CH 43.2

The three of them took several phone calls that afternoon, and time to get off work came in the blink of an eye. Ning Wan and Shao Lili had made their appointment, and slinging their bags over their shoulders, they left happily together after waving to Fu Zheng and Chen Shuo, leaving the two men alone in the office.

Chen Shuo was almost faint with anger. He had known that Fu Zheng wasn't good, but he hadn't known that he would be such an annoying fellow. After all his hard work planning, his plan had been nipped in the bud before it could even begin to bear fruit, Now his envisioned dream of a two-person world with Ning Wan had been utterly wrecked.

What's more, the man had no self-knowledge. He was at the moment calmly looking at at his watch and saying, "Is it almost time? Should we head to that Michelin restaurant you mentioned? "

If the atmosphere was right, Chen Shuo had planned to take the opportunity to confess to Ning Wan today. He had paid a huge amount of money to reserve the restaurant through an agent, around 5,000 yuan a person, and had gotten the reservation a month in advance. He hadn't lied when he had said that this sort of restaurant reservation couldn't be casually cancelled, because the chef bought their ingredients based on the number of customers and the current season...

Chen Shuo had been looking forward to this day for a long time. In his daydreams, he had imagined the scene of himself and Ning Wan eating together in this high-class Michelin restaurant a good many times. It was beyond his expectations that the meal would end up landing completely undeservedly in Fu Zheng's lap.

Although he was angry, what was done was done. He could only look at it from a long-term perspective. Furthermore, Chen Shuo had always been too afraid to rashly confess to Ning Wan, for fear that she might not want to even be friends with him afterward due to embarrassment. He could only comfort himself by thinking that Ning Wan still didn't understand at the moment. It was better to slowly pave the way and bring it up in the future.

Since he couldn't cancel on the Michelin restaurant, they had to go. Chen Shuo drove silently and poker-faced the whole way. Meanwhile Fu Zheng, that food mooch, that drink mooch, that car-ride mooch, seemed comfortable and carefree, not even bothering to try to initiate conversation with him.

Chen Shuo felt even more furious. He parked the car, tried to calm himself down, and then strode into the restaurant before Fu Zheng without saying a word.

The restaurant was both atmospheric and elegant. Nearly all the diners were couples consisting of men and women. Almost all the people who come to dine are a couple of men and a woman, and the combination of two young men was quite a refreshing and eye-catching sight. It was especially so considering that Chen Shuo wasn't bad looking, while Fu Zheng was striking.

When Chen Shuo remembered how it should have been Ning Wan here with him today, he became even more depressed, and the gazes on them made him even more uncomfortable. Fu Zheng, however, was quite comfortable. When the dishes were served he picked up his knife and fork and ate as gracefully as if he were a born aristocrat. Even his clothes seemed to play the role.

Since neither of them had any interest in speaking to each other, the meal was quiet and the atmosphere quite strange. Soon, however, Chen Shuo realized that bad luck meant bad luck the whole way. As if it didn't feel weird enough already between himself and Fu Zheng, the waitress 'kindly' brought them a bouquet - enormous red roses.

Right at that moment, Chen Shuo's cell phone rang. It was a short message from the agent who had booked the restaurant for him--

"I heard that you're confessing today, so I had the restaurant send a mysterious surprise. Remember to book with me again if your confession is successful!"

“……”

Chen Shuo looked at the red roses like he was looking at a ghost. Before he could say or do anything to prevent it, he saw the waitress blushing and looking between him and Fu Zheng shyly and hesitantly. Finally, obviously not knowing who to give the bouquet to, she simply put the roses right on the table, summoned up her courage, and said sincerely, "I wish you both every happiness!"

“……”

“……”

After delivering the flowers, she continued glancing at them from afar, obviously waiting for the two handsome men to confide their secrets to each other. Unfortunately, it was impossible.

The atmosphere between Fu Zheng and Chen Shuo was rather subtle. The two men met each other's eyes but didn't speak. They only continued to dine gracefully in dead silence.

In the end, it was Chen Shuo who could no longer hold himself back. Not looking at Fu Zheng, head lowered, he cut his steak with a knife and let out his simmering resentment, "The flowers aren't for you. It's just a misunderstanding."

Fu Zheng didn't react. His voice was calm as he replied, "Well, but big red roses like these are a little conventional, don't you think?" He continued on infuriatingly, "On top of that, this method is just too old-fashioned. I might be thirty, but I would never have used such an old-fashioned way. Who knew that even though you're younger, Lawyer Chen, you seem to have quite a retro style? It seems like you can't just judge people by their age, but if they maintain a youthful state of mind."

“……”

If it weren't for the fact that he was a rational human being, Chen Shuo would have wanted to kill Fu Zheng with the steak knife in his hand. His previous misgivings had been right. No wonder he had disliked the man from the very first. What a hateful fellow this Fu Zheng was, so good and gentle and modest in front of Ning Wan. It was a sham! A facade!

Although he was beating up Fu Zheng in his heart, on the surface, Chen Shuo held back his depressed thoughts and showed a friendly smile. The two of them ate their meals, their movements exquisite and elegant.

