Chapter 37: Chapter 19 (part 2)

Ning Wan had drank too much juice. When she got back from the bathroom she found herself too full to keep eating. She checked the time, saw that it was getting late, and felt that it was meaningless to stay longer. "Shall we head out?" she suggested to Fu Zheng.

She hadn't wanted to attract attention, but there was no escaping Shi Wu's love. Just as Ning Wan was about to turn, her voice rang out. "Leaving so early, Ning Wan?"

Yang Pei on her arm, Shi Wu walked over in a gentle, feminine manner. "Have some more to eat. Your boyfriend doesn't have a car, so since you don't have any transport you might as well stay a little longer. I'll have Yang Pei take you both back later in his BMW."

Shi Wu had intended to have an excellent time tormenting Ning Wan tonight. With the rest of her guests following suit, it should have been a lot of fun. But Ning Wan had not jumped up and down in anger in the face of ridicule, so Shi Wu was not at all happy. She felt like she hadn't done what she had set out to do. Not to mention Ning Wan's tall, handsome, cold boyfriend, who was even more of an eyesore to her.

When Yang Pei stood next to him, it was clear to the eye that he really didn't stack up against the man. As Shi Wu had walked around the venue she had overheard a good number of people secretly eyeing Ning Wan's boyfriend, their words envious--

"Looks like beauty's the most useful in the end. So what about Ning Wan's not-so-great job? What a super handsome boyfriend."

"Probably an excellent disposition too. Don't you think he looks really rich?"

……

When she heard these whispers, Shi Wu's jealous face twisted. "What's good about him? Did he stand up for Ning Wan just now? No, so what if this kind of man is handsome? That just makes him either stupid or indifferent. And rich? Why do you blind idiots think he's rich?! This man doesn't even have a car!"

Ever since high school, Shi Wu had been jealous of Ning Wan, of her beauty and her good grades. When Ning Wan had stood up for Song Linxia, Shi Wu had found her even more of an eyesore. She was like a light shining on her gray and dusty self, and her self-righteous view of justice just made Shi Wu hate her even more, as if she herself were comparatively rubbish. So what if she had a sense of justice? The rules of society meant that only the powerful wrote them. Ning Wan's birth was a perfect match to her sense of justice, a joke!

It was too bad that she couldn't control the mouths of everyone else at the venue. Everywhere Shi Wu went, there was always someone gossiping about Ning Wan and her handsome boyfriend...

She thought back to the man's disdainfulness and indifference and gnashed her teeth. Now, seeing Ning Wan trying to slip away while she wasn't paying attention, her malice was about to explode.

"Oh no, that might not work. Yang Pei drank some wine, so he can't drive. But he's got quite a lot of cars, so why don't you borrow this BMW? It's chilly outside right now, and it's so easy to catch a cold walking around." Shi Wu smiled, then as if she suddenly remembered something, said, "Wait, I'm sorry, your boyfriend probably can't drive, can he?"

"I can." Fu Zheng pursed his lips.

Shi Wu bit her lower lip. "But even if you can drive, you don't own a car, so you must not have driven much. For a beginner to drive Yang Pei's BMW 7 Series might be a bit too much pressure. You're always afraid when you drive an expensive car for fear of wrecking it. I can call a friend to send you home..."

This was Ning Wan's last straw. Just as she was about to warn Shi Wu that enough was enough, Fu Zheng opened his mouth.

"Who told you that I don't own a car?"

His tone is cold and full of arrogance. This...

This performance was wonderful... just... It's just that mud can't support a wall... After all, he didn't really have any money...

At that moment, Ning Wan suddenly felt particularly embarrassed. She had originally pulled Fu Zheng in as a supporting actor. Because of her, he had suffered indignities, and even now at the end he was still fighting to the death, using his acting skills as leverage...

She could only pull at Fu Zheng's sleeve, her head down. "Forget it, ignore her and let's go."

Unfortunately, it looked like Shi Wu's tone had also been Fu Zheng's last straw. He took out his mobile phone, his face chilly, and made a phone call. "Zhang Qiao, come pick me up. I'll send you the address."

Then he hung up the phone and looked at Shi Wu. "No need for your boyfriend to send us back, I'm having my driver pick us up. Ning Wan doesn't usually like us to be too conspicuous, and it's nice to feel like an ordinary couple out on the street, so I didn't drive today. Thank you for your care. You are really as enthusiastic as your classmates say."

When he said this, he suddenly smiled and continued in a straightforward manner, "But you really don't need to add me to WeChat for that. I can drive, but I usually leave it to the driver. It's true I'm unskilled, but you don't have to be so enthusiastic as to want to give me private lessons."

The whole audience was stunned. They were all adults. Everyone recognized the subtle meanings behind such an invitation.

