Chapter 35 Buying a Car "But the more realistic the replica, the higher the price, right?"...

Chapter 35 Buying a Car "But the more realistic the replica, the higher the price, right?"...

"Cheng Zhao, thank you so much." Ye Hantao raised her glass. "Thank you for your help today."

In the restaurant.

The two sat facing each other, surrounded by the lively chatter of other diners.

Cheng Zhao touched Ye Hantao's cup to his, listening as Ye Hantao listed the things he had done one by one.

"You made the call, and that's why the manager let us handle this in the VIP room while we drink tea. You even brought your legal team with you."

Cheng Zhaoxian said, "I sent the legal team not because I don't trust your abilities."

Seeing Ye Hantao looking over, he slightly curled the corners of his mouth and said, "You were very cool and very... professional, remaining calm and composed in front of so many people."

Cheng Zhao imitated Ye Hantao's way of praising people, giving a thumbs up, then thought for a moment and gave another thumbs up.

“Double the affirmation,” he said.

Ye Hantao's almond-shaped eyes curved into crescents. "Thank you for the compliment."

“I’m stating the facts. Bringing the legal team is just to make up the numbers,” Cheng Zhao raised his thick eyebrows and continued, “They have the numbers, but we’re not bad either.”

Ye Hantao was amused by his competitive spirit.

The man at the next table slurped his noodles loudly, which drowned out Ye Hantao's laughter.

The waiter came over from the aisle and said, "Two people, you've ordered."

As he spoke, the waiter's gaze lingered on Cheng Zhao's eyes for a few seconds. Whether he was handsome or not was another matter, but it was rare to see a mixed-race person in the store.

Those blue eyes are so striking.

Two bowls of noodles were placed on the table, topped with pickled mustard greens, bamboo shoots, and shredded meat.

"You should try it." Ye Hantao rarely encounters a restaurant that doesn't disappoint when she eats out. There are only a few restaurants that she can remember. "I've been eating at this restaurant since I was in elementary school, and I still eat there now."

Cheng Zhao looked at the two bowls of noodles on the table.

They ordered the same topping.

But the noodles were different thicknesses; his were regular noodles, while Ye Hantao's noodles were very wide.

"It seems the staff at the restaurant all remember you."

"Maybe it's because I have a pleasing appearance?"

Ye Hantao said it casually and noticed that Cheng Zhao was nodding seriously.

"..."

As Cheng Zhao picked up the noodles with his chopsticks, he glanced around again.

The restaurant was small, with only three types of toppings displayed on the walls. All eight tables inside were full, and a few people were queuing outside under parasols.

This shop is located in an old residential area.

Ye Hantao was very familiar with the road conditions when she drove here.

For someone who has a terrible sense of direction to be so familiar with the place, it's clear they come here frequently.

As soon as Ye Hantao entered the store, she rushed over and grabbed the two empty chairs before he could react.

"Cheng Zhao!" Her eyes and brows were full of bright smiles. "We're really lucky! We managed to snag the last table."

Cheng Zhao swallowed a mouthful of noodles and noticed the expectation in Ye Hantao's eyes. He replaced the word "delicious" that he almost blurted out with another word.

"The noodles are smooth and chewy, and the topping is just the right amount of salty."

Ye Hantao said happily, "As long as it tastes good!"

Cheng Zhao rolled up his sleeves.

He came out of the company still wearing that white shirt and suit pants.

Dressed in an elite style, looking refined and gentle, he didn't seem like the kind of person who would appear in a noodle shop on the street.

Now, he rolled up his sleeves, and his wheat-colored arms instantly came into Ye Hantao's view. When he raised his hand, his muscles tensed with the movement.

Their relaxed and comfortable demeanor didn't seem out of place in the noodle shop they were in.

Compared to his face, Ye Hantao always noticed his hands and arms first, secretly thinking that this person must do strength training on a regular basis.

Ye Hantao's gaze returned to Cheng Zhao's face, and she smiled, "Their two chefs work in shifts. Like this day of the month, my favorite chef comes to work, and we just happened to be there."

