Chapter 84: Chapter 82: The Amicable Termination of the Contract (Four Updates)_1
"Hey, don't cry!"
Fang Ren was instantly flustered.
This wasn't because he couldn't stand to see a woman cry. Having seen life and death recur many times in Asura Gate, even the tears of a beautiful woman were nothing more than the sorrows of an ordinary creature in his eyes.
But somehow, when he saw the girl's eyes red with tears, a familiar feeling in his heart suddenly affected his whole mood, causing his words and actions to become somewhat panicked.
"Do you have any idea how I was dragged off to wash dishes and mop floors, do you know I was scolded just for having a few extra drinks, do you know how far I walked because I had no money for the bus..."
Bai Qi wiped away tears with one hand as the grievances she had suffered these past days burst out.
Having been spoiled since childhood and treated like a star by the entire Tianjiang, how could she have endured such humiliations outside?
Unable to pay for a meal and forced to wash dishes and mop floors, so thirsty that she drank a few extra samples of beverages only to get scolded, and finally, thinking she had found someone kind with food and drink, only to realize he was a scumbag.
She had experienced every kind of bad luck over the past few days.
"Stop, stop, stop, let's talk calmly, and please stop crying," Fang Ren looked around, aware that his flinging of the suited man had already drawn much attention, and he feared that it might lead to a misunderstanding.
"Heh-hah..."
Little Qianye even climbed onto her shoulder, trying to wipe her tears away with its paw.
Vexed, Bai Qi bit her lip and forced herself to hold back the tears. The unfairness she had felt over these days was too much to bear, and she couldn't help crying.
"I really am sorry about just now, I truly didn't expect someone like that..." Bai Qi's voice still held a hint of sobbing.
"It's all right, I wasn't really calling you foolish, I just said it without thinking, don't take it to heart."
"Okay, thank you for helping me," Bai Qi dried her tears and let down her arm, looked at Fang Ren with a sniffle, and asked softly, "Could you take me to get something to eat? I'm so hungry, I haven't eaten since yesterday morning..."
Fang Ren took out his wallet, extracted a red bill, and said, "I need to get back to school, I'll give you some money so you can go eat by yourself."
Bai Qi looked at the money in his hand, reached out to take it, but suddenly thought of something and withdrew her hand, looking at Fang Ren, she said, "I'm retracting what I just said."
"Which part? The one about me taking you to eat?" Fang Ren asked.
"Yes," Bai Qi nodded and said, "It's not appropriate for me to ask you to take me to eat now because there's something very important I haven't mentioned yet, and you might really hate me after I say it, so I won't take your money, and I'm retracting the invitation to dine."
"What is it?" Fang Ren didn't understand what she meant.
Bai Qi rummaged through her pockets, took out her ID card, and handed it to Fang Ren, saying, "First, I need to apologize, this may make you angry, but I still have to say it, I'm here to cancel our engagement. I have someone I like, and I can't fulfill the marriage arrangement made by my father and Uncle Fang."
Fang Ren was momentarily stunned upon hearing her words, then looked at the ID card.
Only then did it dawn on him why he had found the girl so familiar upon first sight. No wonder, she was the Little Princess of the Tianjiang Bai Family, Bai Qi.
She was also his current fiancée.
After hearing Bai Qi's words, Fang Ren didn't harbor any bad feelings inside. Bai Qi was polite in her speech, and as the princess of Tianjiang, she didn't show any arrogance, giving him an approachable impression.
Moreover, she came to cancel the marriage, and this made Fang Ren feel as if a weight had been lifted.
Without much surprise, Fang Ren smiled and said, "Don't worry about me getting angry. Actually, if you hadn't come to call off the marriage, I would have come to you. You have someone you like, and I have someone I like, too. It's best if we can both agreeably cancel this engagement."
Bai Qi, hearing his response and seeing his smiling face, suddenly felt a sense of relief, "I thought you would be angry if I came to you to call off the engagement. I'm sorry for thinking so poorly of you before."
Fang Ren was taken aback by her continued apologies. The princess of Tianjiang turned out to have such a good temperament. Although she had cried all the way like a child, her understanding and mature attitude were quite evident.
"It's fine, really," Fang Ren laughed, "Aren't you hungry? I've changed my mind; let's have a meal together, and we can talk about calling off the engagement."
Seeing his reaction, Bai Qi also felt that this man had a great character. His good upbringing compelled her to say thank you again, "Thank you, I'll pay you back for the meal after I return to my family."
Though she had been spoiled from childhood and developed some bratty traits, her interactions and moral character were still influenced by the nurturing of a great family.
In her words, brattiness was meant for her family, while politeness was for outsiders.
"Did you escape to find me and call off the engagement?" Fang Ren asked.
Otherwise, why would a princess be unable to afford a meal? Her bank card must have been frozen by her family.
"Yes," Bai Qi replied, "My mother also placed a dispersing spirit mark on me, so now my True Qi is depleted, and I don't really understand much about formations, so I had no choice but to walk here from Bailin City."
