I'm Downstairs at Your Place

In the few days leading up to the New Year, Chen Zhi was ordered around by Zhang Guifang until his head spun. Pasting couplets, buying New Year goods, and doing a thorough spring cleaning left him completely exhausted.

In the blink of an eye, it was New Year's Eve.

This New Year's Eve, the Chen and Lin families gathered together for the reunion dinner. Having lived across from each other for over a decade, the two families were already as close as one.

Especially after Chen Zhi and Lin Wanwan's relationship was brought out into the open, the bond between the two families grew even more intimate.

The dining table was fully laden with dishes. Zhang Guifang and Lin Jing were chatting and laughing on the side, while Chen Jun directly opened a bottle of long-saved Maotai and filled Lin Shuxian's glass.

Lin Wanwan wore a loose red sweater, which accentuated her fair and charming face.

After a few rounds of drinks, Lin Shuxian held up his glass, took the initiative to clink it against Chen Zhi's, and opened up the chatterbox.

"Xiao Zhi, given the relationship between our two families, and since it's the New Year today, I'll just speak my mind." Lin Shuxian let out a slight alcohol-laced hiccup and patted Chen Zhi on the shoulder.

"That girl Wanwan has been carefree and simple-minded since she was a child. Even though she's on TV now and has become some big star, she is essentially still a child who hasn't grown up. When you two are together in the future, you need to keep an eye on her and be more accommodating."

Chen Zhi immediately raised his glass, clinked the rim, and downed it in one gulp. "Rest assured, Uncle Lin. I will definitely treat Wanwan well and will absolutely never let her down."

There was not a drop of falsehood in his words. He was truly good to Lin Wanwan; apart from dividing a tiny bit of his heart for two other girls, in all other aspects he could simply be called an unparalleled, perfect boyfriend.

Chen Jun picked up a bite of cold dish with his chopsticks nearby and couldn't help but interject, "Lao Lin, don't praise him. This kid hasn't been very reliable lately either. He took a trip to the capital, didn't study properly, and said he partnered with someone to start some kind of business. He's been acting all secretive."

"It's a good thing for young people to have ideas!" Lin Shuxian's eyes lit up as he turned to look at Chen Zhi. "Xiao Zhi, how is that company of yours doing? What industry are you in?"

Chen Zhi put down his chopsticks, his tone extremely modest. "Just messing around with some computer software, nothing major. It's barely showing a bit of promise."

Truly, just a tiny bit of promise.

He had only created an era-crushing AI artificial intelligence, just secured 4.5 billion dollars in Series A funding from the national team and Wall Street, and the company was merely valued at 15 billion dollars.

Chen Zhi thought to himself that this indeed couldn't be considered too high-profile; he was still far behind other enterprises.

"Good! Full of drive!" Lin Shuxian looked very pleased and downed another mouthful of wine. He leaned in a bit closer, lowering his voice slightly, but everyone at the table could hear him loud and clear.

"Your Aunt Lin and I only have Wanwan as our daughter. Now that this girl has run off to sing, it's impossible to expect her to take over the family business I've spent half my life building. Besides, your Aunt Lin and I are getting older, and we don't plan on having another child."

Lin Shuxian sighed, his gaze toward Chen Zhi filled with the high expectations of an elder. "Just go all out and do it; young people shouldn't be afraid of stumbling. If your startup fails and you can't make it out there, don't feel pressured. Just come straight back and get your marriage certificate with Wanwan. I'll hand over my entire business for you to manage in the future. Uncle will be your safety net!"

Chen Zhi's hand trembled, almost dropping the peanut he was holding onto the table.

He was genuinely moved. Lin Shuxian's words were equivalent to treating him directly as his only biological son and successor.

But hearing these words, Chen Zhi only felt his scalp tingle with anxiety.

The more his future father-in-law poured his heart out to him and laid all his cards on the table, the heavier his sense of guilt became.

This favor was too heavy. If his backyard caught fire and his two-timing was exposed in the future, he feared Lin Shuxian might grab a machete and hack his way all the way from the provincial capital to Beijing to chop him to pieces.

"It's the New Year, and after two sips of horse piss, you start talking nonsense!" Lin Jing rolled her eyes at her husband and hurriedly put a piece of spare rib in Chen Zhi's bowl.

"Zhizhi, don't listen to your uncle's nonsense, just eat your food. When young people are building their careers, how can you open your mouth and curse them to fail?"

Zhang Guifang finally reacted and quickly chimed in to smooth things over.

"Exactly, Lao Lin, you've had too much to drink. Xiao Zhi is a clumsy kid; how could he possibly handle your big business?"

Chen Zhi cooperated with a couple of dry laughs. Just as he was about to shovel rice into his mouth, a soft and warm little hand reached over from under the tablecloth.

Lin Wanwan's fingers quietly slipped between his, tightly locking their hands together.

Chen Zhi turned his head. Lin Wanwan was biting her chopsticks, blinking at him.

She leaned closer, lowering her voice to whisper in his ear, "Don't listen to my dad. You won't fail. My Chen Zhi is the most amazing."

