BXBX NOVEL Chapter 341: I Bought a Watch
Chapter 341: I Bought a Watch
Chapter 341 – I Bought a Watch
Evening, Jinzhou City:
Inside an empty classroom of Sixth High...
“Is this OK?” Putting on a mask and pulling down the hood of the men’s down jacket she wore, Xing Biqi did a twirl in front of Chen Yu and asked, “Will the reporters recognize me?”
“Even I can’t recognize you anymore, so there won’t be any problems.”
“The size is a little too big.”
“Of course my jacket will be too big for you,” Chen Yu said as he picked up Xing Biqi’s ladies’ down jacket. He then tried putting the jacket on, only to find that his arms couldn’t even fit through the sleeves. “I can’t wear your jacket, so I’ll just hold onto it.”
“Don’t you feel cold?”
“Nope.” After saying so, Chen Yu rolled the down jacket in his hands into a ball and held it in his arms.
“Y-You can’t fold it!” Xing Biqi’s eyes widened at Chen Yu’s actions.
“It’s fine. It’ll straighten out once you wash it. Now, let’s hurry.”
“But...”
“Go, go, go.”
Under the urging, the girl could only glance at her balled up jacket in distress before leaving the classroom together with Chen Yu.
“I’m holding your jacket, so we shouldn’t be seen walking together. Head out first and wait for me at Erdao Street’s intersection. Don’t talk to anyone along the way and just walk straight ahead. There are police officers maintaining order at the school gate, so you don’t need to be afraid of anything.”
“I-I have something I left in the reception office. Can I go get it on the way?”
“Can’t you get it tomorrow?” Chen Yu frowned.
“I want to retrieve it now...” Xing Biqi said, squeezing the corner of her jacket.
“Don’t drag your feet or talk too much, then. The longer you stay in the reception office, the more attention you’ll attract from those reporters.”
“Okay!”
After mixing into the crowd of students leaving the school, the two continued discussing their plan. Only after verifying that they had covered all grounds did they separate and began taking independent action.
Pulling a mask out of his pocket, Chen Yu changed directions and naturally entered another classroom. He then leaned against the windowsill and observed the scene outside the teaching block.
At this time, the most conspicuous sight outside the teaching block was none other than the crowd of reporters gathered in front of the school gate.
If not for the police officers and security guards maintaining order at the scene, the school’s students wouldn’t be able to leave the school at all.
After the reporters, Li Liang, who currently stood in the middle of the field by himself, was the next most conspicuous sight. His bald head, in particular, shined brightly under the evening sun. His head was shining so brightly that the reporters had to squint their eyes when looking in his direction...
“What a wonderful move.”
Chen Yu smacked his lips and admired his forward-thinking.
With the influence of the “backlight,” the reporters had suffered at least 25% damage to their sight. This would undoubtedly help Xing Biqi evade their sight much more easily.
Shortly afterward, Chen Yu found Xing Biqi appearing among the crowd of students leaving the teaching block.
Ever since the outbreak a year ago, Chinese citizens, especially students, have begun wearing masks out of habit. Hence, it wouldn’t seem strange at all that Xing Biqi was wearing a mask.
Five minutes later, Chen Yu saw Xing Biqi walking out of the reception office with a package in her hands. After seeing her successfully slip through the crowd of reporters, his heart relaxed. He then walked out of the classroom, left the teaching block through the back entrance, and jumped over the school fence.
Turning three steps into two, Chen Yu quickly caught up to Xing Biqi. Pulling down his mask, he asked, “Well? It was successful, right? I already told you that you won’t need the officers’ help. How can they be as capable as I am?”
“Yes, yes, yes! You’re the most capable, Chen Yu.”
At the girl’s words, the surrounding passersby revealed suspicious expressions one after another...
“Chen Yu, let’s go to that place!” Holding Chen Yu’s arm happily, the girl pointed at a hotpot restaurant some distance ahead and asked, “Do you like Sichuan hotpot?”
“You can handle spicy food?”
