Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
At the entrance of Yu State’s Ba County’s bus station, a young man walked out while carrying a little girl who looked around five years old.
The little girl was carrying a black puppy that was observing the people around them with its googly eyes. The girl would cheer every now and then like a chatty lark. Meanwhile, the young man would respond to her while smiling.
The young man was Ye Chen.
He did not return home after he left Swallowtail Town. Instead, he took a plane across a few hundred kilometers to Yu State and took a bus to Ba County.
Before coming here, he had asked around and found out that the red dot marked on the map Gu Fan left behind was the Ba County.
To be exact, it was located at the Mount General in Ba County.
He was feeling at ease throughout the journey. After all, it was rare that he could travel. Since his daughter was here with him, he treated this as a pure vacation for the father and daughter and at the same time indulged in the scenes and culture.
“Where are we going, daddy?”
The little thing was drooling as she looked at the food stalls at the bus station’s entrance. “Mengmeng is hungry, Mengmeng wants to eat yummy food.”
“Let’s go, daddy will bring you to eat something yummy.”
Ye Chen kissed her and carried her towards a stall.
However, a doubtful voice suddenly came from behind.
“You sure are daring.”
Ye Chen was stunned, he could not help but turn his head and take a look. He saw a tall young man with big eyes and bushy brows standing behind him. There was a faint sense of familiarity with him.
“You sure are daring?”
The young man repeated himself.
Ye Chen said while smiling, “Funny business the Jade Emperor had with his mother?”
The young man chuckled. “If that’s the case, I’ll just kill myself.”
“Look at the ding-dong around my waist?”
Just when Ye Chen was done speaking, the young man screamed and ran over to hug him. He laughed and said, “Old Ye, I can’t believe it’s really you, bastard!”
“It’s been a while, Shen Jing.” Ye Chen patted his back and laughed too.
The young man before him was his high schoolmate Shen Jing, his nickname was Lunatic. To be exact, they used to sit next to each other in twelfth grade and would talk about everything. However, Shen Jing transferred to another school in the second half of twelfth grade.
It had been over ten years since they last saw each other. Never had they thought they would accidentally bump into each other here. If not for the secret code earlier, Ye Chen might not have recognized him.
About the secret code, it was Shen Jing who invented it before his transfer back then.
“It’s been a while? It’s been 15 years.”
Shen Jing angrily glared at Ye Chen after releasing him. He then looked at Mengmeng and said, “Damn, you already have a daughter. Little girl, come here. Call me master.”
The little girl pouted and arrogantly looked away to ignore him.
“This is my daughter, Mengmeng,” Ye Chen said with a smile.
“Let’s go, it’s rare for us to bump into each other. I’d be a loser if I didn’t get you drunk today,” Shen Jing grabbed him and went straight to a hotel nearby.
After some chatting, there were over ten empty wine bottles on the table.
Shen Jing burped and said with his flushed cheeks, “Why are you here in Ba County? Don’t tell me that you’re here to look for me?”
“No. Since it’s my daughter’s school holiday, I thought I would bring her here to look around. Ye Chen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry looking at Mengmeng who was clumsily eating a lobster.
‘Little girl, can you not embarrass me with your terrible table manners? My old classmate is watching. Moreover, your daddy has never starved you.’
Shen Jing angrily said, “What is there to look at in this horrible place? It’s a place of barren mountains and unruly rivers.”
“Do you know where Mount General is? I’m here to see it,” Ye Chen asked in a casual manner.
“Mount General?”
Shen Jing was stunned and snickered. “What a coincidence, I’m going to Mount General tomorrow morning.”
Shen Jing looked around and lowered his voice after noticing Ye Chen’s doubt. “My dad is the county head. I heard there’s a lady with the family name Tang coming from the Gang Province. She’s here to pray to her ancestors and the leaders of the province are with her. My dad ordered me to bring them to the mountain tomorrow.”
From the Gang Province?
The leaders of the province came along with her?
Ye Chen came to a realization and asked with a slight smile on his face. “If I’m not mistaken, This Ms. Tang should hold a high position?”
