Chapter 93: Very Hurtful

“Hello, who are you looking for?” Chen Feng asked politely.

When the auntie saw Chen Feng, she was taken aback for a moment, and then her expression immediately soured. “Who are you? Why are you here?”

Seeing her attitude and tone, Chen Feng’s expression naturally turned unpleasant as well. He retorted, “Who do you think you are to ask who I am? You’re the one who rang the doorbell, not me.”

When the auntie heard Chen Feng say this, she became even angrier and said in a loud voice, “This is my house! You’re in my house, don’t I have the right to ask who you are?”

Chen Feng, of course, had guessed that she was the landlady, but her attitude was really something else. Just as he was about to make another sarcastic remark, Lin Wan hurried over and said, “Auntie Wang, I’m sorry. This is my friend, he doesn’t know you.”

“Your friend? Not your boyfriend, I hope?”

Auntie Wang looked Chen Feng up and down with a disapproving expression.

“No, no. A male friend,” Lin Wan quickly denied, then changed the subject with a placating smile, “Auntie Wang, is there something you need?”

“Oh, I came to see how you girls are doing. Also, about the parking fee, I’ve already spoken with the property management. You just need to pay monthly. They won’t make things difficult for you. Also, when I first rented the apartment to you, I agreed because it was just the two of you girls. In the future, don’t just bring any man back here. It’s not good for your reputation if word gets out.”

As she finished speaking, she gave Chen Feng a cold, pointed glance before turning to go downstairs.

Lin Wan was a little annoyed and embarrassed, but she still called out to Auntie Wang’s back, “Auntie Wang, take care.”

After the landlady had gone down the stairs, Lin Wan closed the door, her face darkening. She cursed, “That fat old hag, what’s she so arrogant about? I hope she chokes on her food, gags on her water, and gets hit by a car when she walks.”

Chen Feng couldn’t help but chuckle at this. He said with a smile, “Do you have to be so vicious?”

Lin Wan huffed angrily, “You don’t know how annoying that fat old hag is. If it weren’t so hard to find a good apartment, we wouldn’t have rented from her. So what if she has two apartments? She acts so high and mighty. And her disgusting son, he should take a good look in the mirror. He actually wants to date us.”

Chen Feng’s interest was piqued. He asked, “What’s the story?”

Lin Wan didn’t hide anything and told him the whole story. It was simple, really. The landlady had taken a liking to them and wanted to set her son up with one of them.

And her son was a fat otaku who, despite having graduated from university for three or four years, still stayed at home all day playing games and living off his parents.

“If her son were a bit more handsome and spoke a bit more pleasantly, I might have considered it. But her son is less than five-foot-seven, his face is covered in acne, he weighs at least 180 pounds, and he speaks in a soft, effeminate voice. Although he looks honest, how could Tiantian and I possibly be interested in someone like that? That fat old hag is really delusional. The way she talks, it’s as if we’d be the ones benefiting if we dated her son. So shameless.”

Chen Feng finally understood why Auntie Wang had reacted so strongly when she first saw him. It turned out she saw him as a rival for her son.

If it weren’t for saving face for Lin Wan and Wu Mengting, Chen Feng would have retorted a few more times to the landlady.

“From what you’re saying, her son’s temperament should be pretty good,” Chen Feng said with a smile. “He’s honest, and he’s probably an only son with two apartments. His assets are in the tens of millions. If you married him, you wouldn’t have to worry about making a living in this city in the future. You could probably live a stable and peaceful life.”

“Tch!” Lin Wan looked disdainful. “With our qualifications, if Tiantian and I really wanted to find a local guy here, we could easily find someone several times better than her son. Does he even stand a chance?”

Chen Feng nodded with a realistic smile. “That’s true.”

“So what’s the deal with the parking fee?” Chen Feng asked next.

Lin Wan immediately got angry again. “Tiantian and I both have cars. To park in the complex, we have to pay double the parking fee of the owners here. The owners only pay 150 a month, while we tenants have to pay 300. And at first, they even demanded we pay for a whole year at once. I told the fat old hag that if we had to pay for a year at once, we wouldn’t rent her apartment. She must have gone to negotiate, so now we can pay monthly. I guess she did us a favor.”

“Sigh, it seems like you guys have a tough time renting,” Chen Feng said sympathetically.

“You don’t have to tell me. Being away from home, besides the stress from work, renting is also very stressful. Especially in a big city,” Lin Wan said with a frustrated look. “It looks like we can’t live here for long either. We have to keep looking for the next place. If you have time, help us keep an eye out for any good two-bedroom apartments for rent within a few kilometers of here.”

Chen Feng wanted to help them, but the villa in Red Villa Bay was already occupied by Xiao Ya, and he also needed to stay there from time to time, so it was definitely not suitable for them.

