Chapter 44: I'm Actually This Valuable

“Just getting to know each other?” Chen Feng expressed his doubt.

“Otherwise what? You think I actively sought you out to ask to be kept?”

Sun Xiaorui narrowed her phoenix eyes. Although a smile remained on her face, Chen Feng knew she was getting a bit angry.

“Of course not. At the time, I just thought you were trying to pick me up.”

Chen Feng was telling the truth. In the beginning, he hadn't thought about keeping anyone.

It was only later, seeing how proactive she was, realizing he lacked a woman by his side, and knowing he was dying but had some money, that the idea of keeping a mistress naturally occurred to him.

Sun Xiaorui hadn't refused at the time; she had simply raised the price. In Chen Feng's mind, she must have had similar intentions.

But looking at it now, he seemed to have misunderstood her.

At the very least, she hadn't originally intended to be his mistress; she might have wanted to be his proper girlfriend, the girlfriend of a wealthy man.

Instead, Chen Feng hadn't planned on dating at all and had gone straight to offering money to keep her.

“If you put it that way, you're right,” Sun Xiaorui nodded with a smile. “My first impression of you was very good. You might have forgotten, but back then, when you were buying clothes, you were very purposeful. If you liked something, you went to try it on, and once you tried it, you bought it. I thought you were incredibly dashing—not because you were rich, but because that decisive style of yours was very masculine.”

Everyone loves to hear good things, and Chen Feng was no exception. He smiled and said, “Is that my only virtue? Besides being rich, I should have other merits, right?”

Sun Xiaorui burst out laughing. “Also, you're quite easy on the eyes. That square face of yours gives off an upright impression. However, it doesn't look stern or harsh; it has a softness to it, a sense of approachability. One look and you can tell you have a good temperament and are easy to get along with.”

Chen Feng touched his face and smiled. “I think this should be called a rectangular face.”

Sun Xiaorui nodded. “True, there is a distinction between long rectangular faces and short rectangular faces.”

Chen Feng chuckled. “You really know a lot.”

Sun Xiaorui laughed along. “I studied specifically for this.”

Chen Feng said teasingly, “So, because I'm handsome, rich, and have a good personality, you decisively took the initiative to get to know me. In that sense, you're actually more decisive than I am. You strike when the time is right.”

Sun Xiaorui nodded slightly. “As it stands, my judgment and decision back then seem to have been quite correct, wouldn't you say?”

Chen Feng gave her a thumbs up and praised her sincerely, “Exactly. I have to say, you seized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You didn't misjudge the person, and you certainly didn't make a mistake in your judgment. I am, in fact, the man you have been searching for all along.”

Sun Xiaorui said crossly, “If not for that last sentence, I almost believed you.”

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.

After a moment, Chen Feng asked curiously, “When I suddenly suggested keeping you, were you very surprised? Were you angry?”

“Of course I was angry.” Sun Xiaorui glared at him, then couldn't help but laugh again. “At first, I almost slapped you, thinking, *Do I look like someone who sells herself?* But I held back because I wanted to test my price in your eyes. So, I said 50,000. I didn't expect you to actually agree. At that moment, I was actually a bit moved. Because for the first time, I realized I was actually worth that much.”

“You were always worth it,” Chen Feng smiled and reached out to embrace her. “However, I seriously suspect you weren't moved by me—to be precise, you were moved by my money, weren't you?”

Sun Xiaorui wasn't offended and countered, “Who doesn't like money? Don't you?”

Chen Feng shook his head. “I'm not saying you're greedy. I'm just telling you to distinguish between me and the money. I am me, and the money is money, so you don't fall in love with me.”

“Don't worry about that. I'm not a sixteen-year-old girl; I don't fall in love that easily.” Sun Xiaorui looked confident, then added, “Right now, I just view you as my benefactor and boss. Accompanying you is my job. You pay me a monthly salary, and I serve you dutifully every month.”

Chen Feng praised her solemnly, “Not bad. If only all the mistresses in this world had your sense of service.”

“Get lost!” Sun Xiaorui gave Chen Feng a light tap, then proactively leaned into his embrace, saying with a hint of dissatisfaction, “I'm not a mistress. You said it yourself—you're just divorced and don't have a girlfriend. At most, I'm your mistress.”

