Looking at the closed elevator doors and Jiang Yuxin's apologetic face, Li Chonglou's lips curved into a smile.
He had anticipated his mother-in-law's conditions in advance.
After all, living together for three years, he had heard her complain about their small apartment until his ears were calloused.
A villa in Huashan was her lifelong dream.
That was the kind of place the wealthiest, Lü Chenggong, could afford.
That's why Li Chonglou had the idea of buying a villa and had already begun implementing it, so he agreed to everything Liu Zhiru said today.
But in her eyes, it just sounded like bragging.
Li Chonglou couldn't be bothered to explain. This world only cared about results. When she saw the villa in a while, her expression would probably be quite ironic.
Returning to the ward, Zheng Xiumei was in high spirits, eating pears brought by her in-law.
Seeing him return, she put down the pear and pulled her son to sit by the bed. "Son, from your in-law's tone, she's still a little dissatisfied with you."
"She hopes you can be successful and not rely entirely on their family. I think she's right. A man, even if he's a live-in son-in-law, must be capable to avoid being bullied."
"Alas, if only your father were still alive. If we both tried our best, we could at least help you buy your own house."
"Living under someone else's roof is hardship."
As she spoke, her eyes welled up with tears.
"Mom, why are you bringing up Dad again? It makes me sad every time," Li Chonglou quickly comforted her. "You don't need to worry about the house. I can handle it myself."
Li Chonglou's memories of his father were blank.
He only knew that his father had disappeared when he was young.
He had never heard from him since, and he didn't know if he was dead.
For so many years, his mother had raised him alone, often weeping under the lamplight.
When he grew up, he dared not ask, fearing he would make his mother sad every time.
He didn't expect her to bring it up today.
"Alright, we won't mention him," Zheng Xiumei wiped the tears from her eyes and forced a smile.
Li Chonglou didn't want the atmosphere to be too heavy. He found some funny jokes online, adapted them, and told them in conversation.
He managed to lift his mother's spirits.
As night deepened, Li Chonglou became inexplicably restless.
The cultivation method from the sheepskin scroll had reached a bottleneck, and he couldn't break through to the next level of "Shenwan."
It felt like a thin membrane was obstructing his thoughts and consciousness.
He struggled left and right but couldn't find an outlet.
Even though he could remain calm in the face of a collapsing mountain, he now felt his body burning and couldn't suppress his anxiety.
"Could I be going into qi deviation?" Li Chonglou entertained this absurd thought for the first time.
He immediately stopped circulating his qi, allowing his surging blood and qi to gradually calm down.
He was a complete novice in cultivation. His master had shown him the way, but there was no one else to teach him.
His senior sister had been on a business trip since the 21st and, apart from two phone calls, he hadn't seen her.
Xu Lie practiced combat, not internal energy, so they couldn't discuss it.
He could only rely on himself to explore slowly.
It seemed he couldn't rush this matter, lest something go wrong.
That night, for the first time since practicing the sheepskin scroll's cultivation method, Li Chonglou fell asleep.
In his dream, he saw a blurry figure, tall and large, waving at him.
His body felt like it was being pulled by invisible threads, slowly walking towards the figure. Just as their hands were about to touch, a black hole suddenly appeared beneath his feet.
His body plunged downward, downward, downward.
"Whoosh!" Li Chonglou woke up with a start, his body drenched in sweat.
Dawn was already breaking.
His mother was still sound asleep.
This dream was not the first time he had had it.
In his previous life, it often occurred, always ending with a fall into the abyss, and then waking up.
He had thought it was regret and inner demons, but he didn't expect it to reappear in this life.
"Since Master can divine the future, I wonder if he knows about dreams. In another week, I can visit him and ask." Li Chonglou quietly got out of bed and went through his morning routine.
After his mother woke up and finished breakfast, he went downstairs, got into Xu Lie's car, and headed straight to the Hongqi 4S store.
With his two car accident experiences, he no longer cared about the brand. What mattered most was safety performance.
Those foreign joint-venture brands boasted endlessly, but in reality, they were all show and no substance.
Hongqi, on the other hand, was the vehicle of national leaders, and in more than a decade, it would become a leading global luxury car brand. Choosing it was definitely the right decision.
Upon entering, a salesperson greeted them warmly.
Li Chonglou was a man who disliked trouble, and besides, the car wasn't for him to drive, so he let Xu Lie choose.
He sat there, leisurely drinking tea.
At the next table sat a man and a woman. The man was in his thirties, dressed like a successful businessman, and the woman was in her early twenties, wearing an ice-type jade bangle with green inclusions on her wrist.
"Darling, I've paid the down payment for you, and I'll make the loan payments on time every month," the man said with a lecherous, triumphant smile that made Li Chonglou nauseous.
The woman, however, acted as if she had gotten a great deal, tightly hugging the man. The sickening display made Li Chonglou want to vomit.
He inwardly cursed the woman as an idiot.
She couldn't see through this kind of manipulation; her taste was too low.
The man had only paid the down payment for the car and would pay the loan monthly, effectively tying the woman down.
If she didn't stay with him, she would have to repay the loan herself.
Judging by their age difference, they were likely not a proper couple.
However, it had nothing to do with him. Li Chonglou had never been one to meddle in other people's affairs.