And the East Lake villa was where he and Sun Xiaorui lived, so it was also not suitable for them.

The first-floor apartment he had rented initially was too small and too shabby.

“Okay. I’ll help you keep an eye out.”

Although he couldn’t help much for the time being, Chen Feng still readily agreed.

“Thanks.”

After thanking him, Lin Wan suddenly asked curiously, “Aren’t you planning to buy a house here? If you buy one, you could consider renting it to us.”

“Why do you keep nagging me to buy a house? You don’t have a crush on me, do you?” Chen Feng asked with a smile.

“Yeah. I have a crush on you,” Lin Wan was completely immune to Chen Feng’s jokes and said with a smile, “Unfortunately, Tiantian saw you first. Otherwise, a rich man like you with a decent temper, I wouldn’t mind trying to date you.”

Chen Feng rolled his eyes. “In your dreams.”

“Screw you! Are you looking down on me?” Lin Wan pushed him, annoyed.

“Yeah,” Chen Feng nodded like a straight man, ignoring Lin Wan’s ugly expression, and said to himself, “When I first met you, I thought you were very cold and aloof. Who knew that after getting to know you, you have such an extroverted personality. A personality like yours is fine for being friends, but definitely not for being a couple. We’d definitely fight every day.”

Hearing this, Lin Wan, for once, didn’t get angry or retort. Instead, she nodded thoughtfully and said, “You have a point. I’m like this with people I’m familiar with, not treating them as outsiders, and I have a strong personality. My family has told me that too. But I can’t change, and I don’t want to. With a personality like mine, I need to find someone with a generous personality who can tolerate me, or someone who can completely dominate me. I think your friend Qin Zhen could completely dominate me.”

Chen Feng couldn’t help but roll his eyes again, too lazy to even respond to her.

Lin Wan giggled and asked, “Tell me more about Qin Zhen’s girlfriend. What does she look like? What’s her family background like? What’s her personality like?”

She was planning to know herself and her enemy to win every battle.

Chen Feng thought for a moment and felt that he had to discourage her. Otherwise, she might cause some trouble at dinner tonight.

“Since you still want me to tell you, I’ll tell you.”

Chen Feng cleared his throat and said seriously, “She should be two years younger than you.”

This first sentence was very hurtful. Women were definitely more sought-after when they were younger. Lin Wan’s expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and her eyes filled with anger, but to get information about her rival, she had to endure it.

“Secondly, her job is better than yours. She’s a proper bank employee, has been working for two years, and is now a small supervisor at her unit. Her salary is over ten thousand, and with allowances and bonuses, she probably makes around three hundred thousand a year. Not to mention other hidden benefits…”

“What does she look like exactly?” Lin Wan couldn’t help but interrupt him. Her looks were her greatest asset. Otherwise, she really couldn’t compare in terms of job and family background.

“Let me put it this way. If 100 is a perfect score, you’re about an 85, Tiantian is a 90, and his girlfriend is an 86.”

Lin Wan was instantly furious. “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? Why is she exactly one point higher than me?”

Chen Feng smiled. “You see, your temper, and your tone of voice, you just can’t compare to her. You lose out in this aspect, so you get one point less. She speaks in a soft and sweet voice that’s very pleasant to listen to, like the song of a thrush, very beautiful.”

“Speaking like a bird’s call, and that’s beautiful?” Lin Wan looked disdainful.

“Alright. I’m being objective. You’ll know when you see her in person tonight. She does have a beautiful voice, you have to be objective about that. She’s the typical Jiangnan beauty, with good skin, a beautiful voice, and a great temperament. She looks like a lady from a distinguished family.”

The more Lin Wan listened, the angrier she got. She stood up abruptly and said, “Fine, I’ll go see for myself tonight if she’s as good as you say.”

After saying that, she stormed off to the kitchen.

Seeing that he had angered her away, Chen Feng laughed silently to himself, happily took out his phone, and lay back on the sofa to scroll through it.

---

Wu Mengting was busy in the kitchen for over half an hour and cooked six dishes, which Chen Feng ate with great satisfaction.

Wu Mengting also thoughtfully opened a bottle of red wine for him. Since they lived close by, it was fine for him to walk back after drinking.

So, Chen Feng had two glasses.

As it turned out, this bottle of red wine had a strong kick. After two glasses, Chen Feng felt a little dizzy and didn’t dare to drink any more.

After the meal, while Chen Feng was resting on the living room sofa, Wu Mengting first made him a cup of tea, then went to clear the table with Lin Wan.

This time, it was Lin Wan who washed the dishes, and Wu Mengting sat down next to Chen Feng.

“Wan’er seems to really like your friend. Is there really no way to help her?”

The two of them were quite familiar with each other now, so Wu Mengting spoke very directly.

