Chapter 29: Regret

The house in Qiaoxi Village was built, and not only did Chen Jin want to go take a look, but her second uncle, third uncle, and little aunt also wanted to check it out. The eldest uncle was too busy with company matters to make it, so he arranged for his second cousin, Chen Yongxin, to represent him. Coincidentally, the contractors working on the house were also familiar with Chen Yongxin.

Chen Jin picked up Chen Jia and Chen Yongan along the way. She packed a large suitcase for herself since she wouldn’t be returning to the small villa here until after the fourth day of the New Year; instead, she would be staying over at Hanlin Garden.

“Professor Song, Dean Xi, Uncle Xi, Aunt Mei, I came to wish you a Happy New Year in advance. I won’t be staying here for the next few days,” Chen Jin said as she presented the prepared New Year gifts. Over the past few months, she had often gone to Professor Song’s house for meals, and she had also heard Dean Xi and Professor Song praise her in front of Professor Jiang. It was only right to prepare a gift.

“You’re too kind to prepare New Year gifts…” Professor Song said, urging her not to go to such trouble in the future. Seeing that her younger siblings had loaded their luggage into the trunk, he didn’t keep her any longer.

The two elderly people had their son’s family back to keep them company. Although Chen Jin was a young girl without parents, she still had other relatives. On such an important holiday, people naturally wanted to be together.

After watching her car drive out of the community entrance, Professor Song called for Xi Qinghe to come out and carry the items. Once inside, he explained to his family that these were the New Year gifts from Chen Jin.

Mei Ying was somewhat surprised. “Is she going to spend the New Year at her relatives’ house? I was thinking of inviting her over to celebrate with us.”

Previously, her in-laws hadn’t said much about Chen Jin’s family situation, and it was only after they returned that they learned Chen Jin was the only one left in her family. But the young girl was quite affluent on her own, so there was concern that some relatives might not have good intentions.

Professor Song replied, “It’s not that she’s going to her relatives’ house. She’s going back to her place in Hanlin Garden, which is closer to her relatives. I heard that during the New Year, she still needs to return to her original village to pay respects, and staying here would be inconvenient.”

Mei Ying was even more surprised. Although she and Xi Jin worked in Beijing, they weren’t completely unaware of their hometown, Rong City. They knew how expensive the houses in Hanlin Garden were; after all, they had friends who ventured into business and lived in Hanlin Garden, where a single unit could cost over a million…

This young girl, Chen Jin, must be quite well-off.

It was also their narrow-mindedness. Initially, they were worried that Chen Jin’s closeness to the elderly couple might indicate some ulterior motives. Now, it seemed that she didn’t need to have any such thoughts!

Chen Jin drove around to the Meteorological Bureau’s residential area in the eastern district. Chen Jia got out with her luggage and waited for over ten minutes before Chen Jia came out with her second uncle and second aunt.

Then they all headed to Qiaoxi Village to meet up with the third uncle, little aunt, and second cousin.

Qiaoxi Village.

As the year came to a close, most of the tenants in the village returned home for the New Year, leaving only a small number of people behind, along with the local villagers.

Those who had gone out to work from Qiaoxi Village were back as well, and a group of young people of similar ages gathered to talk about how much they had earned this year.

Like many families in Qiaoxi Village, in recent years, they had made quite a bit of money just by renting out properties. Initially, everyone thought about continuing to build more houses. However, after the successive demolitions in Qiaodong Village and Mutang Village last year, the villagers began to set aside their money, preparing to buy houses in the city.

Even though this area was close to the suburbs and many people working in the city rented here, it was still just a village. They wanted to change their household registration so that their children could become city dwellers.

Becoming city dwellers meant better educational opportunities. Let’s not talk about the nonsense that education is useless. If education were useless, why do city people send their children to school?

While everyone was chatting in the open space in front of the ancestral hall, two small cars suddenly drove in. Those who recognized the vehicles knew they were worth at least 100,000 yuan. As everyone speculated about which family had prospered enough to buy cars, the vehicles smoothly drove to the bare five buildings at the end of the village.

Well, no need to guess anymore; this was the family who owned those buildings.

A large plot of land at the end of the village had been sold to Liu Shisheng’s eldest daughter, known as “Troublemaker Jin” by the village gossips. She had turned around and brought her uncles over to build a few buildings.

Would the villagers be jealous of them?

Six months ago, they might have faced collective protests from the villagers and would never have been able to buy any land. Now, though, the villagers all said that “Troublemaker Jin” and her uncles hadn’t taken enough advantage and were just betting that Qiaoxi Village would eventually be demolished.

