On the road he flagged down a taxi, but he did not go straight back to the hotel; instead he changed cars several times along the way. Yang Cenbin did this out of fear of leaving some trace that might rouse suspicion.

But Yang Minlan and Yang Juehuan's parents said that changing cars several times was to keep Liu Jihao's men from following them and to shake them off. And so Wang Mei's parents, not knowing the real reason, nodded along and praised Yang Lanxu's thoroughness.

Seeing her parents standing safe and sound before her, Wang Mei's tears immediately burst forth, and she threw herself to their side. "Dad, Mom, are you all right? That bastard Liu Jihao did not give you trouble, did he?"

"Trouble he did not give us, but what exactly happened between the two of you?" Wang Mei's mother looked at her daughter with some worry. She knew that Liu Jihao was Wang Mei's boyfriend. But this time Liu Jihao had stormed in and had his men seize her and Wang Mei's father directly, and on the way they had been locked in the basement without even a word.

To be continued

854. Trouble

854 Trouble "It is a long story. Dad, Mom, I will open a room for you—rest a while first, and I will tell you the whole thing in detail in a little while," Wang Mei said.

"That is fine too. So long as nothing is wrong, that is what matters." Wang Mei's parents were honest folk, and they nodded and followed Wang Mei's arrangements.

After the room was arranged, Wang Mei told her parents about her breakup with Liu Jihao, and then introduced Zhang Bin to them.

Zhang Bin was quite well-behaved, and when he composed himself he cut a proper figure. Wang Mei's parents praised this boyfriend as a thousand times better than a rich young idler like Liu Jihao.

"Little Mei, it is good that you have thought it through yourself," Wang Mei's father said. "Never mind how rich Liu Jihao is—one look at that man and you can tell his character is no good. The fact that he could do such a thing this time proves exactly that."

"Exactly. I think this young man Zhang Bin is quite good. He may be a bit plain, but he is a very good person. It does not matter if there is no money—happiness is enough. Look at your father and me: we do not have much money, but are we not happy all the same?" Wang Mei's mother said, deeply agreeing. "And that friend of yours is an even better man—he actually risked danger to rescue us. Mother is truly happy that you have such a good friend."

Just then Yang Ce happened to push the door open and come in, and hearing Wang Mei's parents' words, he laughed and said, "Who says this Zhang Bin has no money? This young man is now worth tens of millions."

After saying that, Yang Ce shot Zhang Bin a look, signaling him not to open his mouth.

Money may not be the most important thing, but in today's society, without money one truly cannot get by. Hearing Yang Yanzhou say that Zhang Bin was worth tens of millions, Wang Mei's parents were instantly stunned. They had never imagined that Zhang Bin could have so much money, and at once they rejoiced for their daughter.

It was plain to see that their daughter truly liked the young man before them this time, and that this young man called Zhang Bin treated their daughter extremely well, completely unlike Liu Jihao before.

"Zhang Bin, come out for a moment and let Wang Mei have a good talk with her parents." Yang Minlan beckoned to Zhang Bin. And Wang Mei was just then wanting to tell her parents about moving to Songjiang.

Zhang Bin and Yan left Wang Mei's parents' room together and stood in the corridor by the door. There were no empty rooms left near Yang Ce's and Zhang Bin's rooms, so Wang Mei's parents' room had to be opened on the floor below.

"Boss, what did you call me out for?" Zhang Bin asked with a chuckle.

"Zhang Bin, I do not know what your attitude toward women really is. Some things perhaps should not be said by me to you, but I still want to tell you what I think." Yang Ce patted Zhang Bin on the shoulder as he spoke.

"Boss, why be so polite with me? This time it is all thanks to you. If anything had happened to Wang Mei's parents, Wang Mei would never have forgiven me," Zhang Bin said sincerely.

"Mm, let us not bring that up." Yang Ce did not tell Zhang Bin about Ouyang Junwei; there was no need to tell him, and saying too much would only make Zhang Bin uneasy. "How long do you think your feelings for Wang Mei will last?"

"Boss, why do you ask that?" Zhang Bin was somewhat puzzled.

"Answer me: is your feeling for Wang Mei a passing whim, or do you mean to have her for a lifetime?" Yang Ce waved his hand and asked.

"It should be the lifetime kind, I suppose," Zhang Bin said after a moment's hesitation.

"Your view of love may not be quite the same as mine," Yang Ce sighed. "You see that I seem to have quite a few girlfriends, but in truth I simply cherish every one of them. I do not like one-night stands, so I have never done the sort of thing where a man toys with a woman and then abandons her. The reason I ask you this today is also because I feel that Wang Mei has given up a great deal for you. Her own parents were under threat from Liu Jihao—that feeling must have been very hard to bear, no?"

Zhang Bin nodded silently, and Yang Ce continued, "At first, I thought Wang Mei was a rather casual woman who cared only for money, but what happened afterward made me change that view. What do you think?"

"Boss, I know what I should do now." Zhang Bin nodded. "I will handle it well."

"And there is Zhao Sisi. She treats you well too—do not let her down just because you have Wang Mei now," Yang Minlan reminded Zhang Bin.

"Do not worry, Boss." Zhang Bin smiled. "Boss, do you really dislike it that I had a one-night stand?"

"Dislike is not quite the word—I just do not much care for it." Yang Shuoxuan smiled.

Zhang Bin was about to say something more when Yang Juehuan's phone rang. He glanced at the number—it was Su Ya.

"Hello, Xiaoya." Yang Minlan gestured for Zhang Bin to keep quiet and took the call.

"Yang Ce, I'm leaving Macau tomorrow. I really wanted to see you one more time, but the company's schedule is just too tight." Su Ya's voice came through with a note of complaint.

"Where are you going? I could come see you," Yang Ce said soothingly.

"The next concert stop is Yanjing, then Shanghai, but I won't be staying long in either place. There probably won't be any free time," Su Ya said regretfully.

"Then are you free tonight?" Yang Ce asked, lowering his voice.

"But I can't go out. I didn't sleep a wink that night, and the next day I nearly fainted on stage." Su Ya was tempted but helpless.

"I'll come to you," Yang Ce said after a moment's thought.

"The hotel's crawling with people. Can you even get in?" Su Ya asked.

"Have you ever seen Spider-Man? I'll climb in from the outside," Yang Yanzhou said.

"Don't! That's too dangerous." Su Ya was startled. "How about this—I'll have Xu Li go out and meet you."

"No way. If a reporter catches me meeting you in secret, I'll be public enemy number one by tomorrow," Yang Hengye said.

"Can't you disguise yourself?" Su Ya chided.

"I'm just afraid it'll be bad for you—start some rumor or scandal," Yang Yanzhou said.

"I don't mind at all. It's settled, then—I'll send Xu Li to meet you." Su Ya hung up right after saying it.

"Shu Ya?" As soon as Yang Ce hung up, Zhang Bin asked curiously.

Yang Yuting nodded and said, "Nothing pressing now. I'll go see her tonight—you stay at the hotel and keep Wang Mei company."

"Boss, you're incredible. Oh, right—once we're back in Songjiang, you have to tell me the whole story about you and Su Ya in detail," Zhang Bin said.

Just as they were talking, Wang Mei pushed the door open and came out, her face clouded with worry.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Bin could tell something was bothering Wang Mei and asked, puzzled. Hadn't she been fine just a moment ago?