Chapter 145: The Kiss Effect!

The quiet office area was strangely still, as if life itself did not exist here. People held their breath, watching Wang Zheng's back until he entered the office and the door closed behind him with a dull thud. Only then did they recover their senses, casting their gazes toward the female protagonist of the scene, Lin Xiaolei.

A kiss is also known as locking lips, lip-locking, or sealing the deal. Modern science has already proven that frequent kissing can stabilize cardiovascular activity, prevent hypertension, lower cholesterol, and comprehensively improve overall health. It aids in dental care, beauty enhancement, weight loss, pain relief, stress reduction, and immune boosting. As the saying goes: a kiss a day keeps health your way, good for you and good for me!

In some cultures, a kiss signifies welcome and respect. But in China, kissing is imbued much more deeply with the meaning of love!

Wang Zheng and Lin Xiaolei had kissed—right in front of dozens of office workers, and they had done it clearly, openly, and without hesitation. No one would believe that Wang Zheng was using a kiss as a form of medical treatment for Lin Xiaolei. The members of the office gossip circle had always harbored suspicions about the relationship between Wang Zheng and the general manager, but now they no longer needed to doubt. This kiss confirmed the ambiguous relationship between their leader and the general manager. Besides, didn't the general manager herself say out loud that Wang Zheng was her boyfriend?

Everyone suddenly came to a sudden realization, finally understanding why Wang Zheng occupied such a unique position at Zhongtian Company. So that was how it was!

Despite their wild imaginations, their inner turmoil was nothing compared to that of the people directly involved. The moment their lips touched, Lin Xiaolei's mind went completely blank, leaving her like a newborn infant at the mercy of another.

Her first kiss? Her first kiss was just gone like that? For Lin Xiaolei, this kiss came far too unexpectedly. Wasn't... wasn't the agreement just to pretend to be a couple? Although Lin Xiaolei liked Wang Zheng, everything had happened all too suddenly!

Was this kiss genuine, or was it just part of the act? This question made Lin Xiaolei's heart feel even more complicated.

Yet she had not forgotten about Zhang Fan standing right before her. Forcing down the turbulent waves inside her, Lin Xiaolei tried her best to maintain a calm and natural demeanor.

"Mr. Zhang, if there's nothing else, I'll go back to work. Goodbye," Lin Xiaolei said with a smile, then brushed past Zhang Fan and walked into her office.

Zhang Fan stood rooted to the spot. Initially, he had harbored some doubts about the identity of the man who had suddenly appeared, but now, it seemed that what Lin Xiaolei had said was true. Watching the woman he pursued being kissed by another man naturally did not feel good. Although Lin Xiaolei had explicitly rejected him before, only now did he truly experience the feeling of being dumped.

Feeling the surrounding gazes fixed upon him, Zhang Fan smiled faintly, suppressed the ripples in his heart, and began to walk away. It didn't matter; he was not going to retreat just because of this simple kiss! Zhang Fan thought to himself. Beneath his gentle and refined exterior lay a fiercely competitive spirit. Having never been rejected by a woman in his entire life, this only stoked his competitive drive, fueling his determination to win Lin Xiaolei over! What could a single kiss prove? It proved nothing at all!

In his own mind, Zhang Fan believed he was forever the greatest among men!

He had foolishly mistaken arrogance for confidence!

***

Wang Zheng returned to his office and casually closed the door. Suddenly, he felt two hands reach out from behind him and grab his arms. A tremendous force surged through those hands, and something pressed against his lower back as if someone were leaning right up against him. The next instant, Wang Zheng felt his feet leave the floor as his entire body was flipped backward through the air.

Just as his head was about to crash into the ground, he slammed his hands against the floor with a sharp slap and executed a graceful backflip, landing safely and soundly on his feet.

"If you have something to say, just say it. Why resort to physical force? Don't be so impulsive!" Wang Zheng said with a smile, then walked over to his desk, sat down, and looked at the ice-cold Bai Bing. "Where is my package?"

"Package? Hmph, the package is right here!" Bai Bing let out a cold snort upon hearing Wang Zheng's words, then tossed a box directly at him.

Wang Zheng reached out and caught it. The so-called package was merely an excuse he had used to lure Bai Bing away so he could take the opportunity to ask Lin Xiaolei out and ruin yesterday's bet. Bai Bing, who was not entirely foolish, must have guessed his intention by now. And since that package shouldn't have existed in the first place, its appearance here had to be one of Bai Bing's petty schemes!

