Volume 1, Chapter 43: A Barren Wasteland

Although I had only interacted with Liu Fangfei a few times, I enjoyed being around her.

She never looked down on me, there was no pressure, and we could laugh and talk freely.

This relationship felt very much like being good classmates in daily life, communicating with each other on equal terms.

Therefore, I readily agreed, tidied up a bit, stepped out of my house, got on my bicycle, and headed toward the photo studio.

Seeing me, Liu Fangfei ran out carrying a large canvas bag, her smile brighter and more radiant than the sunshine.

She comfortably sat on the back seat of my bicycle, patting my back to urge me on.

"Zhou Yan, straight north, let's go! Hurry!"

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"On an outing!"

"Didn't you say we were going to make a fortune?"

"Haha, while going on an outing, we're also looking for opportunities to make a fortune. We must seize them."

Liu Fangfei laughed out loud and hugged my waist once more.

I had no idea what Liu Fangfei was up to.

However, I had been feeling very depressed lately, and I really wanted to get close to nature and relax properly.

An outing seemed like a great choice, and with Liu Fangfei keeping me company, I wouldn't feel lonely.

I didn't ask any more questions, leisurely pedaling my bicycle carrying Liu Fangfei, freely weaving through the streets.

A gentle breeze blew, the sunshine was warm, and I occasionally rang the bicycle bell, drawing envious glances from pedestrians on the street.

They must have thought that a young man and woman joyfully riding a bicycle was what youth was truly supposed to look like.

Chatting all the way, we rode for over an hour, gradually leaving the urban area.

Feeling a bit tired, I turned my head and asked, "How much farther do we have to ride?"

"We're almost there. The place I picked is top-notch."

Liu Fangfei chuckled and asked, "Zhou Yan, how about you let me ride the bicycle while you sit in the back and rest?"

"It's fine, I can manage."

I continued pedaling hard, feeling the warm embrace from behind.

Occasionally, Liu Fangfei would press her little head against my back, as if secretly listening to my strong heartbeat.

At the intersection ahead, Liu Fangfei instructed me to turn right onto an ordinary village road.

After another twenty minutes of riding and passing a village, our outing destination finally arrived.

This was a dense grove of trees, with only a narrow path flanked by overgrown weeds leading inside, marked by uneven and bumpy tire tracks.

Liu Fangfei jumped off the bicycle and said to me, "Zhou Yan, hide the bicycle in the bushes!"

I immediately followed her instructions, even gathering some branches to cover it properly, silently praising Liu Fangfei for her thoughtfulness.

If the bicycle were to get stolen, the journey back on foot would simply be too long.

I offered to carry Liu Fangfei's bag, but she said it wasn't heavy and insisted on carrying it herself the entire way.

We walked inward along the path, breathing in the fragrance of nature all the way, and gradually entered an open space covered with low weeds, surrounded by even denser woods.

"Fangfei, what is this place?"

I grew a bit timid, seriously suspecting that venomous snakes might be lurking in the bushes and weeds.

"This is an abandoned driving school. The owner ran someone over and was arrested, so they didn't even finish building the houses."

Liu Fangfei was very familiar with the place. Pointing to a high mound of earth ahead, she smiled and said, "Let's go behind that. It's totally secluded; no one can see us."

"Fangfei, what on earth are you trying to do?"

My heart was filled with doubt and a faint sense of unease.

"An outing, of course!"

Liu Fangfei rolled her eyes. "Did you think I came here to have a secret tryst with you? This young lady isn't that casual."

I smiled awkwardly. I had never even thought of a secret tryst; I just felt this place was too remote, as if danger was lurking everywhere.

When I went on outings with classmates in the past, it was always by the wide reservoir or near the park lawn.

Liu Fangfei choosing a place like this had only one explanation: she was unconventional and liked to do things her own way.

I followed Liu Fangfei past the high mound and saw a small dirt pit covered with soft green grass, looking like a spot prepared in advance.

Liu Fangfei threw her canvas bag on the ground, lay down with her legs crossed, and looked very comfortable.

She smiled and beckoned me over, so I lay down beside her, crossing my legs as well, watching the patches of white clouds drifting across the sky together.

"Zhou Yan, how have things been with you lately? Has your stepmother been giving you a hard time again?" Liu Fangfei asked, resting her head on her arms.

"No!"

After a moment of hesitation, I decided not to hide it and told her the truth.

"My dad got into a car accident and is paralyzed. The financial burden on my family is very heavy right now."

"Your dad is really unlucky."

Liu Fangfei offered a word of sympathy, then cursed resentfully, "Why won't my dad get into a car accident? Scumbags like that deserve to be smashed to pieces by a car."

My hatred for Liu Fangfei's father, Liu Ziwen, was equally irreconcilable, and I wished he would meet a terrible fate too, though I hadn't said it out loud.

Liu Fangfei suggested again, "Why don't you come work at the photo studio?"

"Doing what?"

"We can take on photography assignments on location."

There was a look of anticipation in Liu Fangfei's smile, but I still refused.

"Actually, I already have a job. I work at the Yumei KTV, and I don't get home until the middle of the night every day."

Huh?

Liu Fangfei looked surprised, curled her lips, and said, "Can you learn anything good in a place like that?"

"I'm just helping out a friend."

I had barely finished explaining when I suddenly heard the sound of an approaching car, causing me to freeze. Who would come to a place like this?

Liu Fangfei, however, looked very excited and sat up with a smile.

"Haha, they really came. This trip wasn't wasted."

Utterly baffled, I cautiously poked my head out from over the mound and saw a white Land Rover crushing the weeds as it drove below the mound and came to a stop.

I managed to make out the license plate number: 36888.

This was... Liu Ziwen's car from the jewelry store!

Xu Li had once sat in this car, shamelessly going to a hotel with Liu Ziwen to open a room for a secret affair.

"It's your dad!" I said in shock.

"He's the one I've been waiting for. I secretly followed him for several days and found out he often brings women here to do that disgusting stuff in his car out in the wild."

With a look of utter contempt on her face, Liu Fangfei craned her neck and said, "Just wait, they're about to start."

I had no idea how to evaluate Liu Fangfei.

First, she said we were going to make a fortune together; then she called it an outing.

She had tricked me into riding a bike all the way to such a remote place, only to watch someone else's affair unfold like a show.

And the male protagonist of the affair was her own father.

Was Liu Fangfei perhaps a bit psychologically disturbed?

"Fangfei, what's there to see about this? Let's get out of here quickly!"

I didn't want to stay; I was worried Liu Ziwen would discover us and bring endless trouble upon us.

"Shh, keep your voice down."

Liu Fangfei pressed a finger to her lips, leaned her pretty face close to mine, and whispered, "Zhou Yan, in a moment when they get into the swing of things, we'll charge straight down and force my dad to hand over money. A word from this young lady is as good as gold—we'll split this income evenly."

"Th-this is your plan to get rich?"

My eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

I had to hand it to her—Liu Fangfei had some serious nerve!

"Yeah, isn't it foolproof?"

Liu Fangfei proudly shook her fair neck.

"This won't work. Your dad is too thick-skinned. He won't give you money, and he might even put on a show for us."

I shook my head vigorously, speaking without thinking.

"He will definitely cough up the money."

Liu Fangfei was extremely confident, and her next move genuinely frightened me.