Gazing at Fangfang’s photograph, I could not help but let my thoughts drift into reverie about her. Before long, a satisfied smile crept across my face.
Yet the moment I remembered that Fangfang was, after all, my cousin’s woman, a trace of dejection inevitably settled in my heart. Especially after what had happened that night—my cousin sneaking out to meet another woman—I felt he had treated Fangfang unforgivably.
I slept straight through until broad daylight. Since my cousin rarely visited Shanghai, I took him and Fangfang to several of the city’s famous sights. During the outing, however, I noticed that my cousin kept fiddling with his phone from time to time. When I leaned over for a closer look, my brows furrowed.
He was using WeChat’s “People Nearby” feature. I had not expected my cousin to stoop to that.
“Jiahao, I want some candied hawthorn,” Fangfang said, stopping in front of a street vendor and pouting slightly.
“Do whatever you like. Just don’t bother me—I’m discussing business,” my cousin replied without the slightest expression. As soon as the words left his mouth, Fangfang’s face darkened, and I found myself utterly speechless at his behavior.
He was clearly flirting with girls on WeChat, yet he dared claim he was talking business. Who did he think he was fooling?
Scorn rose within me. I took out my own phone, opened WeChat, and searched for nearby users. Sure enough, my cousin’s profile picture appeared almost instantly. I was using an alternate account with a female avatar, so I immediately sent him a friend request.
Within minutes, he accepted.
“Is that Mercedes in your profile picture yours?” I typed, a cold laugh in my heart.
“Of course it’s mine. That car’s only a little over six hundred thousand. I’ve got a Porsche back home, too.”
I had not expected an instant reply—he wasted no time showing off. His profile picture was the steering wheel of a Mercedes; it was his standard tactic for attracting gold-diggers. Many materialistic girls would agree to meet him once they learned he was wealthy, and that was precisely the source of his pride.
“Are you in Shanghai right now? Shall we meet up later?” I continued.
“Definitely. But how do I know the person in the photos is really you? Send a few more daily-life shots,” he replied.
I stole a glance at my cousin beside me. What a shameless womanizer—he wouldn’t even let a stranger slide, and now he was asking for more pictures. Though I despised him inwardly, I found a photo of an attractive woman and sent it over.
“Where are you?” His reply came almost frantically once he saw the picture.
My eyes darted as an idea formed. “I’m at Happy Valley right now. If you want to meet, come quickly—I’ll be heading back soon.”
After sending that, I slipped the phone back into my pocket and watched his expression. Fangfang, of course, had no idea I was privately messaging my cousin from my alternate account. At that moment he was burning with impatience, and he quickly offered me a cigarette.
“Xiao Nan, take your sister-in-law around for a bit. A friend just asked to meet me about something,” he said.
“Huh? Jiahao, didn’t you already meet a friend yesterday? Why another one?” Fangfang frowned.
“Do you know anything about business? Are you trying to stop me from making money?” he snapped coldly.
Hearing that, I hurried to smooth things over. “Sister-in-law, maybe Cousin really does have something urgent. Let me keep you company for the rest of the day, and we’ll head back early.”
“Xiao Nan’s the sensible one,” my cousin said with a slight nod before rushing off in another direction.
Watching him hurry away, Fangfang’s expression grew even uglier. She came to my side, her eyes reddening.
“Sister-in-law, perhaps he really does have business. It’s broad daylight—no way he’d do anything shady,” I said quickly, trying to cover for him.
Of course I could not admit that I was the one who had lured him away. As the saying goes, flies do not settle on an egg without a crack. The fact that my cousin would abandon his fiancée for a stranger on WeChat showed just how despicable he truly was.
“So where shall we go next?” Fangfang asked, forcing herself to move on.
“Sister-in-law, let me buy you some candied hawthorn, then we’ll try the famous soup dumplings here. After that, we’ll drive to the Bund,” I suggested after a moment’s thought.
At my words, a relieved smile appeared on Fangfang’s face. It was, after all, her first time in Shanghai, and she wanted to see everything.
Today Fangfang wore a white pleated skirt paired with a fitted cardigan. Her tall, graceful figure made the outfit exceptionally flattering. Walking beside her, I could not help but feel a sense of pride.
We ate and strolled, chatting and laughing freely. Later, Fangfang even took my hand, as though the two of us were the real couple.
Just after one o’clock, my phone vibrated. Surprised, I opened it and saw a message from my cousin.
“Beauty, I’ve arrived at Happy Valley. Where are you?”
Good heavens!
It suddenly hit me—I had tricked him into going all the way to Happy Valley in the suburbs. I had not expected him to get there so quickly; it was quite far from the city center.
After a moment’s thought, I replied, “Handsome, I waited forever and you never showed up. I thought you weren’t coming. I’m at Baolong Plaza in Jiading now.”
“W-what?” he typed back in shock.
“My family lives in Jiading. I’m home alone today. Come or don’t—it’s up to you!” I added.
“You have to wait for me!” he replied eagerly.
“Mhm.” I sent a flying-k!ss emoji.
I slipped the phone back into my pocket and glanced at Fangfang beside me. This time, when he failed to find anyone, he would surely return. We did not have much time left.
“Sister-in-law, shall I take you to the Bund for a quick walk and then head home?” I asked.
“Yes, let’s,” Fangfang agreed readily.
We got into the car. I drove her around the Bund for a while before heading straight home.
“Xiao Nan, why has your cousin been gone so long? Do you think he went to that w0man’s place?” Fangfang asked anxiously the moment we stepped inside and saw that he still wasn’t back.
Hearing her question, I quickly signaled that she needn’t worry, then smoothly changed the subject. “Sister-in-law, about what you said yesterday… were you serious?”
“Huh? What?” Fangfang blinked her large eyes at me.
“That if we ever had the chance… we could comfort each other?” My heartbeat quickened. I knew this was my only opportunity. My cousin had said that morning that he would take Fangfang home tomorrow. Opportunities like this would not come again.
“B-but… what if your cousin comes back?” Fangfang’s cheeks flushed crimson the instant she heard my words.
Last night’s encounter with her had left me burning with impatience. I could not bear to let this chance slip away. At this moment, with just the two of us alone, if nothing happened, I would regret it for the rest of my life.
With that thought, I immediately used my alternate account to delete my cousin from my friends list. Then I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around Fangfang’s slender wa!st.
“X-Xiao Nan, don’t rush…” Fangfang’s delicate b0dy trembled as I held her.
“Sister-in-law, don’t you want this too?” My breathing grew heavy. Up close, I could clearly see the shy, captivating expression on her face. The mere thought of soon pressing her beneath me set my lower abdomen ablaze.
“Yes… I do!” Fangfang whispered, then threw her arms around my neck and k!ssed me deeply.