LWDC Chapter 174

Chapter 174 – Long time no see

Chapter 174 – Long time no see

Chapter 174 – Long time no see

As soon as Ning Fei heard the visitor’s surname was Duan, he was 80%, no, 99.9% sure who it was.

When Shen Zejun personally went to greet the person in, Ning Fei almost snorted with laughter when he saw the tall man following behind him.

It was Duan Yunhong himself, no doubt about it.

Actually, Ning Fei wasn’t too surprised. After all, this was Duan Yunhong’s original world. Who knew, after their last separation, the guy might have been waiting for him here, playing possum. But the moment he stepped through the Cheng family’s door, Duan Yunhong followed. If that was a coincidence, it was too much of one.

–Tsk, did this guy secretly put a tracker on me?

While his thoughts were racing, Duan Yunhong had already reached them with Shen Zejun. His gaze landed directly on Ning Fei, who was the last to slowly stand up.

Mother Cheng and Cheng Mengxiao had already met Duan Yunhong, so naturally, Shen Zejun’s first and only task was to introduce Ning Fei. He made way for Duan Yunhong and waved his hand back and forth, “Boss Duan, this is Ning Fei from the Southwest Chamber of Commerce. His father is the chairman of the Southwest Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Ning, this is Duan Yunhong, the owner of the only car dealership in Shashi.”

Ning Fei raised his eyebrows slightly and extended his hand before Duan Yunhong could speak, “Boss Duan, long time no see.”

Seeing him pretending to be a stranger, Duan Yunhong shook his hand, “Oh? Mr. Ning knew about me before?”

Ning Fei: “No, just being polite.”

Duan Yunhong: “…”

Shen Zejun: “…”

Duan Yunhong was used to Ning Fei suddenly acting like this, but Shen Zejun didn’t expect Ning Fei to say such impolite things, and was completely stunned for a few seconds before trying to smooth things over, “Haha, Mr. Ning is joking. You just said you wanted to do business and meet some local friends, and Boss Duan arrived. Isn’t that perfect? You two are really destined.”

He wanted to use Duan Yunhong’s arrival to cut off Ning Fei’s coercion, but Ning Fei saw through his intentions at a glance and directly exposed him, “This time, forget it. Boss Duan must have something to discuss with you, you guys talk. I haven’t finished talking with Madam Cheng and Miss Cheng, so we’ll find another place to continue chatting.”

Hearing this, Cheng Mengxiao’s heart, which had just settled, was hanging again. She couldn’t win against Ning Fei just now, and now that Shen Zejun was gone, she was really afraid of Ning Fei’s mouth.

“I was just passing by and came to give Zejun a new flavor of coffee, there’s nothing important to talk about.” Among the group of silent quails, Duan Yunhong spoke naturally, “Since you’re still busy, I’ll come again later. I’d like to invite everyone to Shashi Hotel for a simple meal at noon. Consider it a way to do my duty as a host and make friends with Ning Fei.”

Ning Fei: Heh, still “Zejun.”

Cheng Mengxiao exclaimed, “Shashi Hotel is the best hotel in the city. For Boss Duan to treat us there and call it a simple meal, he really is rich and generous.”

Shen Zejun said, “Shashi Hotel? You two really are destined, Mr. Ning is staying there now, isn’t he?”

Ning Fei: …

–You really know how to expose me!

Duan Yunhong glanced at Ning Fei, a meaningful look in his eyes.

“Indeed, we are destined.” The man smiled, “Then it’s settled, I’ll pick you up at eleven o’clock?”

Ning Fei was speechless. He had arrived after ten o’clock, and now he raised his hand to look at his watch and raised an eyebrow, “It’s already ten thirty, Boss Duan going back and forth in half an hour is a bit too…”

Duan Yunhong: “It’s okay, no trouble.”

Ning Fei: “…Overestimates the efficiency of our conversation.”

“…” Having been choked twice in a few minutes, it was the familiar firepower. Duan Yunhong was pained but happy, and replied, “Then I’ll come at eleven thirty. If you’re still not finished talking, I’ll book a meeting room in the hotel for you in the afternoon, and you can continue talking over coffee? You still have to eat lunch.”

