Lin Jiang opened the car door, got out, and led Xu Lin to a table outside.
"You haven’t eaten yet, have you? What would you like?"
"The usual."
Lin Jiang called out and asked Li Yuanyuan to make a bowl of chicken noodle soup.
"You’ve got dark circles. Didn’t you sleep well last night?"
"My gallbladder inflammation flared up again last night, so I didn’t get much rest," Xu Lin said listlessly.
"That’s why I came here today, to recharge."
"That’s not a problem. I can help you recharge, but this might not be the right place. We’d have to go somewhere else."
"You’re impossible. You’ll say anything," Xu Lin chided coquettishly, a flirtatious charm in her eyes.
"Health is wealth. Have you been to the hospital?"
"No, I don’t want to go."
"Gallbladder inflammation might not be a major illness, but if you let it drag on, it can easily lead to pancreatitis, and that’s not easy to treat."
"I know you’re worried, but it’s fine. You don’t have to worry about me," Xu Lin said softly.
Just then, Li Yuanyuan brought over the chicken noodle soup, along with a side of dressed cucumbers and a bottle of room-temperature mineral water.
"The noodles would have been enough. You didn’t have to bring all this. You’re spending too much, Boss Lin."
"Who said this was free? I’m forcing you to buy it. You’ll have to pay up later."
"In your dreams."
Xu Lin ate slowly, occasionally glancing at her phone and typing out a few replies as she talked with Lin Jiang.
"Oh, right, there’s something I forgot to tell you," Xu Lin said between bites.
"Xuanxuan’s homeroom teacher, you know her, right? The female teacher with glasses, named Jiang Xiaoqi."
"I know her. What about it?"
"She was recently named an outstanding teacher."
"That’s a good thing. It guarantees a certain quality of teaching," Lin Jiang said impassively.
"But I noticed something strange. When I was talking with Xuanxuan, he said Teacher Qiqi has been especially nice to him lately. She’s always calling on him in class. The favoritism is obvious."
"And?"
Xu Lin’s gaze turned a little suggestive. "I heard from Xuanxuan that Jiang Xiaoqi was asking him about you. Do you think she’s interested in you? Or is it that..."
"Or is it what? That we’re having an affair?"
"Pfft..." Xu Lin couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
"It’d be normal even if you were. But you need to keep your eyes open. The restaurant’s business is picking up, you’ve bought a luxury car... you can afford to be picky now."
"I haven’t even thought about that stuff. Who gets married when they’re rich?"
"You’re not planning to just fool around forever, are you? Live life like it’s a game?"
"I’ve had that thought. It saves you from all that domestic drama."
In front of Xu Lin, Lin Jiang didn’t hide much. There were many things they could discuss openly and honestly.
"Actually, that works too. With your current status, forget about being in your late twenties—even when you’re forty, you’ll have no problem finding a girl in her twenties."
Tapping the bottom of the bowl with her chopsticks, Xu Lin propped her chin on one hand, seriously contemplating the issue.
"And marriage really does come with a lot of problems. You should enjoy your youth. Don’t let a family tie you down so early."
"We’re on the same page."
"But you should still keep it in mind. If you meet a good girl, you have to grab the opportunity. Women are a dime a dozen, but a good one is hard to find."
"I have to disagree. There’s a good woman sitting right across from me."
Xu Lin looked at Lin Jiang, the smile on her lips a little hard to read.
"You mean good in bed, right?"
"What kind of vulgar talk is this? Don’t try to corrupt my pure heart."
"You and your act."
Xu Lin chuckled and put down her chopsticks.
"I’m about done. I feel bad for not finishing it and wasting your kind gesture, Boss Lin."
"It’s fine. We’ll settle the score in the middle of the night."
"People usually settle scores after the autumn harvest. Why do you settle them in the middle of the night?"
"You want to do it ’after autumn’? No way, there are too many mosquitoes in the cornfields. You’ll get your butt covered in bites."
"Pfft-hahaha..."
Xu Lin was bent over laughing, holding the corners of her eyes, afraid she’d get crow’s feet.
"Stop teasing me. If I laugh any more, I’ll get wrinkles."
As she spoke, Xu Lin stood up and straightened her clothes.
"I won’t pay you now. We’ll settle the score in the middle of the night later. I’m leaving. Come find me when you’re free."
"Don’t go to your shop. Just come with me."
"Can’t you wait?" Xu Lin whispered.
"Who said anything about that?" Lin Jiang took out his phone and waved it in front of Xu Lin.
"I booked an appointment for you at the hospital. If we go now, the timing will be perfect. So don’t go to your shop."
Xu Lin froze, staring at Lin Jiang in astonishment. It took her a long moment to snap out of it.
"When did you book the appointment?"
"While you were eating your noodles. If I didn’t take you, you’d probably just keep toughing it out."
"How do you know my ID number?"
"Once, you asked me to help you look up a traffic violation and sent me a picture of your driver’s license. The ID number was on it."
"I... It’s nothing serious. You don’t have to worry about me so much."
Uncontrollably, her beautiful eyes misted over.
For all these years, she had shouldered her career, cared for her child and her aging parents; her slender frame supporting two families.
