Chapter Fourteen: Old Superstitions

A quarter of an hour later, Zhang Wei, Murong Xuan, and Lin Hongwen emerged from the Zixuan Pavilion. No matter how much Lin Hongwen resented it or refused to believe it, he could only watch helplessly as Zhang Wei and Murong Xuan got into a taxi together. To add insult to injury, he was left footing the bill for their meal. It was truly a case of losing both wife and soldiers.

At this moment, Lin Hongwen was filled with unwillingness. He believed himself superior to Zhang Wei in every respect, yet, between the two of them, Murong Xuan clearly preferred Zhang Wei’s company. She had even agreed to meet him alone that afternoon. The thought stabbed at Lin Hongwen’s heart like a knife.

“Sincerity moves mountains and splits gold,” Lin Hongwen muttered through gritted teeth, his fists clenched and eyes blazing with determination. “I refuse to believe I can’t best that man Zhang Wei.”

Meanwhile, in a taxi speeding down the road, Zhang Wei and Murong Xuan sat on opposite sides of the back seat. Neither spoke when they first got in. Several minutes passed before Murong Xuan turned to Zhang Wei and said, “Zhang Wei, thank you for what you did today.”

“No need to thank me,” Zhang Wei replied with a smile, stroking his chin as if in thought. “But things didn’t quite turn out as I imagined.”

“Oh? How so?” Murong Xuan was caught off guard by his words, unsure what he meant.

“Well, in television dramas, these pretend-couple scenarios are always dramatic and exciting. Don’t you think what just happened was a little too uneventful?” Zhang Wei said, frowning slightly as he considered it.

“Hey, this is my real life, not some stage for you to perform on,” Murong Xuan shot back, her beautiful eyes flashing as she scolded him playfully. “So you only agreed to help because you wanted to watch the fireworks, have some fun at my and Lin Hongwen’s expense, is that it?”

“No, that’s not it at all—I was just making an offhand comment. Don’t take it to heart.” In truth, Zhang Wei did find the situation a bit amusing, but he would never admit as much. He hurried to clarify, “I helped you purely out of goodwill. Please don’t misunderstand.”

“Regardless of your motives, the fact remains that you helped me. For that, I owe you my thanks,” Murong Xuan said sincerely, but then her tone shifted. “However, now that everything’s over, I hope ‘Mr. Zhang’ won’t mention this to anyone else. Is that alright?”

Up until now, Murong Xuan had been addressing him by name, but suddenly she switched to “Mr. Zhang”—a subtle reminder for him to remember their boundaries. She wanted to make it clear that just because he had helped her, he shouldn’t get any ideas about drawing closer. While it might seem harsh, it was, in essence, a matter of protecting herself.

“Of course. Miss Murong is my client. I would never disclose anything inappropriate,” Zhang Wei replied calmly, unfazed by her abrupt change in demeanor. He deliberately referred to her as a client, gently reminding her of her promise to let him handle the rental of her apartment.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Zhang. So far, I’m very satisfied with your professionalism. If I decide to rent out my apartment, you’ll be the first person I contact,” Murong Xuan promised, shrewdly picking up on his unspoken message.

“Thank you for the compliment, Miss Murong,” Zhang Wei said with a smile.

After these words, the two fell silent. Murong Xuan browsed the internet on her phone, while Zhang Wei closed his eyes to rest. It wasn’t until the taxi arrived at Yayan Community that they politely bid each other farewell, as if nothing had ever happened at the Zixuan Pavilion.

Zhang Wei glanced back at Murong Xuan’s graceful figure as she walked away—her long, beautiful legs, the sway of her hips—as he let out a long sigh. “According to the TV tropes, after a man pretends to be a woman’s boyfriend, their relationship should become ambiguous, maybe even cross certain boundaries. Why don’t I feel anything like that?”

In the days that followed, Zhang Wei’s life returned to its usual calm. Though he did meet with two clients during this time, neither was truly interested in buying or renting; they were just hoping to snag a bargain for investment. However, if any good properties came up, more serious buyers would swoop in first, so these two weren’t worth his time. Once Zhang Wei saw through their intentions, he promptly gave up on them.

