Chapter 122: The Ex-Husband

Early in the morning, Meng Baihan didn’t reply for the time being, and he didn’t pay much attention to it. He got up and went to wash up.

When he was having breakfast, he received a message from Meng Baihan.

“Just saw it. By the way, you still haven’t told me-do you have any plans recently?” Meng Baihan asked.

Zhang Yang blinked.

Wait, he already had a girlfriend, and Meng Baihan knew that. Did she think he could just leave his girlfriend behind and go traveling with her? Where was the sense of boundaries?

“What, inviting me to travel with you?” Zhang Yang replied casually. “That wouldn’t be very appropriate, would it?”

“What are you thinking? Do you think it’s just the two of us? Dream on.” Meng Baihan replied. “Forget it, I know you’re a busy man. You should just spend time with your girlfriend.”

She sent a yawning emoji while covering her mouth.

Zhang Yang put down his phone and drank a bowl of pumpkin porridge that Song Wenqin had just made for him in the morning. His stomach immediately felt warm and comfortable.

Just after finishing breakfast, Manager Chen called.

“Mm.”

“Mr. Zhang, I talked with the owner of Fengyun Barbecue yesterday. I proposed doubling the rent, but he refused,” Manager Chen said cautiously.

“If he refuses, then he can move out,” Zhang Yang said with a light laugh.

“Yes, that’s what I thought too. So I’ve already informed him that he must move out before the first of next month,” Manager Chen reported.

Zhang Yang nodded, feeling quite satisfied.

Yes, that owner could open shop somewhere else and start over.

But without question, relocating would definitely cost him some popularity. As for how much he would lose, that wasn’t something Zhang Yang needed to consider.

After hanging up, Zhang Yang suddenly thought of something.

“In that case, wouldn’t the shop become vacant?” He immediately thought of Li Xiaoxuan.

Thinking about it now was quite ironic.

That night, Li Xiaoxuan had spoken softly and pleaded with him like that, and he had refused quite decisively.

But in the end, after going to eat barbecue and suffering that inexplicable bad attitude, hadn’t he personally made the decision to drive the man away?

“Forget it, better not tell her.” Zhang Yang shook his head and gave up the idea of hinting to her.

He had his pride too.

In the morning, having nothing to do, he went to Starlight Plaza Plaza as usual to stroll around.

After all, it was his first real business property, and it naturally held different meaning.

He didn’t ask Manager Chen to accompany him and simply wandered around alone, casually buying a fruit drink and grabbing some snacks whenever he saw an interesting shop.

He walked through every corner and detail.

From the first floor to the third floor, and then back down again.

Suddenly, at a corner near the stairs, he vaguely heard people arguing not far away, and the voice sounded somewhat familiar.

Zhang Yang stopped and looked over curiously.

“Huh, isn’t that Li Xiaoxuan’s shop?” he murmured to himself and walked straight over.

Just before noon, there were no customers in the shop.

Zhang Yang immediately saw Li Xiaoxuan standing there angrily, arguing with a mature-looking man in his thirties.

The man was well dressed and clearly paid attention to his appearance. At the moment, his hands were in his pockets and his expression was quite domineering.

“Anyway, I’m definitely taking custody of our daughter. Whether you agree or not is your problem,” the man said calmly.

“Impossible. Tongtong has to stay with me. Do you even have time to accompany your daughter? Since she was born, how many times have you changed her diapers? How much effort have you put into raising her? Do you think that just because you have some money you can do whatever you want?” Li Xiaoxuan refused to back down.

Occasionally customers would try to enter for a meal, but after seeing the situation, they simply turned around and left.

Standing outside the door and seeing this scene, Zhang Yang felt a little emotional.

So this was the ex-husband.

You really couldn’t tell-Li Xiaoxuan had such a good figure, yet she was actually a single mother.

It was someone else’s family matter, so he didn’t intend to interfere and planned to just walk past the door. But after taking only a few steps, a surprised voice suddenly called out to him.

“President Zhang!?”

Zhang Yang stopped and saw a figure running out and stopping in front of him.

“President Zhang, what brings you here today?” Li Xiaoxuan looked at Zhang Yang, her eyes carrying a hint of expectation and plea. “Would you like to come in and sit for a while?”

“Uh… is it really convenient?” Zhang Yang glanced inside the shop. After a brief moment of surprise, the man inside was now staring at him intensely.

“It’s convenient, extremely convenient.” Li Xiaoxuan grabbed Zhang Yang’s arm.

Moments later, inside the shop.

The ex-husband looked at the tall and handsome man before him, his eyes instantly turning cold. “Li Xiaoxuan, you move pretty fast, don’t you? Already found your next man so quickly?”

