No one understands rebirth better than me

Chapter 181 A Sensible Young Man

New Year.

2012 is here.

Although the streets and alleys are not as lively as during the Lunar New Year, the usual promotions, advertisements, and decorations are still there.

Everyone in the class group was sending "Happy New Year" messages.

As a working adult woman, Guan Qiaoyun is a bit busier.

I'm busy sending New Year's greetings to colleagues, bosses, clients, acquaintances, yoga classmates, and so on.

"Guan Ren, quickly help me think of some words."

Happy New Year, and may all your wishes come true.

"Oh dear, they've all been used. I need to send this to Ms. Wu. She's usually quite sophisticated, so it's not appropriate for her to be too casual."

"Then just Google it."

Speaking of Baidu, Guan Ren recalled that he had previously considered buying Guan Qiaoyun a computer.

When she went on business trips before, she used the company's laptop, which was incredibly slow. It was inconvenient and embarrassing to use it for meetings.

Guan Qiaoyun continued to complain.

However, no matter how Guan Ren views current laptops, he feels they are not worth the price; their performance is too poor, and they will lag after a short period of use.

In particular, if Guan Qiaoyun were to use it, Guan Ren could already imagine his desktop filled with 360 suite software and various web game shortcuts.

So Guan Ren decided to wait until Guan Qiaoyun went to university in 2013 to buy it for her.

……

If Guan Qiaoyun knew Guan Ren's idea, she would definitely be speechless.

When other people's children go to college, their parents buy them computers.

Guan Ren, however, was preparing to do the opposite.

Does this mean Guan Ren is the head of the family, and Guan Qiaoyun has to call him "Dad"?

In Guan Qiaoyun's view, this was definitely against the Heavenly Gang, or even utterly rebellious.

……

But Guan Ren doesn't need to think about these things now.

Although there was no computer, Guan Ren had prepared another New Year's gift for Guan Qiaoyun, which was something he had planned beforehand.

"Sister Qiaoyun, it's New Year's Day today, let's eat out for lunch."

"?"

Guan Qiaoyun looked up and raised her eyebrows:
"I bought all the groceries this morning."

"Put it in the fridge, a new fridge is meant to be used for a while."

Guan Ren skillfully spouted nonsense, grinning as he leaned closer:
"Let's find a better restaurant. The service at the last one, [Shanyu], was terrible. I found a new one on Linjiang Road that's really good. I heard that the bosses who come to the county to invest all eat there."

……

Jiangzhou County was not large, and the county magistrate at that time frequently attracted investment, contributing significantly to the development of the county.

Many industries and public infrastructure projects in the county have developed in this way.

Unfortunately, because many projects were contracted out to relatives, allowing them to make money, this county magistrate, who was actually doing a pretty good job, was tainted.

So later, when he participated in an event, a video titled "A Leader in Jiangzhou County Pretends to Know Everything and Plays the Pipa in a Pretentious Way" was uploaded online by someone unknown. This video drew nationwide criticism, and he was subsequently exposed for his past misdeeds and forced to step down.

After that, the new leader stopped awarding projects to his relatives, but he did nothing all day.

Given past experiences, doing nothing is the safest approach.

The development of Jiangzhou County came to a standstill from then on.

……

That's a story for another time.

In short, the restaurant Guan Ren found today is the place that big business owners from other places who have been attracted to invest in recent years.

Guan Ren had a classmate in his first year of high school who is now in Class 8. He's a rich kid, and he invited his classmates to his birthday party there, which caused quite a stir on the QQ spaces of several classes at the time.

"Guan Ren, you're already going to spend money like crazy at the start of the new year, aren't you?"

"Stop, Mom, why are you saying all this on a holiday? Hurry up and get dressed up nicely, then come with me."

----------

On the way to the restaurant, Guan Qiaoyun held Guan Ren's arm tightly, giving him a heads-up:

"Let's get this straight, if you're going to any fancy places, Mom doesn't have that much money..."

"Ah."

"..."

Seeing her son nodding while looking at her with a half-smile, Guan Qiaoyun felt a little guilty. She adjusted her hair bun at the back of her head, forced herself to remain calm, and glared at him with her phoenix eyes:
"What do you see me doing?"

"Mom, to be honest, do you know perfectly well that I'm definitely paying for today's meal, but you're just pretending?"

When Guan Qiaoyun was exposed, it was almost the first time she felt embarrassed in front of her son.

She stopped walking, her pretty face hardening as she turned around:

"I'm going back."

"Hey! No! Stop!"

Guan Ren smiled, reached out, and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her back into his arms.

To be honest, I don't know if it has anything to do with yoga, but I feel that my mother's waist is still slender, and it seems to have become even more flexible.

"I was just saying, don't make a fuss over a holiday."

Boom!
Guan Qiaoyun raised her delicate fist and tapped Guan Ren on the forehead with a crisp sound.

This little rascal, does he even know how to tell his mother to "stop making a fuss"? Does he think she's one of those girls in class he's flirting with?
……

When it was time for lunch, the two arrived at the Qingyuehui restaurant, where Guan Ren had reserved a table in advance.

