Encounter

April 20th, Saturday.

Early in the morning, Yan Li came to look for Yuxue, just as Xia Yu had gotten out of bed.

Yuxue was already ready, but she still had to prepare breakfast for Xia Yu.

Sitting on the sofa, Yan Li played with Xia Yu's handheld game console.

"Speaking of which," Xia Yu, who was brushing his teeth, looked at Yan Li, "Yan Wei is such a good cook, didn't you learn anything from her?"

"What I got is my dad's true skill." Yan Li replied, "It's about making dishes either too sweet or too salty."

"... How did your dad manage to keep his noodle shop going with his cooking skills?" Xia Yu wondered, "Is your mom's cooking good?"

"My mom's cooking is average too." Yan Li reached a critical part of her game, focusing on it for twenty seconds before continuing to answer Xia Yu's question, "When making noodles, the seasoning is fixed. If the seasoning changes, my dad would make it for my mom to try first."

"Make your mom try it first?" Xia Yu couldn't understand such behavior.

"He can't tell the taste differences!" Yan Li's character was killed by a turtle in the game, making her angrily put down the game console.

Upon hearing Yan Li's words, Xia Yu understood completely.

No wonder Yan Wei's uncle was Yan Baiyu, yet her family just ran an ordinary noodle shop.

Once he understood this, he remembered why he asked Yan Li in the first place. It was because Yuxue's breakfast was average, and he wanted to taste the cooking of someone from Yan Family's main lineage.

Unfortunately, Yan Li had no talent for it. Sighing, Xia Yu continued brushing his teeth.

By the time he finished washing up, Yuxue had finished making breakfast. The two girls went out to play, leaving Xia Yu at home alone.

After finishing his breakfast, Xia Yu went to his room to study.

At nine o'clock, he called a high-ranking executive from the Zhong Family Company he had met before and asked about the villa.

The other party spoke to him in a bitter tone, "Yu-shao, you were wrong about my financial situation. I'm just a regular wage-earner; I don't have the money to care about those big villa updates!"

He said he could ask around for Xia Yu, but the chances were slim.

After thanking him, Xia Yu hung up the phone.

For this matter, he would have to ask Kong Hanyue.

If Kong Hanyue wasn't reliable, he'd go find An Tianfeng, just in time to start a project called QQ Farm, get it done, sell it immediately, and not let the Penguin Company seize its value.

He called Kong Hanyue.

"You want to buy a villa? Where did you get the money?" Kong Hanyue was shocked.

"An Tianfeng gave it to me," Xia Yu replied.

"What did An Tianfeng give you money for?" Kong Hanyue couldn't understand.

"I charmed his daughter," Xia Yu casually lied.

"Really?" Kong Hanyue was overjoyed.

"Just kidding."

Kong Hanyue's dream of buying a villa and a small island crumbled in his mind.

"You have to work harder, Yu-yu!" Kong Hanyue encouraged Xia Yu, "If you really become An Tianfeng's son-in-law, we can start squandering our fortunes together."

"... Let's talk about it later. I called you to ask if you know any place where villas are on sale." Xia Yu said.

"Villas? Can't you just go to the sales office to buy one?" Kong Hanyue didn't see the appeal.

"I want a larger one," Xia Yu wanted to get the perfect home in one go, to avoid the hassle of changing houses later.

"How much is your budget? A few million?" Kong Hanyue didn't take it seriously. She turned on the speaker of her mobile phone, put it aside, and began eating potato chips.

"Twenty million." Xia Yu answered.

"Cough cough cough!" Kong Hanyue choked on a chip and coughed violently. She picked up her phone in disbelief and asked, "How much did you just say?"

"Twenty million, I can go over by two or three million, but no more," Xia Yu said.

"Did you really get involved with An Tianfeng's daughter?" Kong Hanyue became suspicious.

"I made the money by starting a company," Xia Yu replied.

"Company funds can't be used on yourself!" Kong Hanyue warned Xia Yu.

"It's a company I solely invested in, and the money didn't go through the company, so don't worry."

After explaining, Kong Hanyue became cheerful. She said that if Zhong's company went bankrupt, she would definitely support her mother, and she patted her chest, promising to get Xia Yu a villa.

After hanging up, Xia Yu continued learning. At noon, he went out and found a recommended restaurant on the local forum. Yan's family was having lunch at the restaurant, so no one was at home to cook for him.

After finishing his meal, Xia Yu suddenly felt that the nearby streets looked familiar. After thinking for two seconds, he remembered that this was the location of the convenience store where he used to work.

Feeling nostalgic, Xia Yu decided to go and take a look.

The convenience store was the same as before, with a corner full of boxes from lazy employees who didn't want to put them in the back storage room.

In the middle of the shelves, there was a small gap, caused by a mischievous child.

It's worth mentioning that there were quite a few customers today, with seven people shopping in the store.

Usually, having two or three customers in the store at the same time was considered good business.

Taking a stroll down memory lane, Xia Yu picked up a can of Sprite.

He placed the Sprite on the counter and took out some coins from his wallet. Then, he looked up, and his hand trembled, dropping the coins on the ground.

As he squatted down to pick up the coins, Xia Yu tried to calm his nervousness.

He couldn't believe what he saw—Feng Yujia was the cashier!

It was common for convenience store cashiers to change frequently, but Xia Yu never would have imagined that Feng Yujia would be the replacement.

Feng Yujia's ability to change her mindset so quickly and start making money was beyond his expectations.

In fact, if it were up to Feng Yujia alone, she would not have been able to take this step so quickly. It was all due to Feng Yumo's incessant persuasion.

Before coming out to work, Feng Yujia had anonymously posted on a forum asking about suitable jobs. A convenience store cashier was deemed the most suitable position. So she applied directly and was hired by the first store manager she approached.

This was because of her looks. The manager thought that as long as she stood there, sales would skyrocket.

The manager's idea was correct, and the doubled customer flow in the store proved it.

Placing the coins back on the counter, Xia Yu had already regained his composure. His main identity did not know Feng Yujia, so he couldn't reveal any flaws.

At the same time, Feng Yujia had the same thoughts as Xia Yu in her heart.

From Yuxue's place, Feng Yujia had seen Xia Yu's photo before and recognized him at first sight. She thought to herself that since Xia Yu didn't know her, she must pretend to be calm, otherwise, Yuxue would find out.

Running away from home and ending up working as a cashier in a convenience store was so embarrassing.

The two of them displayed their acting skills, and Xia Yu picked up the retrieved fifty cents and walked outside.

"Hey, Xia Yu!" A staff member carrying a cargo box called out to him.

He and Xia Yu were colleagues, and Xia Yu had guided him when he first joined.

The two of them chatted by the roadside, reminiscing about the past.

After finishing the Sprite in his hand and ending the idle chat, Xia Yu threw the empty can into the trash and was about to leave to buy a smartphone and a camera for Yuxue when he heard arguing coming from the convenience store.