Chapter 38: Chapter 20 (part 1)

She had been given so much face, and Fu Zheng's acting had been so good, that for a moment Ning Wan had completely bought into the whole play. Perhaps she really was a lowly chicken or dog who had somehow hugged onto the thigh of a rich boss and ascended to heaven. Of course, this floaty feeling lasted only until she stepped out of the hotel. With the cold wind outside blowing against her face, Ning Wan suddenly awoke...

And now she was a little troubled. "There isn't a subway station near this wretched hotel. It's going to be really hard to get a taxi. How will we get back? The nearest bus stop is a kilometer away..."

Just as she said so, a taxi dropped its passengers off and moved her way.

"Ohh, God's looking out for me today!" Happily, Ning Wan made to pull open the door. "What good luck! Come on, let's go!"

However, just as her hand reached out to the door, she was dragged back by Fu Zheng. What happened next felt a little unreal to Ning Wan. She only remembered that a very, very attractive sports car that looked very, very expensive stopped in front of her. Someone got out and respectfully called Fu Zheng's name, then handed over the key. Before she could react, she was already sitting in the passenger seat of that very luxury sports car....

High-quality imitation brand clothes could be found, but high-quality imitation sports cars? Besides, Ning Wan could smell the fragrance of RMB just looking at the car and all its bells and whistles. She didn't even dare touch it for fear of some part being damaged and having to pay a high reparation fee...

"Fu Zheng? Where did you get this car from?"

Fu Zheng licked his lips, then said calmly, "I borrowed it from Gao Yuan."

This was so terrible that Ning Wan simply exploded. "What?! You secretly contacted Gao Yuan to borrow this car?!” She paused,  reflecting on the situation that they had both just been in, and then stuttered, "Could it be that you... you contacted Gao Yuan just to help me slap Shi Wu in the face?!”

"Mn."

Ning Wan felt suddenly like she was sitting on a bed of nails. The gorgeous, luxury sports car was suddenly disgusting to her. Every shiny surface bled with the blood of capitalist exploitation...

"Why would you do that?!”

Continuing to look calm, Fu Zheng darted a glance at her. "You made me pretend to be your boyfriend to pad out your story a little, and then drew all these glowing auras around me. After helping you deal with those clowns in that BMW, are you going to admit defeat so easily now? Didn't you go to that party to throw your weight around? How could you leave in vain?"

"So you contacted Gao Yuan... just to help me out?" Ning Wan asked dully.

"Mn."

Ning Wan suddenly felt the weight of Fu Zheng's friendship. She hadn't expected this little brother of hers to be so loyal!

"You... you won't have to sleep with Gao Yuan for this car, will you...?"

Fu Zheng had been driving fairly steadily, but the way Ning Wan spoke of Gao Yuan, like some lecherous wolf to be wary of, caused the steering wheel to jerk. The car swerved. Fortunately, he quickly recovered his composure.

"No, I won't have to sleep with him."

But this simple denial couldn't ease Ning Wan's heart. "Someone like Gao Yuan couldn't possibly lend you a car that expensive for no reason! There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world! What does he really want? Is he playing the long con? Boiling a frog in warm water?"

"He asked me to have dinner with him."

When she heard that Gao Yuan had asked for something, Ning Wan was momentarily relieved, then worried again. "I don't suppose he would drug your food and force himself on you after dinner?"

“……”

Poor naïve Fu Zheng had probably never experienced the true ugliness of human nature, because sure enough, when he heard that, the car swerved again...

"Drive carefully! Carefully! Concentrate!" Fear made Ning Wan's heart leap into her throat. "This car looks much more expensive than that BMW Seven Series. Drive cautiously, we can't get even a scratch on it. If you do, just having a meal wouldn't make up for the offense, you might really have to sleep with..."

Fu Zheng said nothing. After a while, he seemed to come back to himself and commented drily, "Gao Yuan... might not be as shameless as you think."

Look how naïve he is!

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"You've already said that you don't want to be with Gao Yuan like that, so why won't you listen to my advice? Being despicable is what despicable people do. Gao Yuan's no good! You must be careful of him. I'll accompany you to his dinner invitation. We can't let him be alone with you, or he might do something criminal."

Having scolded Gao Yuan, Ning Wan looked over the sports car and got a little heartburn from doing so. "I really didn't think our partners earned enough to buy a supercar like this! And Gao Yuan isn't even the one who makes the most money among the senior partner group. Think of how rich the others must be!"

She heaved a sigh the more she thought about it. "I really just can't understand what it would be like to be that rich!"

