Chen Yang was immediately embarrassed, unsure how to answer. He knew perfectly well that Su He, Ning Qiaoqian, his fiancée from his previous life Xu Qingya, and even the flight attendant Yang Liuyi he had only recently met, all held equally important positions in his heart. Asking Chen Yang to abandon the others for one of them was something he absolutely could not do.
Moreover, Chen Yang harbored a small selfish thought: how wonderful it would be if Ning Qiaoqian and Su He could coexist peacefully! Although Chen Yang knew this was somewhat unrealistic, given that polygamy was not accepted in modern society, especially with Ning Qiaoqian having an extremely domineering father, Ning Kuncheng, who would never allow such a thing to happen unless Chen Yang's power was so great that Ning Kuncheng would have to compromise. But that was a very distant prospect.
But when Chen Yang saw Ning Qiaoqian trying so hard to hide her disappointment, her forlorn expression impossible to conceal, he impulsively suggested she move in with him. Now, faced with Ning Qiaoqian's question, Chen Yang didn't know how to answer.
Ning Qiaoqian pushed a glass of wine towards Chen Yang, chuckling,
"Little guy! I was just kidding! You really want me to move in? Aren't you afraid Su He will be jealous?"
Chen Yang picked up the glass and took a big gulp. The spicy wine burned through his mouth, throat, and stomach like fire. He let out a long, satisfying sigh, put the glass down, and said,
"Of course I sincerely invite you! Su He… you're good friends, she'll definitely be happy too."
Chen Yang's words lacked any real confidence. Unless Su He was unaware of the ambiguous relationship between Chen Yang and Ning Qiaoqian, even with her mild temperament, she couldn't possibly accept such a thing.
No matter what a woman's personality, when it comes to love, no one is without selfishness.
Ning Qiaoqian chuckled, raised her glass to clink with Chen Yang's, and downed the entire glass of strong liquor. Then she slammed the glass down on the bar, tilted her head slightly in thought, and said with a smile,
"I'll think about it!"
Just then, another customer arrived. Ning Qiaoqian turned gracefully to attend to the other customers, saying without looking back,
"Little Yang, finish this and go home! This drink is too expensive; I can only afford one!"
"Okay!" Chen Yang replied excitedly.
It seems there might actually be a chance! Ning Qiaoqian hadn't ruled out anything; this was a good start!
While mixing drinks for the other customers, Ning Qiaoqian kept glancing at Chen Yang out of the corner of her eye. In just a month or two, Chen Yang had already deeply entered Ning Qiaoqian's heart. Although Ning Qiaoqian often teased Chen Yang about Su He, she couldn't bring herself to give up this love. Moreover, she had always been a woman of strong emotions, and backing down at the last minute was not her style, not even against her good friend Su He.
"Su He, let's compete fairly this time!" Ning Qiaoqian thought silently. "I'm sorry, but love is something you can't compromise on!"
...
When Chen Yang returned to the villa, Su He and Aunt Wu were watching TV with Grandma in the living room. With her granddaughter by her side, Grandma seemed much better. Although she was still somewhat dazed, she didn't show the same frequent panicked expression she had in Nanpu.
Seeing Chen Yang enter, Su He stood up, took his coat, and carefully hung it on the coat hook by the door, like a considerate young wife. Su He asked:
"Chen Yang, have you already spoken to Boss Zhou?"
Chen Yang nodded and said:
"Yes, I told Brother Qiang about our resignations. He was a little regretful, but he agreed."
Su He nodded and asked again:
"Then... when are you going to prepare for the company?"
Chen Yang chuckled and said:
"Silly girl, just spend some time with Grandma. You'll be busy! By the way, Fang Xu has already contacted Director Chen, an expert at the Provincial People's Hospital. Director Chen is currently abroad on a research trip, and she'll organize a consultation for Grandma when she returns."
Su He was overjoyed and smiled sweetly:
"That's great! Chen Yang, thank you!"
Chen Yang affectionately pinched Su He's cute nose, then suddenly remembered the salary. He turned back to the door, took out the envelope containing the salary from his coat, and After thinking for a moment, he took the red envelope back and said to Su He, "Oh, right, this is your last month's salary settled by the bar... and this red envelope is also something Brother Qiang specially asked the finance department to prepare for you, to thank you for your work at the bar!"
Su He stuck out her tongue and said, "Ah? There's a red envelope too!"
Taking the red envelope, Su He weighed it and found it was quite heavy. She quickly tugged at Chen Yang's sleeve and asked, "Chen Yang, why did Boss Zhou give so much money?"
Chen Yang said nonchalantly, "It's not much, just five thousand yuan! Brother Qiang gave it to you, just take it!"
Chen Yang knew that although Su He didn't say it, she was very proud and wouldn't feel comfortable spending his money all the time. So he simply said that the red envelope was from Zhou Weiqiang, so that Su He would have some savings when she needed money. Su He felt even more uneasy after hearing this. Her boss had not only generously agreed to her sudden resignation, but had also settled all her wages and even given her a large bonus. Compared to that, she felt it was somewhat unfair of her to quit so easily.
