Chapter 143 Cheating

Bai Bing seemed to have a unique passion for cars, especially sports cars. However, who wouldn't love sports cars? Gorgeous, noble, dynamic, thrilling, and supremely eye-catching, that ultimate feeling of chasing the wind was extraordinarily intoxicating.

In order to get the sports car, Bai Bing acted like a humble maid, doing everything Wang Zheng ordered to the best of her ability—from massaging his shoulders and beating his legs to serving tea and pouring water. It was hard to imagine that she, who usually went head-to-head with Wang Zheng, could be so obedient, leaving even Wang Zheng somewhat in disbelief. However, this was beneficial for Wang Zheng, as he now held a trump card in his hands!

Wang Zheng checked the time; Zhang Fan should be arriving soon, and it was time to execute the plan. Wang Zheng took out his mobile phone, dialed the desk phone from beneath the table, and after it rang once, he picked it up with a theatrical flair.

"Hello."

While listening, he nodded continuously with a grave and serious expression. Wang Zheng glanced slightly toward Bai Bing's direction; her small ears were perked up high—everything was going according to Wang Zheng's plan.

"Snap!" Wang Zheng hung up the phone, then looked at Bai Bing in front of the desk and said, "There is a package for me downstairs. Could you go and pick it up for me?"

"A package? Alright, I'll go right now!" Whether it was the sports car or her own curiosity that motivated her, Bai Bing readily agreed and left as soon as she heard Wang Zheng's words.

Wang Zheng stood up, peered outside through the crack in the door, and seeing that Bai Bing had indeed left the company, he walked out of his office and entered Lin Xiaolei's office next door.

Although the roses had already been disposed of by Bai Bing, a faint scent of flowers still lingered in the room. This fragrance made Wang Zheng feel nauseous. Suppressing the urge to vomit, Wang Zheng walked straight up to Lin Xiaolei and, meeting her puzzled gaze, generously said, "I'm treating you to lunch today!"

"Treating me to lunch?" Lin Xiaolei was stunned upon hearing this, a trace of joy inadvertently flashing through her eyes.

She remembered when they had first met, the company was still going through a difficult period. She, Wang Zheng, and Bai Bing often ate meals together. However, as the company's situation improved day by day, the opportunities for them to eat together decreased instead. Wang Zheng no longer took the initiative to invite her to eat as before, nor did he pressure her to eat more. For a period of time, she felt a barrier forming between herself and Wang Zheng, but she knew the reason for this barrier lay with her—it was because of her that things had reached this state. Therefore, she had always tried to improve the situation and had even achieved some results.

Being invited by Zhang Fan twice, and having both instances bumped into by Wang Zheng, inevitably made Lin Xiaolei feel somewhat uneasy. The more she saw Wang Zheng's calm and nonchalant expression, the more uncomfortable her heart felt. Especially this morning, when he actually had Bai Bing throw away the roses, it inevitably caused Lin Xiaolei's imagination to run wild.

And now, Wang Zheng was actually inviting her to lunch. For Lin Xiaolei, this was undoubtedly a joyous occasion. Aside from dispelling the doubts in her heart, it also showed that Wang Zheng had no intention of giving her the cold shoulder.

"En!" Lin Xiaolei nodded softly.

"Then let's go!"

"Now?" Lin Xiaolei checked the time; there was still half an hour left before off-work hours.

"Of course!" Without giving Lin Xiaolei a chance to say more, Wang Zheng already grabbed her wrist and pulled her outward. There was hardly any time left; if they didn't leave now, they would definitely run into Bai Bing, and if the truth of the bet were exposed at that point, it wouldn't do anyone any good!

The elevator doors on the left, moving downward, opened. Wang Zheng pulled Lin Xiaolei inside, and the doors closed, descending slowly. Almost simultaneously, the elevator doors on the right, moving upward, opened, and Bai Bing stepped out. Empty-handed, she hadn't found the so-called package from Wang Zheng downstairs at all. The front desk receptionist hadn't received any package either. Besides, if it were a courier delivery, it should be sent to the corresponding company rather than the front desk.

Bai Bing briskly walked back to her office, opened the door, and blurted out, "No—!" Just as she uttered the first word, the rest stuck in her throat. Bai Bing couldn't help frowning: where were people? Where had Wang Zheng gone? Bai Bing calmed down and carefully pondered the situation: Wang Zheng had asked her to go downstairs to pick up a package, but there was no package downstairs, and upon her return, he was gone.

A coincidence? Absolutely not!

Bai Bing couldn't help stepping out of the room and, with a suspicious attitude, went over to Lin Xiaolei's office next door. After pushing the door open, only Lin Xuan was inside; Lin Xiaolei was actually not there. This struck Bai Bing as strange—if they had gone out for work, Lin Xuan would definitely have gone along. If it weren't for work, Lin Xiaolei rarely slacked off during working hours.