“Watch your mouth. Your little bit of wealth means nothing in front of President Zhang. Every brick and tile of this plaza belongs to him.” Li Xiaoxuan wrapped her arms around Zhang Yang’s arm.

Zhang Yang thought to himself-so he was being used as a shield for no reason?

Although being used as a shield wasn’t exactly pleasant, sometimes a small favor like this was nothing. Helping out didn’t cost him anything anyway.

Thinking this way, Zhang Yang didn’t stand on ceremony. He directly wrapped an arm around Li Xiaoxuan’s shoulders, letting it slide down from her shoulder to her waist.

Her fragrant shoulder and slender waist felt soft and warm in his arms.

“Who is this? Your ex-husband?” Zhang Yang raised his chin slightly and asked.

“Yes, my ex-husband.” Li Xiaoxuan’s waist moved slightly in Zhang Yang’s embrace, but seeing the burning gaze from her ex-husband, she obediently stayed in Zhang Yang’s arms.

The once arrogant and domineering ex-husband’s pupils shrank when he heard this, his expression turning uncertain.

“Y-you… you’re the owner of Starlight Plaza?”

“Yeah. Your ex-wife is under my protection now. If you have something to say, say it. Stop running your mouth,” Zhang Yang said casually, delivering a dramatic line.

It might sound cliché, but it was effective.

At least in Zhang Yang’s eyes, the ex-husband’s face visibly turned pale.

“So you’ve climbed up to someone powerful, huh? Fine, you win!”

He left behind a harsh sentence, turned around, and walked away, not daring to stay any longer.

After he left, Li Xiaoxuan shifted slightly in Zhang Yang’s arms and quietly reminded him.

“President Zhang, he’s gone.”

“If you’re going to use someone as a shield, you should at least pick carefully.” Zhang Yang casually released her and glanced at her. “You’ve got some nerve, using me as a shield.”

“I’m really sorry, President Zhang.” Li Xiaoxuan apologized repeatedly, afraid Zhang Yang might be angry.

“Forget it. Just don’t do it again.” Zhang Yang wasn’t someone who liked to make a fuss over things.

Li Xiaoxuan immediately let out a sigh of relief. She quickly pulled Zhang Yang to sit down in a chair and hurried to pour tea.

“President Zhang, please have some tea.”

After a while, Zhang Yang drank tea and looked at Li Xiaoxuan again. His impression felt somewhat different now.

A single hot mom… a mature woman.

“So your daughter’s custody isn’t with you?” Zhang Yang asked casually.

“Right. His financial situation is stronger, so for now she’s with my ex-husband. But I’ll definitely find a way to get her back,” Li Xiaoxuan said without hesitation.

“Have you successfully transferred this shop yet?” Zhang Yang asked again.

“I’ve already found someone to take over, so I’ve been anxious to find a new shop and open another one. That’s why I came to ask for your help, President Zhang,” Li Xiaoxuan said softly, looking at Zhang Yang with pleading eyes.

“Well… actually.” Zhang Yang had originally planned to propose some sort of exchange condition.

It wasn’t that he was too harsh or realistic, but this mature woman was simply too tempting to the imagination.

But suddenly, he changed his mind.

She was a single mother trying to fight for her daughter’s custody. It wasn’t easy for her, so why should he take advantage of her situation?

Just as Zhang Yang was about to say something, he suddenly felt warmth on the back of his hand.

Ah?

He looked down in slight surprise at the fair hand resting on top of his.

“President Zhang, what were you about to say?” Li Xiaoxuan lightly bit her lip and gently covered the back of Zhang Yang’s hand with her own.

Zhang Yang cursed silently in his heart. Damn it, he really wanted to stick to his principles, but the situation made it difficult.

“Xiaoxuan, I understand your situation,” Zhang Yang said, covering her hand with his and patting it lightly. “How about this-I have something to do right now. Later I’ll send you an address, and we can sit down and talk about it properly.”

“Really?” Li Xiaoxuan’s eyes immediately lit up with joy, and then her face quickly turned red.

“Then I’ll wait for your message.”

After leaving the shop, Zhang Yang wandered around downstairs for a bit before turning into the same hotel he had stayed in before.

It was nearby after all.

After entering the room, he calmly took out his phone, sent Li Xiaoxuan the room number, and then went to the bathroom to take a shower.

Just after finishing his shower and stepping out with a towel around his waist, there was a knock on the door.

“That fast?” Zhang Yang muttered as he walked over and opened the door.

Outside, Li Xiaoxuan stood there with her hands clasped together nervously.

“President Zhang.” Li Xiaoxuan raised her eyes and immediately saw Zhang Yang’s impressive physique, causing her face to flush red.

Ah… President Zhang was this direct?

