Arrogant Man VS Unyielding Woman

Mandy was being very rude when she implied that Jean would be considered second hand if she was dumped by Zed.

It was a ridiculous notion!

Jean was about to contradict Mandy when the car screeched to a halt. Both she and Mandy were thrown forward abruptly. Fortunately, they didn't get hurt. "Ethan, what's..."

"Miss Chen, I've brought you this far. You should be able to call a cab and go home by yourself." Ethan spoke calmly, however, his expression was extremely cold. Both, Mandy and Jean were startled.

"But... Ethan, I haven't reached home yet. Didn't you ..."

"Sorry. I'm in a hurry to take Jean to her company. Could you please get off here?" Ethan stared out of the windscreen and didn't look at Mandy as he spoke.

Mandy froze in place as she understood what was happening. She clenched her teeth. Although she was angry, she couldn't get mad in front of Ethan. She had to get out of the car. Even before she had closed the door properly, the car sped away.

There was nothing left for Mandy to do except swat away the dust plumes that were left behind by the speeding car. She hadn't even gotten the chance to ask Ethan when they could get together again!

Jean's day had started off on a bad note. As the day progressed, her situation seemed to be getting worse, first with the awkward breakfast incident, the notions Sean had about working women, the way Zed left her on the side of the road, and the encounter with Ethan and Mandy. However, Jean now felt a smile coming on. What Ethan had done soothed her. She looked around and asked, "Didn't you say that it's not easy to grab a cab here? Aren't you afraid that she might get angry because you dropped her in the middle of nowhere?" "I don't care whether or not Mandy is upset by what I did." Ethan muttered as he focused on the road. When Jean didn't reply, he glanced at her in the rearview mirror, "Weren't you going to cut off from Zed? What changed your mind?"

She lowered her eyes and said, "Ethan, that is my business. I'm running late. Could you please drive faster?"

Unhappy with Jean's reply, Ethan stayed silent as he stepped on the accelerator.

When Ethan pulled up in front of the company building, it was five minutes to nine. Jean had no time to thank Ethan as she flew out of the car, rushed through the doors toward the machine, and clocked in. It was only then that she leaned against the wall and sighed in relief.

There was a lot of work to do today. Jean didn't leave her desk except to drink some water and go to the restroom. The company even ordered takeout for lunch.

...

When Jean entered the gate to Zed's villa, it was almost seven in the evening. The whole house was brightly lit.

Jean hesitated at the door for a long time and kept wondering how she would explain her late return. Seven o'clock was not too late, but it was already dark. Sean was so traditional that she wondered if he would be displeased about her getting off work late. Eventually, Jean had no choice but to head inside.

She was surprised to find that the living and dining rooms were empty, even though all the lights were switched on. Jean searched from room to room, but only found Zelda in the kitchen. Jean gave a sigh of relief as she walked into the kitchen and asked, "Zelda, where did dad and mom go?"

"They went to a party. You must be hungry now. What would you like to eat? I will cook for you."

Jean rubbed her stomach at the mention of food. She was really hungry. She thought for a second and smiled, "Zelda, you can cook me anything you like. I'm not a picky eater."

"Is Mr. Zed coming home for dinner?"

"He..." She paused and shook her head, "He has a social engagement this evening. He's not coming back in time for dinner."

Just as Jean finished speaking, the door swung open.

Zelda looked a little confused when she saw that Zed had entered.

"Heh, heh, heh, um... He must have canceled his plans." She whispered to Zelda and cleared her throat, "Zelda, I'm going to take a bath." She ran upstairs in a hurry before Zed or Zelda could say anything.

If Zed knew that dinner was not ready, it would be a big problem.

She rushed into the bedroom and locked the door behind her. There was no way that Jean was going to hang around and see how Zed would behave. After walking to the closet, Jean realized that she didn't have any clean clothes. Was she going to wear the same clothes after her bath? No way! She had to go home and pick up some clothes.

She gave up on the bath and ran to the kitchen, "Zelda, just cook me a bowl of noodles, please. I'm going out in a little while, so I'm afraid that I don't have that much time for dinner."

"But... Mr. Zed just asked me to prepare a proper dinner." Zelda was a little embarrassed. She thought for a few seconds and said, "I'll cook the noodles first and then prepare the dinner for Mr. Zed."

Zed walked out of the restroom at that moment and saw Jean sneaking around the kitchen. He walked toward her slowly.

She was stunned and shook her head hastily, "Let it be. There's no need to trouble yourself so much. I'll figure out dinner by myself." Jean said as she walked toward the door. "Where are you going at this late hour?"

She stopped but didn't turn back at Zed's question. "I left something at the company and I'm going to fetch it."

"What is so important that it needs to be fetched now?" A black shadow fell over Jean as Zed walked up to her. She was startled and looked up only to meet Zed's piercing glare.

She hadn't forgiven him for what had happened this morning and worse, she hadn't thought of a way to get even.

"Jean, Zed, what are you doing here?" Jade and Sean entered just as the young couple were staring at each other at the door. The awkwardness was so apparent that the parents felt it.

Jean paused and frowned slightly. Didn't Zelda tell her that they had gone for a party? It was not even half past seven and they were back so soon?

"Mom, didn't you go to a party? How come you are back so soon?"

Jade passed her bag to Zelda who had stepped forward to help. Then she sighed, "Something happened at the party. So we decided to come home early."

"Oh..." Jean lowered her head as she considered her situation. If she had left just a few minutes earlier, she could have gone home and fetched some clean clothes. But now, there was no plausible excuse for her to go out. Also, if she came back with a bag full of clothes, wouldn't it cause Zed's parents to doubt their relationship?

"Have you had dinner?" Jade asked.

"Not yet."

"We haven't, either. I'll ask Zelda to cook." Jade said as she made her way to the kitchen. Sean walked to the living room. Luke followed Zelda and asked her to make a pot of tea.

"Dad, mom, we are going to have dinner outside." She grabbed Zed's arm, widened her eyes, and looked at Zed. She seemed to be imploring him to play along.

Jade turned, "You are going out for dinner?"

"No." Zed answered in confusion before glaring at Jean.

"Hmm?" Jade was puzzled and looked at Jean.

Jean put on a big smile and looked at Zed with narrowed eyes, "Honey, didn't you tell me last week that you were going to take me to the new French restaurant? You also mentioned that it was hard to get a reservation and so you booked us a table a week in advance?" Upon hearing the word, honey, Zed was stunned. He lowered his head to hide his surprised expression from his parents.

Jean continued to smile at Zed sweetly, but anger danced in her eyes.

On hearing that they were going out on a date, Jade was delighted. She knew that if they could facilitate their relationship, her grandson would come earlier. So she said with a big smile, "Then go ahead. And don't come back tonight! Have a great date. That way the chances of you getting pregnant will be higher! Your dad and I are looking forward to meeting our grandson."

The smile on Jean's face froze when she heard that. Jade was really open! She actually told them not to come back tonight. She...

"All right, mom. Then tonight, we are not coming back." Zed wrapped an arm around Jean's shoulder and pulled her closer. He shot her a suggestive look. Jean shuddered at his flirtatious smile.

With no other alternative, Jean allowed Zed to lead her out of the house and into the car. 0000