Chapter 108: “Smoke” Escape

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My Beautiful Love Tribulation

Lin Xuan’s old family house was in an extremely remote location. The journey there and back alone had taken Wang Zheng more than two hours. Fortunately, their conversation had not lasted long, allowing him to return to the company before Bai Bing arrived.

Wang Zheng had barely warmed his chair when Bai Bing pushed open the door and strode in. Talk about arriving at the critical moment!

Because Lin Xuan had a terrible reputation and was widely disliked at the television center, Bai Bing had no particular fondness for her. In truth, Lin Xuan would have to meet Bai Bing sooner or later. Wang Zheng was keeping it from Bai Bing now simply because he wanted to avoid trouble. After all, a busybody like Bai Bing would certainly try to interfere. Even if she could not stop him, she might very well tell Su Xue and Chu Jun. That would create a real headache.

So Wang Zheng had decided to act first and explain later. Perhaps he did not even intend to explain at all. He could simply play dumb and see what they could do about it.

Wang Zheng suddenly thought of something. Looking at Bai Bing, who had just sat down, he asked, “Little Bai, I remember you—”

“Call me Bai Bing!”

“Officials address the staff around them that way. Little Li, Little Zhang, Little Liu… It’s perfectly normal.” Wang Zheng looked at her as he spoke.

“You’re merely an assistant to the general manager. What kind of official are you? Don’t mistake a chicken feather for a command token. Besides, you don’t even have a chicken feather in your hand.” Bai Bing spoke irritably. She had been mistreated the moment she arrived at the company. What rotten luck!

“How about you call me Little Wang, and I call you Little Bai? It would make us seem closer. What do you think?” Wang Zheng asked.

Bai Bing glared fiercely at him. Gritting her teeth, she said, “Go ahead. Call me whatever you like. I’m not answering you anyway!”

A woman who did not understand how to take a joke was a woman without charm. Wang Zheng could not be bothered with Bai Bing, who was baring her claws at him, and got straight to the point.

“Lend me your old house for a while.”

“No!”

Perhaps the nickname “Little Bai” had put Bai Bing in a bad mood. The moment she heard Wang Zheng’s request, she rejected him without a second thought—decisively and bluntly. She even wore a smug expression, as though she were flaunting her victory.

“Fine.” Wang Zheng looked at her. If such a minor matter was enough to make Bai Bing think she had him under control, then he was truly useless. Since she refused to show him any respect, he had no reason to be pleasant to her. The smile vanished from his face, and he looked at the smug Bai Bing coldly.

“In that case, we’ll go back right now and move all your luggage and belongings back to your own home. You won’t have to come to my place anymore. Oh, and I want my car back too.”

Bai Bing froze for a moment. Wasn’t he telling her to leave?

She immediately panicked, and the smug smile disappeared from her face. Staring at Wang Zheng, she demanded, “Didn’t you say I could stay at your place for as long as I wanted?”

“I did, but the condition was that you listen to me. Since you refuse to do that, why should I provide you with food and shelter, or even buy you a luxury car to drive? Do I look like an idiot?” Wang Zheng sneered.

His words instantly robbed Bai Bing of her confidence. She could also sense that the atmosphere in the room had changed—it had grown at least ten degrees colder.

Her eyes darted about. Deciding to retreat in order to advance, she looked at Wang Zheng and asked, “What do you need that house for? Don’t tell me you’re hiding some beauty there.”

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“That place of yours is a golden palace?” Wang Zheng said disdainfully. “If it were really a golden palace, would you still be living at my place? Are you lending it to me or not? Give me a straight answer!”

Wang Zheng issued her a final ultimatum. If she would not lend it to him, fine—she could get out of his house.

“Tell me what you intend to do with it, and I’ll lend it to you. If you won’t tell me, I won’t lend it to you!” Bai Bing persisted. She was not normally this curious, but when it came to Wang Zheng, her curiosity was overwhelming.

“Fine. Hurry home and pack your things. Get out of my house. I’ll drive you back.”

With that, Wang Zheng rose from his chair. Holding the car keys Bai Bing had just tossed to him, he turned and headed for the door.

“Wait, wait!” Bai Bing grabbed him by the arm. She had no doubt that Wang Zheng would throw her luggage out of the room if pushed too far. Judging by his current mood, it was best not to provoke him.

After thinking it over carefully, Bai Bing realized that she had several keys to the house anyway. Even if Wang Zheng refused to tell her what he was doing, she could secretly investigate for herself.

That’s it. That’s what I’ll do.

Bai Bing rose hurriedly, moved in front of Wang Zheng, and blocked his path.

“I’ll lend it to you, all right?”

“It’s not you I want. It’s your house.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll lend you my house. Is that good enough now?” Bai Bing said with an aggrieved expression. She reached into her pocket, took out a key, and placed it in Wang Zheng’s hand.

