NOVPUBHearing Chen Nan’s question, Lin Xi’s face showed a look of difficulty: "Mom told me not to tell you about this."
Chen Nan smiled and sat down beside her, indulgently patting her head: "But I’m your brother, are you sure you want to keep secrets from your own brother?"
Lin Xi chuckled, then tentatively asked: "You really don’t know that Uncle Chen went bankrupt?"
"Bankrupt?" Chen Nan’s brows furrowed tightly: "When did this happen? How could I not know?"
Lin Xi said: "He went bankrupt two years ago. It’s said that it was all because he bought a barren mountain. To acquire that mountain, he sold all the company’s shares and left the Chen Group."
"He intended to develop that mountain later, but for some reason, the project never continued."
Chen Nan sat there, stunned, completely unaware that his father had already gone bankrupt, leaving his heart restless.
But.
He accepted the fact very quickly.
After all, his capacity to accept was still very strong.
Regaining his composure, he couldn’t help but ask: "Since father has already gone bankrupt, then why is Aunt Yan still with him?"
Lin Xi asked with a semi-smile: "Did you always think that my mom was with Uncle Chen for the Chen family’s money?"
Chen Nan gave an awkward smile.
His father wasn’t handsome, and he didn’t believe that any woman would marry him for so-called love!
If it’s not for love.
Then it must be for money!
Lin Xi said softly: "Actually, the relationship between my mom and Uncle Chen is not what you imagine."
"It is said that my mom and Uncle Chen were high school classmates."
"It’s just that after my mom graduated from college and got married, she moved her household registration to the provincial capital."
"But my biological father was into everything from drinking, gambling, womanizing, to drugs, and my mom couldn’t tolerate his vices, so she decisively chose to divorce."
"And she took me back to Jizhou."
"But my household registration was in the provincial capital, and to attend school in Jizhou, I needed a local residence."
"By chance, my mom happened to apply for a job at the Chen Group and met Uncle Chen."
"When Uncle Chen found out he was schoolmates with my mom, he was very enthusiastic."
At this point, she added with a smile: "Of course, it might also be due to my mom’s beauty."
"In the end, he proposed marriage."
"Because as long as the two of them got married, my residence could be registered under Uncle Chen’s name, and I could transfer to Jizhou No. 1 Middle School."
Chen Nan suddenly understood.
He finally realized why his father had abruptly told him that he was going to marry another woman.
It was all to allow Lin Xi to attend Jizhou No. 1 Middle School!
Lin Xi continued: "I can be certain that my mom initially felt only gratitude towards Uncle Chen, but as they lived together, I could feel that my mom gradually started liking Uncle Chen."
"Uncle Chen was gentle and considerate, a stark contrast to my biological father."
"And, he knew how to respect others."
"In the two years we’ve been living together, he never smoked in front of us."
"Even when smoking, he would go outside."
"Also, he has always dressed properly, unlike my stepfather who goes shirtless at home all the time."
"Even, to respect our dietary habits, he gave up eating chili peppers."
"Unfortunately, a car accident took Uncle Chen from us forever," she said, her face also showing a hint of sorrow. She had always been very fond of Chen Dashan.
She had felt the warmth of a father’s love in him.
A bitter feeling rose in Chen Nan’s heart.
He had come back this time to make some money.
But to his surprise, his father had already gone bankrupt!
Now he had no choice but to find other ways to get money.
Although his three herbal tea shops made money quite fast, it was impossible to earn over ten million in a short period of time. Therefore, the only quick moneymaking method left to him was to craft an amulet and have Wang Guodong help sell it.
At this moment,
Lin Xi’s phone rang. She answered the call and then said, "Okay, I got it, I’ll be right there."
After hanging up, she looked at Chen Nan and smiled, "Brother, I’m going to celebrate a classmate’s birthday later and won’t be coming home tonight. Could you come with me?"
"Uh..." Chen Nan looked embarrassed, "Maybe not. I don’t know your classmates."
He didn’t like going to gatherings with strangers.
"Alright then!" Lin Xi seemed disappointed, but she didn’t insist and smiled slightly, "Then how about you give me a ride to the restaurant?"
She wanted her close friends to know about her relationship with Chen Nan.
"Sure!"
Chen Nan agreed promptly this time.
Lin Xi was thrilled, gave Chen Nan a kiss full of affection, and then, taking his hand, cheerfully walked with him to the elevator to go downstairs.
"Mom, I’m going to celebrate a classmate’s birthday, and I won’t come back tonight," Lin Xi said to her mother.
Yan Jin knew her daughter was going out to celebrate a classmate’s birthday that night and didn’t say much, just reminded her to drink less.
Chen Nan then drove his Mercedes to drop Lin Xi off at a high-class restaurant.
By this time, a group of lively and innocent students had gathered at the restaurant entrance, all of whom were Lin Xi’s friends and besties.
When they saw Chen Nan driving Lin Xi there,
each one of them revealed an unmistakable shock in their eyes, not expecting Lin Xi to be involved with Chen Nan.
Although they were not close to Chen Nan,
they knew he was a person of high status at Jizhou No. 1 Middle School and had been involved in rumors with the two beauties Liu Yiyi and Jiang Yan.
Who would have thought...
that this guy would now be Lin Xi’s knight in shining armor?
After dropping Lin Xi off at the restaurant, Chen Nan drove towards Jade Garden, and at the same time, he dialed Wang Guodong’s number.
When the call connected, a loud voice from Wang Guodong came through, "Good evening, Mr. Chen!"
Chen Nan got straight to the point, "President Wang, I have crafted an additional amulet. Could you help me sell it?"
Wang Guodong was a very shrewd businessman. Upon hearing Chen Nan’s request, he knew Chen Nan was in need of money and immediately replied, "Mr. Chen, why don’t you just sell that amulet to me? How does a price of twenty million sound?"
"Twenty million?" Chen Nan gasped in surprise at the high offer made by Wang Guodong.
With a still shocked voice, Wang Guodong said, "I won’t hide it from you, Mr. Chen, I had a car accident last night. If it hadn’t been for the amulet you crafted, I’m afraid I would have been done for!"
Chen Nan asked with concern, "You didn’t get hurt, did you?"
"Just got flung a few dozen meters by a car speeding by, but I’m actually fine," Wang Guodong’s voice was calm, but as he recalled last night’s incident, a strong sense of relief surged in his heart.
He was also grateful to Chen Nan for giving him an amulet; otherwise, he would certainly be dead.
