Film and Television World Life Record

"Look, when are you free? We've been old classmates for so many years, can we meet up, sit down for a meal, and have a chat?"

As Fan Shengmei was thinking about how to refuse, she suddenly stiffened and couldn't help but let out an "Ah!" before quickly covering her mouth in fright.

Before she knew it, a large hand had climbed up and was causing trouble on her body.

In broad daylight, Wang Baichuan on the other end didn't think much of it, nor did he dare to, as it would tarnish the image of his goddess.

Instead, she asked with concern and anxiety, "Shengmei, what's wrong? What happened?"

Fan Shengmei blushed, covered her mouth tightly, and didn't make a sound. She gave Li Mu a charming glare, and dragged her still weak body to the other side with difficulty.

Only then did he escape from Li Mu's grasp and couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

Wang Baichuan, seeing that Fan Shengmei did not answer, became even more anxious.

"Shengmei, are you alright? What happened?"

Fan Shengmei's face was flushed, and her breathing was a little erratic. She took a couple of deep breaths before speaking again, "Old classmate, I'm fine. There was a bug causing trouble just now, which gave me a fright, but I'm alright now."

Wang Baichuan was relieved and said, "That's good, Shengmei. I'm relieved that you're alright."

"We quickly got someone to help deal with the bugs. We left them in the house so they wouldn't scare you again."

Fan Shengmei said, "Don't worry, old classmate, I'm not that delicate. I'll deal with the bug myself in a bit. I'll make sure it tastes my power and sees if it dares to cause trouble again."

As she spoke, she straightened her body and gave Li Mu a haughty glare.

Li Mu sighed helplessly; it seemed he would be busy again soon.

Wang Baichuan felt that Fan Shengmei's words were a bit strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why. He could only agree, "That's good, that's good. Shengmei, you still have that same indomitable spirit you had back then."

After complimenting Fan Shengmei a couple of times, Wang Baichuan mustered his courage and spoke again: "Shengmei, when do you have time? Can I treat you to a meal? We're old classmates and haven't seen each other for so many years. Please give me a chance to treat you."

After hearing so many kind words from the other party, Fan Shengmei felt embarrassed to refuse directly, so she turned to look at Li Mu, wanting to hear his opinion.

Li Mu shrugged, letting her make the decision herself.

Fan Shengmei could only vaguely reply, "I've been a bit busy lately, and I don't know when I'll have time. Let me think about it, and I'll call you back later."

Although she didn't agree, she at least left Wang Baichuan with a glimmer of hope. He quickly replied, "Okay, Shengmei, whatever you say. I'm available anytime you have time."

After hanging up the phone, Fan Shengmei threw it aside, ready to take revenge, and instantly wrapped her alluring body around him.

……

More than half an hour later, Fan Shengmei lay on Li Mu's chest and said slowly, "I haven't seen this male classmate for many years. I don't know why he contacted me this time and even asked me to dinner. It was quite sudden."

Li Mu said, "Actually, it's quite normal. You're so beautiful, it's only natural that you have classmates who admire you."

Fan Shengmei said nervously, "There's nothing between me and my classmates. Although many people pursued me in college, I remained single until graduation."

Li Mu said, "It's perfectly normal for classmates and friends to meet up and have a meal together. Don't think of me as petty or domineering. You have your own lifestyle, and as long as you know your limits, I support normal social interactions."

Fan Shengmei glanced at him gratefully. This man, whom she looked up to, understood and respected her so much, which moved her deeply.

"Thank you, Li Mu."

Li Mu smiled but didn't say anything.

In fact, given his current influence on Fan Shengmei, he could easily make her block Wang Baichuan and cut off all contact with him.

However, it's better to guide than to block; there's no need to be so domineering.

Besides, he has two missions in this world: one is to become a business tycoon, and the other is to deal with sycophants.

As a major sycophant in the drama, how could Wang Baichuan be easily dismissed? It would be a disservice not to let him experience the harsh realities of life.

"Simps, simps, they get nothing!"

Chapter 145 Meeting

Two more days passed. That morning, while Fan Shengmei was still working, Wang Baichuan called again.

"Shengmei, I'll stay in Shanghai for one more day. I need to go back to Nantong tomorrow to handle some matters, and I might not be able to come back for a while."

"Can you spare some time today? Let's meet, even just for a cup of coffee."

Fan Shengmei checked the time; there was still more than half an hour until she could get off work. She had a pretty good impression of Wang Baichuan from college. He had come all this way to meet her, so it would be a bit much to refuse.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Okay, I happen to have some time at noon..."

Wang Baichuan across from him was overjoyed and said excitedly, "Great, great... Shengmei, there's a nice upscale Western restaurant. I'll treat you to a big meal at noon."

Fan Shengmei felt somewhat helpless. In the past, she would have been quite fond of such high-end Western restaurants, and if she had the chance to eat there, she would have been able to brag about it for a long time.

If someone is treating, they certainly won't miss the opportunity.

Now that I've been going out with Li Mu a lot, I've seen real luxury and grand scenes, upscale Western restaurants... Hehe!

In addition, I wanted to rest at the company for a while at noon and didn't want to go too far; I just wanted to eat something simple.

