Rebuffed like that, Wu Guangming felt he'd lost some face and was a little embarrassed.
'I don't even know the guy. The way I spoke just now really was a bit rude.'
"What are you doing here?"
Li Zhiyi came out and looked at Wu Guangming sternly, deliberately keeping her distance.
"It's lunchtime, isn't it? Let's eat together. You can pick whatever you want to eat," Wu Guangming said, acting like a total simp.
"I don't have time. I'm with a client."
"Don't try to brush me off. Who meets a client out here?" Wu Guangming said with a laugh, thinking he'd seen right through Li Zhiyi's excuse.
"What do you mean, no client? I brought Mr. Lin here for his car delivery."
"De-delivery..."
Wu Guangming was stunned. He glanced at Lin Jiang, then at the Maybach 600 behind him. That car was way more expensive than his own Panamera.
"This... you're the one who bought this car...?"
Lin Jiang shrugged. "Sorry, but I am in fact the one who bought it."
Wu Guangming: ...
'You could've just said you bought it. Why'd you have to add 'sorry'? What's that supposed to mean?'
'Are you sorry, or am I supposed to be?'
"Excuse me, please move. I have to work."
"Alright. We'll talk after you're finished."
Wu Guangming mechanically took two steps back. Li Zhiyi handed the roses she was holding to Lin Jiang.
"Mr. Lin, congratulations on becoming a Mercedes-Maybach owner. May you pursue excellence on your journey through life, with a clear and open road ahead."
Lin Jiang accepted the flowers. Li Zhiyi stood beside him, her hands clasped lightly in front of her, and posed for a photo with him.
Seeing the delivery ceremony was over, Wu Guangming stepped forward.
"Zhiyi..."
"Um..."
Lin Jiang cut off Wu Guangming just as he was about to speak:
"I'm not too familiar with the whole registration process, and I haven't even test-driven the car yet. Could you come for a spin with me? You can explain the car's features to me."
Li Zhiyi looked at Lin Jiang, surprised.
'If the delivery ceremony had just ended there, I wouldn't have any more work to do, and I'd have to endure Wu Guangming's relentless pestering.'
'If I go for a test drive with him, I can get away from him.'
'Is this a coincidence, or is he doing it on purpose?'
'This doesn't seem like the first time. When he bought the car the other day, he helped me out of a jam in this exact same way!'
'He's so sweet, I could cry.'
"Yes, I'll take you for a test drive."
Li Zhiyi took the initiative to open the driver's door for Lin Jiang, then walked around the back of the car to the passenger's seat.
VRMMMM—
With a soft press on the accelerator, Lin Jiang leisurely drove the car away.
'This is way better than my beat-up old van.'
"Zhiyi, you..."
Wu Guangming tried to say more, but Lin Jiang didn't give him the chance, driving straight out of the lot.
As they drove out of the dealership, the system didn't give any notification. 'Looks like that Wu Guangming guy hasn't given up yet,' Lin Jiang thought.
'Looks like it's time to bring out the big guns.'
Lin Jiang quickly got used to the car. He drove to a nearby gas station and filled the tank. By the time that was all done, it was already noon.
"It's noon. Let's get some food first. Recommend a place," Lin Jiang said casually as he drove.
"Just keep going down this road. It's about another 100 meters," Li Zhiyi replied without any pretense.
"Alright."
Lin Jiang drove to the Korean barbecue restaurant that Li Zhiyi had mentioned.
The interior was nicely decorated—not extravagant, but very stylish.
It wasn't too busy for lunch, so the two found an empty table in a corner. They ordered a few things, and their meal began.
While they were ordering, Lin Jiang discovered that besides being beautiful, Li Zhiyi had another great quality: she wasn't pretentious at all, which made her incredibly easy to be around.
"Mr. Lin, after lunch, we could take a drive on the city's ring road. You can get a feel for the car's power, and it would be a good opportunity for me to show you more of the infotainment system."
"I think I'm older than you. If you don't mind, just call me Brother Jiang."
"Mm-hm."
"Let's skip the test drive. I've already paid for the car, after all. I'll just pick a license plate number online, and this afternoon we can go get it inspected. If it's convenient for you, you can help me with the paperwork."
"That's no problem. You can leave it all to me."
A ripple of emotion stirred in Li Zhiyi's eyes.
'He wasn't actually interested in a test drive; he did it purely to help me get out of that situation.'
'He's so sweet, I could cry.'
'And through it all, he never once flaunted his wealth in front of me to display his so-called Charm.'
'Truly, a man's appeal has nothing to do with his age.'
Lin Jiang took out his phone, logged into the traffic management app, and chose a license plate number ending in 88.
A number like that was considered quite good. As for things like consecutive numbers or three-of-a-kind, he didn't even bother thinking about it; those were only a theoretical possibility.
Once he'd picked the number, the food arrived.