*Tap tap tap.*
Just then, a thin young man with long hair rushed into the 4S store, looked around for a few seconds, and his gaze fixed on the couple.
"Lin Fei, give me an explanation!" the man's pupils contracted sharply as he pointed at them and roared.
His outstretched finger surprisingly had six digits.
This shout startled the woman, whose face turned pale and her soul seemed to flee, while the man's expression became flustered.
It also drew Li Chonglou's attention.
"Xiao Liu?"
The long-haired man in front of him was actually his university classmate, Chen Liuqi, from the same dormitory.
Because he was born with six fingers, he was nicknamed "Xiao Liu." He was often mocked, and back in school, he and Li Chonglou were fellow sufferers and had a good relationship.
Li Chonglou had lost contact with these university classmates after he married into the Jiang Yuxin family, as people needed to save face.
At that time, Li Chonglou felt inferior and deeply insecure.
He never expected to run into him here.
It was clear that Chen Liuqi's attention was focused on the woman named Lin Fei and he hadn't seen him.
"What explanation do I need to give you? Chen Liuqi, why are you here?" Lin Fei released the man's arm, stood up with a dark expression, and retorted.
The awkwardness on her face gradually disappeared, replaced by a look of fury.
"I... I heard from a friend that you were buying a car with another man." Chen Liuqi's demeanor weakened drastically as he pointed at the man who deliberately ignored him.
"What business is it of yours if I buy a car? You don't have money to buy it for me, so what? Can't another friend buy me a car because they care about me?" Lin Fei sneered with a triumphant look.
At this point, Li Chonglou understood.
This Lin Fei was Chen Liuqi's girlfriend?
And she came here to buy a car with another man, and she's acting tough even when caught red-handed?
Was this some NTR drama?
Li Chonglou was stunned that such a melodramatic event would happen to one of his classmates.
"I... I gave you all my money for the bracelet, where would I get the money to buy a car?" Chen Liuqi's head lowered further, his voice becoming as weak as it could possibly be.
Hearing this, Lin Fei sneered, pointed at the jade bangle on her wrist, and said, "This cheap thing? Is it worth a thousand yuan!"
"I had to hint and hint for you to buy it. You're really poor."
"If you don't have money, don't date. If you don't have money, go home and hide, why are you out here embarrassing yourself?"
"Chen Liuqi, I'm telling you, if you hadn't come here today, we might still have a chance. You're forcing me to break up with you now."
It had to be said that a woman's words could be incredibly cruel. With just a few sentences, she had elevated herself to the moral high ground, making Chen Liuqi appear unreasonable.
Being poor had become his original sin.
Chen Liuqi's head drooped lower and lower.
He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, but dared not act. In the end, he could only say in a low voice, "We can break up, but give me back the bracelet!"
"You dare ask for this cheap thing back? I've truly seen through you. You're a poor loser. Whoever dates you is unlucky!" Lin Fei said with contempt, then slipped off the bangle and casually threw it at Chen Liuqi.
Chen Liuqi, who had been looking down, didn't expect her to throw something fragile like a bangle at him.
He immediately panicked and fumbled, failing to catch it.
With a "ding," it fell to the ground and shattered into four pieces, instantly turning his face ashen.
"You... you pay for my bracelet!"
"What cheap thing are you talking about? You still dare ask me to pay? Have some shame! After dating for a year, you only gave me something like this. It's truly sickening to look at," Lin Fei said nonchalantly, crossing her arms and sneering repeatedly.
Chen Liuqi crawled on the ground, trembling, picking up the broken bangle. Tears streamed down his face.
Seeing this scene, Li Chonglou felt as if his heart was being twisted.
At that time, wasn't he the same? He was pitied and bullied but dared not talk back.
Now, he had lifted his head, but Xiao Liu was still being bullied.
If he hadn't seen it, he wouldn't have done anything, but since he was present, he absolutely could not stand by and watch.
So, he said calmly, "Lin Fei, is it? Do you know how much the bracelet you just broke is worth?"
"What business is it of yours? Who are you?" Lin Fei exclaimed, surprised that someone was speaking up for him at this moment.
"Of course, it's my business. Chen Liuqi is my classmate. You broke his property in front of me, so it's only right that I help him seek justice," Li Chonglou said with a composed expression. "High-grade ice-type with green inclusions and floral patterns, approaching glass type in quality, with full gelatinous texture. Visually, it has six wraps. It wouldn't sell for less than a hundred thousand anywhere."
"I don't know how much Chen Liuqi earns per month, but for him to save a hundred thousand to buy you a bracelet, he probably spent all his savings."
"But in your mouth, it's not even as good as dog shit."
"I think you're blind!"
By the end, Li Chonglou's tone became sharp as a knife, showing no mercy.
Hearing this, Lin Fei's face contorted wildly, turning pale and then flushed. She wanted to retort but couldn't speak, her eyes filled with shock.
Chen Liuqi was still on the ground. It was evident that he had heard Li Chonglou's voice, but his current state made him too ashamed to look up and meet Li Chonglou.
He could only pretend not to hear.
"Kid, watch your mouth. Who do you think you are to lecture my woman?" At this moment, the man who had been facing away couldn't sit still and turned around to scold, "A cheap bangle worth a hundred thousand? Who are you trying to fool?"
"You dare to extort my woman? Believe it or not, I'll make sure you don't walk out of this hall today!"