Chương 146: Chapter 63 (part 2)

The next day was a weekend, and Ning Wan slept in. When she got up, she found that Shao Lili had sent her countless messages overnight--

"Ning Ning, I'm so sorry for not holding you back."

"I just hope that you'll be able to forgive me in the future."

?

She wasn't sure what misunderstanding Shao Lili had, so Ning Wan called her up immediately. "Why would I blame you? Rest assured, last night everything went great!"

But even though she had said so, Shao Lili's voice was still trembling. "Is everything really all right? Did you apologize to Fu-Fu Zheng?"

"Apologize for what?" Ning Wan thought her strange. "Yes, I was drunk, but Fu Zheng accepted my heartfelt words! He agreed! We're together now! He didn't reject me! I'm not single anymore!"

Sure enough, her coming off the register of singles was huge news. The moment she said that, Shao Lili immediately yelled in shock, "You? And Fu Zheng???”

"Yup."

"That... isn't appropriate, is it?"

"What's not appropriate? I feel like he's fine. Yes, he's thirty but he's gentle, considerate, and kind. Although sometimes he's a little too naïve and idealistic and even a bit of a stick-in-the-mud, not nearly as adaptable as I am, I don't dislike him and I'm willing to provide for him. I think the most important thing about a man is not his money, but the rarest thing of all, his purity and innocence! Before Ang Lee became famous, they lived off his wife's income for years!"

“……”

Shao Lili felt like life was stranger than fiction. Everything had been messed up ever since the waiter brought them the wrong cocktail last night. After Fu Zheng had indicated to her last night that she should leave, Shao Lili had barely slept a wink even though she had gotten home early. For a while she had been quite worried about whether or not Ning Wan was still alive. Of course, now that she had confirmed that Ning Wan was still alive and kicking, Shao Lili, who had just gleaned quite a bit of information from her words, felt even more frightened.

Ning wan obviously wasn't aware of who Fu Zheng really was. So much so that she was audacious enough not to avoid him, but instead intended to raise him...

Thinking of Fu Zheng, Shao Lili unconsciously shivered. This senior partner wasn't preparing to swindle Ning Wan, was he? Ning Wan, that fool, had already confessed her feelings, so why hadn't he confessed to her his identity?

 

Unbeknownst to Shao Lili, Fu Zheng was actually planning the confession of his identity at that very moment. He didn't intend to hide it. Even if it hadn't been for Ning Wan's sudden, surprise confession, Fu Zheng had already planned to profess his feelings to her himself.

Even now, whenever he thought of her silly, cute drunk appearance, Fu Zheng couldn't help but laugh. Even her breath lingered on his lips - in the form of the faint taste of wine.

After they had parted last night, he hadn't gone home immediately, but had first made a stop at the second-hand house in Yuelan Community.

Ning Wan had not elaborated on how she had confessed, but Fu Zheng wasn't stupid.

He opened the door and walked in,  and turned around. When he finally spotted those cherries in the shape of a heart on his kitchen counter, he couldn't stop himself from laughing.

If you didn't look very carefully at the thing before your eyes, you wouldn't even be able to make out that they were cherries. Fu Zheng had been busy taking care of his mother for quite some time, and after not having been to his apartment in Yuelan for so long, the cherries had grown fur and turned into a rather downy heart. They looked like a rather crookedly-shaped petri dish...

Fu Zheng had never liked things that had expired or gone bad, but at that moment, looking at that furry little pile of mold, he felt quite soft inside. Even its hairs seemed quite cute.

He took a photo as a souvenir before cleaning up the "confession".

Then, standing in his second-hand house, he called Gao Yuan.

 

Gao Yuan was still working overtime in Zhengyuan Law when he got Fu Zheng's call. Upon hearing that he was still at the firm, Fu Zheng said that he would come at once.

Had some troublesome issue cropped up? The only thing that would keep Fu Zheng up this late must be work! And for the first thing he thought of to be Gao Yuan, why that just showed Gao Yuan's standing in his mind!

In accordance with such friendship, Gao Yuan quickly finished up the work he was doing. At almost at the same time, Fu Zheng pushed open the door to his office.

"So do you have something you'd like to ask my advice on?" Gao Yuan poured him a glass of water politely. "I would be happy to give my most professional opinions on the matter."

Fu Zheng's brow was furrowed, his eyes sober, and his lips pressed tight. He had never done this in the past, even when up against cases worth of tens of millions in dollars. It seemed that he had truly encountered some great difficulty.

Gao Yuan waited to hear this centuries-old puzzle that had stumped Fu Zheng, only to hear him calmly open his mouth and say--

"I'm considering how best to confess my identity to Ning Wan."

???

It wasn't... Question marks flashed all over Gao Yuan's head? But what about the agreed-upon work issue? That's it? That's it?! Through his mind flashed a new saying that he had just acquired from the Internet - My pants are already off, and this is what you show me???

Fu Zheng was obviously ignoring his doubts. All he did was glance at Gao Yuan before continuing, "Oh, and I forgot to mention. Ning Wan and I are together now."

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“……”

He was already married, yet Gao Yuan still felt like he had just been stuffed with dog food. Especially that smug little smile in Fu Zheng's eyes. Although he hadn't really said anything, his voice was overflowing with haughty self-satisfaction...

"Get out of here with that proud face!" Gao Yuan couldn't help himself, "It's the middle of the night and you run over just to tell me this? Seriously?!"

