43: Chapter 43 Hello, my name is Chen Xin

After Wang Shuo left, Chen Zhongxuan was left all alone in the spacious banquet hall.

He looked at the two blank contracts on the table, a faint, barely perceptible smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

"Master."

Uncle Chen stepped out from some corner. Looking at the wine glass on the table, he frowned slightly and said, "Master, Dr. Liu said that given your current physical condition, you shouldn't be drinking."

"An occasional small drink is fine," Chen Zhongxuan turned around and smiled. "Have a seat."

Uncle Chen sat down as told.

"He didn't sign?"

"No," Chen Zhongxuan nodded. He picked up the teapot and cup Uncle Chen had brought, leisurely poured himself a cup of tea, and took a sip.

"Master, weren't you very keen on this? Then why..."

"Why did I put on such a grand show, right?" Chen Zhongxuan cut in. He looked at Uncle Chen with a smile. "Bangguo, you've been with me for so many years. What kind of person do you think I am?"

"Master, you are far-sighted, resourceful, and thorough. You never do anything pointless."

"Where did you learn to talk like that?" Chen Zhongxuan shook his head with a chuckle. "I'm not as amazing as you say. I just hold the livelihoods of so many people in my hands, so I have to be cautious. Besides, if you consider things from multiple angles, you'll naturally remain calm when things happen."

"Then today was... you did it on purpose?"

"Not entirely," Chen Zhongxuan set down his teacup and said. "I indeed have my eye on this Wang Shuo. But having my eye on him doesn't mean he's indispensable. It was a test. If he agreed, that would naturally be best. If not, we don't lose anything. But I never expected..."

Recalling Wang Shuo's conflicted expression, Chen Zhongxuan shook his head in amusement.

"This Wang Shuo really exceeded my expectations a bit."

Uncle Chen frowned. "So this was... a test?"

"A test?" Chen Zhongxuan smiled. "I suppose you could call it that. Life always requires choices, and to learn to choose, one must first learn to give things up. This Wang Shuo isn't as harmless as he looks. Not bad. Didn't that girl Xiner want to audit that contract? Notify finance that they can proceed."

"Understood," Uncle Chen nodded. "But Master, this is no small sum. The Board of Directors..."

"The Board of Directors?" Chen Zhongxuan chuckled. "After this matter is resolved, there won't be a Board of Directors anymore."

Uncle Chen felt a chill in his heart. He knew that after enduring for so long, his master was finally going to make his move.

"Also, redraft those two contracts, remove the hidden clauses, and have the legal department give them to Wang Shuo. Friendship is friendship, and business is business. Although this kid Wang Shuo is decent, he is still young and lacks experience. Suffering a little setback is also a blessing. Consider this the first lesson I, as his elder, am teaching him!"

Chen Zhongxuan smiled meaningfully. "Just like I told you before, Bangguo."

"Sometimes, what is more useful than money is connections. And compared to connections, I prefer personal favors."

Uncle Chen nodded slowly. Sometimes, using a favor yielded twice the result with half the effort compared to money. This was likely why his master hadn't forced Wang Shuo to hand over the system.

"And one more thing, Master. Word has come from that side. They want to carry out the final determination of the valuation adjustment mechanism as soon as possible. At the latest, by the end of this month..."

...

The seeds of connection are sown through the exchange of hearts, much like... Chen Xin and Wang Shuo right now.

Upon returning to school, Chen Xin didn't head back immediately. Instead, she got out of the car and followed Wang Shuo all the way to the sports field.

At nine in the evening, the sports field was at its most bustling yet quietest time of the day. Through the mesh fence surrounding the field, one could see pairs of male and female students either walking along the tracks, or sitting shoulder-to-shoulder on the artificial turf, whispering to each other. Some even held hands openly under the dark night sky, completely ignoring the single dogs around them.

Wang Shuo was now part of this crowd.

Seeing the envious glances from the groups of passing guys, Wang Shuo felt that he, too, had become a "single dog" capable of making others eat dog food—even if this dog food was a bit watered down.

The two walked quietly on the track.

After a long while.

"I didn't sign," Wang Shuo said.

"Okay," Chen Xin nodded.

"Aren't you going to ask why?"

"No need."

End of conversation.

A moment later, Wang Shuo, unwilling to let it go, said, "That was a lot of money."

"I know."

"Enough to buy me takeout for the rest of my life!"

"Two point six million," Chen Xin said calmly.

Uh... Girl, can you not hold a normal conversation? Don't you know talking about money ruins relationships?

"But I did you a huge favor," Wang Shuo said, somewhat disgruntled. "We need to square the books!"

"We have a contract," Chen Xin continued calmly. "And besides, the things in the system."

