Chen Pingjiang reacted quite quickly, striding to the desk and picking up the exquisite gift box, which held a brand new Omega Seamaster.
This watch cost tens of thousands, and Li Yuhua, coming from a working-class family, truly bled a bit for it.
"Why are you just standing there in a daze?"
Chen Pingjiang gave Yan Yan, who was still lost in thought, a look and whispered.
It wasn't that Yan Yan didn't want to move; it was just that her heart was pounding fiercely, her face was flushed, and her legs felt a bit weak.
From outside, Yan Liming's voice continued,
"Where's Yan Yan?"
"She's inside with Xiao Chen."
Yan Liming, like a cat with its fur bristling, immediately looked warily at his good daughter's bedroom door.
He quickly took two steps, stood at the doorway, wanting to push the door open and go in, but also worried about how terrible it would be if he happened to see something he shouldn't.
His own distress was one thing, but it would also make everyone very awkward.
Lost in thought, he froze in place for a moment.
The next moment, the bedroom door opened from the inside, allowing Yan Liming to breathe a sigh of relief.
Chen Pingjiang was seen smiling and greeting,
"Uncle Yan, you're back?"
After speaking, he ran to the kitchen to chat with Li Yuhua.
"Good daughter, what are you doing?"
Yan Liming, who hadn't seen his daughter come out for a long time, asked.
"Oh, Dad, I'll be right there."
Yan Liming didn't suspect anything; he had just been staring at Chen Pingjiang's face for a long time and found nothing unusual.
They wouldn't be so bold at home, would they?
In reality, Yan Yan at this moment truly dared not come out.
Her face was so hot and burning, it was almost enough to fry an egg.
She could only desperately pinch her earlobes to relieve the burning sensation in her cheeks.
After chatting with Li Yuhua for a few minutes, Chen Pingjiang once again familiarly walked to the living room and sat next to Yan Liming.
Yan Liming, looking at Chen Pingjiang, had a slightly complex gaze.
Although this kid in front of him had "arched his cabbage," Yan Liming had to admit that he was very capable; he just hoped he would be good to his daughter.
Before, Yan Liming could still use his seniority to keep Chen Pingjiang in check, but now he really couldn't.
As a leader, he was very clear that in today's rapidly developing economy, everyone had a bit of a GDP-centric mindset.
Chen Pingjiang's status, when placed in various districts of Dongjiang, would make him an honored guest of the top leaders.
Especially since Renrenwang was an internet company, purely high-tech, such enterprises were precisely what various districts desperately needed to attract.
Dongjiang itself had few internet enterprises, and none that were famous.
In this context, Chen Pingjiang's Renrenwang became even more invaluable.
Chen Pingjiang was also a smooth operator, and he didn't come empty-handed today, bringing a box of excellent tea.
"This Biluochun isn't cheap, is it?"
Yan Liming asked, watching Chen Pingjiang self-assuredly brewing tea.
"I'm not sure, someone else gave it to me. I don't usually drink tea, so I thought of bringing it for you to try?"
A simple sentence relieved Yan Liming of the burden of the price, but despite what was said, he didn't actually believe it.
Yan Liming, who was usually quite talkative, found himself at a loss for words when facing Chen Pingjiang, not knowing what to say.
It was Chen Pingjiang who asked with a smile,
"Uncle Yan, I heard you work in Wujiang District. I'd like to ask what investment promotion policies Wujiang District has for high-tech enterprises, or if there's any resource preference for enterprise land use?"
Yan Liming's heart stirred, and he asked,
"What? Are you telling me your Renrenwang intends to move to Wujiang District?"
Chen Pingjiang nodded,
"Yes, we are considering it, but we still need to look at the specific policies of each district."
As Chen Pingjiang's businesses grew, in two or three years at the slowest, or one year at the fastest, he would need to find a place to buy a building or build his own campus.
