Chapter 8: Relaxing the Mind

Ten-plus minutes later, the car arrived at the Zhuangyuan Academy residential complex.

Pulling over to the side of the road, Chen Feng turned his head and said, "Get out. Try not to go out alone at night in the future. It’s not safe for a girl like you, you know?"

This time, Qin Xiaorou didn't snap back. She simply said, "Since you're worried about my safety, then come hang out with me. When I go out alone, I usually just go to the arcade; I don't go anywhere else."

Chen Feng thought to himself, *I’m not your father.* What he had just said was merely out of the concern a senior might show a junior after having met.

Therefore, Chen Feng replied quite bluntly, "I don't have the time. Alright, get out. Take care of yourself from now on."

Qin Xiaorou curled her lip and muttered "hypocrite," then took out her phone, opened WeChat, and said, "Scan me."

Chen Feng took a look, hesitated for a moment, but still took out his newly purchased phone and scanned her. The friend request was accepted quickly. Chen Feng set her nickname to "Wild Brat," while on Qin Xiaorou’s end, Chen Feng was saved as "Uncle."

"Uncle, if I ask you to come out and play in the future, can you keep me company?" Qin Xiaorou suddenly asked in a small, pitiful voice.

Chen Feng wouldn't be fooled by her little tricks; this wild brat was incredibly crafty. However, he couldn't refuse her outright, lest she keep pestering him endlessly.

Thus, Chen Feng gave a perfunctory reply: "We'll see. I might not have the time."

"Is that a rejection?" Qin Xiaorou tilted her head and glared at him with dissatisfaction, pouting her lips—she actually looked a bit cute.

Chen Feng smiled and said, "Didn't I say 'might not'? I have a job, a wife, and kids; it’s rare for me to have free time."

"You're full of it," Qin Xiaorou said with a look of disdain. "We played games all night, and I didn't see anyone call you. You’re just a big bachelor, what wife and kids?"

Chen Feng was rendered speechless. Were kids these days all this sharp?

After being called out by her, Chen Feng didn't want to keep lying; it was pointless.

"Fine, fine. I’m a bachelor, happy now? If we’re fated to meet again, we’ll hang out. Now hurry up and get out of the car and go home."

"Hmph! I'm going, I'm going."

Seemingly acting out of spite, Qin Xiaorou pulled the door open and stepped out.

Chen Feng didn't leave immediately. Instead, he watched her stomp toward the gate of the Zhuangyuan Academy complex, swinging the large plastic bag in her hand back and forth as if venting her anger. He couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.

Although this girl lacked some manners, she was actually quite cute. If he had a daughter this cute, he would certainly cherish and look after her well. It was a pity that it seemed he wouldn't have that chance in this lifetime.

Thinking of this, Chen Feng suddenly felt dissatisfied with the girl's parents.

It was late at night, and their daughter was out playing around by herself, yet the parents didn't seem to care at all. That was far too irresponsible.

He watched until Qin Xiaorou walked through the residential gate before starting the car and driving away.

What he didn't know was that as he drove off, Qin Xiaorou, who hadn't looked back once, turned around and stood there, watching his car disappear with a look of reluctance.

Returning to his rental, he took a shower and then lay on the bed, preparing to sleep. Suddenly, Chen Feng realized that for the past two days, he hadn't really experienced any symptoms of nausea, vomiting, or headaches.

Chen Feng thought about it carefully; it seemed to have started right after his divorce.

Before the divorce, even when he was at the Civil Affairs Bureau handling the paperwork, he had still felt faint headaches.

After receiving the divorce certificate, the headaches seemed to have vanished, followed by a streak of good luck.

His experiences over the last two days could only be described as miraculous.

Chen Feng felt very confused about his good fortune; this luck was simply unreasonable, even bordering on eerie.

However, since he believed he only had two or three months left to live, he was open-minded about it and had nothing to fear. Good luck was always better than bad luck. If it weren't for his terminal illness, he might have woken up laughing in his dreams by now.

Relaxing his mind, he had a good night's sleep. Compared to his frequent insomnia in the past, his sleep quality over the last two days had been excellent—surprisingly so.

He woke up automatically at nearly seven in the morning, a biological clock he had developed over the past few years.

Usually, at this time, he would rush to wash up and hurry to work, as his shift started at eight, and it took nearly twenty minutes to bike there.

His ex-wife, Shen Lin, had it much easier. She worked at a public institution; officially, work started at nine, but in reality, arriving at nine-thirty wasn't considered late. Her job was easy, the benefits were great—not to mention the social insurance and housing fund—and the unit frequently gave out perks, including food and daily necessities, plus a large bonus at the end of the year.

Chen Feng, a miserable office worker, could only look on with envy, jealousy, and hatred. More importantly, he was often bullied at his company. As a result, he had been depressed for the past two years, and he had become quite decadent.

Given this, it was no wonder the affection between him and Shen Lin had faded away.

The reason she had taken a liking to Chen Feng in the first place was, first and foremost, that he was very handsome. He was 1.78 meters tall, loved basketball, could do a hundred push-ups a day, and was considered a "campus heartthrob" in university with a well-maintained physique.

Don't say that women don't look at appearances when choosing men; that’s only true if they have no other choice, or if the man is very wealthy. Otherwise, it’s just nonsense.

Men and women are actually the same; both are visual creatures. Men are attracted to beautiful women, and women are naturally the same when they see a handsome man.

Chen Feng was a handsome guy back then. Even though he had no money or house, his job at the time wasn't bad. He made seven or eight thousand a month and was highly valued by his boss, putting him on track for a promotion and a raise.

It was because of these combined conditions that Shen Lin took a liking to him, and after two years of dating, she insisted on marrying him despite her family's opposition.

The result was that shortly after they married, Chen Feng suffered a major blow to his career. First, the boss who valued him fell seriously ill and resigned. The person who took over was a sworn enemy of his former boss, so Chen Feng, as the trusted confidant of the previous leader, was naturally pushed aside and suppressed.

They first seized upon a minor mistake in his work to strip him of his deputy manager position, demoting him to a regular employee. Then, they gave him the most troublesome cases in the company. Naturally, he couldn't complete them, which inevitably led to another round of reprimands.

At this point, Chen Feng couldn't take it anymore and prepared to resign. As it turned out, his resignation was accepted, but he had to pay a penalty. The reason was that Chen Feng had signed a five-year contract with the company, and he was only three years in when he resigned.

According to the contract, if Chen Feng resigned early, he had to pay the company 100,000 yuan for the training costs they had invested in him.

When he first joined, the company had sent him to a professional institution for a two-month training program, but 100,000 yuan was an exaggeration.

This so-called training fee was just a pretext; in reality, it was a penalty fee, a way to circumvent certain laws.

However, those sent by the company for training were always the talents they highly valued and intended to cultivate. Therefore, such a clause in the contract was normal. Otherwise, if they trained you well and you resigned shortly after, wouldn't that be a bargain for another company?

Moreover, the rule was reciprocal; if the company wanted to fire an employee within those five years, they also had to pay a penalty of 50,000 yuan.

Although it was somewhat unequal, such a contract was considered quite fair in the current labor market. None of the people sent for training at the time had refused to sign it.

Chen Feng, of course, couldn't come up with 100,000 yuan to pay the penalty, so he could only stay at the company, where he was quickly marginalized. Over the next few months, he rapidly became decadent, his weight increased day by day, and he turned into the fat man he was now.

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(End of chapter)