Take Me to Elope

Chen Zhi sent a message back: [What's going on? Tell me the details.]

Pei Ningxue replied almost instantly. It seemed she was guarding her phone waiting for him.

[My dad wants me to attend a business cocktail party tonight. He said he wants to introduce me to the sons of some of his old friends, to get me to interact more with people in our circle.]

[I don't want to go, so he threatened me. He said if I don't go, he'll send me abroad to study business, and I can forget about staying in the country.]

Chen Zhi looked at these two lines of text, and his suspense flatlined.

He slapped his forehead.

That's it?

This was the "evil wealthy family," "business marriage pawn," and "cold prison" that the System had been blabbering about?

Isn't this just standard operating procedure for rich families? This so-called "interacting" probably just meant drinking champagne, chatting about golf, and seeing if they could mutually flatter each other's businesses.

Isn't it just letting the younger generation mingle and expand their network?

"This stupid System, always exaggerating, scared the crap out of me."

Chen Zhi mentally cursed the System's ancestors to the eighteenth generation. He actually thought Pei Ningxue's biological father was going to force this unattainable flower to marry some balding old man.

Recalling what Pei Ningxue's father looked like at the parent-teacher meeting last time, although he was a bit stern, he didn't look like the type to sell his daughter for glory.

It seemed her biological dad wanted to groom Pei Ningxue as his successor and take her out to meet business partners.

But...

Chen Zhi rubbed his chin.

Since the System issued a mission, it meant Pei Ningxue's resentment level was indeed very high right now. Moreover, the mission requirement was to "take her to elope and piss off her parents."

Now this was getting interesting.

Chen Zhi replied: [So what do you want to do?]

[I don't know.]

Pei Ningxue sent one of those sighing cat stickers, [As long as I don't have to stay home or go to that stupid party, I'm fine. It's so annoying.]

This was the first time in three years that Pei Ningxue had shown such typical teenage girl emotions.

In the past, whenever this woman sent a message, didn't she always lead with a picture of herself in black pantyhose, followed by a voice message to tease him?

Being so serious today actually made Chen Zhi a little unaccustomed to it.

Just as Chen Zhi was marveling at this, Pei Ningxue sent another message.

[Chen Zhi, take me away. Let's elope.]

Chen Zhi: "..."

Well, I take back what I just said.

This woman was still the same wicked girl.

Elope?

I can't believe she actually had the nerve to say that.

But since you want to play, I'll play a big game with you.

Chen Zhi's eyes darted around, and an extremely wicked... oh wait, extremely perfect plan formed in his mind.

What is the most effective way to piss off the parents of a high-society wealthy family?

Of course, it is to kidnap their precious daughter in the most low-class, tacky, and unacceptable way possible.

[I have a plan that can solve your worries.] Chen Zhi replied.

Pei Ningxue: [I am all ears.]

Chen Zhi: [Wait for it. Tonight at eight, remember to open the door.]

After sending this message, Chen Zhi stuffed his phone into his pocket, got up, and left the house.

...

Half an hour later.

Next to a barbecue stand downstairs in an old residential neighborhood in Jiangcheng City.

"Brother Zhi! Over here!"

A young man wearing the yellow uniform of a Meituan food delivery driver was sitting on a plastic stool, waving at Chen Zhi.

Chen Zhi walked over and sized up the young man in front of him, who had dark, sun-tanned skin but a bright, beaming smile.

"Long time no see." Chen Zhi pulled out a stool and sat down, looking at the yellow robe on Li Jiahao. "What's going on? You've been crowned with the yellow robe of Meituan?"

Li Jiahao scratched his head and gave a somewhat embarrassed chuckle. "Sigh, Brother Zhi, don't mock me. I just couldn't get into studying. You know the environment at the vocational high school. I messed around for two years and found it completely meaningless, so I decided to just come out and make some money."

As he spoke, he poured Chen Zhi a cup of water. "But you, Brother Zhi, I heard all about it! The top scorer in the whole province! That is incredibly badass! I bragged to the guys at our delivery station that the provincial top scorer is my buddy, and they didn't even believe me!"

Chen Zhi took a sip of tea, looking at his former classmate who had stepped into society too early, feeling a bit emotional.

"Are you serious? You're really dropping out?" Chen Zhi frowned and asked. "I remember you were full of confidence before, saying you were going to test into a junior college and then go to the same city as your online girlfriend. You gave up that quickly?"

At the mention of the words "online girlfriend," Li Jiahao's eyes instantly lit up.

"We're still dating! We've been dating this whole time!"

Li Jiahao leaned in excitedly, lowering his voice as if sharing some earth-shattering secret. "Brother Zhi, let me tell you, she is amazing! In this college entrance exam, she scored over six hundred points!"

Chen Zhi almost spat out his mouthful of tea.

"How much?"

