Chapter 196: Which One of Them Will You Choose?

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Nan County, Cheng Chen's hometown.

"Dad, Mom, this is my friend…"

"You're Hei Pi!"

Cheng Mingliang and Lu Ling said in unison.

"Son, our whole family watched your movie."

"Uh…"

"Uncle, Auntie, Happy New Year. I'm Hei Pi, but that's just my character's name—my real name is Huang Bo."

Huang Bo placed the items he was carrying into Cheng Mingliang's hands and smiled.

"Mom and Dad, you've met Huang Bo. This is Ning Hao—he's also the director of Crazy Stone."

Cheng Chen introduced Ning Hao.

"Uncle, Auntie, Happy New Year. I'm Ning Hao. I currently work at Brother Cheng's company."

Ning Hao, quieter than Huang Bo, smiled as he introduced himself.

"Ah, such good kids—come inside, come in quickly."

Cheng Chen arrived home on the third day of the New Year.

The whole family was waiting for him—his aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents—all together, it was lively indeed.

Fortunately, Cheng Chen's family had built a large villa last year.

Not just relatives, but villagers too stood at the door, gawking at the celebrity.

In the past two years, the economy had improved, and many households had bought televisions—even if they were black-and-white.

But that didn't stop villagers from frequently seeing Cheng Chen on TV.

"He's on TV again—big star!"

This was the most direct impression people had of Cheng Chen; every time he returned home, someone would show up with a camera to interview him.

Supposedly from the county TV station—even the city TV station had come.

Villagers spread rumors that Cheng Chen had once sat at the same table drinking with the county magistrate—a huge deal for people in this relatively backward village!

The elders greeted Ning Hao and Huang Bo, while Cheng Chen was pulled aside by his mother Lu Ling:

"Son, is it just the three of you coming back?"

Cheng Chen looked at his mother, bewildered:

"Yeah, who else would there be?"

"Where's Yuanyuan?"

"What Yuanyuan?"

"You little rascal, pretending to be clueless!"

His mother shot him a glance and said:

"The girl who came to our house two years ago—the one who said she was your sister—Gao Yuanyuan!"

"Oh, your memory's amazing—you still remember something from two years ago!"

Cheng Chen teased.

His mother gave him a light smack and said:

"Of course I remember—your mom isn't seventy or eighty yet. I remember everything from the past two years.

Don't change the subject—why didn't you bring Yuanyuan back with you for the New Year?"

Cheng Chen laughed helplessly:

"Mom, it's the New Year—her family is celebrating too. They're traveling out of town."

Hearing this, Lu Ling looked deeply disappointed:

"Traveling out of town… By the way, when are you bringing her parents here?

Our house is big enough for their whole family now—you're both old enough…"

"Puh~"

Cheng Chen suddenly spat out the water he was drinking, stunned:

"Why would I want them to come to our house?"

"Let the two families meet—arrange the engagement, get married—what else?"

Lu Ling gave Cheng Chen a look of mild disgust and said casually.

"Mom, I'm not even at that stage with her yet—why are you rushing this?"

"Do you think she's not good enough for you? You're a star, but she's no slouch either.

She's got looks, she's got height—I think you're the one who's not good enough for her!"

Lu Ling scoffed.

"That's not what I mean—I'm asking why you suddenly brought this up?"

Lu Ling nodded toward the living room:

"See those piles of gifts in the living room? All of them were sent by Yuanyuan—you brought them back from the county.

She said they're New Year gifts for our whole family. If she didn't care about you, why would she send us anything?

Don't tell me you two aren't involved—I'm not stupid."

Gao Yuanyuan had sent gifts?

Cheng Chen turned to look at the living room,

where a mountain of gifts had piled up.

At first, he thought it was something relatives had brought over for New Year's greetings.

Now, looking more closely, they were all top-tier domestic health supplements, even some major international brands.

This pile clearly hadn't been cheap—thinking back to when Gao Yuanyuan had asked him for Cheng Mingliang's store address in the county.

So she'd already been planning to send New Year's gifts back then.

"Oh come on, she's my sister, sending you New Year's gifts is normal—I sent gifts to her parents too."

Not only had Gao Yuanyuan received gifts, but Yan Danchen's family had received them as well.

Cheng Chen thought to himself silently.

"Boom—boom—boom!"

Suddenly, the sound of a tricycle came from outside.

