Chapter 316: Chapter 312: A Chance Encounter with He Qianqian

The midday sun blazed overhead.

The Jinsheng Hotel stood thirty-three stories tall, its glass facade shimmering under the sun and reflecting a brilliant golden light.

The hotel’s interior was opulent. The floor was paved with polished marble tiles in shades of violet and dark brown, forming exquisite, mirror-smooth patterns.

Upon entering the hotel lobby, Ye Xing immediately headed for the restroom.

"Hey, Brother Xing!" A surprised female voice suddenly called out from ahead.

A waitress wearing light makeup approached him with immense enthusiasm.

Ye Xing turned to look and was slightly taken aback. The waitress from the Jinsheng Hotel was none other than He Qianqian, his former blind date. They had met a few times, and despite some minor friction, he considered her a familiar stranger.

Ye Xing didn’t say anything. He just gave He Qianqian a small, polite smile and a nod before continuing toward the restroom.

"Brother Xing, I haven’t seen you since the last time we met! What brings you to the hotel today?" He Qianqian enthusiastically followed after him.

"I’m having a reunion dinner with my family here today," Ye Xing replied.

"Having a family reunion dinner at a five-star hotel... only a big boss like you, worth hundreds of millions, could be so casual about it." He Qianqian’s gaze burned with intensity. An idea sparked in her mind, and she quickly added, "By the way, Brother Xing, I heard you’re still single. I... I’m also sin... single!"

After she spoke, she looked at Ye Xing with a mixture of anticipation and nervousness.

Young, successful, and worth hundreds of millions. In He Qianqian’s eyes, Ye Xing was the ultimate catch, and she was desperate to sink her teeth into him. She believed that if she had just agreed to the blind date, she might already be his girlfriend. She was kicking herself for it. Now that an opportunity had presented itself, she immediately took the initiative to approach him.

"Oh? Well, you should try to find someone this year then," Ye Xing said, continuing on his way. He Qianqian kept following him.

"Yeah, I’m planning on it, but you can’t force fate," He Qianqian said. "By the way, Brother Xing, how are you still single? Aren’t you looking for a relationship? Actually, I—"

"Single? Who said I’m single?" Ye Xing said with a faint smile. "I’m already taken!"

"You have a girlfriend?" He Qianqian’s face paled. Her expression was clearly one of disbelief. "Really? I haven’t seen you bring anyone home!"

"Of course it’s true. Why would I lie to you about that? My girlfriend is out of town for now. I’m going to pick her up after the New Year," Ye Xing said.

"B-but... isn’t your family still trying to set you up on blind dates?" He Qianqian asked. Apparently, she and her mother, Xi Lanfang, had been doing quite a bit of digging into Ye Xing’s family affairs. Xi Lanfang and his Second Aunt, Ye Xiuying, were friends who kept in touch, so it was only natural that she’d hear about Ye Xing’s recent activities from her.

"That’s just a misunderstanding with my mom. She thinks I’m lying to her. She’ll probably be ecstatic when I bring her daughter-in-law home. Anyway, I hope you can find a wonderful husband this year too," Ye Xing said. "Oh, you’re on the clock today, aren’t you? You should probably get back to work."

"It’s fine, it’s not busy right now." He Qianqian’s eyes darted around. "Brother Xing, where’s your girlfriend from? Is she a classmate of yours?"

"She’s not a classmate," Ye Xing replied.

’In a way, Mengxue was more like his teacher, his guide. They didn’t have the official title of master and student, but they had the substance of it. After all, back when Ye Xing was a complete novice in the Martial Dao, it was Mengxue who had given him the *Innate Skill*. Then, during their time on White Cloud Mountain, she had constantly taught him martial arts and swordsmanship. Only because of her did he become a Martial Artist and achieve his current success.’

"Brother Xing, how old is your girlfriend? What does she look like? She must be really lucky to have landed a rich guy like you!" He Qianqian said, her tone a little sour.

Ye Xing frowned slightly. He pointed to the door ahead of them and asked, "Want to come in with me?" With that, he walked straight inside.

"Sure!" He Qianqian replied, overjoyed, and was about to follow him inside, ready to pester him with more questions. Suddenly, she froze mid-step. Her face went rigid as she stared at the two large words on the door in front of them: MEN’S RESTROOM!

