Chapter 70: The Most Honored Guest

“Uh…” Zhou Tingting finally realized she had spoken out of turn and hurried to correct herself:
“What nonsense… You misheard me!”
“I meant, don’t even think about getting back together with me!”
“That’s absolutely impossible. My boyfriend now is a civil servant in town!”
“You’re not even worth a single hair on his foot!”
“I’d rather die of loneliness, starve to death, or rot outside than ever get back together with you!”
“Are you hearing this clearly?”
Zeng Xiaofan was utterly speechless. “Didn’t you take hallucinogens?”
“Which ear of yours heard me say I wanted to reconcile?”
“Don’t be so full of yourself. I have a woman I like now.”
“She’s much prettier than you!”
“Hmph~” Zhou Tingting grinned smugly. “Keep bragging!”
“Zeng Xiaofan, just keep living in your fantasy. It’s nice, isn’t it?”
“And still pretending with me. If you really had a woman, would you come out at noon just to ‘run into’ me?”
Zeng Xiaofan looked exasperated. “Who’s running into you? Don’t flatter yourself. Someone invited me to town for lunch, that’s why I went out.”
“Oh my! Zeng Xiaofan, you really have thick skin!”
“Now you can lie without even blinking?”
“Someone invited you to lunch in town?”
“What are you worth? Who would invite you to lunch?”
“Haha, don’t make me laugh. I’m the one who was invited to lunch in town!”
“Forget it, I don’t want to waste words with a loser like you. Just get out of here on your junk motorcycle!”
With that, Zhou Tingting rolled up her window, slammed her foot on the gas, and sped off, leaving Zeng Xiaofan far behind, flaunting her victory.
Zeng Xiaofan brushed away the dust, shook his head in resignation, and started up his motorcycle to head to town as well.

Victory Farm was built along a scenic provincial road, a collection of neat, elegant houses with blue bricks and white tiles, bridges over flowing water, and wooden corridors. Beside them were fish ponds and cool pavilions. Though it was just a farm, it was clear that the aesthetics were crafted by a master.
Simple yet refined, hidden in the wild but possessing its own pastoral charm.
It was Zeng Xiaofan’s first visit to Victory Farm, and seeing the place in person, he felt the name didn’t quite match its beauty.
“Victory Farm—such an ordinary name, but the architecture is surprisingly tasteful~”
“Seems the owner has some real style.”
“No wonder the mayor kept recommending this farm…”
He muttered to himself as he drove his battered motorcycle through the farm’s gate.

Before he even reached the parking lot, he saw a group of young men and women standing upright at the entrance, clearly waiting to welcome someone.
Zeng Xiaofan knew these must be the people Mayor Lin arranged to greet him.
Such an ostentatious reception felt quite pleasant.
In all his years, he’d never been greeted so ceremoniously, especially by town officials.
He had to admit, it felt pretty good.
He smiled slightly and drove over.
Yet before he even got close, a voice full of disdain rang out:
“Zeng Xiaofan! Are you done yet?”
“How did you follow me here?”
“I’m warning you, we’re about to welcome a very distinguished, very important guest!”
“Don’t make trouble here!”
“Get lost!” Zhou Tingting shouted from afar.
The other civil servants quickly gathered around. One man, hair parted in the middle, gold-rimmed glasses, and thin lips, looked at Zeng Xiaofan with equal disdain:
“What’s going on?”
“Who are you?”
Before Zeng Xiaofan could speak, Zhou Tingting sneered:
“Weifeng, he’s my useless ex-boyfriend!”
“He was blocking me at the road earlier, shamelessly begging to get back together!”
“You know, now that I have you, how could I ever look at someone like him?”
“I rejected him outright, but I didn’t expect him to be so shameless, chasing me all the way to the farm!”
Xie Weifeng frowned at her words, his gaze growing even more disdainful. He said impatiently:
“We’ll talk about this later. Right now, make sure this guy gets out of here!”
“Look at him, riding that junk motorcycle! He better not disturb our distinguished guest!”
“This is someone the mayor has personally emphasized must be received warmly, with the highest honor!”
“If this guy messes things up, we’ll be in big trouble!”
Zhou Tingting nodded vigorously, her expression growing tense. She turned and glared at Zeng Xiaofan:
“Zeng Xiaofan, did you hear?”
“We’re welcoming a very distinguished guest. Please leave immediately!”
“Or don’t blame me for being rude!”
Zeng Xiaofan found their conversation amusing, shook his head, and said with a chuckle:
“You keep talking about welcoming the most distinguished guest. Isn’t that me?”
“Is this how you greet me? Is this what your mayor taught you?”

“Ugh! Shameless!” Zhou Tingting spit disdainfully at his feet, pointing at his nose:
“Zeng Xiaofan, are you out of your mind?”
“You mean to say we’re all here to welcome you to the luncheon?”
“Don’t make me laugh! Who do you think you are?”
“You filthy loser! You expect us to welcome you?”
“You really have no shame, not even bothering to make up a story!”
“If you were our most distinguished guest, I’d stand on my hands for you!”
Her words brought an explosion of laughter from the crowd, all looking at Zeng Xiaofan with mocking smiles, shaking their heads.
Hearing the laughter, Zhou Tingting’s face flushed slightly, realizing she’d let her tongue slip. She grew even angrier at Zeng Xiaofan, grinding her teeth:
“Damn it, it’s all your fault…”
“You made me so angry I lost control and embarrassed myself with you!”
“Now get lost!”
Zeng Xiaofan frowned slightly:
“I’m not joking. Isn’t your mayor named Lin Chunhua?”
“Didn’t he send you to the gate to welcome me?”
“Ugh!” Xie Weifeng was furious too. He pointed at Zeng Xiaofan’s nose:
“Kid, this is your last warning—get out of here!”
“Stop pretending. Who doesn’t know our mayor is Lin Chunhua?”
“Acting like you’re close to him. Don’t think I don’t see through you. You’re just a broke loser, trying to freeload a meal!”
He sneered, lips curled with contempt. “People like you will never have more than three dishes to eat in your life!”
“What, your girlfriend left you for me and you’re upset?”
“If you’re unhappy, swallow it down. Scum like you isn’t worthy of competing with me!”
“Still trying to act tough in front of me?”
“If you were the most distinguished guest invited by our mayor, I’d kneel right here and lick your shoes like a dog!”
He laughed coldly. “If you really want to sneak into the farm for a meal, it’s not impossible.”
“As long as you kneel, crawl around the whole yard, and polish my leather shoes and Tingting’s high heels with your tongue until they shine—”
“I’ll have the farm owner leave you some soup, so you can eat with their dogs!”