But in this moment, she realized that only Lin Jiang saw her as a woman.
"Let’s go. Any later and we might not make it in for the examination."
Lin Jiang ignored Xu Lin’s tears and pulled her along, not wanting to make the scene too dramatic.
In that moment, Xu Lin felt that Lin Jiang’s shoulders seemed to have grown broader and stronger.
[You have gained the favor of NPC Xu Lin. Affinity +10]
[Affinity: 90]
[Reward: 1,000,000 NPC Special Development Fund. Has been deposited into your account.]
’My Affinity actually went up!’
Lin Jiang pretended to glance back casually and saw a red exclamation mark appear above Xu Lin’s head.
’My Linbao is the most reliable one after all!’
’She’s the one who gave me both main quests!’
Lin Jiang didn’t rush to check the main quest, instead helping Xu Lin into the car.
"I don’t want to go to the hospital."
"You’re sick and you won’t go to the hospital?" Lin Jiang said, displeased.
"I’m scared to go," Xu Lin said in a small voice.
"I can ignore things at the shop, but I still have to take care of Xuanxuan. If they really find something wrong with me, there’ll be no one to look after him."
A mother’s love is a great thing, and in that moment, it was personified in Xu Lin.
"Don’t you worry, you still have me. This is nothing."
"You’re so annoying," Xu Lin said suddenly. "Don’t be so good to me."
In that moment, Xu Lin’s heart was moved.
Lin Jiang drove with one hand, placing his other on Xu Lin’s leg and patting it gently. He said with a smile:
"I don’t want to be good to you either. I’m just afraid of losing such a good card-playing partner. If something happens to your health, who will play cards with me?"
Xu Lin pinched Lin Jiang. "You’re just talking nonsense. You have no shame."
Lin Jiang chuckled, and soon they arrived at the hospital.
The moment she got out of the car, Xu Lin latched onto Lin Jiang’s arm tightly.
Or rather, she was grabbing it.
"It’s okay, I’m here. Don’t be afraid."
"I have claustrophobia. The doctor will definitely order a color Doppler ultrasound for me. You have to come with me."
"You have that problem too?"
"When I was giving birth, I was in the delivery room for over five hours with no one to talk to. The nurses ignored me, too. I think it must have scared me. The problem has never gone away all these years."
Xu Lin’s hand gripped him even tighter.
"I remember one time I had a headache and couldn’t bear it, so I went for an MRI. Halfway through, my phobia acted up. I wanted to smash the machine to pieces. Luckily, the technician doing the MRI was a woman, and she kept calming me down. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t have been able to handle it."
Lin Jiang wanted to say something, but he felt he couldn’t truly empathize, and anything he said would just be empty words.
He reached out, wrapped his arm around Xu Lin’s waist, and said, "Let’s go. I’ll be with you."
"Mhm."
At the hospital, they went up to the third floor to the liver and gallbladder surgery department.
There were two people ahead of them, so they sat on a bench to wait.
Xu Lin closed her eyes, gripping Lin Jiang’s hand tightly, her lips slightly pale.
Lin Jiang’s heart ached for her. She wasn’t as strong as she appeared on the surface. All he could do was hold her hand tightly, hoping to give her strength.
"Don’t worry, I’m okay. As long as you’re with me, I’m not scared," Xu Lin said softly.
"Mhm, I’m with you."
Xu Lin kept her eyes closed, not even bothering to look at the numbers on the big screen. With Lin Jiang there, she didn’t want to worry about such things.
While keeping an eye on the numbers on the screen, Lin Jiang opened his quest log.
[Quest Name: Capital Expansion]
[Quest Description: Within one month, upgrade the storefront to over 300 square meters.]
[Quest Reward: Pan-Seared Steak and Rice Recipe, 50 EXP]
’This quest...’
Lin Jiang muttered to himself.
’Gross floor area or usable floor area?’
[Gross Floor Area]
’That’s pretty typical for this country.’
His current little shop had a gross floor area of just over 110 square meters. Upgrading to over 300 square meters meant nearly tripling its size.
The difficulty wasn’t massive, but it wasn’t small either.
But it would probably take some time to find a suitable location.
As for the reward, Lin Jiang thought it was pretty good.
Although it wasn’t a cash reward, it was the goose that lays the golden eggs.
The pan-seared steak and rice would definitely be a huge hit. Most importantly, it would fill a gap in his restaurant’s menu.
With both noodles and rice dishes, he could attract more customers. Business would surely get even better in the future. He felt like earning a million a year would be a piece of cake.
And given the little shop’s current situation, he would have had to expand even without the quest.
His starting point in the business world would begin with this noodle shop.
Now all that was left was to spend the time finding such a place.
[Quest Complete (Death Threat): X-ray Vision (7 days) *1, Blink Card *1, 30 Points]
[NPC: Qin Yangyang]
[Affinity: 10]
Lin Jiang’s eyes lit up!
’The quest is complete!’
’But there was no Special Development Fund this time. I guess you only get it for increasing Affinity after the Affinity mode has been unlocked.’
’But it doesn’t matter. The X-ray Vision I’ve been dreaming of has finally arrived!’

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