‘Mr Feng, remember you’re my fake boyfriend,’ Da Tian Ting said.
Da Tian Ting pictured Feng Kai Ze in a suit, and smiled. The wedding guests would fall for Feng Kai Ze’s looks and charm. He’d outshine Shang Duan Hua and Da Ming Sheng.
‘Right now I’m your fake boyfriend,’ Feng Kai Ze said. ‘But in the near future you’ll be my real wife.’
‘Fake boyfriend,’ Da Tian Ting emphasized.
‘Da Tian Ting, mark my words, in this lifetime you’ll be my only woman and you can only be my wife,’ Feng Kai Ze said.
‘Don’t you think I’m ugly?’ Da Tian Ting asked.
Da Tian Ting was fooled by Shang Duan Hua and Da Ming Sheng. She didn’t want to be played by Feng Kai Ze too.
Feng Kai Ze held Da Tian Ting’s shoulders, and dismissed her nonsense.
‘Tell me what your plan is,’ Feng Kai Ze said.
‘Forget about being my fake boyfriend,’ Da Tian Ting said. ‘It’s impossible for an ugly duckling like me to turn into a beautiful swan. I should face my reality, and not hide behind a lie. I wanted to upstage Da Ming Sheng on her wedding day. I don’t want to be the pitiful jilted fiance. It’s better if I don’t go to the wedding.’
‘How many days until the wedding?’ Feng Kai Ze asked.
‘Ten days,’ Da Tian Ting said.
‘We have a lot of time,’ Feng Kai Ze said.
‘What’s your plan?’ Da Tian Ting asked.
‘Trust me,’ Feng Kai Ze said. ‘All you need to do is keep your head high and be confident.’
‘Tell me your plan,’ Da Tian Ting said.
‘Do you want to transform into a beautiful swan and make the wedding guests’ eyes fall out?’ Feng Kai Ze asked.
‘Yes,’ Da Tian Ting said.
‘Then for the next ten days you need to listen to everything I say,’ Feng Kai Ze said.
‘OK… wait,’ Da Tian Ting said. ‘Can you really turn me into a beautiful swan? If this is ploy for you to achieve your agenda then forget it.’
‘Da Tian Ting, if I’m after your body, I would have dragged you to a street corner and have my way with you on the first day we met,’ Feng Kai Ze said.
Feng Kai Ze must be a fool in love if he was in love with a foolish woman.
Da Tian Ting thought Feng Kai Ze sounded reasonable. She wasn’t beautiful or rich so he wouldn’t be after her body. Did that mean he actually liked her? She shook her head, he wasn’t someone trustworthy.
Feng Kai Ze held Da Tian Ting’s hand.
‘Hey,’ Da Tian Ting said. ‘What do you want to do to me?’
‘Take you home,’ Feng Kai Ze said.
Feng Kai Ze and Da Tian Ting walked together to his Bugatti.
‘Mr Feng, where’s your friend’s car?’ Da Tian Ting asked. ‘Who did you borrow this Bugatti from?’
‘My friend took their car back,’ Feng Kai Ze lied.
Feng Kai Ze didn’t want to risk Da Tian Ting leaving him if she found out he was the heir of Feng’s company. He knew she didn’t love money, because she didn’t like owing anyone money. He didn’t want her to hate him because he was a rich man’s son.
‘Mr Feng, what’s wrong?’ Da Tian Ting asked.
Da Tian Ting patted Feng Kai Ze’s pauper shoulders sympathetically.
‘Mr Feng, don’t be so hard on yourself,’ Da Tian Ting said. ‘I know it’s not easy being a pauper. I won’t look down on you if you borrowed your friend’s flashy cars to look good. My friend Xiao Ran’s boyfriend is like you. He rented a flashy car to impress Xiao Ran. But he didn’t need to because Xiao Ran likes him, and she doesn’t care about his flashy rental car.’
Feng Kai Ze opened the pa.s.senger door for Da Tian Ting.
‘It’s two in the morning,’ Feng Kai Ze said. ‘Get in the car. By the time we’re home it’ll be four in the morning.’
Da Tian Ting sat comfortably in Feng Kai Ze’s friend’s Bugatti.
Feng Kai Ze sat in the driver’s seat, and buckled Da Tian Ting’s seatbelt.
‘Remember to wear your seatbelt,’ Feng Kai Ze said.
‘I forgot,’ Da Tian Ting said. ‘You have generous friends who loan you million dollar cars.’
Feng Kai Ze let Da Tian Ting misunderstand that she was sitting in his imaginary friend’s car.
Feng Kai Ze drove at the legal speed limit.
‘Mr Feng, how come you’re so free to stalk me?’ Da Tian Ting asked. ‘Don’t you need to go home and visit your parents?’
Feng Kai Ze didn’t want to think about his father and step-mother’s home. It wasn’t his home.
‘Mr Feng, are you an orphan?’ Da Tian Ting asked.
Feng Kai Ze considered confiding in Da Tian Ting about his mother.
‘Mr Feng, I’m sorry,’ Da Tian Ting said. ‘I shouldn’t have asked an insensitive question. I’ll let you drive in peace.’
Feng Kai Ze put on relaxing music to help Da Tian Ting sleep in the car. After she fell asleep, he turned off the music. He loved being with her. He only loved two women in his life. One was his mother and the other woman was her. When his mother was alive, his mother loved him and took care of him despite being poor. One day, he and Da Tian Ting would love their children like how his mother loved him.