“I can have the clear soup.” Her cheeks reddening, Xing Biqi continued, “We’ll have a yuanyang hotpot.”[1]
“A yuanyang hotpot?” Chen Yu muttered thoughtfully.
“Mhm~ Yuanyang...hotpot.” The girl lowered her head shyly.
“That’s great.” Clapping his hands, Chen Yu quickly pulled out his phone and said, “If it’s clear soup, my little sisters can handle it as well. I’ll give them a call.”
“Um...” Xing Biqi couldn’t help but be taken aback, and she subconsciously hugged Chen Yu’s arms tighter. After hesitating for some time, she bit her lip and forced herself to nod, “I guess it’s livelier with more people...”
“That’s right. Speaking of which, it’s been some time since I took them out for a meal. Since you’re treating, I might as well take advantage of it.”
“You’re an excellent elder brother.”
“I know, right?”
After Chen Yu finished his phone call, the two made their way to the hotpot restaurant. They then went up to the second floor, randomly selected a fully enclosed private room, ordered the hotpot ingredients, and sat down opposite each other.
Initially, Xing Biqi had planned to sit with Chen Yu. However, as the third, fourth, and fifth wheels would be here soon, she could only regretfully sit opposite him.
“Huh? Eldest just sent me a message saying that my parents are coming too. Haha, it’s going to be even livelier now,” Chen Yu said as he put down his phone. He then walked up to the door, opened it, and shouted, “Waiter! I’m going to order more food!”
Xing Biqi: “...”
Knowing that the arrival of the “others” would thoroughly ruin her chance to “unfold” herself, Xing Biqi immediately entered an “accelerated” mode. Opening the package in her hands, she pulled out a high-end glass box from inside and handed it to Chen Yu.
“Huh? What?”
“Chen Yu, this is the present I wanted to give you.”
“Present?” Chen Yu received the box suspiciously. After giving the fogged surface a rub, he couldn’t help but be startled. “A watch?”
“Mhm!” Xing Biqi nodded. “I spent a long time choosing it yesterday. I felt that this one suited you a lot, so I bought it.”
“This...” After staring through the glass casing for a moment, Chen Yu gently stroked the box’s leather bottom. “Crap! Patek Philippe?”
“Mhm!” The girl nodded happily. “It’s the latest entry to the collection of astronomical watches. I bought it from the official website, so it’s genuine.”
“Did you find a goldmine in your backyard? Where did you get the money? How much did it cost?”
Gesturing gracefully, Xing Biqi said, “Seven figures.”
“A million?!”
“Two million four hundred thousand.”
“...” Chen Yu blinked his eyes as he held onto the glass box. “You sold that gift from Transdimensional Review?”
“I sold it.”
“So, the present you mentioned this morning...it’s this watch?”
“Mhm. I ordered it this morning, and it arrived at school this afternoon.”
“You actually dared to place such a valuable item outside?”
“It’s much safer to have the officers hold onto it for me than if I do it myself.” Smiling, Xing Biqi asked, “How is it? Do you like it?”
Indeed. Since the very beginning, she had never thought to keep the souvenir Transdimensional’s UP gifted her to herself. She also never thought to give it to someone as a present.
No matter how valuable the space rock was, it was still a rock at the end of the day. She would only invite burglars to her house if she kept it to herself.
Hence, selling it was the best option.
As for her initial rejection of Jack Ma’s offer last night, it was merely a simple type of negotiation method. Her goal was to wait for the intervention of other “bigshots.”
Only with the presence of competition would she, the seller, be able to maximize her profits.
Due to this reason, she had managed to sell the space rock for an astronomical price of 40 million yuan.
Naturally, the buyer was still Jack Ma...
Currently, Jack Ma had already paid her a five-million deposit. The remaining 35 million would be credited into her bank account in batches after the cumbersome transaction contract was completed.
Of course, after deducting the frightening taxes, she would only be left with a little over 20 million.
As a side note, the 40-million-yuan space rock had already been sent to Jinzhou City authorities for safekeeping.
If Jack Ma wished to thoroughly get his hands on the “treasure,” he would still have to make a few investments.
