Seeing Fang Chenyi's wry chuckle, Old Li snorted irritably and continued his tirade. "What's so funny? Let me tell you, you brat, hurry up and throw that thing out. Then go find yourself a decent job. As for the rent, I'll waive it until you find work. Alright, alright, just go. Stop being an eyesore!"
"You old coot, can't you say anything nice?"
Shooting her husband an annoyed look, Aunt Wang turned and handed Fang Chenyi a washed apple. "Xiaofang, your Uncle Li might not say it nicely, but he has a point. What kind of future can you have doing this? You won't even be able to find a wife. What will you do then? Listen to him and throw that thing away, okay?"
Fang Chenyi wasn't a fool; he could tell Uncle Li and Aunt Wang were genuinely concerned. But he had no idea how to explain it to them. 'Throw it away? I wouldn't throw it away even if it killed me! I'm counting on this treasure to help me reach the pinnacle of life!'
Of course, he could only think this to himself. If he actually said it out loud, Uncle Li and Aunt Wang would be convinced he'd lost his mind.
After a moment of thought, as if their words had suddenly woken him up, Fang Chenyi nodded vigorously at them. "Uncle Li, Aunt Wang, you're right! Okay, I'll go look for a job!"
Seeing that the kid had finally come to his senses, a smile broke out on Old Li's tense face. He casually flicked his newspaper open and resumed reading, but his voice was audibly pleased. "Hmph, that's more like it. Well, since you're not working today, you might as well stay and have a couple of drinks with this old man."
Scratching his head sheepishly, Fang Chenyi said, "Well, Uncle Li, I can't stay for dinner today. I have an appointment. How about next time? I'll bring over a good bottle of liquor, and the two of us can have a proper drink then."
Hearing this, Aunt Wang saw that her husband was about to say something and quickly shot him a look to cut him off. "Alright, if you have an appointment, you should get going. Go on, get busy. Oh, and if you're taking a girl out, don't be stingy, you hear? How are you for cash? If you're short, Auntie can spot you a few hundred."
As she spoke, she started to reach for her purse. Fang Chenyi quickly waved his hands in refusal. "No, no, I've got money, Aunt Wang. Oh, by the way, Aunt Wang, Uncle Li, I actually came over today to tell you two something."
When he saw them both turn their attention to him, Fang Chenyi continued, "So, here's the thing. I probably won't be living here for the time being."
Before Fang Chenyi could finish, Uncle Li cut him off with a nonchalant wave of his hand. "Fine, fine. If you're not living here, then you're not living here. We'll keep the place for you. We won't even charge you rent. Just move back in whenever you return."
Fang Chenyi's heart warmed at his words, and for a moment, he felt the urge to cry. He forced a smile and said, "That's not what I meant. I just wanted to tell you both that even though I won't be living here, I'm going to keep renting the apartment. I'll transfer the rent money to you. Come on, Uncle Li, I'm well aware of your situation. If you two really think of me as family, then don't talk about waiving the rent. If you really won't accept it, I'll just have to go find somewhere else to rent."
"Alright, alright, pay if you want to. I'm not an idiot; if you're offering rent, why would I refuse? Now get out of here, go on your date. You're just like my own son. Looking at you youngsters just gets on my nerves."
Old Li didn't even look up, just waved his hand dismissively.
After a few more minutes of idle chatter, Fang Chenyi left under Aunt Wang's warm farewells. The moment he was out the door, he pulled out his phone, opened the transfer function, and sent 70,000 yuan directly to Uncle Li's bank account. In the transfer message, he added the note: '10 years' rent, paid in advance'.
A single year's rent was seven thousand yuan, so Fang Chenyi had paid for ten years straight. It wasn't that he didn't want to send more, but he was worried that the elderly couple wouldn't be able to accept a larger sum.
Since he had sorted things out here and decided to keep the place as a memento, Fang Chenyi headed straight out of the complex. He recalled promising the young man who wanted to rent a villa that he'd be back in half an hour, and checking the time, it was just about then.
He got back into his supercar, stomped on the gas, and shot off under the envious, jealous, and resentful gazes of the passersby.
By the time he got back to the gate of his mansion, he could see the young man from a distance, squatting under a large tree and smoking.
Hearing the engine and seeing Fang Chenyi's supercar return, the young man quickly stubbed out his cigarette and hurried over with a fawning smile.
"Haha, Bro! You're back."
Fang Chenyi parked at the gate and watched the young man jog over. He didn't get out of the car, simply lowering the window and jutting his chin toward him. "So, which one did you pick?"
The young man showed no sign of dissatisfaction with Fang Chenyi's attitude. Instead, he pointed sheepishly at Villa Twelve, the one furthest from Fang Chenyi's own Villa One. "Um, Bro... that one over there is nice."
The prices for the villas in Century Garden were determined by their number. Villa One occupied the largest plot, had the best location, and boasted the most luxurious renovations, making it the most expensive. Following that logic, Villa Twelve was the cheapest.
Of course, "cheap" was only a relative term compared to the first eleven villas. After all, even the cheapest one cost nearly twenty million.
But as Fang Chenyi followed the young man's finger, he was struck speechless, and a string of curses ran through his mind. 'For fuck's sake! Out of the ten villas I own, you had to pick one of the two that aren't even mine? Are you deliberately trying to make me look bad?'
But seeing the young man's timid, deferential manner, Fang Chenyi suppressed his irritation and asked, "What's the matter? None of the others caught your eye?"
The young man was clearly taken aback by the irritation in Fang Chenyi's voice. He quickly explained in a hushed tone, "No, no, that's not it. It's just... compared to the others, that one is the cheapest..."
'Shit, so that's why,' Fang Chenyi thought. 'And here I thought you were doing it on purpose to make me look bad.'
After cursing to himself, Fang Chenyi grabbed the woven plastic bag sitting next to him. His hand rummaged around inside with a loud RUSTLE before pulling out a massive key ring.
"For fuck's sake, why the hell are there so many keys!"
Grumbling, Fang Chenyi randomly pulled a key from the ring without even looking and tossed it to the young man. "Whatever, I can't be bothered to find the right one. Take this. You can live in whichever villa it opens."
[To be continued...]
First chapter of the day! Brothers, the second chapter will be up in five minutes!