4: With your son's low emotional intelligence, he'll never find a wife.

Lin Shanshan slammed the door of the volkswagen sagitar shut with a loud 'bang.'

As she plopped into the passenger seat, she was hit by a wave of a strange, cloying smell—a mixture of old air freshener and plastic interior that had been baking in the sun.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

The center console felt incredibly plastic and was already covered in fine scratches;

the heavy mechanical handbrake stood there all alone, looking completely out of place against the beige interior; and then there was that tiny screen, no bigger than a palm, with a resolution so low it looked like a relic from the last century.

In her mind, she couldn't help but flash back to Chen Qiu's Xiaomi SU7 from a few hours ago.

Comparing the two, the sagitar she was sitting in felt like an antique that had just been dug out of the dirt.

What made her feel even more unbalanced was the person driving.

Chen Yujie leaned over cautiously, wanting to help her fasten her seatbelt, but was forced back by a cold glare from Lin Shanshan.

He had no choice but to awkwardly pull his hand back, a fawning smile squeezed onto his face.

“Are we going straight to the Haitang Bay Residential Area?”

Lin Shanshan didn't answer him, merely staring at the streetscape retreating rapidly outside the window.

Her heart was in turmoil, a surge of inexplicable irritability and regret washing over her.

That Chen Qiu, though he acted like some inexplicable lunatic, at least drove a new car worth three hundred thousand, and when he heard her harsh demands, his eyes had sparkled with excitement and a light that said 'you're worth it.'

And what about Chen Yujie?

Honest and dutiful, even a bit spineless.

From the time they met until now, his speech was always the same few words.

“Okay,” “No problem,” “Whatever you say.”

He was like a cup of lukewarm plain water—safe, but boring to the extreme.

“This car of yours is too old-fashioned.”

Lin Shanshan finally couldn't help but speak up coldly.

Chen Yujie, who was concentrating on driving, stiffened, his hands subconsciously tightening on the steering wheel.

He said with a forced smile, “I've only driven this car for five years; it actually handles quite well.”

“I'm saying that after we get married, we must replace it,” Lin Shanshan said in a firm tone.

“I don't want to go to class reunions in the future and have everyone else driving BBAs while I'm sitting in this crappy Volkswagen.”

The words 'crappy Volkswagen' pricked Chen Yujie's heart like a needle.

The smile on his face was becoming hard to maintain, but he still didn't dare to talk back, only nodding submissively.

“Okay, okay, whatever you say. We'll change it as soon as we get married, we'll change it.”

In his heart, however, he kept grumbling: I've only had this car for a few years, and it's in great condition.

Changing cars—how could that be so easy? Where would the money come from?

But he didn't dare to say a single word of that out loud.

He knew that if he said it, there would be no point in looking at the house today.

The atmosphere inside the car was so oppressive it was hard to breathe.

Lin Shanshan crossed her arms and turned her head to look out the window, not wanting to say another word.

Finally, the car slowly pulled up to the entrance of the Haitang Bay Residential Area.

This residential area was located between the new city district and the old town; its location, environment, and surrounding facilities were all quite good. When sales opened the year before last, the average price reached eleven thousand, making it a decent neighborhood for Gannan.

Precisely because of its solid quality, even with the real estate market being as difficult as it is now, the price remained steady at nearly ten thousand.

Chen Yujie's mother, Huang Hui, had been waiting for a long time. As soon as she saw the car lights flashing, she immediately came forward to meet them, her face covered in smiles.

“Shanshan is here!”

Lin Shanshan only gave a faint “Mm” through her nose, her attitude neither hot nor cold as she slowly stepped out of the car.

Huang Hui didn't mind her coldness at all; instead, she became even more attentive.

She pulled over Luo Jinglan, who had been silent the whole time, to introduce her to Lin Shanshan.

“Shanshan, come and meet her; this is Yujie's Aunt.”

She specifically emphasized the word “Aunt,” her eyes full of hints and expectation.

In her view, this address of “Aunt” was equivalent to acknowledging the family connection, bringing them a big step closer to being “one family.”

