Chapter Ninety-Nine: Wang Zhen

After Zhang Wei had been knocked unconscious by Wang Zhen of Tiantian Company, he nursed a bitter grudge over the incident, but under the pressure of survival he had no choice but to set it aside for the time being. The two had never crossed paths again—until today, when they ran into each other head-on.

As for the enmity between him and Wang Zhen, Zhang Wei had thought about how to resolve it. The first option was to swallow his anger and let the matter drop; the second was to repay in kind and get into a fight with the other man; the third was to put on a false front with Wang Zhen while secretly using his mind-reading ability to extract information about clients and property listings.

These three methods represented three different temperaments. If described in terms of animals, the first was the submissive turtle, the second the red-eyed mad bull, and the third the vicious, cunning wolf.

If Zhang Wei adopted the first method, never mind others looking down on him—even he himself would feel pathetic. If he adopted the second, the two of them would beat each other until their heads were bloody and might well end up in the police station, and since Wang Zhen's uncle worked at the police station, Zhang Wei would inevitably receive some extra "special attention."

If he adopted the third method, Zhang Wei would make a show of playing along with the other man on the surface, yet through mind-reading he could see through the other's thoughts, thereby extracting information on listings and clients—a covert way of poaching clients.

Zhang Wei took a deep breath to calm his emotions and make his expression look natural, then, holding the flyers in his hand, he walked toward Wang Zhen. Since this matter had to be resolved sooner or later anyway, he preferred to take a more proactive approach.

"Wang Ge, isn't that the salesman Zhang Wei you knocked out last time? He's walking right toward us—could he be coming to get revenge?"

Beside Wang Zhen stood a plump, full-figured woman. She nervously tugged at Wang Zhen's arm as she spoke.

In fact, the very moment Zhang Wei spotted Wang Zhen, Wang Zhen had also noticed Zhang Wei. However, he had no intention of causing Zhang Wei more trouble. After all, even a rabbit bites when cornered. Without the lure of profit, he had no interest in continually targeting just Zhang Wei.

But if Zhang Wei came to him looking for revenge, that was another matter. Wang Zhen patted the back of the woman's hand beside him and comforted her. "Don't worry. I knocked him out once, and I can knock him out a second time. That punk can't stir up any waves in front of me."

"Manager Wang, you're living quite well, aren't you? Taking a beautiful woman shopping in broad daylight—it really makes a man envious."

A moment later, Zhang Wei walked up to Wang Zhen, grinning.

While speaking to Wang Zhen, Zhang Wei was also sizing up the other man. Wang Zhen stood over six feet tall, powerfully built, no more than twenty-something, with regular features and a beard on his chin, carrying an air of considerable virility.

Most agents at real estate agencies around a given neighborhood knew one another, since they inevitably had to borrow keys from each other to show houses, and because employee turnover was fairly high, every agency had a few familiar faces at other shops. After repeated exchanges, the number of acquaintances naturally grew.

"Of course you go shopping during the day—we have more important things to take care of tonight." Wang Zhen shot Zhang Wei a wary glare, pulled the woman beside him close with his arm, and let a lewd smile spread across his face.

"Wang Ge, what nonsense are you talking? We still have things to do—let's go quickly." The woman beside Wang Zhen urged him on.

"Manager Wang, your girlfriend is really quite pretty! What's her name?" Zhang Wei glanced at the woman, his eyes lighting up.

The woman beside Wang Zhen had a voluptuous figure. Her full, plump breasts threatened to burst the seams of her top. Her waist, though not exactly slender, was free of flab, and her full, round, upturned buttocks made her an absolute treasure in the bedroom.

When Zhang Wei turned his gaze to her face, he saw a fair, oval-shaped visage. Though she could hardly be called a stunning beauty, she was the most alluring woman Zhang Wei had ever seen, the kind who easily stirs a man's desire.

"Hello, I'm Wang Ying." The woman lowered her head slightly and responded flatly to Zhang Wei, her gaze evasive.

As the woman called Wang Ying spoke, Zhang Wei was staring into her eyes, using his mind-reading to see through her thoughts. Wang Ying was thinking: "This salesman named Zhang Wei—could he have found out that I stole his client, and that Wang Ge knocked him out, and that he's deliberately come looking for revenge on us?"

After seeing Wang Ying's thoughts, the corner of Zhang Wei's mouth twitched involuntarily. Back when his client had been poached, Zhang Wei had called the owner of that property to ask about it. The owner had only told him that someone from Tiantian Company had taken the client, but hadn't specified which salesman it was.

Only now did Zhang Wei finally understand—it was Wang Zhen's girlfriend who had stolen his client, and Wang Zhen had knocked him out to stand up for her. The reason left Zhang Wei feeling deeply absurd and exasperated.

"Zhang Wei, is there something you need? If not, we'll be on our way." Wang Zhen was also worried that Zhang Wei might be there to take revenge, so his gaze remained fixed tightly on the other man as he spoke impatiently.

