jiang Zhixu got off and went inside. She came out empty-handed a while later.

“Thanks for your help,” she said.

Store staff: “No problem, we’ll deliver it to your home later.”

“Great,” Jiang Zhixu said, getting back on her scooter and riding home.

“Dad, Mom, I’m home!” Jiang Zhixu exclaimed, hugging the bouquet of flowers and running towards Qin Mei.

“What are we having for dinner tonight?” she asked.

Qin Mei stuffed a pan-fried dumpling into her mouth. “These flowers are from your shop, right? You can put them in a vase to brighten up the place.”

“Yeah, they’re going to be thrown away, so I thought I’d bring them home,” Jiang Zhixu said, taking another dumpling before going to arrange the flowers.

Just as she finished, the doorbell rang.

Jiang Zhixu went to answer the door and found it was the delivery person with the computer.

“Just put it inside,” she said.

Qin Mei was curious. “Zhizhi, what did you buy? It’s so much.”

Jiang Zhixu explained, “I bought a computer for third brother. He’s been stuck in his room alone, and it’s boring for him. This will give him something to do.”

“It must have cost a lot, right?” Qin Mei asked, wiping her hands on her apron. “How much was it? Let Mom pay for it.”

“No, no, it’s not that much,” Jiang Zhixu said, firmly pushing the money back into Qin Mei’s hands.

“I got lucky and found out they were having a sale. I even got a 50% off coupon, so it only cost 1,300 yuan. And they threw in a game console for free.”

Jiang Zhixu smiled and showed Qin Mei the receipt to prove it.

Inside, Jiang Zhilei was doing rehabilitation exercises. Ever since he found out he was getting better, he had been working hard every day.

No one wants to be bedridden for the rest of their life.

Especially when the family was still struggling to make ends meet.

Just as Jiang Zhilei sat down to rest, the door was knocked on. After he gave permission, several strangers carrying things came in.

“What’s this?” Jiang Zhilei asked.

“Just put it over there,” Jiang Zhixu said, rushing in and directing the workers to set up the computer.

When the computer finally booted up, Jiang Zhixu couldn’t help but rub her hands together in excitement.

“Zhizhi, what’s this?” Jiang Zhilei asked, calling Jiang Zhixu back to reality.