Married, but Still Strangers - Chapter 8

“This is the new car you’re switching to?” Zhuang Yan recognized the BYD because the name was written on the rear of the car.

Besides that, Zhuang Yan also recognized the four rings of Audi, because five rings would be the Olympics.

“Yes, this one is not that conspicuous,” Yue Lu explained.

As soon as he arrived at the company, he called over all the employees who owned cars and inspected their vehicles one by one in the company garage. Finally, he selected a car that was low-priced, semi-new, and had a common color.

When the McLaren keys were handed over to him and the compensation money was deposited into his card, the owner of that black BYD with the license plate number 3692 was still in a daze.

Had this overwhelming stroke of fortune finally turned to him? Could it be that smoke was rising from his ancestral grave? He wanted to resign and go back to his hometown to pay his respects.

Don’t ask why he was resigning; this was called returning home in glory.

This car was indeed inconspicuous, but it was easily mistaken for a ride-hailing vehicle.

Who wouldn’t want to pick up a couple of orders when they owned a BYD? Naturally, Yue Lu didn’t.

“Is this a car belonging to your company’s employee?” To buy a car and arrange the license plate, Zhuang Yan felt it shouldn’t be this fast.

The best explanation was that this car was not his.

In an instant, an image of a boss snatching an employee’s car on a rainy day appeared in Zhuang Yan’s mind, automatically taking on Yue Lu’s face.

“I exchanged it with them using my original car.” Yue Lu’s tone sounded a bit proud. “The weather is bad today; we’ll go handle the title transfer when the weather clears up.”

Zhuang Yan: “…”

He was wrong; this was clearly a God of Wealth.

Why didn’t this kind of thing happen to Zhuang Yan?

Oh right, Zhuang Yan didn’t have a car.

As expected, that saying was right: opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared.

“What’s wrong? Driving someone else’s car indeed carries a certain risk, so I gave him some compensation.” Was Zhuang Yan concerned about him again?

Zhuang Yan: “…”

“It’s nothing. The sound of the rain outside is too loud; I didn’t hear clearly what you said just now.” Actually, he was a little bit “jealous of the rich.”

Yue Lu understood: “It seems the sound insulation of this car isn’t very good, so I’ll try to speak as loudly as possible.”

As expected, you get what you pay for. However, for the sake of being able to pick up and drop off Zhuang Yan, he would just drive this car.

“Speaking of which, why did you specifically come to pick me up?” Zhuang Yan lowered his head slightly shyly, still at that same angle, but Yue Lu kept his eyes fixed forward, not glancing at him even once.

Fine, casting amorous glances at a blind man.

“I saw the rain getting heavier and heavier, and it wouldn’t be easy for you to get home… so I made a temporary decision to come pick you up,” Yue Lu explained stutteringly.

How could he possibly say it out loud?

“Is that so…” To have a temporary decision and still have time to find a car, negotiate compensation—this decision was quite “temporary” indeed.

This person was not only slow to react, but also stubborn.

Bored, Zhuang Yan pulled out his phone again to read that person’s Secret Love Diary.

He also understood why “Thomas Spinning Big Sow” and a group of netizens could watch this for three years; watching this was indeed quite interesting.

“It rained this morning. I wanted to send him out, but I was rejected. Does he not like rich people? Why would he hate my McLaren? If I pretend to be bankrupt, will he like me?”

Thomas Spinning Big Sow: “In this day and age, there’s actually someone who can’t get along with money? Could it be he’s deliberately pretending to be a pure ‘little white flower’ to string you along?”

Ten Consecutive Gold Pulls: “Bro, are you still short of a secret love object? What do you think of me? I like McLarens, and I also like rich people.”

A Certain Person Named Zhai I Hate You: “What are you pretending for? A McLaren? I even drive a Rolls-Royce.”

Thomas Spinning Big Sow: “You’re a new fan, right? Previously, someone gave him an idea on how to talk to his secret love object, and he gave everyone in the comment section a 1,000-yuan red envelope.”

No wonder there were so many die-hard fans; turns out they weren’t die-hard fans of the poster, but die-hard fans of money.

Thinking of this, Zhuang Yan also followed the poster and, fearing he only gave red envelopes to people in the comments, posted “Keep it up, poster” in the comment section.

