Chapter 284: This House is Truly Good

When Su Mingyu returned from her meeting, it was already half an hour later. Entering the door, she saw Xiao Meng standing there trembling, her daughter writing homework while occasionally giggling, and Wang Laoshi sitting on the sofa reading a magazine.

Xiao Xin had already told her the situation. Seeing this, she shook her head with a smile: "Alright, stop standing there, go out."

Wang Yan had told him to stand, but naturally not in a slouching way—he had told him to stand at attention. For a player like Xiao Meng who didn't attend to his proper duties, both his body and mind were weak, and he couldn't hold it at all. But even though he couldn't hold it, he didn't dare to move randomly; he was truly afraid.

At this moment, hearing Su Mingyu's voice, Xiao Meng turned his head tremblingly to look at Wang Yan sitting on the sofa behind him, his eyes full of pitiful, pleading inquiry.

Wang Yan waved his hand casually. Xiao Meng's stiff body instantly collapsed. He glanced at Su Mingyu, opened the door sneakily, and walked out slowly—his legs were numb from standing.

"Mom, Mom, just now that person played games very loudly, affecting my homework, and Dad taught him a lesson." Wang Lin ran over, high-spirited, dancing with joy.

"Then how did Dad teach him a lesson?"

"Like this, like this, and then like this." As she spoke, the little girl comically played both roles, reenacting the scene.

After patiently watching her daughter's performance, Su Mingyu patted her: "Hurry up and do your homework. Mom will be off work in a while, and we'll go eat something delicious."

While Wang Lin obediently climbed onto the chair and started doing her homework again, Su Mingyu sat down beside Wang Yan: "Why are you scaring the child? Seriously."

She and Wang Yan were the same age, both twenty-seven this year. And that Xiao Meng was twenty-three. Although there was only a four-year difference, Su Mingyu saw no difference between this kid and a child. After all, she had started working at eighteen and had been working with Meng Zhiyuan until today. A second-generation heir who only knew how to eat, drink, and play truly couldn't catch her eye.

"Old Meng didn't ask you to discipline him? This is great, simple and direct. Isn't he honest now?"

"Only you have a way." Su Mingyu rolled her eyes at him: "I'm going to work. Go watch the child do her homework. Her handwriting has become crooked again recently."

Wang Yan stood up with a chuckle and sat at the large desk. The little girl, who had been writing furiously, immediately slowed down her speed—she was just rushing to finish the chore so she could play sooner.

Children are all like that. At first, they write neatly, but little by little, it becomes crooked—that's a direct reflection of their state of mind. After all, she was still a little baby, and supervision was indispensable.

However, actually, this wasn't a big deal. She was mainly writing pinyin, and only had to write a few simple characters a few more times. Wang Yan wrote calligraphy when he was free at home, which still had an influence on the little girl. As long as he checked occasionally, it was fine, after all, there wasn't much homework.

Time passed slowly. Wang Yan and the little girl who had finished her homework sat side by side, honestly watching Tom and Jerry on the computer. Actually, Wang Lin's interest in cartoons wasn't very high; after all, there were too many fun things. And she recently considered herself not a little kid, and sneered at cartoons that only little kids watched. It was Wang Yan who said he wanted to watch and asked her to accompany him, so they watched together.

When it was time to get off work, Su Mingyu "slapped" the computer shut: "Off work, let's go."

Wang Lin, who sneered at cartoons, was just engrossed in watching Tom catch Jerry. She covered her mouth with her chubby hand, her eyes squinted into a slit. Wang Yan ruthlessly turned off the computer: "Let's go, Linlin, time to eat."

Watching intently, and suddenly it was gone, Wang Lin was a bit unhappy. However, remembering that she was accompanying her father, she gave a listless "Oh" and followed behind Su Mingyu with her little backpack.

Wang Yan shook his head and smiled, following slowly.

Outside, Xiao Meng was lying on an empty seat resting. At this moment, seeing the family of three come out, his first reaction was to turn his back and pretend not to see them.

Su Mingyu stepped forward and patted his shoulder: "Off work, President Xiao Meng. Remember to come on time tomorrow."

