The others' expressions changed too.
Han Xiao was the first to laugh. "Low-class?" He clicked his teeth, squinted, as if hearing something unprecedented and novel, frowned in disagreement. "The only son of the Fourth Construction Company, a top student in mechanical engineering at S University. Not low-class, right?"
He frowned sharply and looked at the others. "Hmm? What do you say?"
You Shun also laughed. "He's my dear friend from the mountains and rivers! Not including him? Gotta pay up!"
Ning Ci was even more arrogant. He didn't lift his head, his chest shaking with laughter, gently shaking his head, completely ignoring this upstart.
The young man in white—the most low-key Third Young Master of the He family, He Xinyuan—shook his head, looked at Wei Qisi with contempt, a face full of 'where did this country bumpkin come from? Don't bring such trash here, okay?'
Before leaving, Han Xiao patted the newcomer's shoulder and said earnestly, "He is the phoenix's tail, that's right."
"But even a tail is a phoenix that a chicken can never match, understand?"
A proper rich young master, who in his spare time comes to work a part-time job at a store, unlike you, a good-for-nothing, only eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling. You're not even as good as his little finger. Who are you to judge him?
The nouveau riche's face turned the color of pig's liver.
Brother Hao was completely unaware, still arguing with a customer not far away, "I told you to buy this one! This one's good!"
The customer, annoyed by him, said, "Are you crazy?"
Haozi was very composed, even a bit unflappable. He only paused for a fraction of a second, pursed his lips, and gave the customer a very polite smile. "Sorry, typical ESTP personality. Say what you will."
Ning Ci, passing by and hearing this, couldn't help but laugh. "Let's go."
You Shun: "Brother Hao, let's go!"
"I haven't clocked out yet. Hey, where are you going? I'll find you later after I finish."
"No need." Han Xiao said. "Everyone go home."
-
In the garage.
Wan Yi took her own BMW 4 Series convertible to drive her, a silver convertible.
Cheng Buxi could drive. From now on, she planned to get her driver's license again. Standing by the road waiting for someone to pick her up was too passive.
Outside the window, the sky was gradually darkening, like blue ink mixed with ash. The streetlights weren't fully on yet. Various shops vied for attention, their colorful signs blurry in the deepening dusk, swaying backward.
The car drove smoothly. It was the first time Wan Yi had driven her, so she was inevitably nervous and excited. While focusing on driving, she also kept an eye on her every move.
In the rearview mirror was the elegant profile of the little miss.
But all the way, she was listless, sunk into the soft back seat like a dehydrated plant.
She stared absently out the window, as if her spirit had been drained. She was completely different from when she had left the Chairman's Office.
Her face was expressionless, not dissatisfied, not dejected, just empty, with a bone-deep weariness.
Wan Yi wanted to ask what was wrong, but lacked the opportunity and was afraid of overstepping her bounds or annoying her.
Suddenly, she noticed a new Bottega Veneta bag on the passenger seat, still packaged. She had originally bought it as a graduation gift for her sister, who had just finished the college entrance exam.
Without a second thought, she handed it to Cheng Buxi. "Miss, President Lu asked me to give this to you."
"Brother gave it?"
It was like a reflex. After confirmation, she accepted it without hesitation. After all, this whole trip was because of him.
Not listening to her brother, not accepting his gifts—the consequences would be severe, she knew.
"You... have something on your mind?" Wan Yi took the opportunity, observing in the rearview mirror, and asked.
Cheng Buxi still looked half-dead, her voice dull. "No."
Liar.
No way she was fine.
"Are you feeling unwell? Or..."
"Sister Wan Yi, I'm a little tired."
One sentence silenced her.
...
Arriving at school, just about to enter the gate, she met the person she least wanted to see on the way: Jiang Yang from the neighboring Polytechnic University.
He was still the same, driving a flashy black-and-white supercar, with a tuft of red hair. If an ordinary girl saw him, she might think he was handsome. His appearance was indeed good, with clear features, almost top-notch. But Cheng Buxi was different.
"You're so hard to pin down. What did I do to offend you? I just wanted to go for a ride, have a meal, is that too much?" Jiang Yang gave her a sleazy smile.
Cheng Buxi, already restless, instinctively turned back and saw that Wan Yi's BMW had turned around and driven off.
Jiang Yang followed her gaze and also noticed the silver BMW 4 Series convertible. Moreover, she was dressed in名牌, and the brooch was too recognizable—Chanel. He knew that thing, not cheap. She also had a BV bag, worth at least ten or twenty thousand.
As if understanding something in an instant, Jiang Yang raised an eyebrow, whistled at her, and when he looked at her again, there was less reverence in his eyes and more ambiguous, sleazy tones:
"Qu Yijiao wasn't lying. You, obviously just a product for sale, but you pretend to be some limited edition clearance item. A joke. You're better at packaging yourself than a courier."
"Aren't you just selling yourself?"
"How much for a night with you?"
As soon as he finished, he was suddenly knocked to the side by a huge force. The person had a hard, strong chest, a very aggressive physique, and was a full head taller than him.
"What the fuck—" He was about to curse, but when he saw who it was, he choked.
It was Ning Ci.
-----------------------
Author's note:
蚀底 = loss
点算 = what to do
唔该 has many meanings. Here it means thank you, hhh, after all, Brother Xin is a know-it-all!
大镬 = big trouble, things have blown up