Chapter 167 - Zhao Lina Takes it Seriously

Late at night, Zhao Lina pulled up in front of the entrance to the Yulin Bay villa complex and then turned to say, “We’re here.”

“Ah, the good times are always so fleeting,” Ye Fan sighed theatrically, “If only we hadn’t driven and had walked instead.”

Zhao Lina, having changed out of her police uniform and into casual clothes, seemed very different, filled with a sense of everyday life.

She gave Ye Fan a coquettish glance and said, “Who in their right mind is going to walk the streets with you in the middle of the night?”

“Heh, fair point,” Ye Fan said with a light laugh, unbuckling his seatbelt, preparing to open the door and get out.

“Wait a minute,” Zhao Lina called out.

Ye Fan immediately stopped his action to open the door and turned with a grin, “Ha-ha, can’t bear to be parted from me?”

“Tch, I wish I could kick you out of the car,” Zhao Lina snorted and arrogantly lifted her delicately pretty chin, “No, I mean kick you all the way to the moon!”

Ye Fan laughed and said, “Yes, yes, I know I’m a nuisance; you don’t need to kick me—I’ll roll out myself.”

Flattered by Ye Fan’s little bit of praise, Zhao Lina couldn’t help but show a smug expression, “It’s best if you know what’s good for you.”

After a pause, she said with a faint blush, “Do you have time tomorrow?

My parents keep asking me to invite you over for dinner.”

“Ha-ha, didn’t expect to be so liked by the future in-laws,” Ye Fan spoke with pride.

“What ‘future in-laws’?

Who agreed to be your girlfriend?” Zhao Lina snapped, “Don’t flatter yourself and look in the mirror; with a personality like yours, another ten or eight years of refinement and Miss here might still not spare you a glance!”

Ye Fan deliberately asked, “Then what does having dinner at your place mean?”

“Of course, it’s just to appease my parents,” Zhao Lina said, “You and I are just pretending to be a couple.

You better remember that clearly and not get any real ideas—or handsy with me.”

“Yes, yes, we’re a pretend couple,” Ye Fan agreed, relieved inside.

He was actually afraid Zhao Lina might really cling to him, and he hadn’t yet figured out how to deal with their relationship.

Sensing the sharp glint in Zhao Lina’s eyes, Ye Fan quickly changed the subject, “Right, didn’t you say you told your parents that we ‘broke up’ due to incompatible personalities?

Why are your uncle and aunt still inviting me over for dinner?”

Zhao Lina’s pretty face showed a hint of irritation and she said, “I told them, but they didn’t believe it.

Plus, they wouldn’t stop nagging me about it—it’s so annoying.

I haven’t dared to go home for two days.”

“I can do dinner, but I’m not free tomorrow night,” Ye Fan said.

Tomorrow was Sunday, and Tantai Wanrong had arranged a blind date for him.

He really didn’t want to go on the blind date, but he didn’t want to stand Tantai Wanrong up.

Zhao Lina, accustomed to Ye Fan always asking for a raincheck, wasn’t upset and simply asked, “When are you free then?”

“The evening after next,” Ye Fan said.

“Fine,” Zhao Lina answered, “Okay, you can roll out now.”

Ye Fan felt like he had received a pardon and quickly opened the car door.

“Wait!” Zhao Lina called out again.

Ye Fan felt a bitter smile rise within him but had no choice but to feign eagerness as he turned and asked, “What is it?”

Zhao Lina looked at Ye Fan, pondered for a moment, and deliberately said in a flat tone, “Didn’t you say you no longer have feelings for Lu Xiaoman?

Since that’s the case, just tell her as soon as possible, don’t waste her time.”

“Oh,” Ye Fan replied with a stiff expression.

“There’s nothing else, you can get out of the car,” Zhao Lina said, pretending not to care.

Ye Fan got out of the car, wanting to cry but without the tears, realizing that Zhao Lina actually took his nonsense seriously.

What started as a somewhat good mood now turned completely sour, like dark clouds gathering over a city about to break.

