Chapter 20

In the steel jungle city, neon lights flashed brilliantly.

Rain slid down the car windows, tracing streaks like tears. The fine patter of rain blended with the engine's low hum, strangely calming and reassuring.

Li Cheng sat in the back seat, his fingers lightly tapping his knees. The seat's ventilation and heating functions were both on, circulating warm air that quickly dried the dampness on his skin.

After a moment's thought, he smiled at Shao Wangshu: "Thanks just now."

Though he didn't think Luo Zhengxin and the others' childish behavior held much real meaning, their goodwill was still goodwill.

"It's nothing, hehehe (〃〃)."

Shao Wangshu smiled shyly, straightening her seat back until it aligned with his, then happily swaying the tips of her Prada glossy leather shoes from side to side.

"But it's really coincidental—running into you again."

Li Cheng pushed back his bangs. In Yin City, with its dozen districts and over twenty million people, meeting twice in a row was an extraordinary coincidence.

"It's not that incredibly coincidental,"

said Wei Caiyan, the female butler in the driver's seat. "We just finished dinner at Guangming Cun—the place you recommended yesterday. It's right down the next street."

"Oh, I see."

Li Cheng nodded, dispelling his suspicions—recent accidents had made him cautious about everything. "By the way, what did you think of the place? What did you order? Did you like it?"

"We ordered four-joy fried gluten, smoked fish, yellow cabbage and pork stir-fried rice cakes, stir-fried shrimp, braised fish in fermented sauce, and sizzling eel."

Shao Wangshu counted off on her fingers, then smiled apologetically. "It was pretty tasty, but a bit too sweet."

"Alright."

Li Cheng's expression was resigned. The signature style of Yin City cuisine is rich oil and dark sauce, with a sweet undertone. The more authentic the dish, the less likely an outsider would enjoy it.

"Next time, shall I take you to a restaurant serving a different cuisine?"

"Yes, yes!"

The conversation flowed easily and happily; before they knew it, the car reached an intersection and stopped at a red light.

"Phew—"

A white BMW 7 Series slowed to a stop. Xue Jingming, gripping the steering wheel, yawned and blinked hard to shake off his drowsiness.

The whole family was dressed formally: his wife, Li Zhao, in a black long dress, sat in the front passenger seat; their two children, Xue Lingyu and Xue Luomeng, sat in the back, scrolling on their phones.

With time still left before the light changed, Li Zhao pulled out a thermos of warm tea and handed it to her husband for a sip. Softly, she said: "Go to bed early tonight."

"Mm."

Xue Jingming nodded. He was a sales manager at a shipping machinery equipment company, having just finished a family banquet with the company's boss.

The banquet had gone amicably; the boss had even hinted at promoting him to head of sales.

"Things might get even busier from now on."

Thinking of this, Xue Jingming gently took his wife's hand and said tenderly: "You've worked hard at home."

"You've worked hard too," Li Zhao replied, stroking his handback, her gaze soft as water.

Xue Jingming's family, the Xues, were no minor clan—they were an ancient lineage spanning two or three centuries.

As a direct family member, had he followed the path his elders planned, his achievements would far exceed what they are now—he might well be serving as president or manager of one of the family's subsidiary enterprises.

But twenty years ago, he firmly resolved to marry Li Zhao, a girl from Shenshan who hadn't even finished high school, and he severed ties with his parents, moved out, found his own job, rented an apartment, got married, and built his current success step by step—without a single bit of family backing.

Now, with a harmonious family and a successful career, he had silenced the rumors that mocked him for being tricked by a country girl and going mad.

After twenty years of marriage, the two remained as deeply in love as ever, never hiding their affection—even kissing each other every morning when leaving home.

It was a torment for Xue Lingyu and Xue Luomeng in the back seat, forced to endure this saccharine dog food.

Xue Luomeng silently rolled her eyes, rolled down her window, and breathed in the fresh air outside.

"Huh?!"

Suddenly, she saw something utterly unbelievable—her eyes widened wide.

Not far ahead, in a Bentley worth roughly four times the price of a BMW 7 Series, a gentle, white-dressed girl was chatting and laughing with a familiar figure.

"What's wrong?"

Li Zhao followed her daughter's gaze and saw Li Cheng and Shao Wangshu—her eyebrows lifted slightly.

"Wait—is that Li Cheng? Could I be mistaken? That Bentley looks like a limited edition…"

"About four or five million."

Xue Jingming, who knew cars well, clicked his tongue.

These days, only a handful of companies still developed new models in the ultra-luxury sedan segment.

Compared to Rolls-Royce and Maybach, the Bentley wasn't the most expensive—but it excelled in elegant restraint, vintage yet not outdated, perfectly matching old-money taste: even the British Queen, while alive, switched the royal car from Rolls-Royce to Bentley.

It wouldn't be inappropriate for a young girl to ride in one.

"Um, this."

After a moment's hesitation, Shao Wangshu picked up a white gift box wrapped in kraft paper and placed it gently between them. "I saw on QQ that today's your birthday, so I took the liberty of picking out a gift."

"Huh?"

Li Cheng raised an eyebrow, peering inside the packaging and spotting a DJI drone—the model printed on the box was one he'd never heard of.

He didn't reach for it, hesitating: "Isn't this a bit too expensive?"

If it were a cheap entry-level drone costing just over a thousand yuan, he could've accepted it without worry—just treat her to dinner next time. But clearly, whatever was inside had nothing to do with "cheap."

Debts of gratitude were hardest to repay, especially since he'd only known her for a few days—why was she so eager?

"Not expensive at all! My family has frequent business dealings with drone companies—we're longtime clients. This model is the next-generation product, not yet on the market. It was given to us as a free gift, no cost. Look, there's no price tag on it."

Shao Wangshu shook her head vigorously like a rattle drum, emphasizing the word "free," terrified he'd refuse.

'This girl… is hopeless.'

Wei Caiyan, the driver, had to exert great effort to suppress the urge to roll her eyes.

She'd heard Shao Wangshu's endless chatter lately—yesterday's "coincidental" meeting at the flower and bird market had been suspiciously deliberate, with all the vibe of someone offering unsolicited favors with ulterior motives.

According to the original plan, they were supposed to wait a few more days until both sides were more familiar and their relationship had progressed further, then Shao Wangshu would pretend to "discover" that Li Cheng's birthday had already passed, and under the pretext of making it up to him, give him this drone worth several tens of thousands.

That way it wouldn't seem so abrupt.

But this little girl, the moment she saw the object of her heart walking in the rain, her brain turned to mush, completely forgetting the previous arrangement.

The intent is way too obvious! Sure, a girl chasing a boy is only a thin veil apart, but being this forward will scare him off, hey!

Anyone would suspect that all this enthusiasm meant she was trying to sell him off to Myanmar.

"Alright."

Seeing how desperately Shao Wangshu was explaining, Li Cheng suspected that if he refused she might cry, so he had no choice but to accept the gift. He then took out his phone and checked Shao Wangshu's profile on QQ.

"Your birthday is January 1st, New Year's Day? Then next time I give you a birthday gift, you can't refuse either, okay?"

"Okay!"

A light seemed to flash in Shao Wangshu's eyes. She extended her right pinky and said seriously, "Pinky swear?"

"Ha." Li Cheng couldn't help but laugh, but he still extended his pinky as well, hooking it with hers. "Pinky swear, a hundred years no change."

(End of chapter)