Chapter 22: The little Western-Style Building

Under the pretense of celebrating Chen Jin’s occasion, a few families gathered for a meal. Everyone said they should visit the third uncle’s house next time, and he readily agreed, saying, “Let’s wait for National Day. Clear your schedules, and come to my place for dinner!”

So, the date for the next gathering was set.

They waited until after 5 PM to finish dinner, and only then did the meal come to an end. The aunt was carrying two bags of luggage, and Chen Jin offered to drive her luggage over, conveniently taking her cousin back to school as well.

The older cousin, Chen Yongxin, laughed and said to her, “You’ve already dared to take one person; what’s the difference if you take a few more? What are you afraid of? You’ve practiced driving enough.”

He and Chen Yongfei had to squeeze in practice sessions at the driving school during their work breaks, unlike Chen Jin, who had been going to the driving school every day throughout August, so she got her driver’s license while they still had to wait.

“Yeah, yeah, Third Sister, why don’t you just make a turn and take me back to school too?” Chen Jia, with his backpack, also wanted to ride in the new car.

Seeing this, Chen Jin said, “Alright, then get in the car.”

Since the car couldn’t fit so many people, the third uncle, third aunt, and the aunt said they would walk back to digest their food. Since they would be taking the cousin back to the high school anyway, they could also drop off the second uncle and second aunt, who lived in the Dongcheng area, before heading to the university town to drop Chen Jia off at Nanda.

The group went downstairs, and the eldest uncle was in no hurry to leave; he followed to check out Chen Jin’s new car. Everyone commented that it looked great and impressive.

The elders didn’t know much about cars, but they thought the stylish and spacious Santana was already a very nice luxury vehicle. After looking at it, the eldest uncle even got inside to try it out for a bit, feeling the seats and steering wheel, nodding in satisfaction.

The eldest aunt suggested that the eldest uncle should also get a new car; after all, he was a small business owner, and driving around in an old car for business meetings might make others hesitate to trust him with their projects.

The second cousin kept nodding, “Dad should get a new car; the Santana is really good.” He also wanted to buy a car once he got his driver’s license, but he was unsure how much budget his dad would give him for that…

“Let’s talk about it later.” The eldest uncle reluctantly got out of the car and called out to Chen Jin, “Hurry and take your second uncle and them back. Call me if you need anything.”

“Alright!” Once Chen Jin saw the eldest uncle’s family drive away, she called the second uncle and them to get in the car. It took only five minutes to arrive at the Rose Garden, right below the third uncle’s building. They waited for the cousin to take the aunt’s luggage upstairs and then bring his luggage down.

After leaving the Rose Garden, Chen Jin drove towards the Dongcheng direction, dropping off the second uncle and second aunt near the Meteorological Bureau’s family building before heading to No. 11 Middle School, and finally making her way straight to the east gate of Nanda.

“Third Sister, when will the little western-style building outside your school be renovated?”

“It’s already done. I’m going to inspect it tomorrow. After it airs out a bit, I’ll move in after October.”

Professor Jiang had specified that the first draft of her graduation thesis needed to be submitted before the end of this semester. So, she would continue living in the little western-style building, which would be convenient for going to the library to gather materials. Plus, the notice for hiring counselors hadn’t come out yet, and she wanted to make sure she frequently appeared in front of the teachers to leave a good impression.

“What’s wrong?” Chen Jin sensed that Chen Jia had something else on her mind.

Chen Jia, however, didn’t hesitate and said directly, “I was thinking, if the renovation is done, I could move my clothes and cosmetics over to your place and just pick them up when I need them. There’s a girl in our dorm who often takes other people’s things without asking. Just at the start of the semester, she used my cosmetics several times. I told her, but she didn’t change her behavior. You see, I still have to bring all my things home on the weekends.”

“You should lock your things in the cabinet so she can’t get to them.”

Chen Jia shook her head in frustration. “I don’t know where she learned to pick locks, but it’s really easy for her to open the locks in our dorm. Uh, well, we don’t have any evidence, but many times we’ve really locked everything up, and things hidden in the cabinets still get used, really! Third Sister, I and the other roommates are absolutely sure that the things we locked in the cabinets have been used! But when we told the counselor, she didn’t believe us; we had no evidence, and the counselor even said we were excluding her.”