It was Uncle Cheng Mingguang returning.

"Big brother, sister-in-law, someone else sent you more stuff—hurry and get it, there's too much!"

Uncle directly drove the tricycle into the courtyard.

The whole family came out to greet him; his mother glanced at Cheng Chen and said:

"See? Here it comes again—you still claim you're not involved with Yuanyuan."

Saying that, she went out to greet them.

Cheng Chen helplessly followed his family outside—it shouldn't be this way, Gao Yuanyuan had already sent gifts.

Could it be…

Just then, Cheng Chen suddenly received a message.

"Did you get everything? Say Happy New Year to Uncle and Auntie for me~"

The sender was Yan Danchen.

Cheng Chen put away his phone and stared at the strange gifts in the tricycle, not knowing what to say.

Everything's messed up, completely messed up.

"Who sent these?"

His father asked curiously.

"I don't know—just wrote your name and our store's address.

I went to the store today to pick something up, and all this was piled at the door.

The courier company was closed for the holiday, but they said this was express-delivered."

Uncle Cheng Mingguang said, then spotted Cheng Chen and exclaimed happily:

"Big nephew's here too? Come on, quickly move these things inside."

"Yes, Uncle."

Though he didn't know who sent them, the sender had delivered them to the store and written Cheng Mingliang's name—probably not a mistake.

His mother Lu Ling pulled Cheng Chen aside.

Cheng Chen said:

"What's up, Mom? I still have to move things."

"Let your uncle and dad move them—you come here."

Lu Ling said, expressionless.

"What's wrong, Mom?"

"What's wrong? Honestly tell me—who sent all this?"

"I just got home, how would I know? These packages are addressed to Dad…"

"Mom, could it be some woman outside sent these to Dad…?

Everyone says men get rich and turn sleazy—Dad he… Oh no, why are you hitting me?!"

Cheng Chen rubbed his head, pouting.

Lu Ling pulled back her hand and snapped:

"Your father would never be as fickle as you, don't slander him!"

"People's hearts are hidden… Fine, fine, I won't say more."

Seeing his mother about to give him another knuckle-rap, Cheng Chen quickly ducked and begged for mercy.

"Tell me—who sent these?"

His mother studied him and asked.

"Maybe… my sister sent them?"

Cheng Chen whispered.

"Nonsense! Yuanyuan's gifts all had her name on them—your uncle said these had no names at all, and besides, she already sent once, why send again?!"

"I don't know."

"Don't pretend. These gifts… are definitely for you, but the sender wasn't sure if you'd come home.

That's why they didn't write your name—hmm… and it's definitely a girl."

A woman's intuition is often terrifying.

Watching his mother guess almost perfectly, Cheng Chen silently marveled at her insight.

The packages were sent before the New Year, when Yan Danchen still didn't know he'd be returning.

Because Cheng Chen had impulsively decided to return to Yang City for a roadshow—he couldn't pass by his home without visiting.

That's why he'd last-minute chosen to come back and see his family.

"I get it—it's Chenchen, right? Yan… Danchen, that's the name, isn't it?"

Hearing his mother's words, Cheng Chen's jaw nearly dropped.

"M-Mom, what are you talking about? Why would Yan Danchen send me anything?"

"Don't try to fool me—you were home last year, and she sent stuff to our house then."

And this year, you two are even releasing a TV drama together, right? It's called Xianjian Qixia Zhuan, isn't it?"

It's definitely her—don't think you can trick me, you little rascal!"

Ever since her son became a celebrity, his mother would rush to watch any entertainment news program on TV.

Naturally, she paid close attention to Xianjian Qixia Zhuan.

"That's right—it's her."

Cheng Chen said dejectedly; his mother was too sharp—she could rival a little detective ghost.

"So what do you think? Yan Danchen looks pretty nice too."

You're eating from the bowl while eyeing the pot—how could you be so like either me or your father!"

His mother Lu Ling said angrily.

But Cheng Chen couldn't help feeling—was it his imagination? —that there was a hint of satisfaction in her tone.

"Oh Mom, don't meddle in young people's affairs—now you see how ridiculous your earlier words were."

Engagement, marriage—I'm still in my career ascent phase, no rush. Besides, I'm still so young!"

Cheng Chen spread his hands and said.

"How young? You don't even have a beard yet! First get engaged, then worry about marriage later."

His mother Lu Ling snapped.