"Seriously," Fu Zheng smiled. "In Ning Wan's eyes, I have neither money nor career. I'm just an intern, yet she still likes me and wants to be with me. Why shouldn't I be proud? She's so beautiful,  has a great personality, plus she's so cute and lovable. She could obviously find someone better, but she chose me... "

"..." Gao Yuan wanted to scream: Wake up and stop bragging about Ning Wan...!

"But as you know, you lied to Ning Wan, and now everything about you is built on a lie. Don't be so proud that she loves you in spite of your identity - if she ever found out, she would probably keep you at a respectful distance. I mean, what's the difference between your behavior and fraud? You dishonest man!"

As Fu Zheng's face darkened, Gao Yuan energetically twisted the knife. "Have you ever seen any of those 8pm dramas on TV8pm is a very popular time slot for dramas. Lots and lots of soap operas get broadcast around then :)? The moment the hero deceives the heroine, the love story is in jeopardy. Eventually the truth comes out, and the furious heroine will break up with him..."

"But they always get back together at the end."

"Well, yes." Gao Yuan took a sip of water and irresponsibly continued his barrage. "But usually only after the hero gets terminally ill, or loses an arm or leg. The heroine forgives him out of sympathy, and after that it doesn't take long for them to end up together. Then the man dies, and the woman spends the rest of her life grieving him. In the last scene, they usually show her going to the dead man's grave, and then, to show that many years have passed, they usually give a close-up shot of the grass growing on the grave... ah, that's right... it's always quite tall...."

“……”

Looking particularly unhappy, Fu Zheng reminded, "I came here today to ask for your advice. As a senior partner, you should be solving problems, not bringing them up. Also, stop watching so many shitty romance dramas."

"Free consultation on two commercial cases." Gao Yuan paused. "And five days less paid time off the first year after you join Zhengyuan Law."

Truly, this was what people meant when they said: A lion opening its mouth wideA greedy person asking for too much..

Nonetheless, even faced with such humiliating terms, Fu Zheng agreed without thinking. "Deal."

Gao Yuan had won the negotiation. He didn't drag it out by crowing over his victory, but said immediately, "You must tell her, of course, but how you say it matters. Don't make the atmosphere too serious when you tell her, because once it's serious, it makes a person instinctively think that the matter is absolutely critical. Ning Wan will only distrust you further because of your lies."

Fu Zheng frowned. "But is there any way to be tactful about this sort of thing?"

Gao Yuan produced an advertisement. "Look at this. It's tailor-made for you."

Fu Zheng took a look, pursing his lips. "An amusement park?"

"Yes, a newly opened amusement park. Their theme is 'A fairy tale world for adults', it's not aimed toward children. You have to be 18 or over to enter, and I hear it's very good. Take Ning Wan there to play."

"Confessing at an amusement park?"

"Yup, the park has an activity for two called the Secret Exchange Hollow Tree. There's a big tree right in the middle, and a road to both the left and the right. When two people enter, they each go left or right to an individual confession room. Many couples or friends who aren't quite couples just yet go there, write down their secrets, and then the staff hides the letter in the tree hollow for you. Afterward, the staff will tell the other person who came with you your tree hollow number, and with the corresponding password, they can read each other's secrets."

"Go to that Secret Exchange Tree, write down your secret, and then exchange with Ning Wan," Gao Yuan said happily. "Of course, before that, take her to play around in the amusement park first, warm her up a bit and soften her feelings. This makes for a good vibe that won't be too serious. Tell Ning Wan your identity while she's relaxed and in a good mood. If she's upset and about to lose her temper when she sees the content of your secret, take advantage of the hustle and bustle of the park to sweet-talk and grovel in apology. Wouldn't that work?"

Fu Zheng listened thoughtfully, and the furrow in his brow gradually smoothened out. He looked at the little advertisement in his hand and thought that this plan might really work, but...

"How do you have so much experience at this? Haven't you been married for years? How come you know more about these fresh new gadgets that young couples play with than I do?"

"Haven't I been working overtime lately, to the point that my wife is making noises about getting divorced?" Gao Yuan winked. "You've only just fallen in love. Later you'll understand that buttering up is an essential skill for modern men, one that requires continuing education and constant refreshing of knowledge."

Having said this, Gao Yuan pointed to the little advertisement. "Not to mention that this Secret Exchange Hollow Tree idea is actually pretty clever. The park founder's pretty creative. After all, lovers and married couples both often have some harmless little secrets between them."

Fu Zheng picked up the advertisement, then glanced at Gao Yuan and tactfully considered his words. "As a matter of fact, not only do lovers and married couples often have secrets between them, but sometimes friends do too."

Gao Yuan burst out laughing. "Oh yeah? Are there any secrets between us? Something else you're not telling me?"

"I don't want to hide it from you, but after Ning Wan and I clear the air between us, I suggest that you and I ought to go to this Secret Exchange Hollow Tree together."

"?"

"I have something to confess to you."

"What are you being so mysterious about? If there's something between you and me, say it straight to my face. What's with two grown men exchanging secrets at tree hollows? That's just weird..."

Regrettably, even when confronted with Gao Yuan's doubts, Fu Zheng still insisted, "No, there are some things I'm afraid you might not be able to bear if they were said straight to your face. It would be better to wait until we find a time with a good vibe."

Gao Yuan was a little puzzled. Of course it was impossible for friends to share every little detail of their lives. It was normal to have secrets from each other, but Fu Zheng's attitude of hiding something horrible and his usage of the word 'confess', left Gao Yuan trying to guess his secret up until the moment Fu Zheng left.