"Where is Lin Xiaolei?" Bai Bing asked Lin Xuan inside the office.

"I don't know. President Lin didn't say when she left!" Lin Xuan put down the documents in her hand, looked up at Bai Bing, and said.

"What about Wang Zheng? Has Wang Zheng been here?" Bai Bing asked again.

"He hasn't been here. Is he not in his office?" Lin Xuan asked.

Neither of them was there? Impossible! Where on earth could they have gone? If it were anyone else disappearing at the same time like this, Bai Bing wouldn't suspect anything. But this matter involved Wang Zheng and Lin Xiaolei, and Bai Bing would certainly not let it go so easily.

Right at that moment, she caught sight of Zhang Fan standing outside the company, constantly glancing at the watch on his wrist. He seemed to be waiting for Lin Xiaolei to finish work so he could invite her to dine, just like the previous two days!

Ah! Could it be...?! Bai Bing suddenly thought of the bet with Wang Zheng. She had bet that Zhang Fan would still send roses today, still come to the company, and they would still have a meal together! Wang Zheng and Lin Xiaolei had disappeared at the same time; he... was he cheating? Thinking of this, Bai Bing immediately took out her phone and dialed Wang Zheng's mobile number. Although past experience told her that whenever she wanted to find Wang Zheng, his phone would be turned off, she still wanted to try. The result... beep, beep, beep, beep.

Detestable! To cheat even on something like this, is he even a man?

While Bai Bing was cursing inwardly, Wang Zheng and Lin Xiaolei were already enjoying their lunch together. The place he chose was right across from the Yong'an Building; sitting by the window, they had a direct view of the main entrance of the Yong'an Building. Wang Zheng wasn't worried that Bai Bing would find him—that was simply impossible. Lin Xuan in the office was his contracted ally; even if she didn't know, and even if she did, she wouldn't blab.

"How strange, that Zhang Fan turns out to be Zhang Xu's son!" Wang Zheng said calmly, looking through the window at Zhang Fan's car parked outside the Yong'an Building—a black Cadillac CTS-V! Compared to Cadillac's solemn and fierce style, wasn't Zhang Fan's refined and courteous demeanor a mismatch? Or perhaps his refinement was merely a facade... something put on only when he was pursuing women.

Isn't pursuing someone so tiring precisely because one tries to exhibit qualities one doesn't actually possess?

Wang Zheng withdrew his gaze from outside and let it fall upon Lin Xiaolei sitting opposite him. Seeing her head lowered and gently biting her lip, her mood wasn't very high, looking somewhat like someone who had done something wrong. This made Wang Zheng wonder if his previous remark had been a bit out of place?

That sentence had been said quite casually by Wang Zheng, but to Lin Xiaolei's ears, it seemed to have turned into a form of sarcasm.

"Don't mind it, I was just speaking off the top of my head!" Wang Zheng looked at Lin Xiaolei and smiled. Damn it, what was wrong with him lately? His mouth was always so cheap and always stirring up trouble...!

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaolei looked up and managed a faint smile. Although she tried hard to pretend that nothing was wrong, her smile appeared rather mechanical and carried a trace of bitterness. Her pitiful appearance gave Wang Zheng the urge to bite off his own tongue to atone to the heavens. However, the thought that there were still many delicious foods in this world quickly dispelled Wang Zheng's notion of tongue-biting.

"Right, how are things going with the company? If I remember correctly, a month from now will be the season for the new tea harvest again, right?" Wang Zheng asked while eating.

"Yes, we're about to welcome the busiest time of the year again. I just hope this batch of tea can be sold smoothly!" Lin Xiaolei said. During this period, she hadn't been idle. Aside from signing acquisition contracts with tea farmers a few days ago, she was also preparing to establish a tea processing plant to provide a one-stop service covering processing, packaging, and sales for the acquired tea leaves. After all, packaged tea leaves were priced thirty percent or even more higher than retail sales, so this was definitely a lucrative piece of fat. If she could build the tea into a brand, her profits would become even more substantial. However, setting up a tea factory required a massive amount of capital and land. The capital could be secured by continuing to apply for a bank loan. As for the land... that was what troubled Lin Xiaolei the most right now!

Not only were work issues plaguing her, but there was also Zhang Fan. She had clearly rejected him twice, yet he still sent roses and kept showing up, which had severely impacted her work. If Wang Zheng hadn't invited her out to eat today, she probably would have been harassed by that man once again.

Zhang Fan was overflowing with politeness. As the saying goes, "You don't hit a smiling face." Lin Xiaolei truly didn't know how she ought to handle it. Looking at Wang Zheng across the table, she suddenly thought of a plan—whether good or bad, she wasn't sure—that might perhaps make Zhang Fan realize the difficulty and retreat.

"C-Could I trouble you with something?"