Fools with too much money!

By the time it’s Qiaoxi Village’s turn for demolition, who knows how many decades that would be? They could just wait.

In Qiaodong Village, everything had been leveled. Every day, bulldozers worked tirelessly, and in less than two years, Qiaodong Village would become Rong City’s first technology park. Mutang Village was also in the process of being demolished and rebuilt, with plans to move factories from the other three urban districts there. In the future, Qiaoxi Village would have factories in front and factories behind.

Let’s not even talk about drainage and sewage issues; just the noise alone makes it unsuitable for people to stay. It’s truly worrying whether the houses will be easy to rent out in the future.

So, they say that “Troublemaker Jin” and her uncles are fools with too much money. There are still people in the village wanting to sell their own land, but the buyers refuse, saying they have enough land as it is.

The village chief and a few old foxes were quick thinkers, having early on sold off the few plots of empty land they had.

After gathering to mock the “big fools” who came to build, another small car drove past. Someone with an eye for value exclaimed in surprise, “What the hell, a Santana!”

People watching felt envious, so they called the newcomers “big fools” even more enthusiastically.

Only in a corner, one relatively introverted person mumbled, “What if our village really gets demolished? Wouldn’t they make a fortune?”

Suddenly, the conversation halted, and everyone fell silent for half a minute. Someone, unsure of what to say, scratched their head and said, “If it really gets demolished, they can earn all they want. It’s not like that land belongs to me.”

This comment quickly received responses from others. “Yeah! If we get demolished, wouldn’t that be great? I’d buy a Santana too! Those nouveau riche from Qiaodong Village and Mutang Village are all buying houses in Rose Garden with their money. If my family’s land is demolished, I’ll buy a place in Rose Garden too!”

“What’s so good about Rose Garden? The families from Mutang Village that got demolished mostly bought houses in Hanlin Garden, and those cost over a million each…”

These people had already started calculating where they would buy houses and how expensive their cars would be if it were their turn to be demolished, all of them giggling foolishly.

Village chief Liu Mantang walked by with his hands behind his back, frowning at them. “What are you all being foolish about? If you have nothing to do, go help clean the ditches. You’re all back here lazing around…”

At the edge of the village, Chen Jin had nearly followed her third uncle’s car to arrive.

As she passed by, the five buildings were almost touching, with only a meter and a half of space left between them for lighting.

All the buildings were the same height, standing seven stories tall. Chen Jin’s building was in the middle, the largest of the group, with two identical buildings flanking it on either side.

With the experience of the previous demolitions, her eldest uncle reminded everyone to complete all the necessary procedures when building in Qiaoxi Village, emphasizing that they must ensure the relevant authorities recognize this as a compliant structure.

Chen Jin didn’t understand the specifics of the steel structures used in construction, but the contractor took them inside to explain the layout, and Chen Jin nodded along from time to time. She didn’t understand, but she didn’t say anything.

Anyway, she didn’t need to understand.

In her eldest uncle’s words, if Qiaoxi Village were to be demolished, it would be a one-time profitable deal for them; such good fortune would be hard to come by again.

The buildings would start renovations after the New Year, and her cousin Meng Chong would come over to supervise. By September at the latest, they would begin renting out the houses.

Hopefully, the technology park in Qiaodong Village would be completed soon, along with the industrial park in Mutang Village.

After this outing, when Chen Jin returned to Hanlin Garden, her family also needed to tidy up, so she called Chen Yongan over to help out.

They had also gradually added things from the small villa to the Hanlin Garden side, and although they weren’t exactly the same, the styles of both houses were quite similar. Chen Jin felt completely at home; the biggest difference was that she had to take the elevator to get to her place here.

Last night, when she returned, she ran into her little uncle Zhang Leye, but he didn’t see her and rushed out in a hurry, leaving Chen Jin wondering what he could possibly need to do late at night.
Now, Chen Jin’s aunt had moved to Hanlin Garden. During the day, she would go to her third uncle’s house to avoid any bothersome interactions with the Zhang family. However, if she found out that her in-laws had given something away, she would directly ask if it was something that could be divided among them. If it wasn’t something for her? She wouldn’t bother to ask.

The next day, Chen Jin was set to go out with her third uncle to buy New Year’s goods. Traditionally, they would go to her eldest uncle’s house for a meal, but this year he wasn’t in the village, and his home was no longer spacious enough. After some discussion, they decided to change things up and have the New Year’s Eve dinner at her third uncle’s house instead.

