Sticky Situations.

Hao Ren delivered the food at the reception counter and left the building. Earlier in the morning the system issued a special task. Usually he had a daily task only included exercise, but today the system gave him a task for workout and the reward was a gradual increase in his stats. 

Unlike some people, Hao Ren had no qualms in following the system directions because he did not wish to suffer the punishment. He knew very well that he was an ordinary person and he did not have the luxury of testing his fate. 

Outside the building of the Empress International, Hao Ren got a notification from the system, *Ding: Host has delivered the food to his wife and made her happy. Issuing Reward: Investment Mogul.* 

Hao Ren was surprised and the system went on to describe the reward, *Investment Mogul would enable host to speculate the future of the stocks and businesses to reap benefits by investing in them. The ability is permanent and can be upgraded. 

For ten millions yuan of profit, the ability will upscale by one grade. Current Grade : D*

Hao Ren asked, "System, why did you give me such an ability? How will I even invest?" 

The system replied, *Host, do you think that investment is only considered investment when it is too big? Learn to take baby steps first and then dream of flying. Your current bank balance is 98,000 yuan. Get yourself together.* 

Hao Ren frowned for being scolded but what system said was true, he had enough money in his bank and he could afford to invest some investment. 

He flagged a taxi and then headed straight to the bank. He had to open a trading account. The process was clear and it did not cause him much of an hassle. The lady who was processing his application suggested, "Sir, we have an investment consultancy in the bank, you can rest assured that the final decision will be yours, but please take a look before you leave." 

Hao Ren smiled but did not reply. He did not want to entangle with anyone he did not trust. He had the power to speculate and earn profit so the consultancy was a ruse in his view. The system was omnipotent and another thing was that people might notice him a bit too much if he made constant profit. 

Yes, Hao Ren did not intend to make any big splash but he was going for constant profit. After the request was processed, Hao Ren received a notification message on his phone. He thanked the lady and left the bank in a hurry. 

He headed to his old home, and packed up everything quickly. His landlord happen to notice the movement and came to check on him. Hao Ren invited the man inside, and Old Yang was happy to see that his tenant was vacating the place and even giving up the deposit as the wedding gift. 

Hao Ren did not have much to take care of, just a couple of big suitcases and he was packed. He bade farewell to old Yang, and then took a taxi to his new home in the rising sun apartment. 

It was already evening when he finished dealing with everything and sat down to relax. To kill time, he decided to check his mobile, and apart from the app notifications he only had a couple of texts, one was from his mother checking up on him, and the other was from Han Lingshi thanking him for the meal. 

Hao Ren called his mother, "Hello, Ma. How are you?" 

His mother was an elder person and she talked slowly, "Mmmm, I am fine. Ren, have you been eating well?" 

Hao Ren replied, all her questions patiently and finally the lady dropped a bomb, "Ren, your aunt Shyla wanted to set you up for a blind date. What do you think about it?" 

Hao Ren was flustered, he did not know what to say, but the system sound echoed in his mind, *Ding: Host, a man should stay true to their goal. You are a married man, even if you cannot accept the truth to your parents, then you must not hide things completely as well. This is a stain on your character. If you fail to uphold your dignity, you will be punished.*

Hao Ren took a deep breath and said, "Ma, actually I want to tell you something." 

His mother hummed and Hao Ren continued, "I have a girlfriend." 

The line went silent for a bit and then Mrs. Hao exclaimed, "What?!" 

Followed by a rapid fire of questions, "Who is it? Is she from Han Nation? Tell me that she is not one of those dolls that young people use, also it better not be someone online, Hao Ren..." 

Hao Ren placed the phone away from his ears and he said, "Ma, calm down, let me finish." 

Mrs. Hao took a deep breath and Hao Ren said, "We just started dating a few days ago. I did not tell you about it because she is older then me." 

Mrs. Hao suddenly wailed, and said, "Old Hao, your son has become a gigolo! Oh my lords, what sin did I commit for you to give me such an offspring." 

Hao Ren looked at the mobile with his mouth wide open. He was shocked, not because she jumped to conclusion, but because she jumped to such a conclusion. He wanted to answer it but his father's voice sounded from the other side, "Bastard, how dare you sell yourself for money? Is that why we sent you there? I am telling you to come back this instance and receive the belt!!" 

Hao Ren yelled in reply, "Have you two gone senile? When did I ever say that I am a gigolo? Can you two have some faith? My girlfriend is prettier than anyone you can ever imagine and it is a proper relationship. I don't know what shit you two watch all day long. I am done talking, bye." 

Then he disconnected the phone. It was not the first time something like this happened. After five minutes, his mother called him again, this time she talked in a very soft voice as if nothing was wrong, "Ren, my dear, show us your girlfriend's picture. We did not mean to doubt you but you know Old Lan's elder son, he went to the city sometime ago and he will be coming back here for the spring festival. We all heard that his girlfriend is 35 years old. You know what they say about such people. Hehe...when can you introduce her to us?" 

Hao Ren took a deep breath and replied, "Mother, let me talk to her about it. We have only started getting along a few days ago. So, it is a bit too quick for her to meet the family. Just be assured that I am not selling myself." 

Mrs. Hao knew that pushing anymore would be fatal after all, her son was no longer living under her roof, she did not want to say anything more and the call was disconnected. 

Hao Ren took a deep breath, although it was a problem, because given his mother's nature, she would call him daily to check on his relationship status. Shaking away these thoughts he stood up and began cooking for himself. He decided to call Han Lingshi, as he did not have anyone to talk to, his friend Jin had to go out of the city because of his new job and will not be coming back anytime soon. 

Han Lingshi picked up the call but there was some music playing in the background. Hao Ren asked, "Miss Han, is it a good time to talk to you?" 

Han Lingshi replied, "Yeah, I am grateful you called, I will come see you right away. Do not worry." 

Hao Ren did not know what happened, and raised his brow as he asked, "Is everything alright?" 

Han Lingshi replied, "I am here at the Rose Bud cafe at the bund, it won't take long for me, alright, thank you Ren." 

There were pauses in her voice, and Hao Ren understood that she was acting to get away from some situation. He smiled and said, "Come soon, I am cooking stir fry chicken and kimchi for dinner." 

Han Lingshi replied excitedly, "Right away." 

The call was disconnected and Hao Ren chuckled. However, he wondered what could the situation be that made Han Lingshi act like this.