Little Sweet Wind: “Since he doesn’t like it, just change to another car. You can change to a Wuling Hongguang or a BYD. If all else fails, find a taxi to pick him up and say it’s a new job you found.”

Thomas Spinning Big Sow: “That’s a good idea. Doesn’t he set himself up as a pure character who doesn’t love wealth? Drive a BYD to pick him up and see what he says. If he immediately changes his face, then it proves all of this is an act. Just use force and smash him with money directly.”

Zhuang Yan sighed; human joys and sorrows are not interconnected. Why wasn’t there a rich big boss secretly in love with him?

He liked money too!

Could it be that rich people all liked that stainless “little white flower” type? If they really liked it, he could pretend to be that too.

The other comments basically had no value; most were like Zhuang Yan, wanting to get a red envelope and watch the excitement.

Zhuang Yan turned off his phone screen and placed it face down on his lap, just as they arrived home.

At this moment, the rain was falling heavily. Although the supermarket wasn’t far, it wasn’t convenient to go out for groceries, so Zhuang Yan and Yue Lu planned to just eat whatever and make do for a meal.

Yue Lu had no objections.

As expected, a “liuzi” (overseas student) was easy to keep fed.

“By the way, where did you go for your study abroad before?” Zhuang Yan only knew Yue Lu went abroad to study but didn’t know which country or which school, otherwise, he might have chased after him.

“Germany, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich,” Yue Lu answered.

“Don’t they say German schools are very hard to graduate from? How did you come back in four years?” Didn’t they say the three years of studying in Germany will be the most unforgettable seven years of your five years there? Why did Yue Lu only stay for four years?

“I accidentally stayed back one grade, so it was four years,” Yue Lu explained embarrassedly.

Zhuang Yan: “…”

Did I ask why you stayed back a grade? I asked why you only stayed for four years!

“How did you know I stayed there for four years?” Yue Lu realized something was wrong. “I don’t think I said that just now?”

“That… I heard it from others. You were quite famous in school before,” Zhuang Yan explained guiltily.

Yue Lu accepted this explanation and didn’t ask further.

The truth wasn’t important; what was important was that Zhuang Yan was also paying attention to him.

Back when they were in university in China, basketball games for other departments required extra credit or mandatory attendance to fill the stands.

However, games with Yue Lu present would be full even without extra credit, which was enough to see that Yue Lu was very popular before.

Because of this, Yue Lu had mysteriously participated in several basketball games for other majors.

So, the reason Zhuang Yan found could pass as an explanation.

“Does this microwave heat food as soon as you put it in?” Yue Lu watched Zhuang Yan heat up leftovers while he ate the small dessert Zhuang Yan had packed for him.

It was so good; his Prince Beibei even brought him some afternoon tea when going out.

It felt like being back in childhood.

“Yes, it’s very convenient for heating leftovers and such.”

Zhuang Yan suddenly thought, do rich people not eat leftovers?

No wonder Yue Lu looked at the microwave with such novelty.

Yue Lu nodded: “It is quite convenient.”

Zhuang Yan breathed a sigh of relief; fortunately, he didn’t hear the sentence he thought he would hear.

“I made breakfast this morning, so I’ll make breakfast tomorrow morning,” Yue Lu initiated.

“This… no need, I’ll just do it.”

If Yue Lu went to cook, how would Zhuang Yan show his devotion?

“Trust me, my cooking is really delicious,” Yue Lu insisted.

They say to capture a person’s heart, you must first capture their stomach. Before that, he must have the opportunity to capture that person’s stomach.

“Don’t you still have to go to work? Won’t it be too tiring?” Zhuang Yan didn’t necessarily distrust Yue Lu’s culinary skills; he just wanted to show off a bit.

“It won’t be. Just rest assured.”

Zhuang Yan didn’t argue with Yue Lu anymore; arguing back and forth without a conclusion was meaningless.

After dinner, Zhuang Yan curled up in his blanket to draw. He still had two commissions he hadn’t finished. These were his “bread and butter” clients; he couldn’t delay them.

Both were sketches, so it didn’t take him long to finish. After submitting the completed drawings, he began to scroll through that person’s secret love post again.

Although not a single comment had been replied to, the poster had definitely read them one by one.

That speculative post by “Thomas Spinning Big Sow” about the secret love object deliberately stringing him along could no longer be seen now.

