53: young couple

"Mom, why do you try to set me up with every girl you see?"

Chen Qiu felt a bit helpless; the moment Luo Jinglan spoke, he understood exactly what she meant.

"That girl looks great. Shouldn't you make an effort?"

Ahead, Yan Baiwei was wearing simple wide-leg trousers that accentuated her tall, slender figure.

A white sweater paired with a beige Chanel-style jacket gave her an air of simplicity and purity.

Just standing there, she gave off the impression of someone at a celebrity level!

In the past, Luo Jinglan would never have encouraged her son to pursue a girl like this.

You have to know your place!

Without money or capability, it was only natural for someone like Chen Zhide to find a down-to-earth girl from an ordinary family.

But now that her son had made something of himself, her standards naturally had to rise accordingly!

"Your son has a blind date this afternoon."

"A blind date is one thing, but if there's a good girl, isn't it better to just win her over directly?"

"You need to try more to find the one who suits you best!"

Hearing this, Chen Qiu couldn't help but feel that his mother had more potential to be a player than he did.

Just then, Yan Baiwei saw the three of them and immediately walked over.

"These are my parents," Chen Qiu introduced.

"Hello, Uncle and Auntie," Yan Baiwei greeted. Her tone was calm, but for some reason, she felt a sense of nervousness.

Especially when Luo Jinglan's scrutinizing gaze landed on her, she subconsciously straightened her posture.

"A portion of the furniture arrived today. Chen Qiu, why don't you inspect it?" She shifted her gaze and began leading the three of them through the inspection.

Although she asked Chen Qiu to inspect it, it was clearly Chen Zhide who was more invested, touching here and looking there, asking questions from time to time.

He worked in a furniture factory, so he was quite knowledgeable about different types of wood.

After walking around, Chen Zhide said with satisfaction, "Everything is quite good!"

Before coming, he had been worried; his son had transferred a million to her before even signing the contract—in many people's eyes, wasn't that just being a complete sucker?

Dealing with acquaintances usually followed a standard procedure! It seemed his son's eye for people was quite sharp after all!

Luo Jinglan was even more satisfied. Apart from the soft furnishings, she occasionally interjected with questions about Yan Baiwei's personal life.

After some casual conversation, the group headed over to Boyue Mansion.

At this moment, some workers were already moving cement into the villa.

"This is Supervisor Zhao!" "Hello, owner!"

Supervisor Zhao looked to be in his forties and had rough hands. Hard renovation was different from soft furnishings.

The flat in Binjiang No. 1 was already finely renovated; if the soft furnishings weren't good, they could always be replaced later!

But if there were problems with the hard renovation, whether it was repairs or tearing it down to redo it, that would be incredibly frustrating.

Regarding this villa that required hard renovation, Luo Jinglan and Chen Zhide were clearly even more attentive!

They took the blueprints and started comparing and asking Supervisor Zhao about every single detail.

Chen Qiu and Yan Baiwei went to the balcony to sign the contract.

The total cost for the hard renovation phase was 1.98 million, to be paid in five installments. After signing, Chen Qiu transferred another 200,000 to Yan Baiwei.

"Class monitor, I'm leaving my future bridal home entirely in your hands!"

"Do you even have a girlfriend? You've already decided on a bridal home."

"That's exactly why I don't have one, so I have to plan early!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Baiwei gently brushed a strand of hair from her forehead and suggested,

"As for a bridal home, I think the one at Binjiang No. 1 would be more suitable."

"Class monitor, do you like that one?"

Hearing Chen Qiu's words, a flicker of emotion appeared in Yan Baiwei's cold, clear eyes. It was clearly a normal sentence, but Yan Baiwei felt something strange about it.

If I like it, would you give it to me?

She pursed her lips and changed the subject.

"By the way, the high school reunion for our ten-year graduation anniversary is on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. Are you going?"

"A reunion?" Chen Qiu opened WeChat in surprise and took a look. "Is there a notification?"

Yan Baiwei rolled her eyes at him. "I haven't sent it out yet; you're the first one to receive the notification!"

"I'll go!" "Since the class monitor notified me first, I definitely have to go!"

At this moment, Supervisor Zhao returned with Luo Jinglan and the others after their tour. Seeing that the contract had been signed, he took out the "Start of Construction" poster and flower baskets he had prepared in advance and set them up in the living room.

"Owner and Teacher Yan, let's take a photo together!"

Immediately, Yan Baiwei stood next to Chen Qiu, and Luo Jinglan and Chen Zhide stood together for the photo.

Supervisor Zhao looked at the scene and froze for a moment. If it weren't for the Lianyu Decoration construction poster on the wall, it would look just like a family portrait!

After taking the photo, Chen Qiu and the others left.

"Supervisor Zhao, I'll leave it to you to keep an eye on things here!" Yan Baiwei instructed Supervisor Zhao.

The latter patted his chest and nodded. He was an old employee who had worked under Yan Li for many years, and Yan Li had treated him quite well. He also knew about the difficult situation the Yan family was in now, so naturally, he wouldn't mess up this big order that Yan Baiwei had worked so hard to get.

"Don't worry, Teacher Yan. I guarantee I'll supervise this house as if it were my own!"

After saying that, he fiddled with the photo he had just taken and posted it on his WeChat Moments. [Thank you to the owner for choosing Lianyu Decoration. Construction at Boyue Mansion villa has begun!]

Yan Baiwei naturally saw this post on WeChat Moments. She clicked on it and was slightly stunned to see herself standing next to Chen Qiu.

The two of them standing side by side looked quite harmonious. The relaxed, slightly upturned smiles on their faces made them look just like a young couple renovating their bridal home.

"Was I smiling back then?" Yan Baiwei looked at herself in the photo and was suddenly in a daze.

She stared blankly for a moment, and when she came to her senses, she realized that she had saved the photo without even knowing it.

"What am I doing..." She opened her album to delete it, but her slender, white fingers hovered over the screen, unable to tap.

She recalled that she and Chen Qiu had been deskmates for a year in high school; he was practically her closest male friend, yet they didn't have a single photo together!

Even in their high school graduation photo, one stood in the front row and the other in the back row, far apart.

After hesitating for a while, she ultimately didn't delete the photo and continued to help Chen Qiu procure the soft furnishings for his flat.

... After sending his parents back, Chen Qiu drove to the company.

By the time he arrived, it was almost 11 o'clock. Stepping into the company entrance, the busy employees who passed by stopped to greet him upon seeing Chen Qiu. "Mr. Chen!"

All the way in, greetings rang out one after another. After sitting down in the CEO's office, Chen Qiu couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

He finally understood why the boss of his previous company, even though he was idle in the office, insisted on coming in to work.

He could start work whenever he wanted. He was clearly the most leisurely person in the company, yet even the most efficient employees had to stop and greet him. The sense of status, power, and vanity that came with it was indeed quite nice!

Not long after Chen Qiu sat down in his office, Liu Qi pushed open the office door.

She was still wearing a light gray professional suit, her black hair tied up, giving her a strong sense of mature femininity!

She also brought two people in. "Mr. Chen, these are Song Xiangtong and An Wan, who joined the company yesterday!"