Chapter 223 Inquiring over the phone
The phone buzzed on the coffee table, the screen lit up, and the caller ID was clear: Lin Chen.
Huang Jiayi's hand stiffened, and she instinctively wanted to press mute, but she was a step too late.
"Who's calling?"
Her mother, Chu Hong, came over with a fruit platter. She caught a glimpse of the screen and spoke with a probing tone.
The phone was still vibrating. Huang Jiayi pinched the hem of her clothes, hesitating to answer.
"Why aren't you picking up?"
Chu Hong set the fruit platter on the table and leaned in closer, the suspicion in her eyes impossible to hide.
"Is it that boy? The college student you said just gave you the bag?"
Her father, Huang Guoqiang, who was sitting nearby reading the newspaper, heard this and slammed the paper down on the table with a loud thud.
His face darkened instantly, his brows furrowed into a knot, and he stared at Huang Jiayi with eyes like ice.
"Is he the one calling you?"
Huang Jiayi panicked, not daring to lift her head. "Dad, no..."
"Enough nonsense!"
Huang Guoqiang suddenly sat up straight, his aura as a Bureau Chief instantly coming out, and his voice rose a few notches.
"Put it on speaker. I want to hear just how bold a common college student is to dare pursue my, Huang Guoqiang's, daughter!"
"Dad, don't be like this..."
"Answer the phone, now!"
Huang Guoqiang's tone left no room for negotiation. He pointed at the phone, his face ashen.
He had always been the one whose word was law at work, and the thought of his daughter hiding a relationship from him—especially with an undergrad who hadn't even graduated—made his blood boil.
Seeing her father truly enraged, Huang Jiayi was both scared and anxious, her palms breaking out in sweat.
Daring not to resist further, her fingertips tremblingly swiped to answer and then pressed the speaker button.
She stared fixedly at the phone screen, her heart in her throat, silently chanting:
Lin Chen, Lin Chen, whatever you do, don't say anything reckless. My parents are right here!
After two seconds of silence on the other end, Lin Chen's clear and crisp voice came through, sounding somewhat casual:
"Jiayi? Why did it take so long to answer?"
Huang Jiayi swallowed hard, her voice a bit shaky as she asked nervously:
"Lin Chen, why... why are you calling me again all of a sudden?"
Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at her parents. Both had held their breath, their ears perked up like rabbits.
They stared intently at the phone, afraid of missing a single word.
Through the phone's speaker, Lin Chen's voice remained casual, not sensing anything unusual:
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I have the receipt for your bag. I was in too much of a hurry when I dropped you off and forgot to give it to you."
"I'll give it to you next time we practice."
"By the way, remember, if the bag needs maintenance or care in the future, just take the receipt to the boutique. They can help handle it; official boutiques recognize it."
As soon as he said this, Chu Hong's brows furrowed instantly. She instinctively leaned toward Huang Jiayi's ear and whispered:
"Daughter, isn't your bag an LV?"
"This kid even knows about boutique maintenance. It seems it's not a fake... I just don't know how much he paid for it."
"Ask him the price of the bag."
Chu Hong was making her own calculations. LV bags weren't cheap. If this young man could afford an authentic one, his family background probably wasn't too bad. She just needed to know the specific price to be sure.
With her mother leaning so close, Huang Jiayi's face turned red. She shifted her waist slightly and complained in a low voice:
"Oh, Mom, keep your voice down! Asking so directly is so materialistic and embarrassing!"
"Stop talking and just ask!"
Chu Hong nudged her arm, her eyes full of urgency, and her tone became more pressing.
Huang Jiayi had no choice. Unable to withstand her mother's persistence, she could only brace herself and stammer into the phone:
"Um... Lin Chen, is this bag... very expensive? Why does it need boutique maintenance?"
On the other end, Lin Chen was driving and waiting at a red light. He had no idea there were two "eavesdroppers" hidden in this call, let alone what Huang Jiayi meant by her question. He answered casually:
"Yeah, it's alright. A little bit pricey."
"I bought it at the Hong Kong Airport Duty-Free Shop. Wait a second, let me check the receipt for the exact amount."
Taking advantage of the red light, he spoke while rummaging through the small bag on the passenger seat for the receipt.
"Oh, found it. This bag of yours was two hundred and eighteen thousand."
"Two hundred and eighteen thousand?"
As soon as those words drifted from the phone, the living room fell silent for a second.
Immediately after, Huang Guoqiang, Chu Hong, and Huang Jiayi all gasped at the same time. Huang Jiayi even blurted out a cry of surprise:
"Ah!"
Lin Chen was taken aback for a moment and asked in confusion:
"What's wrong? Why the 'ah'? I think I heard someone else's voice?"
Huang Jiayi quickly covered her mouth, her heart still pounding wildly. She forced herself to stay calm and said:
"No, nothing. It's just... I didn't expect you to buy something so expensive for the first gift you gave me. I was a bit startled."
Beside her, Huang Guoqiang's expression had already changed. Most of his previous anger had vanished, replaced by shock and bewilderment.
He never expected that his daughter's new college acquaintance would be so generous. Over two hundred and ten thousand for a single bag?
How could a common college student afford this? This kid's family background was definitely extraordinary!
Huang Jiayi glanced at her father's expression and, having a good idea of what he was thinking, drawled intentionally:
"By the way, Lin Chen, the car you drove today looked so new. Did you just buy it?"
"And also, what brand is it? I didn't recognize the logo at all."
She wasn't asking this randomly; she knew exactly what she was doing.
As long as Lin Chen named the car's brand and model, her father would know how much it was worth with a single search.
She could even imagine that her colleagues at the office probably couldn't afford such a car even with a lifetime of wages, let alone give her a bag worth over two hundred thousand.
Lin Chen didn't think much of it. The light turned green, he released the brake, and replied casually while driving:
"Yeah, I've only had it for a week. I picked it up at the Star City International Auto Show last week."
"It's called a McLaren 650S. This brand isn't very mainstream and is quite low-profile, so it's normal that you don't recognize it."
"Oh, okay then. Drive carefully and stay safe. I'll hang up now. Talk to you later."
Huang Jiayi suppressed a smile and, with a hint of playfulness in her tone, quickly hung up the phone and turned to meet her parents' searching gazes.
Chu Hong was the first to lose her patience. She pulled on Huang Guoqiang's arm and asked with a face full of confusion:
"McLaren 650S? Old man, you know about cars. Quick, look it up. What kind of car is that? How much is it worth?"
Huang Guoqiang didn't hesitate either. He immediately took out his phone, his fingers sliding quickly across the screen as he searched for "McLaren 650S."
He was also wondering to himself. He had heard of the brand mclaren—it seemed to be a luxury car brand—but he really didn't know the specific price.
A few seconds later, the search results popped up. Huang Guoqiang stared at his phone screen, his eyes widening instantly, and his breath hitched for a moment.