Chapter 42

Part Two: The Allure of Business. Chapter 42: An Unexpected Place on the Villains List

No. 1 High School's uniform came only in an autumn tracksuit version; there was no summer uniform.

On Zhang Ke's first day of school, Zhang Zhixing did not leave early. He sat at the dining table reading the newspaper over breakfast. Seeing Zhang Ke emerge from his room, he urged him, "I heard you get up a while ago. What took you so long?"

Liang Gezhen came out of the kitchen carrying Zhang Ke's breakfast and said in surprise, "Huh? You said you wanted to buy your own clothes, so why did you buy such old-fashioned things? They make you look several years older, not much like a high school student."

Zhang Zhixing put down his newspaper and looked Zhang Ke over. A white short-sleeved shirt with gray-green checks, navy straight-leg casual trousers, and gleaming round-toed leather shoes-he did look a little older, but nothing seemed particularly wrong. "Go wash your face. I asked Little Liu to pick you up on his way. He should be here soon."

"Doesn't Uncle Tang need the car today?"

"Residents have complained that the city buses are crowded. Mayor Tang arranged to ride the buses with the senior officials from the transportation bureau. I'm taking a bus to meet them, too."

Zhang Ke recalled the intoxicating pleasure of squeezing onto a bus with Xu Si a few days earlier and did not think crowded buses were such a terrible thing. Knowing Tang Jing was very punctual, he wasted no more words. He washed up and wolfed down a couple of bites of a steamed flower roll, then heard Tang Xueqian's driver, Liu Wenbing, knocking outside.

Zhang Ke went back to his room for his bag, then held out his hand to his mother and called, "This week's allowance, this week's allowance..."

Liang Gezhen pressed the two hundred yuan she had prepared into his hand. Zhang Ke called out again, "What about the money for English tutoring?"

Liang Gezhen paused. "How much do you need?" She took out her wallet, but only one hundred-yuan note remained. Reaching into her husband's pocket, she pulled out three more and handed them to Zhang Ke together. "Is that enough?"

"More or less. They said to pay whatever we wanted. I think that should be about enough." Zhang Ke stuffed the money into his trouser pocket. Ignoring his father's question behind him-"What English tutoring?"-he opened the door and went downstairs with the driver, Little Liu.

Given a choice, Zhang Ke would rather have squeezed onto a bus to school. After yesterday's excitement, only this morning had Tang Jing remembered how suspicious his movements over the past few days had been. As Zhang Ke ducked into the car, she pursed her lovely red lips slightly. "Where did you go yesterday? I looked for you all day and couldn't find you. Du Fei was looking everywhere for you, too."

Li Zhifang, the director of the Academic Affairs Office, would probably be teaching Chinese to Class Ten. Du Fei was likely looking for him because he was excited about that. He could leave Du Fei aside, but Tang Jing was not so easy to fool. Zhang Ke suddenly realized that being in the same class as Tang Jing was by no means a good thing. Though the girl had no experience of the world, she was extremely bright. If she saw what was going on, it would be strange if she did not become suspicious. If she accidentally let something slip in front of Tang Xueqian or his parents, his grand plan to get rich might die before it was born.

Tang Jing had seen Xu Si's photograph. Though Xu Si had deliberately changed her bearing, that beauty that ran deep into her bones could not be concealed. How could Zhang Ke dare let Tang Jing know about Xu Si's presence?

Zhang Ke asked cautiously, "Where do you think I could have gone?" His body was inside the car, but his head remained thrust forward, almost touching Tang Jing's face. He glanced down at her lace-trimmed neckline but could see nothing. Pressed by his hot breath, Tang Jing blushed and shifted outward, covering her neckline with a hand. "Are you asking for it? All you ever do is look where you shouldn't..." Seeing Liu Wenbing open the door and get in, she hurriedly fell silent and merely glared fiercely at Zhang Ke.

When Tang Jing feigned anger, her eyes were clear and deep. With the flush still lingering on her cheeks and her pearly white teeth biting her rosy lower lip, she was utterly alluring. Even seeing her again after eleven years, Zhang Ke's heart still skipped a beat. But he did not continue taking liberties in word or deed. He smiled faintly and turned his face away, no longer looking at her.

Tang Jing could not bear the silence in the car. After a while, she rested her head against the back of the front seat and turned to look at Zhang Ke. "You still haven't told me where you went yesterday."

"Can you keep a secret?" The most effective lie was nine parts truth and one part falsehood. Zhang Ke could not possibly sit obediently in a classroom from now on. First, he had to placate his parents' informant.

"You really do talk a lot, don't you?" Tang Jing's voice was soft and enchanting, enough to melt a person's heart. She pointed at Zhang Ke's eyes, warning him not to let them wander.

Zhang Ke's gaze fell on her calves below the hem of her skirt. Unlike Xu Si's skin, as pure white as fresh snow, Tang Jing's complexion was closer to ivory. After more than ten days of exposure to the blazing sun, her exposed arms and face had taken on a translucent, lustrous amber hue that looked very soft. Her expression of feigned petulance made her look even lovelier.

Seeing Liu Wenbing waiting to enjoy the show in the rearview mirror, Zhang Ke said, "Uncle Little Liu, there isn't a fourth person here."

