Chapter 1895 — The Car Broke Down?

"Hello!" Zhang Duopan put out his hand, though his bearing was rather haughty, and eyeing Bai Weituo he said, "My name is Zhang Duopan—Meiyue's high school classmate and her flower guardian!"

Bai Weituo was briefly taken aback. Flower guardian? Then he recalled that yesterday He Meiyue had said she had no boyfriend; so this Zhang Duopan was at most a suitor who had not yet succeeded. Not to be outdone, Bai Weituo said, "Flower guardian? I'd say you're about eighty percent self-appointed, aren't you?"

Zhang Duopan's face darkened on the spot—Bai Weituo had struck him exactly where he was tender. Back in high school he had pursued He Meiyue, but she had always turned him down on the grounds that her studies came first. Now they were at university, and by chance in the same school; he had brought the old matter up again, but He Meiyue had given him no straight answer, which left Zhang Duopan thoroughly out of sorts.

"Are you here to pick a quarrel?" Zhang Duopan asked coldly.

"I'm only speaking the truth. And I'd like to be that flower guardian myself." Bai Weituo had not meant to show his hand so early—after all, this business of courting a girl had to be done step by step. Blurt it out all at once, get refused, and there would be no room left to turn; but slowly, once affection had taken root, it became much easier.

But now, if Bai Weituo held his tongue, someone else would steal the march on him. He had no choice but to make his position plain.

He Meiyue pursed her lips and said nothing. Toward Zhang Duopan she felt no particular liking, but no particular dislike either; the two of them were simply like friends, and of course she could not accept his suit outright. As for Bai Weituo, her impression of him was not bad either—only it was a little surprising that he should want to court her on the second day of their acquaintance.

"Ha, very well. A rival will only raise my fighting spirit!" Zhang Duopan and Fan Ganhe were both spoiled young masters from families of some means; in high school, brawling had been ordinary fare for them. But at university they had reined themselves in a good deal—after all, they were in strange territory and did not quite dare to throw their weight about, at least not before they had taken the measure of the people around them.

"Where are we going this afternoon?" Zhao Shengji stepped in to smooth things over, seeing that Zhang Duopan and Bai Weituo had locked horns. True, if it came to a real fight, the four of them on his side might not fear those two—but a brawl among freshmen was never a good thing.

"We talked it over just now, and we said we'd go to a KTV nearby," Chai Xiaoling explained. "Our major is putting on two numbers at the freshman gala, and one of them is a solo. Meiyue signed up for it."

"Oh? Meiyue, you can sing?" Bai Weituo said in surprise.

"There's a good deal you don't know, then. Back in our high school, Meiyue was known as the nightingale!" Zhang Duopan said smugly. "In those days, our class's solo act took first place at the school arts festival every single year!"

"Heh, it's only a hobby. If my family had agreed, I'd have sat the entrance exam for a conservatory." He Meiyue shrugged. "My parents are rather conservative; they don't like the idea of me mixing in the entertainment world."

"That's right—if Meiyue had gone to a conservatory, she'd be a future superstar; even that Xu Shilan would be no match for her..." Zhang Duopan said offhandedly. He had meant to praise He Meiyue, but regretted it the instant the words were out—because He Meiyue's idol was none other than Xu Shilan. Wasn't that saying, in a roundabout way, that Xu Shilan was not so good?

Sure enough, He Meiyue's expression shifted slightly, and she said coolly, "I'm nowhere near Xu Shilan. I'm strictly an amateur."

"Ha ha, I was only speaking at random..." Zhang Duopan said, somewhat embarrassed.

"Xu Shilan really is remarkable. Not only is she beautiful, her songs are lovely too—I like her a great deal as well!" Bai Weituo was no fool; he saw at once what was in He Meiyue's heart and put in a timely word. In truth, though, he did enjoy Xu Shilan's songs—most young people liked Xu Shilan.

"You like Xu Shilan too?" He Meiyue asked, her eyes lighting up.

"Yes, and I can even sing a few of her songs!" Bai Weituo nodded.

"Wonderful—then the two of us will do a duet in a little while!" He Meiyue said readily.

That left Zhang Duopan looking rather sour. He had proposed the KTV, naturally, in order to accompany He Meiyue while she practiced her songs—he had no gift for singing whatsoever. "Tone-deaf" would have been a compliment; even if you asked him to rap, he could not remember the lyrics.

And now Bai Weituo had happened to hit right on his weak spot! Zhang Duopan gave a laugh to cover it and changed the subject: "Let's go, we'll head over now. Oh, that's right—I came by car, but it only seats five. You all take a taxi?"

Zhang Duopan had a car and simply did not want Bai Weituo in it; besides, the car seated five at most. It worked out perfectly: three from He Meiyue's dormitory, plus him and Fan Ganhe—no more, no less.

So saying, Zhang Duopan rather impressively fished a car key out of his pocket and said, "Having a car these days is just so convenient!"

At Zhang Duopan's showing off, Bai Weituo gave a cold snort. The man was plainly needling them, but since the car really did seat five, there was no fault to be found.

Wang Xinyan, though, looked as if she wanted to say something, and then swallowed it.

In fact she had a car too—only she was not the sort who liked to show off, and hers was a sports car, rather eye-catching. Yesterday, after she had registered, she had parked it in the lot and not touched it since.

Besides, for a girl to be too conspicuous was not good either, so she merely said, "You all go by car. I'll go along with them... otherwise they won't be able to find the KTV..."

That KTV was one Wang Xinyan's roommates had come upon the night before while out shopping. It was neither far nor near—driving there was a little pointless—but Zhang Duopan's real aim was to display his means, not that he had to drive.

Wang Xinyan's words left Fan Ganhe's face visibly uncomfortable, yet there was nothing to be done—after all, who among them could serve as guide for Wei Zhao and the others? Only Wang Xinyan was best suited for it.

The group reached the parking lot. Zhang Duopan, greatly pleased with himself, pointed at a Range Rover Evoque and pressed the remote in his hand—but the familiar click of the doors unlocking did not come! He was briefly startled, then pressed the remote again; the car still gave no response!

This made Zhang Duopan pause. Just as he was about to examine the car closely and see what on earth was the matter, a car happened to pull up nearby, and a young man and woman got out—plainly a wealthy student couple. They had only just arrived and did not know that Zhang Duopan was the owner of that car, so the young man remarked casually to the girl, "That car next to us, I don't know whose it is, some **'s—its lights were flashing all night long. It's probably flat out of battery now; by the time the driver shows up, he likely won't even be able to get the doors open!"

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