The car keys clattered onto the table with a sharp sound, and the trident emblem gleamed brightly—almost too dazzling to look at!
Xiao Pengfei had been about to mock Xiao Chen's naive ideas, but when his eyes landed on the emblem, he choked on his words. Maserati?
Xiao Chen smirked as he saw Xiao Pengfei's purple, stunned face. Boy, trying to one-up me with fake swagger and showing off your wealth? Pathetic! You don't even have dreams, let alone car keys…
"I've definitely seen this car logo before… what's it called, Martha?" Mother Tong suddenly exclaimed beside her. Though she couldn't recall the name immediately, she knew it was a luxury car worth over a million!
"Mom, it's Maserati," Tong Yan answered, her expression a little odd. Everyone might not know, but I do… That car didn't belong to Xiao Chen at all—it was Mr. Su's!
"That's right! Maserati… it costs more than a hundred million, right?"
"More like over two hundred million!"
Though she didn't know much about cars, Tong Yan had once overheard a colleague say that Mr. Su's car was the top model in the president's series—close to three hundred million!
"Now that's a real luxury car!" Mother Tong couldn't help but gush.
At her words, Xiao Pengfei's face turned redder, especially as he recalled mocking Xiao Chen just moments ago—talking about dreams and nonsense. Who cares about dreams when you've got a Maserati? You could buy several BMWs with it!
"Heh, luxury or not, a car is just a means of transportation," Xiao Chen said nonchalantly.
…
The corner of Xiao Pengfei's mouth twitched. This guy's a master at pretending! Over two hundred million worth of car and he says it's just transportation…
As expected, Mother Tong's eyes suddenly sparkled. Her demeanor did a full 180-degree turn, her smile wide and flattering: "Yes, yes! For you rich folks, a couple hundred million is nothing…"
…
Tong Yan felt awkward watching her mother fawn over Xiao Chen—it was embarrassing!
"Heh, Auntie, what rich are we…" Xiao Chen grinned and glanced at Xiao Pengfei. He understood perfectly—your family's just a poor household trying to act big! "Driving a car worth tens of millions in Longhai is nothing—it's just enough to get by."
"Minister Xiao… no, that sounds too formal. Since you and Xiaoyan are good colleagues and friends, how about I call you Xiaoxiao?" Mother Tong eagerly poured tea for Xiao Chen. "Come, have some tea."
"Heh, thank you, Auntie."
"Thank you! Let me tell you, after all these years, Xiaoyan hasn't brought a single man home…"
Just then, Mother Tong noticed Xiao Pengfei's face turning sour and embarrassed. "So what, Pengfei? Don't just sit there—have some tea too!"
"Auntie, don't be fooled by appearances. Nowadays, lots of people buy fake luxury car keys from Taobao just to show off…" Xiao Pengfei snapped.
"Fake?" Mother Tong's face shifted. She looked at Xiao Chen skeptically—it really didn't scream 'rich'!
"Heh," Xiao Chen chuckled, glanced at his watch, and stood. "Auntie, I still have something to do, so I'll be going now. I'll visit again sometime."
"Leaving already? Then let me see you off," Mother Tong said, standing as well. It might be fake to see guests off, but seeing the car—that was real!
If it really was a Maserati, she'd need to think seriously about who her daughter should marry… Of course, money was all that mattered!
"I have something to do too," Xiao Pengfei stood and followed, determined to see for himself whether the car was real.
Xiao Chen knew exactly what they were thinking but said nothing, just walked out with them.
At the door, Mother Tong's face lit up when she saw the Maserati parked outside—it bloomed like a flower after years of dullness. What a wealthy master!
Xiao Pengfei's jaw tightened. Damn it—it's a real Maserati, and the president's model too!
"Auntie, Tong Yan, I'm heading off… then we'll chat about dreams another time!"
"Sure, Xiaoxiao, you must visit Auntie more often!" Mother Tong's eyes shone with approval.
"Yes, yes!" Xiao Chen nodded, smiled at Tong Yan, climbed into the car, and drove off smoothly.
"I've never ridden in a car worth millions before—I have to try it someday! No—whenever I want!" Mother Tong gushed, watching the car disappear. "You've got to hurry up, girl!"
Tong Yan blinked. "Hurry up with what?"
"Of course, hurry up and bag this gold master! How far along are you two? Have you kissed? Slept together?"
"Mom! Stop it! We're just ordinary colleagues!" Tong Yan blushed.
"Really?"
"Of course it's true!"
"Then hurry and turn this ordinary coworker relationship into something extraordinary!"
…
Tong Yan was speechless. What is she even talking about?!
Beside her, Xiao Pengfei's face darkened in rage. This is cuckoldry!
"Enough! Pretend I don't exist?"
Mother Tong turned, confused. "What's wrong?"
Xiao Pengfei's eyes flared. "What did you say earlier? Didn't you want Tong Yan to be with me?!"
"Yes, at first I did, but now I see that Xiaoxiao and my daughter are more compatible…"
"Where do you see that?!"
"Because Xiaoxiao's richer than you!" Mother Tong said bluntly.
…
Xiao Pengfei nearly choked. A Maserati makes you richer than me? Who knows if that car even belongs to him?!
"Xiaoxiao, this twisted melon isn't sweet. Look at my daughter and Xiaoxiao… hey, coincidence! You both share the same surname 'Xiao.' They must have more feelings! We should respect her choice, right?"
Xiao Pengfei couldn't stand it anymore. This old hag… so shameless!
"Hmph!"
He snorted coldly, stormed into his BMW, stomped the accelerator, and sped off!
"Bah! Driving a crappy BMW and wanting to sleep with my daughter? Overbearing!"
Mother Tong spat at the retreating car and grabbed Tong Yan. "Come on, tell me all about Xiaoxiao—how much money does his family have?!"
…
At the gate of City No. [-] Middle School, Su Xiaomeng was fiddling with her phone out of boredom, scanning the road every so often. "Ugh, why isn't he here yet!"
Suddenly, a roar from afar caught her attention as several luxury cars screeched to a halt nearby.
One of the blue BMW M5s rolled down its window and a guy poked his head out with a grin. "Xiaomeng, want to hang out tonight?"
"Get lost—I'm not free!" she snapped, glancing at him with a scowl.
"No time? Heh, planning to go home and play good baby again?" the guy teased.
"Better than hanging out with you!"
"Xiaomeng, don't forget—I'm your boyfriend now!"
"Pfft! Who admits it?"
"Oh yeah? Why not admit it? If anyone questions it, Su Erniang would bet against it! Why are you still at school?"
"You…"
Su Xiaomeng's face flushed slightly. Just as she stumbled for words, a black figure dashed toward her and stopped firmly in front of her. An apologetic voice followed, breathless: "Xiaomeng, I'm sorry I'm late…"