CHAPTER 147: CHAPTER 146: SEE, YOU’RE JUST JEALOUS

Xie Fengmian seemed surprised by his courage. As he stood up, the two friends beside him also stood up.

The two friends of Xie Fengmian looked unfriendly, clearly on purpose.

The atmosphere suddenly turned tense and confrontational.

Jiang Tianrui’s face darkened.

"What do you mean?"

Xie Fengmian kept smiling, but his eyes were full of threat.

"Nothing special, I just want to catch up with Manman a bit."

"Who are you to her anyway? Why so nervous?"

Glancing at the short-haired girl sitting next to Ye Manman, Xie Fengmian felt she looked familiar, but couldn’t recall where he had seen her before, so let it go.

"Is she your sister or your wife? If you’re done eating and have nothing to do, you can head back first. I’ll catch up with Manman over a meal and then send her back, how does that sound?"

His meaning was clear: either leave, or I won’t be polite to your sister.

Jiang Tianrui hadn’t expected to encounter such a rogue. He was not good at fighting; even if he could beat Xie Fengmian, he couldn’t protect Jiang Yuan and Ye Manman at the same time. It was a dilemma.

However, Jiang Tianrui did not give up. He took Jiang Yuan’s hand and signaled her to hold onto Ye Manman, so the three of them stood up together.

Xie Fengmian signaled his two friends with his eyes, and the three of them used their bodies to block Jiang Tianrui and the others.

"You two can leave, but Manman has to stay and have a meal with me, right?"

He bent slightly, his smile deepening.

"Manman, you wouldn’t embarrass me like this, would you? You used to hide from me because of He Chen. Is he too busy now to even eat with you?"

"I’m not going to do anything to you. What does it matter to have a meal together? Why so eager to leave?"

He always pretended in front of Ye Manman, but by now Ye Manman had already seen this side of him, even worse situations, so Xie Fengmian just stopped pretending altogether.

His greasy and sleazy tone was truly disgusting, yet he didn’t just talk; he even tried to grab her hand.

Caught off guard, Ye Manman was grabbed by the wrist. Her eyebrows furrowed tightly, and instinctively, she raised her other hand and slapped him hard.

The sound of the slap echoed clearly in the relatively quiet restaurant, drawing the attention of many.

"Let go."

Ye Manman twisted her wrist, wanting to pull her hand back. Unexpectedly, Xie Fengmian touched the side of his face that was slapped, looking quite pleased, and pulled her forcefully into his arms.

"Good slap. It was my fault for what happened after I got drunk. I intended to marry you. It’s my fault, you should hit me."

Xie Fengmian kept talking, continuously pulling Ye Manman into his arms.

Her strength was naturally no match for a man’s, but Jiang Yuan reacted quickly and pulled her back.

"Manman, he’s the scum who harmed Cheng Yuan, right? Wait for me, I’ll call someone!"

Though Jiang Yuan was not strong, she managed to yank Ye Manman’s clothes with determination, pulling them back together. Xie Fengmian, not wanting to hurt Ye Manman, reluctantly let go.

As soon as Ye Manman was freed, Jiang Yuan instructed Jiang Tianrui to keep an eye on things, then dashed out.

She was fast, and while Xie Fengmian’s two friends wanted to stop her, they failed. After all, they couldn’t really do anything to her in public, nor did they have any intention of breaking the law.

But Xie Fengmian paid no mind to Jiang Yuan running out. He didn’t believe a young girl could call in any big shots, and since He Chen wasn’t there to accompany Ye Manman, he had nothing to fear.

Seeing Ye Manman unwilling to engage with him, Xie Fengmian wasn’t angry; he just insisted she sits down.

Jiang Tianrui refused to leave, and Xie Fengmian didn’t force him out. A big table, one extra person was no problem. Xie Fengmian acted as if he wasn’t there.

"Why don’t you guys order a few more dishes? It’s on me."

He directed one of his friends to order, while his eyes remained fixed on Ye Manman.

"Manman, why are you so resistant to me? Didn’t I only do those things because you ignored me and I had no other choice? I wasn’t the one who hurt Cheng Yuan; I didn’t know about what your sister did; don’t wrongly accuse someone."

What Xie Fengmian said was truly nauseating, so much so that Ye Manman didn’t take in a single word. But she couldn’t leave and could only perfunctorily respond with a couple of lines.

"Oh really? Then why did you compensate for her, just giving away over a hundred yuan without claiming it was unjust?"

She was simply giving a perfunctory response to shut Xie Fengmian up, but he misunderstood, his eyes brightening once more as he reached to grab her hand again.

Ye Manman dodged, but he didn’t get angry, his face still full of smiles.

"See, you’re just jealous, thinking I’m too kind to your sister, compensating for her, right?"

"I say, you still like me; otherwise, why think so? But honestly, I had no idea about those things. Your sister stole the money; I was too ashamed to bring it up."

"I’ve already punished your sister, and she faced consequences. There’s no need to keep holding on to it. Cheng Yuan is fine now; I didn’t harass her."

Xie Fengmian seemed completely unaware of any faults, not acknowledging the troubles Cheng Yuan faced because of him, with a shameless attitude.

Ye Manman rolled her eyes at him, letting out a cold snort, unwilling to speak further.

She was too fed up to even pretend to respond. The man, from inside to outside, exuded filth from every cell, a face once considered just greasy now revolting to even glance at.

Seeing her indifferent and silent, Xie Fengmian thought she was angry about his past pursuit of Cheng Yuan.

So he began stuffing her bowl with food while trying to placate her.

"These are your favorites, right? I remember you liked this when you returned for New Year visits."

Ye Manman wasn’t hungry and now had completely lost her appetite. She decided she wouldn’t eat another bite of that bowl of food.

"I know you’re still mad at me, blaming my earlier pursuit of Cheng Yuan, clinging stubbornly, right?"

Xie Fengmian wore a helpless, bitter expression.

"I really couldn’t help it. You were avoiding me, and I had no way to reach you. Missing you drove me crazy, so when I ran into Cheng Yuan on the street, I thought she looked like you, which is why I pursued her."

As he said this, he raised two fingers, his gaze filled with deep affection.

"I swear to God, I’ve only ever had you in my mind and heart."

"Manman, could you stop being mad at me, stop avoiding me? I was wrong, terribly wrong. You can punish me, hit me, scold me, just please don’t avoid me anymore, okay?"

"Look at me, talk to me, I truly know I was wrong, give me another chance, please?"

This act of professing deep love not only disgusted Ye Manman, but also left Jiang Tianrui, who was watching, speechless.

He couldn’t bear it anymore, clenching his fists, his expression complicated as if watching a madman having an episode.

"Didn’t you say you were her brother-in-law? How can you say this after marrying her sister?"