“You’re probably wondering how we know she can pick locks, right?” Chen Jia continued, “When we first arrived at school, there was only one key for the dorm. Once, we lost the key and wanted someone to unlock it, and she opened the lock with a piece of wire. Another time, in the neighboring dorm, the person with the key hadn’t returned, and she was able to help them unlock it too, even though the locks in the two dorms are different!”

“We could search to the ends of the earth and still find no evidence. What can we do? If we can’t provoke them, we just avoid them. The other students either took their good stuff home or stored it in other dorms, but I’m not very familiar with those people…”

There were people willing to help, but they thought her things were too expensive and were afraid of potential problems that might arise.

“It’s really difficult. Before I went to college, I thought staying in a dorm would be great. Who knew there would be so many issues with it!”

Chen Jin understood her very well. “Having a few eccentric people in the dorm is pretty normal.” Her dorm was the same; there was also an eccentric girl.

“After National Day, just bring your things over and put them here. I’ll give you a key to the guest room on the first floor. If you can make it, you can come over to shower too.”

After all, she had lived at Nanda for three years, so she knew what the dorms were like. It was either sudden water cuts or no hot water. The worst was running out of hot water halfway through a shower, especially in the middle of winter—it was freezing!

Now that her family was in a better situation, of course, she wanted her sister to have a better experience.

As for moving in regularly? That was possible, but the paperwork was a bit troublesome.

Their College of Arts was very strict about dorm inspections for students other than seniors. Unless a student had permission from their advisor, they were not allowed to stay off-campus. Seniors weren’t as strictly regulated, but they still needed to apply. Chen Jin had submitted a request for not staying in the dorm this semester.

Although she had applied to not stay in the dorm, her bed space was still reserved. There would always be students who occasionally had to return to school, so they had to stay in the dorm.

There were exceptions; for example, Yang Qian from her dorm often stayed off-campus. This required the student’s parents to discuss it with the advisor and college leadership and to sign a guarantee.

Whether permission was granted also depended on the college, as each college managed students differently.

“Thanks, Third Sister!” If she weren’t driving, Chen Jia would have definitely rushed over to give her sister a big kiss!

“The other people in the dorm are pretty good. I’ll leave some things with you, and I can pick them up when I need them.”

The car stopped not far from the east gate of the school. Chen Jia picked up her backpack and, after saying goodbye, got out and headed back to campus.

As Chen Jin turned the car around to head home, a car drove past her, and the driver glanced over casually. Just a few seconds later, his eyes widened in surprise.

“Damn it!” Chen Jin cursed under her breath, starting the car to leave.

Li Xingyi suddenly slammed on the brakes, rolled down the window, and looked back. All he could see was the empty road, a bus passing by, and then another motorcycle. It seemed like the scene he had just witnessed was fake. It must have been fake, right?

How could Chen Jin possibly be driving a Santana?!

Bai Ling, in the passenger seat, nearly bumped her forehead against the dashboard from his sudden stop, turning pale from fright. Once she regained her composure, she couldn’t hold back her anger and slapped Li Xingyi’s arm heavily, “Can you drive properly? You scared me to death!”

Bai Ling had just turned to greet a friend outside the window, unaware of what Li Xingyi had seen moments ago.

Li Xingyi’s lips moved, but he ultimately decided not to mention he had seen Chen Jin, fearing that Bai Ling would start a fuss about it.

Speaking of which, they were already engaged. Both families had discussed it, and after graduation, they would obtain their marriage certificate. Their parents planned to buy a house near the school to make it convenient for them to continue their studies.

Yes, both Li Xingyi and Bai Ling were confirmed to stay at their current school for further studies. Their families were similar in background, sharing common aspirations. Both families owned companies, and they had older brothers paving the way for them, so their families had high expectations for them to pursue academic or political careers.

“I just saw someone I know, and I thought I was mistaken,” Li Xingyi explained. He leaned over to check if she had been hurt, and after reassuring her for a while, Bai Ling finally felt satisfied.

After dropping Bai Ling back at school, Li Xingyi returned to his car, still wondering how Chen Jin learned to drive, especially since she was driving a Santana worth two hundred thousand. Only his dad and older brother would take that car out for business… Could it be that Chen Jin’s family lent it to her?

It must be. Chen Jin had mentioned that her uncle seemed to run a construction company, so they probably had some money.

Forget it. What was he thinking about her for? It didn’t matter anymore.

Li Xingyi pushed the thoughts aside and started the car, leaving NTU.

Chen Jin drove over to the small villa, parking the car on the side of the road in front of her house. She had seen other families park their cars this way, so she decided to follow their example.

