Volume 2 [553] The Toilet Repairman?
【553】Toilet repairman?
After finishing his meal, Zhao Qiang chuckled inwardly. Although he had been slightly outmaneuvered during the meal, Zhang Zihan should be heading home now, right? There was no place prepared for him to sleep, and even if there were guest rooms, Chen Xinyu wouldn't allow him to stay overnight.
Sure enough, Zhang Zihan got up to leave after sitting for a short while. Chen Xinyu 'enthusiastically' saw her to the door, eager for Zhang Zihan to leave so that Zhao Qiang could have the rest of the time to himself.
Standing at the door, Zhang Zihan suddenly seemed to remember something: "Xinyu," he didn't dare to call her Xiaoyu, afraid that Chen Xinyu wouldn't give him face at this time, "there's a small gathering tomorrow night. I hadn't thought of a theme yet, so it's a good opportunity to welcome your friend Zhao Qiang. Don't say you're refusing to go."
Chen Xinyu knew that Zhang Zihan was definitely up to no good. The so-called small gathering was probably just a hoax. Zhang Zihan was just looking for trouble and wanted to find an opportunity to teach Zhao Qiang a lesson. Of course, he, Director Zhang, didn't need to do anything. He could just call a few of his cronies to do it.
Zhao Qiang stood at the door, not backing down. What kind of man would he be if he did that? Since the other party had challenged him, he had to accept the challenge. "Okay, I'll definitely go wherever there's food and drink. But if you need me to treat you, forget it. You know I'm just a repairman, I don't have much spare money." Zhao Qiang was showing off, which made Chen Xinyu secretly amused. If Zhao Qiang didn't have money, then there would be no rich people in the world.
Zhang Zihan said happily, "How could that be? If you were to treat us, it wouldn't be a welcome gathering. I heard that Boss Geng has recently made a fortune, so let him spend money. We should eat as much as we want and not try to save him any money."
Boss Geng is Geng Qiuhan, as Chen Xinyu knows. It seems that the two have formed an alliance. Chen Xinyu began to worry about Zhao Qiang. After all, Beijing is not Donghai City. Zhao Qiang is new here and has no foundation. Will he be bullied tomorrow night?
After seeing Zhang Zihan off, Chen Guangming called out from the living room, "Come on, Xiao Zhao, let's play another game."
Chen's mother scolded, "You old man, are you trying to get back with Xiao Zhao? It's getting late, go to bed early."
Chen Guangming said, "There's no rush in this hot weather. Let's play three rounds first."
With Zhang Zihan gone, Zhao Qiang no longer needed to curry favor with Chen Guangming. In the next round, he showed no mercy to Chen Guangming, quickly checkmating him for three rounds. If it weren't for Chen's mother urging him to rest, Chen Guangming might have played until dawn.
Chen Xinyu arranged where to sleep: "Zhao Qiang, you go to my room, I'll sleep in the guest room."
Zhao Qiang followed instructions and went into Chen Xinyu's room. Chen Guangming and his wife went into their own bedroom. Chen's mother peeked out through the crack in the door. Chen Guangming asked, "What are you looking at?"
Chen's mother said, "It's the first time our daughter has brought a man home, aren't you worried?"
"In a hurry? What's the rush?" Chen Guangming asked, puzzled.
Chen's mother said, "Xiaoyu told me this morning that a friend was coming, and I thought it would be about the same, but who knew it would turn out like this."
Chen Guangming asked, "What?"
Chen's mother said, "She and Xiaoyu are not a good match at all. I still think Zhang Zihan is better."
Chen Guangming nodded: "To be honest, I also think Zhang Zihan is the better choice. Although Zhao Qiang can play chess, he is not on the same level as my daughter. Even if the two can get along for the time being, they will definitely break up in time because they have different social circles and do not meet many people. In addition, with Xiaoyu's personality, it would be strange if they did not quarrel.
Chen's mother said, "But Xiaoyu was much better behaved than usual today."
Chen Guangming laughed and said, "She can't hold out for more than a few days. Sooner or later, the fox's tail will be revealed."
Chen's mother said, "Could it be that Xiaoyu has really fallen in love? How could she let Zhao Qiang sleep in her room? Can a girl's room be entered by a man so casually? Even you can't just enter your daughter's room."
Chen Guangming said, "Why don't you go and talk to your daughter?"
Chen's mother had a headache: "Forget it, I'm afraid Xiaoyu will say I'm old-fashioned and stubborn again."
Zhao Qiang quickly fell asleep, drawn by Chen Xinyu's familiar scent. The atmosphere in a girl's room was truly unique, and Zhao Qiang thoroughly enjoyed it. He was gently woken in the middle of the night; sure enough, Chen Xinyu had quietly slipped in. The air conditioning was on, making the room a little chilly. Chen Xinyu snuggled into Zhao Qiang's arms, and he held her tightly.