Yang Pei was the first to explode. He had already drunk a little too much, and the way today had gone, he had been compared negatively to Fu Zheng left and right. Ever since the car ride, he had been feeling suffocated, and now apparently Shi Wu had been flirting with Fu Zheng behind his back!

"You asked him for his WeChat behind my back?!”

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"No! And I never offered to teach him to drive! I never asked for his WeChat at all! It's all rubbish!" Red-eyed, Shi Wu glared at Fu Zheng. "It was this man who struck up a conversation with me! He asked for my contact information in a super creepy way, so I refused and he got angry. Now he's slandering me!"

Ning Wan was completely taken aback by this sudden plot twist. She felt a little anxious. There wasn't any evidence, so even if what Fu Zheng said was true... this sort of thing... was hard to make stick...

But where she was so anxious she could have died, Fu Zheng was calm. He took out his mobile phone and fiddled with it. Then from the phone came Shi Wu's coquettish voice--

"It's good to meet you, Lawyer Fu.... If you have any questions, we could swap contact information so we can continue to speak in private..."

Fu Zheng hit the pause button, then looked at Shi Wu's pale face and let out an awkward laugh. "Sorry about that. Occupational disease, you know, everything has to be recorded for evidence. Though I consider myself a self-disciplined man, I'm always a little worried about being slandered. So when someone from the opposite sex strikes up a conversation with me one-on-one, I usually hit the record button just in case Ning Wan misunderstands. I had my phone out just now when you approached, Miss Shi, so I just made a little sound bite. I didn't expect to have to use it."

Smiling, he looked at his watch. "Will you look at the time. Ning Wan and I ought to be heading out. See you later, everyone." He paused, eyed Shi Wu, and then added, "Ah, my bad, I won't see you later. In the future, I won't ever let Ning Wan come to a party of this caliber ever again."

……

Fu Zheng left with Ning Wan in his wake, leaving a mess behind for Shi Wu to clean up.

This was no less than a perfect score on-the-spot face-slapping, complete with evidence. Now Shi Wu was standing in front of all her guests, seemingly having been stripped naked and beaten in public. Her face was alternating green and red, while Yang Pei was fuming.

"You shameless bitch! I knew you were a fickle little slut! If I hadn't had that BMW Seven Series, would you have ever warmed up to me? Fine! I never want to see you again. Don't come looking for me.  Even if I gave you a birthday gift tonight, we're breaking up!"

Naturally, Shi Wu gritted her teeth and denied, "I didn't! Yang Pei, how could you listen to rumours from someone else?" In a rage, she ignored logic and explained wildly, "Fu Zheng has no money even though he came back from the United States. What driver! It's all nonsense! I don't think he's rich at all, and if you don't believe me, you can see for yourself. They'll definitely be taking a taxi home!" Eagerly, she pressed, "Why would I ever go after a man who doesn't even have a car?! It wouldn't be in character for me at all!"

Shi Wu had had a perfectly good birthday party made for flaunting, yet now it had blown up in her face. She had been humiliated and defamed in one fell swoop. She might even lose her boyfriend. Naturally unwilling to lie down and die, she dragged Yang Pei to the window of the venue. When looking down from this angle, you happened to be able to see the main entrance of the hotel. Sure enough, Ning Wan and Fu Zheng appeared in the doorway.

Soon, a taxi stopped in front of the two, and Ning Wan went up. She seemed about to open the back door...

Shi Wu seemed to have caught onto a lifeline. She looked back at Yang Pei and the other guests present. "You see? I told you they were bragging! I just said that thing about WeChat to test that guy. I thought he might be a poor scammer, so I had to warn Ning Wan, I was worried that she would get cheated out of... "

But before she could finish her sentence, below them Ning Wan was pulled back by Fu Zheng, and the taxi drove away. Soon after, an extremely luxurious-looking sports car arrived, stopping right in front of Ning Wan and Fu Zheng. From the driver's seat, a man stepped out to greet Fu Zheng and handed him a set of keys. Shi Wu watched as Fu Zheng pulled open the door of the supercar for Ning Wan before seating himself.

"Oh my goodness! That's a , isn't it? It is, right? Am I just dazzled?"

"I don't think you are! It's a Pagani, trust me!"

"What model is it?"

"Can't quite make it out, but that's not important. Pagani supercars go for millions..."

When the classmates were done gawking in amazement at the main entrance, they couldn't help but sigh--

"What kind of crazy rich guy is Ning Wan's boyfriend... that's insane..."

"He loves her so much that he doesn't drive and acts low-key just to have an 'ordinary love' with her..."

"And he defended her so well, too, Ning Wan really won at life..."

……

Yang Pei threw off Shi Wu's hand and stalked away. Though it was obviously her birthday party, the rest of her guests were all gossiping about Ning Wan with envy in their voices, leaving her to stand around, awkward and embarrassed. Shi Wu stamped her foot. Too ashamed to face the crowd, she ran back to her hotel suite alone, crying.