The first update,

...

The two women had only made a bit of a fuss, and the incident quickly passed; they understood that the somewhat threatening Su Ting was just a passerby they had encountered.

Qin Fang's car purchase was all set, and he was unlikely to visit that 4S dealership again—after all, the Audi SUV they were seated in was the most expensive model in its line.

It wasn't a short distance from the 4S store to the vehicle management office, and in a major city like Ninghai, traffic routes were often congested, so their speed was considerably reduced. A journey that should have taken just half an hour was delayed by an extra fifteen minutes, taking one and a half times longer than expected.

"I'm sorry, Sister Ning, for making you wait so long…"

Seeing Ning Yumo standing in the sunlight, Qin Fang felt somewhat apologetic; the commotion on the road had slowed him down, and he hadn't dared to drive too fast, causing the delay.

"I've just arrived too. Let's go pick a number…"

Ning Yumo didn't mind much and immediately led Qin Fang and the others to choose a vehicle number.

Due to Ning Yumo's special relationship, she had likely contacted the leaders of the vehicle management office before arriving, allowing them free reign to select any number—even the reserved auspicious ones, although some still required a nominal fee.

Of course, those single-digit numbers were out of the question; they were reserved for provincial and municipal leaders. Just as the number 1 was typically for the vehicle of the Provincial Party Secretary and 2 for the Provincial Governor, if Qin Fang and his friends wanted a two-digit vehicle number, even the vehicle management office wouldn't dare release it.

"Qin Fang, what kind of number do you want? How about four sixes or four eights?"

Before Qin Fang had arrived, Ning Yumo had already made some inquiries. The five-digit identical numbers had already been issued, and the best ones left were four-digit identical numbers. These had only become available because a car was scrapped and the number reclaimed, and a young master from the provincial leadership had reserved it. Still, Ning Yumo had made a request, and they had to give face to her, so they had kept the number on hold.

"That's… I think there's no need for that!"

Qin Fang hesitated and then shook his head; he truly did not wish to be too ostentatious.

He was very aware of his background and the bizarre occurrences over the past few months, where he had unexpectedly encountered braggarts challenging him. If he were to be more conspicuous, who knows how many would take issue with him.

"I'll choose one myself…"

Forsaking the option of four identical digits, he turned to select one of the less ostentatious numbers, such as three of the same or pairs of identical digits.

The numbers flickered rapidly on the computer screen. With a specific range in mind, Qin Fang didn't need to cast a wide net; targeted fishing would suffice.

"Stop!"

Just then, Qin Fang suddenly called out, and Ning Yumo immediately paused, then glanced at the computer screen. After quickly scanning it, she found a few reasonably good options.

"Do you want this one with three eights, or the 6688?"

Those appeared to be the best numbers on the current page.

"Go back one page…"

But Qin Fang shook his head; the page went back one, and he pointed at a number, asking, "What do you think of this number?"

As he spoke, Qin Fang's face carried a hint of a smile, albeit a bit odd; however, all three girls were captivated by the number and didn't notice Qin Fang's expression.

"00544?"

All three girls couldn't help but utter the number in unison, their expressions similar and filled with confusion and doubt.

"What's with this number? It doesn't seem special at all…"

"Exactly, and it even has two fours—how inauspicious! Let's change it!"

Seeing this number, the three women almost all frowned at once. Though choosing numbers like 666 or 888 would have been a bit too flashy, they didn't need to go for a number this low-key.

Dragon Country's people are somewhat superstitious: although 88 sounds like "prosper prosper" and 66 signifies "smooth sailing," the number 4 is not considered auspicious since it sounds like "death." Hence, this number was usually avoided.

Naturally, as the educational level of Dragon Country's citizens has risen, many have come to recognize that in music, 4 represents the sound "fa," and gradually more have chosen it, though the number remains limited.

"Let me tell you a joke… One day, someone was driving out and accidentally collided with another car, leading to a quarrel between the two drivers. One of them angrily said, 'Are you blind, didn't you see my license plate, 00544, try touching me…'"

Pfft…

Right after Qin Fang told the joke, all three girls paused for a moment and then couldn't help bursting into laughter. Zero could be seen as a hole, and 00544 could be humorously interpreted as "try touching me."

"Qin Fang, that's quite a prank you've pulled!"

"Seriously, I can't stop laughing!"