“This is too valuable.”
While playing around with the box in his left hand, Chen Yu scratched the back of his right ear awkwardly and said, “You can practically use this watch as a dowry, right?”
“Then... Then...” Lightly stretching her hair, Xing Biqi’s cheeks went from red to pink as she said, “You can treat it as a dowry...”
“Ermm...”
A rare blush appeared on Chen Yu’s face.
“Put it on! See if it fits.”
“We’ll be having dinner right away. It’ll get dirty if I wear it now, so I’ll wear it later.”
“Don’t watches exist to be worn on the wrist? Put it on quickly.”
“No, no. It’ll look dull on me.”
“Hurry up!” Xing Biqi said coquettishly.
In reality, Chen Yu was inwardly itching to put on the watch as well. Under the girl’s urging, he ended up giving in to temptation and removed the transparent sticker on the box. He then removed the box’s glass lid.
Immediately, a silver and black dial with an exquisite mechanical movement appeared before the eyes of the two.
“...Cool...”
A second ago, Chen Yu was still merely a teenager who liked electronic products such as smartphones, computers, and gaming consoles.
However, at this second, a new interest had been “generated” in his consciousness—watches.
“It’s beautiful.”
Rubbing his palms together, Chen Yu gently picked up the watch and placed it on his wrist.
“Here! I’ll help you!” Xing Biqi stepped forward excitedly and fastened the alligator strap around Chen Yu’s wrist with her cold hands. “Is it too tight?”
“No. Also, why leather?”
“Steel chains look too old-fashioned. A leather strap suits you more. Do you not like it? If not, we can have it replaced.”
“I like it.” Chen Yu nodded. Raising his wrist and shaking it, he said, “It feels comfortable.”
“Is it? Can you describe it in more detail?”
“It feels like being wrapped snugly in a blanket.”
“Oh!”
“Is it waterproof?”
“I think it can function properly even if you dive down to a depth of 100 meters. Oh, by the way, it has a beautiful function.” Xing Biqi ran up to the light switch by the door and turned off the lights after saying so.
Click.
Darkness instantly enveloped the private room.
However, the room didn’t fall into total darkness as a faint blue light still shone in the room.
“This is...” Chen Yu was surprised.
“It’s the starry sky!” Xing Biqi said as she slowly pressed her face against the side of her sweetheart. Pointing at the faintly glowing dial, she said, “That’s why it’s called an astronomical watch.”
Turning around, Chen Yu looked at Xing Biqi.
In response, Xing Biqi also looked at Chen Yu with her big, watery eyes.
Under the vague “starlight,” the two teenagers conveyed innumerable words and emotions to each other with their eyes.
“Chen Yu...”
“Biqi...”
“Mhm~?. You go first.”
“No, you go first.”
“You first...”
“Okay, I’ll go first.” Staring at the girl’s exquisite face without blinking, Chen Yu put on a solemn expression and said, “Biqi, you got tricked. How is this even considered starlight? They sell this for more than two million just by adding a few light sources on this thing? Isn’t this just a scam?”
Xing Biqi: “...”
“The Milky Way seen from the countryside is much more beautiful than this thing.”
Xing Biqi: “...”
“I’ll take you to go see it tonight.”
“O-Okay...”
After awkwardly turning on the chandelier again, Xing Biqi returned to her seat and covered her steaming face, her thoughts falling into chaos.
“I’ve said what I wanted. It’s your turn now.”
“I don’t have anything to say anymore.”
“Is that so...”
After a short while, the waiter opened the door, entered the room with the prepared yuanyang hotpot, and placed it on the electric stove. The waiter then delivered plates of vegetables, beef, lamb, fruits, seafood, and other ingredients into the room.
“Are these all?” Chen Yu asked.”
“There are still more. Please wait for a moment.”
“Okay. Get me three more bottles of non-carbonated drinks.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Right, Biqi, what drink will you be having?”
“I-I can’t drink...”
“Heard that? Does your restaurant have the ‘I can’t drink’ beverage?”
