Chen Pingjiang grinned cheekily,
"I earned it, what else could it be, stolen?"
"Nonsense! I asked how you earned it."
"Just earned it, you know."
Xu Fangjuan hated Chen Pingjiang's habit of speaking in gasps.
The more anxious she got, the more this heartless fellow would grin.
She immediately delivered a few thumps to Chen Pingjiang's back.
"Gentler, gentler,"
Chen Pingjiang dodged around.
Chen Guangming, puffing on his cigarette, said,
"You'd better tell her quickly, or your mom will really hit you when she gets angry."
"I started a company at school and bought the car with the money I earned."
Xu Fangjuan was stunned,
"What kind of company makes so much money? Where did you get the capital?"
"Earned it during summer vacation."
After a while, the old couple finally processed it, forcing Chen Pingjiang to explain everything in detail.
"You earned over a hundred thousand in just ten-odd days of summer vacation? No wonder I didn't see a trace of you all summer."
"What's that... that 'net' you're doing? It's not something children shouldn't see, is it?"
"You can do business, but don't neglect your studies."
"..."
Xu Fangjuan babbled on for a long time, her face completely devoid of any joy over her son's success.
It was Chen Guangming who comforted his wife,
"Say less. He's a grown man now, and he has a career."
Xu Fangjuan rolled her eyes,
"No matter how old he is, he's still my son. How was I supposed to know he'd cause such a big stir out of nowhere? You don't know, just now I thought this kid went to rob a bank."
Chen Pingjiang just chuckled foolishly.
Chen Guangming gave a placating smile, then turned to Chen Pingjiang, saying,
"We don't understand your business matters, but don't be overly ambitious. You must be down-to-earth."
They had never dreamed that their son would go off to school for half a year and come back transformed into a self-made man.
Chen Guangming and Xu Fangjuan felt a mix of emotions.
From the initial shock and fear to a sense of relief mixed with apprehension.
"He's grown up,"
Chen Guangming murmured to himself.
Once dinner was ready, Chen Pingjiang had a few drinks with his old man.
Since he had nothing to do that afternoon anyway, he lay on the bed and slept soundly.
When he woke up, it was already dark.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he climbed out of bed.
He looked around the house for a while but saw no one.
Chen Pingjiang then noticed a note left on the table.
"Your mom and I went to a wedding banquet. Your mom wants you to go out and eat by yourself."
Chen Pingjiang pouted.
It was too cold outside, and he was a bit lazy to move, but there were no leftovers at home; they had finished everything during lunch with the wine.
Yawning, he put on his jacket and drove out to find a restaurant.
Finding a Huainan Beef Soup place, Chen Pingjiang called out as he entered,
"One bowl of beef soup and two flatbreads!"
Just as he sat down, he heard someone hesitantly call out to him,
"Chen... Chen Pingjiang?"
Chen Pingjiang turned his head and saw a young man with dyed yellow hair looking at him.
"Oh? Daisheng, why did you dye your hair yellow?"
Among his classmates, Chen Pingjiang didn't remember many, but Daisheng was one of them.
He used to hang around with Chen Pingjiang a lot during high school.
"Brother Chen, I almost didn't recognize you. It's only been one semester, and you've changed so much!"
Daisheng smiled in surprise, bringing another young man with yellow hair to Chen Pingjiang's table.
Chen Pingjiang smiled,
"Where are you studying now?"
Daisheng gave a bitter smile and shook his head,
"What school? I'm too lazy to go to that crappy vocational college. Now I'm just drifting aimlessly."
It was quite amusing.
Back then, a group of people often followed Chen Pingjiang around.
The biggest troublemaker of them all got into a second-tier university and left, while the rest either entered society or went to vocational colleges.
"Brother Chen, this is my friend, Xiao Li."
The young man named Xiao Li looked reserved, probably only in his first or second year of high school at most.
"Hello, Brother Chen."
Chen Pingjiang nodded expressionlessly.
"Brother Chen, there's a new bar opening in the county tonight. Want to go have some fun together? Men are 200 each, women are free."
"Don't know anyone, what's the point?"
"It's better when you don't know anyone, easier to pick up girls. There are quite a few."
"Oh? Well... alright then."
Chen Pingjiang thought that since he had nothing to do tonight anyway, it wouldn't hurt to check it out.
Daisheng was a troublemaker in high school.
His life trajectory hadn't changed much; in both lives, he didn't continue his studies, spending his days loitering around the school, bullying younger students for protection money, and the rest of the time was spent online eating and drinking.
Such people have a name: "street youths."
"Is this your car?"
Daisheng asked, astonished, as he watched Chen Pingjiang naturally get into an Audi A6.
Chen Pingjiang nodded,
"Everyone get in the back."
"Oh, oh, okay."
After getting into the car, Daisheng perked up and asked,
"Brother Chen, did your family's house get demolished?"
"No, I did a small business at school and bought the car myself."
"Holy cow, how big of a 'small business' does it have to be to buy a car in half a year?"
Chen Pingjiang just smiled and didn't answer.
He and Daisheng were just casual acquaintances; there was no need for extensive explanations.
"It's only eight o'clock, is the bar open?"
Chen Pingjiang asked.
"It's open. Bars in small counties aren't like those in big cities; they open early and close early. By 2 AM, there's barely anyone left."
Guided by Daisheng, they arrived at K7, a bar that had been open for a few months.
As Daisheng said, even though it was only around eight o'clock, the bar's main hall was already quite crowded, mostly people gathered around high tables, with few people at the booths.
"Hey, Daisheng, over here!"
Someone waved towards Daisheng.
Chen Pingjiang followed the figure and saw 3-4 men plus one woman gathered around a high table, each playing on their phones.
Daisheng walked over skillfully and waved,
"Lao Si, check the group, a few people haven't arrived yet. Those who are here, pay up first, I'll go order drinks."
Chen Pingjiang didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
This Daisheng really knew how to do business.
In many places, there are bar groups or dating/matchmaking groups where the group leader organizes gatherings under the guise of activities, with men paying 200 yuan and women free.
The organizer's benefit is getting a discount or commission from the bar.
If they become a regular, the bar might even pay a salary, but it's not much.
"Here, take it."
Chen Pingjiang also took out two hundred and handed it over.
"No, Brother Chen, how can I take your money?"
Daisheng refused, saying he wouldn't take it no matter what.
Chen Pingjiang feigned displeasure,
"If I give it to you, just take it. They're all splitting the bill, what would it look like if I didn't pay?"
"This... alright. I'll treat you separately next time, Brother Chen."
Daisheng thought for a moment before accepting the money.
Soon after, everyone gradually arrived.
In total, there were 8 men and 5 women.
Chen Pingjiang learned through their conversations that most of the men were office workers or unemployed, and among the women, there were even high school students.
And judging by how skilled this group looked, they clearly came often.
A moment later, the bar staff came over with drinks, soft drinks, and fruit platters, placing them on two high tables.
"Quanquan, what do you think? Isn't my buddy handsome? He used to be the campus heartthrob in our high school."
Daisheng pulled Chen Pingjiang to one of the high tables and said to a girl wearing a tight-fitting wool sweater and long hair.
"Brother Chen, this is Quanquan, a high-quality single woman in our circle. She's a preschool teacher."
Chen Pingjiang smiled and nodded, thinking how Daisheng almost felt like a pimp.
(End of chapter)
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