Several people first visited Chuangyeyuan 202, then went to Chen Pingjiang's dormitory.
Boys cannot go to girls' dormitories, but girls usually can go to boys' dormitories, especially when accompanied by parents and under the guise of Chen Pingjiang.
Yan Yan seemed a little excited about this, looking around curiously as everything felt new to her, her first time in a male dormitory.
"Is this your doghouse?"
Xu Fangjuan frowned, sensing an odor in the room, and quickly walked to the balcony to open the window for ventilation.
Chen Pingjiang, unfazed, pointed to the messy bed with an unmade quilt, saying,
"I'm usually very diligent; it's just been too busy these past two days, and I haven't had time."
Xu Fangjuan shot a disdainful glance at Chen Pingjiang, still saving him some face in front of Yan Yan.
Zhao Shaoyang, Dong Tinghui, and others also lost their usual boisterousness, and even the slovenly Wang Lei honestly hid away.
Xu Fangjuan and Chen Guangming warmly greeted everyone in Chen Pingjiang's dormitory.
Zhao Shaoyang and the others, however, were clearly more interested in Yan Yan, who stood nearby, unbelievably beautiful.
To be able to accompany Chen Pingjiang's parents to the male dormitory, what kind of status did she have that needed mentioning?
Zhao Shaoyang leaned in and whispered to Chen Pingjiang,
"Brother Chen, isn't this the first time we've met sister-in-law? She's stunning! You actually kept her hidden until now."
Dong Tinghui nodded repeatedly,
"We've never seen anyone this beautiful at our school before; she didn't even show her face in that campus image ambassador competition."
"Are you stupid? She must be from another school. Besides, if you were the boss of Renrenwang, would you be willing to let your girlfriend show her face and have your wife's photos used by countless boys every day?"
"Brother Chen, dear dad, later on, ask sister-in-law to introduce some of her friends to us brothers."
Chen Pingjiang ignored the two flashy guys.
After sitting for a short while, he took everyone to Miaochá at the school gate.
Although it experienced an initial boom after opening, and lacked the promotional boost from the image ambassador competition, Miaochá's single-store sales have slightly declined recently, but the store is still packed with people.
As soon as this curious group of five appeared, they attracted many people's attention, with most eyes particularly focused on Yan Yan.
Xu Fangjuan looked at the shop, almost full with people in small groups, and clicked her tongue,
"I've tried this stuff; it feels just so-so. Why do these young people like it so much?"
"Boss!"
The two shop assistants, led by Feng Ziwei, quickly put down what they were doing and greeted Chen Pingjiang.
Chen Pingjiang nodded, not introducing his parents and Yan Yan.
Many people around were staring, and he didn't want to make it public knowledge.
After ordering a few bubble teas, the group left Miaochá.
After taking a sip, Xu Fangjuan said with a hint of distaste,
"The taste is very strange, overly sweet, I can't drink it."
Chen Pingjiang chuckled,
"Young people are naturally fond of this; it's normal for you not to be used to it."
After this round of touring, Xu Fangjuan's heart settled down again.
Her gaze towards Chen Pingjiang became softer, revealing a hint of pride.
The little rascal has grown up!
He quietly pulled off such a big feat.
This made Xu Fangjuan quite relieved.
"Let's skip the barbecue place. We've walked for so long, Yan Yan must be tired. Let's go shopping at the mall; I'll buy Yan Yan a few outfits."
"?"
Chen Pingjiang really wanted to tell his mother,
"Listen to what you're saying! Is it that shopping at the mall isn't tiring?"
However, here Chen Pingjiang had no right to object; he was just a chauffeur.
Speaking of which, Chen Pingjiang was quite impressed with Yan Yan, this young girl.
Usually, she seemed unassuming and cool, but she could truly present herself well on important occasions.
Her performance in He Zhiyu's small circle last time had already impressed Chen Pingjiang, and he never expected her to now also charm Empress Dowager Xu into giggling.
Even when she was with Chen Pingjiang normally, Yan Yan never spoke as much as she did today, and her small mouth seemed to be smeared with honey.
