Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

"Xiaoqiang, this is my good sister from junior high, Chen Shutang. I've mentioned her to you before, and you've seen her photo at my home. What do you think—isn't she pretty?" Liu Ting introduced Chen Shutang to Liu Baoqiang.

"Hello." Liu Baoqiang shyly extended his hand, but then suddenly remembered that shaking hands with a strange girl seemed rather impolite, so he sheepishly withdrew it and said awkwardly, "I'm Tingting's boyfriend, and also her driver and bodyguard. My name is Liu Baoqiang—just call me Xiaoqiang."

Seeing Liu Baoqiang's manner, Chen Shutang could barely suppress a smile. The man was truly amusing, and his way of speaking was humorous too—driver and bodyguard, haha. It seemed Third Sister's boyfriend really was quite good; he clearly looked like the type who was completely wrapped around Liu Ting's finger. To be continued.

911. Sending Flowers and Being Taken to Task

911. Sending Flowers and Being Taken to Task—only, the nickname really did sound rather like "Xiaoqiang," and Chen Shutang could not help but associate it with a certain insect, one with formidable vitality. "Xiaoqiang, let me tell you, Mengyan and I are as close as can be. If she's not satisfied with you, the two of us are breaking up right here and now," Liu Ting said, trying to frighten Liu Baoqiang.

"Ah?" Liu Baoqiang was stunned for a moment, then looked pitifully at Chen Shutang. His feelings for Liu Ting ran deep, and he was terrified that Liu Ting might actually dump him.

To be fair, there were quite a few boys at school who pursued Liu Ting. She counted as a great beauty in her department—though of course it depended on whom she was compared to; there was naturally a gap between her and Chen Shutang, but at the university Liu Baoqiang attended, it was no exaggeration to call Liu Ting the beauty of the department.

Moreover, recently two rich young men had been pursuing Liu Ting, and their circumstances were far better than Liu Baoqiang's. He was terrified that Liu Ting might not withstand the temptation of their sugar-coated shells and break up with him.

"I think brother-in-law is really nice. Third Sister, you're going to be living the good life from now on." Seeing Liu Baoqiang's pleading look, Chen Shutang found it both amusing and a little hard to bear, and she did not want to make things difficult for him anymore, so she put in a good word that delighted Liu Baoqiang immensely.

"Hmph. Since Mengyan says you're all right, I'll put you under observation for a while longer. Whether you get promoted to official status depends on my mood," Liu Ting said, casting a sidelong glance at Liu Baoqiang.

Liu Baoqiang breathed a sigh of relief and gave Chen Shutang a grateful look. By any reasonable measure, Liu Baoqiang's family was well off too—his father was a mid-level executive at a company, his mother ran a hot pot restaurant, and the family's circumstances could be considered quite comfortable.

He even had a Santana 2000 of his own, which made him a figure of some interest to gold-digging girls at school. But as luck would have it, among Liu Ting's suitors there were two whose circumstances were even better than his—families richer than his, driving a BMW 3 Series and a Honda Accord.

Yet perhaps because he was comparatively honest and lacked the spoiled habits of those rich young men, Liu Ting had chosen him. For that, Liu Baoqiang considered himself very fortunate.

"It's cold outside. Why don't we get in the car and wait a while?" Liu Baoqiang knew that Liu Ting and Chen Shutang were waiting for Chen Shutang's boyfriend to arrive, but it was winter now, and standing around for a while left one's hands and feet freezing. Liu Baoqiang was a little afraid Liu Ting might catch a cold.

"Yes, all right," Liu Ting nodded, and pulling Chen Shutang along, she sat down in the back seat of Liu Baoqiang's car.

Once in the car, Liu Baoqiang turned on the heater, then took a bouquet of roses from the passenger seat and handed it to Liu Ting: "Tingting, these are for you."

Although Liu Ting had talked about an observation period and such, in her heart she had basically already settled on Liu Baoqiang—otherwise, if she did not like him, how could she have stayed with him this long? Now, with Liu Baoqiang giving her flowers in front of Chen Shutang, Liu Ting was still quite happy. She took the roses and set them beside her legs, though she said, "Wasting money. If I really do spend my whole life with you, you'll have squandered the family fortune away."

Hearing Liu Ting say she would spend her whole life with him, Liu Baoqiang immediately grinned a foolish, blissful grin.

"Third Sister, how much can a bouquet of flowers cost? How could it squander the whole family fortune? Brother-in-law is being romantic—you should be satisfied." Though Chen Shutang said this with a smile, she felt a little envious inside, wondering what it would be like when Yang Puqi arrived.

There was no doubt that Yang Ce was a man with a very strong sense of male supremacy—otherwise she would not have been able to swallow her pride and share her lover with another girl. Yang Ce had bought her flowers before, but only occasionally. Girls all liked romance; even knowing that fresh flowers served no practical purpose, holding them in one's arms still made one happy.

Wasn't Liu Ting thinking the very same thing? She simply did not want to give Liu Baoqiang the satisfaction of knowing it.

"Oh, by the way, Mengyan, does your boyfriend have a car too?" Liu Ting's reason for asking was not to show off that her Liu Baoqiang had a car, but out of consideration for Chen Shutang's happiness.

Finding a boyfriend was not about finding money, but one had to consider the overall index at the very least. If a man was too poor, even with love there would not be much happiness—that was the creed about men that Liu Ting had always believed in.

Fortunately, she had found a man like Liu Baoqiang whose overall index was relatively high—not only free of the profligate habits of those rich young men, but also very good to her.

"He does." Chen Shutang nodded, though she did not know why Liu Ting had asked: "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing. I just think, Mengyan, that when you look for a boyfriend you should find one with a relatively high overall index—at least higher than mine. Otherwise I'd feel sorry for you," Liu Ting said.

Chen Shutang smiled. "Third Sister, I'm not as good as you make me out to be. You make me sound like I'm so far above everyone else."

"But you are! Our little princess—back then you were the heartthrob of ten thousand." Liu Ting spoke with radiant enthusiasm. "Have you forgotten? Li Yixun and Hong Kai in our class were both your suitors back then!"

Chen Shutang's face flushed scarlet at once. "Third Sister, don't talk nonsense. How could I not remember that?"

Even as she spoke, Yang Ce's car pulled into the residential compound where Chen Shutang lived, gliding past Liu Baoqiang's Santana and drawing to a stop by the flowerbed not far ahead.

"Oh my God, Mengyan, your compound has some serious big shots, huh? That license plate, that's savage." Liu Ting had inadvertently caught sight of the plate on the BMW X5 ahead, and could not help but sigh in admiration.

Chen Shutang froze for a moment. She had seen the BMW X5 pass by just now and had assumed at once that it was Yang Ce's car, but when she heard Liu Ting going on about the plate, she looked more closely—and then could not be sure at all. Yang Ce's car was running on a temporary permit; it had no plate mounted.

Before long, though, Chen Shutang's phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID: Yang Ce.

"Yang Ce, where are you?" Chen Shutang answered and asked.

"I'm downstairs at your building. I don't see you." Yang Ce could do everything with his abilities, it seemed—and that way lay dependence.

"Is that BMW downstairs your car?" Chen Shutang asked, a little puzzled.

"It's mine. Where are you?" Yang Ce replied.