The house next door was already completed. From the outside, there didn’t seem to be much difference between the two buildings, but Chen Jin wouldn’t dare compare herself to them. They had spent five hundred thousand on renovations, and she had heard that all the furniture was imported. Tsk, tsk… how envious!

“Miss Chen!” The leader of the renovation team was already waiting. Without much small talk, he handed Chen Jin the keychain. The locks in her house were still the original ones and needed to be replaced, so she planned to oversee that herself later.

The front yard hadn’t undergone major changes; they had simply re-leveled the ground, built a flower bed, and planted flowers. The originally dull gray walls were freshly painted, giving the small courtyard a brand-new look.

Inside, there weren’t any major adjustments either. They had repainted the walls, refurbished the stair railing and the doors, replaced the flooring with wood-patterned tiles, and added warm-toned new furniture, making the house feel cozy. All the doors were open, and Chen Jin went from room to room to check, testing every light fixture, as well as the faucets and toilets…

The study’s bookshelf and desk were custom-made from solid wood. This was the room where Chen Jin spent the most time besides her bedroom, and she had repeatedly emphasized the need for good renovations.

In her view, the two bedrooms upstairs and downstairs were quite similar, but her favorite was the small living room on the second floor. It was a semi-circular space that protruded outward, with a large window. The sofa here was also custom-made, designed in a half-moon shape and placed against the window. She imagined that sitting here in the winter, basking in the sun, would be very comfortable.

Next to the public bathroom on the second floor, there was a toilet with a balcony facing the backyard, where the washing machine was set up. The clean clothes would also be hung on this balcony to dry. From here, she could look down at the backyard, which featured a pebbled path and a gazebo against the left wall. A set of table and chairs was placed inside, making it a nice spot for afternoon tea with family and friends, or even for a barbecue.

Chen Jin made notes as she looked around, planning to gradually furnish the place. By November, she would be able to move in and live there.

After Chen Jin repeatedly checked that everything was fine, the team leader arranged for someone to come and change the locks, then handed the keys to her. Once Chen Jin signed and paid the final payment, the deal was completed.

After the team leader left, Chen Jin immediately collapsed onto the soft sofa, looking up at the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, her gaze following the gently swaying pendants back and forth.

Her mind felt blank.

After the house inspection, Chen Jin visited the small villa every day to move over the books and little items from her apartment in Hanlin Garden that hadn’t been unpacked yet, carefully arranging everything in suitable places. She also went to furniture stores to decorate the various corners of her home, buying three floor lamps, for instance.

She even went to toy stores, kitchenware shops, and more; it seemed like there was always something small to buy.

She made a trip to her cousin’s toy company’s franchise store and bought over thirty assorted plush toys, filling the entire trunk, back seat, and front passenger seat of her car to the brim.

It felt like she was carrying a truckload of happiness, driving toward her bright and radiant future.

“Chen Jin, come over later to eat some fruit!” Professor Song was watering the flowers in her front yard when she saw Chen Jin park her car and got out, waving at her.

This little girl was always cheerful and had been coming to her new house often lately, each time bringing things to decorate. Professor Song had checked it out herself; although the girl was managing everything by herself, it was all arranged neatly, and the furniture choices were great. Just looking at it brought joy.

She was also a hardworking and eager-to-learn student; it was a pity that the girl didn’t want to continue her studies for a master’s degree.

Hearing the voice, Chen Jin looked up and smiled, waving her hand. “Hello, Professor Song! I’ll come over after I finish my work.”

“What did you bring this time?” Professor Song asked curiously. Just the other day, Chen Jin had brought back a lot of small ornaments, filling them into all the inconspicuous corners, which made the house lively and interesting. Even the sixty-something-year-old lady had been gifted a few playful little trinkets.

“Hehe.” Chen Jin smiled and opened her trunk. “Ta-da~”

A trunk full of little toys!

“Wow! You could open a kindergarten here!”

Chen Jin, feeling delighted, put her hands on her hips: spending a little money for a lot of joy!

As she made one trip after another to bring her toys home, the back seat and the passenger seat were filled with big plush toys. After buying them, she worried: they were so big that they wouldn’t fit in the washing machine for cleaning!

In the end, the large toys could only be washed by hand in the bathroom using a big tub.

In the backyard, several chairs were set up, all occupied by sunbathing plush toys.

After finishing her household chores, Chen Jin took two panda toys to Professor Song’s house.