"I wish you could hold me every night from now on," Chen Xinyu whispered against Zhao Qiang's chest.
Zhao Qiang dared not make a promise, because he had been invited to Beijing and would leave after finding the person who sent the message.
"Are you really planning to go tomorrow night? It's definitely not going to be anything good," Chen Xinyu asked.
Zhao Qiang said, "Go ahead, who wouldn't go for a free dinner? At worst, I'll get a beating from Zhang Zihan, but that won't cost me a penny."
Chen Xinyu gritted her teeth: "I will not allow him to do that."
Zhao Qiang laughed and said, "There's no need to hate him so much. As long as you treat me well, that's the biggest blow to him."
Chen Xinyu took Zhao Qiang's hand and placed it on her chest: "Of course I'm good to you, because I'm your little slave. You can do whatever you want to me, aren't you my master?"
Zhao Qiang chuckled...
In the other bedroom, two people were very nervous. "Old Chen, our daughter really went into Zhao Qiang's room." It turned out that Chen's mother hadn't slept all night, keeping a close eye on the situation.
Chen Guangming said, "Is he going in to check if Zhao Qiang has kicked off the covers?"
Chen's mother said, "It's summer, kicking off the blankets won't make you catch a cold."
Chen Guangming was also a little anxious. After all, his daughter was the apple of his eye. If she slept with a man at home without knowing the details, it would indeed be quite outrageous. "Why don't you go and take a look?"
Chen's mother said, "Of course I'll go and stop them."
Unfortunately, Chen's mother's plan didn't work out. Before she could even open the door to her husband's room, her daughter came out, glanced at her with a hint of complaint in her eyes, as if she could see through the walls to her parents, and then went back to her room and didn't come out again. The next morning, the two of them got up and washed up as if nothing had happened. Chen Guangming and his wife wanted to ask, but couldn't bring themselves to, and the matter was left unresolved. As for why their daughter had come out of her room halfway through, the two old people remained puzzled. They never imagined that the two men could see through the walls and knew everything that had happened in their bedroom.
During the day, Zhao Qiang had nothing to do, so he just followed Chen Xinyu around carrying a camera. He was already quite skilled at this. In the evening, the two of them packed up and drove the Ferrari straight to the hotel that Zhang Zihan had booked. Knowing that it was a trap, they still came. This fully demonstrated Zhao Qiang's great spirit of not being afraid of hardship or death.
Because of the Ferrari's value, there was no trouble at the hotel entrance. All the staff were very polite, and they escorted us all the way into the luxurious lobby. People with less than a few million wouldn't dare to come and spend money in such a place. Of course, for someone of Geng Qiuhan's stature, having a meal here was as ordinary as Zhao Qiang eating at a roadside stall.
Geng Qiuhan was also in a bad mood, because according to Zhang Zihan's reconnaissance of the "enemy" last night, their opponent had already captured Chen Xinyu's heart, and he had lost confidence in whether they could win Chen Xinyu back.
Zhang Zihan emerged from the crowd. The invited guys had already been instructed by him to give Zhao Qiang a good beating later. Seeing Geng Qiuhan sitting sullenly to one side, he went over, took out a cigarette, and tossed it to him. "Don't worry, that guy is just a repairman, and besides, he's not from Beijing. He'll leave sooner or later, so we have a good chance."
Geng Qiuhan asked worriedly, "Do you think they might have... last night?"
Zhang Zihan said, "Don't think about these things. Let's focus on getting her back first. As for your health, do you still care?"
Geng Qiuhan really couldn't think about this problem anymore, otherwise he might have to back out. As long as he could get Chen Xinyu, whether her body was clean or not was not important. At the very least, he couldn't be defeated by a repairman.
When Chen Xinyu came in, she deliberately held Zhao Qiang's hand, and Zhao Qiang lowered his head somewhat embarrassedly, looking a bit ashamed of his lack of self-awareness towards Chen Xinyu.
"Welcome, Reporter Chen!" As soon as the two entered, someone recognized Chen Xinyu and immediately shouted. It's safe to say that Chen Xinyu is quite famous among young people in Beijing. First, she is young, beautiful, and from the upper class. Second, her job as a reporter, especially a CCTV reporter, gives her many privileges that others don't have.
Chen Xinyu greeted each of these people. They were all friends in her social circle, and she had to give them face. Even if reporters had special privileges, they still needed everyone's support. Sometimes, news leads came from these people. Even if the work didn't rely on their support, it wouldn't be good if they caused trouble behind the scenes.
"Reporter Chen, who is this handsome guy?" a girl asked, emphasizing the word "handsome guy." In fact, everyone could see that Zhao Qiang was hardly a handsome guy; he was just an ordinary person. Clearly, this girl had ulterior motives.
