"Linlin, is this your friend?"
Xu Qingyou asked tentatively.
Xu Lin nodded, turning slightly to make the introduction.
"Mom, Dad, this is Lin Jiang. He’s the one who helps me pick up Xuanxuan when I’m busy."
"Young man, thank you so much."
"We’re neighbors. It’s just a small thing, really."
"Grandma, Grandpa, didn’t you say you wanted to talk to Uncle Lin? You can talk to him now."
Lin Jiang and Xu Lin exchanged a look, not knowing what the old couple wanted to talk about.
"When did I say I wanted to talk to your Uncle Lin? I wanted to talk to your mom."
"The house is still under renovation. I should go supervise the work. Excuse me for a moment."
Lin Jiang found an excuse and left.
"Mom, Dad, I’ve already made up my mind. Let’s not talk about this anymore."
Xu Lin guessed what her parents were about to say and spoke first, cutting them off.
"Before, you two could at least pretend. Now you’re not even bothering. Tell me the truth, does this have something to do with that young man?"
On the surface, they didn’t interfere with Xu Lin and respected her decisions. But what parents would actually support their child’s divorce? Even if they were to divorce, they should at least wait until the child was grown.
The reason they hadn’t said a word was because they couldn’t control Xu Lin.
"Of course it has nothing to do with him. But I doubt you’d believe me even if I said so."
Xu Lin was a resilient person. If things had remained peaceful, with each of them doing their own thing, she might have been able to tolerate it for the sake of their child.
But the last straw was what Zhao Dongming had said last night.
That man had eyes only for money and was utterly unscrupulous in achieving his goals.
If she stayed with a man like that any longer, Xu Lin felt like she would suffocate.
"But speaking of which, that young man’s circumstances are quite good." Wang Xiazhi couldn’t help but remark as she looked at the interior renovations.
"Such a big house, with such nice renovations... this must have cost a fortune."
"The house was 165 million. As for the renovation costs, I’m not sure, but it must be in the tens of millions. There isn’t a single cheap thing in this room."
"What? 165 million?"
The old couple’s eyes went wide. "Even when your father and I are gone, I doubt you’d burn this much money for us."
"What are you two talking about?" Xu Lin said, exasperated.
"You two can relax. He’s not a freeloader. The little money I have is nothing in his eyes."
"Let’s not talk about him for now. You two are separating, so what are your plans for the future?"
"He bought the house, I bought the parking space. We’re each taking our own things. We already arranged these matters when we signed the divorce agreement, so you don’t need to worry."
"Alright then. When you have time, pack your bags and come live with us. We have enough room anyway."
"I won’t be staying with you. The two of us just bought a house this morning. I have a place to live."
"What? You bought a house already?" The old couple was very surprised. "How much did you borrow? Is the mortgage a burden?"
Xu Lin glanced back at Lin Jiang, who was speaking with the installation crew.
"I didn’t spend a dime. He bought it for me. Over seven million, paid in full."
"Whaaaat???"
The old couple’s voices shot up an octave. "He bought you a house? For over seven million?"
"Mhm, the property deed is in my car. It’s in my name. Now you can rest easy, right?"
The old couple exchanged a look, momentarily at a loss for words.
From this perspective, even if there was something improper about their relationship... it suddenly seemed... pretty good, actually.
"Daughter, let me ask you something..."
Wang Xiazhi leaned close to Xu Lin and whispered, "Have you two slept together?"
"Mom, you’re a teacher, for goodness’ sake, a Chinese teacher at that. Can’t you be a little more subtle?"
"I’m talking to you, not some stranger. What’s there to be subtle about? If everyone acted like a prude, no one would have children, and the human race would have gone extinct long ago."
"Our relationship is perfectly respectable. You don’t need to worry about it."
’Only Lin Jiang and I need to know about our relationship. There’s no need to tell even my parents.’
"Really no other kind of relationship?"
"Really, no."
"Sigh, that’s not good. I was actually hoping you two did have that kind of relationship."
Xu Lin: ???
"Mom, are you even listening to yourself?"
"Am I wrong? I’m no saint. I just want you to find someone with good prospects so you won’t have to work so hard in the future. And now, just when my hopes were up, you go and dash them."
"Just stop thinking about the two of us. I’m already this old, and I have a child. You shouldn’t hope for us to have a future together. That would just be harming him."
"True, he’s a single young man. It really wouldn’t be appropriate for you two to get together." Wang Xiazhi sighed.
"I won’t ask for anything else. As long as you feel you’re happy, that’s all that matters."
"Don’t worry. I’m very happy right now. My career is going well, and when I run into trouble, there’s someone to help me solve it. What more could I ask for?"
"Alright. If you can say that, then I’ll stop worrying."
Wang Xiazhi stood in place and looked around again. "You two continue chatting. I’ll take Xuanxuan home now."
"I don’t wanna go! I want to play with Uncle Lin for a bit!"
Zhao Wenxuan trotted over to Lin Jiang. "Uncle Lin, there’s a figurine shop nearby, and they sell the coolest stuff! Let’s go check it out!"
"Xuanxuan, don’t be naughty. Your Uncle Lin has important things to do," Xu Lin said sternly.
Lin Jiang shot her a reassuring glance, then leaned down and whispered a few words in Zhao Wenxuan’s ear.
The boy’s eyes lit up, his face beaming with excitement.
"Mom, I’m going home with Grandma and Grandpa now."
"After you get back..."
"Grandma, Grandpa, let’s go, hurry! Let’s go back, I can’t wait!"
Xu Lin: ???
’What on earth did Lin Jiang say to him?’
