Chapter 162: Cheng Hongbing’s Love Rival
Seeing the look on Cheng Yuan’s face, Wu Xiuli grew nervous. "Xiaoyuan, don’t scare me. Is your father alright?"
Cheng Yuan gave a wry smile. "Dad’s fine. He’s in the shape of an eighteen-year-old. Even I can’t match his fitness level."
Wu Xiuli let out a sigh of relief, patting her chest with a look of lingering fear. "I knew it. Your dad’s as strong as an ox. Every time..."
Halfway through her sentence, Wu Xiuli seemed to realize something. ’How can I say these things in front of our son?’ She quickly stopped herself.
Cheng Yuan took a deep look at the purple blood inside Cheng Hongbing’s body and asked nonchalantly, "Dad, have you ever had a checkup? Gotten your blood drawn? Or even just bled, for that matter?"
Cheng Hongbing nodded. "Of course I have. They don’t let you go to school without a checkup. And when I was a mischievous kid, I was always scraping my arms and legs and bleeding."
Cheng Yuan furrowed his brow. ’That can’t be right. If Dad was always getting hurt as a kid, his purple blood would have been discovered long ago.’
Just as Cheng Yuan was puzzling over this, Cheng Hongbing continued, "It’s strange, now that you mention it. The year I turned eighteen, I fainted unexpectedly. Ever since then, my skin has seemed incredibly tough. I haven’t been injured or even bled once."
Cheng Yuan’s pupils constricted. ’That time Dad fainted... that must have been when he awakened his bloodline or something similar. That’s probably when his blood started turning purple, right?’
"Dad, from now on, I’m your personal physician. Don’t go to the hospital for any more blood tests. If anything comes up, just come straight to me. And most importantly, if you ever get hurt, you call me first."
"Alright."
Cheng Yuan turned to Cheng Qianqian and said gently, "Qianqian, I’m taking Mom and Dad car shopping. You get Youchu settled, and then hit the books."
"Okay, Brother! Leave Youchu to me. You don’t have to worry about a thing!"
Most of the car dealerships were located in the southern part of the city. The family of three got into Cheng Hongbing’s taxi and headed straight there.
"Dad, what kind of car do you like?"
"Just get me a Volkswagen CC or a Passat. That’s good enough."
Cheng Yuan couldn’t help but roll his eyes. "Dad, is that really what you consider a luxury car?"
"It is. For the average person, a car worth two or three hundred thousand is already a luxury."
"Let’s go look at Rolls-Royce or Bentley."
Rolls-Royce and Bentley?
Wu Xiuli didn’t really have a concept of what that meant, but Cheng Hongbing, who drove for a living, knew all too well what those two top-tier luxury brands were.
Cheng Hongbing quickly shook his head. "Xiaoyuan, that’s way too expensive! A Rolls-Royce or Bentley costs millions! We could buy a huge apartment in our neighborhood for that price! We don’t need a car that expensive!"
"What about a Maserati or a Porsche then?"
"Those brands are for young people, not for an old guy like me. If you insist on getting something nice, just pick one from the German Big Three."
Cheng Yuan nodded slightly. "BMW is out—they don’t give ice cream to people from Dragon Country. That leaves Audi and Mercedes. The Mercedes interiors are more luxurious, so let’s go with Mercedes."
"Alright. A C-Class will be fine."
Cheng Yuan rolled his eyes. "The C-Class is what kids drive. For you, Dad, we need an E-Class at the very least. Personally, I think the S-Class is more appropriate."
S?
’That’s over a million, too.’
Cheng Hongbing gave a wry laugh and didn’t object. He could see it clearly now: he and his son were in completely different leagues when it came to spending money.
"Fine," he said. "Whatever you say we should get, we’ll get."
With that, Cheng Hongbing pulled his taxi into the parking lot of the Mercedes-Benz dealership.
At that exact moment, a GT-R pulled into the spot beside them.
The driver of the GT-R was a man in his forties. His hairline was receding slightly, but he was well-dressed and had clearly taken good care of himself.
In the passenger seat sat a girl who looked to be in her early twenties.
The girl had an innocent face, but her clothes were daring and provocative.
The girl shot a disdainful look at Cheng Yuan’s family as they got out of the taxi and said in a saccharine voice, "President Jia, look over there. They actually came to a Mercedes dealership in a taxi? How hilarious."
The middle-aged man followed the girl’s finger, a dismissive look on his face. But when he got a clear view of Cheng Hongbing and Wu Xiuli, he was visibly stunned.
The disdain in his eyes vanished, replaced by a flicker of well-suppressed excitement as he stared intently at Wu Xiuli’s gracefully aged face.
’It’s been over twenty years, but Xiuli hasn’t changed a bit. If anything, she’s even more captivating now!’
The man’s heart, dormant for more than twenty years, suddenly began to pound wildly.
The middle-aged man’s name was Jia Ping. He and Wu Xiuli were childhood friends, and he had been in love with her since they were young. Unfortunately for him, she had never been interested and had chosen Cheng Hongbing instead.
Jia Ping had been heartbroken over it for a long time. Eventually, after some deep reflection, he decided to pour all his energy into his career. Now, his business was thriving.
Today, Jia Ping was the owner of one of the top ten mahogany furniture factories in Luocheng.
The dealership staff swarmed toward the GT-R, leaving Cheng Yuan’s family, who had just climbed out of the taxi, completely ignored to the side.
"Sir, madam, a warm welcome to Mercedes-Benz! My name is Huang Yun, and I’ll be your sales consultant."
"Sir, madam, I’m Lu Feng, a gold-tier sales associate here at Mercedes-Benz. Are you interested in the latest models? I can get you a vehicle off the lot today and offer you our best discount."
Wu Xiuli was not pleased. "What kind of service is this?" she muttered. "Is anyone going to help us?"
The employees shot the three of them a strange look. ’They came in a taxi and they’re dressed in cheap, off-the-rack clothes. They’re obviously not here to buy.’
’The guy who drove up in the GT-R—*he’s* the real customer!’
’Only an idiot would bother helping them!’
The staff completely ignored Wu Xiuli, fawning over Jia Ping instead.
"Sir, which models are you interested in? Right this way, please!"
If it had been anyone else getting ignored, Jia Ping wouldn’t have given it a second thought. But this was Wu Xiuli—the goddess of his heart, unforgettable since childhood.
’This was absolutely unacceptable!’
Jia Ping’s expression hardened. He pointed a hand toward Wu Xiuli and boomed, "Xiuli is my dearest friend! What kind of service do you call this? All of us are customers, so why are you treating them so differently?"
Huh?
’Those people from the taxi... are friends with this big shot?’
’We totally misjudged them!’
Upon hearing this, a few of the more astute employees immediately rushed over to Wu Xiuli, their faces plastered with apologetic smiles. "Ma’am, we are so sorry. We didn’t realize you were friends with the gentleman."
Only then did Cheng Hongbing and Wu Xiuli finally recognize Jia Ping. Cheng Hongbing’s expression soured. After all, Jia Ping was his old love rival, a man who had relentlessly pursued Wu Xiuli for years.
Not wanting Cheng Hongbing to get the wrong idea, Wu Xiuli said coldly, "I’m not familiar with that gentleman."
The employees froze, glancing at Jia Ping with questioning looks.
Jia Ping stepped forward, staring at Wu Xiuli with deep emotion. "Xiuli, why be so cold? Even if we couldn’t end up as husband and wife, we can still be friends!"