The Game of Feigning Retreat to Advance

Old Qin came over and asked, "Was that Little Song calling you?"

An Yang froze for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

Yesterday, she was still Manager Song, and today she had become Little Song. The elderly really were impossible to understand...

"Little Song called to ask you out, right?"

"...What exactly are you trying to say?"

Old Qin smiled knowingly. "That girl, Little Song, is pretty good. Her family background is good too. You'd better seize the opportunity!"

"...How boring!"

Old Man He wore a wicked grin beside them. He had clearly already heard about yesterday from Old Qin.

An Yang asked again, "By the way, what were you doing at Mingyang Group yesterday? What a grand spectacle!"

"Oh... The spectacle wasn't for me. A while ago, the director of the Jinguan City Administration for Industry and Commerce was placed under investigation. Apparently, Mingyang Group had something to do with it. Recently, a new director was parachuted in. You know how a new official likes to make a strong start. Besides, the previous director, who was investigated, had an ambiguous relationship with Mingyang Group. So, his first fire was aimed at Mingyang Group. They asked this old man to come over because of an old friend's connection, to accompany the parachuted-in director on an inspection."

An Yang nodded, indicating that he understood.

Mingyang Group had invited Old Qin over in name to accompany the parachuted-in director on an inspection. In reality, they were borrowing Old Qin's presence to intimidate the new director, who wanted to make a strong start, and let him know that Mingyang Group was not something he could burn so easily!

From the looks of it, Old Qin's identity was quite extraordinary!

Jinguan City was the leading city in the southwest, and its director of the Administration for Industry and Commerce wielded tremendous power. Yet Mingyang Group, an international corporation, had actually invited Old Qin to hold the fort!

An Yang shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

Whether it was the official world or the business world, such matters were far too complicated. They also had nothing to do with him, and he had no interest in them.

The next afternoon, An Yang received a call and went downstairs. He saw a white Audi R8 coupe parked outside his rented apartment. Song Hanshan was leaning against it, and her eyes lit up when she saw him.

"You finally came. Get in."

An Yang carefully examined this sports car, which was priced at nearly two million yuan. He had to admit that its design was beautiful, but its price was enough to make him back off.

"The lives of rich people really are different. Look at this car—no wonder she's Manager Song of Mingyang Group!"

Clicking his tongue in admiration, An Yang opened the door and got in.

Song Hanshan got into the car as well and quickly started it. The sports car moved smoothly forward at a leisurely pace as she said casually, "So what if I'm Manager Song of Mingyang Group? I'm still just a woman. If I want to have a meal with someone, I still have to ask him out myself!"

A trace of awkwardness crossed An Yang's face. "Ahem, well... I'm just an ordinary citizen. I don't have what it takes to be a kept man either. Being with a rich, beautiful woman like you is too much pressure. I wouldn't dare ask you out."

Song Hanshan chuckled. "An ordinary citizen? A rich, beautiful woman? Too much pressure? I didn't see any pressure or inferiority in your eyes. Besides, how could someone who can be friends with Old Qin be an ordinary person?"

"Who says I don't feel inferior? Who says I'm not ordinary? My family has been ordinary for generations. Not to mention anything else, just this car of yours would take me twenty years to afford."

Song Hanshan shot him a glance, paused, and said, "How about I give you a car, and you obediently become my kept man?"

An Yang nearly choked on his saliva. "Ahem, I'm poor, and I'm not handsome either. What do you see in me?"

"I don't know. Maybe it was love at first sight. It doesn't matter if a man is handsome. And I really don't mind that you're poor. I have enough money for both of us to spend for eight lifetimes."

An Yang tugged at the corner of his mouth. Was this what they called the protagonist's halo? Or had the scene when he helped Song Hanshan really left such a deep impression on her?

Song Hanshan asked again, "You still haven't answered me. Are you willing to be my kept man? I guarantee you endless wealth and glory."

An Yang was utterly helpless.

How had he failed to realize that this woman was such a tease?

"Forget it, Your Majesty. Being a kept man has no future, and you don't get any status either. Besides, there's already another woman at home..."

"Skreech!"

Song Hanshan slammed on the brakes, making a sharp noise, and turned to stare at him in astonishment. "You have a girlfriend?"

Although An Yang had only helped her once, the skill he had shown back then had left a deep impression on her. In that sense, he was the first man who had ever made her heart flutter.

An Yang nodded. "Yeah."

Song Hanshan quickly composed herself and started driving again, but the atmosphere grew somewhat quiet. Even this career powerhouse found herself at a loss.

"Don't take it seriously. I was just joking. I thought we weren't very familiar with each other, so we had to find something to talk about..."

"I know."

The car fell silent again. Song Hanshan did not feel like talking, but she did not want to leave An Yang in an awkward silence either, so she kept looking for things to say.

"Where do you work?"

"I just lost my job. I'm unemployed now."

Song Hanshan froze for a moment. This topic did not seem to be going well.

