Chapter 8

The crowd on the street was steadily growing. Xander glanced at the time, seven minutes remained until the agreed time. Eliza, however, was still launching her bizarre complaint to the traffic police, accusing him of colluding with someone to deceive and take advantage of her… What a load of nonsense! He muttered under his breath, grabbing Eliza’s hand as he tried to smooth things over, “Alright, can you please stop creating a fuss? I promise to buy you a diamond ring, three carats as you wished, and a BMW too, as long as you stop this. I apologize, everyone, this is my girlfriend. She’s upset because I initially didn’t agree to buy her the ring and car.” The traffic police upon hearing this, looked at Eliza with suspicion. Dressed in a light silver-gray suit by Yves Saint Laurent, and sporting a bright watch on his wrist, Xander undoubtedly looked incredibly affluent. Coupled with his tender and gentle smile, and his passionate words, he simply didn’t match the term “ruffian.” On the other hand, Eliza was wearing a light gray long-sleeved t-shirt, casual pants, and flat shoes. The crowd’s bias swiftly tilted in favor of Xander, believing this was simply a case of Cinderella meeting her prince - something indeed worth checking out! As he was speaking in a hushed tone, she could hardly discern his lip movements. She strained to catch his words, only faintly hearing something about a ring. A disgruntled officer approached Eliza, “Madam, please refrain from such behavior in the future, it’s very disruptive!” Suppressing his anger, Xander apologized to the officer. As the crowd gradually dispersed, Eliza became anxious, wondering why this was happening. Just as she was about to call out to the officer, Xander grabbed her, striding along. “What are you doing? Hey, hey!” She struggled, swinging at him with her free hand. Nonchalantly, he grabbed both her hands while his other arm circled her waist, forcibly leading her forward. Watching the two squabble and continue on their way, the traffic police merely glanced at them before returning to his post. A little further away, Xander called his secretary, “I’m on my way now, apologize to the guests for me. Also, send someone to Liberty Avenue, my car’s still there.” “Understood, Mr. President.” Ending the call, he crossed the road to another branch road, hailed a taxi, then pushed Eliza aside as he got in the cab, leaving her there. "Damn, Scoundrel!” Watching the taxi drive away, Eliza stomped her foot in frustration. But what could she do? She had no idea what had just happened as she couldn't hear any of it! On her way back to the place she rented, she found that the landlord, in anger, had thrown her only possessions outside. Liu from next door kindly informed her that the landlord had given up on asking for the rent, telling her to use that money for medication instead. She bought a few large woven bags from a roadside store, packed her belongings in silence, and moved them to the side of the road to wait for the minivan she had called. As evening fell, She sat in the middle of the woven bags. Wind sifted through the branches of the trees and blew at her, causing her hair to dance wildly, covering her cheeks. She had her hands in her pockets while her feet aimlessly kicked at the ground. "It's going to be okay," she reassured herself, "It's just a matter of sleeping. Whether you hit the sack early or late, it doesn't matter whether it's this man or that man, all that happens is sleep." She tried to relieve the pent-up frustration in her chest. But... she tilted her head up, her eyes gazing at the distant high-rise buildings blankly. But... how her heart ached!