"Ah, speaking of her name, quite a few people in Nancheng know her. Perhaps outsiders think she's all glamour, but who knows her real life?"
Learning about her situation from cold, hard numbers was quite different from hearing it from her friends.
Kicked out, losing her job, and nowhere to stay?
Pei Kexin, so clever, truly left herself no fallback, ending up in such a dire state.
Fu Duoduo said all this to stir Zhan Jingchen's sympathy.
He was well aware of the Zhan family's power and status in Nancheng. They had a hand in almost every industry, their wealth ranking among the world's richest, so extravagant that ordinary people couldn't even imagine.
Not to mention if Pei Kexin could still have something with him in the future, the Zhan family owned countless high-end properties, even the most ordinary ones costing tens of millions.
If he were to show a little mercy out of their past relationship as husband and wife, even a tiny bit from his fingertips would be an immeasurable fortune for Pei Kexin.
Why not play the victim?
Zhan Jingchen didn't reply immediately. After a pause, he said slowly,
"Doesn't she consider herself quite smart? How could she have ended up so miserable?"
Fu Duoduo seized the opportunity to praise Pei Kexin profusely, saying she was just too responsible, dedicated to the public good, and never thought of herself, painting a grand and vivid image of her.
Then she changed the subject.
"So, what's your relationship now? Are you divorced? No way, you divorced her right after the old man passed away?"
"Losing your beloved and becoming a divorced woman, doesn't that feel a bit too much?"
Zhan Jingchen initially wanted to say they were never married, so how could there be a divorce? But then he reconsidered.
She didn't even have a place to stay, yet he had just received 160,000 from her that morning.
This stubborn woman was truly resilient.
"It wasn't me who wanted to divorce her, it was her who wanted to divorce me. She knows my surname is Zhan and treats me like a monster, avoiding me like the plague. Don't think of me as heartless."
Fu Duoduo looked astonished. "What? She avoids you like the plague? Could it be that she's fallen in love with you?"
"..." What kind of logic was that?
Zhan Jingchen looked at her with an incredulous gaze, but Fu Duoduo explained earnestly.
"She stayed at my place last night, crying and making a fuss. I thought she was crying for the old man, but now it seems you're partly to blame."
"Sigh, you might not believe this. Despite her beauty, she's never been in a relationship. I can swear to you, you're the first man to get that close to her in her 27 years of life. If you two have already... then you are her..."
"Cough, cough, last time she went on a business trip, you went to Harbin to find her, right? You secretly showed off your affection to me, saying that although your husband was young, he treated her very well and she felt she had someone to rely on for the rest of her life, but then..."
"Think about it, as her husband, you hid your true identity from her. How disappointed she must have been. Her first reaction would naturally be to push you away, wouldn't it?"
"But I'm sure this is not what she truly feels. She's already developing feelings for you, and this is her way of deliberately hiding her true heart!"
Although it sounded a bit unreliable, people generally liked to hear nice things.
Pei Kexin had secretly fallen for him?
Thinking of her tearful reluctance to let him go, Zhan Jingchen couldn't help but feel a little sweet.
He knew Fu Duoduo wasn't entirely exaggerating; at least he knew he was indeed Pei Kexin's first man.
Although it was his first time too, and he hadn't taken advantage of her, she was still a woman.
To have her give him money afterwards would be a stain on his reputation as Young Master Zhan.
With that thought, he took out his phone, opened Alipay, and entered Pei Kexin's phone number.
He transferred the 160,000 back to her, untouched.
Despite his lingering feelings, he couldn't back down in his words.
"Why are you telling me all this? Meeting her before was just a coincidence, we don't have any feelings for each other. Are you suggesting I make the fake relationship real?"
Fu Duoduo: "If I suggest you make the fake relationship real, will you make it real? Don't worry, I don't mean anything else."
"I just want to say on behalf of Kexin that if she said anything harsh to you or did anything wrong, it was just her way of disguising herself and protecting herself, not her true feelings. Please don't take it to heart."
"If you don't have a girlfriend, you could actually try to get closer to her. Although her family background is a bit lacking, she's capable and attractive."
"Of course, this is just my personal suggestion. What you do depends on you. You can pretend I didn't say anything..."
A way of disguising herself and protecting herself?
Hearing her words, Zhan Jingchen fell silent again.
Fu Duoduo knew that if she continued, it would seem too talkative and deliberate, so she remained silent for the rest of the journey.
After dropping him off at the villa, she suppressed her urge to peek inside and bid Zhan Jingchen farewell with feigned nonchalance.
"It seems we can't be friends anymore, so I don't need to keep your WeChat. I'll delete it, don't worry."
Zhan Jingchen paused with his hand on the car door, looking at her with displeasure.
"Why can't we be friends? Why are you going to delete me?"
Fu Duoduo's heart leaped with joy, but her face remained calm.
"I'm just afraid you... Fine, if you say not to delete it, then I won't."
Zhan Jingchen continued to be displeased. "This is why I didn't tell you my surname was Zhan at first. What have you all made me out to be?"
"I'll still look for you if anything comes up. If you say not to delete it, then don't delete it. I'm leaving, drive carefully."
He got out of the car and watched his tall, upright back gradually recede into the light. Fu Duoduo couldn't help but let out a scream inside the car.
"Ah—"
She had really hooked up with the young master of the Zhan family! Third Young Master Zhan had ordered her not to delete his WeChat! Was this her chance to connect with a rich and handsome man and reach the pinnacle of her life?!
The villa was too large, so when Zhan Jingchen reached the entrance, a security guard took him in by shuttle.
This meant Jiang Nanfang and his wife knew he was back.
As Zhan Jingchen entered the living room, his parents, dressed in their pajamas, were sitting close together on the sofa, chatting. He sat opposite them and wisely lowered his head.
"Dad, Mom, I'm back."
He had been away from home for nearly a month and had finally returned.
Strictly speaking, he should have been disciplined, but seeing that he had made a good friend, Jiang Nanfang held back.
"It's good that you know how to come back... Is there anything you want to tell us?"
Since he was back, they would have to have a serious talk sooner or later, so the sooner the better for everyone's peace of mind.
Zhan Jingchen then explained his intention to acquire Pei Corporation, cooperate with Yao Corporation, and independently operate the appliance company.
His parents saw his desire to build a career as a good thing, and his ideas were clear, so they had no reason to object.
Jiang Nanfang said, "You were busy with this all month? Alright."
"But ideas alone are not enough. Have you prepared the acquisition proposal? Has the team been formed? What's the initial budget required?"