The old couple was dragged away by Zhao Wenxuan. Xu Lin looked at Lin Jiang.
"What did you say to him?"
"I told him to use his grandpa’s phone to go to the figurine shop downstairs, take a picture of his favorite one, and I’ll buy it for him tomorrow. Then he scurried off happily. It’s just a shame..."
"A shame about what?"
"A shame that this investment won’t have as great a return as the last Ultraman."
"Hahaha..."
Xu Lin couldn’t stop laughing, the two white rabbits on her chest trembling along with her.
"You’re getting a little cocky. There’s a saying: there’s no such thing as a field plowed barren, only an ox worked to death. You’d better be a little more humble, or I’ll be laughing at you later."
Lin Jiang gave Xu Lin’s bottom a sly squeeze. "Then I’ll be waiting for that day."
"Be gentle then. You knocked it askew."
With that, Xu Lin walked toward the bathroom.
Lin Jiang took advantage of the moment to walk through every part of the house.
Liang Shuhuo had been very compliant and had already gotten his bedroom ready for him. In other words, if he didn’t mind, he could start staying here tonight.
At this rate, the work would be finished in half a month at most.
Not long after, Xu Lin came out, and the two of them left.
"Oh, right, the seasonings are ready. It’s on the way back, so we can pick them up."
"Sounds good."
Xu Lin drove, and they arrived at another one of her shops.
This one was a storefront with an antique-style facade. It had two floors and was much larger than her branch in Berkeley Mall.
When they entered the shop, it wasn’t very crowded, but you could tell from the way the customers were dressed that they were all well-off.
Xu Lin greeted them, and it was clear they were all repeat customers.
Once in the office, she patted a cardboard box on her desk. "It’s all in here."
Lin Jiang carried the box while Xu Lin picked up a black bag next to it. They went downstairs together and got back in the car.
"This is for you, too. Remember to drink it every day."
Xu Lin handed him the bag. Lin Jiang looked inside and saw several plastic-sealed pouches and a black thermos.
"What is this?"
"It’s to nourish your kidney qi. One packet a day. Just steep it in water. It doesn’t have a weird taste, so you should be able to handle it."
"You, of all people, should know what I’m capable of. I don’t think I need any supplements."
"Even an iron hoe needs maintenance. You’re only flesh and blood, so you need to be even more careful."
Xu Lin tilted her head, looking at Lin Jiang mischievously. "Are you saying you’re harder than iron?"
"A strapping man like me, getting teased by you! Today, I’ll show you exactly what it means to be harder than iron and stronger than steel."
"No, no, no, I was wrong."
"Nope. Your apology isn’t sincere enough."
"After my ’relative’ leaves, I’ll give you a very, very sincere apology."
"That’s more like it."
"Jerk."
With their things, Xu Lin drove back home and parked next to Lin Jiang’s car.
"What are your plans for later?"
"Nothing else for now. I’ll head back to the shop first."
"Okay, I’m heading off then."
"Mmm."
Xu Lin went home. Lin Jiang put the items in his own car and prepared to head back to his shop.
He had just parked his car when he saw that the Sichuan restaurant at Berkeley was moving things out. Even the sign had been taken down.
Taking out his phone, Lin Jiang called He Jing.
"Manager He, I see the Sichuan restaurant is moving things out. Does that mean I can start preparing for renovations?"
"I was just about to call you about that. They’re moving out today, so you can start renovating tomorrow."
"Great, thank you, Manager He."
After a brief chat, Lin Jiang hung up and then called Liang Shuhuo.
"Hey handsome, what can I do for you?"
After a few days of working together, Liang Shuhuo had gotten used to calling him that.
"Is anyone around you?"
"Clever boy. I’m in my office, working on the design for your noodle shop."
"That’s what I was about to talk about. We can start construction tomorrow."
"No problem. I’ll arrange for people to go over tomorrow."
"What’s the fastest it can be done?"
"Half a month at the earliest. The main thing is the kitchen renovation, which might take some time."
"Alright, we’ll go with that timeline. In any case, the faster the better."
"Mmm, got it."
After hanging up, Lin Jiang started planning his next steps. He needed to find some time to hold a small meeting with Li Yuanyuan and Yang Tao to tell them about the expansion and give them a heads-up.
RING RING RING—
Before Lin Jiang could even arrange his next steps, his phone rang again. This time, it was a call from Jiang Xiaoqi.
"Brother Jiang, I have great news! I’ve been promoted to department head!"
"That’s great news. It’s worth celebrating."
Lin Jiang guessed that Zhou Hejuan must have pulled some strings.
"Mhm! My dad thinks so too. He said he wants to treat you to a meal. Please come, Brother Jiang! The place is already booked."
Lin Jiang thought Jiang Xiaoqi’s family was decent. They clearly understood how she got her position and weren’t arrogant enough to assume it was solely due to their daughter’s hard work.
"It’s not that big of a deal. I think I’ll pass."
"It might not be a big deal to you, but it is to my family."
Jiang Xiaoqi said in a whiny, cute voice,
"Please come, Brother Jiang. Besides, I have something else to tell you."
"What is it?"
"I’m a little too embarrassed to say it..."
"What’s there to be embarrassed about? Just say it."
"The things you bought for me were delivered. Do you... want to come see?"
"They arrived that quickly?"
"I saw the package said same-city express delivery, so of course it was fast. You’re terrible, Brother Jiang, buying so many..."
"Just satisfying my curiosity."
"So... are you coming or not?"
"Of course I’m coming!"
After hanging up the phone, Lin Jiang stretched a little.
’Little brother!’
’Tonight’s a high-level match!’

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