Ning Fei knew that this man was determined to latch onto him, so he had to give in, “Alright. I have no problem anyway, Madam and Miss, oh, and Mr. Shen, what do you think?”

Cheng Mengxiao was naturally hesitant. Although the lunch at the grand hotel was impressive, Ning Fei’s presence would probably make her unable to eat. Shen Zejun said “then we’ll accept your kind offer,” and so it was settled.

Duan Yunhong gave Ning Fei one last look before taking his leave decisively.

Ning Fei: Tsk.

No matter what Duan Yunhong’s original purpose was for coming, he really disrupted Ning Fei’s negotiation rhythm. It could only be said that the fortune bandit and the debt collector were incompatible, and the mutual obstruction in their work simply didn’t depend on individual will.

*

Ning Fei stayed in the Cheng family for almost an hour longer, not to immediately achieve the goal of persuading the Cheng family mother and daughter to return.

He just wanted to know what the actual situation was now. After all, even if there were occasional letters from Cheng Lingqi, it was difficult to know all the information, especially since Cheng Mengxiao was deliberately hiding things.

After nearly an hour of various tactics, including deception, coercion, soft and hard approaches, Cheng Mengxiao and Shen Zejun finally couldn’t hold on and confessed almost everything.

First of all, although the two of them didn’t explicitly say they were dating, they were better than dating. They hadn’t broken through the window, just because both sides still had some concerns, but they should have had a full understanding of each other. In Shen Zejun’s later self-summary (showing off), it was “developed from affection, but stopped at courtesy.”

Secondly, Cheng Mengxiao’s so-called work was actually writing articles for the local newspaper. According to her own statement, she could earn 30 yuan a month. However, it was later confirmed that it was just the highest income she had ever received, and other times it was far below that level, only a few or a dozen yuan a month was the norm. As for her saying that she sometimes gave classes to children, it was purely doing public welfare and showing kindness. Not only did she not take a penny, but she also had to pay for it from time to time.

And Shen Zejun’s job was indeed doing business. However, he didn’t have a fixed area, and basically followed other businessmen to bring things in and then take them out, belonging to a more advanced “scalper.” Logically, he originally had some family wealth, and now he was active in the business world, so his income should be good. But Ning Fei glanced at his clothes, although neat and comfortable, they were dull and old, obviously his current life was not very wealthy.

As for where the income of the two of them, plus the money sent by Cheng Lingqi, went, it was something they never mentioned.

Ning Fei didn’t plan to force the truth out now, he didn’t even feel that Shen Zejun had to tell his “true identity.” Anyway, Cheng Lingqi’s task was just to bring his mother and sister to reunite, and to save their lives. The struggle between the camps didn’t have to be too deep.

At eleven thirty, Duan Yunhong’s driver knocked on the door on time to call them.

Shen Zejun and Cheng Lingqi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Ning Fei looked like he was sitting there unmoved, but talking to him was too frightening. However, just as the two of them were about to “escape” Ning Fei’s clutches, Ning Fei raised his hand and pointed to Cheng’s mother and Cheng Mengxiao to get into his car.

Cheng Mengxiao: “Ah? Ah?!”

“I also have a car, Miss Cheng should sit with your mother in my car.” Ning Fei smiled slightly, “It’s also a good opportunity to try it out and see if the car to Yucheng will be comfortable enough.”

Cheng Mengxiao didn’t want to try at all, but she really couldn’t leave her mother alone in Ning Fei’s car, so she had to agree.

The group walked out the door, and Duan Yunhong’s car was indeed there. Ning Fei walked past his car, and when he passed the window, he turned his head and seemed to casually meet Duan Yunhong’s eyes.

Duan Yunhong thought he was going to open the door, and was half-opening his mouth to speak, but Ning Fei walked straight past, followed by Mother Cheng and Cheng Mengxiao.