Chen Zhi squeezed her slender fingers in return, the bit of anxiety and guilt in his heart largely washed away by the girl's sweetness.

To hell with whether he'd get exposed in the future or not, he'd just focus on enjoying the New Year right now.

The New Year's Eve dinner was lively and bustling.

After dinner, the two families moved to the living room.

The Spring Festival Gala was playing on the TV, and the elders set up a mahjong table on the coffee table, shuffling the tiles with a loud clatter.

"Two of Bamboo!" Zhang Guifang discarded a tile, turned her head, and shouted at Chen Zhi, "Go brew a pot of tea for your Uncle Lin!"

Chen Zhi voiced his agreement and got up to boil water in the kitchen.

By the time he returned carrying the tea, Lin Wanwan was already nestled on the long sofa, hogging the best spot.

Chen Zhi naturally sat down next to her.

Hugging a throw pillow, Lin Wanwan initially hummed along enthusiastically with the singers on TV.

As soon as the countdown passed, fireworks and firecrackers began going off outside.

The girl's head also started to nod off little by little.

Unable to hold out for even ten minutes, she slumped directly onto Chen Zhi.

With her head resting on his shoulder, her breathing gradually steadied.

Lin Jing had just won a hand of mahjong when she turned and caught sight of this scene.

She waved at Chen Zhi.

"Xiao Zhi, carry her back to her room to sleep."

Chen Zhi nodded, stood up, slipped one arm under Lin Wanwan's knees, and wrapped the other around her back.

With a direct princess carry, he scooped her up steadily.

Lin Wanwan mumbled softly, rubbed her cheek against his chest, and found a comfortable position to continue sleeping.

Pushing open the door to Lin Wanwan's bedroom, Chen Zhi laid her gently on the bed.

He took off her fluffy bunny slippers, tucked her under the covers, and made sure the blanket was properly over her.

Looking at Lin Wanwan's defenseless sleeping face, Chen Zhi couldn't help but reach out and pinch the tip of her cute, perky nose.

"Just like a little pig."

Chen Zhi quietly backed out of the room and closed the door behind him.

After saying goodbye to the elders, Chen Zhi walked across the hallway and returned to his own home.

He pulled out his phone. The midnight bell had struck, and the scumbag's New Year's Eve shift officially began.

Opening WeChat, his unread messages had blown up, all just meaningless mass-sent New Year greetings. He skipped right past them and clicked on a few pinned avatars.

Li Zhiyi had sent two photos.

One was of an old-fashioned Eight Immortals table set with many home-cooked dishes, simple yet very heartwarming.

The other was a group photo of her with her grandparents.

She had one arm wrapped around her wrinkled grandmother while leaning against her smiling grandfather.

The girl was smiling so brightly that her eyes curved into crescents, radiating warmth.

"Chen Zhi, Happy New Year!"

The corners of Chen Zhi's mouth unconsciously curled into a smile as he replied, "Happy New Year. Eat more. When we go back to school next semester, I'll be checking to see if you've put on any weight."

The other person instantly replied with a sticker of a well-behaved, nodding kitten.

Exiting the chat, Chen Zhi tapped on Pei Ningxue's profile picture.

Pei Ningxue had sent a highly visually striking photo. A thick layer of white foam floated on the water's surface, and the camera angled downward, revealing only a section of straight, pale calves.

Her feet rested on the edge of the bathtub.

Her toes were translucent, petite, and round like warm jade. They curled slightly together, adding a touch of endearing charm.

Below the photo was a two-second voice message.

Chen Zhi turned his phone volume down to the lowest setting and brought it to his ear.

"I have to spend the New Year all alone. It hasn't even been that long, and I've already been completely abandoned by my man."

Her voice was languid, carrying just the right amount of grievance. It was incredibly seductive.

This wealthy heiress was truly on another level.

Chen Zhi rubbed his face and quickly typed: [Get out before the water gets cold so you don't catch a chill. Happy New Year.]

After sending the message, Chen Zhi stretched. Having successfully pacified both sides, he had managed to get through New Year's Eve smoothly. He was ready to go to sleep.

The phone screen lit up again. The ringtone of a WeChat video call shattered the silence of the bedroom.

Chen Zhi rolled over and grabbed his phone.

[Pei Ningxue]

Staring at the pulsing green answer button on the screen, Chen Zhi had a bad feeling about this.

At one in the morning on New Year's Eve, this woman calling him out of the blue definitely meant trouble.

Chen Zhi sighed but answered the call anyway.

The screen flickered.

The camera shook violently against a pitch-black background.

Only the sound of howling wind came through the speaker.

"Pei Ningxue? Where are you?" Chen Zhi lowered his voice and called out to the screen.

A burst of static came from the screen.

Then, the camera flipped.

Pei Ningxue's exquisite face appeared in the center of the screen.

Her hair was blown into a mess by the wind, and the tip of her nose was red from the cold.

In the background, a dim yellow streetlamp illuminated a familiar flowerbed in his residential complex.

"I'm downstairs at your place."