Not Even Qualified to Be Friends

When Zhang Yang took action, there were naturally no setbacks.

The matter of my mom buying a car was naturally settled very quickly.

This glacier white Bentley Flying Spur has a fairly standard configuration, not top-of-the-line, and can't compare to my dad's fully-equipped Maybach S680. However, its price is easily comparable to that Maybach, costing around four million yuan after all the fees.

Zhang Yang didn't even blink and picked up the car with full payment.

A moment later, the brand-new Bentley Flying Spur came to a stop in front of everyone with its door open.

Bentley is indeed Bentley; its appearance and presence are truly different.

From the crystal-cut headlights to the iconic glossy black mesh grille, from the two-tone premium leather interior in Tottenham Red and Whale Black to the extensive walnut wood trim with a jade-like feel.

It still has that same feel to it, a perfect blend of elegance and luxury.

Zhang Yang was used to riding in luxury cars. Not to mention anything else, his Phantom, which cost nearly 20 million yuan, was already at the pinnacle of luxury. So he only gave a slight compliment to this Bentley and was indifferent to everything else.

But for others who only drive cars worth a few hundred thousand at most, the Bentley in front of them is a game-changer.

Zhou Tong leaned in, touching the exquisitely smooth leather seats and looking at the jade-like walnut wood interior trim, unable to stop praising it.

"It's so luxurious, so tasteful. Compared to this, my car is... no, it's simply not worthy of comparison."

Look at these three rotating screens, the diamond-patterned center console, the door panels with the B logo, the thick plush floor mats, and then listen to the ticking of the Breitling clock beside you—this feeling... is simply...

She turned to look at her best friend, her eyes filled with complex emotions, too shocked to speak.

Song Wenqin belatedly stepped forward.

Zhou Tong immediately stepped aside to let the actual owner of the vehicle experience it.

Zhang Yang stood behind, not in a hurry, watching his mother get in and slowly adapt to the Bentley's elegance and luxury.

He understands his mother's feelings.

After all, when other people buy a car, they at least have a gradual, step-by-step upgrade process, but my mom went straight for Bentley.

Many of the shop staff stood at a distance, watching, and some even took photos with their phones.

They're all sales staff at the store, and they post a lot of captions on their WeChat Moments every day.

Now, the ceiling-mounted car in the store has been sold in one go, and the selling process is so full of buzz that no one wants to miss such a moment.

Suddenly, posts about this topic flooded social media.

"Mom, how is it?" Zhang Yang asked, taking the relevant car purchase contract and other documents from the sales clerk.

The files were organized together and placed in a folder.

All the names were written with my mother's name, Song Wenqin.

"It's like a dream." Song Wenqin gripped the three-spoke leather-trimmed steering wheel, stepped onto the floor mats with the Bentley B logo, and felt the enveloping comfort of the leather seats. Her tone was filled with admiration.

"I've never had such a beautiful dream before," Zhou Tong couldn't help but exclaim.

Upon hearing this, Song Wenqin couldn't help but laugh.

"Liu Jing." Zhou Tong looked at her daughter, who was standing there dumbfounded not far away, and felt a little anxious. "Come on, we haven't congratulated your Aunt Song on her new car yet."

Liu Jing stood to the side, actually looking a little timid.

When she saw that Zhang Yang bought a car for his mother, a car worth over four million yuan, her worldview was completely turned upside down, and she felt ashamed of herself.

She finally started to come to her senses.

Such a handsome and wealthy man, a true god among men, could he possibly be someone she could even dream of?

"Mom..." Liu Jing stepped forward, hesitatingly saying, "Aunt Song, congratulations on getting your Bentley."

"Wenqin, getting this car is a big deal. How about this, I'll throw a party tonight to celebrate." Zhou Tong stepped forward, smiling broadly, then looked at her daughter, "Liu Jing, go order a cake and give her your blessings."

"No need, really no need." Song Wenqin had a deep understanding of her friend's ability to take advantage of situations, so she quickly declined.

"Wenqin, saying that means you don't consider me a friend. I mean it sincerely." Zhou Tong said earnestly, "I'm genuinely happy for you getting the car, really."

"This..." Song Wenqin wanted to refuse.

"Aunt Zhou, maybe next time," Zhang Yang said simply from the side.

"How could this be..." Zhou Tong wanted to say more, but when she saw Zhang Yang, she didn't know why, but she couldn't bring herself to say those words.

The young man in front of me was clearly only in his early twenties, but the words he spoke carried an undeniable power.