Fang Ren's confusion cleared, but hearing Bailin City, he was somewhat surprised. Bailin City was about a hundred miles from Yangming City, and around seventy miles from here, Linyang City.
Without her True Qi, she had walked so far on foot, no wonder her shoes were falling apart.
Seeing her limping, Fang Ren simply said to the little creature perched on her shoulder, "Qianye, help her out."
"Heh-ha!"
A small branch suddenly grew out from the halo above Qianye's head and wrapped around Bai Qi's leg, emitting a red glow which, after no more than two seconds, dissipated, and Bai Qi's twisted ankle began to heal.
"It's better..."
Bai Qi moved her foot, looking in astonishment at the tiny Qianye on her shoulder. "Little guy, you're this powerful?"
"Heh-ha!"
Qianye rubbed her face, all smiles.
After crossing the street, Fang Ren immediately took her into a small restaurant and, settling into a seat, told her, "Order whatever you like, no need to stand on ceremony with me."
That Bai Qi had taken the initiative to come find him to annul their engagement had already saved him a lot of trouble. Moreover, being a princess, her temperament really didn't bother him, and she carried an affinity around her that he found quite endearing.
Aside from some initial misunderstandings, he was more than happy to sit opposite her like this, enjoying a meal and amiably resolving all matters.
As for her current inability to use True Qi, he would help her with anything she needed assistance with for the time being.
Bai Qi now had her sun hat on again, afraid that people around might recognize her. She worried that photographs and rumors might spread far and wide, which would be troublesome.
"I'll just have some of these."
Bai Qi ticked off two vegetarian dishes on the menu, then pushed the menu towards Fang Ren.
Fang Ren looked at the dishes she had marked, slightly stunned—they were two of the cheapest items: bean sprouts with vermicelli and sour shredded potatoes.
"It's just a meal; you don't need to worry about eating me out of house and home," Fang Ren said.
"It's not that; I've liked vegetarian dishes since I was little," Bai Qi responded.
As she spoke, her stomach continued to growl, causing her to blush. She pulled down her sun hat, not uttering another word.
In truth, what she really wanted right now was some expensive meat dishes.
But she had learned from her mother that Fang Ren had always lived the life of an ordinary person from childhood till now and, being a student, he didn't have much money. She couldn't ignore his feelings just because he agreed to take her out to eat.
Fang Ren nodded and said, "I'm quite fond of meat dishes."
He then ticked off several pricier items on the menu and handed it to the waiter.
He, too, was lying. In fact, he preferred vegetarian dishes over meat in his everyday life. However, he could tell what Bai Qi wanted right now.
Soon a table full of dishes arrived, and Bai Qi swallowed hard before starting to eat. When she took the first bite of meat, her heart suddenly soured.
Since running away from home up until the time she met Fang Ren, she hadn't eaten any meat. While working at the restaurant, she only had simple vegetarian food and steamed buns to eat. She wasn't dissatisfied with this situation—she knew the owner was actually quite kind to her.
"Why aren't you eating?"
After taking a few bites, Bai Qi noticed that Fang Ren, sitting opposite her, had just added some dishes to his bowl without actually eating any of it and asked him.
"It isn't even noon yet; I haven't even digested my morning meal, and I'm not the least bit hungry," Fang Ren replied.
"Then why did you order so much expensive stuff?" Bai Qi frowned.
Fang Ren chuckled nonchalantly: "Don't I have you to cover the bill?"
After hearing that, Bai Qi nodded. She had indeed said that she would reimburse Fang Ren for the meal, so it was entirely reasonable for him to think and act that way.
Only... she just thought about saving him money moments ago, and now she suddenly felt her consideration was superfluous. He didn't care about those things at all.
However, after thinking it over, she felt it was kind of fair. After all, once the engagement was annulled, there wouldn't be any interaction between the two of them. Fang Ren didn't need to be polite or try to please her. She was already grateful that he took her out for a meal.
"When we were first betrothed, was there a betrothal agreement or something like that?" Fang Ren asked.
"Yes, my copy was taken by my grandfather, and yours should be with Uncle Fang," Bai Qi replied. "But now that we both have someone else we like, as long as we both agree to annul the engagement, then the betrothal papers will naturally be invalidated."
"So, just a verbal agreement between us would suffice?" Fang Ren inquired.
"Definitely not, they won't believe it," said Bai Qi. "Wait a moment, record a video with your phone of us discussing the annulment of the engagement, and then send me a copy. I'll show it to my grandfather and Uncle Fang, and then the two betrothal papers will be invalidated."
"Just use your phone to record it then, to save you the trouble of having to pass it on."
"Hey, I ran away from home, remember? If I carried a phone, they'd surely locate me with it."
"Then how shall I send you the video after I record it?"
"I'll give you my chat account. You can add me as a friend and send it to me later."
"Then that's settled," Fang Ren nodded.