The next evening, Qin Tian arrived at a well-known restaurant in Yucheng more than ten minutes earlier than the agreed-upon time.
The restaurant specialized in local farm-to-table dishes and was very popular; according to Xia Nuannuan, one usually had to book a table in advance.
Qin Tian took out his phone and sent a message to Xia Nuannuan.
The reply came back quickly, stating they were on their way.
So, Qin Tian stood outside, holding his phone and browsing some of the financial news he had been following, analyzing the market with his foresight advantage, waiting for them to arrive before going in together.
During this period, after investing the first hundred thousand yuan into the stock market, he had subsequently added over two hundred thousand yuan to increase his holdings.
It wasn't that the initial hundred thousand yuan had been lost; on the contrary, it had yielded substantial profits.
It was just that as his confidence grew, rather than letting these funds sit idle in his bank account, he preferred to transfer as much as possible into his stock account to make money work for him.
Of this over two hundred thousand yuan, a small portion came from Wang Hao, and the rest was the profit transferred from the account-boosting service they cooperated on with Xu Hao.
As the account-boosting service's reputation expanded, Xu Hao's boosters and orders also increased, and the two of them naturally earned more.
Knowing that Qin Tian was short of money, Xu Hao now tallied the earnings weekly and transferred the money to him.
With the game League of Legends gradually becoming popular, the market for account boosting was huge, but there were few high-ranked boosters, and a significant portion of them were under their account-boosting service.
Therefore, they could be said to have perfectly seized the opportunity of this industry's boom.
In addition, the more than three hundred thousand yuan Qin Tian had successively invested in his stock account had now doubled. If all his stocks were cleared, he would have nearly seven hundred thousand yuan.
He had also saved enough for the remaining investment in the internet café project he was collaborating on with Zhao Mingyuan.
However, he would rather keep this money in hand for a few more days to earn more.
"Qin Tian!"
A familiar voice called out.
Qin Tian looked in the direction of the sound and saw his father-in-law's black Mercedes slowly driving over.
Xia Nuannuan sat in the back seat, the window rolled down, and was waving to him with a radiant smile.
Outside the restaurant, the attendant responsible for guiding parking saw them and immediately hurried over to greet them.
Qin Tian pocketed his phone and also hurried over.
In the passenger seat, Su Xia also rolled down her window and greeted Qin Tian with a smile.
"Xiao Qin, why are you here so early? How long have you been waiting?"
"No, I just arrived."
Qin Tian replied with a smile.
"You're lying, aren't you? When Nuannuan received your message, we had just left the residential complex. You must have waited for at least ten minutes?"
Su Xia playfully exposed his lie.
Qin Tian smiled sheepishly and scratched his head, neither confirming nor denying.
"It's Dad's fault. I told him to leave earlier."
Xia Nuannuan complained with a hint of annoyance.
"What are you talking about? It's not even seven yet, and we're not late!"
Old Xia retorted aggrievedly while reversing into a parking spot.
"It's your fault anyway, your fault!"
"Alright, alright, it's all my fault."
"I did come a bit early."
Qin Tian chimed in with a smile, cleverly taking the blame.
Amidst their banter, his father-in-law skillfully parked the car. After rolling up the windows, the family of three got out.
"Xiao Qin, come on, let's go inside."
Su Xia called out warmly.
Qin Tian nodded. After the couple walked ahead, he followed with Xia Nuannuan.
"Qin Tian, what were you doing at home today?"
Xia Nuannuan asked sweetly, with her hands clasped behind her back.
"Nothing much, just watched some TV, ate snacks, and even took a two-hour nap this afternoon."
"You're too idle. Didn't you study?"
"Do I need to study?"
Qin Tian retorted with a smile.
"It's so annoying when someone is a top student!"
Xia Nuannuan rolled her eyes.
"Come on, you're also a top student now, aren't you? You're even annoyed with yourself."
Qin Tian said with amusement.
Xia Nuannuan paused and immediately corrected him, "I'm talking about those who don't need to study but can easily get first place. Unlike me, who has to grind through exercises and memorize books every day, sigh!"
"You might as well just say my name directly."
Qin Tian couldn't help but laugh.
"Exactly, you."
"It's my fault for having a good brain? Jealousy, this is pure jealousy."
"Hmph, I'm not!"
Listening to the conversation between the two youngsters behind them, Su Xia smiled and glanced at her husband. She saw Old Xia frowning, seemingly lost in thought.
"Old Xia, don't pull any stunts today!"
Su Xia leaned closer to her husband and whispered a reminder.
"When have I ever been unreliable?"
Xia Zhengping said earnestly.
"Heh, have you forgotten the last incident? Watch what you say."
"I know, I know. Last time, I didn't know about his family's situation. I'm not that stupid!"
...
...
After entering the restaurant, they were led by a server to a private room on the second floor.
Compared to the noisy hall outside, which was almost full of guests, the private room offered a much better environment.
The private room had a large round table that could seat ten people. Under Su Xia's arrangement, the four of them sat on the side by the window.
Qin Tian sat between Xia Nuannuan and his future father-in-law, making it convenient for him to share a couple of drinks with Old Xia.
Su Xia sat to her daughter's left. After receiving the menu from the server, she handed it directly to Qin Tian.
"Xiao Qin, see what you'd like to eat. The dishes at this restaurant taste quite good."
"Okay."
Qin Tian nodded with a smile and didn't stand on ceremony, taking the menu and browsing it.
"We used to live in the residential complex opposite. When we didn't cook at home, we often ate here."
Xia Nuannuan, sitting beside him, said suddenly.
"The complex opposite?"
Qin Tian was taken aback.
"It was after Nuannuan started attending the Fourth High School that we moved over there, to make it easier for me to look after her."
Su Xia explained with a smile.
"I see!"
Qin Tian nodded in realization and couldn't help but marvel inwardly at how good it was to be wealthy.
Yucheng was not that big. The residential complex opposite the restaurant was not too far from the Fourth High School, only about a twenty-minute bike ride.
Moreover, the school district housing near the Fourth High School was not cheap. Ordinary families couldn't just buy it whenever they pleased.
After Qin Tian ordered two dishes, he asked Xia Nuannuan, "So, after your college entrance exams are over, are you going to move over here?"
"Probably!"
Xia Nuannuan looked at her mother for confirmation; she hadn't asked about this matter yet.
Su Xia nodded with a smile, "We are planning to move. Nuannuan's grandparents also live in this residential complex!"
"They live right across the hall from us. My dad bought both apartments together back then."
Xia Nuannuan added.
"That's great, it'll be lively living together."
Qin Tian smiled with a hint of envy.
From childhood, he only had relatives on his mother's side. What his father's side was like, only his mother knew.
It wasn't until his freshman year of college in his previous life, during one New Year, when his uncle, who had returned from doing business out of town, mentioned that his mother had returned to Yucheng carrying him when she was young, and had never left since.
Because of this, his mother naturally faced much gossip from her neighbors back home and suffered a lot.
However, his mother never explained anything. After giving birth to him, she moved to this house in Yucheng with him alone, raising him as a very strong single mother.