After a friendly chat between the two, Ah Zhong watched the woman leave.
A moment later, Zhou Jinbei emerged from the corner.
Seeing Ah Zhong’s eyes still fixed on the direction the woman had gone, she nudged his chest.
“Stop looking, she’s already gone.”
“Don’t you have her WeChat on your phone? You’ll see her again later, why are you so infatuated?”
What kind of talk was that?
He had kindly offered her help, only to be met with sarcasm?
Ah Zhong felt speechless.
“Miss Zhou, she’s someone you planned for all day, begging me to help. Are you being reasonable?”
Zhou Jinbei replied, “It’s true that I asked for your help, but don’t take it too seriously.”
“If not for this car, a woman like her would never have given you a second glance. She’s pregnant with my father’s child and yet she dares to flirt with you, how audacious.”
“You men are truly pathetic. The moment you see a pretty face, you forget everything else. Otherwise, how could someone like her have an opportunity?”
Ah Zhong admired her way with words.
He never had a chance to argue with her.
“Alright, alright, you’re right. I’m pathetic, and I won’t be an eyesore here, okay?”
“Regardless, my task today is considered successfully completed. You can call someone to tow the car back yourself. I’m going home too.”
Zhou Jinbei pulled him back.
“You can go back. Leave your phone with me.”
“We just added each other on WeChat, and it’s a crucial moment to leave a good impression. Tonight, I’ll take your place and properly deal with this woman.”
What? Leave his phone with her?
Ah Zhong refused. “No. Although I’m off duty, I still have a lot of urgent work to handle. What if leaving my phone with you delays my work?”
“Then give me your WeChat account, and I’ll log in with my own phone.”
Zhou Jinbei said, “Don’t worry, I’ll only use your account to chat with her, and I absolutely won’t look at your secrets.”
“Even if I accidentally see something, I promise I won’t leak it to anyone else, alright?”
Ah Zhong dared not joke about his work with her and shook his head firmly.
“No. Due to my previous work errors, President Zhan has already encountered a major problem. If it happens again, I can only apologize with my life.”
“You can have anything else, but not my phone. Don’t say another word.”
Seeing his firm refusal, Zhou Jinbei pouted.
“Then what should we do? I’m afraid if I contact her tomorrow, she’ll think you’re insincere.”
“How about this, I’ll come to your place tonight.”
“When there’s work news to reply to, the phone is yours. When there’s no work news to reply to, the phone is mine.”
“You can watch me chat with her, and I promise not to pry into your privacy, okay?”
There was no better solution than this.
Ah Zhong agreed. “Then you won’t be going back tonight, how will you explain it to your family?”
“That’s easy. I can just ask a friend to make a call for me.”
Zhou Jinbei returned home with Ah Zhong.
As she had said, when there was no work news to deal with, Ah Zhong sat aside and watched her chat with Fang Yuan.
Zhou Jinbei was very skilled in flirting techniques. The two exchanged messages, chatting happily as if they were a couple who had known each other for a long time.
At 11 PM, Zhou Jinbei used the excuse of handling work matters to log out of WeChat and returned the phone to Ah Zhong.
“Truly shameless. This woman is spending my father’s money and enjoying his care, yet she pretends to be single in front of other men.”
“If my father saw these chat records, do you think he’d want to kill her?”
Ah Zhong advised her.
“No matter what your intentions are, it’s best to think clearly before you act.”
“If something goes wrong, not only will this matter be exposed, but it will also have a significant impact on other aspects of your family. Don’t be reckless.”
Zhou Jinbei said she understood.
“If I didn’t have so many concerns, would I need to waste so many words with this woman? I’d just go up and ‘deal with her’.”
“…” Ah Zhong told her to take a bath.
“It’s getting late, hurry up and wash up and go to sleep. You have school tomorrow.”
The next day, Ah Zhong drove Zhou Jinbei to school.
Before getting out of the car, Zhou Jinbei instructed him.
“Without my instructions, you are not allowed to chat with her randomly.”
“If she becomes too shameless and messages you first, just make up an excuse about being busy with work and give her a perfunctory reply. Don’t let the duck I’ve cooked get away.”
Ah Zhong was speechless. “Understood. Although I’m not good at flirting, I’m not that foolish.”
Zhou Jinbei patted him. “Alright. Then come pick me up after school.”
“These next few days are critical. I still need to chat with her at night, so I’ll continue staying at your place.”
And so, Zhou Jinbei moved into Ah Zhong’s home.
Using the excuse that her car was still being repaired, she only chatted with Fang Yuan on her phone.
A week passed, and the two had become an online couple.
Fang Yuan couldn’t bear not receiving her messages for even an hour and would proactively message her, even suggesting a meeting.
Zhou Jinbei refused, saying she needed to string her along for a while longer. Only when Fang Yuan was completely infatuated and willing to do anything should they meet.
Thus, they waited for another week.
The car was repaired, and on the weekend, at Fang Yuan’s repeated invitation, Ah Zhong, dressed impeccably, went to the restaurant.
Fang Yuan was dressed even more beautifully than when they had met last time.
Throughout their time together, they chatted shyly and warmly, like a couple meeting for the first time.
Through their body language, it was evident that she was completely captivated by Ah Zhong.
After a superficial exchange of pleasantries, Fang Yuan proactively asked Ah Zhong.
“Someone as outstanding as you, how come you’re still single and don’t have a girlfriend? Aren’t your parents urging you?”
Ah Zhong replied as Zhou Jinbei had taught him.
“I wanted to establish my career first in the past few years, so time just slipped away.”
“Of course, they’re urging me. Now that I’m older, my parents nag me every day to go on blind dates, wishing I’d find someone today and give them a grandson tomorrow. They’re driving me crazy.”
Fang Yuan’s expression immediately soured. “Then have you been going on blind dates every day recently?”
Ah Zhong said, “No, I’m quite repulsed by these blind dates that are just for the sake of marriage.”
“I believe that marriage should be based on emotion and connection. A marriage without feelings for the other party cannot last.”
Fang Yuan was on the verge of asking, “Then what do you think of me?”
But upon reflection, with the burden she carried, it was a bit too early to say such a thing.
The two could only make small talk, and over an hour quickly passed.
Zhou Jinbei called, saying there was a company matter that Ah Zhong needed to handle, and they both stood up.
Fang Yuan was wearing very light clothing. As they exited the restaurant, the temperature had dropped significantly. Ah Zhong took off his jacket and draped it over her.
“I’m sorry. I originally planned to spend more time with you tonight, but something urgent came up. Please bear with me.”
Fang Yuan said it was alright.
“There will be plenty of time in the future, we’re not in a hurry. You go take care of your business.”
“No matter how busy you are, you’re more important than that. I’ll take you back first.”
Ah Zhong placed his hand on her shoulder.