Chen Jin’s family was definitely not being considered for this, especially since she didn’t often stay at Hanlin Garden and lacked many of the usual household items.

“Buy more of those snacks; I love them!”

“This year, we can’t even go for roasted chicken or skewers. If I dared to have a barbecue at home, my parents would kill me,” Chen Yongan said with a glint in his eyes. “Third sister, can we go to your little villa? We can barbecue in the backyard!”

“We’ll talk about it after the New Year. If you want to come, just come whenever you like.”

Chen Jin then realized that time after the New Year was quite tight. She had signed up for a makeup training class that would last seven days, three hours each day. She was also thinking about traveling to Beijing…

“After the New Year, I want to travel to Beijing for a few days. Do you want to come?” Traveling was much easier now; they could choose to fly. She had never been on a plane and had never seen snow. She wanted to experience what the northern winter looked like with its heavy snowfall and beautiful landscapes.

Chen Jia was eager, while Tian Miao remained indifferent, as she would soon be going back to work after the New Year.

Chen Yongan wore a resentful expression: “Is it appropriate for you to go out and have fun at this time?” Didn’t anyone remember that he was a third-year high school student who had to take the college entrance exam in July and was currently in need of tutoring?

Looking at Chen Jia, Chen Jin realized that the two of them weren’t enough. She decided to wait and ask her uncles and aunts. In the past, they didn’t have the opportunity, but now that they did, shouldn’t they explore several major cities around the country? Apart from Beijing, the other place Chen Jin most wanted to visit was the neighboring province’s special economic zone. Perhaps it was because she had heard her eldest uncle talk about it so much when she was younger, but she always had that rapidly developing city in her heart.

The group was responsible for buying snacks, candies, and fruits for entertaining guests, using both hands to fill Chen Jin’s trunk to the brim.

It’s a small world; while shopping in a large supermarket in Western District, they ran into Li Xingyi and his family.

Li Xingyi drove with his girlfriend, his mother, and their housekeeper to shop for New Year’s goods. After checking out and heading to the parking lot, he heard laughter ahead. He instinctively glanced over and just happened to see Chen Jin.

Is that Chen Jin? With long hair and a flashy outfit like a Hong Kong star, her facial features are still the same, but her aura seems different. So he is a bit uncertain if that is indeed Chen Jin.

Meanwhile, Bai Ling, who has been paying attention to him, follows his gaze and sees Chen Jin in front of them, opening the trunk to put things in. It takes her a moment to recognize her; Chen Jin’s current image has changed significantly.

She doesn’t want to admit it, but she has to acknowledge that Chen Jin looks really eye-catching dressed like this.

But what does Li Xingyi’s expression mean right now? Is he regretting it? Seeing that Chen Jin has become rich and more attractive makes him feel regretful for breaking up with her?

Bai Ling feels irritated. Chen Jin is now wealthy and good-looking; does that mean she, Bai Ling, is any worse? If Li Xingyi hadn’t pursued her, she wouldn’t have considered being with him even if she liked him.

Irritated, Bai Ling immediately turned cold and didn’t greet Li Xingyi or Li’s mother. She went straight to her own car and called the driver to leave.

By the time Li’s mother and Li Xingyi reacted, Bai Ling had already left.

Li’s mother frowned and said discontentedly, “Bai Ling really has a bad temper; it’s so rude to leave without saying a word. What are you two arguing about? When I called you just now, what were you thinking?”

Li Xingyi was about to answer when Chen Jin drove past them, and Li’s mother didn’t even notice she had been there just now.

Li Xingyi pursed his lips and sighed lightly. “It’s nothing. I’ll talk to her later.”

Once in the car, Li’s mother was still somewhat unhappy, but when she saw Li Xingyi with his head down, lost in thought, she decided not to say anything and brought up another topic. “After the New Year, you and Bai Ling should take some New Year gifts to Professor Song’s house. You need to socialize more so that they can know who you are.”

“Your dad and your older brother said that after the New Year, they’ll buy you a house in the staff quarters at NTU. After you get married, you can decide whether to live in the Rose Garden or on the NTU side. But you and Bai Ling should clarify things in advance. If you’re not planning to have children, make sure to take precautions. If you decide to have kids, that’s fine too; Bai Ling can take a break from school and stay at home…”

Li’s mother kept talking, but Li Xingyi didn’t absorb a word of it; he had just been triggered by Chen Jin again.