"Well, okay." She opened her mouth, but ultimately gave up.

"Mom, keep your things safe." Zhang Yang looked away and handed the folder to Song Wenqin. "Wait a minute, I'll take a picture of you and send it to Dad."

He raised his phone and casually snapped a picture of his mother sitting in the car.

In the photo, Mom looks like she's become ten years younger, her expression radiant.

The photos were sent not long ago.

Zhang Zhaohai sent a question mark.

Then, a barrage of sentences came flying at him.

"What? You're back? And you even bought a car for your mom? How come I didn't know anything about it?"

"A Bentley? My Maybach doesn't seem so appealing anymore."

Zhang Yang smiled and sent a message: "Dad, this car's price is about the same as yours, right?"

"But this is Bentley!" Zhang Zhaohai retorted.

Zhang Yang blinked, then thought about it and realized it made sense; after all, it was Bentley!

Even a brand as powerful as Maybach has to bow down when facing Bentley, a well-known brand that is a supplier to the British Royal Family and comparable to Rolls-Royce.

It's not Dad's fault.

"Come to our restaurant tonight, my family and I will have a good meal!" Zhang Zhaohai immediately said.

"Okay," Zhang Yang replied, putting down his phone and looking at his mother. "Mom, let's go home, Dad's getting impatient."

"Alright," Song Wenqin said with a smile, pursing her lips.

A few moments later, at the entrance of the luxury car center, Song Wenqin and her best friend Zhou Tong said a brief goodbye.

"You... Hey, it's a promise, I'll definitely make time to celebrate properly for you next time, okay?" Zhou Tong grabbed Song Wenqin and kept saying, still a little unwilling.

"Okay, let's meet again." Song Wenqin nodded.

She had noticed the changes in her younger sister, of course.

The shift from deliberate attempts to befriend someone to flattery, even fawning, is so subtle and natural.

She knew she would only encounter more like this in the future.

She finally realized that she probably had to say goodbye to her former self and her former social circle for good.

Zhang Yang didn't say anything, exchanged a few simple polite words, and walked straight towards his Cullinan, leaving his mother and Aunt Zhou to exchange pleasantries.

A moment later, Song Wenqin saw Zhang Yang's car start and prepared to leave as well.

"Liu Jing, do you need your mother to teach you?" Zhou Tong gently nudged her daughter with her elbow to remind her.

Liu Jing seemed to snap out of a daze and quickly whispered, "Auntie, take care. See you next time."

"Okay, see you next time." Song Wenqin smiled slightly and rolled up the car window.

A moment later, the Bentley caught up with the Cullinan, which was not far ahead, and drove straight away.

With Cullinan in front and Bentley behind, this gathering of luxury cars at Yinghai is quite a sight to behold.

Zhou Tong stood there, watching them go from afar, her eyes filled with lingering envy.

"I never imagined that your Aunt Song's family was so wealthy, truly..."

From the moment she saw Song Wenqin's husband's Maybach, she already knew that her friend came from a wealthy family, but she hadn't thought about it any deeper.

But only today did I realize how superficial I had been.

Maybach, Bentley, Cullinan —what kind of family does this woman come from? It's completely beneath me to associate with this young lady.

"Didn't you add Zhang Yang on WeChat? You should put in more effort." She couldn't help but look at Liu Jing.

"It's no use, Mom. I still have some self-awareness," Liu Jing said with a helpless smile.

"Are you stupid? Who told you to go straight for it?" Zhou Tong couldn't help but lightly pat her daughter. "Couldn't you have been friends first? I didn't tell you to be so clear about your intentions right away, okay?"

"Becoming friends first isn't easy either; people aren't even that keen on adding each other on WeChat," Liu Jing said, pursing her lips.

"We still have your mom here, right? I'll maintain a good relationship with your Aunt Song, and you can approach Zhang Yang with the intention of making friends. Even if you only gain friendship in the end, it's better than anything else," Zhou Tong said with a smile.

Liu Jing tacitly agreed, but deep down she still felt...

Even just being friends with a guy like that seems like a very slim chance.

···

As the sun set, the Cullinan and Bentley returned to their restaurant, one after the other.

In the parking space in front of the restaurant, Zhang Zhaohai's Maybach S680 was parked, its agate black exterior shimmering in the setting sun.

There were two empty parking spaces next to the cars, and Zhang Yang's Cullinan and Song Wenqin's Bentley Flying Spur parked one after the other.

The three luxury cars parked in a row here are truly stunning.