"Their pork belly is really good. Brother Jiang, let me make a wrap for you."
Li Zhiyi took a lettuce leaf, added some dipping sauce, picked up a slice of pork belly, and handed the finished wrap to Lin Jiang.
Lin Jiang was a simple man at heart, and he was a little unaccustomed to being doted on like this.
"You don't have to do that. I can get it myself. You should eat more."
Despite what he said, Lin Jiang still accepted the wrap. After all, she was handing it right to him; there was no reason to refuse.
"I know."
Li Zhiyi ate very elegantly, a bit like Xu Lin.
The two chatted idly throughout the meal.
Li Zhiyi was from Beijing and had gone to university in Zhonghai. Because her school wasn't particularly prestigious, she couldn't find a good job after graduating. A friend recommended her for a position, and that's how she ended up at the Mercedes dealership.
Since neither of them were drinking and Li Zhiyi had to work in the afternoon, the meal was over in about an hour.
After lunch, they went to the DMV together. Li Zhiyi handled all the inspection paperwork, so all Lin Jiang had to do was follow her lead.
"Brother Jiang, the license plates will be ready in a few days. I'll contact you on WeChat then."
"Okay, thank you for all your hard work."
"It's all part of my job."
Lin Jiang drove Li Zhiyi back to the dealership.
As they pulled up to the main gate, they could see Wu Guangming's Panamera still parked in the lot through the perimeter fence.
"I have to say, the kid is pretty persistent," Lin Jiang remarked with a teasing smile.
Li Zhiyi put a hand to her forehead. "I thought he would've left by now."
"You're not interested in him at all, are you?" Lin Jiang probed.
"Better not regret it when he stops chasing you."
"That definitely won't happen. I have a very clear plan for my life. I need to find someone I can settle down and have a stable life with. Wu Guangming is too rash, and he's three years younger than me, so he's not even in the running."
"Do you want to get rid of him?"
"Of course I do," Li Zhiyi said helplessly.
"I have a way to help you get rid of him."
"Really? What is it?"
"Are you sure you want to try it?"
"Yes. But I'd prefer to resolve this peacefully. After all, he hasn't really done anything to hurt me."
Lin Jiang unbuckled his seatbelt and glanced at Li Zhiyi.
When she noticed his gaze lingering on her legs, Li Zhiyi's heart began to beat a little faster.
'He's not going to propose something... inappropriate, is he?'
"I'm going to get out of the car. Take off your stockings. Let me know when you're done."
"Huh?!"
"Just do as I say."
Without giving Li Zhiyi another chance to speak, Lin Jiang got out of the car.
With him out of the car, Li Zhiyi relaxed a bit, but she still couldn't figure out what Lin Jiang was planning.
'Why would he make a request like that?'
'Does he... want my stockings?'
'They say rich people can have some... peculiar little fetishes. Does Brother Jiang have one, too?'
Li Zhiyi thought for a moment and complained inwardly.
'I guess it's not some shameful fetish. It seems like all men are fans of high heels and black stockings.'
After pressing a button to lower the sunshades, Li Zhiyi shifted in her seat and slowly slipped off her stockings. She folded them neatly, straightened her skirt, and only after making sure she was presentable did she tell Lin Jiang he could get back in the car.
'I thought Li Zhiyi's legs were a perfect 10/10 in stockings, but I never expected them to have a whole different kind of appeal without them!'
'Instant three-second stun.'
"Brother Jiang..." Li Zhiyi murmured, her voice barely a whisper.
"Er..."
Lin Jiang laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, I lost my composure there. I'll take you back now."
"Huh? But you haven't told me how to get rid of Wu Guangming yet."
"Don't ask so many questions. Just go back."
Li Zhiyi was completely baffled, her mind filled with question marks.
"Trust me. He definitely won't bother you anymore."
As he spoke, Lin Jiang drove into the lot and intentionally parked right next to Wu Guangming's car.
"Brother Jiang, are you sure this will work?"
"Absolutely. If it doesn't work, just let me know. I'll see this through to the end."
"Oh, okay. Bye, Brother Jiang. If you have any problems with the car in the future, you can call me anytime."
"Alright."
Li Zhiyi opened the door and got out. Lin Jiang immediately drove off. She stood on the spot and watched him leave, a hint of reluctance on her face.
"Zhiyi, you're back."
Wu Guangming got out of his car and approached Li Zhiyi like a total simp.
"Your work should be done by now..."
He stopped mid-sentence, swallowing the rest of his words.
He stood frozen, staring at Li Zhiyi's legs.
'He distinctly remembered her wearing black stockings when she left. So where were they now?'
'It had been over two hours since they left.'
'Could they have gone to play poker or something?'
BGM: Snowflakes drifting~ The cold wind whistling~~ The world a vast white expanse~~~
No!
'Why are you doing this to me!'