Wujiang District was not in the traditional downtown area of Dongjiang City, but it wasn't as remote as Xianlin, making it a good choice.
Yan Liming didn't think much of it; he didn't believe Chen Pingjiang was testing him or trying to use his connections to get policy benefits.
The truth was Renrenwang was already fully fledged and had the confidence to negotiate with various district governments.
After pondering for a while, Yan Liming said,
"I am not responsible for economic matters, but after work tomorrow, I'll look into the district's investment promotion policies and let you know."
At this moment, Yan Yan gracefully walked out of the bedroom.
Although the flush on her face had faded a lot, it was still rosy.
Yan Liming merely attributed it to the hot weather and didn't take it to heart.
Chen Pingjiang, with his back to Yan Liming, tilted his head and winked at Yan Yan, making Yan Yan, whose mood had just barely settled, feel a bit uncomfortable.
However, as soon as she sat down next to Chen Pingjiang, Yan Yan immediately tensed up.
Chen Pingjiang was truly too bold.
While casually chatting with Yan Liming as if nothing was happening, the nail of his right middle finger was gently stroking Yan Yan's thigh, and Yan Liming, sitting on the far left, couldn't see it because his view was blocked.
Feeling a tingling itch on her thigh, Yan Yan still didn't dare to move, as any movement might lead to Yan Liming discovering it.
She could only be helplessly subjected to Chen Pingjiang's playful torment.
After leaving the Yan family home, Chen Pingjiang smiled and shook his head.
Both Yan Liming and Li Yuhua seemed a bit "awkward"; the meal hadn't been very enjoyable.
Li Yuhua's "awkwardness" lay in being somewhat optimistic about Chen Pingjiang on one hand, but on the other, because they were both young, it was awkward to overtly show support for their relationship.
She also didn't want to display an attitude of "even though you, Chen Pingjiang, are rich, our family doesn't need to fawn over you."
So Li Yuhua treated Chen Pingjiang as merely her daughter Yan Yan's male classmate, or even if she admitted he was her boyfriend, it hadn't yet reached the son-in-law level of relationship.
Compared to Li Yuhua, Yan Liming was even more awkward.
Although he inwardly felt that Chen Pingjiang had "arched his cabbage," he had to admit this kid's capability, and he couldn't go from being lukewarm last time to overtly enthusiastic this time just because of external information.
In comparison, Yan Yan was much simpler; her liking for Chen Pingjiang was more about liking the person himself.
This feeling wasn't exclusive to Chen Pingjiang; even Li Yuhua herself had it.
That night, the couple lay in bed, whispering to each other.
Li Yuhua said,
"Old Yan, are we being a bit too reserved? To be honest, recently, everyone at my workplace has been talking about Chen Pingjiang, saying how their own daughters should find a partner like him, and that if they did, they'd wake up laughing in their dreams. But I always feel like we're being strange with him."
Although Yan Liming asked orally,
"How are we being reserved?"
Inwardly, he knew perfectly well.
"How should I put it? If the two children were already graduated and discussing marriage, I would definitely be more enthusiastic towards Xiao Chen, and even very satisfied with such a son-in-law.
But now I always consider that they are both only freshmen and sophomores, and I don't want to show them too much support. I'm really afraid they might... you know what I mean. And you're the same as me, right?
Last time we were lukewarm towards him, and this time it feels awkward to lower our guard and show too much enthusiasm, otherwise people might think we're too pragmatic and worldly."
As she said this, Li Yuhua laughed,
"So, I want to ask you, are we overthinking things?"
Yan Liming didn't speak, but let out a bitter laugh.
"Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Our daughter genuinely likes Chen Pingjiang; at dinner, her eyes were practically glued to him. Our attitude will cause her trouble, so I think we should just be more natural from now on and not overthink things."
"Furthermore, someone like Xiao Chen is probably doted on everywhere else; how could he tolerate our awkward attitude? Let's not end up scaring him away."
(End of Chapter)