Restart life

Chapter 262 0259 [Childhood Sweethearts Often Lose to Someone Who Arrives Out of the Sky]

"We're almost there."

"The location is good; the property prices here are quite high."

"It's rented. I can't afford to buy it."

"If even a big star like you can't afford it, what about ordinary people?"

"I've only played supporting roles these past few years, and I don't get paid much. Housing prices in Beijing are rising faster than my paycheck. Sigh, I'm stuck playing decorative roles."

"Just pick a role to change your career path."

"It's good enough to have a role to play; I'm not qualified to pick and choose scripts."

"..."

Yan Danchen was quite talkative, chatting with Chen Guiliang all the way back.

Her looks are quite striking, even among celebrities.

Even Mr. Chen, who has always been chaste, couldn't help but have impure thoughts.

Yan Danchen glanced at her watch: "It's still early, why don't we find a place to have coffee? There's one nearby."

The coffee is alright.

Chen Guiliang wouldn't dare accept an invitation to his home. He was genuinely afraid that a girl who was too forward on their first meeting might cause trouble, and he didn't want to be blackmailed.

The lesson of Dong Ge is still fresh in our minds.

“Sure,” Chen Guiliang replied casually.

Yan Danchen said to Yang Shuo, "Master, please pull over."

The temperature was over 30 degrees Celsius, and there was no air conditioning outside, so Yan Danchen took off her elegant coat.

She wore a low-cut top underneath, which made her stand out on the street.

There are no upscale coffee shops nearby, only SPR Coffee and Wenhuiyuan Bookstore Coffee. Students from Beijing Normal University and Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications frequently patronize these establishments.

Yan Danchen seemed to be a regular at this coffee shop, and had become quite familiar with the waiters: "A mocha, please. What would you like, Mr. Chen?"

“American style,” Chen Guiliang said.

Chen Guiliang looked around and found that this place was quite nice.

Many guests, each holding a book, sat alone, drinking.

Yan Danchen said, "They sell both coffee and books here, and you can read books for free if you order coffee. The coffee isn't expensive either, only 15 to 25 yuan a cup. I used to have a high school classmate who went to Beijing Normal University. After she graduated, she rented a place here and invited me to share it with her. But now she's gone abroad, and I'm the only one left to pay the rent."

"Haha, make more movies and buy a house. It'll definitely appreciate in value if you buy now," Chen Guiliang laughed.

Yan Danchen said very subtly, "I'm rather conservative, and there are some things I'm unwilling to do, so I'm always out of luck when it comes to leading roles."

Chen Guiliang said, "I know two directors. One is Ning Hao, and the other is Shang Jing. If they ever need actresses, I can help recommend them. I can't guarantee whether it will work out."

Yan Danchen was slightly excited when she heard this: "Those two directors are very popular recently. Their films, 'My Own Swordsman' and 'Crazy Stone,' have received particularly good reviews."

Just as Chen Guiliang was about to speak, he suddenly saw two familiar faces enter.

Xu Fengyin and Ding Beili.

They were brought into the coffee shop by a man.

Xu Fengyin looked helpless, seemingly reluctant to come in.

Ding Beili, however, showed no emotion, instead curiously observing the coffee shop.

"There are empty seats over there!" the man said quite solicitously.

Chen Guiliang watched them walk past not far away.

Yan Danchen asked, "Your friend?"

"Yes." Chen Guiliang nodded.

Yan Danchen watched curiously for a while, then began to play the role of Sherlock Holmes: "That man was very attentive and considerate to both girls, busy helping them move chairs and handing them coffee menus. But his main target was the one with the big breasts; the girl with the small breasts was just a third wheel."

"Such a sharp eye?" Chen Guiliang said with a smile.

Yan Danchen said, "You can see that his attention is always on the big-breasted girl. The big-breasted girl is obviously a little impatient, but she doesn't know how to refuse. The small-breasted girl doesn't talk much, but she is very interested in this coffee shop and keeps looking around... She seems to have seen you."

Ding Beili was indeed looking around aimlessly, and when she suddenly saw Chen Guiliang, she was startled. But she pretended not to know him and quickly looked away.

Who wants to see the boss on the weekend?
I don't know you!

The man was a few years older than Xu Fengyin; he was her neighbor's older brother. Their fathers even worked at the same company.

Regardless of age, they could be considered childhood sweethearts.

Childhood sweethearts rarely develop into lovers.

