7: Chapter 7 Returning the favor in your face

The stack of money was crumpled; it was the same one Young Master Zhang had slapped onto his face yesterday.

Over two thousand yuan.

Wang Yang gripped the stack of money and waved it in front of Young Master Zhang.

"Do you recognize this?"

Young Master Zhang's expression changed instantly.

Wang Yang smiled.

"What you slapped onto my face yesterday, I am slapping back onto yours today."

As the words fell, he raised his hand.

The stack of money struck Young Master Zhang's face hard.

The bills exploded outward, drifting down like snowflakes.

Young Master Zhang's head jerked to the side from the impact, and a red mark instantly bloomed across his face.

He clutched his face, his eyes wide with utter disbelief.

Wang Yang looked at him, his voice calm.

"This money was what you 'bestowed' upon me yesterday. Now, I'm bestowing it back. Take it and buy yourself a new pair of underwear; stop showing your ass and embarrassing yourself, damn it."

Returning the exact words.

Not a single word changed.

Young Master Zhang was trembling all over, the humiliation burning on his face until his scalp tingled.

He wanted to explode with rage, wanted to attack, but meeting Wang Yang's calm eyes, he didn't dare to move.

Liu Qian watched from the side, completely stunned.

She had never seen this side of Wang Yang before.

Calm, composed, with a condescending gaze in his eyes.

It was as if he had become a completely different person.

Wang Yang turned his head to look at her.

Liu Qian stiffened.

Wang Yang said nothing, just gave her a single glance.

That glance was crueler than any words could be.

It was as if he were looking at a stranger, an insignificant passerby.

Then he turned and strode back to that black bmw x5m.

He pulled open the car door and sat in the driver's seat.

He started the ignition.

The engine let out a deep, resonant roar, like a beast waking up.

He shifted gears and released the handbrake.

The black bmw x5m pulled smoothly out of the 4S dealership gates.

As he passed by Liu Qian, the car window slowly rolled down.

Wang Yang turned his head and looked at her.

"Liu Qian."

Liu Qian shuddered.

"Yesterday you said that this was all I would ever amount to in this life."

He smiled.

"Then open your eyes wide and watch clearly, what my life will actually turn out to be."

The window rolled up.

The black car disappeared around the street corner.

...

Liu Qian stood in place, trembling all over.

Tears had started falling without her realizing it.

It wasn't regret; it was anger, humiliation, and resentment.

Wang Yang had money, yet he pretended to be poor.

Wang Yang could afford a BMW, yet he let her live in a dilapidated rental unit.

Wang Yang watched her with Young Master Zhang.

He watched her be berated as a 'poor loser' who didn't deserve to live; he watched her prancing around like a clown.

He had been watching the joke all along!

"Wang Yang, you lied to me!"

She gritted her teeth, her voice hoarse.

"You clearly had money, you lied to me, you betrayed me..."

The salespeople nearby watched her, their eyes full of disdain.

She was the one who had called him a poor loser just a moment ago.

And now she was the one saying he had betrayed her.

A person like that truly deserved it.

Young Master Zhang squatted on the ground, picking up the bills and stuffing them into his pocket one by one.

Liu Qian looked down at him and suddenly felt disgusted.

In front of Wang Yang, this person didn't even dare to let out a fart.

The arrogant and domineering Young Master Zhang from yesterday didn't even dare to make a sound today after having money slapped in his face.

She remembered the smugness she felt when sitting in the Mercedes-Benz yesterday.

She thought of herself standing here today like a clown.

Her heart felt like it was being tightly gripped, causing a pain that made it hard to breathe.

...

Wang Yang drove the car, cruising along the streets of Yuntian City.

The sunlight of the twelfth lunar month shone through the car windows, feeling warm.

He gripped the steering wheel, feeling the power of this 'King of the Road,' and the smile on his lips couldn't be suppressed.

Satisfying.

Damn satisfying.

That scene just now was enough for him to savor for quite a while.

Especially the moment he slapped the money onto Young Master Zhang's face.

Watching that bastard covering his face, too scared to move—it felt so exhilarating.

But what was even more satisfying was this car.

Wang Yang gently pressed the accelerator, and the roar of the engine came from behind.

Deep and resonant, like a beast coiled and ready to spring.

Wang Yang had only seen reviews of the bmw x5m in videos before and knew how fierce this car was.

But actually sitting in the driver's seat, the feeling was completely different.

The steering wheel felt solid and substantial in his hands, and he could feel the precise feedback from the vehicle with every subtle movement.

A light tap on the accelerator, and the power surged instantly, delivering a push against his back that was both fast and fierce.

This was the kind of car a man should drive.