Since the last time they went back to the little western-style house at NTU, Li Xingyi had been trying to find out more about Chen Jin’s family. He knew that Chen Jin had a mediocre relationship with her high school classmates and wouldn’t talk about family matters with them, so he directly asked her college classmates instead. However, he couldn’t get in touch with Lin Xinran, who had been closest to Chen Jin in college, and instead asked Song Jiajia, who lived with the girls from the Chinese department, but she was completely clueless.

Chen Jin had hardly been staying at school this semester; she had reportedly interned at the Cheng Group for a while. It was really hard for schoolmates to track her whereabouts.

Li Xingyi was puzzled. Why did Chen Jin suddenly have money?

Although he later lost interest in Chen Jin, he hadn’t considered that she might be dating a wealthy person. Chen Jin was not one to talk much and was quick to confront anyone who hindered her; her character was a bit off, but she still had some pride. It didn’t seem likely that she would date a rich person just to spend money.

For a moment, he even thought: if Chen Jin had dressed like this back then when she was still with him, would he have broken up with her?

Fortunately, Chen Jin didn’t know his thoughts. If she did, she would probably be disgusted enough to come knocking on his door to make him stop thinking about it.

There weren’t many busy things to do before the New Year, but putting up couplets was a major priority.

On the eve of the New Year, Chen Jin went back to the little western-style house to put up couplets on the front door, and red lanterns were hung up early, lit and bright. Professor Song’s house next door had its door closed, and the neighbors on the other side were home too. She noticed their car parked outside but saw that they hadn’t started putting up couplets yet.

When leaving the little western-style house, Chen Jin stealthily circled around the luxury car next door. It looked really impressive; even someone who didn’t care much about cars like her couldn’t help but like it. She had no idea how many luxury cars the neighbors had, but she had already seen them switch cars in front of their house three times—completely different ones, but the only common feature was that they all looked expensive.

Chen Jin clasped her hands together, “May the ancestors bless Qiaoxi Village to be redeveloped too; I want a luxury car!”

How decadent! How out of touch!

What she didn’t see was that a man in the study window facing the front yard of the neighbor’s house was watching her, shaking his coffee cup as he observed her sneaking around and circling his car.

After she left, the man let out a breath: it’s not like she wanted to scratch his car or something.

On the eve of the New Year, Chen Jin changed into her clothes and checked herself in the big mirror by the entrance for a long time, admiring her appearance. When her phone rang with a message from her third uncle saying “we’re leaving,” Chen Jin replied and grabbed her bag, shaking her car keys as she headed downstairs.

“Happy New Year, Uncle!” Chen Jin was not surprised to run into her uncle and his family in the parking garage. It was customary to go to the ancestral hall to pay respects on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, a tradition for every family.

She had been looking forward to today’s trip back to the village since last night. After all, the villagers of Qiaodong Village hadn’t gathered together since she left in August.

This time, the village chief personally called each family’s head to ask them to arrive at the ancestral hall by ten. Their village had few people, so they had to gather together to set off firecrackers; it would make it seem “prosperous.”

Her second cousin had to run to the eastern district for something, so he drove to pick up her second uncle’s family along the way, leaving Chen Jin to drive alone. Once she got out of the western district and was on the road from the southern district to the suburban countryside, she was forced to stop due to an accident ahead and happened to meet her third uncle’s family. Her third cousin honked several times to signal her.

Chen Jin looked at the people who had parked ahead and smiled; they were all from Qiaodong Village.

Chen Wenxing was driving his wife and Chen Sangong and Chen Sangpo. Chen Jin took a special interest in his car, which was said to cost four hundred thousand; indeed, you get what you pay for—it looked even more expensive.

Further ahead was Uncle Chen’s family of four.

Peering out again, she spotted Chen Wenzhen but didn’t see the old secretary.

The police who came to handle the accident were directing the blocked vehicles to pass through. As Chen Jin drove over, she saw a car on the roadside that had been hit so badly that one of its headlights had fallen off. The bloodstains on the ground were still fresh, and the scene made her scalp tingle, prompting her to quickly look away.

She repeatedly reminded herself to pay attention to safety while traveling; after all, there’s only one life. Without it, no amount of money is worth saving.

Qiaodong Village had been cordoned off; outsiders were not allowed into the construction site. They drove into the encircled area, making their way to the new ancestral hall, where a line of small cars was neatly arranged in two rows.

Tsk, tsk, what a show of prestige for the Chen family during the New Year incense offerings!

