Chapter 86: Underhanded Schemes

After Wu Yong finished his speech, the atmosphere in the showroom reached its peak. Many customers scrambled to get on stage to draw prizes. However, before going up, each customer's ID had to be checked, and their identification number recorded, to prevent anyone from drawing multiple times in hopes of winning a prize.

Once Wu Yong stepped down from the stage, two salespeople remained, standing on either side of the lottery box to supervise, preventing customers from attempting anything improper, such as drawing multiple tickets at once.

Zhang Wei had been keeping an eye on Wu Yong. Seeing him step down and speak in a low voice with Zhang Qi, Zhang Wei patted Yang Guang on the shoulder with a smile and said, “Come on, let’s go over and have a word with President Wu, congratulate him on the success of this event.”

“What’s there to talk about? If you want to enter the draw, just take your ID and go, no need to expect him to reveal any insider secrets,” Yang Guang replied with some reluctance. As a salesperson in the shop, he always felt a bit constrained around the manager or the boss.

“You complain too much. To quote your boss just now, I’m your dealership’s god. Are you not going to listen to the words of your god?” Zhang Wei teased.

“All right, since you’ve invoked the almighty, how could I refuse?” Yang Guang rolled his eyes in mock disdain.

The showroom was packed to the brim; Zhang Wei and Yang Guang had to force their way through the crowd before they finally reached Wu Yong and Zhang Qi. Zhang Wei straightened his wrinkled shirt and smiled, saying, “Congratulations, President Wu! I’d say you’ve drawn about half the customers from all the dealerships in the area with this event.”

“You flatter me. As long as they’re our customers, we will provide them with the best service,” Wu Yong replied courteously.

Wu Yong was a highly capable and smooth operator, though also fairly calculating. On the day Liu Guihua was robbed and Zhang Qi asked for leave, Wu Yong learned of the incident and even offered to drive her himself. Wanting to save time and reach her parents quickly, Zhang Qi accepted, and on the way, she told Wu Yong the gist of what had happened, including some details about Zhang Wei. From what he gathered, Wu Yong concluded that Zhang Wei was just an ordinary worker.

So Wu Yong never took Zhang Wei seriously. In fact, to curry favor with Liu Guihua, he willingly provoked and even offended Zhang Wei, never expecting Zhang Wei’s sharp retort that day, which nearly left him at a loss.

What surprised Wu Yong even more was that Zhang Wei had the means to buy a BMW. He had already learned from Zhang Qi that Zhang Wei’s family had neither wealth nor influence, so the car could only have been bought through his own efforts.

For someone so young to buy a car on his own, it was clear Zhang Wei was not a simple man. Had Wu Yong realized this earlier, he would never have been so rash as to offend Zhang Wei, which now made things a bit awkward between them.

Zhang Wei, however, had no inkling of Wu Yong’s inner thoughts. The only reason he approached Wu Yong was to use his mind-reading ability to uncover any tricks behind the lottery. He asked, “President Wu, your lottery has attracted a lot of customers, but if someone actually wins first prize, you’ll be losing almost fifty thousand. Aren’t you worried about that?”

Wu Yong laughed. “Of course it would hurt, but this is our way of giving back to our customers, and bringing them some happiness during the holidays.”

As Wu Yong spoke, Zhang Wei fixed his gaze on him. His pupils shrank, a gleam flashing in his eyes as he saw a line of golden text appear in Wu Yong’s eyes: “No one can ever win the first prize; naturally, I won’t feel any pain.”

Having seen Wu Yong’s real thoughts, Zhang Wei pressed further: “President Wu, I overheard some customers saying there might be something fishy about this lottery. Is there any truth to that?”

Wu Yong’s expression changed briefly at Zhang Wei’s question, his lips twitching before he quickly composed himself. “After the draw, we verify each ticket in front of everyone. Everything is under the customers’ supervision—there’s no way we’d be pulling any tricks.”

Again, as Wu Yong spoke, Zhang Wei saw another line of golden text in his eyes: “This lottery is indeed rigged. I glued the first-prize ticket to the upper inside wall of the lottery box, and since people draw from the bottom, no one could possibly get it.”

Seeing Wu Yong’s secret thoughts, Zhang Wei was both elated and puzzled. Elated, because he now had a chance to get that first-prize ticket; puzzled, because if the ticket was stuck to the upper wall, wouldn’t it be discovered during verification?

“Zhang Wei, just because President Wu is being polite doesn’t mean you can ask such rude questions,” Zhang Qi interjected, her brows knitting. She thought Zhang Wei was deliberately making things difficult for Wu Yong because of the police incident.

“It’s all right. Mr. Zhang is our customer—if he has concerns, it’s only right that I address them,” Wu Yong said in a gentlemanly manner.

“See, they say girls always side with outsiders, and it’s true. Here I am, as your brother, just asking a question, and you’re already jumping to his defense. If you end up marrying President Wu, I bet you’ll forget all about your brother.” Zhang Wei joked.

“Zhang Wei, stop talking nonsense,” Zhang Qi said, stomping her foot on his and scolding him.

The truth was, Zhang Qi and Zhang Wei were not particularly close, and rarely spoke in private. Yet Zhang Wei always liked to act the part of the big brother scolding his little sister in front of others, which made Zhang Qi uncomfortable—especially when he started joking about her marriage. She wished she could teach him a lesson.

“Haha, from your lips to God’s ears. If I really do end up marrying Zhang Qi, I’ll owe you a debt, big brother-in-law,” Wu Yong replied, clearly delighted by the suggestion.

“Absolutely,” Zhang Wei said, tapping Wu Yong on the chest with a mischievous grin.

“Wu Yong… Neither of you are any good!” Zhang Qi, being a young woman, could hardly maintain her composure as the two men teased her. Embarrassed and annoyed, she scolded them both.

“President Wu, I’ll leave you to your little world. I’m off to try my luck in the draw,” Zhang Wei said with a smile.

“Please, go ahead,” Wu Yong replied with a gracious gesture, unconcerned.

“Hmph, with that big mouth of yours, what luck could you possibly have?” Zhang Qi retorted.

“You never know! I’ve always been very lucky,” Zhang Wei replied, a knowing gleam in his eyes.