Chen Xinyu said, "My boyfriend's name is Zhao Qiang. Please take good care of him in the future."
A man exclaimed in surprise, "Your boyfriend? Really? What's so great about him? Tell me about his background."
Another man chimed in, "Yes, look at us, who isn't better than him? We absolutely do not believe that your judgment is so poor, Mr. Chen. You must have just randomly picked a man off the street to joke with us."
The man's words drew laughter and agreement from everyone. Chen Xinyu's face turned bright red. Even if it meant cutting ties with these people, she couldn't allow them to treat Zhao Qiang like this. But Zhao Qiang grabbed Chen Xinyu's hand, and she dared not disobey. She knew Zhao Qiang wouldn't allow her to lash out. After calming down, she realized that this was a trap. If she couldn't even handle this little bit of sarcasm, she might as well leave early.
So Chen Xinyu smiled and brushed it off. When she couldn't avoid answering their questions, she said, "I naturally understand how good Zhao Qiang is, so you don't need to worry about it. If any of you girls don't believe me, you can try pursuing him. If you succeed, you'll be happy for the rest of your lives."
Several girls curled their lip: "Pfft, we'd never like him, he's so old-fashioned."
Zhang Zihan came over, clapped his hands, and reminded everyone to be careful: "Friends, we can't talk about others like this. Although Comrade Zhao Qiang may not be good-looking, or he may have some powerful background, we need to dig deeper to get to know him better."
One of the men said, "Young Master Zhang, don't be ridiculous. I think I heard he's just a repairman."
Everyone burst into laughter: "A repairman? A toilet repairman?"
(Thanks to Sweetie for the 588 coins reward, thanks to Royal Ancient God and D**ID Asking for the reward, thanks to Maple Night Meteor for the two monthly tickets, and thanks to Forget-Me-Not Sword Saint for urging me to update)
(Xiaoqiang is going on a long trip these two days, so updates will be scheduled for tomorrow and the day after. Please understand.)
Volume 2 [554] Drinking
【554】Drinking
Chen Xinyu's face darkened further. This Hongmen Banquet was indeed difficult to deal with. They started off with such ruthlessness? Even insults weren't like this. Chen Xinyu glared fiercely at Zhang Zihan. She simply couldn't believe that he wasn't the one who orchestrated this behind the scenes. Despite his usual sanctimonious appearance, he could be quite ruthless when he wanted to do something bad.
The most frank one was Zhao Qiang. If he were to argue with them over such trivial matters, it would be childish and immature. When someone said he was a toilet repairman, he accepted it, saying, "It's pretty much the same as repairing toilets, it's all maintenance anyway."
Someone chimed in, "Oh, really? Our toilet, which cost 28,000 yuan, is broken. Can you go take a look at it for me? Give me a discount. I've been friends with Reporter Chen for many years. Can you do me a favor?"
Chen Xinyu glared at him, she couldn't take it anymore, "Skinny Monkey, shut up!" The person who had been egging her on was nicknamed Skinny Monkey, and as soon as he saw that Chen Xinyu was really angry, he immediately shut his mouth and hid to the side. Zhang Zihan wanted to flatter her, but Chen Xinyu didn't dare to really offend him.
Zhang Zihan knew he had already given Chen Xinyu a hard time; any further trouble would drive her away completely. At that point, forget about winning her back; she'd probably never speak to him again. So, Zhang Zihan clapped his hands: "Gentlemen, what are you doing? We're welcoming Comrade Zhao Qiang to Beijing, not asking you to cause trouble. Now, let's give a warm round of applause to welcome Xinyu's friend!"
Now that the boss behind the scenes had spoken, everyone naturally stopped causing trouble. So, their expressions changed and they immediately welcomed them. Chen Xinyu couldn't get angry with them, so she could only endure it. She was fine with herself, but the key was that she was afraid Zhao Qiang would be unhappy. Taking advantage of the applause, she quickly apologized to Zhao Qiang in a low voice: "I'm sorry you had to suffer."
Zhao Qiang said, "What grievance? I don't care. Just don't get upset and hurt yourself."
Geng Qiuhan arrived, and seeing Zhao Qiang filled him with rage. Before Zhao Qiang appeared, he was full of confidence that he had a good chance. The young tycoon, he now realized that a woman doesn't need a reason to like a man, because he couldn't find anything about Zhao Qiang that surpassed him.
"Xinyu, it's been a while since I've seen you." Geng Qiuhan pretended to be nonchalant.
"I've been quite busy lately," Chen Xinyu replied casually. She was beginning to regret agreeing to let Zhao Qiang attend this so-called welcome banquet; it was purely a way for her to get annoyed.
Geng Qiuhan waved his hand magnanimously: "Let's not talk about anything else, take your seats and drink."