The village chief’s family had arrived early and was busy inside the ancestral hall. The others who got out did not waste time either. Each one displayed the airs of big bosses or wealthy individuals, yet upon returning to the village, they still respectfully cleaned the ancestral hall and found glue to paste the couplets.

It had only been half a year since they suddenly became rich, but some had already started pursuing the ways of “cultured people,” speaking more refined than before.

Indeed, money can solve most of the conflicts and troubles in this world. Now, should they get worked up over trivial matters? That really isn’t necessary.

Among the entire Qiaodong Village, the most straightforward was Aunt Zhou’s family. They arrived on a tricycle, standing out conspicuously among the fleet of small cars.

But Aunt Zhou was composed; she knew her vehicle couldn’t compare to others, and she didn’t feel any sense of imbalance. She greeted those she needed to greet, but when she saw Chen Sangong, Chen Sangpo, and the couple Chen Wenxing, their expressions were far from pleasant. Upon seeing the old secretary, their faces darkened even more.

The elder generation was busy in the ancestral hall, handling offerings, incense, and firecrackers. Her third uncle had prepared a share for her.

He turned around to find her, knowing that each family needed someone to manage their affairs, but when he saw Chen Jin happily moving over to Aunt Zhou’s side, her eyes sparkling as she looked this way and that, he couldn’t help but laugh in frustration.

This girl had truly learned all sorts of things from her uncle; she always gravitated towards wherever the excitement was.

In her heart, Chen Jin silently counted down. When she saw Aunt Zhou glaring, she internally shouted: Here it comes!

The next second, Aunt Zhou looked Chen Wensong up and down, and after a long “Oh,” she said, “Wensong, your meals have been good lately; your belly is even bigger than your new wife’s! I heard this child of yours is a boy, congratulations! Old Secretary, your grandson is precious, worth an entire building in a beautiful community!”

The old secretary’s face darkened. “Today is for paying respects to the ancestors; you should mind your own business.” No need to drag his family into this.

“Am I not learning from you? Don’t you love to meddle? You even have to taste the saltiness of other people’s toilet waste.”

Chen Jin frowned, thinking: Ah! This verbal battle is getting interesting, but she couldn’t bear to listen anymore. It was delaying her dinner tonight.

Chen Wensong could not stand others mentioning the building in the beautiful community lately; it easily made him furious. “Shut your mouth, Zhou Xiangxiang! Did my dad step on your family’s grave? Why do you keep targeting my family?”

“Look at you getting all worked up. I was just making a casual comparison,” Aunt Zhou replied with a smile. “The ancestors are watching. Everyone wants to meddle in other people’s affairs, but when it comes to their own family, they must face the consequences.”

“You! You!” The old secretary was so furious he couldn’t catch his breath, and his younger son had to help him to the side to rest. Aunt Zhou, seeing that it was time to stop, casually glanced at them before turning to instruct her husband, Chen Wenming, to fetch something.

The onlookers remained silent.

Everyone somewhat understood Aunt Zhou; if it weren’t for the old secretary randomly pointing fingers at other people’s affairs, she could have received more money. After buying two apartments and a shop in the beautiful community, there was hardly anything left.

If it were them, they might have caused a ruckus at the old secretary’s home.

Regardless of the old secretary’s and Chen Wensong’s attitudes, Chen Wensong’s heavily pregnant new wife wore an expression of indifference, knowing how to find a quieter spot to watch the commotion.

Chen Jin thought: Another remarkable person!

“Hey, where are Chen Bagu and Chen Yongqiang? Didn’t they get notified?” Someone suddenly noticed their absence.

“That’s impossible; the village chief personally notified them,” Uncle Chen Wujun shook his head. “Chen Yongqiang is pretty much done for. He lost two million and got so worked up that he got into a fight and seriously injured someone. Chen Bagu took him and ran.”

Gasps filled the air.

Some sighed, while others were gloating.

“Losing millions in family assets just like that; money comes easy but isn’t cherished at all.”

“Chen Yongqiang is a hopeless gambler; he’s beyond saving. His aunt spoiled him too much when he was a kid, which ruined him.”

“I said that kid had a bad heart from the start; it was only a matter of time before something happened. And look, here we are! I told you, boys in the family can’t be spoiled endlessly; it leads to trouble, and the whole family suffers.”

Outside, the noise was all about family matters, and Chen Guangman heard it all in the ancestral hall, directing people to work with his hands behind his back.

Everyone had their own fortunes; those who didn’t want to deal with misfortune were better off staying out of it.

