Chapter 25: Chapter Twenty: Your Boss Is Unlucky Enough

At six in the morning, Chen Yan slowly walked out of the Ultimate Internet Cafe.

There were already street vendors selling breakfast.

Chen Yan rubbed his eyes and yawned, then sat down at a small table outside a breakfast stall he’d visited before.

“Boss, one bowl of tofu pudding, two fried dough sticks.”

Chen Yan sat on a small stool, watching the morning street.

Winter mornings were still dim; the streets were nearly empty, faintly hazy with mist.

The morning breeze was cold; inhaling too much sent a sharp pain from nose to forehead.

A street cleaner was beginning work in the distance, while the breakfast stall was run by a middle-aged couple.

The man fried the dough sticks; the woman took money and served tofu pudding in bowls.

When idle, the woman stood beside them wrapping wontons.

But… Chen Yan had eaten their wontons; they weren’t as good as the tofu pudding.

Hmm… this scene, he’d seen it countless times over the past four years.

Since graduation, he hadn’t come here in months.

In the future…

He’d probably rarely come back.

·

People in Jin Ling ate tofu pudding with a savory flavor.

Into the snow-white tofu pudding went a spoonful of soy sauce, sprinkled with shrimp skin, chopped vegetables, peanuts, and finally a pinch of cilantro.

The soft, runny, steaming tofu pudding, paired with freshly fried, crisp dough sticks—this had been Chen Yan’s favorite breakfast for the past four years.

After eating, his whole body felt warm; he asked the boss to pack another bowl and carried it back to the internet cafe.

The female boss was dozing at the counter but still stayed up watching a drama.

She really had a habit… Chen Yan sighed inwardly.

He placed the tofu pudding on the counter.

“Boss lady, this is for you.”

The boss lady looked up, recognized what it was, and beamed: “Oh my, Xiao Yan, you’re so thoughtful! How much do I owe you?”

“Don’t be so formal,” Chen Yan laughed, waving his hand. “Just eat it. Then go to sleep—you’ll age faster staying up all night watching dramas.”

“Get out!” The woman clearly couldn’t stand the word “old.”

Chen Yan smiled and walked out of the internet cafe.

Time to go home and sleep!

·

Chen Yan and the boss lady had always gotten along well; he knew she loved this stall’s tofu pudding.

She seemed tough, but she was actually soft-hearted.

During his four years of school, when he was especially broke and couldn’t afford internet, he’d just come over, lean on the counter, and say a few sweet words to her.

She’d pretend to be annoyed and toss him a token: “Go on, scram!”

Not on credit—she just didn’t charge him.

Once, seeing him desperate with hunger at midnight with no money for a snack, she even brought him a bowl of instant noodles.

But strangely, this treatment was only for Chen Yan—no one else got it.

After several such incidents, Chen Yan even wondered… could the boss lady actually have feelings for him?

Honestly… it wouldn’t be bad!

She was beautiful, kind, and well-off—even if she was a few years older than him.

Chen Yan’s inner voice said: Such a great boss lady? I’m totally up for it!

But later, he realized she meant nothing of the sort.

Because… she’d said Chen Yan looked like her younger brother.

Not the three gatekeepers in the shop.

Her youngest brother.

Her family had five children.

She was the eldest; the three men standing at the shop as gatekeepers were her second, third, and fourth siblings.

Chen Yan resembled her fifth sibling.

Chen Yan had never met her fifth sibling; once in casual chat, he’d asked about him.

The boss lady had replied in a quiet tone.

“He’s been gone for years.”

·

Chen Yan never asked further about her family afterward.

As their relationship grew closer, he no longer came just to mooch free internet.

When he had money, he paid in full. When he didn’t…

When he didn’t, he still did as before—said a few sweet words and got in free.

But every now and then, he’d bring her something tasty.

A bowl of tofu pudding, a bag of sunflower seeds, a bag of roasted chestnuts…

On a few occasions, the boss lady seemed to want to adopt Chen Yan as her brother.

But Chen Yan always laughed it off.

He had no parents; he’d been raised by an old grandma.

He had no desire to find relatives outside.

Sisters, brothers—just be distant friends.

Aside from the old grandma, Chen Yan didn’t believe he had any relatives, nor did he want any.

·

When Gu Xiaoniang stepped out of the storage room, she saw the boss lady hunched over the counter, slurping tofu pudding.

“Boss, good morning. Eating already?” Gu Xiaoniang greeted formally.

The boss lady sat up and looked at the girl before her.

Though she wasn’t unattractive herself, every time she studied this girl, the boss lady couldn’t help sighing inwardly.

Look at her—how did she grow up like this?

“Want a bowl too? Xiao Yan just bought me one.”

“Xiao Yan?”

“Yeah, the boy who asked you to make instant noodles last night—he’s quite handsome, isn’t he?” The boss lady chuckled.

Gu Xiaoniang’s expression remained cold: “Oh, your friend, surnamed Yan, right?”

She picked up a cloth and began wiping the counter.

“No,” the boss lady sipped her tofu pudding, smacking her lips. “He doesn’t go by Yan. I call him Xiao Yan because his name has the character ‘yan.’ His real surname is Chen…”

Swish!

Gu Xiaoniang suddenly trembled, nearly flinging the cloth into the boss lady’s face!