“Dean Xi.” Every time Chen Jin saw Professor Song’s partner, Dean Xi, she instinctively straightened her back, really afraid that Dean Xi would start lecturing her about the school’s history…

Following Professor Song into the living room, Chen Jin presented the two little toys, reminding her that it was best to wash them in the washing machine before playing with them.

Professor Song smiled broadly. “You have good taste; the little things you picked are really interesting.”

Chen Jin stayed for lunch with Professor Song, then had afternoon tea. It was not until after four that she took her leave. She first moved her toys from the backyard back inside, checked the doors and windows, and then drove back to Hanlin Garden.

Every day in her life was fulfilling for Chen Jin, and she completely forgot about things at school, unaware that someone was going nearly crazy trying to find her.

The counselor made several phone calls before finally reaching Chen Jin, notifying her that she needed to return to school, as the slots for graduate school recommendations had to be confirmed by the end of September. Based on her professional grades and overall ranking, one of the recommendation spots was undoubtedly going to Chen Jin.

So, Chen Jin went back to school again and conveniently took the borrowed books to the library for renewal.

“Sign here; once you do, you can’t go back on it. I advise you to think it over carefully,” the counselor felt a tightness in her heart as she saw Chen Jin about to sign the application to give up her spot for graduate school. It was a pity for Chen Jin to give up such a good opportunity.

But not everyone in this world is suited for academic pursuits. Chen Jin believed she would continue to learn new things in the future, but pursuing further studies in this major had no meaning for her.

However, before she signed, Chen Jin cautiously asked, “If I give up this spot for graduate school, it will go to Lin Xinran, right?”

The counselor nodded, “Based on the overall rankings, she is in fifth place. If those ahead of her give up, the spot will go to her.”

“That’s good.” Chen Jin felt relieved and signed her name.

The counselor looked at her signature and couldn’t help but sigh, but it was already decided; there was no point in saying more.

“Leave a phone number where I can reach you. If there’s news about hiring counselors in the college, I’ll call you.”

Chen Jin’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, teacher!”

She quickly wrote down her number, “This is my mobile number. Thank you, teacher; I appreciate your help!”

“No trouble at all.” The counselor joked, “Who knows, we might be colleagues in the future.”

“That would be even better!”

After leaving the College of Arts, Chen Jin went to find Chen Jia in her dorm.

Today was the last day of September, followed by a two-day National Day holiday. They had previously agreed to gather at their third uncle’s house for dinner, so Chen Jin took Chen Jia along.

Chen Jia was studying accounting, and her class didn’t have a good situation; they were assigned to an old dormitory building with eight-person rooms. When Chen Jin arrived, she happened to see her packing her luggage.

“Third sister?! What are you doing here? Did you come specifically to pick me up? Wow!” Chen Jia had just been worried about how to carry all these things back, and now she didn’t have to worry because her sister had come!

“I have things to do at school and happened to come to pick you up. Are you ready? If you are, let’s go.”

Chen Jia hurriedly packed her scattered belongings into her backpack, and most of the clothes from her closet were stuffed into her luggage bag.

A roommate watched and asked, “Chen Jia, are you taking all your clothes back?”

Although someone in the dorm might take clothes to wear, taking all of them home meant she wouldn’t have any to change into.

“My sister has a house near the school, so I’ll just keep my things there,” Chen Jia replied to the girl diagonally across from her. Seeing that person pause in her actions, Chen Jia snorted and shouldered her backpack, then picked up her luggage bag and proudly walked out of the dorm.

The distance from the dormitory to the small villa outside the west gate was still a bit far, and Chen Jin and Chen Jia each carried a corner of the luggage bag. Chen Jin regretted a little; she should have driven into the school.

“So, why don’t you drive since you have a car?”

“It would be too eye-catching; I’m still a student.”

Most of the luggage Chen Jia was carrying was meant to be kept at her sister’s place after the National Day holiday. However, since her roommate was staying on campus during the holiday, she was worried her clothes would be taken, so she decided to take them home first.

Since she was already here, it was just right to put these clothes in the guest bedroom’s wardrobe to avoid moving back and forth.

As soon as Chen Jia entered, she wandered around to look at the house. She loved both of her sister’s large houses! The Hanlin Courtyard was bustling and lively, while the Nanda small villa was quiet and full of charm—completely different styles.

Moreover, the small villa had many more things than those in the Hanlin Courtyard. The little ornaments and toys her sister bought were all so cute!

