Chapter 28: Ready... Go!
Shuohua had basically finished its first stage of expansion recently and successfully took over the parts it could handle. As a businessman, Gao Ming was very satisfied. As a boss, he generously rewarded the people who made it happen.
“Everyone gets one week of paid vacation, and this month’s bonus will be doubled. I hope after relaxing, you can return with even more energy for work.”
At the meeting, Gao Ming announced it in front of everyone. The people there were all smiling happily, almost wanting to cheer out loud. Gao Ming had already guessed their reaction. He packed up his things, stood up, and left.
“YEAH!!!”
Before the meeting room door even fully closed, loud cheers exploded behind him like thunder. Gao Ming only smiled and walked back to his office with light steps.
After sitting down, he stretched hard in his chair. When the chair stopped turning, his eyes landed on the wedding photo that had recently been placed there.
Thinking about it carefully, she had been cooking every day lately and working from morning until night. Meanwhile, he really did look like some rich young master being served by others. No matter what kind of person she was inside, her body was still that of a delicate woman.
Thinking of this, Gao Ming could not help flipping through cookbooks.
But the four great Chinese cuisines, Sichuan, Shandong, Huaiyang, and Cantonese, were too deep and complicated, no less difficult than the business world. As for regular homemade dishes... he honestly felt tired of them already. Compared to that, Western food looked much simpler and easier to learn.
After a trip to the supermarket, he became busy at home.
Simple things were not actually simple. Talent was not something everyone had. The food was barely edible, but definitely not delicious.
In the end, helpless halfway through, he changed plans and followed a tutorial to cut the steak into strips and turn it into beef strips instead.
He opened a bottle of wine to let it breathe, arranged everything nicely, and after looking around, it actually did feel a little romantic.
Forget it, this should be enough.
The front door clicked open, and Cheng Fei walked in while whistling. Business was slow in the afternoon, so she came home to grab something. She did not expect this guy to come back so early. It was only four thirty, which honestly surprised her.
The two looked at each other for a few seconds. Cheng Fei looked at the table full of dishes in shock.
For an entire week, they had only left home together in the morning and barely saw each other at night. But today was different. Not only did they suddenly meet at home, but this big company boss who usually dealt with business worth hundreds of thousands or even millions was actually cooking at home!
She was definitely surprised, but underneath that surprise, she could not tell if it was happiness or fear.
“You... planning to change careers?”
Gao Ming laughed awkwardly. “I don’t have talent for this either. It’s just barely edible.”
Cheng Fei sniffed deeply, changed into slippers, and picked up a piece of egg with her chopsticks. After chewing, she forced out the same polite smile often seen on foreign visitors trying unfamiliar food.
From that breakfast a few days ago when she felt sick, she already knew his cooking skills were questionable. Now she was completely sure.
The food really was not very good. It was not tasty, but at least it could be swallowed. In the sink was even a bowl of shrimp still twitching weakly, proving he had no idea how to handle them.
In this area, she could completely crush him. But since it was his first try, she felt she should be more forgiving like a senior teaching a beginner.
Each of them had a glass of red wine. After one sip, Cheng Fei could tell it was expensive. Now she was truly curious about what Gao Ming was planning.
Gao Ming noticed the silence from across the table. He looked up and saw Cheng Fei staring at him without blinking, full of confusion.
“The company’s expansion took another big step forward. I’m just happy, don’t misunderstand.”
Only after hearing that did Cheng Fei relax slightly, but her eyes quietly moved toward the wine bottle...
Good. No better time than now. Since the chance had come, tonight would be the day!
“Ahem.” Cheng Fei cleared her throat. “If we’re celebrating, let’s do something stronger.”
“What?”
Cheng Fei raised her eyebrows and walked to the sink. The water looked clean enough, so she picked up the shrimp and rubbed them with salt. After washing them, she chopped some green onion, ginger, garlic, and chili peppers.
Red wine could not be used for flames, so her eyes moved toward a small wine jar on the shelf.
“Mind if I use a little?”
Now Gao Ming understood what she wanted to make, so he nodded. “Go ahead.”
The moment she pulled out the stopper, the strong smell of alcohol rushed straight into her nose, instantly making her a little dizzy.
Strong stuff!
The smell was no weaker than the sixty-degree liquor her family drank during New Year when she was young. It might even be stronger. No wonder it had been left there even after opening. But the stronger it was, the better. That would make her plan easier and safer to carry out.
She poured in some of the powerful liquor. The shrimp, already drunk, changed color in the flames.
A delicious smell spread through the air. Cheng Fei barely resisted taking a bite herself. As expected of her nose, the smell alone was enough.
The corners of her lips lifted slightly. Then she carried the whole plate over and placed it in front of Gao Ming.
Gao Ming had only eaten raw drunken shrimp before. This half-cooked version was completely new to him. The smell was too tempting, and he could not resist. He picked one up and chewed it, enjoying the fresh taste so much that he did not even spit out the shell.
“Pretty tasty!”
Cheng Fei grinned and raised her wine glass, asking for a toast. Gao Ming looked troubled.
“This is already...”
“Isn’t this supposed to be a celebration? I can’t drink much, but at least go through the motions.”
Gao Ming had no answer. It had been a long time since he allowed himself to relax. In the end, temptation won, and he picked up the wine glass.
Clink!
The way they moved was so natural that the two looked just like close friends. Gao Ming was already addicted to the taste and stuffed another whole shrimp into his mouth.
“A mix of Chinese and Western style, red wine and white liquor together. Not bad, right?”
“Mhm!”
Gao Ming nodded while lowering his head. The double alcohol hit made his face quickly turn red.