Cheng Zhao's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"The chef you mentioned last time who makes steamed pork with rice flour, it seems like he also works irregularly?"

Ye Hantao was surprised, "You watched the previous live stream?"

Cheng Zhao: "I read them all."

“Yes, when the chef is on duty, the restaurant owner will announce it in the group chat,” Ye Hantao said. “In the past two years, I’ve watched his group grow from dozens of people to hundreds, all waiting for the steamed pork chef.”

Cheng Zhao felt that something was not quite right.

I couldn't help but recall what Ye Hantao said and did on the variety show.

Most of these facts confirm that Ye Hantao comes from a well-off family.

He had just picked up his second chopstick when a sudden thought flashed through his mind.

"Your brother works as a network administrator?"

"Yes, I've been doing it for two or three years now."

At this moment, the waiter brought over several more plates of stir-fries, all of which were dishes Ye Hantao had ordered after asking Cheng Zhao about his preferences.

When you're treating someone to a meal, even if the noodles are delicious, you shouldn't just eat noodles.

Luckily, they had similar tastes and could both handle spicy food.

Ye Hantao ordered two spicy stir-fries and one stir-fried vegetable dish.

Cheng Zhao belatedly asked, "What did you ask when we left the Aubin store?"

Ye Hantao teased him, "Did you remember you had already read the random reply?"

Cheng Zhao: "..."

No wonder Ye Hantao said, "Let's go eat noodles then."

“I was surprised to learn that Aubin’s manager actually said that the scarf was a limited edition item worldwide.”

"...Isn't your scarf a limited edition?"

"Of course it is—" Ye Hantao suddenly stopped talking.

She usually tells the truth when she's not on camera, but her condition is still more than 80% behind. Once she gets into the mood to talk in private, her words contradict each other on camera.

Ye Hantao looked at Cheng Zhao, not really wanting to lie, so she simply said, "I want to say that it is of higher quality than the global limited edition."

Cheng Zhao realized that Ye Hantao had changed her mind halfway through.

But he wasn't sure why.

Halfway through her noodles, Ye Hantao checked the time on her phone.

"Your family arranged to buy a car this afternoon?"

"You guessed that?"

"You posted that you were buying a car today, but it's already noon."

"Yes, we'll meet at 2 PM."

Cheng Zhao casually asked, "Where do you order the car? I'll drive you there in a bit."

Ye Hantao took a sip of water. "I haven't decided yet. Let's go to the store and check out the cars. We'll compare prices from different shops."

Cheng Zhao: "???"

The strange feeling in my heart resurfaced.

Many of the cars in the store have basic configurations; the specifications were finalized as soon as the cars left the factory.

But they rarely go to the dealership in person to buy a car.

New cars will be delivered to your door by a dedicated person. If you want to buy other cars, you can discuss details such as paint and interior with the consultant in advance and customize them directly.

The production cycle is generally six months to a year, after which delivery is made.

The cars he bought were delivered directly to his home by someone else.

First of all, Ye Hantao's family did not go bankrupt;

Secondly, Ye Hantao's family is a top-tier VIC client of Aubin, indicating that their assets are above A12.

Cheng Zhao sat up straight and watched Ye Hantao eat her noodles with great concentration.

During the live stream, Ye Hantao mentioned that she bought the white T-shirt from a store on the back street of her neighborhood, and that she asked Liao Jiayue for skincare products because they were expensive. Last night, she even mentioned that a box of skincare products was a perk given to her by her mother's company.

They were just an ordinary family.

Before today, he also thought Ye Hantao was short of money, so he gave her money under the pretext of personal subsidies.

Cheng Zhao: "..."

This isn't right.

Aubin's manager can't be so blind as to mistake their brand's limited edition for something else.

"Cheng Zhao, are you full?" Ye Hantao asked, noticing that he hadn't touched his chopsticks. "Is the taste still not to your liking? Were you just praising it too much earlier?"

Cheng Zhao snapped out of his daze, picked up a noodle and ate it in big bites, alternating between a mouthful of noodles and a bite of stir-fried vegetables.

After leaving only half a bowl of noodles, he finally spoke up to explain, "I was thinking about something, now I'll eat."

