Li Mai and You Huan stood outside the used car dealership.
You Huan was furious.
“Why did you drag me out? I wanted to ask him why he disappeared without a word all these years!”
“Does he know you looked for him for five years? Does he know you gave birth to a son for him?”
“Damn it, I even thought he was super handsome just now.”
“Looks good on the outside only! What a jerk!”
Li Mai held her back.
“Senior, I know you care about me.”
“But what happened between Zhou Songyan and me is already in the past. I don’t want any more involvement with him, and I don’t want him to know about Chengcheng.”
You Huan looked at her, her heart aching.
She knew how hard Li Mai’s life had been these past years—always thinking about Zhou Songyan, imagining they would reunite and build a happy family.
And now she had finally found him.
Yet this was the ending.
What right did Zhou Songyan have to treat her like this?
So what if Li Mai had said some hurtful things back then?
Looking at it now, those words clearly hadn’t hurt him at all—because Zhou Songyan came from a wealthy family.
How could words like that hurt someone with that kind of background?
Instead, it was Zhou Songyan who had hidden his identity to “test” Li Mai.
That was too much.
“Li Mai, why don’t you tell Zhou Songyan the truth? Why let him misunderstand you?”
Sadness flashed in Li Mai’s eyes.
“Senior, even if I told him, what would it change? Zhou Songyan would only think I had ulterior motives. I’d just be humiliating myself.”
“Besides, he’s from one of Beijing’s top elite families. How could I ever be worthy of that?”
You Huan fell silent.
She knew very well how deep and dangerous the waters of elite families were—something ordinary people like them couldn’t step into.
After a while, she said, “Alright. I respect your decision.”
“Thank you, Senior.”
You Huan patted her on the shoulder.
“So, are you still buying a car?”
“Yes. There’s a discount today.”
“I showed you that small SUV earlier. It’s in good condition, the interior’s well maintained, and it’s seven years old.”
“How much?”
“Sixty thousand.”
Li Mai pressed her lips together.
“That’s a bit over my budget.”
“Girl, sixty thousand! And you still think it’s expensive? That’s dirt cheap.”
“How is that dirt cheap? I saw some for just over ten thousand.”
You Huan was speechless.
“You’d dare buy a ten-thousand-yuan car?”
“No. I’m buying that black SUV for thirty thousand—the common color. With today’s deal, a thousand gets five thousand off, so it comes to twenty-six thousand.”
You Huan tried to persuade her again.
“Li Mai, sixty thousand really isn’t that much more. If you buy a better one, you can drive it for several more years.”
But Li Mai wouldn’t budge. She had her own plans.
“Senior, I still have to raise a child. There will be many expenses in the future. A car is just for getting around—as long as it runs, that’s enough. I’m not expecting to drive it for ten or eight years.”
If it could help her get through three to five years, that would already be good.
You Huan couldn’t argue with her anymore.
“Fine, do whatever you want.”
Chengcheng came back to Li Mai’s side.
He didn’t look very happy.
Li Mai squeezed his hand.
“What’s wrong? Are you bored?”
“A little.”
“Almost done. Mommy’s already chosen.”
You Huan looked at Chengcheng, feeling heartbroken.
She whispered in Li Mai’s ear, “How did you introduce Chengcheng to Zhou Songyan?”
“I said Chengcheng is my brother’s child.”
“And Chengcheng didn’t expose you?”
“No.”
You Huan glanced at Chengcheng.
This child really had it hard—having to cooperate with the adults and act along.
When Li Mai went back inside, she didn’t see Zhou Songyan. She guessed he had already left.
She didn’t dwell on it and said to the staff member,
“Hello, I want that black SUV. Can you make it a bit cheaper?”
The staff member smiled awkwardly.
“Sorry, this is already our lowest price. After using the voucher, you can still save another four thousand.”
“Actually, I recommend that red SUV. It’s newer, and the color and size suit you well. Sixty thousand isn’t expensive.”
Li Mai shook her head.
“No, I want the black one.”
“Alright.”
The staff member stopped trying to persuade her.
“I’ll take you over to make the payment. Please leave your ID with us—we’ll handle the ownership transfer and license plate application.”
Li Mai asked, “Do I need to come back to pick it up?”
“No. Just leave us an address and we’ll mail everything to you.”
“I can drive the car away today, right?”
“Of course. You can drive it away today.”
Li Mai thought it was very convenient.
The used car company handled everything.
Before Li Mai had paid, the staff member was called away.
She and You Huan could only stand there and wait for a while.
A few minutes later, the staff member came back.
“Ma’am, I just received a notice from management. This car has been discounted. It now only costs ten thousand.”
Li Mai: “……”
You Huan: “……”
It was like money falling from the sky.
You Huan was still thinking about the red SUV.
“Is only this car discounted, or are all the cars discounted?”
Staff member: “……”
He hesitated for a moment. “Shall I go ask the manager?”
“Yes, yes, please go! Thank you!”
The staff member left and then came back a short while later.
“Ma’am, it’s like this—not all cars are discounted. Besides this one, there’s one more car in the shop with a price reduction.”
You Huan asked impatiently, “Which one?”
“I’ll take you to see it. It’s in the back.”
It was an SUV from a certain brand, about 80% new.
The new car price was six to seven hundred thousand.
Even at 80% condition, it should still cost over a hundred thousand.
Li Mai felt that even with a discount, she still couldn’t afford it.
“I’ll just take the one from earlier. It’s only ten thousand—now that’s really dirt cheap.”
Staff member: “This one is a great deal too. It’s only twenty thousand, and it’s just three years old.”
“How much?”
You Huan thought she’d heard wrong.
Li Mai also found it unbelievable.
The staff member said stiffly, “Twenty thousand.”
You Huan: “Is your company not trying to make money anymore?”
The staff member laughed awkwardly. “The boss has plenty of money and just wants to do something exciting.”
“I’m telling you, you need to decide quickly. This was just announced by the boss. If you miss it, it’ll be gone.”
You Huan grabbed Li Mai’s hand. “Pay now! Pay now! If others find out, they’ll snatch it up!”
Li Mai felt like she was being scammed, but they weren’t actually cheating her out of anything.
Maybe the boss really was generous and just wanted to run a promotion, like a lottery.
Li Mai followed the staff member to make the payment, left her ID, and drove the car home.
Although Li Mai didn’t own a car before, she often drove for Ji Wangyu, so her driving skills were good.
She easily got the car onto the road.
Li Mai stayed excited the whole way, feeling like she’d gotten an amazing bargain.
“Chengcheng, this weekend Mommy will drive you on a short trip nearby.”
After she said that, Chengcheng didn’t respond.
“Chengcheng?”
She called again.
Chengcheng snapped out of it. “Mom, did you call me just now?”
“Yes. What were you thinking about?”
“Nothing.”
“How about a short trip nearby this weekend?”
“Okay.”
…
At the used car dealership.
Zhou Songyan took out a card and handed it to the cashier.
“Deduct the remaining amount from this.”
Qin Xuan stood beside him, clicking his tongue.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Old Zhou, I’ve never seen you like this. Who was that woman just now? Why did you help her pay for a car?”
He had even made up a whole story about a huge price cut.
A car he sold for 150,000—Zhou Songyan made him sell it for 20,000, and covered the rest himself.
Zhou Songyan turned and glanced at him.
“Don’t ask. It has nothing to do with you.”
Qin Xuan: “……”