The man's name is Shen Yifan, and he can be described as young and promising. He graduated with a master's degree from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications and went directly to Lenovo Research Institute, which is located next to the university. He is currently involved in promoting the integration of ThinkPad.

Moreover, his family used all their savings to help him pay the down payment for the Wenhuiyuan residential complex before Beijing's housing prices skyrocketed.

A Beijing hukou (household registration) and a house!
“The housing prices here have risen incredibly fast,” Shen Yifan said. “When I bought mine, it was only 4,000 yuan per square meter, but now it’s gone up to 7,000 or 8,000. If you don’t buy now, it will rise even more next year. If you buy a house here, your children can attend the Experimental Primary School of Beijing Normal University. They can also directly enter the Second Affiliated Middle School of Beijing Normal University.”

Xu Fengyin said speechlessly, "I'm just looking at houses, I haven't even decided whether to buy one or not. What are you talking about with the child's education?"

Shen Yifan said with a serious face, "Buying a house is a major life event, and your child's education is also a major event. These are two important matters, so of course we have to consider them carefully. Your uncle and aunt asked me to help you make a decision, so I have to be responsible for you and can't just buy a house randomly."

“This place is too far from my company,” Xu Fengyin said.

Shen Yifan said, "It's not far, and the transportation is very convenient. You can take the subway to Wudaokou first, and then transfer to a bus. It will take you there in a short while."

Xu Fengyin said, "I want to take a look at other neighborhoods."

Shen Yifan said, "Then I'll go house hunting with you next weekend. You're a girl, and it's easy for you to get ripped off when you go house hunting alone. You might get scammed by the real estate agent."

"We'll see," Xu Fengyin politely declined.

She had only casually mentioned wanting to buy a house when she called home. The next day, her parents called to say that they had contacted Mr. Shen, a neighbor, and he had agreed to go house hunting with her.

Xu Fengyin didn't think much of it. When she was about to graduate from elementary school, Shen Yifan was already in high school. What special feelings could they possibly have?
When he was wearing open-crotch pants, he liked to follow Shen Yifan around. And Shen Yifan wasn't happy about it at the time, thinking it was annoying to have a little kid around.

But when they met again, Xu Fengyin realized something was wrong.

Her neighbor, whom she hadn't seen for years, was being overly enthusiastic towards her. Xu Fengyin wasn't stupid; how could she not guess what he was thinking?
She's too familiar with Brother Shen; it would be awkward if they started dating.

What's more, she's a sucker for good looks.

As for Shen Yifan's appearance, one could only say that he wasn't bad-looking.

Shen Yifan continued talking about houses: "Yicheng Dongyuan is also nice, with great greenery and a variety of apartment layouts. I considered it when I was buying a house. It's next to the Forestry University and the Language University, and the price is a little higher than Wenhuiyuan."

This kid is too honest, a bit stubborn.

He had promised Xu Fengyin's parents, so he felt he should do his job well.

At the same time, she harbored a secret plan: to encourage Xu Fengyin to buy a house in this area so that they could live very close to each other. She hoped that proximity would give her an advantage, and perhaps she could even win Xu Fengyin's heart.

Shen Yifan hadn't seen Xu Fengyin for many years. The little kid next door he remembered had grown into someone who amazed him.

Yan Danchen continued the conversation: "How did you meet Director Ning?"

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "I was strolling around the night view of the mountain city before and ran into Ning Hao filming 'Crazy Stone'. My classmates and I even made a cameo appearance for a second or two."

Yan Danchen thought to herself: Only you, the big boss, could just make a cameo appearance like that.

Chen Guiliang asked, "By the way, why do you often appear on 'Qiang Qiang San Ren Xing'?"

"I was bored because I couldn't get any roles," Yan Danchen said with a laugh. "When 'Lotus Lantern' was popular, 'Qiang Qiang San Ren Xing' started to shift its focus to the mainland and wanted to invite the stars from the cast to record an episode. Haha, he invited the big names in the cast, but they all said they didn't have time. Only I agreed, and I recorded an episode and found it quite fun. Dou Wentao also thought I was good at chatting, and he would call me when he couldn't find any guests."

"You're quite the conversationalist." Chen Guiliang noticed that this guy had a bit of an artistic flair, but also a pretty face, making his acting role somewhat awkward.

Ding Beili was bored sitting there, so she went and got a book.

Xu Fengyin seized the opportunity to change the subject: "What book?"

Ding Beili said, "I don't know, I just grabbed it randomly. Let me see what the book is called... it's called 'Brothers.' It's probably about gangsters."

