Volume 1, Chapter 56: Let Me Break the Ice for You, Bro

"Ride in your car?" Zhao Zhengzhong and the others stared in bewilderment, their faces a mask of confusion.

He only knew that Li Yan was also arriving in Yuncheng tonight, but he had no idea that Li Yan owned a car.

Li Yan nodded, pointed at the brand-new luxury sedan parked by the roadside, and said, "Yep, that's the one."

Zhao Zhengzhong grew even more skeptical. He looked from the pristine luxury vehicle parked by the curb to Li Yan and back again.

He simply couldn't bring himself to believe that this was Li Yan's car.

Besides, Li Yan's usual vibe as a broke nobody didn't match such a high-end ride at all—at least, that was what Zhao Zhengzhong thought.

Zhang Xiaoyan and the other two looked equally astonished.

Seeing the expression on Zhao Zhengzhong's face, Li Yan felt a surge of inner satisfaction.

He specifically wanted to flex in front of Zhao Zhengzhong; after all, good brothers were meant to be teased.

Pulling out his car key, Li Yan pressed the button.

The headlights of the sleek black Cadillac flashed.

At that moment, Zhao Zhengzhong looked at Li Yan as if he were staring at an entirely different species, completely dumbfounded.

After a long silence, he blurted out, "Holy crap, Li Yan! When did you buy a car? And it's a Cadillac, no less!"

Li Yan feigned nonchalance and said, "Just a little while ago. Get in, what are you standing there for?"

Zhao Zhengzhong hurried over to the vehicle, first pulling open the front passenger door to glance inside before walking over to open the driver's side door.

Uncertain, he pressed the horn. Honk—it worked.

He raised his head again and looked at Li Yan with skeptical eyes. "Is this really your car?"

Li Yan shrugged. "Not mine? Could it belong to someone else? Are you getting in or not?"

Zhao Zhengzhong swallowed hard.

He still found it hard to believe.

Yet, with the car right in front of him, he had no choice but to believe it.

"We were all doing a great job being broke together, so how come you suddenly bought a car?"

"Li Yan! Were you acting this whole time? Just last month, didn't you say you ran out of living expenses and begged me to treat you to dinner? Wait, are you even my brother?"

Li Yan pursed his lips, slipped into the driver's seat, and clicked his seatbelt into place before saying to Zhao Zhengzhong, "Manager Zhao, are you getting in or not? If not, we're leaving."

Zhao Zhengzhong nodded eagerly like a chick pecking at rice. "Getting in, definitely getting in! A Cadillac, man—I've never even ridden in one before."

Turning to Zhang Xiaoyan and the others, Li Yan said, "You guys might need to squeeze a bit in the back. It's more than twenty kilometers to Panlong District, but it won't take long. Put the luggage in the trunk."

Zhao Zhengzhong had originally intended to sit in the front passenger seat, but seeing that Shu Qin had already naturally settled herself there, he paused.

He shot Li Yan an inquiring, gossipy look.

What he wanted to ask was: *Wait, who is this pretty girl? What's your relationship with her? Are you two a thing?*

As Li Yan's best friend, he sensed there was more to the story, so he decided to hold off on asking.

After Zhao Zhengzhong and the other three crammed into the backseat, the look of astonishment on their faces had still not faded.

Aside from Zhao Zhengzhong, none of them knew Li Yan well.

Furthermore, Li Yan had acted so fiercely against those unlicensed cab drivers tonight that they felt a lingering sense of awe and intimidation.

So, they just sat there, staring at one another with wide eyes.

Catching their expressions in the rearview mirror, Li Yan felt a profound sense of gratification.

What do men live for if not to witness their best friends marveling at their success in public? This was precisely that moment.

After a few minutes, Zhang Xiaoyan finally spoke up. "Um, Li Yan, thank you for tonight. If it weren't for you, those guys would have snatched my luggage."

Driving with one hand, Li Yan waved dismissively. "Just a small matter. Be more careful in the future."

Zhao Zhengzhong, sitting right next to Zhang Xiaoyan, chimed in, "What are you thanking him for? Li Yan is my good brother, and besides, we're all from the same neighboring city. Looking out for each other is only right."

The other two male students wanted to say something as well, but couldn't think of the appropriate words for a moment.

Hearing this, Li Yan instinctively glanced at Zhao Zhengzhong in the rearview mirror.

To his surprise, he noticed that Zhao Zhengzhong was unconsciously shielding Zhang Xiaoyan with his body, his eyes darting to her face every now and then.