Zhuang Yan originally wanted to find a drama to watch, but then the platform sent him a payment notification. He clicked it and saw it was actually a red envelope from that poster just now, a full 1,000 yuan.

A wealth-scattering child, a God of Wealth! Please accept my bow!

Zhuang Yan pulled down to refresh and found the poster had updated again: “Borrowed a car from a colleague and successfully picked him up.”

Thomas Spinning Big Sow was again the first to reply: “Thanks to the boss for the red envelope. The boss is generous! Wishing the boss and the lady boss a harmonious union for a hundred years and a son soon!”

One could only say, as expected of a die-hard fan; they really knew what to say.

Little Sweet Wind: “Wow! This account transferred an extra 100,000 to me! The boss is generous!”

Thomas Spinning Big Sow: “Is there extra money for giving the boss advice? Why were the netizens’ mouths so tight before?”

Little Sweet Wind: “If it weren’t for the fact that both my main and secondary accounts followed the blogger, I wouldn’t have known about this.”

Thomas Spinning Big Sow: “Don’t worry, Boss. I won’t join in the mess from now on; I’ll focus on being your love strategist.”

100,000 yuan! That was 100,000 yuan!

Wasn’t it just pursuing someone? He had flipped through many love guides before.

Dizzy with the thought of money, Zhuang Yan immediately began reviewing the pursuit notes he had taken before. He even registered a secondary account to follow the poster and accidentally ended up reading the pursuit notes until four in the morning.

What pure little white flower? Just fall obediently at the feet of my God of Wealth big boss!

In the morning, before Zhuang Yan had woken up, he heard a loud “bang” from somewhere, startling him so much he sat up with a start.

Could something have exploded?

Thinking of this, Zhuang Yan, sporting two large dark circles under his eyes, immediately looked out the window but found nothing unusual.

“A-Cong? Did you just hear an explosion?” Zhuang Yan walked out dragging his slippers.

“Sorry, I think I broke the microwave.” Yue Lu walked out of the kitchen guiltily.

He just wanted to make breakfast for Zhuang Yan; he didn’t mean to cause such a huge mess.

“The microwave is broken?” Zhuang Yan was puzzled; he remembered the microwave was newly bought. “It’s okay, it’s still under warranty; it can be taken for repair.”

Zhuang Yan went to the kitchen to check and saw the microwave was filled with egg debris. He had never seen eggs so smashed before.

“The microwave isn’t broken… it’s just… why did you put eggs in there? You can’t put whole eggs in the microwave to heat them.” Man, are you doing this on purpose to get my attention?

“Sorry, I didn’t know. I haven’t used it before. I should have checked the instructions before using it.” Yue Lu stood there self-reproachfully, at a loss.

Would Zhuang Yan kick him out?

Would it be okay if he just paid for the microwave? He could compensate with ten of them, as long as he wasn’t kicked out.

“It’s fine, it’ll be okay once we clean the inside. You aren’t hurt, right?” Zhuang Yan finally remembered to show some concern for Yue Lu.

Yue Lu was first delighted, then shook his head: “I’m fine.”

“That’s good. Go to work first; I’ll just clean this up.”

Having just received 1,000 yuan yesterday, even though he was woken up, his mood was still fairly good.

“I caused this, so I should be the one to handle it.” Yue Lu began searching for methods to clean a microwave.

He wanted to be a responsible Alpha; he wanted to leave a good impression on the Omega.

“Then I’ll help you.”

What was Zhuang Yan worried about? He’s the boss; why worry about him being late and having his salary docked?

Yue Lu used a rag to clean out all the egg debris from the microwave, while Zhuang Yan was responsible for helping Yue Lu wash the rag.

After cleaning it, they turned on the light-wave mode to bake; the scorched eggs slowly fell from the top, and Yue Lu started cleaning with the rag again.

After repeating this several times, the microwave looked seemingly clean.

By the time they finished cleaning, it was already 9:30. Going to work now would definitely mean being late, but looking at Yue Lu, he wasn’t afraid of being late.

Truly envious.

Zhuang Yan, who didn’t need to clock in for work, didn’t know what exactly he was envious of.

After seeing Yue Lu off, Zhuang Yan decided to order some takeout for himself. Previously, when he slept until noon, one lunch would solve everything. Or if he slept until nine or ten, he could have brunch.

Now, after being busy all morning, he was hungry. If he ate a meal now, he estimated he would have to eat another one at noon.

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