Still the crowded room.
He took a deep breath as he tried to savor the clean air, but a bitter smile formed on his face as he realized his nose was stuffed with dust and even on his bed that had been uninhabited for so long.
Jiang Chen examined the apartment he had spent the past two years in and suddenly felt reminiscent of his time here.
Shaking his head, he threw this emotion away.
Perhaps it was now time to say goodbye.
Jiang Chen took out his phone and called the landlord’s number before he moved it two inches away from his ear in anticipation.
“Hello? Jiang Chen! That apartment, if you want to continue to rent, then you better pay half of the year’s rent right now! Even if you don’t want it, other people want it. I felt pity seeing you by yourself, but if it weren’t for that, I would have already thrown your stuff out! Fu*k, I called you so many times, and you didn’t even pick up, you no-money b*stard. You’re playing the disappearing game with me?” Wu Jie roared his expletives on the other end, thinking Jiang Chen had no other options.
Of course, if this was half a month ago, he would have been Jiang Chen’s only chance. But now…
“You can rent the house to other people,” Jiang Chen said calmly.
“What, what did you say?” His voice was suddenly surprised. Wu Jie didn’t expect Jiang Chen to be so defiant and threaten to stop renting right away. “If you’re not going to rent my place, where are you going to live?”
“If you continue to call me a bastard, I’ll make sure you’ll never open your mouth again.” The landlord couldn’t hear any emotional variation from Jiang Chen’s voice, which remained light and calm.
Wu Jie was about to curse again, but the chill in Jiang Chen’s voice crept into his mind and clogged the words at his throat, making him unable to make a sound.
Jiang Chen didn’t want to spend any more effort on this dumb*ss so he hung up. Even though the landlord had given him a lot of trouble, he didn’t have the energy to care. If a dog barked at you every day, you can’t bark back at him after all.
It was a waste of time and his own standards.
Of course, if this guy continued to bother him, he wouldn’t mind teaching him a lesson. It was the other side’s freedom to say something, but in Jiang Chen’s mind, it was then his freedom to decide how to react.
After hanging up, Jiang Chen’s phone began to vibrate with notifications as his phone screen filled up with missed calls. Other than the landlord, Xia Shiyu had also called him, probably worried about the company president who had left on such a long absence without leaving any messages.
Jiang Chen smiled, but his finger soon trembled.
There were at least ten missed calls from his home.
His eyes began to tear up.
Perhaps, he should take some time to go home.
He took a deep breath as he suppressed his grief at being so far away from home, then dialed the familiar number.
“Hello? Mom, it’s me.”
“Chen Er, you finally called. Your dad has been so worried.” The familiar yet excited voice transmitted through the phone speaker. “Old man, Chen Er called back.”
“Mom, don’t use that name. It’s too childish.” Jiang Chen smiled as he blinked his eyes.
“What’s childish? Listen to how you’re speaking to your mom. You’re not obedient anymore!” When a steady roar resonated from the other line, Jiang Chen felt relieved.
[Looks like mom and dad are doing well.]
This also made Jiang Chen feel slightly less guilty about not visiting home in so long.
In the past, he was worried about disappointing his parents’ high expectations without a successful career. Using work as an excuse, he stayed away from visiting home many times, even during Chinese New Year when he lied and said he had to work overtime.
He knew that even without success, his parents would still welcome him with open arms. But he was the one who couldn’t accept it.
Now, however, all of those concerns were gone.
[Mom, dad, your son has finally achieved something.]
Jiang Chen’s hand trembled as he smiled and responded to their reminders and advice.
“Son, it must be tiring out there. Do you have enough money? Don’t tire yourself out. This is the starting point of your career. If you don’t have enough money, let your mom know, I still have some savings.”
“No, your mom is off the mark. Our son’s key priority is buying a house! No girl will like you if you don’t own a house. Son, it’s okay to be tired. We’re men, and we can do it! Your mom and dad still have some savings. Let’s see if we can buy a house at Wanghai City with down payments. With a house, you can then bring a girlfriend back for your mom and dad. We’re waiting for grandchildren.”
“No, Mom and Dad, your son is successful now. I opened a company at Wanghai City, and I even have people working for me now. I’ll take care of the house myself, so you guys don’t have to worry! Take care of your health and don’t always think about saving money! If you want to buy something, just buy it. If you don’t have enough, I’ll get it for you.” Jiang Chen rubbed his eyes and smiled.
“You’re teaching your dad a lesson? Haha, honey, our son is accomplished now! Haha,” his father said excitedly.
“What? Chen Er, you opened your own company? Be careful, don’t let other people deceive you! I’ve seen the news recently!” His mother’s voice was filled with concern.