"With that license plate, who would dare to bump into you on the road…"

Qin Fang, still chuckling, said, "Don't rush; I haven't finished yet. The other driver got angry too and retorted, 'Are your eyes planted under your feet? Didn't you see my license plate?' When the person looked, they were stunned—guess what, that license plate was actually 44944…"

"Hahaha…"

"This is too funny; I can't take it anymore..."

The joke was over, but the meaning had been clearly conveyed, and judging by the looks of it, all three girls seemed to have no objections to the license plate number anymore.

"Then let's choose this license plate number!"

A smile appeared on Qin Fang's face as well. Although the number wasn't particularly good, it was the kind that made people burst into laughter and was hard to forget.

Qin Fang was also pondering that the next time he accidentally bumped someone's car, he could very arrogantly shout, "Motherf...! Didn't you see my license plate..."

Of course, this was just a thought, and in such a situation, he would not actually do something like that.

"Qin Fang, do you think if we use this license plate, we'll run into the one with '44944' in the future?"

After deciding on the number, Ning Yumo went on to instruct the DMV staff to handle the registration and put on the plates, while Tang Feifei and Xiao Muxue were chattering away. Suddenly, this idea popped into their heads, and they immediately asked Qin Fang.

"This... how would I know!"

Qin Fang was initially taken aback, then chuckled bitterly—he had just seen the number and thought of the joke, which is what inspired the choice.

"There really is such a number, and no one is using it for now..."

However, it was Ning Yumo who, upon hearing their conversation, immediately searched in the number database and, to her surprise, found that this particular number was still available and hadn't been taken.

But it made sense; the number had four 4s, and most people wouldn't dare to use such a number.

"Haha, this number actually exists. When I buy a car next time, I'll use it..."

Tang Feifei immediately burst into laughter, already thinking about registering this number so that it would match Qin Fang's plate as a couple's set, which was a rare thing to see.

To Tang Feifei's idea, both Ning Yumo and Qin Fang were helpless but didn't pay much attention, treating it as if it was just a joke from Tang Feifei that she would probably forget in a few days.

In Dragon Country, there's indeed a big difference between having connections and not having any.

Choosing the number was one aspect, but handling the paperwork and getting the plates were specially expedited. Normally, it might take some time, but under Ning Yumo's urging, the procedures were completed that very day, which was impressively quick.

"Sister Ning, my new store is opening the day after tomorrow, and you must come, as well as Brother Qiang..."

After the paperwork was done, Qin Fang naturally extended a serious invitation to Ning Yumo. He didn't have many friends in Ninghai, and this time it wasn't a small restaurant like before, but Fang Feixue—a bigger deal, so he wanted to have a grand opening and invite his friends to support him.

"Your invitation is a bit late..."

However, Ning Yumo's expression turned serious and she spoke solemnly.

Qin Fang was startled and then looked somewhat disappointed. These days, Ning Yumo had been taking great care of him as his 'sworn sister' and helped him solve many problems. Qin Fang had been planning to surprise her but didn't expect it to backfire.

"If you can't make it, it's okay, you just do your thing!"

Qin Fang's words were somewhat forced, and one didn't need to say anything about the smile on his face—it was clear to anyone.

"Pfft~~"

But to Qin Fang's surprise, right after he spoke, all three women suddenly laughed, especially Tang Feifei, who had the most exaggerated laugh.

"What are you laughing at?"

Qin Fang suddenly felt that something was amiss. Looking at the expressions of the three women, he knew he was being played with, but he also quickly caught on, silently chuckling and continuing to play dumb.

"Nothing, I just thought of something really funny and couldn't help it..."

The three women looked at each other, and then Ning Yumo spoke solemnly.

"Me too..."

"Me too..."

Tang Feifei and Xiao Muxue chimed in.

"Who are you trying to fool? Sister Ning, if it's a funny thing that made you laugh, I believe it when it's just you, but how could all three of you laugh at the same time?"

Qin Fang knew what they were laughing about, but he pretended not to know and continued to tease.

"Because it's something the three of us discovered together, of course, we laughed together..."

Ning Yumo was quite composed, not giving anything away and asserting with confidence.

"Oh, is that right..."

Qin Fang put on an enlightened expression, but the faint disappointment on his face didn't completely fade, making the three women hesitate about whether they should tell the truth.

In the end, Ning Yumo still held back, and since Qin Fang wanted to surprise her, naturally she could also surprise him in return. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote, give monthly tickets at Qidian, and your support is my greatest motivation.)

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