Chen Feng’s answer was also very straightforward. He shook his head directly. “The main thing is that my friend’s impression of her is just average. Even if he breaks up with his current girlfriend, it’s unlikely he’ll date Lin Wan.”

Wu Mengting sighed and said, “Alright then. Then after this dinner tonight, let her give up.”

Chen Feng smiled bitterly. “I’m just afraid she’s too stubborn and won’t give up. There really aren’t many high-quality men like my friend. It’s rare to meet one.”

“Your friend is very outstanding. But there are actually many outstanding men in this world. She’ll definitely have a chance to meet another one in the future. I’ll talk to her.”

Chen Feng thought for a moment and said, “If you can talk to her, can’t you talk to yourself? Although I’m also very outstanding, I really don’t want to be in a relationship right now. Besides, you know I’m keeping Xiaorui. A man like me is not a good man…”

Wu Mengting smiled sweetly and interrupted him, “We’re different. We’ve had several chance encounters before, and now we can be together often. This is fate, destiny. I won’t force it, but I won’t give up this fate easily either. Let’s leave everything to heaven’s arrangement.”

That was really true!

Their several chance encounters before, Chen Feng knew it was heaven deliberately playing a trick on him, while Wu Mengting thought it was fate.

And Lin Wan had only met Qin Zhen once, they hadn’t even exchanged a few words. It could be said that there was no friendship or foundation between them.

Hearing her words, Chen Feng could only shake his head with a bitter smile.

Wu Mengting didn’t continue this topic and instead said, “The matter of you buying that calligraphy for your collection has been reported in the newspaper. Did you know?”

“It’s in the newspaper?” Chen Feng was a little surprised. “I don’t remember there being any reporters there.”

Wu Mengting said, “It was probably Ms. Liao who deliberately revealed it, with the aim of hyping up the commercial value of Master Wang Yi’s works. The newspaper reported that you spent 5 million to buy Master Wang Yi’s copy of the ‘Orchid Pavilion Preface’.”

“5 million? Isn’t she fabricating this?”

Mengting smiled and said, “This kind of publicity is beneficial to you. In the future, if you resell it, it definitely won’t be for less than 5 million. Of course, it’s also beneficial to Master Wang Yi, as it raises the commercial value of his other works. It’s also beneficial to the art museum that hosted the exhibition. After all, a transaction of several million was made at their exhibition, which sounds good.”

After thinking for a moment, Chen Feng smiled. “That’s true.”

“Then have you thought about reselling this painting? I checked these past two days, you really didn’t lose out by buying Master Wang Yi’s ‘Orchid Pavilion Preface’ for 3 million. The market price is now four to five million.”

“I haven’t thought about it for now. Even if I were to resell it, I’d have to wait until after Master Wang Yi passes away. The works of these artists only become valuable after they die.”

Wu Mengting said, annoyed, “You’re really… Master Wang Yi is still alive, are you cursing him to die?”

Chen Feng shook his head. “I’m just telling the truth. When I had a video call with him last time, from the looks of him, he probably doesn’t have long to live either.”

“Alright, let’s not talk about this. Anyway, I think your investment in this painting was very insightful. You definitely won’t lose money.”

“Yes, I think so too.”

“Then you should take good care of it and preserve it well. Don’t let it get damaged.”

“I won’t. It’s framed, and there’s a protective film on it. It shouldn’t get damaged.”

“That’s good.”

“Are you still working this afternoon?” Chen Feng asked.

“My work hours are quite flexible. I can go to work in the afternoon, or I can stay at home.”

“Your job is really comfortable. By the way, I’ve read up to chapter sixty-five of your novel ‘The Golden Hairpin Bond’. It’s quite good.”

Wu Mengting blushed, but still smiled and said thank you.

“Looking at your results on the website, you have several ‘Alliance Leaders’. The results back then must have been pretty good.”

“Yes. It was okay. I probably made about three hundred thousand from the two books. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had the money to buy a car.”

“Wow, that’s impressive. So you bought that car yourself,” Chen Feng looked at her with new respect.

“What else?” Wu Mengting tilted her head and asked.

Chen Feng smiled. “I thought your family bought it for you.”

Wu Mengting said, “My family is very ordinary. My parents are both full-time workers. They have some money, but not much. I don’t want to use their money.”

“Ambitious!” Chen Feng praised her from the heart.

“It’s not a matter of being ambitious or not. I’m already this old, of course I have to be self-reliant.”

Chen Feng said with a smile, “Your words are full of positive energy. It’s really rare for a woman to have this kind of awareness. Even men in their thirties and forties rarely have this awareness. They all think their parents owe them, and it’s only natural to spend their parents’ money.”

“Everyone has their own views. Some parents are willing to spend money on their children.”

“That’s true too.”

…

The two of them chatted idly for a while and got along quite well.

It wasn’t until Lin Wan came out from washing the dishes with a resentful look on her face that the two of them ended their conversation.