Chapter 19

I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain~

What a glorious feeling, I'm happy again~

The rain kept falling; Li Cheng pushed his bike without an umbrella, softly humming a song from the old movie "Singing in the Rain," his already waterlogged, partially delaminated shoes scuffing against the bricks.

He had originally invited only Han Letian and Mu Yulu to the hotpot restaurant for his birthday; since neither could come, there was no longer any point in going.

But today wasn't that bad, was it?

Someone had sung him a birthday song, he'd eaten birthday cake, and he still had some money in his pocket to buy slightly more expensive snacks—like premium chocolate, for instance.

Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're going to get. Li Cheng was still easily satisfied.

Vrrrr—

The roar of an engine drew nearer; a bright red four-door sports car sped into the street, its loud, blaring noise drawing glances from passersby.

The young driver sported striking gradient green short hair, wore a Moncler silver-reflective jacket, his left hand out the window, lazily tapping the door with a platinum-ringed palm, city lights streaming through his Ray-Ban sunglasses.

The Ferrari Roma four-door coupe, 3.6-liter twin-turbo V8 engine, length 5056mm, width 1974mm, 0–100 km/h in 3.5 seconds—a leopard pacing through the jungle.

Every time the young driver lightly pressed the accelerator, making the sports car roar, the two boys in the backseat cheered excitedly; Luo Zhengxin, sitting in the front passenger seat with a bandage on his nose, also smiled.

"This car isn't the best, but I bought it because the four-door version is longer and more elegant than the two-door. By the way, Zhengxin, you'll turn eighteen next year, right?"

The green-haired young man—Luo Zhengxin's cousin Lu Zhicong—enjoyed the admiring glances, smiling lightly: "When you do, come to my place and pick out a car from the garage—I'll give it to you."

"Whoa—"

The two hangers-on in the back simultaneously gasped with envy—they were also sons of wealthy families, but nowhere near Luo Zhengxin's level, let alone Lu Zhicong, whose every gesture radiated the aura of a Young Master.

This Roma four-door sports car alone cost over 2.3 million yuan to purchase, and that didn't even include optional upgrades.

The hangers-on were still minors; even when they turned eighteen, their parents might not spend that much on such an expensive "toy."

"Thank you, cousin."

Luo Zhengxin grinned happily, the irritation from his sudden stomachache at the mall yesterday already fading.

He looked out the window and saw Li Cheng's figure by the roadside, pausing in surprise.

"Your friend?" Lu Zhicong noticed his cousin's expression change and asked casually.

"Uh…" Luo Zhengxin hesitated, but the two hangers-on in the back, sensing the tension, quickly answered for him: "Classmate we met on the court—had a little conflict."

They wouldn't be so stupid as to expose Luo Zhengxin's humiliation—getting knocked out by a ball and bleeding from the nose.

But Lu Zhicong, raised in privilege since childhood, read their expressions easily and guessed his cousin had lost on the court.

He immediately sneered, slowly steering the sports car to the roadside, aligning it beside Li Cheng.

"Hey, buddy."

He rolled down the window and whistled at Li Cheng: "Your shoes are coming apart."

Li Cheng turned his head at the whistle, saw Luo Zhengxin and the others in the car, and understood.

Trying to win back face outside the court? How childish.

"Thanks for the heads-up."

Having seen a wider world and finding this amusing, Li Cheng grinned, pulled his bike to the curb, walked casually into a local sports store, and bought a pair of affordable athletic shoes.

The rain still fell, so he didn't change shoes right away; instead, he wrapped the shoebox in a plastic bag and continued pushing his bike slowly.

Such calm, unhurried behavior left the four in the sports car momentarily stunned.

The two hangers-on in the back couldn't resist jeering at Li Cheng, while Lu Zhicong's lips involuntarily drooped, his smile gone.

As a scion of a wealthy family, he firmly believed the fruits of his ancestors' generations of hard work could never—and should never—be surpassed by so-called "common elites" in a single lifetime.

Lu Zhicong despised those self-proclaimed geniuses who claimed superior intellect and looked down on men like him.

Why should I?

Why should I?!

My car costs more than your entire house! My watch is worth more than your lifetime's wages!

Fuck, acting all high and mighty? Putting on airs?

Lu Zhicong lightly pressed the accelerator, pulled alongside Li Cheng, and shouted: "Hey, buddy, want a ride?"

Seeing no response, Lu Zhicong shouted again: "Your bike won't make it home in this rain, right? Why not call your parents to pick you up?"

Li Cheng tilted his head slightly, gazed at the other with calm indifference—as if looking at an insect.

Before Lu Zhicong could react, the hanger-on in the back couldn't hold back—he instinctively leaned out the window: "You little—"

Vrrrr!

The deep, rumbling engine roar made him flinch back instinctively.

All four in the car, along with nearby pedestrians, turned toward the source of the sound.

It was a car that had elegance carved into its bones—pitch black, length 5316mm, width 1978mm, 4.0L twin-turbo V8 engine. The silver winged emblem glistened in the rain.

A Bentley, limited edition, roughly one million yuan more expensive than the Roma.

The car glided past the sports car with calm poise, slowed, and stopped beside Li Cheng.

Thud.

The driver's door softly popped open; a female butler in a tailored suit, her hair tied in a neat ponytail, stepped out like she'd stepped from a manga, opened an umbrella, walked to Li Cheng's side, took the plastic bag holding the affordable shoes from his hand, and smiled warmly: "Young Master, please get in the car."

Inside the sports car, the hangers-on couldn't believe their eyes; Luo Zhengxin gaped; Lu Zhicong's half-raised smile froze.

The butler reached out and opened the rear door; the pleasant scent of leather upholstery mixed with warm air conditioning, dispelling the chill of the rainy day.

Shao Wangshu, dressed in a white dress, reclined on the tilted seat, hidden from the sports car behind; her smile was innocent and radiant as she silently gave Li Cheng a "V" sign.

Unable to help but smile, Li Cheng stepped into the car and sat beside Shao Wangshu.

Thud.

The female housekeeper gently closed the car door for Li Cheng, holding an umbrella in one hand while folding up the mud-splattered bicycle by the roadside with the other, placing it together with that pair of budget sneakers into the spotless trunk of the sedan.

Tap tap tap.

She stepped over a puddle at the roadside, not even glancing back at the sports car, and gracefully returned to the driver's seat, started the vehicle, and merged into the traffic.

(End of chapter)