Wang Yang rolled the window halfway down, letting the cold wind of the twelfth lunar month rush in and blow against his face.

He watched the streetscape rapidly receding in the rearview mirror.

He watched the gazes cast by drivers in the adjacent lanes.

Some were looking at his car.

Some were taking out their phones to take pictures.

There were even those who deliberately slowed down just to get a better look.

Wang Yang smiled.

This feeling was truly great.

He remembered yesterday.

Yesterday, he was crammed onto a bus, watching luxury cars speed past outside the window, and he had thought to himself.

"When will I be able to have one, too?"

Today, he had it.

No, not just had it.

It was the top trim, the Competition model, the 'King of the Road.'

Wang Yang drove the car onto the ring expressway and pressed the accelerator a bit deeper.

The engine's roar instantly became high-pitched, and the numbers on the speedometer jumped rapidly.

80, 100, 120.

The car body was as stable as if it were glued to the ground; he couldn't feel the speed at all.

He eased off the accelerator, letting the speed slow down.

No rush.

This car was his; he would have plenty of time to drive it slowly in the future.

Wang Yang parked the car at an observation deck, killed the engine, and got out.

The wind of the twelfth lunar month blew over, a bit cold, but he didn't care.

He stood beside the car, looking at the black bmw x5m.

The matte black body shimmered with a cold luster in the sunlight.

Wide sports wheels, sharp laser headlights, and rugged body lines.

Handsome.

Damn handsome.

Wang Yang took out his phone and snapped a few photos.

He wanted to send them to Zhao Yaqin to see, but then held back.

After thinking about it, he decided against it.

He would just drive the car to pick up Zhao Yaqin that evening and give her a surprise.

Wang Yang put his phone away, pulled open the door, and sat back in.

He leaned back into the leather seat, smelling the faint scent of leather unique to a new car, and watched the gray city skyline in the distance.

His phone vibrated.

A WeChat message from Zhao Yaqin.

"Are you done with your work? I'll come over and cook for you tonight."

Wang Yang looked at the message, and the smile on his lips deepened.

He typed a reply.

"I'm done. I'll come pick you up tonight."

After sending it, Wang Yang put his phone down and restarted the engine.

The engine roared, and the black bmw x5m drove out of the observation deck, disappearing into the sunlight of the twelfth lunar month.

...

Wang Yang cruised on the expressway for half an hour before reluctantly driving the car back to the old residential complex.

The black bmw x5m parked downstairs.

Compared to the dusty vans and old Santanas around it, it looked like it came from another planet.

A few elderly people gathered around the car, craning their necks to look, clicking their tongues in amazement.

"What kind of car is this? It's really handsome!"

"A BMW! I've seen it on TV; it must cost several hundred thousand, right?"

"Several hundred thousand? This car must cost over a million! My son said that this kind of black one is the most expensive!"

Wang Yang killed the engine and got out, weighing the keys in his hand.

The elderly people all looked at him in unison, their expressions changing.

"Young man, is this car yours?"

"Yes," Wang Yang nodded.

"Oh my, that's truly impressive! To be driving such a good car at such a young age!"

Wang Yang smiled, didn't say much more, and turned to head upstairs.

The voice-activated lights in the stairwell flickered on and off, and there were a few more small advertisements on the walls.

The pile of clutter at the corner was even higher, and the musty smell was just as heavy.

But as Wang Yang walked through this dilapidated stairwell, his mood was completely different.

He pushed open the door to the rental unit; the dozen-square-meter room was still just as shabby.

The wall plaster was peeling, the bed frame creaked, and the cabinet paint was chipping.

Wang Yang sat on the edge of the bed, looking at this room where he had lived for two years.

Before, he felt this room was stifling, cold, and suffocating.

Looking at it now, it was just… whatever.

It wasn't that the room had changed; it was that he had changed.

He took out his phone and checked his bank account balance.

Twenty million, not a cent less.

He thought back to the exhilaration of driving just now, and the stack of money slapped onto Young Master Zhang's face.

The smile on his lips couldn't be suppressed.

After laughing for a while, he opened his contacts and found that familiar number.

Mom.

Wang Yang stared at the word for a few seconds, then tapped on the video call button.

Beep—beep—

After two rings, the other side answered.

"Mom."

In the video feed, the face of his mother, Li Xuehua, appeared on the screen.

Even though it had only been half a year, his mother had aged significantly.

Her hair, which was already graying, had now mostly turned silver-white.

The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes had deepened by several lines, and her skin was rough and dark—marks left by years of farm work.

She was wearing an old, washed-out cotton coat, with the background being the family's dilapidated main room.

The walls were mottled, exuding an air of poverty.