"Old classmate, there's no need to go to such lengths. Let's just have a simple meal. It's not easy for you to come to Shanghai, so it's my treat."

Wang Baichuan was unwilling to accept this. He said with great pride and self-satisfaction, "Shengmei, it's no trouble at all. In my heart, only this level is worthy of you. You deserve it. You deserve the best."

Fan Shengmei could indeed sense that the invitation was sincere, but it was just a Western meal, not worth the extra distance and wasting her lunch break.

"Old classmate, there's really no need for that. I have limited time at noon, so there's no need to go to such trouble."

Wang Baichuan insisted, as if only by taking Fan Shengmei to a high-end Western restaurant for a lavish meal could he demonstrate his extravagance.

Fan Shengmei said, "Old classmate, how about this, I'll decide the location, and the time is noon today."

As she spoke, she mentioned a restaurant on a nearby street that had pretty good food, and gave it its detailed address.

Wang Baichuan finally stopped insisting, though he felt a little regretful. It was the first time in so many years that he had asked his goddess out to dinner, and he wanted to make a grand entrance and show off his status.

He also wanted to show off how well he, Wang Baichuan, had done over the years. This would boost his confidence and hopefully impress the other party.

However, to be honest, Wang Baichuan was quite surprised that the goddess was unwilling to go to a high-end Western restaurant. Eating at such a restaurant would cost him a lot of money.

However, he later admired the goddess even more, for she was so simple, not envious of luxury, and perhaps even thinking about his wallet.

This made Wang Baichuan admire him even more.

After admiration comes inferiority. Only family members know their own situation. Don't be fooled by his confident and successful demeanor on the phone just now.

But he's really not doing very well.

They claim to have opened a company, but they don't own a factory or sell products; they're just a middleman.

Over the years, the company has remained very small, always on the verge of bankruptcy. If a single order goes wrong, his shell company could be finished.

Despite his well-dressed appearance, his financial situation is actually quite poor. He rented a BMW 3 Series specifically to meet his goddess, which only costs around 300,000 to 400,000 yuan – hardly considered high-end in Shanghai.

Not to mention buying a house in Shanghai.

Shanghai's housing prices are not as high as they will be in a few years, but even after working hard for so many years since graduation, Wang Baichuan still can't save enough for a down payment.

According to the plot, the down payment Wang Baichuan makes for buying a house in Shanghai in the future is all the savings his parents have accumulated over the years, which they have given him.

As for the money he earned himself, well…

After working hard for so many years, he hadn't saved any money. Later, he was scammed, his company went bankrupt, and he was left with a mountain of debt, which made Fan Shengmei worry about him for a long time.

On the other hand, in the early part of the story, to save face, Wang Baichuan tacitly agreed that the BMW 3 Series was his, and Fan Shengmei tacitly agreed that the apartment she rented in Ode to Joy was hers. Both actually believed them until Qu Xiaoxiao stirred things up, revealing the truth.

If we're being serious, from Wang Baichuan's perspective, during the time when both of them were kept in the dark, pursuing Fan Shengmei back then was truly climbing the social ladder.

Even if his family pooled all their savings, they could only afford a down payment on a house in Shanghai. In his mind, Fan Shengmei owned a house in Shanghai and was far more financially capable than him, not to mention she was so beautiful and was his goddess back then.

She's better than him in every way, so it's understandable that she's so eager to please him.

As for why, after the truth was revealed and the two sides were on equal footing, they still fawned over each other, that's another story.

After hanging up the phone, she checked the time and saw that she still had more than twenty minutes left before getting off work. She wasn't in a hurry and spent the time relaxing and enjoying the water.

When the time came, Fan Shengmei tidied herself up a bit and drove her newly acquired BMW Z4 to the restaurant on a nearby street.

When we arrived, we didn't book a private room, but chose a window seat. Wang Baichuan was probably far away and unfamiliar with the area, so he hadn't arrived yet.

Fan Shengmei simply ordered the dishes and a pot of tea and waited there.

Fortunately, Wang Baichuan finally arrived in a hurry more than ten minutes later.

The moment he saw Fan Shengmei, his eyes widened. The goddess truly lived up to her name; after all these years, she was even more beautiful and elegant than before.

The current Fan Shengmei is naturally different from the image in the original drama. She wears high-end designer clothes, uses high-end cosmetics, and has been pampered by Li Mu during this period.

If you put on airs, your demeanor immediately improves dramatically; you'll look more beautiful than a flower, and you'd never guess you're over twenty-five.

She is almost unrecognizable from the glamorous yet somewhat frivolous Fan Shengmei in the original drama.

Wang Baichuan stared blankly for a few seconds, then quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, Shengmei, I'm not familiar with the roads here, I'm late."

Fan Shengmei said, "It's nothing, I just arrived."

This was the first time in so many years that Wang Baichuan had been so close to the goddess that he couldn't take it all in and couldn't help but praise her.

"Shengmei, it's been so many years since I last saw you. You're still as beautiful as ever! No, you're even more beautiful than before."

What woman doesn't love to hear nice things? The unpleasantness she had just experienced vanished instantly.

"You're not bad either! You're quite handsome."

After exchanging a few polite words, both parties got to work.