"Manager Wang, I just wanted to ask—a salesman from your store stole my client. When I went to your shop to reason with them, who exactly was it that knocked me out? You're a manager at Tiantian Company, so surely you can't just ignore this, right?" Zhang Wei put on a bewildered expression.

"I wasn't there at the time, so I'm not too clear on it either. Let me ask around when I get back." Wang Zhen brushed him off with a vague reply.

Hearing Zhang Wei's words, Wang Zhen also thought to himself: "Could it be that Zhang Wei doesn't know it was me who knocked him out, or did that salesman with the surname Wang not tell him? Otherwise, why would this fool come running to ask me? Or is he deliberately trying to set a trap for me?"

Upon hearing what Zhang Wei had said, Wang Ying also let out an obvious sigh of relief, a sly look flickering across her face as she thought: "This Zhang Wei really is a fool. He doesn't even know who hit him, and he comes asking the very person involved. Could he have gotten his brains knocked out?"

"Wang Ge, you really should look into this properly. The man who hit me had a vicious hand—he left me lying in a hospital bed for several days. You can't keep a salesman like that in your store, or something's bound to go wrong sooner or later." Zhang Wei smiled, took a packet of cigarettes from his pocket, and offered one to the other man.

"Don't worry, I'll look into it for you, and when I do, I'll punish him according to our store's regulations." Wang Zhen answered perfunctorily, taking the cigarette from Zhang Wei's hand. He didn't fully believe what Zhang Wei had said; wariness still lingered in his eyes.

"Ah, Wang Ge, then I'd like to thank you in advance." Zhang Wei spoke with a look of gratitude, then shifted the topic. "By the way, what are you busy with these days? Have you got any big clients on hand? If you're short on listings, just tell me—I'll find them for you."

At Zhang Wei's words, a strange expression crossed Wang Ying's face. "Could this Zhang Wei be deliberately fishing for our store's clients?" she thought. "This tactic is way too obvious. Surely he doesn't think Wang Ge would tell him."

"What big clients? Not even a single hair," Wang Zhen said coldly, refusing to discuss any business matters with Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei had no interest at all in what Wang Zhen actually said; instead, he directly used his mind-reading to probe the other's thoughts. Wang Zhen was thinking: "I really do have a big client—the daughter of my uncle's bureau chief is buying a house. You think I'd tell you that? Idiot."

"I've noted what you said. I still have things to do, so I'm leaving." Wang Zhen waved his hand, not wanting to keep tangling with Zhang Wei any longer.

"Wang Ge, our store does have a buyer, who seems to be a relative of a public security bureau chief. Your uncle works in the public security bureau after all—surely you know something about this, right?" Zhang Wei sidestepped, blocking Wang Zhen's path.

Seeing that Wang Zhen was about to turn and leave, Zhang Wei hurriedly moved in front of him. Having not yet uncovered the contact information of the bureau chief's daughter, how could he so easily let Wang Zhen go?

"Eh? What did you say?" Hearing Zhang Wei's words, Wang Zhen stopped in his tracks, staring at Zhang Wei in surprise. "A salesman at your store received a relative of the public security bureau chief? Is it the deputy director's daughter?"

The "bureau chief" Wang Zhen referred to was a standing deputy director of a district bureau in the capital. The post of director was concurrently held by a deputy district head, who was swamped with administrative duties and rarely concerned himself with the affairs of the public security bureau. Thus, the bureau's daily work was presided over by this standing deputy director—in effect, the true power holder of the bureau.

Wang Zhen's uncle had passed this client to him not so that Wang Zhen could earn a commission, but in order to curry favor with the standing deputy director. He had even explicitly told Wang Zhen that he was not to collect a single cent of commission, and that he had to go all out to find her a house—even if it meant spending his own money, he had to ensure she bought a satisfactory home from Tiantian Company.

The reason Wang Zhen's uncle was so eager to fawn over the standing deputy director was that the man was his direct superior. If he could seize this opportunity to build a good relationship with him, Wang Zhen's uncle might still have a chance at promotion. This was far more significant than a commission of a few tens of thousands of yuan.

"Whether she's a daughter or not, I don't know. The person just said they were a relative of the bureau chief and asked us to give them a discount on the commission. I even remember the last three digits of their phone number," Zhang Wei said.

"Go on—what are the last three digits of the number?" Wang Zhen asked with some urgency.

"The last three digits are 152!" Zhang Wei said, his eyes fixed tightly on Wang Zhen, testing him.

The moment Zhang Wei uttered those words, Wang Zhen was thinking: "152? That's not right. The standing deputy director's daughter's number is 13855552222—there are no three digits 152 in it at all!"

Zhang Wei had been continuously probing Wang Zhen's mind and naturally learned the true phone number of the standing deputy director's daughter. A cold laugh ran through his heart: "13855552222—easy enough to remember. You and your girlfriend stole a rental client from me, so I'll just take a home-buying client from you."