Duan Yunhong: “…”

Shen Zejun, who was walking last, stopped at the rear window, “Boss Duan.”

Duan Yunhong asked, “They…?”

Shen Zejun didn’t think much and replied directly, “They went to sit in Mr. Ning’s car.”

–That’s right, how could he not have a car with this identity setting?

Duan Yunhong lowered his eyes and smiled, put down those thoughts in his heart, and said, “Then come up.”

*

Ning Fei bringing the mother and daughter into his car wasn’t just to play with Duan Yunhong, the main purpose was to briefly isolate Shen Zejun and Cheng Mengxiao.

“You two, Mr. Shen was also present just now, so I couldn’t be too straightforward.”

Ning Fei, sitting in the passenger seat, turned his head and looked at the two women who were preoccupied, changing his previous high-pressure attitude and becoming more somber, “Actually, Deputy Commander Cheng asked me to take you to Yucheng as soon as possible because he sensed that his recent situation was very unstable. He’s worried that people with ulterior motives will use you to threaten him. By the time he’s so far away, he won’t be able to protect you, and if something unexpected happens, he’ll regret it for the rest of his life.”

“Is Lingqi having such a hard time?” The one who reacted the most to her son was the old mother, “Is General Liu treating him badly? This child has been competitive since he was young and insisted that he would make a name for himself. If it’s too dangerous, our family might as well go back to our hometown. No one cares in a small place, and life is safer.”

“Mom, my brother has already reached this position, even if he wants to leave, others won’t let him go easily.” Cheng Mengxiao retorted first, then leaned closer to the front passenger seat, “Mr. Ning, what exactly happened to my brother? Is it…unstable in Yucheng?”

Ning Fei said, “It looks pretty much the same overall, there’s not much difference in the lives of ordinary people.”

Cheng Mengxiao immediately said, “Then the internal factions in the military are getting tense?”

Ning Fei knew she wanted to extract information, but he didn’t expect her to ask so directly, so he replied meaningfully, “Miss Cheng, even if there’s something in the military, Deputy Commander Cheng wouldn’t tell me, so how would I know?”

“Then why did you say my brother felt uneasy?”

“I’m just repeating Deputy Commander Cheng’s words, I don’t know the details.” Ning Fei said, “I’m just a businessman, a friend, you are the family. Maybe if you ask, he will confide in you more.”

Cheng Mengxiao thought for a while, “Then I’ll write him a letter.”

“Don’t be silly, Miss Cheng, who knows how many people are secretly checking the letters now, can this kind of thing be written on paper?” Ning Fei turned back to the front, leisurely said, “It’s difficult for Deputy Commander Cheng to send you money, let alone speak freely in a letter. I say, you should hurry up and reunite, face-to-face, and you’ll know everything. And there’s only a gatekeeper and a handyman here, it’s quite a lot for them to do laundry and cook for three adults. Not only does Deputy Commander Cheng have more helpers, but he also has guards who can protect you. As for Miss Cheng’s work, where can’t you write?”

“Is that so…” Cheng Mengxiao hesitated. What she was thinking about wasn’t living conditions, but what the situation was around Cheng Lingqi.

Ning Fei wanted to use this kind of information to “entice” her to go over. By the time she arrived in Yucheng, wanting to go out wouldn’t be up to her.

During the conversation, the car quickly arrived at Shashi Hotel.

Several people got out of the two cars one after another. Duan Yunhong and Ning Fei took the lead to walk into the hotel, naturally walking side by side, ignoring the three people behind (especially the young couple) who had gathered together again.

“Boss Duan, not bad.” Ning Fei looked ahead and chuckled softly, “Setting me up in advance, and wanting to compete with me, huh?”

“You’re wronging me this time.” Duan Yunhong glanced at him, then looked ahead, his voice low and slow.

“Without me holding down the fort, that little girl might have been controlled long ago, how would it be your turn to come and save her now?”

——————–

Boss Duan: Can’t stand being wronged at all [X.

The background of this volume is also fictional fictional fictional! The protagonist has no position, he’s just doing his mission!

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