Ye Zhengchen remained calm and nodded. “What’s her name?”
“Bo Bing.”
The young man sent a coded message, saying the higher-ups wanted Ye to get close to her. “How do I get close?”
“The higher-ups didn’t specify. Content matters more than form.”
Ye understood. “You want me to seduce her?”
“Let me correct that, not me…”
The smile at the corner of his lips stiffened slightly. “This is essentially deceiving and toying with someone’s feelings.”
“You can maintain the right ‘degree’ – make her admire you, trust you unconditionally, but not love you.” He doubted if such a ‘degree’ existed in a woman’s emotional world.
“What if she falls in love with me?”
The young man laughed. “Then you’ll sacrifice a bit of your charm. Consider it serving the country.”
Ye Zhengchen slammed the car door, making it tremble. “Damn, I don’t have such noble patriotic spirit.”
“Mind your image.”
Ye laughed. “I thought this obvious flirtation would make her keep her distance, but unexpectedly, she blushed and giggled charmingly.” He felt helpless and changed the subject. “Unfortunately, in my eyes, Porsche is not ‘irreplaceable’ either.”
“Why?”
“For me, luxury cars are like beautiful women… there’s no most attractive, only more attractive.”
The woman was momentarily stunned, unsure how to respond. An employee from the dealership approached, holding documents and kneeling halfway, speaking in Japanese: “Mr. Ye, please stamp here.”
Ye Zhengchen took out a pure platinum seal, stamped it, and waited as the employee wiped it clean and returned it to its box.
“Are all the procedures done?” he asked, concerned about the woman’s advances.
“Yes, here are your car keys and bank card. I’ve locked your documents in the safe.”
“Thank you!” Ye Zhengchen smiled at the woman. “It was interesting chatting with you. Let’s talk again sometime.”
The woman watched him drive into traffic. The employee who processed the paperwork commented, “Didn’t I tell you? He’s hard to approach.”
“But I clearly felt he was interested in me.”
“Every woman says that, even Yamamoto.”
Ye Zhengchen drove his new car into traffic.
November should have been a season of maple leaves, but this year, only a few were turning red.
