Chessboard Street. The mouth of an alley lined with white walls and black tiles.
A wintersweet branch reached over a low wall, hovering above Wang Ziyan’s head, its faint fragrance perfuming the air.
Chen Yansen’s reply was crude and blunt, yet it carried a certain fondness.
"You’re so crude. You definitely don’t have a girlfriend," Wang Ziyan said with certainty, the corners of her mouth turning down. Unhappiness was written all over her face.
"You’re just a kid, what do you know? Here, for you. It’s the top-of-the-line Orange C2."
Chen Yansen scoffed. As he spoke, he pulled a palm-sized box from his bag and tossed it to her.
"Thanks, Brother Jensen! I wish you a monthly inco of ten million! Mom, Dad, and my brother are ho, so you can just head on over."
Wang Ziyan’s eyes curved into crescents as she bead.
’Ten million a month?’
’Is she trying to curse ?’
Chen Yansen’s expression darkened, and he reached out to take it back.
Wang Ziyan dodged back and darted away, leaving behind only a flash of her red coat and a crisp laugh that sounded like tinkling bells.
’That girl’s really grown up!’
Chen Yansen mused with a faint smile.
He then continued deeper into the alley, walking along the slightly uneven bluestone path.
Before long, he saw a bare pagoda tree standing tall in the cold wind, a persimmon tree beside it.
Wang Zihao’s courtyard gate was open, and though another door stood between him and the house, he could still hear faint movents from inside.
Without announcing his arrival, Chen Yansen stepped into the courtyard and pushed open the door. A large, square table stood in the living room, where Wang Zhanjun and Wang Zihao were busy arranging bowls and chopsticks. Wen Shui, wearing an apron, was just coming out of the kitchen with a bowl of chicken soup and rice balls.
"Oh? Xiaosen, what are you doing here?" Wen Shui paused in surprise before a wide smile blood on her face. She hurriedly set the dish down, wiped her hands on her apron, and pulled Chen Yansen to a seat.
"Brother Sen, have dinner with us tonight," Wang Zihao proposed.
"I can’t. I just dropped by to see Uncle Wang and Aunt Wen. I’ve already booked our New Year’s Eve dinner at Ju Hongsheng. I have to be with Lao Chen."
Chen Yansen refused with a wave of his hand.
Wang Zihao understood. It wouldn’t be right to let Uncle Chen spend New Year’s Eve alone.
"Looks like Lao Chen’s cooking still hasn’t improved,"
Wang Zhanjun remarked playfully as he poured Chen Yansen a cup of tea.
He recalled when Chen Yansen was a child, a little sweet-talker who would constantly shower Wen Shui with praise. "Aunt Wen, your cooking is amazing! Can I co back again tomorrow?"
The couple had exchanged glances, thinking the boy was just addicted to getting free als. Only later did they learn that Chen Yansen ate all three of his als at fast-food joints.
For one thing, his relationship with his father was tense; for another, Chen Guobin’s cooking was truly subpar.
He ended up eating their food for six or seven years!
When Chen Guobin eventually found out, he offered to pay Wang Zhanjun a monthly fee for the food.
But in Wang Zhanjun’s eyes, it was just a matter of setting out an extra pair of chopsticks. Chen Yansen and Wang Zihao had been inseparable since they were kids. Accepting money would sour the relationship.
At first, Wen Shui hadn’t been thrilled. There’s a saying that a growing boy can eat you out of house and ho, and though Chen Yansen was young, his appetite was anything but small.
But after Wang Zihao went to college and started a business with Chen Yansen, any lingering resentnt she felt had long since vanished into thin air.
Now, her son was a director at Pinbei, managing a dozen or so employees and earning fifty to sixty thousand a month. Factoring in the four quarterly bonuses a year, he easily made over a million annually.
Wen Shui knew in her heart that this was all thanks to Chen Yansen.
"Uncle Wang, Aunt Wen, I brought so of our company’s new products. I’d appreciate it if you could test them out for ."
Chen Yansen said with a mock-serious tone as he placed the gift bag on the table.
"You’re getting craftier, kid. If you’re giving a gift, just give it. You think I wouldn’t dare accept it?"
Wang Zhanjun shook his head. Without any ceremony, he reached into the bag and pulled out two phones, a lighter, and a box of costics.
Wen Shui instinctively tried to refuse, but a glare from Wang Zhanjun stopped her. With a helpless sigh, she accepted the new phone and the costics. "Xiaosen," she said to Chen Yansen, "you have to co over tomorrow. Aunt Wen will make you beef hot pot."
Wang Zhanjun casually slipped the lighter into his pocket, having no idea that the inconspicuous little gadget was worth a whopping eighteen thousand yuan.
Just then, Wang Ziyan ca in carrying a bag of solid fuel blocks.
"Uncle Wang, it’s getting late. I should be going," Chen Yansen said, seeing her return. He stood up to take his leave.
In Chunshen, New Year’s Eve dinner usually started around five or six o’clock. Afterward, the adults would play mahjong while the children went outside to set off fireworks.
He also realized that if their small hot pot hadn’t run out of fuel, the Wang family’s New Year’s Eve dinner would probably be half over by now.
Wang Zhanjun nodded slightly. Dispensing with the usual pleasantries, he simply had Wang Zihao see him out.
"Brother Sen, I booked a KTV room for tonight. Besides ’Big Sis,’ six of our high school classmates will be there. Want to join?"
Wang Zihao asked as they reached the mouth of the alley.
"No need, you guys go have fun." Chen Yansen waved, settled into the back of a Bentley, and instructed Xiaoli to head to the Salt Company’s residential complex first to pick up Lao Chen.
Sitting in the car, Chen Yansen couldn’t help but recall his past life. Back then, on New Year’s Eve, the most he ever did was give Lao Chen a single phone call.
Then he would just randomly choose a female friend to spend the holiday with.
The silver Bentley sped on, heading toward West City.
「anwhile.」
In Luzhou, Kuai Pao Riders were still weaving through the streets and alleys, busy delivering als to custors.
With the Spring Festival drawing near, the events team had planned a special promotion for New Year’s Eve dinners. Most of the participating businesses were chain restaurants, and to everyone’s surprise, the results were exceptionally good.
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