He not only finished all the noodles in his bowl, but also ate all the toppings.

Ye Hantao quickly poured him a glass of water, "The topping will be too salty if you eat it without noodles."

"It's not salty." Cheng Zhao put the empty bowl on the table. "Noodles I've never eaten before have tasted as good as this."

This is the truth, not just to make Ye Hantao happy.

"When you're filming wildlife in the wild, are you able to get a hot meal?"

"There's a stove in the car, we can cook there."

He just couldn't stand eating slowly in the wild, and he was too lazy to wait even though his assistant and others were in charge of cooking.

He also disliked the impact of these smells on the animals he was photographing, so he often carried lightly scented food with him and set off alone.

Ye Hantao waited for him to drink a few sips of water, then looked into his pale blue eyes and tilted her head, saying, "On the way here, you said you had something to say. Were you just thinking about that?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Zhao said seriously, "Tao Tao, send a message to Shan Feng first."

Ye Hantao didn't understand, "What you're talking about has nothing to do with Shanfeng's lack of nonsense?"

"have."

"oh."

Ye Hantao switched to her new account, hesitated for two seconds in the chat box, and asked, "[Don't participate in the lottery next time. Even if you have a gold mine, you should spend it sparingly.]"

[Buzz]

The phone on the table rang.

Following the sound, Ye Hantao saw Cheng Zhao pick up his phone and glance at its contents.

Cheng Zhao looked over and said, "You can't spend it all."

"..."

The restaurant was still bustling with noise and the aroma of steaming noodles.

However, the space around the two seemed to be suddenly pulled closer and then suddenly pulled further away.

Until Ye Hantao slowly opened her eyes wide, "???"

What's the meaning?

What does Cheng Zhao mean by "the flowers never run out"?

Is that what I meant?

That can't be right.

"Shanfeng, no nonsense?"

"It's me."

Cheng Zhao's gaze remained fixed on Ye Hantao's face, trying to discern her emotions.

From the very beginning, he never intended to use both the identities of Cheng Zhao and Shan Feng Bu Fei Hua to get along with Ye Han Tao at the same time.

"Tao Tao, you're not angry, are you?"

"No..." Ye Hantao blinked very slowly, "I was just too surprised, I had a feeling—"

The feeling in my heart is hard to describe.

Ye Hantao pondered for more than ten seconds before saying, "It has a strange feeling of meeting someone at lightning speed, catching you off guard and leaving you completely unprepared."

Someone I initially identified as a fan turned out to be someone I knew in real life.

Ye Hantao thought about how she had suspected Shan Feng was just trying to coax her to sleep by not talking nonsense. Looking at Cheng Zhao's face, she avoided eye contact with him.

Cheng Zhao: "When you're angry, you don't look at people."

Ye Hantao: "...?"

To prove she wasn't angry, Ye Hantao suppressed her guilty conscience and stared at him with wide eyes.

"You helped me enter the lottery three times online, I should thank you."

"But..." Ye Hantao couldn't understand, "Why did you participate in the lottery?"

Cheng Zhao's Adam's apple bobbed almost imperceptibly as he raised his hand and loosened his shirt collar.

“I’ve never pursued anyone before,” he said after a long silence, “I just want to make you happy.”

Ye Hantao was stunned.

What did he just say?

The noisy sounds from the noodle shop seemed to have faded away once again.

Ye Hantao couldn't tell for a moment whether his pursuit of Shanfeng Bufeihua meant his fandom as a star-struck fan, or... his pursuit of developing a romantic relationship.

It should be...

The former, perhaps?

The midday sun slanted down, shining on Cheng Zhao's high brow bone.

It might be a bit hot inside.

Ye Hantao noticed a thin layer of sweat on his temples.

"I...you..." Ye Hantao had heard confessions before since starting school, but after calming herself down, she decided to ask clearly, "What you mean by pursuing—"

The sound of the gentle waves interrupted Ye Hantao's words.

The phone on the table rang.

Ye Hantao hurriedly picked up her phone without even looking at the caller ID, and said, "Hello."

"Hey, you've grown distant with your dad?"