Xu Fengyin glanced at the author: "What gangster stuff? This is Yu Hua's new book."

"Who is Yu Hua?" Ding Beili asked innocently.

Xu Fengyin said, "He's a writer, and our boss even knows him."

“Oh, they’re all acquaintances,” Ding Beili said, noticing that Xu Fengyin didn’t want to chat with her neighbor anymore. She pointed to Chen Guiliang and said, “I just saw the boss; he’s having coffee with a beautiful woman.”

"Where?" Xu Fengyin asked.

Ding Beili said, "She was facing away from us. The woman looked familiar, didn't she look like Chang'e from 'The Lotus Lantern'?"

Xu Fengyin immediately had an excuse to get away: "Brother Shen, I'll go over and say hello to the boss."

Shen Yifan exclaimed in surprise, "Chen Guiliang? I know him. I work in hardware, he works in social networks."

After saying that, this guy stood up even before Xu Fengyin, walked up to Chen Guiliang and said, "Hello, Mr. Chen, my name is Shen Yifan, an engineer at Lenovo Research Institute."

"Hello." Chen Guiliang smiled and shook hands.

Shen Yifan said, "Xu Fengyin is my sister. She is usually taken care of by President Chen."

Chen Guiliang said, "No, no, it's because Xu Fengyin has outstanding work ability. Her paintings always sell very well."

Perhaps to boost his own image, Shen Yifan brought up his work: "Didn't Lenovo acquire IBM's personal computer business last year? With the two giants merging, hardware technologies need to be integrated. I'm currently involved in promoting the integration of ThinkPad."

Chen Guiliang said, "My apologies, I didn't expect you to be such a technical expert."

"I wouldn't call myself a top talent, I just do what I can in the team," Shen Yifan said. "I can't compare to President Chen, who started his own company before even graduating. My younger sister has always been introverted and easily bullied, so I hope President Chen will take good care of her in the future."

Chen Guiliang said, "Bosses will definitely take care of their employees, especially outstanding ones."

Xu Fengyin asked, "Boss, when are you going back? I'd like to hitch a ride."

What the hell? Can't you see I'm having coffee with a female celebrity?

Yan Danchen smiled and said, "It's about time. Let's talk another day. I won't bother you any longer."

"Okay, let's talk another day," Chen Guiliang said.

Yan Danchen said goodbye to the others and then got up to leave.

Given her personality, she was being exceptionally proactive today. Mainly because Chen Guiliang was young, wealthy, and handsome, she wanted to take the opportunity to get to know him better, even if Dou Wentao laughed at her.

But she was too embarrassed to actually let Chen Guiliang take her home, so she chose to sit in a coffee shop.

Chen Guiliang also stood up: "Let's go, I'll take you two back."

Neighbor Brother Shen quickly followed and waited for the bus with them by the roadside.

Chen Guiliang called Yang Shuo to bring the car over. As everyone got into the car, Shen Yifan was still saying, "Next weekend, I'll take you to see other neighborhoods."

Xu Fengyin politely declined, saying, "I don't necessarily need to buy it; I have to work overtime next weekend."

“Then the week after next,” Shen Yifan said. “As long as you have time, I’ll take time off work to be with you, even if it means working overtime at the company.”

"We'll talk about it later," Xu Fengyin still refused.

After getting in the car, Chen Guiliang sat in the front passenger seat, and the two girls sat in the back.

Chen Guiliang inquired, "He doesn't look like my cousin."

Xu Fengyin said, "The boy next door, when I was in the first year of junior high, he had already taken the college entrance exam." The girl suddenly changed the subject, "Mr. Chen, you're not being honest, you're having coffee with a beautiful woman behind your girlfriend's back!"

“I’ll chat with you after I finish recording the show,” Chen Guiliang said, feeling inexplicably guilty. He didn’t dare to scold her for meddling, so he tried to bribe her instead. “Why don’t you just buy a house in the same complex as Dong Qianqiu and the others? It’s a good location with great appreciation potential, and it’s also very close to the company. If you don’t have enough for the down payment, I can lend you the money.”

Xu Fengyin asked, "Lend me money to buy a house? You don't mean to..."

Chen Guiliang was both amused and exasperated: "What are you thinking? You're an outstanding employee of the company, so we need to give you some benefits to keep you loyal and prevent you from being poached by other companies."

Ding Beili thought to herself: Are outstanding employees really that sought after? I also want to borrow money to buy a house.

(End of this chapter)