I confess, I am the Mr. Richest

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Is that shop yours?

Yan Luoshui’s car, Chu Chen sat in the passenger seat, and Lingling sat in the back; the atmosphere was a bit strange.

In the back, Lingling’s gaze kept darting between Chu Chen and Yan Luoshui, sensing an unusual vibe.

She noticed that this beautiful neighbor of Brother Chen looked at Brother Chen somewhat differently.

Lingling’s little head spun quickly, wondering if she should speed things up and advance her relationship with Brother Chen.

As she pondered, they arrived at Tiannan University.

“Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

After saying goodbye to Lingling, Chu Chen and Yan Luoshui headed towards Yuetan Garden.

With Lingling gone, only Chu Chen and Yan Luoshui were left in the car, and the atmosphere became even more tense instead of easing.

Chu Chen didn’t feel much, but Yan Luoshui’s heart was racing uncontrollably.

Last time, at Chu Chen’s house, she overheard a call between Chu Chen and his mom, mistakenly thinking it was a hint that Chu Chen was too shy and subtly reminding her to take the initiative.

For the past few days, Yan Luoshui had been avoiding Chu Chen, feeling extremely conflicted.

“Was that little girl your real sister earlier?”

Trying to ease the mood, Yan Luoshui started a conversation.

“No, she’s the daughter of Uncle Bai, my hometown neighbor,” Chu Chen explained.

Not a real sister?

“Chu Chen, be my boyfriend.”

Yan Luoshui said abruptly.

Hearing this, Chu Chen was stunned. Due to the ragdoll cat “Baobao,” Chu Chen and Yan Luoshui indeed had become more familiar with each other.

But this was too sudden.

For a moment, Chu Chen was confused.

“No, don’t get me wrong.”

Seeing Chu Chen not responding, Yan Luoshui quickly explained,

“I mean, pretend to be my boyfriend. In a few days, my parents are coming to Jiangzhou.”

“They’ve been urging me to get married and want to have grandchildren. This time they’re coming to take me back for a blind date, so I need you to help me deal with them.”

Yan Luoshui explained the situation to Chu Chen.

For some reason, when Chu Chen didn’t immediately agree to the “confession,” Yan Luoshui felt a bit disappointed.

“Oh, I see.”

Realization dawned on Chu Chen, and he even sympathetically felt a twinge of connection—wasn’t his mom just the same way?

“Last time, I accidentally overheard your phone call with your mom at your house. If you don’t mind, I can also pretend to be your girlfriend.”

Yan Luoshui added, fearing that Chu Chen might refuse outright before she finished speaking.

“Huh?”

Hearing this, Chu Chen’s eyes brightened.

Yan Luoshui’s idea was great!

Last time when his mom called to urge him, Chu Chen made up a white lie, claiming that his girlfriend was a company president, a top-tier heiress, to explain why he’d become wealthy suddenly.

Initially, Chu Chen planned to have his secretary, Mo Yuwan, play the part, but they hadn’t been in contact since their one shopping trip together.

They weren’t familiar, and it might be inappropriate to suddenly ask Mo Yuwan.

Now that Yan Luoshui offered, Chu Chen readily agreed.

Just a few days ago, he was worrying about how to go home.

“No problem.”

Chu Chen agreed; Yan Luoshui pretended to be his girlfriend, and he pretended to be Yan Luoshui’s boyfriend—it was a win-win situation.

“Thank you.”

Hearing Chu Chen’s answer, a smile appeared on Yan Luoshui’s face.

Returning to Yuetan Garden, Yan Luoshui and Chu Chen went home and played with the ragdoll cat “Baobao” for a while before returning to their own villas.

Time flew quickly. Three days later, at noon, Chu Chen received a call from an unknown number.

“Hello, is this Mr. Chu?”

“This is Chu Chen. May I ask who this is?” Chu Chen replied. @@novelbin@@

“I’m a tenant of the shop at No. 7 Wutong Street. My contract is about to expire, and I’d like to discuss future arrangements with you?”

A polite voice came from the phone.

“Okay, let’s meet at two in the afternoon.”

Glancing at the time, Chu Chen nodded.

“Thank you, Mr. Chu.”

Half an hour later, Chu Chen set out for Wutong Street.

Coincidentally, Yan Luoshui was also heading to the company. Chu Chen didn’t feel like driving and just asked Yan Luoshui to drop him off since it wasn’t far.

Upon reaching Wutong Street, Chu Chen found the shop at No. 7.

“Dongli Teahouse.”

So this place was a teahouse.

As Chu Chen walked in, a young man in a uniform approached.

“Sir, you…”

Seeing Chu Chen, the young man instinctively started to speak but suddenly stopped halfway through.

“Chu Chen?”

The young man said surprised.

“Qi Xingrui?”

Chu Chen was surprised as well.

Before receiving the system, Chu Chen had taken on a part-time job, but he resigned due to the boss maliciously deducting wages.

And Qi Xingrui had been his coworker back then.

“What a coincidence,” Chu Chen said.

“After resigning, what have you been up to?” Qi Xingrui curiously asked.

“Not much, just been idle.”

Chu Chen answered casually.

“I see.”

Qi Xingrui nodded, feeling a bit smug.

Back at that company, Chu Chen’s performance had been a bit better than his, but he’d resigned in the end.

Now, seeing each other again, his own career had flourished while Chu Chen seemed to have languished.

That was comparison for you.

Being handsome wasn’t always useful, huh?

For a moment, Qi Xingrui felt a sense of pride swelling up.

“Are you here for the tea? Please come in. It’s rare to meet; it’s on me.”

Qi Xingrui pulled Chu Chen into a private room on the second floor.

“This teahouse belongs to my girlfriend’s uncle, so make yourself comfortable.”

Qi Xingrui said somewhat boastfully.

Not long after Chu Chen resigned, so did Qi Xingrui, and he got a girlfriend. Through his girlfriend’s introduction, he came here to help out.

After learning the ropes for a while, he gained some insight into running a teahouse.

He then asked his family for some money, planning to open a teahouse himself and become his own boss.

“By the way, Chu Chen, did you notice the shop at No. 12 when you came?”

Qi Xingrui asked.

“No. 12 shop?”

“It seems it’s closed, empty,” Chu Chen replied.

A week ago, the tenant of No. 12 had ceased operations and no longer rented the shop. No. 12 had remained vacant, and Chu Chen hadn’t leased it out yet.

“What do you think of it?” Qi Xingrui inquired.

“Not bad.”

Of course his own shop would be good.

“Hehe, that’s mine.”

Qi Xingrui said with some show-off intent.

Owing to the bustling tea business on Wutong Street, he’d discussed with his girlfriend’s uncle to rent No. 12, with Qi Xingrui as the boss.

Today, his girlfriend’s uncle had agreed to meet the owner of shop No. 12 for a discussion, and he believed the deal would come through soon.

Of course, to show off in front of Chu Chen, there was no way he would say it was rented. He had to claim it as his.

After all, Chu Chen wouldn’t know. Bluffing temporarily wouldn’t likely be exposed, would it?

“That shop is yours?”

“I thought I heard that the owner of that shop doesn’t have the surname Qi?”

After hearing Qi Xingrui’s words, Chu Chen raised an eyebrow and said slowly.

Instantly, Qi Xingrui’s face went pale.

Utterly embarrassed.

“This…”

Qi Xingrui hurried to explain.