Chen Yang saw through Su He's thoughts, smiled, and patted her shoulder, saying,
"Don't think too much about it! Brother Qiang is a righteous person; you can repay him another time… By the way, is Xiao Yi back?"
"Oh… he seems to have gone back to his room!" Su He replied.
"Okay, you watch TV with Grandma! I need to talk to him about something!" Chen Yang gently put his arm around Su He's shoulder and walked straight towards Song Yi's room. Pushing open the door, Chen Yang saw Song Yi sitting in front of his laptop, scratching his head over a picture of a beautiful woman. Seeing Chen Yang enter, Song Yi quickly said,
"Brother Yang, please help me! This is homework the training class teacher assigned today. We have to remove the freckles from this woman's face. Today they talked about something called 'channel skin resurfacing,' but after listening for ages, I'm still completely lost. How am I supposed to do this?"
Chen Yang glanced at the computer screen. The "beauty" on the screen really did have a face full of freckles; someone with trypophobia would probably feel dizzy just looking at it. It seemed the training class teacher had specifically hired this for the students to practice with. Chen Yang was very satisfied with Song Yi's attitude. He patted Song Yi on the shoulder and said,
"Put this aside for now, Xiao Yi. Come with me to the study for a bit; I have something to tell you!"
Upon hearing this, Song Yi closed his laptop and stood up without a word. The two went to the study on the third floor, one after the other. This was originally a guest room, but Chen Yang didn't need that many rooms. The villa's original study was on the second floor, while his bedroom was on the third, which Chen Yang found inconvenient. So, he simply converted this guest room into another study.
The desk, bookshelves, and other furniture in the study were all personally selected by Chen Yang and Song Yi. All the furniture was made of pure pine wood, with only a light layer of clear varnish on the outside. The entire study was decorated in a simple European style, giving it a bright and spacious feel.
Chen Yang handed Song Yi a stack of documents he had compiled a few days prior, saying,
"Xiao Yi, these are some secondhand properties I've been looking at recently. You'll be responsible for looking at these properties during your free time from training."
Song Yi casually flipped through the documents Chen Yang gave him, asking with a puzzled look,
"Brother Yang, these properties are in good locations, but they're all quite old. What are you buying them for?"
Chen Yang smiled faintly and said,
"For appreciation, of course! Have you forgotten about that house in Hengxiang?"
Song Yi suddenly realized. He knew better than anyone that Chen Yang had made several times his initial investment after the Hengxiang house was demolished and redeveloped. But Song Yi quickly realized something and hesitated, saying, "Brother Yang, if we wait for the demolition... nobody knows when the government will actually demolish them! These houses aren't small; they'll require at least a million or two! With so much money tied up in houses, what about starting a company..."
Chen Yang confidently replied, "Don't worry! Xiao Yi, I know what I'm doing! Besides attending training courses, focus on this. I've listed a target price for each document; just negotiate according to that. I only care about the results; whatever you negotiate is your bonus!"
Song Yi immediately panicked and shouted, "Brother Yang, what are you saying? Doing so much..." "It's just a small matter, would I take your money?"
Chen Yang waved his hand and said,
"Even close brothers keep clear accounts! I trust you to do things for me, and I'll make the lion's share. I can't let my brother go hungry! When we set up the company later, I'll give you some shares too. Let's work together, brothers, to make this a great business!"
Song Yi opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but Chen Yang decisively said,
"Alright, Yi, it's settled then! You'll have to work hard these next few days and try to get these houses! Don't worry about the funding."
If all goes well, the demolition compensation will arrive soon, totaling over three million yuan. Chen Yang doesn't need to worry about money at all right now. After thinking for a moment, Chen Yang added:
"By the way, losing your ID card is a hassle. How about this, take a passport photo tomorrow, send the electronic version to my email, and I'll contact Nanpu to help you get a replacement ID card..."
Han Wenhai is the deputy secretary of the county party committee in Nanpu. This kind of thing is no problem for him; he can handle it in no time, without even needing to go back.
"Oh, okay, Brother Yang!" Song Yi agreed without hesitation.
"In a while, I'll introduce you to some friends, some leaders from the housing management bureau and the demolition office. The house will be bought in your name. You'll need to deal with them a lot for property transfers and demolitions later, so it's good to build relationships beforehand!" Chen Yang arranged everything meticulously, then couldn't help but remind him, "By the way, you'll definitely have a lot of social engagements in the future, so you need to change that bad habit of yours!"
Song Yi is meticulous and quite clever, but he's a bit of a drinker and gets drunk easily. Chen Yang reminded him because he was worried it might cause problems later. "Hehe, got it, Yang-ge!" Song Yi chuckled a little sheepishly and replied.
After arranging things, Chen Yang stood up and said with a smile, "Let's go! I'll be your free teacher this time and teach you how to use Photoshop for channel-based skin smoothing!"