Hehe! Cheng Fei secretly felt happy inside. This guy really could not handle alcohol. Just a few bites and drinks already made him dizzy!
“Why aren’t you eating?”
Cheng Fei said, “I already drank a can of beer at noon. If I drink red wine and eat drunken shrimp too, I won’t be able to get up tomorrow morning.”
“Hehe... the wedding planning is almost done. They already sent me a few plans. Come take a look too.”
“I don’t think I should get involved in that.”
“You’re one of the people involved too,” Gao Ming said with a smile.
Since he kept insisting, Cheng Fei stopped refusing and went to sit beside him. Gao Ming scrolled through pictures on his phone. The wedding setups really were beautiful, but Cheng Fei had no mood to enjoy them. Instead, she felt nervous and kept secretly watching every little change in Gao Ming’s expression.
Unexpectedly, this guy’s alcohol tolerance really was terrible. After a few shrimp and some red wine, even his eyelids started drooping uncontrollably.
Cheng Fei decided to go all the way. She picked up another shrimp and shoved it into his mouth, then added more red wine for good measure.
Bang!
After all that, Gao Ming could no longer fight the drunkenness. His head dropped straight onto the table, and he completely passed out.
“Yes!”
Cheng Fei was so excited it showed clearly on her face, but she did not dare shout loudly in case she woke him up, so she only celebrated with hand gestures.
She patted his face to make sure he was fully asleep, then rushed upstairs to pack important things and some cash before running back down.
By now, Gao Ming was already snoring loudly. Only then did Cheng Fei finally feel safe enough to run away.
She left a note beside him, quietly closed the door, and carefully headed to the emergency exit. This was the only place without cameras.
Once there, Cheng Fei pulled out a wig cap. She had spent so much time planning her escape that she completely forgot to cut her long hair. No choice now, she could only make do.
After struggling for quite a while, she finally stuffed all her long hair inside. Looking at herself again, she now had neat short hair. It even looked somewhat masculine, though still slightly longer. Perfect!
Without wasting time, she lifted off the dress she wore outside. Underneath was a T-shirt and shorts. Once she loosened the pant legs and reversed the shirt, her appearance completely changed again.
Then she changed into height-increasing leather shoes, instantly becoming around 175 centimeters tall. After adding sunglasses, she looked like a completely different person from before.
New phone, new SIM card. Fake documents could not fool professionals, but tricking normal people was more than enough.
Very good! She really did have talent to become a secret agent!
Cheng Fei felt very satisfied with her current look and casually threw the makeup compact into a trash can.
She walked downstairs, put on a baseball cap, shoved both hands into her pockets, and whistled while pretending to act cool.
After spotting a quiet corner by the apartment fence, she climbed over the iron railing carefully, avoiding the sharp parts, and jumped outside.
Finally out!
So this is what freedom feels like!
Her excitement exploded. She even kicked a small stone on the road for fun.
“Hiss!”
Too happy too soon. She kicked too hard and hurt her toe instead. The shoe quality was terrible. Cheap stuff really was unreliable. Still, getting dented just from kicking a stone was ridiculous!
She squatted by the roadside for a while trying to fix the dent so the shoes could still be worn, but the pain in her toe would not go away anytime soon.
With no choice, Cheng Fei endured it and waved down a taxi, planning to head to a small bus station in the suburbs.
That place mostly had small buses going to county towns and remote areas. Tickets were cheap, and management was loose. She did not expect to go all the way back home from there. Escaping Yunzhou first was enough.
Sigh... before this, she never thought much about it. But now that she was using fake documents herself, she finally realized how hard life on the run could be.
After thinking for a bit, she got back to business.
Halfway there, she got out near the milk tea shop and sat by the roadside, messing with her phone again.
If she could avoid saying too much, she would. It was best if only heaven, Brother Zhou, and herself knew the truth. Using “something left behind by a relative” as an excuse was the safest choice.
A few minutes later, Miao Lei appeared carrying the large travel bag Cheng Fei had prepared earlier.
“My relative will arrive soon. She has a bad temper and doesn’t like talking much. Just give the bag directly to her.”
After sending the voice message, Cheng Fei removed the SIM card from her old phone and threw it into the trash. Then she waved her hand and stepped out from the dark alley.
Sneaking around cameras like a rat really was exhausting!
She rented a shared bicycle, adjusted her sunglasses again, and started riding. The height-increasing shoes were extremely uncomfortable. Even riding the bike felt awkward, and she kept wobbling all over the road.
Thinking about her current outfit, it should be fine, right? People were used to seeing her with makeup, but today she was completely bare-faced.
Still, this was not some novel where people became unrecognizable instantly. Her facial features were exactly the same. Unless someone was blind, they could still tell it was her.
Luckily, she had hidden her hair, wore sunglasses, and used taller shoes. Her overall look had changed a lot. As long as she moved quickly, people probably would not notice.
Thinking that, she rode closer, stopped the bike, and coughed lightly.
“Hello, miss. My younger sister asked me to pick up a bag.”
Miao Lei turned around and saw Cheng Fei standing there with both hands in her pockets and a slight smile on her lips. She looked extremely handsome and stylish. A little thin, maybe, but still more than enough to charm a teenage girl.
Oh wow, this young girl really fell for it fast!
To hurry things along, Cheng Fei cleared her throat again as a reminder.
Miao Lei blinked and carefully handed the bag over with both hands.
“Uh, this is the bag...”
“Thanks.”
The soft feminine part of her voice was unavoidable because of her body. Speaking in a lower voice was already the best disguise she could manage. She just wanted familiar people to avoid connecting her with the old Cheng Fei.
After saying that, Cheng Fei grabbed the bag, got back on the bike, and started wobbling all over the place again.