Chapter 24: Does Chu Yourong Live at Home?

Liu Dongxu had planned to show off, but then Zhang Dongshan showed up out of nowhere.

Even though Wang Shulan and his father Liu Fusheng had praised the car to the skies, the price and size of the two cars were right there—there was no real persuasiveness.

They returned home.

Liu Dongxu muttered gloomily: "If I'd known Uncle Zhang bought Zhang Xian a Wenjie M8, I'd have gotten a BMW X5 or a Mercedes GLC!"

"BMW and Mercedes?"

"This car costs 230,000—every month you pay back five thousand!"

"Don't forget, you don't even have a job yet!"

Liu Fusheng shot back with a dark face—he'd originally planned to buy a ten-thousand-yuan commuter car, but Liu Dongxu had insisted on financing this Tesla, and now he was complaining that the 230,000-yuan Tesla was too cheap.

"Finding a job isn't hard—I just need to pick carefully."

"Dongxu, enough already. Get any decent job first, then switch when something better comes along!"

Sun Fengyan spoke up to persuade him—her son had been back from studying abroad for some time now; though he went out for interviews almost every day, he'd received no positive feedback.

At first, Liu Dongxu said the companies offered him around 500,000 yuan annually; later, he claimed they offered about 400,000; but for the past two days, he hadn't mentioned the 400,000–500,000 figure at all—this morning over breakfast, he'd even complained that jobs paying over 200,000 yuan demanded too much.

Sun Fengyan knew her son well—if he'd been able to get into a good university back home, she and her husband wouldn't have nearly drained their savings to send him overseas.

They'd expected that after gaining prestige abroad, he'd earn back the money spent on his studies—but now it seemed overseas graduates weren't in such high demand.

"But I still need to find a big company!"

"I can't go work at some tiny workshop I've never even heard of."

Liu Dongxu retorted, then sighed: "Zhang Xian's been lying around at home for months, and Uncle Zhang hasn't said a word. I've been back less than half a month, and you're all nagging me nonstop!"

"I'm starting to envy Zhang Xian!"

"If you envy him, go adopt Zhang Dongshan as your father!"

At the alley entrance, Liu Fusheng had already feared this brat would compare him to Zhang Dongshan—and sure enough, the comparison came.

Seeing his father angry, Liu Dongxu fell silent—he knew better than anyone how poorly his job search was going; after all these interviews, his initial arrogance since returning home had vanished.

He'd thought his status as a United States graduate would make him a hot target for every company—but in reality, many big firms didn't even give him an interview.

The two big companies that did interview him eliminated him in the first round—even after lowering his salary expectations, he hadn't met a single "wise mentor" who appreciated him.

Next door, the Zhang Family.

Dinner was lively.

Zhang Pandi's cooking wasn't as good as Zhang Dongshan's, but her everyday dishes were flavorful.

Chu Yourong wasn't shy at all—she ate heartily, chatted with Zhang Pandi and Zhang Dongshan, as if she were already the Zhang Family's daughter-in-law.

Zhang Xian, by contrast, was the neglected one; when dinner was nearly over, he took the car keys his father gave him and left home alone.

Zhang Xian hadn't expected his father to buy him a car—he'd thought his father would save up first to buy him a wedding home.

When he reached the roadside parking spot, Zhang Xian circled the brand-new Wenjie M8 once—it was indeed large, but at his age, it held little appeal; he still preferred sports cars—they were truly flashy.

Still, Zhang Xian understood his father's thinking: the family was big, and this M8 had six seats, making it convenient for family outings.

Once he saved enough money, he could buy a sports car for himself later.

Though the car his father bought wasn't his dream car, he was still quite interested in it.

Men, after all, rarely dislike cars—especially a popular new-energy vehicle like this one, rumored to have an advanced autonomous driving system.

Zhang Xian took it out for a spin—the driving experience was good, and the car drew plenty of glances on the road.

After parking the car near the alley, Zhang Xian had just shut off the engine when he saw Liu Dongxu standing under a streetlamp, smoking.

From his expression, he seemed in low spirits.

"Dongxu, what's wrong? Smoking alone out here at night?"

Zhang Xian walked over and greeted him.

"It's the job search—I really envy you, Brother Xian. You've been lying around for months and no one nags you. My parents want me to start working tomorrow."

"How do you know no one's nagging me? My elder sister even found me a job a few days ago."

"So how did you handle it?"

Liu Dongxu's eyes lit up—he turned to "senior layabout" Zhang Xian for advice.

"I intentionally failed the interview."

Zhang Xian replied casually—he wouldn't mention threatening his sister-in-law.

"That works?"

Liu Dongxu was stunned—he hadn't known you could do that.

Earlier, when Zhang Xian said he had no intention of working and planned to keep mooching off his father, sister, and future wife, Liu Dongxu hadn't believed him—he'd thought it was just an excuse to cover up his inability to find a job.

Now he realized: Zhang Xian truly didn't want to work.

"Brother Xian, you really plan to never work your whole life?"

Liu Dongxu brought it up again.

"You thought I was joking before?"

Zhang Xian shrugged: "I said I won't work—I won't work. Even heaven's emperor can't make me!"

"Cool!"

Liu Dongxu gave a thumbs-up: "Brother Xian, help me out—how do I get my parents to stop nagging me?"

"You're about to get married, right? Focus on wedding preparations—that's a good enough excuse."

"Of course! Why didn't I think of that!"

Liu Dongxu slapped his forehead: "There's still so much to do before the wedding—I'll find a real job after I'm married!"

"Brother Xian, you're quick-witted!"

Zhang Xian smiled and shook his head, humming a tune as he walked home.

As he stepped into his own courtyard, laughter rang out from inside the house.

It seems Chu Yourong gets along very well with his family.

They're acting this quite convincingly!

Zhang Xian silently grumbled in his heart and strode into the house.

By now, Zhang Dongshan had gone to stream for money, and the dining table had been cleared away.

Chu Yourong, Zhang Pandi, and Zhang Zhaodi were all crouched on the ground, surrounding the yellow dog Weier and the small turtle Dadan'er.

Perhaps because it was the first time seeing a turtle, the yellow dog Weier was wildly excited, hopping and jumping around "Dadan'er," while Dadan'er had tucked its entire body into its shell—yet Weier still probed at the shell with its paws.

This very scene made the three women burst into gales of laughter; Chu Yourong even laughed so hard she looked like a meme, completely losing all facial control.

So childish.

Zhang Xian shook his head, glanced toward his father's room, and couldn't help silently sighing: Father is still reliable—having such a diligent Lying Flat Assistant, how could his own Lying Flat grand project possibly fail?

"Xiaoxian, today Yourong will be staying at home."

"Go buy her toiletries!"

Just as Zhang Xian was about to slip back to his room to play games, Zhang Pandi suddenly stood up and said.

"Staying at home?"

Zhang Xian froze for a moment, then asked with a skeptical frown: "Sleep with me??"