"Auntie, are you thirsty? I'll go buy a bottle of water."
"Auntie, you look so young."
"..."
This constant stream of flattery completely stumped Chen Pingjiang.
As expected, Empress Dowager Xu quickly "defected," finding Yan Yan more and more agreeable the more she looked at her.
Wherever they went, she affectionately held Yan Yan's hand, occasionally whispering secrets.
"Chen Pingjiang, let me tell you, you are not allowed to bully Yan Yan in the future."
"Otherwise, I'll break your legs."
"You must treat her well."
Chen Pingjiang rolled his eyes so high on the surface, but in reality, he felt good about their harmony.
Inside Deji Plaza, Chen Pingjiang, Chen Guangming, and Zhou Guanghan, the three men, were truly tired and sat on chairs to rest.
Xu Fangjuan and Yan Yan genuinely weren't tired of shopping.
Women seemed to have a natural talent in this area that no man could keep up with.
Speaking of which, although the Chen family's conditions were generally average before, Xu Fangjuan's generosity was exactly like Chen Pingjiang's.
As a nationally renowned high-end shopping mall, Deji Plaza had a plethora of luxury stores.
Empress Dowager Xu didn't feel the slightest bit of regret, pulling Yan Yan around to try on clothes everywhere.
"Auntie, it's too expensive here."
Yan Yan saw a jacket that was very pricey and shook her head repeatedly, refusing to take it no matter what.
"Hey, this is Auntie buying it for you, and it's Chen Pingjiang's money, what are you afraid of? Isn't a man's earning for a woman to spend?"
From this, it was clear that Xu Fangjuan genuinely liked Yan Yan.
She felt pained staying in a hotel room that cost around a thousand yuan, but she didn't feel the slightest pinch when buying clothes for Yan Yan.
Only under Xu Fangjuan's "firm" attitude did Yan Yan agree to buy one item.
Chen Pingjiang, with keen perception, immediately went to the counter to swipe his card.
It wasn't until both of them were gradually too tired to shop that Chen Pingjiang found a restaurant, and everyone had dinner together.
...
That night, lying on the large bed in the Sheraton, Xu Fangjuan unexpectedly tossed and turned.
Chen Guangming looked at his restless wife and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
Xu Fangjuan simply sat up and leaned against the headboard.
"I didn't feel it when we arrived, but now it all feels like a dream. Chen Pingjiang quietly created such a big stir.
I originally thought he was just doing a small business, but later I heard that the annual rent for Huijin Building is millions, and with so many employees, wouldn't the monthly salaries be hundreds of thousands?
And I truly adore this girl Yan Yan. When I was young, I dreamed of having a daughter. If I hadn't been afraid of losing my job and being fined, I would have had a daughter long ago."
Chen Guangming chuckled,
"Isn't it a good thing that our son is promising? He has a career and a good girlfriend; you should be happy."
"Of course I'm happy, but I'm still afraid he'll get carried away, like a poor person suddenly becoming rich. They say men change when they get rich, and there's some truth to that."
To this, Chen Guangming strongly disagreed,
"Who says that? I wouldn't go bad even if I had money."
Xu Fangjuan sneered,
"That's because you don't have the capital to go bad. Your little contractor business doing home renovations earns less in a year than our son's monthly rent in Huijin Building."
Chen Guangming opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
That remark truly was hard to refute.
Just then, Xu Fangjuan suddenly nudged Chen Guangming with her body,
"Old Chen, what do you say we sell our old house and move to Dongjiang?"
"?"
"Our meager salaries really don't mean much now; a month's earnings isn't even enough for one jacket this afternoon. Our son is doing well now, and I really like Yan Yan. If we come to Dongjiang earlier, we can help them with the children later, and also keep an eye on Chen Pingjiang. Manager Zhang of the Laibin Grand Hotel in the county was once full of youthful spirit, but later became addicted to gambling and lost his entire family."