Zhao Qiang carefully savored the delicacies at the hotel. Sure enough, every chef has their own style. No matter how skilled you are, you can't possibly taste all the delicious food. There might be culinary masters in an inconspicuous alley or an unknown hotel. As a big eater, Zhao Qiang's research into food culture is becoming more and more in-depth.
Chen Xinyu naturally poured tea for Zhao Qiang. A few drops splashed on the table, and she carefully wiped them away with a napkin. Then she peeled a large shrimp and placed it on Zhao Qiang's plate. A girl covered her teeth and said, "Oh my, Xinyu, you're so mushy. I'm going to feel nauseous. You weren't like this before. When did you become so nice to men?"
Chen Xinyu said, "Everyone changes at some point, right? You'll understand when you start dating."
Zhang Zihan and Geng Qiuhan were on the verge of tears. Zhao Qiang was silently retaliating against them. No matter how fierce his show of force at the door was, it was useless. Zhao Qiang still firmly controlled Chen Xinyu. They could only look but not touch, and even the right to smell her was taken away. Chen Xinyu was a beautiful reporter. There was probably no reporter in all of China as beautiful as her.
Geng Qiuhan began to regret paying money to suffer. It was all Zhang Zihan's fault for instigating it. This guy only used his words to get a free meal and drinks, and he also brought a large group of friends who were eating and drinking for free. He really is a politician.
However, the show had to continue. As planned, the next step was to get Zhao Qiang drunk and embarrass him. So Geng Qiuhan stood up first to offer a toast, since he was the host and no one else could speak first.
"Zhao Qiang, we're quite destined to meet. You're from Dongyang City, and we're from Beijing. We come from all over the country and have come together because of a mutual friend. For this connection, we should have a drink."
Chen Xinyu whispered to Zhao Qiang, "Don't drink, or they'll get you drunk. I know how much these people can drink."
Zhao Qiang chuckled softly. With his increased abilities, he was no longer the same person who couldn't hold his liquor. Of course, if it came down to a real drinking contest, Zhao Qiang still couldn't hold his own, and he couldn't even outdrink the girls in his family. However, if he used his energy to encapsulate all the alcohol, preventing it from entering his bloodstream, and then found an opportunity to vomit it out, then no matter how much they drank, it would be useless. Therefore, Zhao Qiang decided to teach these petty thieves a lesson and show them how wrong his earlier show of force had been.
Zhao Qiang picked up his glass somewhat nervously: "Boss Geng, you're too kind. How could I refuse your toast? Cheers to our friendship, I'll drink first." With that, Zhao Qiang gulped down the liquor in his glass, making Geng Qiuhan a little scared. This was high-proof liquor, but it looked to him like he was drinking plain water.
Zhao Qiang pretended to sway slightly, and Geng Qiuhan was delighted. This guy was just putting on a brave face, so he also picked up his glass and downed it in one gulp. After putting down his glass, Geng Qiuhan still had to say a few polite words: "Little Zhao is indeed a generous person. Everyone, come and get to know this new friend." After saying this, Geng Qiuhan felt a little dizzy, not because the alcohol was immediately taking effect, but because he had drunk too quickly and his stomach couldn't handle it. Strong liquor is very irritating to the stomach.
As agreed beforehand, the others stood up and toasted Zhao Qiang, while Geng Qiuhan took the opportunity to rest to the side. These young people were all very loyal, and they naturally couldn't refuse Zhang Zihan's orders. Besides, this was a round of toasts, and everyone believed that Zhao Qiang would definitely be knocked out before the round was over.
Chen Xinyu watched Zhao Qiang drink his third cup and panicked. She stood up abruptly to block the next guy from offering a toast: "That's enough! If you keep doing this, I'm going to lose my temper!"
The man who was offering the toast said, "Reporter Chen, this is not right. Everyone else has toasted me, so why can't I? Don't I have enough face? You're looking down on me."
Zhao Qiang said, "Yes, Xinyu, this is not good. Everyone should be treated equally."
Chen Xinyu was on the verge of tears: "Are you stupid? You'll get drunk if you drink any more!"
Zhao Qiang said, "Everyone, please give us face, even if you're drunk, you should still drink, right?"
The crowd cheered, "That's right, Zhao Qiang, you're so generous! We're definitely going to be friends with you!"
Zhao Qiang raised his glass to the man who had just toasted him and said, "On behalf of Xinyu, I apologize to you. Let's have a couple of drinks."
Zhang Zihan, standing nearby, stepped on the foot of the man offering the toast, then nodded secretly. The man then said to Zhao Qiang, "Good, you're a good friend. Let's have a couple more drinks then."
The crowd cheered excitedly at the scene. Someone helped pour two more glasses of baijiu. Zhao Qiang pretended to be unsteady and helped Chen Xinyu lift the glass with one trembling hand. Then he closed his eyes and drank it down.