Chapter 3: A Windfall

When Guo Yue’er was in college, she had no shortage of admirers. The most prominent of them all was Chen Fan, her childhood sweetheart and the campus heartthrob. She liked it very much and thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being pursued.

Simply put, Guo Yue’er had never before been blacklisted by anyone.

So when she heard the “beep-beep” from the other end of the line, followed by the automated notice that the call was in progress, she still had not reacted.

“What’s wrong?” Guo Yue’er asked, her brow faintly furrowed.

“His phone is always busy.”

“Hm? Let me try.”

As Guo Yue’er’s best friend, Lu Chunjiao naturally had Chen Fan’s number, the number of that Number One Bootlicker.

She called it, and before long the other side picked up.

Both of them froze for a moment.

They both realized a possibility, a vanishingly small possibility.

“Hello? Who is this?”

Chen Fan’s voice came through.

Lu Chunjiao came back to herself and glanced at Guo Yue’er beside her with a complicated look. Sure enough, our little white flower’s face was not looking too good.

“It’s me, Chen Fan. Yue’er and I are shopping at the Ten-Thousand-Billion Plaza. Come over here right away.”

Chen Fan, who was busy typing away, looked at his phone in confusion.

Who was this?

So rude.

Lu Chunjiao?

Ah, right. The best friend of the original owner’s goddess.

“How could I forget you?”

He muttered under his breath, then hung up and blocked the number in one smooth motion.

“I’ve got to write more tonight. Tomorrow I’m accompanying my wife shopping, so I need to stockpile some drafts.”

Chen Fan kept on typing, utterly unconcerned about the two women who were already furious enough to explode.

Lu Chunjiao was dumbfounded after Chen Fan hung up. That idiot bootlicker used to be so respectful toward her, all to find out Yue’er’s whereabouts, and this was the first time he had ever hung up on her first.

And that line before he ended the call—“How could I forget you?”—she had heard it loud and clear.

How dared he?

Lu Chunjiao’s temper flared, and she immediately wanted to call back and give Chen Fan a proper scolding.

The number you dialed is currently busy. Please try again later.

“That bastard blocked me too?!”

That one word, “too,” successfully snapped Guo Yue’er out of her blank stupor.

“Chunjiao, do you mean... Fan brother blocked me?”

“Uh... maybe he really is busy, Yue’er. Don’t overthink it.”

Lu Chunjiao hurriedly tried to smooth things over. She knew perfectly well they had been blocked by Chen Fan, but seeing Guo Yue’er looking so lost, she could not bring herself to say the truth.

“Right? How could Fan brother possibly block me?”

“Exactly. He must just be occupied with something.”

Having received the answer she wanted, Guo Yue’er finally let out a breath.

How could Chen Fan ever bear to block her? He had said he would marry no one but her. Seven years in all—through high school and university—he had chased her for seven whole years. He surely could not bear to do it.

If Chen Fan knew what Guo Yue’er was thinking now, he would probably laugh out loud.

So you did know the original owner had pursued you for that long, and you never gave him even the slightest response? I almost thought he had been chasing a machine.

“What are we having for lunch?”

“Hotpot. It’s been ages since we last had hotpot.”

“Fine.”

The two of them tacitly avoided the subject, and neither suggested trying to call Chen Fan again. They continued their shopping.

---

Time passed quickly. Chen Fan felt as though night had fallen in the blink of an eye.

He had been so absorbed in typing that he had not noticed the passage of time at all. When he got hungry midway, he merely tore open a loaf of bread and called it done. His stomach had long since begun voicing its protest.

He stretched, and his body crackled with a series of pops.

“Mm, feels great!”

“The drafts for the next few days are all set. I can finally slack off in peace.”

“What should I eat tonight?”

Chen Fan looked at his phone, and just then a message came in from his “cheap wife.”

“I just got off work. Have you had dinner?”

“Not yet. I just finished too.”

“You’re so busy? Then shall we eat together?”

“Tomorrow I’m accompanying you shopping, so I figured I’d write a few more drafts in advance just in case. Sure, tell me what you want to eat and I’ll go buy it.”

Seeing the first half of Chen Fan’s message, Peng Jiaxin felt a warmth spread through her heart.

She really liked people who took her words so seriously.

As for the second half, she was even more delighted.

“You can cook?”

“Every year when I go back to my hometown for the New Year, I’m the head chef~”

Only after sending those words did Chen Fan belatedly realize something.

His bargain wife was a CEO, after all. Could she even be used to the food ordinary people ate?

“Uh... if you’re not used to it, we can eat out instead.”

“But I want to eat what you make~”

Chen Fan took a deep breath, then sent two bold, domineering words:

“ORDER AWAY!!!”

Peng Jiaxin covered her mouth and laughed softly, while the assistant behind her was nearly losing her mind.

Heavens, I saw President Peng smile!

Just how great must this man’s charm be to make a cold beauty like President Peng smile like that?

Peng Jiaxin picked a few dishes she liked and mentioned her tastes as well. Since she intended to seriously build this marriage, she had no reason to be reserved with Chen Fan.

“Received!”

After that, Chen Fan sent over another address.

“This is my place. If you get there before I’m back, there’s a spare key under the doormat by the door.”

“Okay.”

Today, the assistant had gotten off work on time after a long, long while. Yet somehow, she still felt strangely unsettled.

After going home to shower and change, Peng Jiaxin drove to the address Chen Fan had sent.

The neighborhood Chen Fan lived in was one of Su City’s older residential compounds. Back when it was built, the decor had been considered top-tier, but now it was obviously no longer much to look at.

There was also a small park inside the compound, specially built for the elderly to pass the time.

As everyone knew, the group of old ladies at the village entrance were the strongest intelligence network in the village, and the ones in the neighborhood were certainly no worse.

They had just seen Chen Fan happily head out, only to return a little later carrying several large bags.

The old ladies began whispering among themselves.

“Looks like someone’s coming over.”

“You’re stating the obvious. Could one person eat that much?”

“I mean the visitor might be a woman—and very possibly his girlfriend!”

“Hm? Go on.”

The old ladies analyzed it with great seriousness. Whether right or wrong, at least they had found some amusement for an otherwise boring evening.

But the topic did not last long before it shifted elsewhere.

For example, to the luxury car that suddenly stopped in front of them.

The old ladies did not know what brand the car was, but there was one thing everyone recognized: it looked expensive.

Their voices lowered a great deal.

“Grandmothers, do you know where Building Fifteen is?”

“Go straight ahead, then turn left. The building at the very end.”

“Thank you, grandmothers.”

“You’re welcome.”

The old ladies watched the luxury car drive off, all of them smiling kindly.

“My, these wealthy folks nowadays are really polite.”

“That’s not necessarily true. Maybe that little girl from just now was only an exception...”

That one remark opened yet another topic, and the old ladies soon gathered again to discuss the ever-present issue of wealth and poverty in modern society.

Meanwhile, Peng Jiaxin had already arrived downstairs at Chen Fan’s place, and her luck was good—there happened to be a parking space.

After parking, she sent Chen Fan a message.

“I’m here.”

“Wait a moment.”

Less than a minute later, Peng Jiaxin saw a man in an apron, still holding a spatula, running out and looking around.

At the sight of him, the corners of her lips lifted unconsciously.

Had she...

Picked up a treasure?