"Dad! Are you done with work?"

"I finished work a long time ago and just picked up your mom from the company," Ye Weizheng asked. "Did you buy all the gifts after you left Aubin?"

Ye Hantao: "I've bought everything."

"Okay, where are you? We'll come pick you up."

"At Xu's Noodle Shop."

Ye Weizheng glanced at the calendar. "Oh right, the head chef who makes noodles came to work today. Have you already eaten?"

Ye Hantao: "I just finished eating."

"That's perfect, I'm nearby."

The next second, Ye Hantao heard her mother's voice on the phone, "Taotao, we're at the bank across the street. You'll see us when you come out."

"I'm coming out right now!" Ye Hantao hung up the phone, looked at Cheng Zhao, and said apologetically, "My parents are here to pick me up, I have to go now."

Seeing that Ye Hantao hadn't asked any questions about what he had just said, Cheng Zhao stood up and said, "Okay, let's talk again next time."

Ye Hantao turned around and took two steps, then turned back and asked a question that was beyond Cheng Zhao's expectations.

Do you really own two gold mines?

Who would understand? As I was walking, I realized that one of the people I knew had been visited by the God of Wealth.

A glint flashed in Cheng Zhao's eyes.

"There are more than just gold mines."

Thinking about Ye Hantao's family background, he revealed his own financial situation one by one: "After I turned eighteen, I also inherited a jade mine in Chichwall and an oil field in Louisiana."

Ye Hantao: "?????????"

Do they use the same language system?

Inside the car, Zhou Ti put down the bags Tao Tao had brought with her. Turning around, she noticed Tao Tao's dazed expression and gently flicked the tip of her nose with her finger. "You're sleepy after eating?"

"It's not that I'm sleepy." Ye Hantao looked at the street scenes rushing past the car window and said with a sigh, "So I can hate the rich too!"

The Maybach, which had been moving steadily, suddenly swayed.

Ye Weizheng, under Zhou Ti's death stare, chuckled awkwardly, "I just went around a big rock and didn't drive steadily. Tao Tao, were you scared?"

Ye Hantao shook her head, "Dad, don't get distracted while driving."

Ye Weizheng: "Understood!"

"Tao Tao, why are you suddenly so resentful of the rich?" Zhou Ti pondered. "Is it because of the humiliation you suffered at Aubin this morning?"

Ye Hantao corrected, "I wasn't wronged."

As she spoke, she opened the two bags in the bag for Zhou Ti to see, "These are apologies from the store. I'll carry the white milkshake bag, and you can carry the golden-brown one, Mom."

Zhou Ti said no need, "Both styles suit you well, you can keep them."

No one had ever thought of selling the two bags secondhand.

Zhou Ti hadn't thought of that.

Ye Hantao felt that her family already had a million anyway.

Ye Hantao thought of Aubin and then of the scarf. She took out the white scarf from her bag, her head down, so much so that she missed Zhou Ti's sudden nervous expression.

"Tao Tao, did you bring the silk scarf from home?"

"Its material and feel are quite good."

Ye Hantao explained, "I was worried that those brands would charge too much premium, so I used it as the standard, and guess what happened?"

"..." Zhou Ti was hesitant to guess.

Ye Weizheng was driving in front, but he was also listening to the conversation in the back seat.

Ye Hantao: "Aubin's manager actually said it's a limited edition worldwide!"

Zhou Ti & Ye Weizheng: "?!!"

Zhou Ti immediately gripped Tao Tao's hand tightly, her heart leaping into her throat.

Then she heard Tao Tao sigh, "The manager is probably afraid I'll complain about him, so he's trying to save face for me in front of the girl who called me a thief."

She already owns limited-edition silk scarves, so why would she steal a regular one?

"I was going to say that all the scarves in our store were bought at clearance price of 9.9 yuan," Ye Hantao said with a mischievous smile. "But when I saw that girl was there, I just accepted what the manager said."

Of course, Ye Hantao knew that the girl wouldn't believe it.

She later went online to check Aubin's limited edition items and found that most of the limited edition items are owned by VIP and VIC customers, with the threshold being an annual cumulative spending of 10 million.

