Chapter Forty: Cooperation

At this moment, unlike Zhou the Fatty, who looked dejected and anxious, Wu Qian, who was upstairs viewing the house, was in high spirits. She toured each room on the second floor from left to right, and after finishing with the second floor, she even took the initiative to climb to the third floor for a look. Clearly, she was quite taken with the villa.

Seizing the opportunity, Zhang Wei stepped forward and asked, "Sister-in-law, how do you feel about this house?"

"The house is quite nice, it's just a bit expensive," Wu Qian replied after a brief moment of contemplation, her brows slightly knitted.

"Sister-in-law, if you're generally satisfied with the house, and it's just the price that's a little high, we can wait for the owner to return and discuss it in detail—see if we can persuade him to lower it a bit," Zhang Wei suggested tentatively.

"I'm not referring to the price of this particular house being high. It's just that spending fifty or sixty million on a house feels a bit too extravagant," Wu Qian said.

"In the capital, property only ever appreciates, never depreciates. So, the more expensive a house you buy, the more value it will gain in the future—it's a stable investment," Zhang Wei analyzed. "So, your concern is really unnecessary."

"Zhang Wei, what you say makes sense, but after all, fifty or sixty million is no small sum. I think I should consider it a bit more," Wu Qian hesitated.

"Sister-in-law, this is the first gift Fatty has given you, and he put a lot of thought into choosing it. If you don’t accept it, it will surely dampen his enthusiasm. Who knows if he'll ever give you another gift?" Zhang Wei saw Wu Qian wavering and realized he had to strike while the iron was hot—if he let things drag on, the whole matter might fall through.

No woman is immune to romance, nor to gifts from her husband. Wu Qian was swayed by Zhang Wei's words. In all their years of marriage, though Zhou the Fatty had always treated her well, things had inevitably grown a little bland with time. This was the first gift he had ever given her. To say she wasn’t happy about it would be a lie.

Zhang Wei’s words struck a chord. She was afraid that by rejecting this gift, she’d kill his enthusiasm, and if he stopped giving her gifts altogether, she’d regret it. Besides, while fifty million was no small figure, she and her husband—both worth billions—could easily afford it.

"Alright, I do like this house. Let's buy it," Wu Qian decided briskly. Having built her fortune alongside Zhou the Fatty, she was a woman of the world. Once she’d weighed the pros and cons, she didn’t hesitate or dither.

"Great, I'll go contact the owner right away." Hearing Wu Qian’s resolute answer, a gleam flashed in Zhang Wei’s eyes. He reined in his elation and, affecting calm, spoke in a deliberately subdued tone.

Zhang Wei turned to the side to make a call, but at that moment, he saw Liu Yurou coming up the stairs in her high heels, the click-clack echoing. Zhang Wei’s expression changed at once. Although he didn’t know why Liu Yurou had come up, now that Wu Qian had agreed to buy the house, Zhang Wei was afraid Liu Yurou might let something slip, exposing her relationship with Zhou the Fatty. If that happened, all his efforts would come to nothing.

Hurriedly, Zhang Wei strode to the staircase, blocking Liu Yurou’s path and signaling for her to go back down.

Noticing Zhang Wei blocking her way and signaling insistently, Liu Yurou frowned. Ignoring him, she tried to sidestep around Zhang Wei to reach the third floor.

"Yurou, you’re just in time—I actually needed to talk to you. Could you come downstairs with me for a moment?" Zhang Wei blocked her path, making sure Wu Qian could hear.

"If you’ve got something to say, just say it here," Liu Yurou replied, uncooperative.

Seeing that Liu Yurou was still intent on going upstairs, even trying to slip past him, Zhang Wei’s face darkened. He couldn’t allow Liu Yurou and Wu Qian to be alone together now. Grabbing her arm with his left hand, he slipped his right arm around her waist, half holding, half carrying her down the stairs.

"Zhang Wei, what on earth are you doing? Let go of me right now!" Liu Yurou struggled as Zhang Wei brought her downstairs.

"Miss Liu, that’s exactly what I should be asking you—what are you trying to do?" Zhang Wei frowned.

"Zhang Wei, you really did it, huh? You got her down—good job. Where’s my wife?" Zhou the Fatty, seeing Liu Yurou being brought down, breathed a sigh of relief and asked.

"Sister-in-law is still upstairs looking at the house, and she’s already agreed to buy it. She’s just waiting for me to call the owner," Zhang Wei replied.

"Alright, I’ll go up and take a look," Zhou the Fatty said, nodding noncommittally, showing no special reaction.

"Fatty, if your wife wants to buy this house, what do you think?" Zhang Wei probed.

"If she’s agreed, I have no objections. Go ahead and call the owner. When he comes, we’ll discuss the details," Zhou the Fatty said.

Zhou the Fatty was now in a bind—he had to swallow his bitterness. Earlier, Zhang Wei had covered for him by claiming the villa was a birthday gift for Wu Qian. Now that she’d seen and liked the house, if he backed out, Wu Qian would surely think he’d been deceiving her and might start to question everything Zhang Wei had said. If their relationship with Liu Yurou was exposed, not even five hundred million, let alone fifty million, would calm his wife's wrath.

"Alright, go keep your wife company upstairs. I’ll make the call here," Zhang Wei said, elated that both husband and wife had agreed—he was now seventy percent confident of closing the deal.

Zhou the Fatty nodded and went upstairs, while Liu Yurou stayed downstairs, her beautiful eyes fixed on Zhang Wei as she sneered, "You really are something, aren’t you? In the end, you’re the biggest winner here. Selling such a big villa, you must be making quite a profit."

"We just make a living through hard work—nothing compared to you," Zhang Wei replied warily.

"What, are you implying I’m a mistress?" Liu Yurou arched an eyebrow, her almond-shaped eyes flashing as if she was ready to start a fight.

"Miss Liu, you misunderstand—I didn’t mean that," Zhang Wei said, his expression turning serious.

"Whether you did or not doesn’t matter. I’ve already broken things off with Zhou the Fatty—we have nothing to do with each other now," Liu Yurou said.

"Miss Liu, though we haven’t known each other long, I can tell there were feelings between you two. How can it all end so simply?" Zhang Wei was growing even more anxious, afraid Liu Yurou might decide to burn all bridges and expose everything to Wu Qian.

"I only had two meals and two dances with Zhou the Fatty—what feelings could there possibly be?" Liu Yurou scoffed. "But don’t worry, though we’ve split, I won’t tell Wu Qian about any of this. In fact, I plan to become friends with her."

"Why?" Zhang Wei asked.

"You don’t need to know the reason. I’m just letting you know I won’t expose anything between me and Zhou the Fatty. In fact, I’ll even play along as your girlfriend, so I can get close to Wu Qian," Liu Yurou said, extending her hand to shake his. "Happy cooperation."

Liu Yurou had always believed herself naturally alluring. What she lacked was simply the opportunity to meet people at the top. If she could befriend Wu Qian, she could meet other wealthy and influential figures. With her charm, she could snag a golden husband—far better than being someone's mistress.

"Happy cooperation," Zhang Wei said, shaking her soft, fair hand.

Though Liu Yurou hadn’t stated her reasons outright, Zhang Wei, with his mind-reading ability, saw through her plans. He was somewhat alarmed by her cunning, but for him, it was no bad thing. At least until the contract was signed, he needed to stay on good terms with her.