Chapter 37: Selection—Porsche Carrera

Life at school was joyful and free, untouched by the hardship of rising before dawn and toiling into the night that plagued the working world. For trivial meetings, Cheng Yao had no intention of attending evening study sessions. Now, a perfect excuse had presented itself.

He told the homeroom teacher he planned to participate in the campus Top Ten Singer Competition and had hired a private tutor outside of school to cultivate this particular interest. The homeroom teacher agreed. Old Li was easy to talk to and mild-tempered; even when Wang Wenbo skipped class for half a day or slept through lessons, he never made a fuss.

Wang Churu looked at Cheng Yao and asked, “Wang Wenbo isn’t eating, and you have something to do as well?”

“Yes, I’ve hired a music teacher to refine my vocal skills and prepare for the campus singing contest. I’ll spend eight hundred for two classes, take first place, and earn nearly five thousand—what a deal for me.”

Liu Hanyue’s dark eyes sparkled with mischief as she scoffed, “So confident, but what if you don’t even make the top ten?”

“What will you do if I make the top ten?” Cheng Yao fixed his gaze on Liu Hanyue.

“What do you mean?”

“How about a little wager?”

“Who wants to play your childish games?” Liu Hanyue had learned her lesson and swore never to get involved with this rascal Cheng Yao again.

Besides, she wasn’t stupid. Cheng Yao was so talented at guitar; who knew how good his singing was? She’d end up losing either way.

Cheng Yao shook his head. “Forget it, then. I’m leaving. Bye.”

“Bye, and good luck!” Wang Churu waved.

Liu Hanyue pinched Wang Churu. “Hey, don’t tell me you actually like him?”

“Of course not! Didn’t I tell you? Ever since military training, I’ve been his little fangirl. When the singing competition happens, we’ll go cheer him on!”

Liu Hanyue leaned close to her ear and whispered with a grin, “Ruoruo, you’d better be careful. I’ve heard that some people…”

“What?”

“Some people… fall for their idols!”

“Ugh, you’re the worst, Liu Hanyue…”

Wang Churu chased after Liu Hanyue, and the two of them ran straight to the cafeteria.

…

The usual spot—the familiar subway entrance.

Today, Lu Mengyao was dressed as a basketball cheerleader, wearing a number six jersey in black and red, paired with knee-length denim shorts, the very image of youthful fashion.

Though Cheng Yao wore a mask, Lu Mengyao recognized him instantly.

Cheng Yao asked, “Are you feeling better?”

“Yes, I’m completely fine now. Did you think I was still in pain?”

“…”

Lu Mengyao chuckled softly. “You’ve watched too many TV dramas. It’s not that dramatic.”

“That’s good. Let’s just grab something simple for dinner.”

“I’ll follow your lead.”

With a favorability score of eighty-nine, Lu Mengyao had truly become molded by Cheng Yao—docile and obedient.

In truth, Cheng Yao had always thought of Lu Mengyao as a landmine—buried right between him and Zhang Ya. But now, he felt things weren’t so bad after all. Indeed, men are creatures who think with the lower half of their bodies, himself included.

The subway rumbled into the station. No one paid them any particular attention—at most, their good looks drew a few extra glances, but people soon forgot them.

Cheng Yao had made a reservation at 18 Binjiang Road, YH District, Nanning Porsche Center—commonly called the “Fourth Son’s Shop.”

They grabbed a spicy hotpot at a street stall; with only six yuan, they couldn’t order much, and the owner wouldn’t cook anything extra, or Cheng Yao would have hinted at Lu Mengyao to eat more.

After dinner, they headed to the dealership.

“Good evening, welcome to the Nanning Porsche Center. Are you Mr. Cheng?” The salesman’s surname was Gao—Gao Xiaosong.

Gao Xiaosong looked at Cheng Yao and Lu Mengyao and found them a bit young, but smiled and said, “You two are a bit late. The shop is already closed; only a few after-sales staff are left. Let me get you some water.”

“No need, let’s look at the cars first. You’ll want to get off work soon too, right?”

“Alright, let me show you around.”

Cheng Yao nodded lightly, glancing around the showroom—mostly Macans and Cayennes, few sports cars.

They took the elevator upstairs, where there were many more sports cars.

Lu Mengyao’s eyes sparkled as she roamed restlessly among the sleek Porsches.

Cheng Yao walked over to a black Porsche Carrera. “How about this one?”

“Yes, this is the latest Carrera. The base price is 1.34 million, but we can offer a substantial discount—perhaps forty or fifty thousand off.”

“Take a look.”

Lu Mengyao ran her hand over the car’s body. “Porsches are this cheap?”

Gao Xiaosong politely explained, “Miss, you still need to select options. That can cost quite a bit—just a casual selection can add up to a hundred or two hundred thousand. Otherwise, it’s like buying an unfinished apartment.”

“I see…”

Lu Mengyao felt a bit embarrassed and said no more.

Gao Xiaosong turned to Cheng Yao, recognizing him as the real customer. “What’s your budget range?”

“Around two million.”

“That’s an excellent budget…”

Cheng Yao and Lu Mengyao both sat inside to try it out. Sitting in a Porsche was leagues ahead of any BBA—the brands weren’t even comparable.

As for finding flaws, Cheng Yao was no expert and couldn’t point out anything specific. But he knew this Porsche was the dream of countless young people.

Gao Xiaosong patiently waited, bringing them glasses of water.

“When do you plan to buy the car, sir?”

“Buy it?” Cheng Yao took a sip. “As soon as I get my license, I’ll pick it up.”

“Then you can leave a deposit first.”

“Alright.”

Seeing Cheng Yao nod, Gao Xiaosong felt confident and, without rushing, patiently sat them down to review the options.

“For this car, the main thing is the options. The most basic is the paint color. Four standard colors are free, metallic paint is fifteen thousand, special paint thirty thousand, and custom colors about a hundred thousand—like the rare Aurora Blue…”

Custom paint, forty-thousand wheels, dynamic and smoked headlights for an extra charge, then the exterior package—it could easily run up to two or three hundred thousand just for appearances.

And that was only the exterior; there was still the interior.

Cheng Yao only half understood, and Lu Mengyao grasped even less, but to her, it was all about making the car look prettier.

Gao Xiaosong smiled, “For young people, music in the car is a must. The BOSE sound system is seventeen thousand—interested?”

Cheng Yao crossed his legs. “With all these options, it’ll come to around two million, right?”

“About that. Let me calculate.”

Gao Xiaosong expertly pulled out his calculator and tapped away.

“Here’s the total: with your selections and the base price, it comes to just over 1.98 million. Taxes are offset by our discounts, so the final price is nearly two million.”

Lu Mengyao had already finished three glasses of water. In truth, she was in a constant state of excitement.

A car like this—she knew she could never afford it, even if she worked her whole life.

Gao Xiaosong looked at them. “When do you expect to get your licenses?”

“Haven’t started yet. Planning to start lessons this weekend,” Cheng Yao replied calmly, entirely at ease.

Gradually, he had grown accustomed to this kind of life.

…