Chapter 28: Old Classmate

In the end, Chen Feng did not take Wu Mengting home for dinner. Instead, they went to the same restaurant as last time, where he ordered a few dishes they hadn't tried yesterday.

Both were much quieter this time. Aside from occasionally introducing the local dishes as they were served, Chen Feng hardly spoke.

Wu Mengting merely nodded occasionally, offering a faint, toothy smile, but she barely said a word throughout the entire meal.

The meal was heavy and stifling.

After finishing, Chen Feng settled the bill and escorted her to her room.

"Get some good rest. I won't come to see you off tomorrow morning; let's just meet next time I'm back in Xiuzhou. Drive carefully tomorrow, and have a safe trip."

At the door of her room, Chen Feng did not enter. After saying these words, he gave her a wave and turned to leave.

Wu Mengting pursed her lips slightly, watching Chen Feng disappear around the corner of the stairs before turning to enter her room with a complex expression.

As expected, Chen Feng did not come to see her off the next morning. Near noon, he received a WeChat message from Wu Mengting.

[I'm back in Xiuzhou. Thank you for your hospitality these past few days.]

Following the text was a red envelope.

After a brief hesitation, Chen Feng clicked it, only to find it contained 1,000 yuan.

They had agreed on 300 yuan a day for guiding services—600 yuan for two days—so she had clearly given him too much.

Thinking of this, Chen Feng sent back a red envelope of 400 yuan.

He had originally accepted the 600 yuan to avoid making Wu Mengting misunderstand his intentions, and he sent back 400 because he didn't want to take advantage of her.

On the other side, after sending the red envelope, Wu Mengting waited quietly.

At the sound of a notification, she hurriedly opened WeChat and saw a bright red envelope.

A smile involuntarily touched the corners of Wu Mengting's mouth. She quickly clicked it, only to find it was only 400 yuan. Her smile instantly froze.

It wasn't that she was stingy about the remaining 600 yuan; rather, deep down, she had hoped Chen Feng would return the entire amount. Only then could she be certain that he felt differently about her.

By sending back 400, he was essentially saying he had no special feelings for her.

However, she felt somewhat relieved that he still viewed her as a friend.

But this clearly wasn't what she wanted. Her attempt at testing him had ultimately ended in failure, and a bitter smile played on her lips.

Immediately after, Chen Feng sent a message.

[We agreed on 300 a day, 600 for two days. There was no need to give extra. And if it was because of those meals, there was even less need. We are friends, right? Since you came to my hometown, as a local, I should naturally treat you to dinner.]

Wu Mengting pondered for a long time. She typed out a long message, but as she reached for the send button, she hesitated. Ultimately, she pressed the delete key, erasing the long text and sending only two words: "Thank you."

There was no further response from Chen Feng.

Wu Mengting held her phone and waited for a while, but eventually, she let out a sigh, put her phone away, started her car, and drove toward the highway leading to Xiuzhou.

On Chen Feng's side, he had also waited for quite a while. Finally, he let out a long sigh, slammed his fist into his pillow several times, and got out of bed to get dressed.

He had tossed and turned all night and had slept until midday.

After washing up, he went downstairs for breakfast.

The family sat together, eating and chatting. At a nod from his mother, Chen Rui spoke up: "Xiao Feng, why didn't you go out on a date with that girl today?"

Chen Feng rolled his eyes at his brother and said irritably, "I told you, it wasn't a date. I was her guide. She went back today."

"Oh."

After exchanging glances, the others didn't ask further.

However, everyone internally assumed that Chen Feng and the girl had broken things off. A hint of worry appeared on Zhao Xiaolan's face.

After breakfast, Chen Feng went upstairs to get his parents' ID cards and headed out without telling them. For over a decade, the elders had kept their IDs in roughly the same place, so Chen Feng found them easily.

He sent a WeChat message and, after waiting only a few minutes at the street corner, a car pulled up beside him.

"Old classmate, long time no see!" The window rolled down to reveal a woman with a plump, round face and a friendly smile.