“Come in.” Zhang Yang stepped aside and let her enter. “Sit wherever you want. I just took a shower. By the way, do you want to wash up?”

Li Xiaoxuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded with a red face.

After a while, she came out fully dressed, standing beside the bed looking slightly unsure of what to do.

Zhang Yang looked at her and lightly patted the space beside him.

“Why are you just standing there? Sit.”

Li Xiaoxuan nodded gently and sat down beside Zhang Yang on the edge of the bed.

“Let’s chat a little more. We didn’t talk enough at the shop just now. I’d still like to hear more about your story,” Zhang Yang said with a smile.

Li Xiaoxuan paused slightly, then began talking about her past.

As she spoke, it was inevitable that some memories surfaced that she didn’t like recalling.

“President Zhang, you don’t know… running a shop by myself these past few years has been so hard. I never even knew who I could talk to about all this frustration.” As she spoke, she pulled out a tissue.

“Alright, alright, it’s all in the past now.” Zhang Yang casually patted Li Xiaoxuan on the back.

As he kept patting her, Li Xiaoxuan naturally leaned into his arms.

In the middle of the day, with the curtains drawn, the two of them silently held each other.

After noon.

Zhang Yang got out of bed feeling refreshed and casually pulled open the floor-to-ceiling curtains.

On the bed, Li Xiaoxuan raised a hand to block the dazzling sunlight, yet inside she felt an overwhelming sense of fulfillment.

It felt like she had just woken up from a dream.

“President Zhang, thank you.” Looking at Zhang Yang’s perfectly built figure outlined by the noon sunlight, she couldn’t help but speak from the heart.

“Thank me for what? It was just a small favor. Besides, what you gave in return… wasn’t little either.” Zhang Yang said with a smile while looking at Li Xiaoxuan’s fair, slender legs exposed outside the blanket.

Thinking back to the feeling of almost being overwhelmed just now, even he couldn’t help but sigh.

No wonder people always say mature women are the best.

Experienced, attentive-this kind of experience really was top-tier.

Feeling Zhang Yang’s gaze on her, Li Xiaoxuan blushed and lightly scolded him while groping around the bed looking for her clothes.

A moment later, the two of them were fully dressed and walked out of the room together.

“I’m a bit hungry. Let’s just find somewhere to eat,” Zhang Yang suggested casually, this time unapologetically wrapping an arm around Li Xiaoxuan’s slender waist.

“Me too. How about the noodle shop downstairs?” Li Xiaoxuan gathered her courage and took the initiative to hold Zhang Yang’s arm, instantly feeling a strong sense of security.

Clearly it was only an exchange-type relationship.

But somehow, she still felt a strange sense of safety in her heart.

Along the way, some shop owners who knew Li Xiaoxuan saw the two together and looked astonished, finding it hard to believe.

Of course, they didn’t recognize Zhang Yang.

But seeing Li Xiaoxuan leaning obediently beside the tall figure, who wouldn’t understand the relationship between them? They immediately began whispering among themselves.

“Isn’t that the beautiful single shop owner from upstairs?”

“Who is that guy? To manage to win over the boss lady like that-quite impressive.”

“I see that man is tall and handsome, and the boss lady looks radiant like a girl of eighteen. It seems her new boyfriend must have some real strengths.”

The crowd whispered among themselves.

Amid the discussion, Property Manager Chen happened to pass by and immediately spotted the two walking together. He quickly jogged over to greet them.

“Mr. Zhang! Hello, Mr. Zhang!” He almost bowed as he spoke.

“Mm.” Zhang Yang responded with a smile.

Manager Chen followed alongside for several steps.

Looking at Li Xiaoxuan leaning against his boss at that moment, he instantly understood and felt immense admiration.

As expected of the boss.

It had only been a few days, yet he had already won over such a stunning single shop owner from upstairs.

“Alright, go get back to work,” Zhang Yang instructed.

Manager Chen quickly stopped and watched the two walk away.

“Manager Chen, who was that?” Finally, one curious shop owner asked the question everyone was thinking.

“Who?” Manager Chen looked at the curious faces around him with amusement and asked in return, “Your landlord. You don’t recognize him?”

As soon as those words came out, it was like thunder exploding all around.

“What? Our landlord?”

“Doesn’t that mean he owns the entire commercial street?”

“Wow… such a big boss is actually so young and handsome. No wonder that boss lady from the second floor was so eager to get close to him. A young, handsome, wealthy man like that-who wouldn’t be attracted?”

News quickly spread everywhere, gradually evolving into different versions of the story.

Little by little, everyone began saying that the new owner of the commercial street was a young man who looked tall and handsome, with a temperament completely different from ordinary people.