"Hey, we’re still better off," Qian Zhi said. "We bought relatively early. The people who bought houses in the last two years are the ones who are really suffering."
Although whether you were suffering or not really depended on who you were comparing yourself to.
Compared to properties in the central and inner rings, his house’s value had dropped by nearly 20%. But compared to those who had bought in this neighborhood two years ago, they were considered lucky. Back then, the price per square meter in this area had peaked at 70,000. Anyone who bought in during the last two years faced an immediate drop of 20,000 per square meter—a 30% loss that wiped out their entire down payment and then some.
"People with savings are choosing to pay off their mortgages early," Qian Zhi continued. "But those without money can only choose to default. If I hadn’t run into an old classmate like you, my family might have been next."
Thinking about his apartment filled Qian Zhi with endless sighs. All those years of struggling so hard in the big city... if he defaulted, the bank would repossess and auction off the house. All that hard work would be for nothing.
「At their front door.」
Yang Meina, who was just about to take out her key, stopped in surprise. "Why is the door unlocked?" she murmured. "We haven’t been robbed, have we?"
Qian Zhi pushed his wife behind him and stepped inside first.
From inside, an astonished voice called out, "Mom, Dad? What are you doing here?"
Hearing this, Yang Meina visibly relaxed and smiled at Sun Dasheng. "It must be my parents. It’s fine, Dasheng, please come on in and have a seat."
Sun Dasheng nodded and followed them inside.
Two elderly people were standing opposite Qian Zhi. The scene didn’t look like a warm family greeting; it felt more like a tense standoff.
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Yang Meina quickly tried to smooth things over. "Mom, Dad, why didn’t you call before coming over?"
The visitors were her parents—Qian Zhi’s father-in-law and mother-in-law.
"You silly girl!" her mother-in-law snapped. Though short in stature, her voice was loud. Without any preamble, she launched right into her accusations. "If we had come any later, who knows how badly he would have been bullying you!"
Yang Meina rushed over to take her mother’s arm. "Who could possibly bully your daughter? Who have you been listening to this time, spreading gossip behind our backs?"
"Who else could it be?" the mother-in-law said, shooting her son-in-law a look of displeasure.
"Your father and I came today to tell you to divorce him.
"The sooner you leave him, the sooner you’ll find happiness! We never agreed to you marrying him in the first place. And look at him now! He’s lost his job and can’t even support his wife and child. What kind of man is that?"
Yang Meina grew anxious. "Mom, who have you been listening to? What rumors are these? My husband, Qian Zhi, just switched to a job with a higher salary! Where did you get this idea that he’s unemployed and can’t support his family?"
"Really? How do I know you’re not lying to me again?" her mother retorted. "Your best friend, Wang Meimei, told me this herself in private. Would she lie to me?"
Apparently, the daughter’s credibility with her mother was not very high—her best friend’s word was more believable. "How many times did you lie to us just so you could marry him back then?"
"Mom!" Yang Meina was at a loss for words. She silently cursed her so-called best friend. What a meddler!
Then her eyes fell on their guest, Sun Dasheng. She berated herself for being so foolish. The big boss who could prove her words was right here, wasn’t he?
So, she pulled her mother over to Sun Dasheng and made the introduction. "Mom, this is Boss Sun. He’s Qian Zhi’s old classmate. He’s opened a big company now and, to help him out, has specifically hired Qian Zhi to be a manager."
"Oh?" Only then did the mother-in-law start to take her daughter’s words seriously. She sized up this "Boss Sun" who had suddenly appeared in her daughter’s home. As a shrewd old Shanghaier, she could tell from his understated yet luxurious attire that he was no ordinary man. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by N0veI.Fiɾe.net
"Boss Sun, a pleasure to meet you."
"Hello, Auntie. I’m Sun Dasheng, an old classmate of Qian Zhi’s. Please, just call me Dasheng."
"Oh my, Dasheng! Auntie can see you’re a very distinguished young man," she gushed, patting his arm and shoulder with a look of immense satisfaction. "I never expected my good-for-nothing son-in-law to have a classmate like you." It was as if she were looking at her ideal son-in-law.
"Mom, get to the point," her daughter muttered, unable to watch any longer. She gave Sun Dasheng an apologetic look.
Sun Dasheng gestured that it was no problem.
"Auntie, your daughter is telling the truth," Sun Dasheng said smoothly. "Qian Zhi and I are old classmates who hadn’t seen each other in over ten years. I only recently heard how he was doing, so I immediately asked him to come help out at my company. I apologize for the misunderstanding this has caused."
Well now, with those words coming from the mouth of the great Boss Sun, it truly was just a misunderstanding.
Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, the mother-in-law, while still giving her son-in-law the cold shoulder, saw Sun Dasheng in a completely new light. "Old man, what are you standing there for? Go make some tea for our guest!" she ordered her husband.
Receiving his orders, the father-in-law sprang into action.
Clearly, the mother-in-law was the one who ran this household.
Next came the offers of tea, followed by a plate of fruit that she had washed herself and brought over to him. Anyone watching would have thought he was the real son-in-law here.
Fortunately, after so many years of living under his mother-in-law’s scrutiny, Qian Zhi was already used to this kind of treatment.
"It’s getting late, so I should be going now," Sun Dasheng said, finally getting up. Even with his thick skin, he couldn’t quite bear this abnormally intense hospitality.
"Oh, stay for dinner! I’ll send my old man to the supermarket for some lobster and abalone. He’s a great cook—a retired hotel chef! Dasheng, you have to stay and try his food. See if you like it. If you do, you must come over more often!"
"Mom, what are you doing?" Yang Meina interjected, seeing Sun Dasheng’s discomfort and, more importantly, trying to spare her husband’s feelings. "Dasheng is a big boss. He has company business to attend to."
"Is that so? Well, next time you have the chance, you must come over to Auntie’s place and try your uncle’s cooking."
「Outside, by the elevator.」
Qian Zhi had insisted on seeing him off.