Xiao Meng nodded repeatedly. Watching the family of three walk away, he turned his head back to look at the crowd around him who were laughing. He had the heart to throw a tantrum, but in the end, it was he who had made a fool of himself. He snorted, ignored the mocking eyes of others, got up, and left.

In the blink of an eye, it was Saturday again. Wu Fei once again brought the child to Suzhou by high-speed rail. This time, Wang Yan didn't go to pick them up—after all, it wasn't their first meeting—so he went to the company to do research as usual, and it was Su Mingyu and the little girl who went to pick them up.

In the evening, they didn't eat at home but went to a restaurant. Wang Yan arrived later to join them.

"Hello, Uncle." Without anyone teaching her, Mimi asked politely. Wang Yan was relatively popular with children.

"Hello to you too." Wang Yan nodded to Wu Fei as a greeting and asked: "Where did you go to play today?"

Su Mingyu, who was on the side, said: "We visited most of the places last time. We originally wanted to go to Shajiabang to take a look, but Linlin insisted on going to her interest class. We both accompanied them there for the whole afternoon, just watching the two of them learn."

Wang Lin, who was drinking juice on the side, looked up, acting like a little adult and very serious: "Dad, Mimi learns very quickly, um... she's very talented."

This appearance made Wu Fei and Su Mingyu laugh out loud. Mimi, who was on the side, didn't know what was going on, but followed along and laughed foolishly.

Wang Lin was unhappy: "It's true, isn't it? Am I wrong?"

Su Mingyu rubbed her daughter's head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "Then why didn't you say that these words were said by your teacher? It's like you were teaching Mimi."

"Anyway, it's true." Wang Lin shook her head unhappily, her two little braids swinging with the movement.

Wu Fei smiled and said to Wang Yan: "Linlin has the demeanor of a big sister. She took Mimi to play very well with those children, and she also taught Mimi quite a lot. She's so sensible."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile, watching the little girl whose corners of her mouth rose slightly upon hearing this—she was happy, after all, she had been praised. But Wu Fei's words still hadn't hit the mark, so he immediately affirmed: "She's an adult."

Sure enough, the little girl burst into laughter, baring her teeth at everyone, and especially gave her father a "you understand me" look. She was happily swinging her short legs on the seat and whispering to Mimi beside her.

Shaking his head and smiling, Wang Yan looked at Wu Fei: "How has life been recently?"

"Quite good. I found a kindergarten near home for Mimi. I'm just resting at home and taking care of my dad. It's not bad."

"Are there any difficulties in life? You and Mingyu get along so well. If you need help, you must say so. We will definitely help."

Wu Fei shook her head: "Su Mingzhe has already sold the house and transferred the money to my account in America. Everything is quite good; there's really nothing I need."

"Is that so?" Wang Yan asked curiously: "How is he now? Has he found a job?"

"I don't know."

Just then, the waiter knocked on the door to serve the dishes, and Wang Yan didn't say anything more. It was certain that Wu Fei was determined not to deal with Su Mingzhe anymore. He would just have someone check on Su Mingzhe later to see what his situation was.

Now that Su Mingzhe had sold the house, he must have at least 200,000 in his hands—in Chinese currency, he was a millionaire. If he could find a job and work honestly, he could still buy a house and live a beautiful life. Finding another wife and having a child in the future wouldn't be a big problem. However, it still depended on himself—one foot in heaven, one foot in hell.

During the meal, it was naturally Wang Mouren who enlivened the atmosphere, plus the occasional childish words from Wang Lin and Mimi, making it very harmonious.

The next day, after his morning exercise, Wang Yan met Wu Fei, who had gotten up early.

"Morning, Wang Laoshi."

Wang Yan nodded in response: "Morning."

"You exercise so early every day."

"Yeah, I'm used to it. Moving around every morning makes me much more energetic when doing things." Wang Yan said with a chuckle: "Go wash up first, breakfast will be ready in a while."

"Hmm." Wu Fei nodded, looking at Wang Yan's tall back, and was momentarily lost in thought. To be honest, after knowing Wang Yan's identity, she had thought about a lot of messy things over the past half month. After all, he might be the richest man in the world standing right in front of her, and as an ordinary woman who considered herself quite pretty, she couldn't help but think about it. But in the end, after thinking about it from all angles, she could only envy Su Mingyu's good fortune in being able to meet such a man and even marry him.