"welcome!"

Compared to the last place, the waiters here, at least on the surface, didn't seem snobbish. Guan Ren didn't have high expectations for service anyway, just feeling that this was the bare minimum. "Hello, my previous one..."

Before taking her seat, Guan Qiaoyun noticed that Guan Ren seemed to be whispering something to the waiter, but she didn't ask any questions.

As a result, when they were almost finished with the meal, the smiling waiter brought over a rather large package and handed it to Guan Ren.

"Thank you."

Guan Ren smiled, and then, to Guan Qiaoyun's bewildered gaze, handed the bag to her.

"Here you go, my New Year's gift."

Guan Qiaoyun's phoenix eyes flickered, then she bit her lower lip and said unhappily:
"Why spend money on these unnecessary things when everything is fine..."

"You take a look first."

Guan Ren had a warm and friendly expression.

"..."

Guan Qiaoyun's gaze slowly lowered as she looked at the bag.

Because it's impossible to tell what it is from the outside; it only says "Christian Louboutin" in red.

Although Guan Qiaoyun was in the women's clothing department, in a department store in a small county town, she didn't know what brand it was or what it did, so she was quite curious.

A woman sitting at the next table, however, looked on with envy at the bag in Guan Qiaoyun's hand. She gave her male companion across from her a wink and then put on a coquettish expression.

Hiss...

Opening the bag, inside was a relatively ordinary long leather box.

After opening it again, Guan Qiaoyun couldn't help but raise her hand to cover her red lips.

Lying in the box was a pair of dark gray suede knee-high boots with red soles. Guan Qiaoyun only lightly touched the edge of the sole with her hand and felt that the workmanship was at least much better than the ones she had bought herself.

These were the boots that Guan Ren had planned to give to Guan Qiaoyun.

"How much...is this?"

"Just a few hundred."

Guan Ren took a bite of food and mumbled something.

Guan Qiaoyun looked into his eyes, feeling a little disbelieving.

However, she really liked these boots more and more the more she looked at them.

After all, this is Guan Qiaoyun's only hobby. Over the years, she has collected a whole cabinet full of discounted women's shoes.

I don't know how this little... little rascal... knows her so well, even the style and color are exactly what she likes...

"Do you like it, Sister Qiaoyun?"

"I like it, that's all..."

Whether it's the shoes themselves or the gift from her son, how could she not like them?
"Okay, if you like it, I'll buy it again next time."

"Buy your head, my foot!"

Guan Qiaoyun was so angry at this "spendthrift son" that she almost laughed.

When we went out for dinner for Guan Ren's birthday last time, besides the phone, did he also buy himself a pair of shoes?
"So every time we go out for a meal, you have to bring your mom a pair of shoes? Are you eating the food or eating the shoes?"

"That's all you have for fun, as long as you're happy."

Although, from a future-oriented perspective, Guan Ren has not yet achieved the financial freedom he envisions.

But as a high school student at this stage, he is now striving to make his first million with "Confucianism and Taoism Supreme", so he really doesn't need the money for these boots.

……

Before leaving after finishing his meal, Guan Ren noticed that the couple at the next table were arguing.

Guan Qiaoyun muttered:
"It's not good to argue during the New Year. What happened out of nowhere..."

Guan Ren grinned:
"Sister Qiaoyun, it's all because of you."

"because I?"

"That woman was jealous of your boots and made demands of the man, which led to an argument."

"Ah."

Guan Qiaoyun gave Guan Ren a cold laugh, but her body still obediently produced a hint of satisfaction.

After all, how could Guan Qiaoyun not be pleased with herself for possessing something that other women envied?
But this also reminded her that she secretly looked up the brand on her phone on her way home.

The investigation was a good start; after it was over, they immediately started pinching Guan Ren's waist.

"Ouch! Sister Qiaoyun! Mom! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts..."

Sigh, pinching waist fat is really a woman's natural skill, isn't it?

Guan Ren felt very depressed that even his mother treated him this way, which was one thing, as he had two children at school.

"You only feel the pain when I pinch you! You bought me boots that cost over ten thousand yuan, doesn't it hurt? You, surnamed Guan! Are you even going to live like this anymore!"

"Mom, it's really not that bad, listen to me... Ouch, ouch, ouch—"

……

Several onlookers on the street witnessed this scene and began to discuss it with amusement.

"This guy is tall and strong, and he's being choked like this and he's not fighting back."

"Hey, it's obvious the man is spending money recklessly outside, and his wife can't stand it anymore."

"It's not necessarily about being wasteful; it might just be about relieving stress outside the home."

"Oh? So you mean he was having an affair and got caught cheating?"

Some people find it unbelievable.

Because the man himself looks "young," probably only in his early twenties.

The woman next to him was probably two or three years older than him, like siblings, yet the man was able to support someone even younger?
This moved passersby to tears; they were deeply touched.

"This world is getting better and better. Such a young man is so sensible. He knows that if he has money, he should take care of more women and reduce the burden on others."

(End of this chapter)