Chen Jin took a set of keys for the yard gate, the main entrance, and the guest bedroom and gave them to Chen Jia.

“The bathroom on the first floor has a water heater installed, so you can come over to take a shower when the school runs out of water.”

“Okay.”

Chen Jia then mentioned that she wanted to go back to the Hanlin Courtyard with her that night, as they could watch a movie at Wanmin Square. Hearing this, Chen Jin was tempted and decided to call her second uncle’s office.

“Second uncle, it’s me. Oh, nothing much. I’m picking up Jia Jia; I wanted to invite her to watch a movie tonight, along with the third brother and Yongan. I don’t know if the second brother is free. Good! Then Jia Jia will stay with me tonight. Okay, goodbye, second uncle!”

Chen Jia gave her a thumbs up in admiration. “Third sister, you’re reliable!”

Chen Jin called her three cousins to ask if they wanted to go watch a movie and finally called her third uncle to say she would pick up her cousin from school soon. They would eat out and then go watch a movie.

With so many relatives, it took multiple calls to arrange one event. Chen Jin sighed, “If only I could call several people at once, it would save me from coordinating schedules.”

Seeing that it was about time, she prepared to go to the Eleventh Middle School to pick someone up.

As she stepped out, she noticed a car parked in front of the neighbor’s house. She couldn’t tell what brand it was, but her third cousin had educated her about cars when she bought hers. Even though she couldn’t recognize the brand, she could tell that this car was definitely expensive. The front yard gate and the main entrance were wide open, and she glanced inside but didn’t see anyone.

“Third sister?”

“Oh, I’m coming.” It was better not to be too curious about neighbors.

An event initiated by Chen Jin surprisingly gathered most people together; even Chen Ting came, with only Gu Minmin still absent. It was rare for her older brother and sister-in-law to have a carefree moment; they left the kids with the elder aunt and sneaked out.

They had a buffet dinner at the restaurant chosen by the eldest cousin, and the eldest cousin’s wife mentioned that they were treating the younger siblings this time. It was obvious that the sister-in-law was in a particularly good mood today, and Chen Ting seemed very happy as well.

“Cousin Chen Yongfei couldn’t wait to share the ‘gossip’ with her. ‘Uncle has divided the family assets. The houses were allocated as previously agreed, and the cash distribution isn’t much. Eldest brother and second brother each received five hundred thousand, and Chen Ting received three hundred thousand. There’s also the construction company; Uncle gave them shares, so they can get dividends in the future…’

Chen Jin glanced at him and smiled, ‘Feeling envious?'”

“You think everyone is like you, rich girl Jin! My dad said he would decide how to divide the family possessions later, but he hasn’t done it yet!” So his life was still pretty much the same as before, except that his living situation was better and he was about to own a car. Other than that, nothing had changed!

“Uncle San is also worried about you, afraid that if you have money, you’ll become like those people in the village. Speaking of the village, what happened with the old party secretary’s family? Did Aunt Kexin get her share of the money?”

“No.”

“?” Chen Jin frowned. How could she not have received her share? Wouldn’t that be a huge loss?!

Chen Yongfei patted her on the head, “She didn’t get any money; instead, she took the entire building that Chen Wensong bought in the beautiful Community. Tsk, a whole building, and it’s Building 9, which consists entirely of two- or three-bedroom units. I can’t even imagine how happy I would be if I had a building to rent out. If the crazy boss kept throwing work my way, I’d just slap the documents back at him!”

Chen Jin also felt envious. “If I had that building, I wouldn’t want to write a single word of this stupid thesis.”

Everyone gathered around with their plates, and when Chen Jin told them that Jiang Kexin had successfully divorced and taken the building that Chen Wensong bought in the beautiful Community, the joy on everyone’s faces faded by half.

Everyone’s eyes showed envy.

Only Tian Miao looked like she had taken great satisfaction in revenge, saying, “People like Chen Wensong deserve it!”

Cousin Chen Yongxin came with another piece of gossip, “The village chief’s eldest son, Uncle Wenzhen, bought a piece of land in the western suburban area to build a few buildings.”

Chen Jin scratched her face. “He should be doing well with his wife, right?”

“With the village chief watching over him, he wouldn’t dare to be doing poorly.”

That night while watching a movie, all Chen Jin could hear was: one building, several buildings, one building, several buildings…

She didn’t know if it was heaven hearing her wishes, but her dad finally called her again.