She had asked Su Mingyu on the side, and Wang Yan had only reached his current level in the last ten years. When Su Mingyu and Wang Yan first met, he was just a second-generation heir with a net worth of over 100 million. But ten years ago, he already had a net worth of over 100 million, which wasn't a small amount of money. After all, she and Su Mingzhe had worked themselves to death in America for so many years, and didn't they still have nothing?

She knew her own conditions. Besides, he was a man with a wife and daughter and a happy family, and she wasn't as young as other girls and had a child, so she could only envy Su Mingyu's good fortune.

Of course, these were all wild thoughts she had when she was bored; she absolutely didn't mean for anything to actually happen. She was quite clear-headed; being able to maintain the current friendly relationship and having a big thigh to hug was enough for her.

After all, it's not just men who fantasize; women do too. What's more, she was a woman in her prime who had failed in marriage, was raising a daughter alone, and needed comfort, company, and a sense of security. And no one had stipulated that one couldn't have wild thoughts.

Wang Yan, who walked into the villa, didn't know Wu Fei's thoughts, but the corners of his mouth rose slightly. Although he hadn't received a signal, he had felt a trace of unnaturalness in Wu Fei, which was very important.

After washing up, Su Mingyu and the two little girls also got up one after another without oversleeping, thinking that since they had agreed yesterday, they were going to Shajiabang today. At the dining table, the nanny Zhao Yi, who had been working hard for many years, had already prepared breakfast and served it. The three adults chatted and ate, talking about Shajiabang. Wang Lin was fine; she had a strong body and a good appetite, eating away by herself. Mimi, on the other hand, although she had been taking strength-building pills, didn't have a very good constitution to begin with. She was exhausted from practicing dancing, singing, and learning instruments with Wang Lin yesterday, and was still groggy.

This brings up the issue of Wu Fei raising the child—she always held and hugged her, afraid of her falling or crying, and spoiled her too much, failing to discipline her well. Unlike Wang Lin, even if her father Wang Yan didn't know medicine or martial arts, she should still be lively and active, because he was cultivating her in the direction of being mischievous...

After eating, Su Mingyu drove Wu Fei and the two little girls to Shajiabang, and Wu Fei and her daughter would return directly to Shanghai after playing.

Wang Yan went to the company to do research as usual. Now that artificial intelligence had reached a new height, the robots, vision, recognition, language and image understanding, etc., under its jurisdiction were advancing by leaps and bounds, and the theory and hardware of computers were also developing rapidly. There were too many things he needed to pay attention to.

And at the same time, because of the various reasons he had thought of before, he also had to think about the next development plan to concentrate resources for a hard attack. After all, his resources were relatively infinite, but in one world, they were also limited. The difference was that his fault tolerance was higher and he could withstand failure better, but wasted time was truly wasted. Therefore, he had to be extremely cautious and couldn't just make decisions on a whim—that was what a fool from the east end of the village would do...

Su Mingcheng had been having a very, very, very difficult time recently. On one hand, he had to be distracted by taking care of his father in the hospital; on the other hand, he had offended his direct supervisor, Manager Zhou, because of the investment scam. Inevitably, he was being targeted and given a hard time, and it looked like he wouldn't be able to work there for much longer.

And even if he stayed, he wasn't going out to solicit business now; he was just dragging it out to disgust Manager Zhou. But at the same time, he had no money; after all, sales still depended on performance.

Another reason was that because the old house had been successfully sold, his father began to torment him relentlessly, asking him to get money to buy a new house. He had never felt that life was so bitter and so helpless; it was too difficult.

Early Saturday morning, after eating, Su Daqiang followed Su Mingcheng from the hospital back to his newly rented apartment.

"How is the money coming along? Is it not ready yet?" Su Daqiang sat on the big bed, looking at his second son on the small bed: "I've been discharged, and the young agent has already found several houses waiting for me to look at. I'll be buying one in a few days, so you can't delay this."

Su Mingcheng looked impatient: "I know. I already have some leads. It'll be these few days, you look first."

"No, can you do it or not? Give me a definite answer. Otherwise, I've looked at houses so hard my legs have become thin, and if you mess this up, Dad will have to live in the hospital."