"Is that so? So you're an old man whose heart is young, Lawyer Fu. But since you have such new and novel new ideas about courtship, how can you still be single at the age of thirty? I've heard Ning Wan say that you're still single."

"It's better to go without than to settle." Fu Zheng also smiled like a gentleman, cutting his own steak. "Anyhow, there's nothing wrong with being single. After all, if you meet a girl you like, can you pursue her if you're not single?"

When Chen Shuo heard this, his entire person became alert. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said." Fu Zheng gracefully delivered the beef to his mouth. "Although some people begin looking for a partner in their twenties and court aggressively, they may not get what they want. It's quite likely that they'll still be single when they reach forty. Although I may still be single at thirty, I may stop being single the very next moment, so there's no comparison for this sort of thing."

……

Chen Shuo held back his anger and maintained his plastic front with Fu Zheng. They were obviously crossing swords, but they still had to feign friendliness and kindness. Neither showed it, but both held killing intent.

After the meal, Chen Shuo rose without saying a word. The cinema was above the restaurant, so the two of them simply walked up. But Fu Zheng took his time. Neither fast or slow, he glanced at Chen Shuo and calmly reminded, "You forgot your roses."

“……”

"Would you like me to hold onto them for you?"

This really was what the idiom 'which pots shouldn't be opened' meant1. Chen Shuo almost died of anger. How could he let Fu Zheng take the flowers? If the two of them men walked together with Fu Zheng holding a bouquet, didn't that imply that the flowers were from him?

Send roses to Fu Zheng?! In his next life!

Chen Shuo flattened his mouth and picked up the bouquet without saying a word. But on second thought, this didn't work either. If he was holding the flowers, then didn't that imply that the roses had been sent by Fu Zheng? It gave Chen Shuo goosebumps just thinking about it.

He thought this way and that, and finally, face chilly, stuffed the roses into the hands of the waitress who had delivered them. "Here, you take these."

Having gotten rid of the flowers, Chen Shuo felt refreshed, glanced at Fu Zheng and strode forward.

But soon, Chen Shuo could no longer hold his head up high. He and Fu Zheng walked to the cinema only to find out that almost without exception, every other person who had come to see the movie were young couples. A few of them were pairs of girls. The Chen Shuo - Fu Zheng combination, both young men, simply stood out far too much...

Fu Zheng acted very natural, and Chen Shuo also keeps a straight face. He checked into the cinema with Fu Zheng under the inquiring eyes and meaningful gaze of a number of girls, but it was only when he heard those little girls whispering behind him that Chen Shuo began feeling somewhat uncomfortable--

"Oh my God, they're like a fairy couple! Both of them are so handsome, but Xiao Shou2's looks so mad! They're probably just having a quarrel, but Xiao Gong3 looks so chill about it, he must be a very generous and forgiving person. Don't you think there's that sort of pampered feeling, like how an overbearing president looks at his delicate wife?"

"Yeah, yeah, Xiao Gong really has that sort of presence, and on top of that he looks like a male model. No wonder I can't find a handsome boy for a boyfriend, all the handsome boys already have boyfriends!"

"Xiao Shou isn't too bad either! Although he's not as handsome, he's quite above average. What an eye-catching combination!"

……

Fu Zheng was walking in front. Due to the distance, he probably couldn't hear the twittering behind them. Chen Shuo, however, heard every word, and his face darkened even more.

Why?!

Why was he less handsome than Fu Zheng in the eyes of these girls?! Fu Zheng, whose delicate features made him look like a pretty little boy toy! Why was he considered less handsome than him?!

Also, why was he the bottom in the relationship?! Why was Fu Zheng the top? Wasn't he, Chen Shuo, stronger? He was just a rookie who hadn't been in the field for long, did you get to be on top just because you're older?

Chen Shuo was still fuming as the movie started.

The tickets naturally hadn't been given by Director Ji, but purchased by Chen Shuo himself in the name of Director Ji. In fact, he had actually spent money to get the VIP couples seat. Who would have expected that Fu Zheng would get it for cheap in the end? But the man's face was thicker than Chen Shuo could have imagined. He seemed extremely comfortable sitting on the VIP couples sofa. Annoyed and depressed, Chen Shuo couldn't keep his mind on the plot at all, but Fu Zheng seemed to be enjoying the story, his face full of relish.

……

That night Chen Shuo bled and cried. He had spent money and effort only to benefit Fu Zheng in the end. However, it never rains but it pours. When he returned home after the movie, Chen Shuo looked in the mirror and almost fainted. Tonight he had submitted to humiliation and swallowed his anger so much that his body had given him a warning.

His lips looked like they were on fire, and a number of pimples had popped out. He stared at his much reduced good looks in the mirror, eyes red, gnashing his teeth as he cursed Fu Zheng's name over and over in his head.

The man was the embodiment of 'Not enough to succeed, but more than enough to fail'4. Chen Shuo made up his mind. Next time, he had to find a chance to get Fu Zheng away. Some things shouldn't be made known to this person.