Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
âUncle, you donât look well either. Make sure you have enough rest,â said Wang Yao.
Wang Yao could tell this third uncle was not well either. He had been working too hard.
âOkay,â said the middle-aged man with a smile.
Wang Yao stayed for a short while to chat with his third uncle before he left.
âBy the way, please donât let anyone else know about me treating your wife,â said Wang Yao.
âOkay, I see,â said the middle-aged man with surprise. He nodded to Wang Yao as he left.
âYao turned out to be a fine young man. He remembers we were nice to him when he was little,â said his wife.
âYes, but donât know where heâs got all those skills,â said the middle-aged man.
âWho knows? But it seems that he doesnât want other people to know about it. Make sure you donât tell anyone,â said his wife.
âI wonât,â said the middle-aged man.
Wang Yao left this third uncleâs house for Nanshan Hill. He received a text message from Tong Wei on his way. Tong Wei told him that she would fly to Shanghai the next day, then fly to Dao City. She wouldnât arrive at Dao City until late at night, so she asked Wang Yao not to go to Dao City too early.
âIâll pick you up at the airport,â said Wang Yao.
Wang Yao didnât mind going to Dao City late at night. He could stay there overnight.
Wait! It suddenly occurred to Wang Yao that he needed to contact Wang Mingbao.
He rang Wang Mingbao right away to double-check if Wang Mingbao was still at Lianshan. Then he drove to Lianshan town center after letting his parents know.
He wanted to talk to Wang Mingbao about Shen Qingqing. He didnât think Shen Qingqing was a decent girl.
When Wang Yao had arrived at Wang Mingbaoâs store, he heard a girlâs giggle coming from Wang Mingbaoâs office.
He knocked on the door before entering the office.
Wang Mingbao was in the office. He had a wide smile on his face. A girl stood next to him. She was also in good spirits. It was Shen Qingqing.
âHello, Yao,â said Shen Qingqing with a smile.
âHello,â said Wang Yao with a smile.
âPlease come and sit down,â said Shen Qingqing.
She went to make Wang Yao a cup of tea and prepared some fruits for Wang Yao. She was quite efficient.
âWhat brings you here?â asked Wang Mingbao.
âI need to speak to you,â said Wang Yao.
âAbout what?â asked Wang Mingbao.
âWell...â Wang Yao hesitated.
âQingqing, can you go downstairs for a bit and help out there? I need to speak to Yao,â said Wang Mingbao to his girlfriend.
âOkay,â said Shen Qingqing without hesitation. She left the room and went downstairs.
âYou two seem to get along quite well,â said Wang Yao with a smile.
âHaha, itâs not bad. I think sheâs quite nice,â said Wang Mingbao.
âShe doesnât work?â asked Wang Yao.
âOh, she works for an insurance company. Her hours are flexible,â said Wang Mingbao.
âInsurance company?â asked Wang Yao.
âYes, she used to work in Ji City and came back two months ago. I met her during a party,â said Wang Mingbao. âHey, donât talk about her, tell me what brings you here?â
âIâm here actually to talk about her,â said Wang Yao.
âWhat?!â asked Wang Mingbao with surprise. âWhatâs wrong with her?â
âHow much do you know her? I mean her past,â said Wang Yao.
âIâve asked her about her past. She had a boyfriend before. She broke up with him because they didnât get along. Why?â Wang Mingbao didnât expect Wang Yao to have come all the way here just to talk about his girlfriend.
âI see...â Wang Yao hesitated. He didnât know how to put it in a nice way.
âHey, you are my best friend, just say whatâs on your mind,â said Wang Mingbao.
âI checked her over the first time I met her. I found she had inadequate Qi and vitality. I believe her body was severely damaged during the last three months,â said Wang Yao.
âSevere damage? I donât know about it,â said Wang Mingbao after thinking for a while. âIâve known her for nearly two months. I havenât detected any health issues.â
âI think it had happened before you knew her,â said Wang Yao.
âSo tell me, what do you mean by inadequate Qi and vitality?â Wang Mingbao could only vaguely tell what Wang Yao meant.
âTo put it simply, I believe she had an abortion,â said Wang Yao.
âWhat?!â Wang Mingbao stood up from the chair.
âAre you sure?!â asked Wang Mingbao.
âIâm not 100% sure, but almost certain about it,â said Wang Yao.
Wang Yao would be sure if he got a chance to have a close look at Shen Qingqing and check her pulse. However, he was almost certain that she had an abortion.
Wang Mingbao kept silent while sitting back in the chair. He looked a bit upset. He really liked Shen Qingqing, but he trusted his best friend more.
âIf you know someone in Ji City, get her checked. After all, you want to spend the rest of your life with her,â said Wang Yao.
âOkay, I see. Thank you,â said Wang Mingbao.
âTry not to look upset,â said Wang Yao calmly. âWhat if I am wrong?â
âOkay.â Wang Mingbao tried his best to squeeze a smile out.