The waiter: “?”
“G-Give me a can of Sprite...” Xing Biqi said in exasperation.
“You can drink now?” Chen Yu asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Are you doing this on purpose?!”
Shrugging, Chen Yu didn’t answer the girl. Instead, he picked up the cup of tea before him and took a sip. He then stretched his index finger and slowly stroked the Patek Philippe watch’s smooth dial as he observed the metallic second hand ticking one time after another. After remaining silent for a moment, he said, “Thank you for wasting so much money to buy me a gift.”
“Do you like it?”
“I like it.”
“It isn’t a waste so long as you like it.”
“...”
Chen Yu bit the tip of his tongue, his chest filled with all sorts of emotions. He then abruptly clicked his tongue and turned to look at the waiter standing by the door, asking, “Hey, how long are you going to stand there watching?”
“Huh? Oh! Yes, yes. I’ll leave right away...”
After waiting for the waiter to leave, Chen Yu kicked the door shut and turned to look at Xing Biqi. “Of the years I have spent in this world, I have always placed great importance on reciprocating courtesy with courtesy. Since you have given me such a valuable gift, I will have to give you a return gift as well.”
At Chen Yu’s words, Xing Biqi pursed her lips, complex emotions flowing through her eyes. Eventually, though, she let out a quiet sigh.
...
Twelve minutes later...
Accompanied by the sound of noisy footsteps, the door to the room opened. Five people then walked into the room.
These people were none other than Chen Yu’s family members.
“Haha! White Rabbit Sister!”
Chen Sanke was the first to enter the room, followed by Chen Yike and Chen Erke. When the three sisters saw Xing Biqi, Chen Sanke reacted in joy while Chen Erke put on a “fierce” look.
Meanwhile, after their three daughters entered the room, Mother Chen and Father Chen also entered. When the two adults saw Xing Biqi’s figure seated by the table, though, they couldn’t help but be stunned.
“Oh? Isn’t this Little Biqi?” Mother Chen hurriedly stepped forward. For reasons known only to herself, she actually began stroking Xing Biqi’s slightly fleshy chin. “Chen Yu, you invited Biqi as well? Why didn’t you tell us beforehand? We would’ve come dressed up.”
“Huh?” Frowning, Chen Yu asked, “Mom, are you mistaken about something? It’s Xing Biqi who’s treating us, not me.”
“Huh?” Mother Chen and Father Chen looked toward Chen Yike simultaneously and asked in unison, “Didn’t you say Chen Yu was treating us?”
“I-I might’ve misheard...” Chen Yike said as she raised her hands timidly.
“...”
Mother Chen and Father Chen exchanged looks with each other, both sides noticing the awkwardness in each other’s eyes.
“That... This is a gathering for you two youngsters. You two continue eating here. Your uncle, little sisters, and I will have our meals downstairs,” Mother Chen said to Xing Biqi.
“Auntie, since you’ve come here already, how can I possibly let you leave?” Xing Biqi hurriedly grabbed onto Mother Chen’s sleeve. “We’re not strangers. I invited you here so that we can have a meal together.”
“...This isn’t a good idea, right?”
“There’s nothing bad about this. Auntie, everyone, please sit down. The food is already here.”
“Um... How about this?” Faking a cough, Father Chen said, “We’ll pay for this meal. We can’t let our junior spend money on us.”
Tap! Tap!
Chen Yu patted the table, catching everyone’s attention. While placing the uncooked ingredients into the hotpot, he said impatiently, “What are you being polite for? Xing Biqi has already become a bona fide millionaire. Stop overthinking things and start eating. The food is going to get overcooked if you keep on standing around.”
At this time, Chen Erke, who had already seated herself by Chen Yu’s side, sent a provocative look at Xing Biqi. She then held onto Chen Yu’s arm tightly and said, “I’m not leaving. I want to be together with Big Brother. Huh? Did you buy a watch?”
“...”
“Mommy!” Lifting Chen Yu’s wrist, Chen Erke said, “Look! He bought a watch!”
“...”