“Alright, my mistake,” Chen Feng corrected immediately. “Actually, you can be considered my girlfriend now. It's just that I don't want to deal with the romance and emotional entanglements of dating right now, so I can only ask you to settle for being my mistress.”

Sun Xiaorui asked with sympathy, “Did your ex-wife deeply hurt your feelings, causing you to become emotionally closed off?”

Chen Feng shook his head. “No. I was actually the one who initiated the divorce.”

“Uh, you initiated it?” Sun Xiaorui looked stunned. “Did you find her lacking? Or did she cheat? Or did you have a mistress—no, you probably didn't have a mistress... right?”

“None of the above,” Chen Feng shook his head. “In short, there was no more feeling between us. Living that way was meaningless; it was better to let go of each other early so we could both move on.”

“What was your ex-wife like?” Sun Xiaorui asked with a gossipy expression.

Chen Feng did not satisfy her curiosity and refused directly, “I don't want to talk about her, just like you don't want to talk about your ex-boyfriend.”

Sun Xiaorui pouted. “Who says I don't want to talk about my ex? You just didn't ask. If you had, I would have told you all about him long ago.”

“Oh? Well, since you're asking now, why don't you tell me?” Chen Feng looked at her playfully.

After a brief hesitation, Sun Xiaorui spoke. “To put it simply, he was a 'phoenix man'—someone from a humble background who worked his way up. He didn't have major flaws, but he was too selfish. He was self-centered, didn't care much about others' feelings, and was very chauvinistic. When we were together, I always had to accommodate him. Over time, I just couldn't take it anymore.”

“How long were you together?”

“About four or five years.”

“That long?” Chen Feng was somewhat surprised. “Did you date anyone before him?”

“No. He was my first love. Before him, I was a good girl; I never had any deep contact with boys.”

“How did you two get together?”

“He pursued me. At the time, I had just graduated and was interning at McDonald's. He was a year younger than me and hadn't graduated yet. Every time he came to McDonald's, he would intentionally wait until I was at the register to order. After a while, I started to notice him. During his junior year summer break, he even found a way to work part-time at my store as a summer employee, becoming my colleague. I was quite moved by that at the time. Plus, he would drive me home every day, and gradually, we got together. Also, I suppose it was because he was quite handsome and a top student from Donghai University. I was just a junior college graduate, and I had a natural sense of admiration for those prestigious university students. I was just too young back then.”

Donghai University was one of the top universities in the country and the best in the province.

“What is his job now?”

“He works for a foreign company. His monthly salary is around ten thousand yuan.”

“That little?”

“It's not little; he just started working there.”

“Just started?”

“Yes, he's doing his master's.”

“Oh, that's actually quite good. Although master's degrees are common now, a degree from Donghai University still carries a lot of weight.”

Sun Xiaorui nodded. “Yes. His personal ability is quite good; otherwise, I wouldn't have called him a phoenix man. He definitely has the capital to be proud of himself. After we broke up, plenty of women actively pursued him. He's handsome, highly educated, and has a good job. Those are all his strengths.”

Chen Feng said with a hint of jealousy, “Since he has so many strengths, why did you break up with him?”

Sun Xiaorui smiled. “Didn't I just say? He was too self-absorbed. Especially after joining that multinational corporation, his ego grew even higher. He looked down on me more and more, perhaps thinking a junior college graduate like me wasn't good enough for him. Sometimes his words were very hurtful, and he often treated me like a maid—the kind where I'd have to pay for the privilege. I definitely couldn't stand that.”

Chen Feng nodded in understanding. “I see. He didn't cherish such a good girlfriend; he'll regret it in the future.”

Sun Xiaorui shook her head with a bitter smile. “When I brought up the breakup, he didn't try to hold onto me or say anything kind. Instead, he got angry and said that by leaving him, I would surely regret it in the future.”

Chen Feng couldn't help but laugh. “Your ex-boyfriend really is quite self-centered and full of himself.”

Sun Xiaorui smiled bitterly. “He had the confidence to say that, because his current job has a lot of room for growth. It's a technical role, which is very in demand. It's possible for him to earn a million a year in the future.”

Chen Feng said dismissively, “No matter how great he is, he's still working for someone else.”

Sun Xiaorui laughed. “That's true. He certainly isn't as powerful as you, Master.”

“I like the sound of that. You have a reward.”

“How much?”

“Half an hour.”

“Huh?”

“Then an hour.”

“...”