After Fu Zheng finished his speech, although his face was calm, his emotions were still slightly revealed through his eyes - he was nervous.

Feng shui is constantly in flux¹Life will not always be smooth sailing. No matter how eloquent, logical, and persuasive the salesman, the customer always has the upper hand in the relationship so long as money has not yet been spent. This was true no matter if you were the general sales agent for China or a gold medal salesman. Even genius logic Fu Zheng was no exception.

In the long silence that followed, Fu Zheng finally could no longer hold it in and cleared his throat. "Ning Wan, are you willing to be with me? Do you... have anything to say? Anything's fine," he persuaded, "But what are you currently thinking?"

Know yourself and your enemy, and you shall win every battle. Sure enough, this fellow Fu Zheng was trying to first feel out her thoughts before prescribing medicine.

Once she calmed down, the initiative returned to Ning Wan. She blinked. "First get rid of your drone."

Fu Zheng felt as though his fist had just punched cotton²An ineffective action, but pursing his lips, he nodded. "Okay."

The more he was like this, the less eager Ning Wan was to express her position. This piece of trash Fu Zheng had fooled her so well before. Although he had just marketed himself to her very successfully and she was actually quite sold on him, every time she thought about those little things that had happened in the past she felt a little incensed. This man had been lurking next to her right from the start, watching the show, observing how she jumped up and down. Was it fun? The more she thought about it, the more she felt like she couldn't let him off so easily.

And if she hadn't been under the impression that he was a poor, older intern, would she have ever dared touch him? If that wasn't fraud, then what was? He had made her confess twice, once with the cherries and once when she was drunk, her mood fluctuating wildly from the highest highs to the lowest lows, and still wanted to say that she hadn't suffered any mental losses?

Ning Wan felt that for everything to be fair, Fu Zheng must at least go through some of her own emotional ups and downs. This well-ordered senior partner was obviously lacking in such experience.

Besides, how embarrassing would it be if she agreed on the spot?

Now that she looked back on Fu Zheng's actions, Ning Wan was shocked to realize what a scheming little white lotus he was. In that case, then she would fight poison with poison, and white lotus with white lotus - no response, no expression, no initiative!

Let Fu Zheng hang out to dry for a little while!

But... he couldn't be allowed to get away from her! He must be held firmly accountable for her mental losses!

Since Ning Wan happened to be a little hungry, she made a snap decision. "I'm hungry. I want to go have something to eat."

Fu Zheng was stunned. He had obviously not expected her to evade the important matters and focus on the easy route. He glanced at her suspiciously, "But then what exactly is your answer? Surely you're still going to take responsibility for me?"

Still on about taking responsibility? With this tone and look, if Ning Wan hadn't already been prepared mentally, she would surely have pitied him and immediately agreed. Fu Zheng really was a man with superb acting skills. That look of injustice in his eyes was just right, that disappointed injury of being let down, the anxiety of waiting for an answer, all so well portrayed.

Ning Wan deliberately looked away so as to avoid being affected. Clearing her throat, she tried to calm down. "This is all too sudden. I need some time to think. Stop rushing me. Anyway, you're the one who's in the wrong, so it’s normal for you to be the one to wait!"

Fu Zheng looked even more wronged, but he only drooped humbly and didn't put on the airs of a senior partner to pressure her. He only said obediently, "Yes, I understand, everything you say is right." Although his tone was composed, his words sounded a little pitiful, "Even though I'm already thirty, not young anymore, since it's my fault, I'll wait even if you ask me to wait for a whole year. After all, as we get older, time passes faster. Even a year will fly by..."

"But they say that one must cherish the years between thirty and thirty-five, the golden stage of a man's life." Fu Zheng  gave Ning Wan a sidelong glance. "Actually, I had already planned out what we could do in the next five years between thirty and thirty-five. But I get it, you need a little time to think. I understand. I'll have to move back my plans for my thirtieth..."

Ning Wan cleared her throat. "So... what plans did you have for when you were thirty?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just us two traveling together to see the aurora and the glaciers in Alaska, or maybe a trip to Turkey to ride a hot air balloon. All very ordinary plans for this year."

Were those ordinary???

Ning Wan was usually swamped with work, no vacation time, no money. Although she longed for a life of travel, she had no chance to put it into practice. When she heard Fu Zheng say this, she was naturally quite affected. Thankfully, she stepped back from the brink just in the nick of time, waking up before she was led astray--

"Well, that's alright. I'm only in my twenties, so I'm still young. There will be plenty of opportunities for traveling in the future!"

Fu Zheng obviously hadn't expected this move not to work. He bit his lip and gave Ning Wan a rather calculating look. Ning Wan felt a little panicked. Who knew what ruthless move this fellow was going to make next? Thankfully, Fu Zheng must not have managed to think of anything, because he just tacked onto her previous topic.