Luo Jinglan also squeezed out a smile as she looked at the girl in front of her.

Lin Shanshan looked Luo Jinglan up and down, noting her simple clothing, and only gave a lukewarm, formulaic greeting: “Hello, Auntie.”

They weren't engaged yet, and she hadn't been given that “name-changing fee,” so she wasn't about to start calling anyone “Aunt.”

Once such a family title was uttered, it was equivalent to lowering her own value for nothing; when it came time to negotiate terms later, her momentum would be weakened by thirty percent.

The atmosphere suddenly became a bit stiff.

The smile on Huang Hui's face turned awkward.

Chen Yujie hurriedly ran over to break the ice. He looked toward a man not far away wearing a suit with his hair slicked back and shouted, “Mom, Manager Li, whom I made an appointment with, has arrived!”

Then, he introduced him to Lin Shanshan: “Shanshan, this is Manager Li from the property management office. He's the regional manager for Haitang Bay's property management. I specifically used my connections to ask him to show us a few good apartments.”

Only then did Lin Shanshan show some surprise.

The property management and the developer of Haitang Bay were one and the same, an established real estate firm in the province; a regional manager could be considered middle-to-high management locally.

She hadn't expected the dull and honest Chen Yujie to have some connections.

The frost on her face melted slightly.

Both sides stepped forward and exchanged a few pleasantries.

That Manager Li was glowing with health, and his speech carried a bit of worldly flair.

He looked at the two and smiled, saying, “Brother Yujie, don't you worry! The apartments I'm showing you today are anything but ordinary.

They are all 'treasured' units that our developer specifically set aside to give as gifts!

Whether it's the floor, the orientation, or the layout, they are top-tier in the entire neighborhood!

Normally, they would never even hit the secondary market!”

Hearing this, a secret pride surfaced on Huang Hui's face, and her posture straightened a bit.

She glanced at the distracted Luo Jinglan beside her, her heart filled with a sense of superiority.

As the group walked inside, Huang Hui deliberately slowed her pace to lean in toward Luo Jinglan.

She saw that her sister-in-law's head was down and she seemed restless, knowing she was still worried about her son Chen Qiu's blind date.

Huang Hui patted her shoulder with feigned concern and began to advise her, “Jinglan, don't worry too much about Chen Qiu. The boy is grown; he has his own ideas. You can't rush fate in these matters.”

She said the words, but her tone revealed a streak of boasting.

“Look at our Yujie; he used to be a handful too, but now that his work has stabilized, isn't he looking at houses and getting ready to marry?”

She paused, her tone shifting to one of slight lecturing.

“You should also pressure Chen Qiu; don't let him just drift around outside. Have him come back to Gannan quickly to take the civil service exam and buy a house. In today's society, if a man doesn't have a house, what good girl would want to be with you?”

Luo Jinglan nodded repeatedly, her heart growing even more troubled.

Just then, the phone in her pocket suddenly rang.

It was Sister Wang, the matchmaker, calling.

As soon as the call connected, Sister Wang's characteristically loud voice exploded from the receiver like a machine gun, filled with intense anger and reproach.

“I say, Jinglan! What on earth is going on with your Chen Qiu! Did you not explain things clearly to him?”

“That girl Lü Shuang just called me to complain! She said your son was rude; they got to the restaurant, and after one disagreement, he ran off before the meal was even finished!”

“It's one thing to run off, but he actually said in front of the girl and her best friend, 'This meal is too expensive, I can't afford it'! What is that supposed to mean? Huh? Who is he trying to humiliate? Is he complaining that the girl's conditions are too expensive? Can't he speak properly? Slapping someone's face like that right in front of them!”

“Two girls ordered a whole table of food and ended up having to pay the bill themselves! With your son's attitude and this kind of emotional intelligence, how is it possible for him to get a wife! How am I supposed to introduce anyone to him in the future? How am I supposed to give the woman's side an explanation!”

Faced with Sister Wang's string of accusations, Luo Jinglan was instantly dazed.