Not every client leads to a deal. Experienced agents focus on high-priority clients—those with urgent needs, such as getting married, job transfers, or children’s schooling.

Today it was Zhang Wei’s turn to receive clients, so he sat at the front desk of the real estate office, browsing property listings online and picking out some quality options. At that moment, someone walked in. Zhang Wei quickly stood up and greeted, “Hello, how can I help you?”

Looking up, he saw it was a woman in her thirties, tall and elegant, dressed in a blue dress and wearing ten-centimeter high heels. Zhang Wei recognized her—she was an old client of Wang Min’s.

“Is Wang Min here? I’m looking to buy a house with her,” the woman said, glancing at Zhang Wei before scanning the rest of the office.

“Wang Min, you have a client here to see you about buying a house,” Zhang Wei called. His job at the front desk was to greet new walk-ins; he wouldn’t presume to handle another agent’s established clients.

“Oh, it’s Sister Huang! Please, come in and have a seat!” From the moment someone had walked in, Wang Min had instinctively looked up and recognized her client, Sister Huang. She hadn’t gotten up immediately, but once Zhang Wei called her name, she slowly rose from her chair.

Sister Huang’s real name was Huang Fen. She had visited the office many times and was quite familiar with the place. She sat down on the client sofa, and Wang Min went over to sit opposite her, not even bothering to pour a glass of water.

“Xiao Wang, are there any good properties in our neighborhood lately?” Huang Fen asked eagerly as soon as she sat down.

Wang Min replied with little enthusiasm.

“Alright, then show me two properties with good layouts and locations. If I like them, I’ll buy one,” Huang Fen said.

“Sister Huang, you always say that, but you never actually buy anything. You’re just toying with me,” Wang Min complained in a playful tone.

“Don’t worry, this time I’ll definitely buy,” Huang Fen replied, but just as she finished speaking, her phone rang. She answered, “Hello? Honey, where are you?”

“Okay, I’ll come out to meet you,” she said into the phone.

“Xiao Wang, my husband is on his way. He’s not familiar with the area, so I’ll go meet him,” Huang Fen said, rising to her feet. After a few steps, she turned back to remind Wang Min, “Find a couple more properties for us to see together when he arrives.”

“Alright, Sister Huang,” Wang Min replied with a forced smile, escorting her to the door.

“She’s seen these houses hundreds of times and never buys. I don’t understand what the point is!” Wang Min grumbled after Huang Fen had left.

“Wang Min, if a client wants to see a property, that’s a good thing. With your attitude, how do you expect to close a deal?” Xu Ming, emerging from his office, reprimanded her.

“Brother Xu, you know as well as I do—this client always sounds so sure, swearing she’ll buy, but her husband never agrees. In the end, after seeing all those houses, nothing ever comes of it. It’s so frustrating,” Wang Min complained.

“Alright, it’s true her husband isn’t eager to buy. With clients like this, you just have to be patient and persistent. As long as Sister Huang wants to see properties, take her seriously. If you can keep her as a client, when she finally decides to buy or sell, she’ll come to you,” Xu Ming advised.

“I know, Brother Xu. But her husband is just infuriating. Every time, Sister Huang is satisfied with the house, but her husband refuses, always using the same excuse,” Wang Min said, imitating his tone: “The feng shui master said I shouldn’t buy a house in the next three years, or disaster will strike. I think we’d better wait.”

Everyone in the office had met Sister Huang’s husband, and Wang Min’s impression of him was spot-on, making them all laugh. Wang Min spat out, “He’s just hopelessly superstitious, always harping on about feng shui and fortune-telling, and never willing to buy.”

Zhang Wei had dealt with Sister Huang before and knew she was genuinely interested in purchasing. The problem was her husband’s reluctance, which always sabotaged the deal. Such a stark difference in opinion between husband and wife suggested to Zhang Wei that there was more beneath the surface.

If he could just uncover the reason, closing the deal wouldn’t be hard. The challenge was that no one knew why Sister Huang’s husband was so opposed to buying. For Zhang Wei, however, with his mind-reading ability, this would not be a difficult matter.