"So where are we going to eat?"

Ning Wan thought for a moment, then named a Western restaurant very famous for its brunch. It was too late for breakfast right now and still too early for lunch, so brunch was just right.

There weren't yet many people in the restaurant at the time. After finding them a seat by the window, Ning Wan began ordering. "What do you want to eat? It's on me."

"No need," Fu Zheng smiled.

"Did you eat on the way back?"

"No," he shook his head.

"Then?"

"I can't eat," Fu Zheng said calmly. "I'm thirty and still girlfriendless. I'm so anxious that I have no appetite."

"..."

Ning Wan was truly impressed. She decided to stop asking Fu Zheng questions, because no matter what she said, she would eventually fall into this man's trap.

But even though she had warned himself that Fu Zheng was only pretending to be pitiful! It was all just a pretense! Ning Wan still felt a little guilty. Were thirty year old men who didn't have girlfriends really so anxious that they couldn't even eat?

Fortunately, in the end, Ning Wan figured out a way. She ordered a waffle set meal for Fu Zheng and told him, "You'd better eat something. After all, you're thirty, and Chen Shuo told me once before that once a man passes thirty, his body quickly begins declining. No matter how anxious you are, you should eat. If you don’t, you'll get stomach problems and in just a few years, your health will start going downhill..."

"..."

Now it was Fu Zheng's turn to choke. Secretly amused, Ning Wan observed the rather colourful look on his face under a calm façade. She thought that it was a rather novel experience. Since he himself had been the one to come up with the selling point of ​​being thirty years old, then she could just push the boat along with the tide, right? Now he had lifted up a rock just to hit his own foot.

After having been suppressed, Fu Zheng began abiding by the law and behaving himself. He refrained from saying anymore white lotus-like words, accepted the waffle set that Ning Wan had ordered for him, and ate it quietly. The only thing that happened was that halfway through, he looked at her apologetically and said, "Sorry, something came up, I have to go take a call."

Not taking it seriously, Ning Wan nodded. Fu Zheng got up and left.

His call didn't take long. Within five minutes, Fu Zheng was back.

The two continued to dine.

 

When Zhou Yingying got Fu Zheng's call, she was still in bed. For an instant she even thought she might be hallucinating--

Would that cousin of hers who 'never went to the temple for no reason'³Never goes anywhere unless they have a favour to ask actually take the initiative to call?

Impossible!

However, the continuous ringing of her phone finally woke Zhou Yingying. Upon second glance, she saw that it really was Fu Zheng——

"'Sup, cousin, what's going on?"

"Get up, hurry." Fu Zheng's voice coming from the other side was calm and serious. "It's something important."

Then Zhou Yingying heard him say the name of a Western restaurant famous for its brunch. "Look it up, it should be very close to your home. Be here in fifteen minutes."

Zhou Yingying was completely confused. "What for?"

"To put on a show and pretend to be my suitor."

? ? ?

"You're the best at taking cues, which is why I chose you. I'll send you a text on what to do, so take a taxi over and read it on the way. Don't waste time, you have fifteen minutes to put on your makeup and something expensive, the more blingy, the better.”

Uh, no? Why on earth would she pretend to pursue Fu Zheng? Even if he wasn't her cousin, Zhou Yingying felt that she would have to be blind to pursue a man like Fu Zheng, that arrogant, haughty, stinky, nothing-good-about-him-but-his-looks with no redeeming qualities...

"I..."

But just as Zhou Yingying was about to refuse, she heard Fu Zheng say, "I know you've been wanting to learn diving recently. Based on our relationship as cousins, I might be able to sponsor a set of diving equipment and an all-expenses-paid study trip, including instructors, an overseas diving venue, round-trip air tickets, as well as board and lodging. After all, I'm the sort of person who cares very deeply about my brothers and sisters. Family ties are so important to me that when they're in trouble, I always lend a helping hand.”

Brotherly love, her foot! Wasn't all this going to be conditional?

Sure enough, Fu Zheng paused, and before Zhou Yingying could open her mouth, he added his conditions. "Of course, all feelings go both ways. So since I'm in trouble now, I wonder if my cousin might be willing to lend me a helping hand?"

The appeal of an all-expenses-paid diving course was just too large. Zhou Yingying’s parents were of the opinion that diving was too dangerous and didn't support her decision, so they wouldn't provide her with the necessary financial support. And she had been going a bit too hard on the spending lately, so her purse had been feeling a little thin...

Therefore, Zhou Yingying barely hesitated before switching straight to the tail-wagging TV channel. "Don't worry, cousin! How could I not help my own brother? As soon as your cousin takes action, you'll surely know! Just hold on a minute and I'll be there! I'll see to it that you stand out among all the beautiful, fragrant flowers!"