It's better not to believe it, so you can reap the feedback of a persona of lying and vanity.

In the rearview mirror, Zhou Ti and Ye Weizheng met eyes and both breathed a sigh of relief.

Ever since Tao Tao appeared on the variety show "Classmates Are Here," their hearts have been on a rollercoaster, going up and down without a moment's peace.

Where is my brother?

"Your brother said something came up at the internet cafe and told the three of us to buy it once we've decided on it."

Ye Hantao didn't think much of it when she heard this.

My older brother's internet cafe often has unexpected events, so I'm used to it.

At the base, the team members reluctantly handed over their phones one by one. "Maze, why are they suddenly checking our phones?"

Zhou Mingsheng said indifferently, "I think you guys have been getting too cocky lately."

"You chatted until three or four in the morning?" He patted Su Yi'ang's head with his phone. "Wait until the next day's group training to catch up on sleep? Your time management is excellent."

Su Yi'ang hung his head. "I broke through the speed barrier that day, and I was so excited that I couldn't sleep."

Zhou Mingsheng put away his phone. "We can get excited once we've secured our second consecutive championship this year."

Upon hearing that they had won two consecutive championships, everyone immediately fell silent.

The European team GX recently acquired a world-class jungler, significantly boosting their strength.

Their top laner and jungler went to the international server to play ranked games and encountered the top laner and jungler of the GX team, losing 2-1.

Everyone's phones were in the box. Zhou Mingsheng said, "I have no interest in checking your privacy. Starting today, your phones are temporarily confiscated and will be returned after dinner tomorrow."

"If it's urgent, use the base station landline," Zhou Mingsheng said calmly. "I'll notify whoever is looking for you."

Upon hearing that they could get their phones back after dinner the next day, the team members immediately stopped looking worried.

Their daily routine consists of sleeping during the day, training in the afternoon, and having free time after 9 PM. So, whether they have their phones on or off during the day doesn't have much of an impact.

Su Yi'ang raised his hand, "Boss, Tao Tao is coming to the base tomorrow morning, I need to contact her."

When Su Yi'ang mentioned Tao Tao, the other team members also became excited.

They usually watch variety shows during their training breaks, so they naturally know Ye Hantao.

Some people thought Ye Hantao was pretty, and who wouldn't want to talk to a pretty girl? Others thought Ye Hantao had an interesting personality, and besides, it was rare for outsiders to come to the base, so it was lively.

Zhou Mingsheng: "Didn't you agree to meet at the base at 10:30? You can leave early and wait there. No need to contact me."

Seeing that his excuses were no longer working, Su Yi'ang dejectedly withdrew his hand.

"Boss, how did you know we were meeting at 10:30?"

"...You said it yourself."

Su Yi'ang scratched his head. "Really? I forgot too, hehe."

Zhou Mingsheng showed no change in expression.

While eating breakfast at home, he overheard Tao Tao casually mentioning that she would come to the base at 10:30 the next morning and that she would be coming in the family's newly bought car.

A noise came from downstairs, and a group of young men leaned over the railing to look down. They saw an older woman directing people to carry things towards the cafeteria. "Auntie! What are you doing?!"

"A new batch of goods has arrived!" the auntie called out. "I'll cook it for you tomorrow!"

Zhou Mingsheng looked away.

When Tao Tao comes to his farm, he makes sure she eats her fill of fruits, vegetables, and meats brought from the organic farm.

My phone received a new message.

[TaoTao: Bro, let's video chat when we get to the store, okay? You can participate in choosing a car too!]

Zhou Mingsheng walked away with his phone in his hand.

The team members only turned around when they heard the message notification on their phones. When they saw Zhou Mingsheng leaving with a smile on his face, their eyes immediately turned to horror.

"Holy crap? Am I seeing things? I saw the big boss smile???"

"Could the big boss be dating someone?"

"Stop guessing, it's probably a message from your sister."

"Sister? What sister?"

"The big boss's sister, didn't you know? She's also a top student."

Su Yi'ang, who usually loves gossip, surprisingly did not join the discussion.

