Chapter 276: The Mayor Summons
Chapter 276: The Mayor Summons
Finally, he no longer had to spend a lot of his after-school time dealing with those tests that had little effect. Feng Yiping felt slightly relieved. He was not afraid of criticism or rebuke, but what he feared was that some people would tell him to do things that were ineffective and useless under the guise of doing what was best for him.
It was another rare weekend, and Feng Yiping was going to relax with Huang Jingping by going to the movies, with a bag of microwave popcorn. Jackie Chan's 'Who Am I?' was playing at the city cinema.
'Let's go!' Huang Jingping took his hand, and the small bag she was holding in the other hand swung back and forth in the air. She was wearing a blue semi-long trench coat made of wool, and inside was a white knit shirt. Before going out, Feng Yiping helped her straighten her hair, which was now hanging softly over her shoulders. She looked quite feminine, but her active movements made her look like a young girl.
Two elderly people were also walking downstairs. Seeing how they looked, they smiled and stepped aside. Huang Jingping stuck out her tongue a little, and immediately became quiet.
At this time of year, one thing is quite good: even if you park in the centre of the city, no old man with arm warmers will come and charge you. So, sometimes, the weak market awareness of some government departments is actually a good thing.
Feng Yiping parked the car not far from the convenience store in the business district, and took Huang Jingping to buy two small bottles of Coke. Huang Jingping also bought a few small snacks. Then Feng Yiping realised that he should do this less in the future, because the girl at the cash register looked very envious.
This is not right. They also work hard, and they are actually helping Feng Yiping make money. It's fine for Feng Yiping to go out and have fun on his own, but he really shouldn't hang out in front of them. Who knows if the envy is not resentment?
The cinema was full on the weekend, and Feng Yiping and his friends were surrounded by people. It seemed that Jackie Chan's box office appeal was still quite good. However, as soon as he sat down, his phone vibrated. He opened it and saw that it was from an unfamiliar number. He was too lazy to answer it, so he pressed the button to turn it off. However, the number kept calling, so he pressed the button three times. Seeing that it was still ringing, he simply turned off his phone. He didn't know the person, so what was the emergency?
The movie was good, with many big scenes. It was still Jackie Chan's unique style of action comedy. To be objective, it was at least worth the price of admission.
As soon as he left the cinema and turned on his phone, several text messages popped up: 'Feng Yiping, this is Zheng Jiayi, my mother wants to meet you!' 'Feng Yiping, where are you, please call back, it's urgent!' 'Feng Yiping, why aren't you answering the phone, it's urgent!'...
Huang Jingping didn't even stick her head out to see what it was when she heard the beeps. She just asked, 'Is it the same phone number as before? You might as well call back, there might be something urgent!'
'Well, it's a classmate I haven't had much contact with before.'
As for whether to call back, Feng Yiping hesitated a little. The text messages were very strange, as if he had done something to Zheng Jiayi, such as accidentally making her pregnant, and her mother was determined to get even with him. But honestly, they really didn't know each other well!
He hadn't decided whether to fight or not when Zheng Jiayi called again, 'Feng Yiping, it's Zheng Jiayi. What are you doing? I've been calling you for almost two hours!'
Feng Yiping didn't know how to respond to this. I don't seem to have done anything to you, sister. Do you really need to call me so insistently?
'Did you get my text message? My mother wants to meet you. If you're busy, just put everything else aside. You have a car, so I don't need to pick you up. I'll give you the address.'
Feng Yiping still didn't know how to respond. Could someone please tell me what's going on? Why are you so eager to let me meet your mother for no reason?
'Zheng, can I ask what's going on?' He put it more politely.
Zheng Jiayi over there also understood, and she realised that what she had said was really abrupt. Without any context, she had just urged him to meet her mother, which seemed a bit confusing. She blushed a little, although Feng Yiping couldn't feel it.
'Zheng Lezhi from your company is my cousin.'
'Hm,' I have an employee who is your cousin, so what does that have to do with meeting your mother?
'My mother's surname is Fang, and she is the former principal of No. 1 Middle School.' Seeing that Feng Yiping still hadn't reacted, Zheng Jiayi had to clarify.
Feng Yiping now understood and didn't understand at the same time. No wonder she used to be so aloof, no wonder Liu Wenjun looked so miserable after she poured water over his face, and no wonder she knew so much when they met a year ago, because her mother was the mayor. But what he didn't understand was why the mayor suddenly wanted to meet him.
'Some things are hard to explain over the phone, so you'd better come over. I'll wait for you at the entrance to the compound.'
'What's wrong?' Huang Jingping asked, seeing that he was a little dazed.
'A female classmate from my past, whose mother is actually Mayor Fang, called and said that her mother wants to see me now, without saying what it's about.'
Huang Jingping seemed to have automatically ignored the words 'female classmate'. 'The mayor wants to see you? That must be a good thing, let's go back quickly, you can't go in that outfit.'
After they got home, while Huang Jingping was looking for clothes for him, he called Ding Qiang, Zhou Xinyu and Zheng Lezhi in turn. They all said that there was nothing going on, which was a bit strange. The mayor wouldn't ask him to go over for no reason!
Huang Jingping picked and chose, and wearing a school uniform seemed a bit casual, while wearing a suit seemed a bit too formal and didn't quite fit with his student status. In the end, she dressed him in the Chinese-style clothing with a stand-up collar. This was good, formal, and in keeping with his status. It looked smart too. Huang Jingping spent a few minutes blow-drying his hair. The finished young man was quite handsome. 'Not bad, go, do well, I'll wait for you back for dinner.'
When he pulled up in front of the compound and saw the guard post in front of the gate, he was no longer surprised. No wonder he had such a cold temperament. Since childhood, he had been greeted by armed police officers whenever he entered or left the house.
Zheng Jiayi, dressed in a grey trench coat, ran out of the guard room and got straight into the passenger seat. 'Why are you only here?'
Feng Yiping watched as the armed police waved him through without asking any questions. He was thinking about the face-swiping incident, which had happened a long time ago, but he asked her a completely unrelated question, 'Old classmate, since you're so awesome, can you get me a pass for the municipal government so I can put it on the front of my car to show off?'
'No wonder you're in business, as soon as we meet you're already thinking about taking advantage of people,' Zheng Jiayi felt a little uncomfortable when she said this.
Feng Yiping did not realise this. Looking at the small buildings with courtyards around him, the flowering trees and the playground in the middle, he thought that the people living here were all the kind of people you normally only see on TV. He said with admiration, 'What a great place!'
'Forget it, to someone like you who has seen it all, this is nothing. It's just the building in front,' she instructed Feng Yiping, parking in front of the building. There were already a few cars parked in the driveway in front of the building, and it seemed that the mayor was also very busy at work during the weekend.
Sure enough, there were still a few cadres-looking people waiting in the living room. When they saw the little princess who had just gone out personally bringing a young man back, they all asked her to say hello without changing their expressions, 'Welcome back!'
Zheng Jiayi smiled and nodded to them, and then thought for a moment before saying to Feng Yiping, 'Come with me to the backyard!'
That's pretty good. After standing here for a while, those people in the living room, with their smiling faces but scrutinising gazes, have already scanned him several times, making him feel uncomfortable.
Of course Feng Yiping couldn't recognise that one of the people waiting was their county's official in charge, County Magistrate Zhao.