At 10:15 AM, outside a fancy coffee shop.
Lin Wanfeng sat quietly at an outdoor table, dressed in a fresh and stylish casual outfit, taking small sips of her Mocha.
She wore a faint smile, but couldn’t hide the impatience in her eyes.
Just as Lin Wanfeng pulled out her phone to check the time for the third time, Ling Chen strode over quickly, wearing a handsome, well-fitted suit.
“Boyfriend is very punctual!” Lin Wanfeng pretended to be happy as she greeted him, her eyes curving into crescents, but her cold voice made Ling Chen shiver involuntarily.
“Were you held up by some strange woman? Is that why you were late?”
Ling Chen silently complained in his heart, ‘Her intuition is spot on. Good thing I came prepared.’
“Of course not. Since I was going to meet your parents, I had to prepare properly.” Ling Chen shook the delicate gift box in his hand and handed it to Lin Wanfeng.
“I bought some tea leaves and a scarf, and the rest are snacks I made myself.”
Ling Chen scratched his head sheepishly, his tone honest and slightly embarrassed. “Sorry, Miss. My allowance is limited, so I could only afford these.”
Lin Wanfeng looked at the gifts and recalled that when they were rehearsing the script, she had casually mentioned that her father liked tea and her mother liked desserts.
She had long forgotten about it, but Ling Chen clearly remembered.
The tea and scarf must have cost at least seven or eight hundred, yet she had only given him a little over a thousand as payment…
‘So he really took my words to heart? Hachi Chen, you…’
A warmth flowed gently through Lin Wanfeng’s heart. The displeasure from Ling Chen’s lateness instantly vanished.
“Boyfriend, you should have just told me about this kind of thing. I could have prepared it. You’re just hired help. But I’m glad you took it so seriously.”
Lin Wanfeng looked at this shy boy, pulled out her phone, and transferred 5000 yuan to Ling Chen.
Seeing his surprised expression, she immediately demanded, “Don’t you dare refund it! Do you think I’m poor, boyfriend? A mere hired boyfriend—don’t get cocky.”
“I’m sorry, Miss. I just wanted to do my best to meet your requests and try to make you happy.”
Lin Wanfeng watched his warm smile, took his hand, and secretly thought, ‘This idiot likes this young lady that much? Then I’ll reward him a little.’
“Boyfriend, the driver is nearby. It’s more natural for us to hold hands.” Although Lin Wanfeng had taken the initiative, this was also her first time holding a member of the opposite sex’s hand, so she got embarrassed first.
The driver was only twenty meters away—normally a ten-second walk. But to Lin Wanfeng, it felt unbearably long. Her heart pounded thump thump thump, as if trying to leap out.
Ling Chen, however, showed no sign of abnormality, because his mind was entirely focused on the system notification in his head.
Ding-dong! [Detected task target—Lin Wanfeng’s satisfaction has increased. Obtained Stage 1 reward: 5000 yuan. 4 stages remaining. Keep it up!]
The mechanical female voice rang out in Ling Chen’s mind right after Lin Wanfeng saw the gift.
Ling Chen thought, ‘This time I bet right after all.’
‘As long as I take the task seriously, user satisfaction will most likely increase.’
‘As long as the target isn’t a weirdo like Chu Xiaoxiao, who I worked on for three months and couldn’t even reach Stage 2 satisfaction.’
The 5000 yuan from Lin Wanfeng plus the system’s 5000 yuan reward—a full 10,000 yuan. Now, he could finally put the game music, sound effects, and interface optimization on the schedule.
The moment Ling Chen thought about his game entering the next phase, he couldn’t help showing a blissful smile.
Lin Wanfeng looked at Ling Chen holding her hand with such a happy expression and secretly marveled that it was just as she suspected.
‘A guy who remembers my words so clearly and smiles so happily just from holding my hand—this idiot must have fallen for me.’
At the same time, Chu Xiaoxiao happened to walk into this familiar coffee shop.
Just as Chu Xiaoxiao was about to sit at an outdoor table to enjoy her coffee, she caught a glimpse of Ling Chen holding hands with a strange girl, walking toward a car parked by the roadside.