He recalled how fiercely Zhao Zhengzhong had stepped up to retrieve Zhang Xiaoyan's luggage earlier that evening.

Could it be... that Zhao Zhengzhong had the hots for Zhang Xiaoyan?

Ah, highly likely.

No wonder Zhao Zhengzhong was acting so brave tonight.

A mischievous smile tugged at the corner of Li Yan's mouth. "I say, Zhao Zhengzhong, stop pressing so close against Zhang Xiaoyan. Do you have a crush on her or something? Even if you do, you shouldn't take advantage of her like that."

"Huh? I-I don't!" Zhao Zhengzhong yelled out, looking like a thief caught red-handed, his face turning beet red.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaoyan's face flushed crimson as well.

Oh-ho.

This is getting interesting.

Looks like there's hope.

Terrified that Zhang Xiaoyan might misunderstand, Zhao Zhengzhong scrambled to cover himself. "The space in this car is just this small! Didn't you tell us to squeeze in?"

Li Yan uttered an " oh."

Then he added, "Well, if you like her, you like her. What are you shy about?"

Zhao Zhengzhong's face turned even redder. The reckless tough guy who had fearless dashed forward when Li Yan was surrounded by rowdy punks a moment ago was now completely at a loss for how to explain himself.

"I... I... I..."

With a glowing, rosy face, Zhang Xiaoyan could only turn her gaze firmly toward the window.

Sensing that Zhao Zhengzhong needed a little push, Li Yan turned to Zhang Xiaoyan and asked, "Hey, Zhang Xiaoyan, what do you think of Zhao Zhengzhong?"

Not expecting Li Yan to throw such a direct question her way, Zhang Xiaoyan kept her head down and replied, "Zhengzhong and I are from the same town. He's a really good person."

At this point, Shu Qin and the other two men picked up on the undercurrents and turned their gazes toward Zhao Zhengzhong and Zhang Xiaoyan, who were sitting pressed tightly together.

Being stared at only made the two of them blush harder, leaving them looking entirely flustered.

Li Yan continued, "Yeah, I think Zhengzhong is a great guy too. He can be a bit of a blockhead sometimes, but his character is solid gold. Look at tonight—for your sake, he was ready to throw punches with those shady drivers. That proves he's a man you can rely on. Am I right or am I right?"

*For my sake?*

*He was actually ready to fight those illegal cab drivers because of me?*

Thinking to himself, Zhang Xiaoyan murmured a soft assent.

Shu Qin delivered the ultimate assist: "Wow, if a guy were willing to do that for me, I'd definitely marry him in the future." As soon as she finished speaking, her gaze instinctively drifted toward Li Yan.

Because right now, she felt that Li Yan possessed a mysterious, inscrutable aura that made her desperately want to explore and understand him deeper.

The other two male students felt their faces burn with a hint of shame. After all, when faced with those aggressive cab drivers earlier, the two of them had turned cowards.

Li Yan took in all of their expressions.

He pressed on, "Hey guys, didn't you two secretly scheme with Manager Zhao tonight to set him up for a classic 'hero saves the damsel' moment to impress her? I remember Manager Zhao saying you two were the most vicious fighters back when you were kids. Not bad, pulling off a stunt like this."

Realizing that Li Yan was reframing their earlier cowardice as a deliberate setup to give Zhao Zhengzhong a chance to shine as a hero, the two guys instantly felt a wave of gratitude toward him.

"Heh-heh-heh, no, not really. It was just a coincidence."

"Yeah, we never expected Zhengzhong would actually fly into a rage for a beauty."

Li Yan smiled. "Oh, I get it, I get it."

By this point, how could Zhao Zhengzhong fail to understand Li Yan's intention?

Yet he still had no idea how to respond.

He awkwardly tried to make conversation: "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, you know? Seeing someone bully one of our own and not helping—would I still even be a man?"

One of the other guys chimed in, "Oh, well, that only counts if Zhang Xiaoyan thinks you're a man. Do we really know if you're a man or not?"

"Hey, now that phrase has some ambiguous undertones!"

The atmosphere inside the car livened up instantly as everyone began to playfully tease Zhao Zhengzhong and Zhang Xiaoyan.

Driving steadily, Li Yan glanced from time to time into the rearview mirror at Zhao Zhengzhong, who was trying his utmost to put on a good impression.

*Brother, I've given you a head start. Whether you win the beauty's heart in the end is entirely up to you now.*