“Don’t worry! My son is much smarter than you!” Jiang Jianguo laughed. When he heard that his son had established himself, his heart was filled with a happiness that was greater than winning the lottery.
“After dinner, I’ll go brag with the other old guys at the door. Our son, a university student, opened a company in Wanghai City, and other people are working for him! That’s good. We can solve the girlfriend problem as well. Everyone wants to be married into a big city. Our neighbor’s daughter doesn’t have a boyfriend, and neither does Xia who lives in the building in front as well…”
“Your son is my son as well!” Li Xuemei argued back.
As they continued to banter, Jiang Chen gently rubbed his slightly sore eyes with his left hand. This was the feeling of home—something he had avoided.
The purest relationship in the world was family.
He smiled and thought that he should take some time to visit them.
－
After his phone call with his parents ended, he lied back onto the bed, disregarding the dust flying everywhere.
It was time to move out. He felt slight regret as he wanted to lie on the bed a bit longer.
[500 million USD. That’s 3 billion RMB.]
While Jiang Chen didn’t know the exact exchange rate, it was likely around this much.
[What kind of mansion should I buy?]
He never considered this question before. A mansion, let alone a simple apartment, was something Jiang Chen had never dared to imagine.
But now this was all nothing.
Since there were areas he was clueless about, he decided to ask for some help.
He lifted his phone, but his finger froze in place.
[Who should I call?]
An awkward smile crept onto his face as he realized that he didn’t have many friends.
That was fine.
After deliberating for a while, Jiang Chen sighed as dialed Xia Shiyu’s number. Since he needed to call her anyways, he might as well ask for some advice at the same time.
－
Xia Shiyu was about to lose her mind. She was wondering where Jiang Chen disappeared to when vibrations suddenly came from her pocket. Without hesitation, she took out her phone and saw the familiar name. She was so angry that she laughed.
“Hello? Am I hearing this correctly? Our president just called me back?” The voice didn’t sound too cold; at least Jiang Chen could heard her teeth grinding.
“Ahem, I have been busy with business. That’s not the point.” Jiang Chen shamelessly changed the topic.
“Oh? What kind of business requires you to turn your phone off? Do you know the company is in the initial start-up phase? Hiring? Development plan? Is this your business or my business…”
The voice on the other side was so fast that Jiang Chen moved the phone slightly away. Xia Shiyu’s drastic reaction to his disappearance surprised him.
There were more important things at hand, however.
“… Can you go house hunting with me?"
“…” Xia Shiyu hung up the phone.
Two seconds later, the phone rang again.
She suppressed the anger in her chest as she inhaled, resisting the urge to hang up right away.
“Ahem, don’t hang up on me. I’m serious! Can you find some time?”
“What do I have to do with you buying a house?” Xia Shiyu said in an icy voice as her chest furiously heaved up and down. Jiang Chen’s playful attitude made her feel disrespected as she had been worrying about him for the past few days.
That’s right, disrespected.
After spending so much effort on something, it was completely disregarded.
“Of course it has to do with you. If you have nothing else to do, you can come and chill.” Jiang Chen said with a chuckle, completely unaware of Xia Shiyu’s feelings.
When she heard Jiang Chen’s words, Xia Shiyu paused.
Hmm? She confusedly touched her forehead and felt the unnatural temperature on her hand.
[I don’t have a fever. This is weird.]
“Hello, are you listening to me? Oh right, I’ve already finished developing the mobile game. The next step is to hire people to maintain the server. I trust that you know the hiring process better than I do, so you can take care of it. But if you need me to be at the interview, I don’t mind either. But only on the condition that you’ll go house hunting with me.”
“Okay,” Xia Shiyu agreed without considering. On after did she realize with an odd feeling how illogical and decisive her answer was.
[Must be because of work. If I don’t say yes, he’ll disappear again.
Mhmm, that’s right, it’s because of work.]
After hanging up, Xia Shiyu rubbed her temples as she tried to justify her actions. Although even this action felt unnecessary and unnatural.
－
Done!
Jiang Chen stretched as he threw the phone to the side.
Girls were more detailed, so it was better to bring her along. Despite his narcissism, he knew too well that his taste was significantly lacking. With the developer's sale pitch, there was no way he’d be able to discern truth from lies.
He didn’t wonder if he was interested in Xia Shiyu or not.
It was just that when he held his phone, the only person in this city who came to mind was his ex-boss. No, his employee now, haha.
Since he needed to buy a house, then naturally it required cash. Jiang Chen’s storage dimension was filled with gold, but it didn’t make sense to go buy a house with pounds of gold.
He grabbed the phone again and called an international number.
However, when he pressed the phone against his ear, he frowned.
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