Wang Zheng was very pleased when he saw the key. However, he could only feel that satisfaction internally; he could not show it on his face. Otherwise, the stern expression he had spent so long cultivating would have been wasted.

In truth, the key was more or less unnecessary to Wang Zheng. With his abilities, getting into Bai Bing’s house was nothing. Even entering every home in the entire residential complex one by one would have been easy for him.

Wang Zheng walked past Bai Bing and prepared to open the door. But just as he pushed it open a crack, Bai Bing slammed it shut. She leaned her back against it, blocking both his way and the door itself.

“I’ve already lent you the house. What more do you want?” Bai Bing shouted at him, her voice full of resentment and grievance.

“I only want to go to the restaurant for lunch. I’m not trying to do anything to you!”

“…”

Wang Zheng’s relationship with Lin Xiaolei had begun to thaw and was gradually improving. Ever since the incident in which she had nearly been assaulted by Liu Jinqiang, Lin Xiaolei had taken the initiative to reconcile with Wang Zheng. Given her personality, managing to take this step on her own was no small achievement.

As for Zhongtian’s current situation, Wang Zheng was not entirely sure. He only knew that everyone was busy during working hours. That was understandable. Lin Xiaolei was wholeheartedly focused on transforming Zhongtian, and being busy was better than having nothing to do.

Moreover, their recent conversations had mostly been casual. Wang Zheng had not taken the initiative to ask about Zhongtian. However, judging from the information Lin Xiaolei had volunteered, the market analysis report should be completed within the next few days.

As for how she intended to develop in the future, Wang Zheng did not care. The only thing he could do now was find Lin Xiaolei a capable assistant—someone who could genuinely help her.

And Lin Xuan was the best candidate Wang Zheng could find for the job.

It was Friday. Since Su Xue and Chu Jun were not scheduled to host the news that day, Wang Zheng went straight to the television station to pick them up after work. As none of them had eaten yet, he could finally drive the three women home with a perfectly legitimate excuse and no longer had to worry about them racing their cars.

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Because of Wang Zheng, Su Xue and Bai Bing’s relationship had once been extremely tense. But after their car-racing adventures, the two had gradually eased up around each other. At the very least, Su Xue had stopped nitpicking Bai Bing.

After dinner, Wang Zheng sat in the living room and took a cigarette from his pocket. A cigarette after a meal was better than being a living immortal. But just as he took out his lighter, the cigarette between his lips was snatched away by Su Xue.

“Smoking is bad for your health. Could you please stop dragging the rest of us into it?” Su Xue looked at Wang Zheng as she spoke.

She was the only person in the household who dared to treat Wang Zheng this way. As for the others… Chu Jun? That girl was exceedingly well-behaved in front of him. Bai Bing? Would Wang Zheng listen to anything she said?

“What if I really can’t hold it in?” Wang Zheng asked. “Can I smoke in the bathroom? Or perhaps on the balcony?”

“The bathroom is out of the question, and the balcony is even worse. What if the wind blows the smoke back inside?” Su Xue replied irritably.

When she saw Wang Zheng grinding his teeth nonstop, Su Xue assumed his nicotine craving had flared up. Wang Zheng smoked, but he rarely did so. When had his addiction become this severe?

Seeing him fidgeting helplessly, Su Xue took pity on him and said, “Go outside and smoke. Come back in when you’re finished!”

“Fine!”

Wang Zheng took back the cigarette she had confiscated and walked out the door.

Su Xue closed the door and began thinking about how she might help Wang Zheng quit smoking. Five minutes passed, yet he still had not come back in. Su Xue wondered whether he had smoked a single cigarette or an entire pack.

Bai Bing and Chu Jun had already cleaned the kitchen and changed their clothes, preparing to go out for another drive. When they saw the puzzled expression on Su Xue’s face, they asked what had happened. In the end, they could not resist opening the door to take a look.

There was not a single person outside.

Bai Bing paused, then suddenly ran to the balcony facing the living room. She opened the window and looked down.

The white Maserati Quattroporte had vanished from its spot without leaving the slightest trace.

“He took the car! He tricked you!” Bai Bing shouted at Su Xue.

“Huh?” Su Xue looked down. The car was indeed gone. “I was wondering where he’d suddenly developed such a terrible smoking habit. So he was only pretending! The nerve!”

Su Xue clenched her fists tightly. This time, she was the one grinding her teeth.

Bai Bing seemed to think of something. She hurriedly took out her phone and dialed Wang Zheng’s number. After a moment, music began playing from Wang Zheng’s room.

“On my turf, you have to do as I say!”

The three women followed the sound. At last, they found his phone lying on the neatly made bed.

He had not even taken his phone with him? He must have gone out to do something naughty!