"Over six hundred! She didn't say exactly how much, but it's really high!" Li Jiahao looked proud. "She told me she'll have absolutely no problem getting into Renmin University! Renmin University, Brother Zhi! That's a great university in Beijing, right?"

Chen Zhi looked at Li Jiahao's silly, vicariously proud expression, and his frown deepened.

"No, are you a fucking idiot?"

Chen Zhi scolded without holding back. "Renmin University? It's top-tier even among the 985 project universities! You have to be in the top few hundred in the whole province to get in! Do you think a top student from Renmin University would take a fancy to a vocational school dropout who delivers food?"

Damn it, don't let me get screwed over again.

"Don't fucking tell me it's going to be like that Liu Xiaoyan from last time." Chen Zhi was a little scared.

"No, no! This time is absolutely different!"

Li Jiahao grew anxious and quickly waved his hands to defend himself. "Brother Zhi, you have to believe me. This time it's real! She's a good girl!"

"We met in a delivery riders' group chat. Her family's financial situation is really bad. Her parents favor boys over girls and don't want her to study anymore; they want her to go work in a factory."

Li Jiahao described it vividly. "To save up for her tuition, she also came out to deliver food during the summer vacation. That's when we met. She's truly inspiring, reviewing her studies while delivering food, and still managing to get into Renmin University. How could a girl like that be a scammer?"

Met in a riders' group?

Poor family?

Self-reliant and striving?

These character tropes were stacked way too high.

But looking at Li Jiahao's completely love-struck demeanor, Chen Zhi sighed.

Forget it, now was not the time to dwell on this.

He could go to Renmin University later and help this silly kid verify the goods when he had the chance.

"Alright, put your love story on hold for a second." Chen Zhi waved his hand. "I asked you out today because I have serious business."

"Brother Zhi, tell me!" Li Jiahao immediately sat up straight. "As long as it's something I can do, I'll climb a mountain of swords or plunge into a sea of fire for you!"

"No need for the sea of fire."

Chen Zhi looked around and lowered his voice. "Among your vocational school friends, do any of them play with that?"

"Play with what?" Li Jiahao looked bewildered.

"You know, that..." Chen Zhi gestured with his hands. "Ghost Fire."

"A Ghost Fire scooter?" Li Jiahao's eyes widened. "Brother Zhi, what do you need that for? Isn't that stuff only for those tacky street punks? You're the top scorer in the province; wouldn't riding that lower your status?"

"Cut the crap."

Chen Zhi pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. "I want the most outrageously modified one, the one with the loudest exhaust pipe, the flashiest lights, and preferably one with a built-in subwoofer."

"Can you get one?"

Li Jiahao didn't understand, but he was deeply shocked.

"I do know of one... I have a classmate who modifies bikes. He has one on hand, and it's absolutely mind-blowing." Li Jiahao hesitated for a moment. "But Brother Zhi, are you sure you want to ride that? When that thing revs up, it's basically a suicide machine."

"A suicide machine is exactly the effect I'm going for."

Chen Zhi's lips curled into a wicked, arrogant smirk. "Just tell me if you can borrow it or not."

"I can! Absolutely!"

Without another word, Li Jiahao pulled out his phone and started calling for backup. "Brother Zhi, just wait. I'll have him ride it over right now!"

...

Twenty minutes later.

Accompanied by a deafening putt-putt-putt sound, a multi-colored, blindingly flashy modified motorcycle pulled up in front of the barbecue stall.

The body was covered in gaudy stickers, the exhaust pipe was thick enough to fit a fist inside, and two large speakers hung from the handlebars, blasting out trashy techno music with a heavy bass beat.

The pedestrians around them cast looks of disgust and shock.

"Brother Zhi! The bike is here!"

Li Jiahao pointed at the Ghost Fire scooter with an expression begging for praise. "This is the king of the Ghost Fires in our area! How about it? Is it wild enough?"

Chen Zhi circled the bike and nodded in satisfaction.

Trashy enough.

Loud enough.

Embarrassing enough.

Simply perfect.

"Thanks, bro."

Chen Zhi patted Li Jiahao on the shoulder and straddled this chariot overflowing with edgy, counter-culture vibes.

"Brother Zhi, where are you going?" Li Jiahao couldn't help but ask. "With this setup, are you going out to terrorize the streets?"

Chen Zhi put on the helmet, which was equally covered in stickers, his eyes gleaming with excitement behind the visor.

He twisted the throttle.

Vroom!!!

A massive roar erupted instantly, causing the dogs by the road to bark wildly.

"I'm not going to terrorize the streets."

Chen Zhi's voice sounded exceptionally arrogant over the roaring engine.

"Your bro is going to elope with a rich young lady!"

With that, he released the clutch.

The colorful Ghost Fire motorcycle, accompanied by its deafening, trashy background music, roared away toward the villa district where Pei Ningxue lived.

The next chapter will be updated tonight.