Chapter 11: A Chance Encounter at the Restaurant

“Mom, Dad, why are you here at this hour?”

Chen’s father and mother exchanged a glance before his mother replied, “Isn’t it because of you?”

Chen Xiao was puzzled. Because of me? What could it be?

“You’re already 25 and still single. Your father and I are worried sick! Your Aunt Wang has a neighbor’s child around your age. They say she’s stunningly beautiful. She wants us to set you up.”

Chen Xiao sighed in helplessness. “What era are we in? Matchmaking? I’m 25, not 52. Is it really that urgent?”

His mother glared. “Can you speak properly? I’m telling you, several of my colleagues around my age already have grandchildren. You need to give us some hope!”

Chen Xiao sighed again. “Wanting grandchildren is easy. Even if I don’t get married now, children can still be registered!”

His joke startled his mother. “Where do you come up with such ideas? You’ve barely been out in society a few years and you’re already going bad. You really need someone to keep an eye on you.”

“Alright, Xiao Xiao, your mother and I came mainly because Aunt Wang introduced a girl. She insists the guy must own a house and a car in Jiangzhou. So we want to talk to you about using our savings to help you pay the mortgage down payment. We’ll slowly pay off the rest.”

Housing prices in Jiangzhou now are roughly 30,000 yuan per square meter, which for ordinary wage earners is nearly a lifetime of savings just for a down payment, turning their children into mortgage slaves for twenty years.

Chen’s parents worried that without a house in Jiangzhou, it’d be hard for him to find a wife. So they wanted to solve the housing issue early on.

Chen Xiao knew his parents hadn’t saved much their entire lives. Even with his system now, buying a house wasn’t a problem. Besides, he never intended to be a burden on his parents. They’d worked hard their whole lives and deserved to enjoy it without their children weighing them down.

“Dad, Mom, please don’t worry about me. My job is going well. Just yesterday, I closed a deal with a bonus worth hundreds of thousands!”

Chen’s parents exchanged looks. Hundreds of thousands? They had saved that much over their whole lives, and now their son claimed to have earned that in one day.

Little did they know, Chen Xiao hadn’t even included the bonuses from his system yet.

After confirming it was true, his mother beamed, “I always said our Chen Xiao was outstanding—handsome, kind-hearted—he will surely make something of himself. And he’s so young to make that much money at once!”

Chen’s father laughed heartily. “Xiao Xiao’s always been great. With that, you can buy a bigger house!”

Ah, so they circled back to the house topic and weren’t letting go.

“Dad, Mom, trust me. Give me one year. If I can’t buy a house with my own ability by then, I’ll ask for your help. But for now, I want to rely on myself.”

Chen Xiao was buying time. If he still couldn’t afford a house in a year, he might as well buy a tiny studio and bang his head against the wall!

He hadn’t told them about the small apartment he already owned, which would raise questions about the source of the money.

Finally, his father relented. “Alright, Xiao Xiao is grown and knows what he wants. We won’t buy the house for now. We’ll tell Aunt Wang that if you two get along, we can buy the house anytime.”

His mother added, “That works. But Chen Xiao, meet the girl next week. You have to seize the opportunity. Good girls like that aren’t easy to find.”

After dinner with his parents and escorting them back to the hotel, Chen Xiao returned to his place past 11 p.m. He suddenly remembered he had yet to repay the neighbor across the street. She must think he’s completely unreliable by now, especially since the property manager had already painted a vivid picture of him yesterday.

He thought about knocking to repay her but felt it was too late; she was probably asleep. He’d wait until morning.

After a shower, he lay in bed while his mother kept sending him messages with matchmaking advice. Chen Xiao found it strange. Weren’t his parents free-spirited lovers in their day? Where did their experience come from? Then he realized his mother had probably watched too many TV dramas, explaining why her tricks sounded so familiar.

By the time he finished chatting, it was late again. Since the next day was Saturday, he slept in until 10 a.m. After washing up, he knocked on the neighbor’s door, but no one answered. They had probably already left.

At noon, Wang Jing called to invite him to lunch. It was almost noon, so Chen Xiao went out to meet him. They were to eat at Wansheng Plaza, not far from the company.

After leaving Dr. Feng’s robotics company, Wang Jing had heard the financial problems were resolved and was considering returning. Meeting Chen Xiao was a way to feel out the situation.

Chen Xiao despised this attitude: abandoning the company when it was struggling, then coming back when it recovered.

Every company had one like that.

Still, as a colleague, Chen Xiao knew better than to judge. Whether Wang Jing could or would return wasn’t his decision.

The Sichuan restaurant was bustling and full at lunchtime. Wang Jing warmly poured Chen Xiao a glass of watermelon juice and asked, smiling, “Brother, how’s it going with Yuan Kai?”

Chen Xiao smiled. “Same as always. Don’t want to talk about him.”

Honestly, Yuan Kai couldn’t touch him now. Chen Xiao had secured a 5 million yuan order—a lifeline for the company. From that point, Yuan Kai held no sway over him.

“Brother, do you think I should go back?”

Chen Xiao thought for a moment. “It depends on what you want. The company’s still struggling financially. Though there’s some relief, you know how R&D is—a bottomless pit. You never know when it’ll pay off.”

Wang Jing nodded. “True. But jobs outside aren’t easy to find. General Manager Feng treats employees well and gives newcomers chances.”

That was true. Even after employees resigned voluntarily, Feng Feifei gave compensation despite the hardship—a sign of a conscientious entrepreneur. If the company grew under her, following her would be wise.

“By the way, brother, I heard starting next month, the salary drops to 4,000 yuan. Is that confirmed?”

Chen Xiao nodded. Feng Feifei had confirmed it. There’d be no sudden changes.

“Ah? That low? After rent, there’s barely enough for food. I’ll have to smoke the 5-yuan packs from now on!”

Chen Xiao said, “So think carefully. But there are still commissions. As sales, we mainly rely on those, right?”

“Hey, Chen Xiao, look! There’s a beauty sitting next door—damn, she’s gorgeous, way prettier than any celebrity. She’s glanced over here a few times!”

Chen Xiao looked in the direction Wang Jing indicated and froze. Sitting next door was none other than his neighbor from Hailun Mansion!