Fated Love With the Billionaire
Chapter 166: House Husband

Chapter 166: Chapter 166: House Husband

Wei Lai knew better than anyone how tough it was for Cheng Qiaobei to get to where he was today.

When he first joined the group, he was ostracized because of his unique background, and Zheng Rongxi, who couldn’t tolerate any discrepancies, deliberately assigned him the lowest-level work. He was often troubled by customers, isolated by coworkers, and even sarcastically mocked by superiors. During the career upturn, he faced hardships; those who were not as good as him slandered him, those who used to have higher positions felt indignant. Struggling to get his work off the ground, he would be scolded harshly by Mr. Cheng if projects didn’t go well. But even under these circumstances, he never complained. Now, holding management rights of over a dozen hotels, all of this was earned by that resilient and adaptable version of himself.

However, now he refused to humble himself to regain his peak position. Wei Lai was worried, concerned that someone might exploit the situation and completely kick Cheng Qiaobei out of Jade Jiali.

Cheng Qiaobei leaned against the sink, supporting his hand, and said, "Have you thought about it? If I bow down now, it’s like proving to him that I have divided loyalties."

One sentence woke Wei Lai up.

Cheng Qiaobei reassured, "The company has given you every cent you deserve, and didn’t I offer you decent terms back then? That included some compensation for grievances."

"You..." Wei Lai opened his mouth, suddenly speechless.

"Heh..." Cheng Qiaobei let out a pleasant smile from his nose, "Alright, don’t be mad. As long as the general direction is fine, let him do whatever he wants."

Wei Lai sensed the hidden message, "Alright, as long as you know what you’re doing."

Cheng Qiaobei replied with a smile, "Got it, got it."

After hanging up, Cheng Qiaobei continued to put on gloves and get back to work.

At noon, Chen Ningxi called, saying a group leader from the unit came to inspect the work. She had to accompany them to lunch with the deputy manager and secretary and couldn’t return to be with him.

Cheng Qiaobei noticed the fridge was empty, so in a T-shirt, beach shorts, and flip-flops, he headed out.

He had the typical characteristics of a Northern man—tall, fair-skinned, with defined features that gave a clean impression.

In the supermarket, he pushed a cart towards the vegetable section, wearing a black bucket hat pulled low to reveal just the features below his nose.

He stood in front of a pile of eggplants, tore off a bag, and started picking them. He also grabbed a bunch of garlic chives and put them in the cart. In no time, he efficiently selected five or six types of vegetables and then pushed the cart to the meat section.

An older lady had been eyeing him for a while and said to a similarly aged lady next to her, "Look at that young man, he’s pretty good-looking and tall. Just from the way he picks vegetables, you can tell he buys them often."

"This kid seems nice. Are you thinking of introducing him to Shanshan?" the lady asked.

"I think he seems great, and Shanshan might like him. What do you think?"

"Sure, he matches Shanshan well in terms of build and height. Just don’t know what he does for work," the lady started to speculate, "Today’s Friday. Enterprises and institutions should all be working. For him to be out buying groceries now, he’s probably self-employed?"

Hearing this, the lady wasn’t too satisfied with the job.

"Why don’t you go ask him." The other lady urged.

"Come with me."

"Alright."

The two ladies followed Cheng Qiaobei to the meat section. The lady known as Shanshan’s mom asked him:

"Young man, can you help me see what day this box of pak choi is from? I didn’t bring my glasses and can’t see clearly."

Cheng Qiaobei took it and replied, "This morning’s."

He handed it back.

The lady smiled and said, "Thank you. You know, as we get older, going out without glasses is just not doable."

Cheng Qiaobei smiled, "You’re welcome."

The lady continued to praise, "You even buy groceries yourself. Oh, not many young people like you. You know how to manage a household, which is great."

The other lady echoed, "This young man looks kind-hearted and good-natured."

Facing the sudden compliments, Cheng Qiaobei silently pointed at the ribs and told the service staff, "Give me four ribs, chopped into small pieces, please. Quickly!"

Shanshan’s mom said, "The ribs are good today, I’ll get some too. Give me three pounds."

The other lady smiled and said, "Young man, you’re really good at picking."

Cheng Qiaobei: "..."

His smile became a bit stiff. He glanced left and right, flanked by an aunt on each side showering him with praises. What did they really mean?

"Young man, how old are you?" the other lady asked.

Cheng Qiaobei: "... Twenty-nine."

Shanshan’s mom pondered, "Twenty-nine?... What do you do for a living?"

Cheng Qiaobei: "..."

Buying groceries and checking household registration?

Before he could voice his doubts, the other lady asked, "Are you single?"

"..." Got it!

Cheng Qiaobei gave a shy smile, raised his left hand to reveal the ring on his ring finger, "Not single, married."

The two ladies exchanged glances and broke into laughter the next second.

The lady jokingly said, "What a misunderstanding! We thought you were single and wanted to introduce you to someone. Her daughter is very beautiful, with a nice figure and tall, just like a star. Even more beautiful than a star, she teaches English at Danjiang Primary School."

Shanshan’s mom quickly said, "My daughter is in no hurry. She just started working, no hurry at all."

Cheng Qiaobei took the ribs the staff handed him, placed them in the cart, nodded at the two, then pushed the cart away.

Who would have thought, buying groceries would lead to a face-to-face matchmaking attempt?

Luckily, Chen Ningxi wasn’t there. Otherwise, the misunderstanding would have been huge.

Cheng Qiaobei still planned to buy some beef, but now his plans were completely disrupted by the two ladies. He pushed the cart straight to the fruit section.

As it turned out, the ladies also went to the fruit section. Cheng Qiaobei found himself in a cat-and-mouse scenario. With his height, he stood out in the crowd. He quickly chose a few fruits Chen Ningxi liked, packed them, and went for the weighing.

Life certainly throws some humor-inspiring moments. At checkout, Cheng Qiaobei bumped into the two ladies again, and they happened to be in the same line.

Cheng Qiaobei quickly stepped aside, "Aunties, you go ahead."

The ladies declined, "No need, you go ahead."

"I just remembered I forgot something." Cheng Qiaobei backed out of the line, letting them check out first.

He randomly picked a couple of snacks from the snack section, then pushed his cart out. Only after not seeing the two ladies again did he feel at ease to line up.

Previously, the other aunt had secretly taken a photo of him with her phone. Cheng Qiaobei adjusted his hat; she was probably taking his pic to show someone.

Cheng Qiaobei carried the groceries to the parking lot. Just as he finished loading them, his phone rang in his pocket.

Seeing the number, Cheng Qiaobei held the phone with his shoulder and said, "What’s up?"

Lin Hanrui asked, "You’re back?"

Cheng Qiaobei grunted in response.

"When did you come back? Didn’t even tell me." Lin Hanrui munched on a big fruit and said, "What’re you up to? Want to grab food?"

Cheng Qiaobei hadn’t eaten yet, "Sure, let me drop off the stuff at home first, then I’ll find you."

Lin Hanrui frowned, "What stuff, just bring it over."

Cheng Qiaobei said, "A carful of groceries, plus over three pounds of ribs."

Lin Hanrui pouted, "House-husband!"