When she ruminated on how this car ended up being owned by that misbehaving Gao Yuan, she felt indignant, "Gao Yuan, that piece of garbage, buying this kind of car... one look and you'll know how irresponsible he isThere was another insult in here, "一个不守妇道的男人", 'man who doesn't obey the womanly way', but I'll be damned if I know how to translate that in a way that makes sense, haha. I suspect it's another one of the author's gender-bender jokes, as a 'woman who doesn't obey the womanly way' is implied to be unvirtuous, disobedient, and stepping out of her lane.! He always pretends to be all modest and humble, but who knew he was secretly so arrogant as to buy such a loud car?! Anyone who drives something so ostentatious you can tell isn't a serious and responsible man."

"..." Fu Zheng licked his lips. His voice, when it came out, sounded somewhat unnatural. "I think it's pretty normal for men like cars... Buying a car like this isn't..."

"Gao Yuan sure knows quite a bit about men's hearts, huh. Are you sure he didn't buy this fancy car just to hit on you? Look how eager you are to say good things about him right now!" Ning Wan disregarded his words. "Yes, I know, men love cars, but Fu Zheng, you must be rational and mature. You must grow up to be a good person. Heed my advice, the man who buys a car like this is an unreliable man, a bad guy, a vain, affected and pretentious sort!"

“……”

She had clearly been criticizing Gao Yuan and keeping her words to Fu Zheng to a simple reminder, but Fu Zheng actually seemed unhappy. When Ning Wan caught a glimpse of his face, she found that it was actually quite dark, and that his lips were pressed together unhappily, as though he had taken offense to her words.

Well, it was true that Fu Zheng deserved some love today. Just to help her vent, he hadn't hesitated to borrow a fancy car from Gao Yuan. Ning Wan reflected upon herself and decided to simply focus on attacking Gao Yuan without reprimanding Fu Zheng.

"Not to mention you, even if we're talking about me, I was honestly very excited to go for a spin in a car like this. Anyone who faces a sugar-coated materialist cannonball like this one would be excited. But if reason prevails afterward, like for me, then even if a man driving this sports car proposed to me on the spot,  I would refuse him after careful consideration. Yes, I would be touched, and my ego and vanity would be stroked, but it wouldn't be a good match!"

“……”

"Why?" Ning Wan continued criticizing, "Because such a man is too boastful! Too full of it! If he could propose to me in a supercar, he could propose to anyone else. Tons of people would say yes just to have a ride in the passenger seat. Why bother with me?"

Before she could get to the meat of her speech, however, Ning Wan was interrupted by Fu Zheng. His tone was lukewarm and oddly sarcastic. "We probably don't need to consider things that won't ever happen."

"Hmm?"

Fu Zheng pursed his lips in a reserved manner. "We don't need to think about scenarios in which a man drives a supercar to propose marriage." He glanced at Ning Wan. "Thinking too much about things like these makes one lose hair. You're a lawyer, so treat yourself kindly. No need to waste time on such unrealistic assumptions."

What he said was strange, but reasonable. Ning Wan thought about it and felt rather discouraged. All the cases she came into contact with nowadays were community disputes among parents. Most of her clients relied on legal aid for services rendered. It was impossible for her to meet a man who drove this kind of car to begin with. Perhaps it might be more practical to meet a man who repaired cars like this.

"How are you going to return this car? Was the driver who drove it over Gao Yuan's chauffeur?"

What one borrows must be returned. Unfortunately, Fu Zheng answered only vaguely.

Ning Wan asked in a conscientious and earnest manner, "Could you ask the driver to come back and drive it away?"

"The driver has something to do tonight." Fu Zheng looked like he no longer wanted to say anymore. "I'll first send you home, then take it to my place. The driver said that he would come get it tomorrow morning."

Fu Zheng seemed to be implying 'you don't have to worry about this car. I'll take care of it and handle it', but since she had accepted him as her disciple, there was absolutely no reason for him to help clean up after her own mess. Fu Zheng had a salary and his own place, but according to what she knew of his income, that home would hardly be in a high-end neighbourhood. Not to mention--

"You don't have a car, how would you find a parking spot? All the free ones are definitely gone by now, and surely you're not going to park this one on the street? What if someone scratches it or bumps into it tonight?"

The more she dwelled on it, the less at ease Ning Wan felt. If something happened to this priceless car, Fu Zheng would be beholden to Gao Yuan. She thought hard before finally pulling out her phone and reluctantly unblocking Gao Yuan--

"Hello? Is that Partner Gao? This is Ning Wan. Yes, it's me. Thank you for letting Fu Zheng and I borrow your car tonight. We are extremely grateful. Fu Zheng would like to invite you to have supper tonight. Are you free by any chance?"