The other party didn’t have any extra moves and seemed to be sleeping heavily.
Jiang Qingkui looked at Zhou Wang for quite a while, then leaned back suddenly. She turned her head to look out the window, her face expressionless, but a few nearly inaudible words escaped her red lips,
"Just this once..."
But even she didn’t know if these words were meant for Zhou Wang or if she was warning herself...
...
Jing City, in name, was the second-largest city in Yunan Province, but according to the official 2023 classification, looking across the nation, it could only be considered a fourth-tier city...
Though its economy wasn’t developed, Jing City was still a comfortable place to live.
Taxis starting at seven or eight yuan, countless mahjong parlors, various hidden delicacies around every corner, a slow pace of life, leisurely jobs, excellent air, and the surrounding top-tier tourist attractions.
Jing City was also the only city in the nation that had been selected six times as one of the "Top Ten Livable Cities."
So, to old Zhou, who had just played a morning game of mahjong and bought a bunch of groceries at the market, slowly walking home, it seemed irrational for his son to insist on staying in Ming City to fiddle around.
Nobody knows a child better than the father.
In Zhou Dajun’s eyes, Zhou Wang was very smart and more mature than his peers.
Yet, he, as a father, didn’t have much ability to help when Zhou Wang wanted to venture out, and at one point even plunged the family deep into a debt crisis by trusting others too easily...
After Zhou Wang’s attempt at entrepreneurship failed, he had to work throughout his last three years of college and never asked the family for a penny again.
Though guilty, this was also what made Zhou Dajun most proud.
More than once, at family and friends’ gatherings, when drunk, Zhou Dajun would sigh,
"My son Zhou Wang just needs a damn chance. If he could meet someone who could help, he’d definitely soar in the future!"
For the usually steady Zhou Dajun to be so excited as to swear, it was clear that deep down, he felt he owed Zhou Wang.
This is why, after meeting Jiang Qingkui’s father, Jiang Jiaxing, last time, he didn’t hesitate to gather his courage and ask for Jiang Qingkui’s contact information—
Zhou Wang’s mom claimed she was the one who asked, but it was actually Zhou Dajun who made the request.
Zhou Dajun’s thinking was simple, since his son wanted to hustle in the big city and couldn’t be convinced otherwise, he might as well support him. Jiang Qingkui could be considered a reachable "benefactor."
Given the years of friendship between his and Jiang Qingkui’s families, with Jiang Jiaxing’s persuasion, Jiang Qingkui presumably would be willing to give Zhou Wang a hand...
It just so happened that when he returned, he wanted to ask him whether he had met with his Sister Qingkui.
As it happened, just as Zhou Dajun was thinking about this, a horn sounded from the roadside.
Zhou Dajun turned his head and saw a brand-new black Mercedes GLC300 parked by the roadside. The window rolled down, and a familiar face was waving and smiling at him,
"Old Zhou, just back from grocery shopping?"
"Old Jiang?"
Zhou Dajun was taken aback, speaking of the devil. It was none other than Jiang Qingkui’s father, Jiang Jiaxing, sitting in the driver’s seat.
It’s just this Mercedes...
"Did you get a new car?"
Zhou Dajun remembered that Jiang Jiaxing used to drive a Volkswagen Tiguan.
"Ah, that old car’s been around for years. I’d wanted to change it for some time. Back when Qingkui was abroad, even though she had a scholarship, you never know what other expenses might pop up, so we had to watch our spending. Now that my daughter’s back and earning her own money, well, I went and picked up a new car yesterday..."
Jiang Jiaxing laughed heartily, waving his hand, "Hop in, I’ll give you a ride. If it’s convenient, I’ll grab dinner at your place. Your sister-in-law went on an outing with her coworkers, and I’m at loose ends for lunch!"
The two of them had worked in the same place since they were assigned jobs. After restructuring, they entered the same state-owned enterprise. Although they hadn’t been neighbors since moving from their old community, with so many years of friendship, Zhou Dajun didn’t stand on ceremony and got in right away.
Even though his son was coming home for lunch, old Zhou thought this was perfect. He could let his son meet his Uncle Jiang and build some ties.
"This car isn’t cheap, right?"
Sitting in the passenger seat, Zhou Dajun, feeling the luxurious interior, asked curiously.
"Not too bad, the dealership had a promotion and took 50,000 off. It came to just under half a million."
"Paid in full?"
"Of course it’s in full. As the young ones say, it’s not like we don’t have the means, haha!"
Watching Jiang Jiaxing gesticulating and joking, Zhou Dajun felt a tinge of envy.
Not just for the Mercedes, but for his attitude.
With an accomplished daughter, Jiang Jiaxing and his wife hardly needed to worry, living a truly leisurely life, traveling during every holiday. Clearly, Jiang was a few years older than himself and was nearing sixty, yet he looked like he was only in his forties...
For instance, at the moment, he had sunglasses tucked into the collar of his tracksuit, looking quite flashy.
"Old Jiang, your wife’s gone out to play. Why didn’t you go... don’t tell me you’ve been driving around all morning?"
Zhou Dajun, struck by a thought, asked suspiciously.
"Ah, a new car needs to be used. I wasn’t just wandering aimlessly, though. Jing City has changed quite a bit over the last couple of years. I’m just getting familiar with the lay of the land!"