...

After using the restroom, Ye Xing headed to the second floor of the Jinsheng Hotel.

Meanwhile, inside a private room on the second floor of the Jinsheng Hotel.

A large, round table was laden with plates of snacks like melon seeds, olives, and banana chips. Five people sat around it: Third Aunt Luo Bizhen, his cousin Ye Xiang and his wife, Ye Xing’s father Ye Guozhong, and his mother Lin Yufang.

Ye Xing didn’t see his Third Uncle, Ye Guomin, when he entered.

His Third Uncle, Ye Guomin, was a section-level cadre in the Fu City Tourism Bureau. He was a minor official with a stable government job.

Third Uncle Ye Guomin loved to network and socialize. While he was very concerned with "face," Ye Xing still had a decent impression of him. After all, back when his uncle was a student, it was Ye Xing’s father, Ye Guozhong, who had worked to pay for his tuition.

However, his Third Aunt, Luo Bizhen, was another story. She put on a good show, but Ye Xing could always sense an air of condescension from her, ’the way a city slicker looks down on country bumpkins.’ Simply put, she thought she was a cut above them and looked down on his family.

Ye Xing wasn’t the only one who noticed this; his mother, Lin Yufang, could see it too. Only his thick-skinned father, Ye Guozhong, remained completely oblivious.

’Take the business with the luggage earlier, for example. It was quite heavy. It was one thing for his third aunt not to offer to help, and another for his cousin’s wife not to, since carrying luggage was generally a man’s job. But his cousin, Ye Xiang, didn’t lift a finger either... Fine, whatever. But the three of them could have at least carried one bag together. It wouldn’t have looked so bad.’

’But no, the three of them walked empty-handed, leaving his father, Ye Guozhong, to carry all their bags. Were they treating him like a porter or a servant? Oh, maybe they made a show of protesting once or twice.’

Although Ye Xing didn’t want to make a fuss about it, and it wasn’t his place to say anything, the whole thing still left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Sister-in-law, they’ve really built a lot of new housing in Ice Sea. What’s the price per square meter around here?" Third Aunt Luo Bizhen asked.

"Around forty-five hundred per square meter, I think," his mother, Lin Yufang, answered.

"Forty-five hundred? That’s pretty cheap. If I’d known, I would have bought a place here too. I could’ve just bought one right next to you and Big Brother, then our families could be closer." Third Aunt Luo Bizhen pursed her lips and sighed. "But Guomin just had to buy in downtown Fu City. The prices there are sky-high. The new place we just bought is over ten thousand, almost twenty thousand, a square meter..."

"Third Uncle wasn’t wrong, though. You both work in Fu City, so buying a house in Luoxian County wouldn’t be very useful, would it?"

"I don’t see it that way. We already have one place in Fu City. This second one is more of an investment. It would have been so much easier to buy in Luoxian County. The pressure in the city is too much. Over ten thousand a square meter, nearly twenty thousand!"

Third Aunt Luo Bizhen and Ye Xing’s mother, Lin Yufang, made small talk. The three young people—Ye Xing, his cousin Ye Xiang, and Ye Xiang’s wife—were all absorbed in their phones. Meanwhile, his father, Ye Guozhong, looked bored as he cracked open melon seeds, eating them and making a small pile of shells on the table.

"Why isn’t Xiuying here yet? And hey, where did Old Third go?" Ye Guozhong asked, puzzled.

"Uncle, Dad just went up to the Diamond VIP Room on the third floor for a drink," his cousin, Ye Xiang, said.

"Huh? Our whole family is here for a reunion dinner. What’s Old Third doing up on the third floor?" Ye Guozhong was completely baffled.

"Big Brother, Guomin just went to network with some friends." A hint of pride flashed across Third Aunt Luo Bizhen’s face as she smiled. "There’s a banquet in the Diamond VIP Room on the third floor today. A lot of important people are there. For example, the owner of this Jinsheng Restaurant, Huang Jinbao, the director of the Bureau of Industry and Commerce, the president of the Construction Bank... Oh, and I heard County Magistrate Yu is there too!"

"Those are all the bigwigs of Luoxian County!" Ye Guozhong said, his face a mixture of shock and delight. "Haha, Old Third really has a wide network. He knows so many officials."

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