Chapter 1044 — Wu Chengtian Makes His Move

"Oh? Of course I have faith in you, but the car won't hold up!" Feng Xiaoxiao said.

"Mountain roads. Even with their modifications, the cars won't be able to do much." Wei Zhao shrugged.

"That's true. On that kind of road, who'd dare to accelerate?" Feng Xiaoxiao thought it over and felt reassured.

Wu Chengtian went to Xiao Wangba's place first thing in the morning to pick up the car. When he saw how impressive his company looked, occupying two floors by the roadside with a resounding signboard reading "Chen Tian Trading Co., Ltd.," he was delighted. He clapped Xiao Wangba on the shoulder and said, "Not bad! You've done well. Give me the business cards!"

"Here they are!" Xiao Wangdao hadn't expected Wu Chengtian to care nothing about whether the company was making money, only about its appearance. His heart immediately settled, and he handed a box of gold-plated business cards to Wu Chengtian. "Brother Chengtian, take a look—are you satisfied?"

"Mm, you've done a decent job!" Wu Chengtian took one, glanced at it, then slipped it into his pocket. He got in the car and drove toward Sun Jingyan's residence.

He parked downstairs from Sun Jingyan's place and dialed her number. He wanted to give her a surprise—this car was meant as a gift for her. He remembered Sun Jingyan saying she liked Audis but didn't like anything too flashy, so he'd bought an Audi A4L. In a sprawling city like Songshan, where the wealthy clustered, an Audi A4L was nothing more than an ordinary car.

He waited about half an hour before Sun Jingyan finally appeared. But today she had clearly shed her usual gravitas; her makeup and dress leaned toward the playful and cute, which caught Wu Chengtian slightly off guard—he found himself staring, dumbstruck.

He had long known that Sun Jingyan's mature attire was a pretense, but he hadn't expected her to look so adorable when dressed up. It had been years since he'd seen her in this style.

Wu Chengtian assumed she had dressed up especially for him, and his heart swelled with joy. He hurried over and said, "Jingyi, you look beautiful today!"

"Oh..." Of course Sun Jingyan hadn't dressed up for Wu Chengtian. Why she had dressed this way, only she herself knew. A woman adorns herself for the one who delights her—but for whom was Sun Jingyan adorning herself?

Wu Chengtian was long accustomed to Sun Jingyan's coldness and didn't mind it. He strode to his car, opened the door for her, and said, "Jingyi, please get in!"

"?" Sun Jingyan stared at the Audi TT before her, taken aback. She asked, "This is your car?"

"Yes, I made money from the company, so I bought a car!" Wu Chengtian said this with immense self-satisfaction, showing off to the fullest. Though he hadn't gone out much lately, he had read some very show-offy novels—like *A Very Pure and Ambiguous Prequel*, whose protagonist Liu Lei was an absolute master of showing off. Wu Chengtian had always wanted to imitate that, but he overlooked one thing: showing off requires real substance. Without substance, showing off just makes you a fool.

"Oh, I'll drive my own car." Sun Jingyan declined his invitation to get in and walked toward her own vehicle instead.

Wu Chengtian's expression froze. But then he thought: in the past, Sun Jingyan had never ridden in his car either. If he gave her the car later, it would be hers—surely she'd accept it then?

He wanted to give her the car right now, but then he thought: if he waited until they were at the dinner table, with Feng Xiaoxiao helping him show off and singing his praises, wouldn't he look all the more impressive? At that thought, Wu Chengtian decided to hold off a little longer and present the car as a gift during the meal.

If Wu Chengtian hadn't said he was treating Wei Zhao to dinner, Sun Jingyan would never have agreed to go out to eat with him. She would have used the excuse of being too busy with work to decline meeting him.

But since Wu Chengtian said Wei Zhao would be joining, Sun Jingyan hesitated. She hadn't seen Wei Zhao in so long, and she did rather want to see him. After all, she was more or less half his lover, and she had some fondness for Wei Zhao. So meeting him now and then made her happy.

The two cars drove one behind the other toward Songshan No. 1 High School.

Sun Jingyan led the way, Wu Chengtian following behind. She parked on the snack street behind No. 1 High School—the same place she had picked Wei Zhao up last time. She had never imagined Wei Zhao was a student there; she'd simply assumed he lived nearby.

Sun Jingyan's car pulled up beside the Beetle, while Wu Chengtian's Audi TT parked next to her Audi A4L.

After they got out, Wu Chengtian sidled over. "Should I call Wei Zhao now? Where is this? We're waiting for him here?"

"Oh..." Sun Jingyan frowned and unconsciously started walking toward the street corner not far away. She didn't want to stand so close to Wu Chengtian—it made her uncomfortable. As for why she'd parked here: partly because this was where she'd picked Wei Zhao up last time, but mainly because she didn't want to wait with Wu Chengtian downstairs at her own home. She didn't want anyone to see her with him; being spotted by an acquaintance would be humiliating. Coming here had been an arbitrary choice.

But Wu Chengtian seemed oblivious to her disgust. When she walked, he followed right beside her, dialing Wei Zhao's number as they went.

Wei Zhao and Feng Xiaoxiao had just arrived in the classroom when the phone in his pocket buzzed. He took it out and glanced at the caller ID—unfamiliar. Still, he answered: "Hello, who's this?"

"Is this Wei Zhao?" Wu Chengtian asked.

"Speaking. And you?" Wei Zhao didn't recognize Wu Chengtian's voice. He didn't care about people like Wu Chengtian, so naturally he hadn't bothered to remember his number or voice.

"It's Wu Chengtian. I'm back in Songshan now, and I'm with Jingyi! I'd like to treat you and your girlfriend to a nice meal—do you have time?" Wu Chengtian asked.

With Sun Jingyan? Girlfriend? Wei Zhao was briefly startled, but then he understood—the girlfriend Wu Chengtian meant must be Feng Xiaoxiao.

He'd intended to refuse outright, but then he thought of Feng Xiaoxiao's personality. She might very well enjoy attending such a dinner, so he said to Wu Chengtian, "Hold on, let me ask Xiaoxiao."

"All right!" Wu Chengtian was overjoyed to hear a glimmer of hope. His main goal was to invite Feng Xiaoxiao to dinner; if only Wei Zhao came, he wouldn't even want to bother. Not only would Wei Zhao fail to help him show off, he'd also compete with him for Sun Jingyan's attention.

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