Liu Wenbing adjusted the rearview mirror away and said with a smile, "My hearing's been a little poor lately. I can't hear any of your flirting. And don't make me sound old. I'm not in your dad's generation..."

Liu Wenbing had been recruited into the Municipal Government's driver pool in 1991, initially only as a public-institution employee. Zhang Zhixing had thought him capable beneath his quiet exterior and dependable in his work, and while serving as deputy secretary-general, he had transferred him to drive for Tang Xueqian. During Tang Xueqian's isolation and investigation, Liu Wenbing had not displayed any misguided leanings. When Tang Xueqian became deputy Party secretary and acting mayor, Liu Wenbing's standing naturally rose as well. He became deputy head of the driver pool, and Zhang Zhixing also helped him quickly secure civil-service status.

The story of Tang Xueqian publicly toasting Zhang Ke at a banquet had acquired quite a mysterious air as it spread among people who did not know the circumstances. Liu Wenbing knew more than most officials about what had happened in Haizhou City's official circles that summer, and naturally knew to adopt a humble attitude.

"Then I'll call you Brother Liu." Zhang Ke did not stand on ceremony with him. Seeing him concentrate on driving, he said no more to him. Tang Jing was staring at him with curious eyes, and he very much wanted to tell her, I can keep a secret, too. But he only thought it. Instead, he said, "I'm working part-time. Don't tell my parents, or yours, all right?"

"Working part-time!" Tang Xueqian and Gu Jianping had kept Tang Jing under strict control since childhood. She was extraordinarily interested in a term she had only encountered in Japanese and Hong Kong television dramas, and her eyes sparkled. "Where are you working? Can you take me to have a look?"

"Zhitong's mother's company has an office in Haizhou. I'm working there. You could call it practical experience. You don't know how to do anything, so why would I take you?"

Zhang Ke was afraid she would pester him to visit the office, so he decided to crush her confidence from the outset. Who knew what might happen if she came face-to-face with Xu Si? Still, Tang Jing had only seen Xu Si in a photograph. Though both had stayed at the Provincial Procuratorate's guesthouse, Tang Jing had never met Xu Si directly. She might not recognize her.

Tang Jing knew about Zhang Ke saving Zhitong from beneath the wheels of a vehicle. Hearing that Zhitong had refused to speak since the accident was heartbreaking. She dropped the subject of working part-time, thinking that her mother would never agree to let her do it anyway, and said, "When can you let me see Zhitong?"

Zhang Ke and Tang Jing got out of the car some distance from the school gates.

During military training, all the first-year girls had worn standard army-green uniforms. Students in the other years had only come to register on the day their military training ended. Apart from Chen Feirong, Zhang Ke had not seen many pretty sights on campus.

Today was the first official day of school, and there were a few young-looking girls on campus who seemed quite fresh and delectable. Zhang Ke cheerfully wanted to shake off Tang Jing and find Du Fei so they could appraise them together. Though he had returned to 1994, there seemed to be no generation gap on this subject.

Zhang Ke had not come to school yesterday to check the class assignments and did not even know where his classroom was, so he obediently followed Tang Jing. Tall and lovely, Tang Jing attracted attention, which meant Zhang Ke also drew sidelong glances. But the looks directed at him were rather strange and made him uneasy. Seeing Du Fei felt stranger still. A smile hovered on his face, and anyone could see the excitement in his eyes.

"Is it really worth all that? You'll just get to see Li Zhifang every day." Zhang Ke was a little surprised.

"Li Zhifang isn't just teaching us Chinese. She's our homeroom teacher, too. More importantly..." Du Fei had not noticed Zhang Ke turning to leave and hurriedly hooked an arm around his shoulders. With a mysterious air, he said, "Teacher Li gathered us for a short meeting yesterday and decided to make me class monitor and Tang Jing Youth League branch secretary..."

Zhang Ke imagined Du Fei soon calling out Li Zhifang's name during a wet dream and shuddered. Now he had actually become class monitor, giving the whole thing an even more legendary, convention-defying flavor. Zhang Ke could hardly bear to look at his smug expression.

"All seven class committee members have been chosen, and you're not one of them. Do you know why you didn't get a place?"

Zhang Ke cursed inwardly. Those two scumbags, Wan Tiancai and Zhao Siming, have really done some damage. They must have left Li Zhifang with a bad impression of me. Still, Li Zhifang's courage in leaving him off the class committee was rather admirable.

Seeing Zhang Ke remain unmoved, Du Fei felt rather deflated and continued, "You're famous now. One slap across Zhao Siming's face put you straight at the top of the Four Young Masters of No. 1 High School. Wan Tiancai has built up such a bad name at our school, and even he ranks below you. Why? Because when you slapped Zhao Siming, he stood right there and didn't dare make a sound."

Zhang Ke opened his mouth, truly at a loss for what to say about this outcome. He had never expected to miss out on the internally selected class committee only to make the Villains List first. The point was, he had no plans to do anything bad at school. Even slapping Zhao Siming had merely been in pursuit of the noble ideal of saving innocent girls.

Wan Tiancai and Zhao Siming were still only two of the Four Young Masters of No. 1 High School, but before long, they would join the ranks of the Four Young Masters of Haizhou. The prospect of having his name associated with theirs left Zhang Ke depressed for a long time.