Chapter 10: Chapter 7 (part 1)

Ning Wan waited and fretted for a whole day after sending her self-recommendation email. She couldn't sleep well because she re-read the email every half hour, and the next day, she went to work with dark circles under her eyes.

In contrast to her visible exhaustion, Fu Zheng looked radiant. He seemed to have somehow regained his peace of mind. At the moment, he was sitting quietly on the plastic stool, his face calm, as if he had accepted the arrangements of fate and the beatings of life and decided to spend the rest of his days being clever and obedient.

Look at that! Even Fu Zheng had grown up overnight, so why was no one answering her email?!

Lamenting in her heart, Ning Wan began to work. As she fielded the the 14th legal consultation call today, Old Ji from next door scurried in.

"Xiao Fu, isn't it?" He smiled kindly. "I'm the director of the Social Work Committee of Yuelan Neighbourhood. You can call me Old Ji. I need you to write me a self-introduction of about 200 words, and send me a 2-inch photo of yourself." He explained, "In order to encourage residents of our community to consult, our community announcements and website has a biography area for our community lawyers. We're doing an update pretty soon, and since you just arrived, we can get you included if you can quickly slap something together."

Finishing his spiel quickly, Old Ji looked toward Ning Wan. "Ning Wan, send Xiao Fu's photo and self-introduction to our publicity email!" He looked at his watch and ran. "I've got to go, I'm running late! I'll let you take care of it!"

"All right then, add me on WeChat." Ning Wan fished out her mobile phone reluctantly. "Go ahead and scan."

She still felt that Fu Zheng was incapable of staying here for long. If it weren't for Old Ji's request, she wouldn't have bothered adding his contact information just based on their plastic work relationship.

Fu Zheng probably thought so too, because he too slowly took out his phone and grudgingly scanned her QR code, looking for all the world like a chaste woman forced into prostitution. Ning Wan suspected that he might just send her the photo and then delete her contact information, as if she didn't deserve to be in his noble circle of friends...

However, since she had not received a reply to her email, she was wan and sluggish and and didn't feel like sparring with Fu Zheng. She didn't even feel like ignoring him. What did summer insects know about winter? What would someone who entered through a backdoor know about career planning in the industry?

Just then, Fu Zheng sent his brief introduction and photo. Ning Wan looked at the overly-recognizable photo and told him, "Find another photo."

Fu Zheng raised his head to look at her with the same beautiful eyes as the photo, frowning. "Does that one not meet the requirements?"

It did, but it was too beautiful. Although objectively speaking the photo was inferior to the living, breathing version of Fu Zheng, it was a complete no-go as it was. It looked like a photo one would send to a blind date.

Gold and jade on the outside, rotten cotton on the inside. Although he had gotten here through nepotism, his looks were remarkable. Even with his mediocre abilities, he should have no problem using his face to eat.

Since she had to answer an incoming call, she suggested succinctly and kindly, "One that's ugly."

Unfortunately, Fu Zheng's face turned dark upon hearing this. "I don't have any ugly photos."

"Then a slightly uglier one," Ning Wan advised him genuinely. "Or an ordinary-looking one. This really is in your best interests."

"I don't have a photo like that." Despite her good intentions, Fu Zheng rejected her coolly and elegantly, without even thinking or realizing her kindness. "Just use this one."

In his best interests? Fu Zheng was almost laughing in fury. Was there such a thing as too much drama for this woman? It was a tiny community to begin with, and here she was, infighting amongst themselves to crowd him out. To not even allow him to use a good-looking photo! What a narrow-minded view of the world! Did she have to step on him in every little detail before she was satisfied? To want him to use the ugliest photo he had...

"Are you sure?" Asked the narrow-minded, criticized party, completely ignorant of his thoughts. "But..."

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"No buts." Fu Zheng said coldly, interrupting her. "It's just a photo. Even if you Photoshop me, you couldn't make me ugly. Do you find it fun to kick up a fuss about little things?"

“……”

Ning Wan ground her teeth. This Fu Zheng really was the dog that bit Lu DongbinA mythological ancient scholar who treated a dog well but was bitten by it - a saying for people who can't judge someone with good intentions, an idiot who couldn't discern the good intentions in a person's heart!

Since he wouldn't listen to her kind reminder, then he shouldn't blame her for her heartlessness!

She sent Fu Zheng a look and a mocking smile. "Well then, go ahead and use the handsome photo, just so long as you're prepared to bear the consequences bravely."

Fu Zheng scoffed. Was she threatening him? Consequences? Wasn't this just a photo? What consequences? It's just a few more people looking at a photo and praising his looks...

 

Only two hours later, Fu Zheng found himself beginning to understand the profound meanings behind Ning Wan's words and the consequences she had spoken of-- in a very painful manner.

"Young man, how old are you this year? Where are you from? Are you a native?"

"Are you married by any chance?"

He had not been wary of these old aunties in the beginning. "No."

"Not married then, good, good! Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No."

He hadn't expected his two casual replies to light a fire...

"Ohoho, young man, have you ever thought about switching jobs? You could take the civil servant examination! Or you could study for the public security examination. It's an excellent job, stable and decent! "

"Are you renting locally? Do you have a driver's license?"

……

Two hours after his photo and brief personal profile had been made public, the door of the community lawyer's office was battered down by an endless stream of middle-aged and elderly aunties...