“Wenqiang, you and your brothers are going to Wenkang’s place tonight, right? After dinner, come over to my place for a bit; our families all live in Rose Garden,” the village chief’s eldest son, Chen Wenzhen, came over and put his arm around Chen Wenqiang’s shoulder. “I say, why don’t you just buy a couple of apartments in Rose Garden? We can all stay close and keep in touch.”

Chen Wenqiang laughed, saying he was tight on money and couldn’t compare to them big bosses.

Chen Wenzhen chuckled; if he didn’t have money, how could he have secured such a large plot of land in the outskirts of the West District?

Another person entered the ancestral hall, and many greeted him. “Wenhao, long time no see! Busy with promotions?”

If it weren’t in the ancestral hall, Chen Wenhao would want to spit out loud to ward off bad luck. “No promotions, just dealing with trivial matters by the basketful. Those brats from Mutang Village…”

Chen Wenkang was lighting candles, and out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar figure. Upon seeing Chen Jin swaying in, he noticed her staring at him. He smiled in a way that was meant to please and moved closer to help, his ears practically perked up to the sky.

After Chen Wenhao finished talking about the daily small disputes and major uproars in Mutang Village, everyone criticized the people from Mutang Village for their lack of integrity. They had already signed compensation agreements, but later felt they were shortchanged and went back to Mutang Village, bringing banners and preparing paraquat to cause a ruckus. Their police station had spent the last six months dealing with Mutang Village’s problems.

Chen Wenzhen said, “Wenkang, your sister’s family also had their house demolished and received quite a bit of compensation. Just a few days ago, Old man Zhang came to ask me about buying land. Why are they so close to your family? They should be looking for Wenqiang.”

Before the third uncle could respond, the village chief slapped the back of Chen Wenzhen’s head, “I told you to go get something; why are you bragging here?”

Chen Wenzhen was still intimidated by his village chief dad and shrank his neck, leaving. Fortunately, there were no younger generation members in the ancestral hall; otherwise, he would be embarrassed… Suddenly, he locked eyes with Chen Jin…

Chen Jin smiled and said, “Happy New Year, Uncle Wenzhen!”

After returning to the village for a visit, she caught a lot of excitement. That evening, she went to her third uncle’s house for the New Year’s Eve dinner, where several families gathered to celebrate. Chen Jin curiously drank a little red wine and felt a bit tipsy. Thankfully, her second uncle’s family stayed at her house that night and someone offered to take her back.

On the first day of the New Year, when Chen Jin woke up, her family was already up, preparing to go back to Qiaodong Village for incense offerings once more.

There wasn’t much excitement in the village today; everyone tried to keep the first day of the New Year peaceful. The village elders were handing out red envelopes, and all the unmarried folks lined up to collect them. Chen Jin quietly followed behind Chen Jia.

“Happy New Year, Village Chief! Wishing you good health and longevity!”

“Happy New Year, Uncle Wenzhen! Wishing you great wealth in the New Year!”

“Uncle Wensong…”

Chen Wensong felt a bit conflicted; he had been in a good mood, but when he saw Chen Jin coming over to collect her red envelope, he suddenly felt uncomfortable: he might not even have as much money as she did.

Spring Festival is such a nice holiday!

Chen Jin happily ate and drank at home, and she didn’t have to entertain relatives. It was either going to her third uncle’s house for dinner or going out with her siblings for a big meal. The two big dinners that Chen Ting and Chen Yongfei owed during this time were finally settled.

While eating, Chen Jin once again confirmed, “So that senior you used to like suddenly came to pursue you?”

Chen Ting nodded, her face full of shyness.

Chen Jin wiped her hands with a napkin. “He knows how many properties you have in your name now and that you have hundreds of thousands in savings, right?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean no harm; just reminding you to take care of your assets. Men can be found everywhere, but if the money is gone, it’s really gone!”

Chen Jin’s words received nods of agreement from the other siblings.

“But…”

Chen Jin was impatient to hear more. “No buts! I don’t want to hear about you and him. I’m afraid that if I hear too much, I’ll get a bad brain.”

Chen Jin was really fed up with others asking her, “What should I do about my partner, blah blah blah?” Every time she sincerely gave advice to break up, she would get a response like, “But I blah blah blah…”

She just couldn’t stand it.

Chen Jin reached out to call the waiter, but then saw her neighbor from her small western-style house sitting at the table in front of her, who happened to look up and smile at her.

Chen Jin frowned.