CH 27.1

Ning Wan returned from taking Chen Shuo's call, to find Fu Zheng standing at the door of the restaurant, face dark and brows knitted. He was gazing raptly at his phone, so much so that he didn't even see her approaching. When he finally noticed, he immediately and unnaturally locked the screen.

However, Ning Wan had sharp eyes. With a casual glance, she had already read what he had up on the screen. "'How to recover dignity'?" she asked, puzzled. "What are you looking that up for?"

Fu Zheng's face became even more unnatural. He coughed, looked away, and said casually, "Oh, I was just looking. A friend ran into something and may have to reestablish his dignity. I wanted to give him some advice, so I just did a quick search, that's all."

"So that's how it is," Ning Wan nodded, understanding. "But honestly, once you've lost a dignified reputation, you can't regain it. It's like filming porn, once you take your clothes off, you can't put them back on again..."

This was a casual comment on her part, but Fu Zheng's entire face went black upon hearing it. It seemed like this friend must be very close to him, for him to be feeling such pain on their behalf just hearing what she said.

Thinking this, Ning Wan couldn't help but say a few words of comfort to Fu Zheng. "It's all right, really. Think about it, even actors who film pornography eventually become porn stars. So long as it's all legal where they live, it's no big deal, and they're living very well, aren't they? It's not necessarily a bad thing to lose one's dignity. Perhaps your friend could just walk a path closer to ordinary people."

Although it was obviously his friend's business, Fu Zheng seemed particularly stuck on the topic. Staring at Ning Wan, he insisted, "It must be possible to rebuild a majestic reputation." Biting his lower lip as if to persuade himself, he argued, "Isn't there a saying? 'Even if one is forced by circumstances to film porn, so long as you work hard, the clothes that you have taken off can be put back on one piece at a time'."

"Fu Zheng, goodness, I never expected you to actually buy that sort of feel-good marketing," Ning Wan couldn't stop herself from laughing. "Rumours and labels are incredibly hard to peel off once you have them. That means that so long as there are a few skeletons in your closet, unless everyone else is dead or has lost their memory, they'll always be aired out and mocked from time to time. The clothes you take off are put back on one piece at a time, just so you can take them off again later!"

“……”

It was clearly just an analogy, but for some unknown reason Fu Zheng's face suddenly fell even further. It seemed like even his spirit had taken a blow. His whole person suddenly sagged as if he had one foot in the grave. If Ning Wan hadn't known the truth, she would have thought it was that he himself who had been forced into filming porn.

"Now, now, don't worry too much about your friend. Aren't you hungry? Let's go eat something else. " Ning Wan glanced at the time. "My junior brother should have just arrived, c'mon, let's go let's go."

When Ning Wan and Fu Zheng arrived at the restaurant, Chen Shuo was already there. A broad smile split his face when he saw Ning Wan, but he stopped smiling upon seeing Fu Zheng next to her. "Who is this?"

Ning Wan introduced them immediately with a smile. "This is the friend I told you about on the phone just now, whom I wanted to bring for dinner."

She patted Fu Zheng, gesturing to him to introduce himself.

Oddly enough, he had been a little absent-minded ever since just now.

Thankfully, he finally recovered after her nudge. Holding out his hand, he said to Chen Shuo, "A pleasure to meet you. I'm Fu Zheng."

It was as though he was participating in some fancy high-class business event.

Speechless, Ning Wan questioned, "What are you talking so formally for? Chen Shuo is my friend and schoolmate, you don't have to be formal." Looking at Chen Shuo, she introduced, "Fu Zheng is the intern who took your place in the community. In the future, he'll be our colleague at the firm, so it's not a bad idea to all meet each other now."

Chen Shuo also introduced himself briefly to Fu Zheng. Once the three were seated, they began ordering. Fu Zheng happened to get a phone call just then, so he left to answer, leaving Ning Wan and Chen Shuo alone at the table.

As they ordered, Chen Shuo asked Ning Wan for her opinion. "Would you like saury? It's pretty good here, and okra..."

Without thinking much of it, Ning Wan interrupted, "Let's get salmon."

"But I remember you don't like salmon," Chen Shuo said blankly.

"I don't like fish very much, but Fu Zheng seems to like salmon. Let's order a one for him."

She said this very naturally, not realizing that there might be anything wrong with that at all, but it was not the case to Chen Shuo's ear.

When Ning Wan had said that she wanted to bring a friend along, he had thought that it would be a female friend. The moment he had seen Fu Zheng, his hackles had risen.

Just like how two strong male animals couldn't share the same territory, Chen Shuo naturally disliked Fu Zheng. Although Ning Wan had introduced him as an intern under her tutelage, Chen Shuo had instinctively smelt the arrogant scent of superiority on him, and he was subconsciously feeling challenged.

Even though he had clearly known Ning Wan for longer, she was far more familiar toward Fu Zheng. The way she looked at him and acted around him was very casual, with no sense of distance at all.

Internally upset, Chen Shuo looked at her and said in a joking manner, "Senior sister, so you know he likes salmon? Do you know what I like?"

Sure enough, Ning Wan appeared to be struck dumb.

Chen Shuo sighed inside, but smiled, "Just joking." He turned over the menu and changed the subject. "Didn't you dislike the person who replaced me, senior sister? How come you're both getting along so well now?"

"Ah, well." Sure enough, Ning Wan laughed and seemed to relax. "Actually, Fu Zheng wasn't placed there through nepotism after all. It was all my misunderstanding. He's actually quite a good person. He likes to put up a front sometimes, but it's quite understandable, since he's older than we are but has no work experience. I'm sure he cares a lot about his face since he's older and probably thinks it's embarrassing to still be new at the job at the age of thirty. Don't mind him on that. Since we know about it, let's not poke at his weaknesses. He's quite reliable otherwise and a very hard worker."

Chen Shuo frowned. As he listened to Ning Wan put in a good word on Fu Zheng's behalf, he felt like dark clouds were pressing on in his heart. This Fu Zheng hadn't been here for long. Why was Ning Wan so protective of him?