âYou look worse than if you cried,â said Wang Yao.
âTry to find an excuse if she notices any change,â said Wang Yao.
âWhat excuse?â asked Wang Mingbao.
âJust say Iâm here to borrow money. Tell her I want to borrow one million from you,â said Wang Yao.
âLook at you! I didnât expect you, such a spiritual person, would be so good at lying,â said Wang Mingbao with a smile.
âSome lies are necessary,â said Wang Yao. âWell, I have to go now.â
âDonât go, stay for dinner,â said Wang Mingbao.
âIâve got some errands to run later,â said Wang Yao.
Wang Mingbao walked Wang Yao downstairs.
âAre you leaving?â Shen Qingqing came to say goodbye.
âYes, Iâll see you later,â said Wang Yao.
He noticed that Shen Qingqing was wearing a platinum necklace. The last time Wang Yao met her she was wearing a gold necklace. It seemed that Wang Mingbao had spent quite a lot of money on her.
âDrive safe,â said Wang Mingbao.
âOkay, see you later,â said Wang Yao.
He drove off.
âWhat did you two talk about? So secretive!â asked Shen Qingqing immediately after Wang Yao had left.
Thinking about what Wang Yao had said and what had happened between him and Shen Qingqing, Wang Mingbao suddenly felt Shen Qingqing became his girlfriend because of money and his family background. Therefore, Wang Mingbao started to look unhappy.
âWhat happened?â A very observant Shen Qingqing immediately noticed the change on Wang Mingbaoâs face.
âNothing, letâs go upstairs,â said Wang Mingbao.
âOkay,â said Shen Qingqing.
The two of them entered the office. Shen Qingqing put away the tea cups.
âYou donât look well, what happened?â asked Shen Qingqing.
âHe came to borrow money,â said Wang Mingbao.
âHow much does he want to borrow?â asked Shen Qingqing.
âOne million,â said Wang Mingbao.
âWhat!â Shen Qingqing was shocked. âOne million is really a lot of money!â
âExactly,â said Wang Mingbao.
No wonder Wang Mingbao looked unhappy, she thought. He wouldnât be happy even though Wang Yao was his brother. After all, not everyone was as rich as Ma Yun and Wang Sicong. For them, money was just a number.
âAre you gonna lend him the money?â asked Shen Qingqing.
âI need to think about it,â said Wang Mingbao.
Shen Qingqing wanted to make Wang Mingbao happy, so she stayed with him for a while. She tried to kiss and hug Wang Mingbao. However, Wang Mingbao kept thinking of what Wang Yao had actually said. The more Shen Qingqing was close to him, the more awkward he felt and the more upset he looked.
People at Wang Mingbaoâs age often were not good at hiding their emotions. They had everything written on their faces.
It was suddenly a bit awkward. Fortunately, Shen Qingqing received a call from her company asking her to go back to work.
Well, I need to get someone to check on her, decided Wang Mingbao.
The next day, he went to Ji City in the name of shopping for decoration materials. He asked a friend there to ask around about Shen Qingqing in her previous workplace.
Meanwhile, Wang Yao was at home.
âWhat? Tong Weiâs coming back?â asked Zhang Xiuying.
âYes, Iâll pick her up in Dao City, so Iâll probably stay there tonight,â said Wang Yao.
âOkay, not a problem.â Zhang Xiuying was very happy for Wang Yao to be with Tong Wei. âStay at Dao City for a few days. Donât rush to come home.â
âOkay,â said Wang Yao with a smile.
He then drove out of the village.
Ticktock! Ticktock! The contractors doing the road were ready to get back to work.
Aye! The boss will probably lose money, thought Wang Yao. At the same time, he started to worry about the quality of the roadwork.
Since the boss was going to lose money, he would try his best to reduce cost. Therefore, the quality of roadwork wouldnât be guaranteed.
Wang Yao was driving very fast on the road. Thousands of miles away, a plane landed in Shanghai from overseas.
A slim and pretty lady wearing sunglasses got off the plane.
âHey, Wei, slow down, wait for me.â A handsome young man in his 20âs was following the pretty lady.
âWhy do you always follow me?â The pretty lady sounded impatient.
âArenât you going to Dao City? Iâm going to Dao City, too,â said the young man with a smile. âWe have the same destination.â
âWhy are you going to Dao City?â asked Tong Wei.
âI will go wherever you go,â said the young man.
âYou...â This was the first time Tong Wei came across such an annoying person. âI already have a boyfriend.â
âBoyfriend? Never mind him. As long as you are not married, I still have a chance to be with you. Even if you got married, you still could get divorced,â said the young man.
Tong Wei was shocked by the young manâs words. She was speechless. The young man was really clingy.
âIf you continue to follow me, I will call the police,â said Tong Wei.
âOkay, Iâll keep distance from you.â The young man was still smiling. He kept a meter away from Tong Wei.
He decided he would go wherever Tong Wei went.