The shop owners along the street next to the restaurant, big and small, including tobacco and liquor stores, restaurants, bath centers, and chain hotels, all came out and looked at the scene before them, their eyes filled with shock and speechlessness.

Downstairs at the restaurant, Zhang Zhaohai came out early, ready to greet his wife and son.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded behind me.

Zhang Zhaohai turned around and saw a group of middle-aged men walking out, chatting and laughing. He went up to them, offered them cigarettes, and exchanged pleasantries.

"Mr. Liu, are we stopping the game?"

The man in charge, Mr. Liu, was someone I met by chance. His property management company was in charge of the property management of this residential complex. To run a property management company, one must have both ability and connections.

Sometimes, by chance or to save time, Mr. Liu would often have a meal together with several of his property managers at a nearby restaurant.

Their restaurant is one of my regular haunts.

Over time, they naturally became familiar with each other.

"I'm not playing anymore, I have a dinner appointment tonight." Mr. Liu smiled and accepted the cigarette.

The group lit cigarettes, intending to stand at the entrance for a short while.

"That car..." Mr. Liu, with a cigarette between his fingers, suddenly froze, unable to help but exclaim in surprise, "Cullinan, Bentley? What kind of big boss is this? Mr. Zhang, do you know the owner? I saw it parked next to your Maybach."

"Oh." Zhang Zhaohai smiled and waved as he saw his son and wife get out of the car one after the other. "This is my wife's and son's car."

"What?!" Mr. Liu exclaimed in shock, his eyes widening as he looked at Zhang Zhaohai again. "Mr. Zhang, you're definitely a master of disguise! Come on, give me a beating!"

Without thinking, he quickly rummaged through the cigarettes.

Several property managers nearby, having witnessed this, rushed to take out their lighters to light Zhang Zhaohai's cigarette.

Mr. Liu's astonishment was not without reason.

His property management company can earn several million a year after deducting expenses, but what kind of car does he drive? A Porsche.

Driving Bentley? For him, it's not exactly a pipe dream, but it's certainly a distant prospect.

But right now...

Maybach, Bentley, and that Cullinan. What kind of family must they be, what kind of big boss!

As they were talking, Zhang Yang and Song Wenqin stepped forward.

"Zhang Yang, our long-time client, Mr. Liu," Zhang Zhaohai introduced casually.

It's only right to exchange polite words with customers of your own restaurant.

Zhang Yang smiled and nodded, then greeted the person.

"Hello, hello." Mr. Liu's voice became eight octaves warmer as he quickly offered a cigarette and exchanged pleasantries. "Your restaurant has always been excellent; I'll definitely recommend it to more friends in the future."

"Thank you..." Zhang Yang said.

"Then you all go ahead with your work, I'll head back now, I won't bother you any longer." Observing the situation, General Manager Liu quickly smiled and took his leave.

In the blink of an eye, the time was left to Zhang Yang and his group.

"Good heavens, this is Bentley!" Zhang Zhaohai finally had time to take a good look at the Bentley in front of him, his voice filled with undisguised amazement.

"No... my Cullinan could buy two Bentley, you're not overreacting, are you?" Zhang Yang couldn't help but laugh at his father's reaction.

"You don't know your dad yet, he's trying to outdo me," Song Wenqin said with a laugh.

A family of three stood in front of the three cars, gazing at them for a long time.

To be precise, it was Zhang Yang standing with the couple.

"How about I go up first, and you guys stand here for a while longer?" Zhang Yang said with a smile.

He knew that his parents must have a lot to say, and he also knew that at this moment, many of his former neighbors would likely appear to offer their congratulations and welcome.

Everyone carries the beautiful sedan chair.

He'd leave this kind of occasion to his parents.

Sure enough, not long after he went in, he heard whispers and congratulations behind him.

In a quick glance, I saw my parents, their faces glowing, smiling as they greeted the neighbors, laughter filling the air.

As evening fell, the family of three specially set up a table at a restaurant to celebrate.

"I, Lao Zhang, never dreamed that thanks to my son, I would have such a day," Zhang Zhaohai said, holding his wine glass with deep emotion.

Zhang Yang smiled and clinked glasses with his father.

The dishes in front of me were plentiful, and not far away, the restaurant was bustling with activity and noise.

The saying "Enjoy life while you can" doesn't just apply to himself; he now has the same ability to help his parents achieve similar success.

The family sat together, enjoying a lively atmosphere, eating, drinking, and chatting.

On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the family enjoyed a hearty meal and drinks.