He weighed it in his hand; it was very light and made no sound. Furthermore, this six-sided sealed box had no discernible opening. To avoid falling into a trap, Wang Zheng pushed the box aside to deal with later!

"Why aren't you opening it to take a look?" Bai Bing asked, pushing the box right back in front of him.

"No rush, no rush!" Wang Zheng replied indifferently. The more insistent Bai Bing was, the more certain he was that the box contained nothing good. It was best not to look at all.

"No rush? Hmph!" Bai Bing suddenly slammed her hand down hard onto the box. A spring-loaded fist popped out from within, striking Wang Zheng squarely in the chest.

Wang Zheng blinked in surprise. A spring-loaded punch? Now that was rather amusing! He couldn't help but raise his head to look at the disgruntled Bai Bing sitting opposite him. Was this girl still a child, playing such silly tricks?

Bai Bing sneered, picked up the spring-loaded fist mechanism, and tapped it against Wang Zheng's head.

"You liar! I will never believe you again. Yesterday's bet is canceled!" Clearly, Wang Zheng's lying and cheating behavior had completely infuriated Bai Bing. In truth, had it been anything else, Bai Bing wouldn't have been this angry. The real trigger was seeing Wang Zheng and Lin Xiaolei kiss in full view of everyone just moments ago, with Lin Xiaolei calling Wang Zheng her boyfriend and Wang Zheng acknowledging her as his girlfriend. Just thinking about it made the fire in Bai Bing's heart flare uncontrollably.

"I merely had lunch with Lin Xiaolei because of work. Besides, a bet is a bet—don't be a sore loser," Wang Zheng said indifferently, as if trying to convince others that he and Lin Xiaolei had indeed gone out purely for professional reasons.

"If it was just work, why did you send me away? And does work require you to kiss her?" Bai Bing said coldly. "And don't you dare threaten me with buying a car again, or I'll make you regret it!"

***

With that, Bai Bing turned and stormed out of the office. There was no need for Wang Zheng to deliberately dismiss her this time; she had left entirely of her own accord. Watching Bai Bing's retreating back, Wang Zheng shrugged indifferently. However, his last remaining trump card was gone now; it seemed he wouldn't be able to use the car-buying excuse to treat her like a maid anymore!

Thinking of Bai Bing's angry expression just now, Wang Zheng smiled involuntarily. He turned around and faced the floor-to-ceiling glass wall, looking down to clearly spot the black Cadillac parked below. Zhang Fan walked out of the Yong'an Building, stopped by the car, and turned to look up at the building. Wang Zheng knew the other man wasn't looking at him, but rather at Lin Xiaolei's office next door.

The gesture was simple, but it showed that Zhang Fan had not given up on Lin Xiaolei.

Even that kiss couldn't make this pretty boy back off; he was truly persistent! Half the reason Wang Zheng had suddenly kissed Lin Xiaolei earlier was to make Zhang Fan give up completely, but judging by the current situation, Wang Zheng's clever plan didn't seem to have worked out as intended! That kiss appeared to have lost its intended effect. As for the other half of the reason... well, naturally, it was to take advantage of Lin Xiaolei!

Only a fool passes up a chance to take advantage!

Though, come to think of it, it was just a kiss, not a permanent brand left on Lin Xiaolei. In this day and age, plenty of people chased after women who had been through two, three, or four relationships, let alone a woman who had merely been kissed. As he thought about it, Wang Zheng chuckled at himself. His thoughts and actions just now had truly been rather childish.

Watching the car slowly pull away, Wang Zheng slowly raised his right hand and extended his middle finger toward it!

Idiot!

Back in her office, Lin Xiaolei sat down and felt a wave of relief wash over her the moment she glanced outside and saw Zhang Fan leaving. However, her heart remained far from calm. The lingering warmth of the friction between her lips and Wang Zheng's was still present, causing her face to flush bright red while her head buzzed as if surrounded by a swarm of bees.

He really kissed me! Whether in her field of vision or deep within her mind, the scene of Wang Zheng kissing her replayed like a slide show, every single movement repeating over and over again.

She liked Wang Zheng—that was true—but Lin Xiaolei had never expected Wang Zheng to launch a surprise attack. That feeling... because it was so sudden, so startling, and so fast, Lin Xiaolei hadn't even had time to figure out what her first kiss was really like, or whether it was as sweet and wonderful as the legends said, before it was already over. It felt like a dream, as if everything had been an illusion. Yet the lingering warmth was unmistakably real...!

Why did it come and go so quickly?