After Zhao Lina drove away, Ye Fan took out his phone and powered it on.

Just like last time, there were many missed calls and messages on his phone.

Ye Fan looked through them and found that there were even more missed calls and messages than before, about half as many again.

Moreover, aside from Lu Xiaoman, who had the most missed calls, Yang Yongxi had the fewest, just one message and a missed call.

However, Ye Fan didn’t think much of Yang Yongxi’s peculiarity.

He looked up Lu Xiaoman’s number and called her.

Although it was late, considering the current relationship between the two, there wasn’t much concern about bothering her.

The phone was answered after half a ring.

“Ye Fan, have you gotten home?” Lu Xiaoman’s concerned voice came through the phone.

Ye Fan smiled and replied, “I’m already at the doorstep.

No worries, I’m perfectly fine.”

“That’s good to hear,” Lu Xiaoman clearly breathed a sigh of relief, then let out a sorrowful sigh, “Ye Fan, I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Ye Fan said, slightly taken aback.

The sound of Lu Xiaoman sniffing came through the phone before she said, “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have gotten into a fight, and we wouldn’t be taken to the police station every time we go to a KTV.

I…”

“Sister Xiaoman, please don’t think like that.

You’re the victim here, how could you blame yourself?” Ye Fan quickly consoled her, “How about this?

From now on, when we go to a KTV, we’ll go to a high-end one.”

“I don’t want to go to KTVs anymore,” said Lu Xiaoman, “Alright, it’s late now, you should hurry inside, take a bath, and rest.

I’m going to sleep too.

Good night.”

After saying that, she hung up.

Ye Fan pulled the phone away from his ear after being disconnected and sighed deeply for Lu Xiaoman.

Indeed, Lu Xiaoman was beautiful, transcending the category of a mere homely beauty.

Such a woman, appearing in low-end entertainment venues, did indeed tend to attract trouble.

But being beautiful was never their fault, nor could they be labeled as calamitous beauties.

The next morning, Ye Fan got up just after seven.

He couldn’t indulge in sleeping in until the sun shone on his backside like before, as the martial arts studio renovation kept him busy enough.

Taking advantage of Sunday, Ye Fan, after having breakfast, took a cab to retrieve his car from Yinglun KTV’s parking lot, then drove to the location of the martial arts studio he had rented on the third floor of the Qiyang Commercial Building on Xianxing East Road in Liujia Hui.

The entire third floor had been cleared of furnishings, leaving behind a mess of plastic wraps, plastic bags, and paper littering the ground.

Ye Fan spent about half an hour there, and in that time, three groups of people arrived.

These three groups were from the decoration companies he had contacted.

Renovating the martial arts studio, he couldn’t possibly do everything himself, and in fact, he couldn’t handle it all, so naturally the renovation work needed to be outsourced to a decoration company.

Furthermore, he left the design of the decoration plans to the companies, only providing his requirements for the studio’s decor.

“My requirement is a renovation that’s modern and stylish while highlighting Chinese style,” Ye Fan said to the project managers from the three decoration companies, “I’ll give you three days to come up with a renovation plan and a firm quote.

In three days, I’ll decide who to choose based on a combination of your plans and quotes.”

The project managers from the three companies were not surprised by Ye Fan’s approach to bidding for the project.

“May I ask what your budget is?” one project manager asked.

The other two project managers looked on, waiting for the answer.

Ye Fan replied with a light smile, “Around three million.

I hope to make this martial arts studio as high-end as possible.”

An investment of three million for a space of over a thousand square meters, not including various equipment, would indeed achieve a pretty good decoration.

Upon hearing this, all three project managers were thrilled.

They had initially thought the project would be worth maybe four or five hundred thousand, not three million.

They each became determined to secure the project.

“You have two hours for taking photos, measuring, and drafting on-site.

Is that enough time?” Ye Fan asked.

All three project managers immediately assured, “That’s plenty of time.”

“Alright then, I’ll leave you to it and not get in your way,” Ye Fan said, then turned and departed.