It was his high school classmate, Wang Fang, who worked in insurance.

They hadn't been particularly close in school, but they weren't on bad terms either. Wang Fang was outgoing and loved playing basketball, so she was well-acquainted with the boys in class, including Chen Feng, who had been a quiet type back then. Since Chen Feng also loved basketball and they were both from Qingpu Town, they had gradually become acquainted.

"Hello, Xiao Fang," Chen Feng smiled, naturally opening the passenger door and sitting down.

"It must have been three or four years since we last met. Hmm, probably three years. We saw each other at the class reunion during the National Day holiday three years ago."

Wang Fang said as she started the car.

"Yeah, it's been three years," Chen Feng said with a hint of nostalgia.

Three years ago, during the National Day holiday, he had returned to his hometown and happened to attend the class reunion in the county town. At that time, he had a high-quality girlfriend, Shen Lin, and his career was flourishing; he was at the peak of his life.

"Did you not bring your wife this time?" Wang Fang asked casually.

"No. How have you been?" Chen Feng, of course, did not want to mention his divorce.

"Same old, same old. Not enough to feast, but not enough to starve. My husband is quite unreliable; he lost hundreds of thousands in business last year. Sigh, if it weren't for my two children, I would have divorced him long ago."

Wang Fang launched into a vent of complaints.

Curious, Chen Feng asked, "When did you have another one?"

Wang Fang sighed. "Born last year, just turned one. I'm too soft-hearted. One was enough, but I couldn't withstand the constant urging from both sets of parents and my husband, so I had a second child. I wanted a girl, but as luck would have it, it's another son. Tell me, isn't it going to be the death of me? Buying a house and getting one son married is hard enough, let alone two?"

Chen Feng could only offer consolation: "It's still early. In twenty years, things might not be like this. Maybe houses will become very cheap."

Wang Fang shook her head. "The possibility of that is almost zero."

Chen Feng smiled; he also felt that was unlikely.

"By the way, Feng-zi, have you struck it rich? You directly said you wanted to buy large-sum insurance, and several policies at that."

Previously, they had only spoken briefly over the phone before arranging a time and place to meet.

"Something like that. But it's not a huge amount. I still can't afford a house in Xiuzhou."

"Alright, stop being modest. I heard that you were already making over ten thousand a month in Xiuzhou years ago. Now it must be several tens of thousands, right? Making hundreds of thousands a year should be easy."

Chen Feng had withdrawn from social circles two years ago and had basically cut off contact with these old classmates, so it was normal they didn't know the details. Consequently, Wang Fang looked at him with envy.

Chen Feng smiled noncommittally and changed the subject to high school and old classmates, and the two of them began to enjoy their conversation more and more.

Before they knew it, they arrived at Wang Fang's company in the county town. After a series of consultations, Chen Feng decisively purchased critical illness and pension insurance for his parents. Both were one-time lump-sum purchases, costing nearly 500,000 yuan.

Although rural areas now have similar social security, it is far inferior to the cities. Medical insurance is slightly better, but a serious illness can still bankrupt a family. As for pensions, as farmers, they would only receive about a few hundred yuan a year after age sixty—just a few dozen yuan a month.

Therefore, if one had the money, it was better to buy commercial insurance directly. It could be treated as a form of financial management.

Before coming, Chen Feng had researched extensively online and consulted many people. Finally, he chose a former classmate of Wang Fang's; regardless of how reliable she was, she wasn't likely to intentionally set a trap for him.

With four policies in total for his parents, the one-time expenditure of several hundred thousand yuan did not pain Chen Feng.

With these two sets of policies, both parents would receive a monthly pension of 3,000 yuan after they turned sixty, which would be enough for their expenses. Currently, one was 57 and the other 55, so they would have to wait a few more years to collect.

Even if they fell ill in the future, the critical illness insurance would cover most of the costs.

Of course, they were both healthy now, and Chen Feng hoped they would never have to use this insurance.