Chapter 41: The Little Girl Cries When She Sees Him?

“Oh no, did the old man get angry?”
Wang Fan’s face changed, his heart skipped a few beats. “It’s my fault, I was too busy showing off and completely forgot about that.”
“How could he not be angry?”
Fu Zheng smirked with a teasing glint in his eyes. “I’m here on behalf of the old man, to see exactly which reckless kid had the nerve to stir up trouble right under his nose.”
“Beauty led me astray!”
Wang Fan immediately pulled a long face and wailed at the top of his lungs.
“You wanted to show off yourself, what’s that got to do with any beauty?”
Qu Peng found his words grating and kicked at him.
“This time, I really didn’t want to show off.”
Wang Fan dodged aside and protested bitterly, “If you don’t believe me, ask the class rep—wasn’t it the beautiful reporter who asked me to flaunt my riding skills for the program?”
“Show off your riding skills? You?”
Fu Zheng folded his arms across his chest, eyeing him with open skepticism, disbelief written plain on his face.
“Listen to him brag! Stop flattering yourself,”
Qu Peng, seizing the opportunity, mocked him mercilessly. “That pitiful little display of yours barely counts as showing off, let alone riding skills.”
“Let Brother Zheng show him how it’s done!”
Li Liang jumped in, keeping pace. “Let him see what real style and skill look like.”
“Alright then.”

Wang Fan, thick-skinned as ever, found himself a way out. “If Brother Zheng wants to show off his riding, I absolutely support him. Take my motorcycle and ride as you please...”
“Everyone, listen up! The real expert is here.”
Qu Peng took the chance to chat up the program crew. “Brother Zheng is the real ace—Wang Fan is nothing. His little tricks don’t even deserve a mention next to Brother Zheng.”
“Is that so?”
Li Yan looked Fu Zheng up and down with great interest and agreed happily, “Let him try then. If we get good footage, it’ll bring honor to us folks from Jinan.”
“What are you filming?”
Fu Zheng raised a sharp brow, a little displeased.
These two had set everything up without even asking for his opinion.
“Brother, here’s the thing...”
Gu Bin, finding the scene amusing, explained on their behalf about the documentary shoot.
“A real look at the lives of people in the old courtyard houses... intriguing.”
Understanding now, Fu Zheng fell silent for a few seconds, then smiled with acceptance. “Alright. I grew up in a courtyard house myself. Helping with the filming is my way of supporting tourism in our hometown.”
“Qu Peng, Li Liang, you’d better listen and learn. Hear how eloquently Brother Zheng speaks? No wonder he’s a pilot—a true elite.”
Wang Fan gave him a thumbs up, shamelessly flattering, “Now that’s what I call class. He’s raised the bar for all of us.”
Qu Peng and Li Liang, both annoyed, replied in unison with a single word.
“Get lost!”

Fu Zheng truly lived up to his reputation as a pilot. His riding skills were exceptional—when he leapt over the stone arch bridge on the motorcycle, it almost felt as if he were piloting a fighter jet.
Director Du and the entire crew were awed by his masterful performance.
Li Yan didn’t bother to hide her excitement and blurted out, “To marry such a handsome man and be a military wife, I’d even endure a long-distance relationship.”
Fu Zheng chuckled at her words. As he glanced back casually, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he touched his face in confusion.
Did he really look that intimidating?
Why was that young girl watching him as if...
She were crying?
“Xiyu, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
Li Yan noticed something amiss too. Snapping out of her infatuation, she looked at Lin Xiyu, who was standing beside her, her voice full of concern.
“No, I’m fine. Just got some dust in my eye.”
Lin Xiyu, embarrassed by her loss of composure, wiped the dampness from her eyes and brushed it off.
She didn’t tell Li Yan that it was seeing Fu Zheng in his military uniform that had brought back memories of her own father, stirring a wave of emotion that blurred her eyes with tears.