Hearing his mother's tone soften, Cheng Chen grinned and said:

"Fine, we can get engaged first—but to whom?"

"To…"

Lu Ling suddenly hesitated; though she'd never met Yan Danchen in person,

she'd seen her often on TV! And the girl had sent New Year gifts for two years straight—she had filial piety!

Hmm… Gao Yuanyuan is good too, kind and sweet-natured.

How to choose? So hard to decide!

Seeing Cheng Chen smirking beside her, Lu Ling slapped him hard:

"You figure it out yourself—I'm done! I'm telling you, you'll end up in jail one day for playing footsie with two girls!"

Cheng Chen pulled a long face and said:

"Mom, I'm your son!"

"So what if you're my son? I'm telling you—sort this out fast. Bring one home next year to get engaged, or don't come back!"

With that, Lu Ling stormed out.

But Cheng Chen clearly saw his mother burst into laughter the moment she stepped outside, chatting with his aunts.

How to put it… she wasn't angry at all—she was delighted.

Maybe she was glad the family pig was finally going to dig up the cabbage?

…

Cheng Chen stayed home for only two days; on the third day, he prepared to depart for the next city's roadshow.

"Son, this car's pretty nice."

Watching Huang Bo drive, his father Cheng Mingliang and his uncle Cheng Mingguang both looked envious.

"Dad, Uncle, have you gotten your driver's licenses yet?"

"I've already got mine. Your dad's almost done—he'll get his soon."

Uncle smiled.

Cheng Chen had previously urged them to take driving lessons and buy a car during their free time.

After all, their living conditions had improved greatly—they couldn't keep riding tricycles back and forth to the county.

But a car costing tens of thousands was still out of reach in their eyes.

It wasn't about money—it was just that their mindset hadn't changed yet.

For instance, Uncle had held his license for half a year and envied those driving sedans.

But he'd never once considered buying one himself.

Cheng Chen smiled and said:

"Dad, Uncle, we're not taking this car with us. When we reach the county, we'll take a bus to the city and fly out—this car's yours to keep."

Although Yang City lagged behind even within Hui Sheng, its airport had long been built.

"What?! You're not taking this car?"

His father and uncle asked in surprise.

"Yeah, leave it at home for you two. Practice driving—Dad, don't drive until you've got your license."

Cheng Chen instructed.

"T-This is too good—this car's so expensive, we…"

Uncle swallowed hard, staring fixedly at Huang Bo's steering wheel.

"It's expensive, but we're not who we used to be—don't worry, the car's yours now."

Cheng Chen smiled.

"T-Then… alright."

…

"Crazy Stone" premiered for one week and surged from second place to first.

Although it barely edged out "Seoul Raiders," everyone knew this gap would soon widen.

The success of "Crazy Stone" was called a box office miracle!

This success stemmed partly from Cheng Chen's personal appeal, and partly from the crew's and Weibo's relentless promotion.

But more still came from ordinary fans' spontaneous spread of "Crazy Stone."

Moreover, this version of "Crazy Stone" saw Cheng Chen invest nearly two million more than in his previous version.

Those two million were all poured into film production, genuinely applied to every detail.

The film's visual effects improved greatly over the previous version.

Besides, although the previous version of "Crazy Stone" was good, it had flaws and continuity errors.

For example:

In the latter half of the film, during the scene where Dao Ge and Bao Tou arranged a time to receive the goods and ultimately met a fatal accident, multiple perspectives were replayed.

In other angles, when Dao Ge collided with the door opened by the "Mohawk," his motorcycle helmet's visor was lowered.

But when replayed from Dao Ge's perspective, the film gave a close-up of his expression.

The motorcycle was moving at high speed, yet at that moment, the helmet's visor was open…

This was merely a minor oversight in filming—not fatal or hugely impactful, but enough to stick in viewers' minds.

Cheng Chen's additional nearly two million eliminated all these flaws.

Compared to the previous version of "Crazy Stone," which earned nearly two million in its first week,

and achieved over six million in total box office by the second week, Cheng Chen's version won by a landslide.

Its first-week box office reached 18 million, narrowly leading "Seoul Raiders," which earned 17.8 million.

Of course, this extraordinary success also benefited from the Spring Festival and Valentine's Day slots.

Notably, the previous version of "Seoul Raiders" earned 20 million in its first week.

Yet in this life, it suffered a steep decline due to the impact of "Crazy Stone"...