He stared at the ceiling with deep regret. Sigh, he had so many unflattering photos of his teammates on his phone that he couldn't share with Tao Tao.

When Ye Hantao received her older brother's reply, she had been stuck in traffic for some time.

It is said that there was a rear-end collision ahead, and the cars behind all stopped.

Ye Hantao leaned back in her seat, looking out the window at the scenery. Pedestrians were walking by on the street with their dogs, and a string of dark brown wooden beads was hanging on their wrists.

Sister Shiyue said that the wooden bracelets in her two-dollar store are made of agarwood, costing tens of thousands of yuan per gram.

Aubin's manager said that the silk scarf they sold for 9.9 yuan during their clearance sale was a limited edition item worldwide, and its value was unknown, but the regular version retails for 5100 yuan in stores.

even--

My family also has a bag that's similar to Shi Yue's, but Shi Yue's bag is worth 800,000 yuan.

That's strange.

Ye Hantao thought about it more and more deeply.

Are all the high-quality replicas I buy from home so indistinguishable from the real thing? But the more realistic the replica, the higher the price, right?

If you could really buy a high-quality replica that's indistinguishable from the globally limited edition for just 9.9 yuan, wouldn't Aubin go bankrupt?

And the tea at home...

Ye Hantao scratched her itchy arm, just as she was about to recall the taste of the Biluochun tea from the mountains that the production team had drunk, when her phone received another message.

It was sent by Cheng Zhao.

Ye Hantao: "..."

In an instant, Ye Hantao's mind was completely blank; all she could think about were the jade mines and oil fields that Cheng Zhao had mentioned.

God of Wealth!

Look at others!

Ye Hantao held her phone for a long time, and only after the traffic stopped and the car started moving did she open the chat box to check the content.

[Cheng Zhao: You won't take a detour when you see me in the future, will you?]

Ye Hantao: "..."

[Won't! ]

Ye Hantao replied with two fierce words.

Whether it's idol worship or pursuing something else, we'll see when the time comes.

In the middle of the night, Ye Hantao woke up unexpectedly.

She felt a tightness in her chest and tossed and turned in bed for almost an hour without falling asleep.

So she got up and sat in front of the computer to edit the duet video of Ang Ang and Wu Xia.

After sending the photos to the two people, I also noticed a photo I had taken on my phone not long ago.

They picked up an all-black SUV from the store.

My dad drove his Maybach home in the evening, and my mom drove her home in her SUV.

03:12:11

Ye Hantao v: New car and new bag. [Image.jpg][Image.jpg]

[Disease progression: 84.6%]

The tightness in my chest immediately disappeared.

Ye Hantao: "..."

So, not being able to sleep is a sign of a medical condition.

Considering that she had to visit Angang's e-sports base the next morning, Ye Hantao lay back down on the bed, trying to fall asleep.

[Buzz]

Ye Hantao picked up her phone and found that it contained two audio clips shared by Cheng Zhao.

A forest that feels like it's raining.

The other section only contains the sound of wind, interspersed with faint animal calls (?).

A low, humming sound, not unpleasant to the ear, combined with the sound of the wind, actually had a soothing effect, like white noise.

Ye Hantao suspected that Cheng Zhao had recorded the two audio clips himself.

The audio file names all use the format "xx year xx month xx day - location".

The first audio segment is set in the Amazon region, and the second audio segment is set in Antarctica.

As Ye Hantao listened to white noise, her eyelids were almost closed by the renewed wave of drowsiness. She typed: "Is that the sound of penguins?"

[Cheng Zhao: You can even tell that? Impressive.]

The first animal that comes to mind when thinking about Antarctica is penguins, right? Before falling asleep, Ye Hantao sent another message: "[Why are they making that sound?]"

When she is sober, she likes to ask questions.

Now that I'm sleepy, my focus has become peculiar.

[Cheng Zhao: I don't understand.]

Two seconds later, he replied, "[Maybe he's in a hurry to find a partner.]"

Ye Hantao yawned.

Oh, a penguin that's lost and is using its calls to find its companions.

-----------------------

Author's note: Here it comes!