"Definite, definite, definitely definite. I'm going out to borrow money right now. You've recovered, go look at your house. I'll transfer another 50 yuan to you, eat something outside at noon, okay?"

Su Mingcheng had no one to tell his troubles to. Looking at his father's old face, he felt truly annoyed. He also wanted to be far away to avoid the headache. Based on his understanding of his father, once he bought a new house, he basically wouldn't look for him anymore, as he would be busy showing off and having fun, and wouldn't have the time to deal with him...

Su Daqiang said worriedly: "You hurry up."

"Just rest assured, I'm going out now." After saying this, Su Mingcheng got up, changed his shoes, and left. He wasn't worried about Su Daqiang's health; despite being hospitalized, he was more energetic than him. And the agent's people were quite attentive, so he was very reassured.

Going downstairs, Su Mingcheng walked a bit further, found a park, and sat on a bench to enjoy the sunshine.

He truly didn't know where to get money. If he could have borrowed it, he would have long ago; why listen to Su Daqiang nagging every day? But to be honest, he wasn't too anxious. If there was really no other way, he could ask Su Mingzhe. After all, his father was buying a house, and he should have paid a portion anyway. Although he was already paying the monthly mortgage, he couldn't just watch his father fail to buy the house he wanted and make a scene. Besides, he was just asking to borrow money; although paying it back might be very difficult, it wasn't like he wouldn't pay it back. They were brothers, they were family, it was easy to discuss.

As for the question of whether Su Mingzhe was miserable in America, even if he were miserable, he would still be better off than him, Su Mingcheng...

So, precisely because he had this idea early on, although he was irritable, impatient, and annoyed, he was also confident.

Su Mingcheng lay on the bench, thinking aimlessly. Should he change jobs? On one hand, he didn't respect Manager Zhou; on the other hand, he knew his own abilities, and jobs weren't easy to find. If he didn't change, he would have to deal with that disgusting Manager Zhou, but he earned too little money to live on, and he was disgusted enough himself. For a moment, he didn't know what to do in the future. Not seeing a path forward, having no hope—that was what was hard to endure...

Thus, Su Daqiang was happily looking at houses with the young agent, while Su Mingcheng was worrying about this and that.

Su Daqiang wasn't stupid; it wasn't that he didn't know that Su Mingcheng was struggling to borrow money, but he had called Su Mingzhe a few days ago and knew the house had been sold, so he naturally had a bottom line. Even if he didn't speak up when the time came, hinting at Su Mingcheng would be enough.

Su Mingcheng didn't know his father was calculating against him, but he had originally thought that way, so he wasn't panicked about borrowing money. But regarding work, he was truly finished. How could a soldier fighting against his direct leader have a good outcome?

At first, Su Mingcheng threatened Manager Zhou with the investment matter. Manager Zhou naturally couldn't let people hold her tail forever. After all, there were other people in the company who participated. Even if Su Mingcheng didn't say it, there was no guarantee others wouldn't. This was a time bomb, and she was very passive. With Su Mingcheng's threat in front, she was bound to find a way.

The method was naturally very simple: she just had to confess in a way that put her first. After all, as a manager-level person in sales who had worked in the company for many years, didn't she have this bit of face? Obviously, her value was quite high. A salesperson who had been in the industry for many years—the resources in her hands couldn't be said to determine the life and death of a company, but they would certainly cause serious injury. So even if the company's senior management was dissatisfied with Manager Zhou, it wasn't as simple as firing her just like that. Anyone could calculate this account. If they were truly dissatisfied, they could only hold back first and plan slowly.

So, naturally, Manager Zhou was fine, and she targeted Su Mingcheng in various ways. And naturally, Su Mingcheng was never a person with a backbone. Coupled with the gap in their positions, half a month after the investment failure, he was kicked out of the company by Manager Zhou.

Su Mingcheng joined the ranks of job seekers and started looking for work directly. He had to; if he had no income for a month, he would be sleeping on the street next month. He was quite confident; after all, with his years of experience in the industry, he wasn't worried about not finding a job, as there were many similar companies.