"Uh."

Fine, you win!

Wang Shuo was thoroughly defeated. He really wanted to slap himself twice now. Why did he have to be so restless and meddle when making the system? Now look, the favor was gone.

Just as Wang Shuo was on the verge of tears, a soft voice came from beside him.

"Thank you... Wang Shuo."

"What... What did you say?"

Wang Shuo claimed he didn't hear.

"I said..." Chen Xin stopped in her tracks and turned to face Wang Shuo, her dark eyes seemingly shimmering with light. "Thank you, Wang Shuo."

She reached out her hand, revealing her fair palm.

"Let's introduce ourselves again. Chen Xin. Chen as in the surname Chen, Xin as in flourishing. A freshman of the class of 2018, majoring in finance at Fudan University."

Wang Shuo was a bit dazed. What did this mean? Introduce themselves again? What was the joke?

But looking at the hand Chen Xin extended toward him, Wang Shuo hesitated for a moment before deciding to play along with her performance. He also reached out and grasped her hand—and yes, he held it in a rather ungentlemanly manner.

"Hello, my name is Wang Shuo. Wang as in king, Shuo as in twinkling. A freshman of the class of 2018 at Huazhong University."

Unlike the feeling of Chen Xin holding his fingers back at the Hospital, with their palms fully joined now, Wang Shuo could better feel the softness of her hand, along with a slightly cool yet gentle warmth.

"It was a feeling Wang Shuo couldn't quite describe, something he had never experienced in his entire life."

It felt rather nice...

Especially...

Just as Wang Shuo's mind was wandering, he saw Chen Xin opposite him actually let out a faint smile, her voice gentle: "Are you done?"

Wang Shuo was instantly startled. He quickly let go of her hand and stared at her in shock.

This girl... This girl actually smiled!

Heaven knows, they had been around each other for a month, and even Chen Cheng had known her for decades! When had they ever seen the icy Chen Xin smile? This was even more shocking than him pulling out some mysterious high technology.

"Are... Are you really Chen Xin?"

Wang Shuo pointed at Chen Xin and asked exaggeratingly.

He knew very well that in the Humanoid Race's civilization, there were many ways to alter a person's face and voice, and even biological information could be forged.

Could there be other inheritors on Earth that he didn't know about? Why didn't The Figure explain such important information!

Chen Xin frowned slightly, her expression turning cold.

This familiar look... Wang Shuo let out a sigh of relief. This was the Eldest Miss Chen Xin he remembered. Although her smile just now was stunning, for some reason, Wang Shuo felt like the style was completely off.

"Cough... cough, Chen Xin, you're finally back. You have no idea, someone actually tried to impersonate you just now. If I hadn't been so clever, I probably would have been fooled."

Wang Shuo coughed dryly, inwardly applauding his own quick-witted response.

"If you don't like it, I won't smile anymore," Chen Xin said flatly.

"Uh..."

This was already the third time today Wang Shuo wanted to slap himself. Could he please stop shooting himself in the foot like this in the future?

"Ahem, just a joke, just a joke. You look really pretty when you smile. Really, you should smile more in the future," Wang Shuo laughed dryly.

Whether she smiled or not didn't seem very important. What was important was...

"Wang Shuo."

Chen Xin fell silent for a moment.

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Leaving?" Wang Shuo didn't quite register it. "Where to?"

"Back to Beijing," Chen Xin said calmly.

"Back to Beijing..." Wang Shuo found it a bit strange. "Aren't you a freshman at Fudan University? Why are you going back to Beijing instead of attending classes?"

Chen Xin cast a sidelong glance at him.

"Fine, it has nothing to do with me. I won't ask," Wang Shuo raised both hands in surrender.

"There are some matters I need to handle personally," Chen Xin said, her tone shifting slightly.

"Matters you need to handle personally?" Wang Shuo frowned, trying to figure out what they could be. Then it hit him—this girl was acting weird today. Since when did she learn to explain herself?

"Chen Xin, you are okay? If there's anything, just say it. If I can help, I definitely will!"

Chen Xin shook her head, and the atmosphere fell silent for a moment.

"Well..."

Wang Shuo tentatively asked, "If you leave... what about the matters here?"

"Someone will handle them."

"Then..." Wang Shuo asked hopefully, "What about the money?"

"Still pay it back."

Wang Shuo: "..."

You're not very decent, girl! Talking about money all day long, completely obsessed with wealth—how disgraceful!

"You can also use that one request to offset the debt," Chen Xin said calmly.

Pah, in your dreams. Wang Shuo spat in his heart, then squeezed out two heavily emphasized words through gritted teeth.

"I'll pay."