Chen Guangming also struggled to sit up, then hesitated before saying,
"What you're saying is true, but wouldn't it put pressure on Chen Pingjiang? He just started university and got rid of you less than a year ago, and you'd follow him wherever he goes? Besides, Yan Yan and our son are still students; nothing is set in stone yet. Didn't Chen Pingjiang tell you that Yan Yan's father is a district leader?"
"What's wrong with being a district leader? The young couple are in love; can they really be stopped from being together? Besides, I was just saying."
Chen Guangming thought for a moment and said,
"Let's wait a few years. Let's not come and bother them now. We'll come when they really need us."
After speaking, Chen Guangming yawned and lay back down,
"Hurry and sleep, it's late. Aren't we going to climb Zijin Mountain tomorrow morning?"
"You sleep; I can't."
...
It wasn't just Xu Fangjuan who couldn't sleep; it was Yan Yan's family too.
She had originally planned to return to the dormitory today, but after thinking it over, Yan Yan still felt it was necessary to inform her family about Chen Pingjiang's parents coming to Dongjiang.
"Hey, Old Yan, what exactly do you mean?"
Li Yuhua knew her husband was feigning sleep and wasn't actually asleep, otherwise, his snoring would have been thunderous long ago.
"What could I mean? Isn't it too early for them to meet now? They're only freshmen and sophomores; who can say what will happen with their relationship in the future?"
Li Yuhua also nodded,
"What you're saying is right, but they bought a jacket worth over ten thousand yuan for your precious daughter today. Wouldn't it be bad for us to pretend not to know?"
Speaking of this, Yan Liming also got a headache and complained slightly,
"Yan Yan shouldn't have told us about this today; that way, we wouldn't have any psychological burden."
"Don't you know your daughter's little thoughts? Girls are outwardly expressive. She specifically came back today to tell us that Chen Pingjiang's mother treats her very well, and as the girl's parents, we should also treat Chen Pingjiang well."
Yan Liming, as if his tail had been stepped on, immediately retorted,
"When have I treated him badly?"
Li Yuhua scoffed,
"Anyway, I'm quite satisfied with Little Chen. He comes from a good family, started from scratch at a young age and is doing very well; calling him a young talent is no exaggeration. As for you..." At this point, she gave her husband a meaningful look, "Your thoughts are written all over your face all day. A daughter has her own life and happiness, and parents shouldn't interfere but rather support her."
Yan Liming didn't speak, only sighing "Ah" after a long time.
"Although that's true, when I think of my painstakingly raised 'little cabbage' being taken away just like that, my heart feels heavy. You're not a father, so you can't understand what it feels like to hand your daughter's hand over to another man, not knowing if he will treat her better than I do in the future."
"Do you know that's called being overly sentimental? So many people around the world marry off their daughters, how many are like you?"
Yan Liming didn't retort, but instead said,
"I didn't say Chen Pingjiang was bad; it's just that this kid is exceptionally impressive. He's only a freshman, but he's already doing so well. I did a little digging, and I was quite surprised by what I found. This kid has quite a few businesses, and each one is well-run. At such a young age, he's already rubbing shoulders with the district's bosses. When I went to pick up my daughter that day, I even saw those bosses surrounding him, inquiring about his well-being."
"A young man who gains power should not boast; late bloomers are especially valuable. I don't need to say more; you should understand the rest."
Instead of worrying, Li Yuhua teased her husband,
"That means you should work harder. As a father, you are your daughter's strongest backing. As long as you get promoted fast enough, would Little Chen still dare to treat our daughter badly?"
Yan Liming was speechless, not expecting the conversation to circle back to himself.
In the end, the couple still worked out a solution.
After all, they were the girl's side and couldn't proactively suggest a meeting between both sets of parents.
If Chen Pingjiang's parents expressed a desire to meet, they would go.
If the other side didn't mention meeting, they would pretend not to know.
Before sleeping, Li Yuhua also mumbled,
"In a few days, I'll also take Chen Pingjiang to choose a more expensive suit. We'll be frugal ourselves, but we won't take advantage of others, and it can be considered returning the favor."
(End of chapter)