“You’re right. My dad says that her family is considered very wealthy in the Gang Province.”
Shen Jing chuckled and said with a hint of disdain in his tone, “But I don’t like her at all. She has this arrogance exuding all over her body. It’s my dad who is buttering her up with an attempt to get her to invest.”
“But since you’re going there too, why not go with me tomorrow?”
“I don’t think it would be appropriate.” Ye Chen said.
Shen Jing waved, “It’s nothing inappropriate. It’s rare that we managed to meet each other. Don’t you dare leave without staying for ten days at least.”
Ye Chen could only nod to agree with him. Since Shen Jing was going to Mount General, he would go with him to avoid having to aimlessly figure his way out.
After the meal, Shen Jing took Ye Chen to his home. Ye Chen secretly nodded for the fact that Shen Jing was still the same. Although it had been 15 years since they last saw each other, Ye Chen could feel his friendliness.
Ye Chen roughly learned about Shen Jing along the way.
His father was called Shen Chongshan and had been transferred to Ba County over ten years ago. Shen Jing who was in twelfth grade back then could only transfer schools because of it. During this time, Shen Chongshan became the second-in-command. It seemed like he would still have to work hard before retiring.
Overall, Shen Jing’s home was considered mediocre in size but had some nice decorations. There were calligraphy works and tea sets which made it look rich in arts. One would figure that it was Shen Chongshan who decorated the house himself.
As soon as they got there, Shen Jing brought out a lot of good food to treat the little Mengmeng. Soon enough, both of them were like old friends and the little girl could not stop giggling as she watched them.
When the sky turned dark, an elegant middle-aged man in glasses holding a briefcase walked into the house.
The man could not help but be stunned seeing Ye Chen on the couch with the little girl on his lap.
Ye Chen stood up and greeted him with a smile. “Hi, Uncle Shen. My name is Ye Chen, I’m Shen Jing’s classmate.”
“Dad, Ye Chen was my classmate in twelfth grade back in Lin City. We bumped into each other today so I invited him to our home for dinner.” Shen Jing who was sitting beside them introduced.
Shen Chongshan took a good look at Ye Chen and nodded without any expression on his face. He then returned to his room and a cold voice followed soon after.
“Come in, Shen Jing.”
Shen Jing glanced at Ye Chen and walked over while smiling.
Shen Chongshan stood before the mirror while removing his tie. He said without even turning his head, “Why did you bring some Tom, Dick, and Harry home? Also, you spent 2,000 yuan on a meal today!”
“How could you say that, old man? Ye Chen was my classmate, we sat next to each other in high school. It’s been so long since we last saw each other, so what if I bought him a meal?” Shen Jing said as he angrily closed the door.
Shen Chongshan turned his head and scoffed. “A high schoolmate that you haven’t seen for over ten years can be so important to you? You spent 2,000 yuan on him. What would people think of me as the county head if this went out?”
He noticed the way Ye Chen dressed when he walked into the house. To him, this classmate of his son looked like he was doing terribly. He did not want his son to get close to such a person.
“So what if I spend my own money to treat him? Would people say that you’re corrupted? Eating expensive meals with the people’s money?”
Shen Jing was pissed too. This old man of his was rather bureaucratic.
“Get him to leave tomorrow,” Shen Chongshan said.
Shen Jing smirked. “You can’t decide that. Moreover, I’m bringing him to Mount General tomorrow!”
Shen Chongshan was enraged. “You bastard! What if Ms. Tang and Master Yao get mad because you brought him there?”
The argument of the duo in the room was of normal voice but Ye Chen heard it loud and clear.
When Shen Jing angrily walked out, Ye Chen said while smiling as he picked up the little girl. “I suddenly recalled that there’s something that I have to do. I’ll make a move first, call me before you guys depart tomorrow.”
Ye Chen did not wait for Shen Jing to respond and walked out while carrying the little girl.
Shen Jing turned his head to look at Shen Chongshan.
Shen Chongshan scoffed.
‘Not bad that you know your place.’
‘My Shen family is way above you.’