Seeing the shy-faced girl and Ling Chen with his blissful smile, Chu Xiaoxiao felt a strange emotion surge within her.
She couldn’t help reaching out her hand to call out to Ling Chen, but when she saw him holding hands with another cute girl, her whole body seemed to suddenly lose strength, and she could only watch helplessly as the two walked away hand in hand.
Chu Xiaoxiao felt as if a piece of her heart had been gouged out, following that car into the distance, too far to ever catch again…
Watching the Maybach disappear, Chu Xiaoxiao’s eyes brimmed with tears, and she muttered, “That damn Ling Chen, how dare he go after another woman. I’ll definitely make you come back and apologize to me on your own!”
Meanwhile, the two, completely unaware of what was happening behind them, got into the extended Maybach. In less than twenty minutes, the car slowly entered a stately European-style manor.
Ling Chen followed Lin Wanfeng into the villa. The air was filled with a faint scent of incense.
The living room was so spacious it felt more like a hotel than a home.
Such grandeur made Ling Chen inexplicably a bit nervous and timid.
Fortunately, Lin Wanfeng was holding his hand. She casually handed the gifts to the butler.
Lin Wanfeng led Ling Chen straight into the dining room, where lunch had already been prepared.
At the head of the dining table sat a well-maintained noblewoman.
She wore an exquisite silk blouse, her brows and eyes unable to conceal an aristocratic aura. Her skin was delicate, making her look as if she had just passed thirty.
Beside her sat a middle-aged man. Although he was wearing a suit, his burly build and fierce expression made him the spitting image of a suit-wearing thug.
Ling Chen couldn’t help thinking, ‘If I offend this kind of father-in-law, I’m probably not walking out of here standing today.’
“Dad, Mom, this is my boyfriend, Ling Chen.” As soon as Lin Wanfeng finished speaking, she sat down next to the noblewoman and hugged her arm affectionately.
Lin’s mother gently patted Lin Wanfeng without saying much, then turned to look at Ling Chen.
“Hello, Uncle and Auntie.”
“Wanfeng, your father has been urging you for two years. Finally, you’ve brought a boyfriend home for us to see.”
Although Father Lin wore a smile, his words carried an air of natural authority. He had already had Ling Chen’s basic information thoroughly investigated.
“Oh, I brought him back, that’s what matters~” Lin Wanfeng also acted spoiled in front of her parents.
“Have a seat, kid. Don’t be too formal.” Father Lin took the initiative to invite Ling Chen to sit beside him.
“Okay, Uncle.”
During the meal, glasses clinked and casual conversation flowed. Most of it revolved around the “romantic past” between the two, but it was basically all from the script that Ling Chen and Lin Wanfeng had rehearsed earlier.
After a round of drinking and small talk, Father Lin’s expression suddenly turned cold. His gaze fell on Ling Chen, who had just finished his drink, and he asked in a deep voice, “Kid, are you sincere about my precious daughter?”
Seeing his expression, Ling Chen’s heart tightened, and even his drunkenness cleared a little.
He straightened his spine, met Father Lin’s gaze, and said earnestly, word by word, “Please rest assured, Uncle. I will always love Wanfeng. I swear I will never betray her in this life.”
Hearing this assurance, Father Lin stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly laughed again, revealing a satisfied smile. He gave Ling Chen a heavy pat on the shoulder.
“Hahahahaha! That’s good, kid. How about becoming my live-in son-in-law? If you’re willing, we can have the engagement during the New Year!”
“This…” Ling Chen immediately felt the sting of the pat and was also dumbfounded. Before coming, he had imagined ten thousand possibilities, but he could never have predicted this development.
‘How could a poor ordinary student like me earn the appreciation of a big shot who has influence in both the underworld and the legitimate world?’
He had thought he might be scolded, called a toad lusting after a swan’s flesh; he had also thought he might not even get past the door, turned away.
He never expected that it would directly fast-forward to make-believe becoming reality.
If he were to tell him now that he was just joking, wouldn’t this suit-wearing thug father-in-law beat him until he couldn’t walk out?
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