At four o’clock in the morning, Feng Kai Ze parked the car in front of his and Da Tian Ting’s apartment building. He carried her to her apartment and tucked her in bed.
‘Sweet dreams fierce apple,’ Feng Kai Ze said.
Feng Kai Ze kissed Da Tian Ting’s lips goodnight, and returned to his apartment. He wanted to forget his confrontation with his father, and make happy memories with Da Tian Ting.
Da Tian Ting woke up the next day in her bed. She was wearing the same clothes from last night. It meant Feng Kai Ze wasn’t after body.
Da Tian Ting got out of bed, showered, dressed and walked to Feng Kai Ze’s apartment. She hesitated to ring his doorbell. When she was about the go back to her apartment, he opened the door.
‘Are you looking for me?’ Feng Kai Ze asked.
‘No,’ Da Tian Ting lied.
Feng Kai Ze followed Da Tian Ting back to her apartment, and they sat in the living room. She was used to him following her around.
‘Mr Feng, did you take me home last night?’ Da Tian Ting asked.
‘Besides me who else would take you home?’ Feng Kai Ze asked.
‘Mr Feng, confess,’ Da Tian Ting said. ‘Why are you so nice to me?’
‘Because I want you to be my wife,’ Feng Kai Ze said.
Da Tian Ting thought Feng Kai Ze didn’t need to be rich to have his pick of women. She didn’t believe he wanted to marry someone who was ugly and poor like her.
‘Stop doubting yourself,’ Feng Kai Ze said. ‘One day you’ll believe that I want you to be my wife for the rest of your life. Right now, go change your clothes and I’ll take you out.’
Feng Kai Ze would be suspicious too if he was in Da Tian Ting’s shoes. Having a man like him suddenly show up, and tell her that she’d be his wife would make anyone weary.
‘Go where?’ Da Tian Ting asked.
‘Aren’t you hungry?’ Feng Kai Ze asked.
‘Are you taking me to the restaurant where you bought lunch for me yesterday?’ Da Tian Ting asked.
‘If that is what you want, I’ll take you there to eat,’ Feng Kai Ze said.
‘OK,’ Da Tian Ting said. ‘I’ll go change. Wait for me.’
Da Tian Ting walked to her bedroom. Then she popped her head out of her bedroom door.
‘You’re not allowed to come in my room while I change,’ Da Tian Ting warned and closed the door.
Five minutes later, Da Tian Ting walked out in a T-shirt and jeans.
‘Do you only have one outfit?’ Feng Kai Ze asked.
‘Yes,’ Da Tian Ting said.
‘After we eat, I’m going to take you shopping,’ Feng Kai Ze said.
‘OK,’ Da Tian Ting said. ‘We’ll go buy groceries.’
Feng Kai Ze didn’t bother explaining he wanted to buy her a whole new wardrobe of clothes.
Feng Kai Ze held Da Tian Ting’s hand.
‘Mr Feng, you’re my fake boyfriend,’ Da Tian Ting said. ‘When it’s just the two of us, you don’t need to hold my hand. Let go of my hand.’
‘If you don’t want others to see through your plan then we need to practice holding hands,’ Feng Kai Ze said.
In Feng Kai Ze’s eyes, Da Tian Ting was his real girlfriend.
‘There’s no one around,’ Da Tian Ting said. ‘We don’t need to hold hands.’
‘We can’t be complacent,’ Feng Kai Ze said. ‘What if we run into a wedding guest when we walk outside? So we need to be vigilant at all times.’
‘Don’t you think you’re going overboard with this fake boyfriend act?’ Da Tian Ting asked.
‘This is called the road to success,’ Feng Kai Ze said.
Feng Kai Ze didn’t let go of Da Tian Ting’s hand until they sat in his car.
Da Tian Ting sat comfortably in the car, and it didn’t feel long before Feng Kai Ze parked near a restaurant.
Shang Duan Hua and Da Ming Sheng were in the same neighbourhood as Da Tian Ting and Feng Kai Ze. Da Ming Sheng spotted Da Tian Ting coming out of a Bugatti.
‘Duan Hua, is that big sister coming out of the Bugatti?’ Da Ming Shang asked.
‘It can’t be,’ Shang Duan Hua said. ‘You’re probably seeing things because of the times she a.s.saulted you. I’m lucky I got to see her true colors.’
‘Duan Hua, I’ve forgiven big sister,’ Da Ming Sheng said. ‘You should forgive big sister too.’
‘You shouldn’t forgive a two faced woman like her,’ Shang Duan Hua said.
‘Duan Hua, we wronged big sister first,’ Da Ming Sheng said. ‘It’s normal for big sister to take revenge.’
‘We haven’t done anything wrong,’ Shang Duan Hua said. ‘It’s all Da Zheng Li’s fault for asking my dad to make me be with her before he died.’
Da Ming Sheng was happy her schemes worked, and Shang Duan Hua had no lingering feelings for Da Tian Ting.
‘Duan Hua, I remembered what big sister said to me,’ Da Ming Sheng said. ‘Ten years later will you leave me for another woman like how you left big sister for me?’
‘Ming Sheng, you’re pregnant with my baby and we’ll be a happy family, why would I leave you?’ Shang Duan Hua asked. ‘Don’t listen to a bitter woman like her.’
Da Ming Sheng planned on making Shang Duan Hua despise Da Tian Ting more, and stop him from ever finding out the truth.