"Chen Yansen, what did my dad say to you?"
The moment Meng Jie got into the car, she grabbed Chen Yansen's arm, her eyes wide with anxiety.
"He…" Chen Yansen paused deliberately, watching her reaction. Then he smiled faintly."He asked whether we were dating."
"What?!"
Meng Jie froze. Her composure collapsed instantly. When she noticed Wang Zihao in the front seat desperately trying not to laugh, her ears turned red with embarrassment.
"How could he even ask that?!"
She clenched her fists, then quickly turned back to Chen Yansen.
"So… what did you say?"
Her voice dropped, cautious now, as if afraid of hearing an answer she couldn't handle.
Chen Yansen leaned back lazily."What answer do you think I should've given?"
"Tell the truth," she replied without hesitation.
He nodded approvingly."Good. That's exactly what I did."
Meng Jie's heart skipped."Then… what did you tell my dad?"
"The truth."
He stretched, yawning, repeating the same words with a teasing tone.
Only then did Meng Jie realize what he meant.
"You—!"
She glared at him, cheeks burning, too angry to speak for a long while.
In reality, Meng Zhenguo had never asked such a direct question.
As a bank branch president, he was used to judging people. A few sentences were enough for him to roughly assess a young man's character, ambition, and future trajectory—whether that person would ever truly intersect with his daughter's life.
What he hadn't expected was that Chen Yansen was far more difficult to read.
Throughout their calm, polite exchange, every piece of information Meng Zhenguo obtained was something Chen Yansen had chosen to reveal. He hadn't managed to probe a single thing on his own.
That was why Meng Zhenguo felt both admiration and unease.
Admiration—because Chen Yansen's intelligence and composure far exceeded those of his peers. With such qualities, surviving and thriving in society would not be difficult. From a purely rational perspective, he was more than qualified to be a potential son-in-law.
Unease—because Meng Jie's emotional intelligence clearly couldn't keep up. If this young man ever turned out to be a heartbreaker, his daughter would suffer.
After some thought, Meng Zhenguo decided to set the matter aside and discuss it with his wife first.
The hour-long drive passed quickly.
Meng Jie followed Chen Yansen and Wang Zihao into the old house in Xicheng, curiosity written all over her face.
Bang!
Wang Zihao tossed the cash box onto the ground and immediately sat down, rubbing his hands together before eagerly counting the money.
"You've been doing this all summer?" Meng Jie asked in disbelief, pointing at the stacks of boxes piled against the wall.
"No," Chen Yansen replied casually."Just the second day. We're heading to Zhenyang Pass on the 8th. Want to come?"
He rolled up his pant legs and sat down on the stone slab without any concern for appearances.
"Hmph. Trying to freeload off my labor again," Meng Jie snorted as she sat beside him.
"I'm not paying you, so it doesn't count as freeloading," Chen Yansen said seriously, though the cunning in his eyes betrayed him.
"Guess how much we made," Wang Zihao suddenly asked excitedly.
"Four hundred MP3s and two hundred MP4s," Chen Yansen replied without thinking."Plus the day before yesterday. Less than forty-eight thousand in profit."
To him, forty-eight thousand felt no different from four hundred eighty thousand. It was only the beginning.
"What did you say?!"
Meng Jie stared at him, stunned.
Her father earned around eight thousand yuan a month including bonuses. In 2010, that already placed him well above most people.
Yet Chen Yansen had earned half a year of her father's salary in just two days.
"Sales exceeded expectations," Chen Yansen said calmly."There isn't much MP4 stock left. I'm planning a second batch."
"How much?" Wang Zihao asked immediately.
"I'll decide tomorrow," Chen Yansen replied."I need to reassess population size, purchasing power, and market saturation in the remaining towns first."
In business, recklessness and hesitation were both fatal. Only data and rational judgment mattered.
Meng Jie watched silently.The boy beside her didn't feel like an eighteen-year-old at all. He felt like someone who had already walked this road many times before.
"Okay," Wang Zihao agreed. He didn't understand everything—but he trusted Chen Yansen completely.
"I'll take you home," Chen Yansen said, standing up.
"Actually… selling things with you is pretty interesting," Meng Jie muttered, looking down.
"Be here at seven on the morning of the 8th," Chen Yansen said.
Then he paused, turned back, and gently pushed up her black-rimmed glasses with one finger.
"Take them off next time. I want to see a different you."
Her heart skipped violently.
"Never mind! I'll walk home myself!" she blurted out, then ran off without looking back.
Her running posture was so stiff and boyish that Chen Yansen couldn't help laughing.
Hearing his laughter, Meng Jie ran even faster, muttering "pervert" under her breath.
…
The sales team was officially formed.
On even-numbered lunar dates, the three of them traveled through the surrounding towns of Chun Shen, selling goods at markets large and small.
Wang Zihao's speech became smoother by the day.Meng Jie's hands grew faster at counting money.
By late August, the second batch was sold out.
"We sold a total of 2,987 MP3s and 1,390 MP4s," Wang Zihao reported, holding a worn notebook."After expenses, net profit was just over 190,000."
Chen Yansen tossed a thick stack of bills into Wang Zihao's arms.
"I said five percent. I'll round it up to ten thousand."
"Heh heh, thanks, Brother Sen."Wang Zihao sniffed the money deeply and rubbed it against his face.
A translucent line of text appeared before Chen Yansen's eyes.
Humanitarian Flame +1
A thin wisp of white energy flowed into his brow. A chill swept through his body, sharp and fleeting.
When it vanished, the value on the panel changed slightly.
Physique: 1.16 → 1.17
No dramatic change.Only his numb right leg felt normal again.
That's it?
Chen Yansen cursed inwardly.Still too weak. Still too slow.
Looks like I really need to make more money.
His phone suddenly vibrated.
"You have ten minutes to get home!"
Chen Guobin's furious voice roared through the speaker, accompanied by the unmistakable sound of a wooden stick.
Chen Yansen sighed.
Looks like cultivation… starts at home too.