Almost no man was happy to talk about having just lost his job, especially in front of a beautiful woman. Yet An Yang's expression was completely casual, as though he did not care in the slightest whether he had a job. Such an attitude usually only appeared in people who were extremely confident.

Song Hanshan pondered this as she continued searching for something to say.

"I see... Do you live in Jinguan City?"

"No. My hometown is Yan City, a third-tier city. The place I'm staying in Jinguan City is rented."

Rented!

A trace of disbelief appeared in Song Hanshan's eyes. She quickly realized that this topic was not going well either and said with a bitter smile, "Do you have to explain everything so clearly? I'm not after your family's money."

An Yang smiled. "I'm just making my situation clear early, so you'll understand the gap between us."

"...It's not like I can't find someone. Why would I insist on you?"

An Yang burst out laughing. "Hahaha, I was joking too."

The car stopped outside Shangri-La International Hotel. A dedicated attendant immediately came over to park it, while another employee came to lead them inside.

This was probably the most expensive hotel in Jinguan City!

"Let's go. I've already booked a table."

"There are only two of us, and you brought me to Shangri-La for a meal. You're putting a lot of pressure on me."

"What pressure is there?" Song Hanshan said. "It's just a slightly more expensive hotel. I don't usually come here either. But today, I have you, my honored guest."

An Yang chuckled. "What kind of honored guest am I?"

The moment he stepped into the hotel, his feet sank softly into the thick carpet. Then a slender figure walked toward them from ahead, and An Yang's gaze froze.

There was no way he could ever forget that figure. After all, she had accompanied him through his entire university life and shared his bed for three whole years. They had always loved each other deeply, and perhaps they had both once believed they could walk together to the end of their lives. But reality had ultimately been too cruel.

She was dressed elegantly, with a wonderful figure. As she approached, her exquisite makeup became clear. She was unquestionably beautiful, with an air of scholarly refinement and intelligent grace.

She had her arm linked through that of a middle-aged man and was smiling brightly. Beside the man walked a middle-aged woman who still retained her charm, carrying herself with an imposing air of grace and wealth.

An Yang gave a bitter laugh. Once a man turns his life around, does he really have to run into his ex-girlfriend everywhere—on the street, in shopping malls, jewelry stores, hotels, and all sorts of other places?

With the Time-Space Travel Phone, I should count as having turned my life around, right?

But reality did not contain that many melodramatic coincidences. Beautiful women who immediately found wealthy patrons after graduation were, after all, a minority. What was more, Jiang Xinrou's family was already well-off. She had no need to profit by selling her body.

That was also why they had broken up back then.

The middle-aged man and woman were her parents.

The distance between them was less than ten meters, and they were drawing closer. Jiang Xinrou noticed him too, and the smile on her face instantly froze. Then the two of them brushed past each other.

She said nothing, and An Yang remained silent as well.

When he thought back to the time they had first parted, both of them had been in such agonizing pain that it felt as if their hearts had been torn apart. But now, it seemed laughable. Love nurtured in a greenhouse could not withstand the slightest blow, much less now that he had Xiao Qian.

Still, he could now stand calmly before her parents, couldn't he? What a pity...

In the luxurious private room, the two of them faced a huge round table covered with dishes. An Yang's phone suddenly rang. A text message had arrived from a number that was both unfamiliar and familiar. He casually tapped it open—

She's beautiful.

An Yang hesitated, then put down his phone without replying or explaining. He simply grew even quieter than before.

Song Hanshan noticed that something was wrong and asked, "Did you know that woman just now?"

"Yeah. My ex-girlfriend."

Song Hanshan drew out a long "Oh" and said, "I could tell. She's beautiful, and she dresses very elegantly. Her family should be well-off too. No wonder you weren't moved by me at all."

An Yang looked up at her and said self-deprecatingly, "I'm just a nobody. I'm not worthy of rich, beautiful women like you."

"Stop belittling yourself. Your relationship with Old Qin alone is enough to set you apart from ordinary people."

"Old Qin and I are just ordinary friends. We say hello when we happen to see each other. I don't even know what he does."

"No way."

An Yang nodded seriously, then asked, "Really. Are you disappointed?"

"No! That's not what I meant. Even if you and Old Qin are only ordinary friends, you must have qualities worth befriending. Just like when you helped me back then and left without a word. I'm only surprised that you don't know who he is!"

"Why should I know who he is? Besides, I didn't leave without a word back then because I wanted to do a good deed anonymously, nor was it because I wasn't tempted by your beauty and wealth. I simply had something urgent to do."

Song Hanshan froze for a moment, feeling completely unable to respond.

"...The fact that you said that already proves you weren't tempted by my beauty or wealth."

She had figured it out. This man truly did not care about many things. It was the same with losing his job and renting a place, the obviously extraordinary Old Qin, and even her.

An Yang, however, said, "Not necessarily. Maybe I was playing hard to get."

Song Hanshan was speechless again.

"...Just eating feels a little dull. Do you want something to drink?"

"Of course we have to drink when I'm out with a beauty like you."

Song Hanshan hesitated, then nodded. "All right. Bring us a bottle of Maotai Aged Brew!"