“What did you say his surname is?”

“Chen—ear-and-east Chen. Chen Yan, the ‘yan’ as in speech.”

Gu Xiaoniang’s eyes widened; her body began to tremble slightly.

Chen, Chen, Chen Yan!!!

At the residence where that Venerable had secluded himself…

The slip with the address they’d found bore the name Chen Yan!

Chen Yan!!

Damned Chen family?!

·

These past days, she’d been lingering near this area because the rented apartment they’d found was nearby!

Even though the person had moved, Gu Xiaoniang guessed maybe they’d relocated somewhere not far?

Holding onto that slim hope, she’d wandered the neighborhood day after day.

She’d roamed every street, until she’d nearly gone mad—seeing Chen family members everywhere.

She really had gone a little mad.

She didn’t even know what the Chen family looked like—what good was wandering the streets?

Even if she met them face-to-face, she wouldn’t recognize them.

Yet here she was!

Damn it! I was standing right in front of him last night!

I, I, I…

I even made him a bowl of instant noodles myself!!

If I’d known he was that Chen family member, I’d have thrown the whole bowl in his face!!

·

Gu Xiaoniang, after all, still had some sense, and circled around to extract more information from the boss lady.

The boss lady didn’t think much of it, assuming the girl was just curious because Chen Yan was good-looking.

The final information Gu Xiaoniang obtained was:

Chen Yan had attended university nearby and had already graduated.

He probably rented an apartment nearby.

It matched! Everything matched! Gu Xiaoniang cried inwardly— the address she’d found was indeed one of the rental units nearby!

But the boss lady didn’t have his contact information—so she couldn’t help him find him.

She couldn’t even help him find his new address either.

Although Chen Yan often came to the internet cafe, precisely because he came so often, he never added the boss lady on WeChat.

Their interaction had always been limited to the cafe; he never thought he’d need any connection with her beyond internet access.

“What’s up? You like him?” The boss lady smiled at Gu Xiaoniang. “He graduated recently, so he comes less now, but he’ll probably still show up—he hasn’t used up all the credit on his card. You might still run into him.”

All morning, Gu Xiaoniang was distracted.

One moment she stared blankly, the next she gritted her teeth.

She wouldn’t go out to sweep the streets today!

She’d found him!

Wait by the stump for a rabbit!

The boss lady said he still had some kind of card with unused credit—she didn’t believe he wouldn’t come back!

·

“Little Zhao, I’ll let you use my internet card at the boss lady’s place—it still has about forty hours left.”

“Pfft! I don’t need it! I live far away now—getting there and back by Didi costs me dozens of yuan. Going there just to surf? That’d be stupid.”

“Yeah, you know the boss lady well—just tell her what I mean: from now on, whenever you log on, just charge it to my card.”

After hanging up, Chen Yan saw the car had pulled up to the villa complex gate.

He got out and strolled toward the compound; from far off, he spotted a black Mercedes parked by the roadside near his own gate.

A figure paced back and forth beside the road, smoking.

Chen Yan squinted—Yan Assistant.

Chen Yan walked over with a smile, but before he could greet him, Yan Assistant had already seen him and rushed over, grabbing Chen Yan’s hand.

“Mr. Chen… no, Teacher Chen, Master Chen!! You’re finally back!!”

Chen Yan froze.

How did I become a Master?

“Wait, Yan Assistant, why are you here so early…? Are you still performing rituals inside?”

“Done! Done! No—wait, the ritual’s finished!” Yan Assistant slapped his forehead. “Master Chen—”

“Don’t call me Master. That title’s unlucky. So many who got called Master ended up in jail.” Chen Yan shook his head.

“Oh come on, you’re always joking.”

“The ritual was done last night. I came back specifically to find you! I’ve been waiting at your gate for an hour already!”

Chen Yan frowned. “Is it urgent?”

“Yes, yes—our boss wants to meet you.”

“Meet me?” Chen Yan frowned, eyeing Yan Assistant suspiciously. “You’re not going to renege on the reward you promised, are you?”

“No! Absolutely not!” Yan Assistant hurriedly shook his head. “Our boss heard you’re a true cultivator—he insists you must meet him!”

He then recounted what had happened to him in the boss’s office at midnight, and gripped Chen Yan’s hand. “You truly saved me! This was too miraculous—I’d never have believed it if I hadn’t lived it! I must properly thank you!”

Chen Yan smiled faintly, quietly pulling his hand away. “No need to thank me again. I told you—I earned thirty-three thousand from you. According to my sect’s rules, when you receive a benefit, you must repay it.

You’ve already paid. No further thanks are needed.”

Yan Assistant stared at Chen Yan hopefully. “Then, would you… be willing…?”

Chen Yan paused to think, but Yan Assistant misinterpreted it and quickly added: “We were impolite!

Our boss said someone of your stature should be visited at his door—he should’ve come to you himself!

He’d already left the office with me, ready to come over.

But right before we left, something unexpected happened…”

“Unexpected?” Chen Yan raised an eyebrow.

Yan Assistant’s expression turned strange, his eyes filled with tension and a flicker of fear. “Just as we stepped out of the building, the boss misstepped and tumbled down the stairs—fractured his leg on the spot…”

Chen Yan blinked, slightly surprised. “Your boss is really unlucky.”

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