But the fact was, he had thought too well. He interviewed at several companies, and the talks were quite good, and both sides were quite satisfied, but they just wouldn't hire him. He naturally didn't know why, thinking there might be other circumstances, and planned to continue interviewing at other companies.

And Su Daqiang, after looking at houses for a week, finally selected a high-rise near Jin Jihu—almost the same as in the original story, a newly built three-bedroom high-rise from the last two years, with enough decoration and a large balcony, move-in ready, with a total price of 5.8 million. At this price, a one-third down payment plus other miscellaneous money was 2 million. The 1.5 million in his hands was naturally not enough, and the gap was quite large, so he led Su Mingcheng to look at the house with the agent.

Su Daqiang was nimble, his steps steady, his face full of wrinkles from smiling: "Mingcheng, this house is not bad, right?"

Su Mingcheng looked inside and out, nodded upon hearing this: "Not bad, not bad. How much is it?"

The young agent replied politely and softly: "5.8 million, but the owner is sincere about selling, and there is room for negotiation. But you have also seen the situation of the house; it can't be negotiated too much."

"Mingcheng, Dad wants this one. This is the one I like most out of all the houses I've looked at. This is it."

Su Mingcheng didn't speak. He was calculating, and quickly calculated the two numbers: 2 million and 500,000. He naturally understood Su Daqiang's intention in bringing him here—it was to urge him to get money.

"Dad, don't you want to look anymore? And is this house too big for you to live in by yourself?"

"Bigger is better, it's bright. I can make a study, put a tea table on the balcony, put a big TV in the living room..." After Su Daqiang said a bunch of his ideas, he said: "You know about our old house. I lived there for half my life, and now that I'm old, I have to enjoy life. No more looking, just buy it. I've already paid the deposit, 50,000."

Su Mingcheng looked at his father, speechless. He guaranteed that if this house couldn't be bought, the 50,000 that went down the drain would also be counted on him. And this was already planned out. If it couldn't be bought, Su Daqiang's high blood pressure might really explode, and he might go directly to find his dearest mother.

"Fine, just buy it." Su Mingcheng didn't want to agree, turned his head to look at the agent who was smiling and serving: "Let me ask, after the deposit is paid, when is the latest to pay the down payment?"

Before the agent could speak, Su Daqiang answered: "Seven days. If the down payment isn't paid by then, this 50,000 will go down the drain, Mingcheng. You must hurry up; Dad is counting on you."

Su Mingcheng's words were very full: "Dad, rest assured, there will definitely be no problem."

He had been beaten down completely and was a bit lazy now—whatever, let it be. Of course, he also knew that with Su Mingzhe's character, he would definitely pay. He also knew that Su Mingzhe had just sold the house; it was that morning when Su Daqiang called that he heard it...

Su Daqiang's eyes widened, and he grabbed his second son's hand hard: "Mingcheng, you must not lie to Dad. If this time it can't be bought and the money is lost, then Dad really won't live anymore."

Feeling the heat coming from his hand, Su Mingcheng answered irritably: "Oh, Dad, just rest assured."

Su Daqiang was just about to say more when a ringtone sounded. Su Mingcheng wanted to answer the phone, but didn't expect the strength in his hand to be so great. Helplessly looking at his father: "It's definitely fine, Dad, let go first, I'm answering a call."

Su Daqiang squeezed hard again before letting go. He watched Su Mingcheng take out his phone from his pocket and stare at the screen in a daze, and immediately said: "If there's a call, answer it. Why are you staring in a daze?"

Su Mingcheng glanced at his father, sighed, and answered the phone: "Hello? Something wrong?"

"Hmm."

"What's wrong?"

"Okay, where?"

"Good, I'll be there right away."

With a complex look in his eyes, he hung up the phone and looked at his father in front of him: "Dad, I have something to go out for. You go back too. Don't worry about the money. I promise you, I promise there's no problem. Leaving now, Dad." As he spoke, Su Mingcheng left directly.

Su Daqiang looked at his second son who had disappeared, turned his head to look at the young agent: "Look at this child, he just left like that, really..."

The agent smiled politely.

Walking to the balcony, feeling the warmth shining on his body, Su Daqiang looked at the sparkling Jin Jihu in the distance and let out a satisfied sigh: "This house is truly good..." ===== CHAPTER 285 =====