Zhou Peng was fawning over Fang Yuqing enthusiastically at the side.
But it was obvious Fang Yuqing had no interest in a man like Zhou Peng.
In terms of financial condition, Zhou Peng was far worse than Zhang Ye—he didn't even own a home and lived in a rental.
Even so, Fang Yuqing smiled sweetly and said, "Thank you, Zhou Peng. But I happen to have plans with a friend that night. What a pity!"
A flicker of disappointment immediately crossed Zhou Peng's face.
He had spent an entire month's salary on those two concert tickets!
He had planned to take the opportunity to confess his feelings for her at the concert.
But now, it was all in vain.
Zhang Ye witnessed the scene, a trace of mockery curling at the corner of his lips.
He knew Zhou Peng, that pathetic simp, would never get anything out of it.
But Zhou Peng, in his frustration, noticed Zhang Ye's smirk and instantly felt anger rise in his chest.
To redirect his embarrassment, he walked over and said to Zhang Ye, "Zhang Ye, you're really out of line!"
"A grown man letting a woman help you move things—aren't you ashamed?"
"Yu Qing came to work today complaining about a sore waist. Next time, don't trouble her with things like that!"
Zhang Ye glanced at Fang Yuqing.
So it was this woman who spread the word.
Fang Yuqing still pretended to be generous and said, "It's fine, really. My body's okay."
"It's just that I'm not used to heavy lifting... feels like I might've twisted my back."
As she spoke, she rubbed her lower back and winced in pain.
In an attempt to appear masculine in front of Fang Yuqing, Zhou Peng suddenly puffed up and pointed at Zhang Ye.
"You better give her 500 yuan for her medical expenses!"
To his surprise, Zhang Ye's gaze turned icy cold. He glared at Zhou Peng and snapped, "She offered to help me herself. I never asked her to."
"And you? What the hell are you supposed to be, ordering me around like this?"
"You really think you're somebody?"
Zhang Ye's scolding was fierce and satisfying, leaving Zhou Peng and Fang Yuqing both stunned.
Zhou Peng was just an ordinary clerk in the warehouse, without any power or status.
He only dared to scold Zhang Ye because Zhang Ye was usually easygoing and didn't like to argue with others.
But now that he saw Zhang Ye truly angry, Zhou Peng immediately backed down.
"Y-You don't have to yell so loudly…"
"I was just trying to talk things over with you."
Zhang Ye let out a cold laugh and turned to leave.
He couldn't be bothered to waste breath on Zhou Peng.
Because now, everyone around Zhang Ye looked like walking corpses to him.
In a month, ninety-nine percent of these people would die in the apocalyptic snowstorm.
Why waste words on the dead?
After Zhang Ye left, Zhou Peng rushed to Fang Yuqing and muttered quietly, "Yu Qing, I told you that Zhang Ye is no good. You'd better stay away from him."
Fang Yuqing frowned, feeling confused in her heart.
Because recently, Zhang Ye seemed to have completely changed.
He no longer greeted her proactively.
He didn't even message her at night anymore to say goodnight or make conversation.
"Something's definitely off."
She thought silently to herself.
…
After work, Zhang Ye drove to a five-star hotel in Tianhai City.
It was the "Hongfu Tianxia" restaurant where he had made a reservation earlier.
When the hotel manager heard that Zhang Ye had arrived, he immediately greeted him with a wide smile and arranged a suite for him.
A single night in a five-star hotel suite cost over a thousand yuan.
But Zhang Ye didn't feel the slightest pain about spending it.
After all, he still had several million yuan in cash. If he didn't spend it now, that would be a real waste.
That evening, the white lotus Fang Yuqing surprisingly messaged Zhang Ye first.
Fang Yuqing: "Zhang Ye, I passed by your place today and saw people renovating!"
Zhang Ye replied blandly, "Yeah."
Fang Yuqing: "You've been acting really strange lately—stockpiling supplies, renovating your house. Is something going to happen soon?"
Zhang Ye raised an eyebrow at that message.
This white lotus might be manipulative, but she certainly wasn't stupid.
It seemed his recent behavior had finally drawn her attention.
But Zhang Ye didn't care. Other people's opinions meant nothing to him anymore.
"Nothing."
He replied coldly and tossed his phone aside.
On the other end, Fang Yuqing stared at his indifferent message and felt uncomfortable inside.
Over the past two years, Zhang Ye had always been kind to her.
He used to care deeply for her, messaging her every night, always finding reasons to chat.
But lately, he had completely changed—he was cold and distant, and didn't even take the initiative to talk to her anymore.
Fang Yuqing felt very uneasy.
She didn't have to like Zhang Ye, but she absolutely couldn't accept Zhang Ye losing interest in her.
To Fang Yuqing, it felt like a fish had escaped from her pond.
Even though Zhang Ye wasn't a rich heir, he was still a decent middle-class man.
If she couldn't marry into wealth in the future, he was still a backup she could fall back on.
She picked up her phone and sent another message:
"Lately, we haven't been talking much. It's made me feel a bit lonely..."
But after waiting for a long time, there was still no response.
Fang Yuqing bit her lip, her mood growing more irritable by the minute.
"Damn that Zhang Ye. Did he get possessed or something? I'm the one initiating, and he dares not reply?!"
Her roommate Lin Caining, hearing her rant, walked over with a grin.
"Zhang Ye has been acting weird lately. Who knows why he's buying so much food and drink? He even booked a bunch of hotel banquets."
"It really looks like there's going to be a shortage of supplies or something."
Fang Yuqing's brows furrowed slightly when she heard that.
She turned to Lin Caining and asked, "Ningning, do you think something's actually about to happen? Maybe Zhang Ye heard some inside news and started stockpiling?"
Lin Caining was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"Yu Qing, have you gone silly? If something serious was going to happen, the authorities would definitely issue a public warning."
"Just relax. If we start stockpiling now, people will think we're idiots."
Fang Yuqing chuckled self-deprecatingly.
"You're right."
…
Zhang Ye stayed in the five-star hotel suite for several days.
He didn't go anywhere. During that time, he was both placing massive banquet orders from various hotels—
—and training in the use of compound bows and crossbows in his room.
Fortunately, Zhang Ye had enjoyed hunting in the past and already had a solid foundation.
Now, within a fifteen-meter range, his accuracy was excellent.
Especially with a professional-grade compound bow, this modern weapon allowed even an average person to shoot arrows as powerfully as ancient archers.
Not to mention using it against people—he could take down wild boars, wolves, even large dogs with it.