Xiao Chi Hosts a Dinner to Repay the Hardworking Aunt Qi Meng

[Ding!]

[Congratulations to the host for completing the emergency mission "Array Spirit Repair"!]

[The array spirit tool in the Bell Master's room of the Joyous Sect has been restored to normal with the host's help, showcasing the unparalleled talent of the chief disciple!]

[Rewards: 200 sect contribution points, 400 spirit stones, and 1 free draw in the system shop.]

Twenty minutes later.

The system notification finally arrived, albeit belatedly.

With no other opportunities presenting themselves, Lin Yu had no choice but to quickly fix the laptop.

Ever since the items hidden under the bed had been discovered...

Chi Qingchi, who had been caught by Lin Yu three times with incriminating evidence, no longer dared to let him wander around freely.

She stood behind Lin Yu the entire time, watching him like a hawk, monitoring his every move with undivided attention.

If Lin Yu so much as made the slightest movement, she would act as if facing a dire threat.

She even struck a pose resembling a mother hen protecting her chicks, blocking Lin Yu from moving any further.

The exploration talisman for the forbidden area had only yielded two rewards before entering a "standby" state.

If this had happened in the past, Lin Yu would have been heartbroken and would have sought another opportunity to continue.

But with the increasing number of lottery draws and the expansion of the talisman section in the system shop...

Occasionally splurging a little no longer felt unacceptable.

"Let's test it out. It's back to normal now, just like it was before the malware incident."

Lin Yu pushed the laptop toward Chi Qingchi, letting her power it on and test it step by step.

"Wow, it’s really all fixed!"

"Lin, you're amazing! Thank you so much."

"One thing at a time, though. Even though you were a bit annoying earlier, I still have to thank you."

"By the way, Aunt Qimeng isn’t coming back for lunch, right?"

"How about I treat you to lunch? Do you have time?"

Because of Xia Yiwei’s situation earlier, Chen Qimeng’s trip to the store had been delayed again.

She had just sent a message confirming that she wouldn’t be coming home for lunch.

And it wasn’t just Chen Qimeng who wouldn’t be back.

The system had made it clear that his little girlfriend, Chi Qingshui, wouldn’t be returning either.

Taking Chi Qingchi out for lunch also happened to align with his daily tasks related to the Bell Master of the Joyous Sect.

Why not kill two birds with one stone?

"Are you trying to use lunch to shut me up?"

"Do I look like the kind of person who would go around telling people that you browse those kinds of websites, look at holy light images, and don’t wash your socks?"

Chi Qingchi: "Lin, stop it, stop it..."

At this point, she didn’t dare retort, "You totally do!"

With all the leverage in his hands, she figured it was better to behave obediently to avoid unnecessary trouble.

"I’m genuinely grateful, okay? And I’ve still got a decent amount of pocket money left recently."

"You can pick the place. As long as it’s not too expensive, I’ll treat you!"

Whatever her motives, her generous offer was hard to criticize.

Lin Yu stood up and ruffled Chi Qingchi’s hair.

"Let’s save the treat for next time. Your sister isn’t coming back for lunch today, right?"

"Come with me. Let’s bring food to Aunt Qimeng and eat together at her store."

Hearing this, Chi Qingchi nodded obediently.

...

By midday.

Lin Yu brought Chi Qingchi to the commercial street by taxi.

On the way there, something exhilarating happened.

Shen Jiuyi’s four-million-yuan transfer, combined with the 2.05 million yuan from the auction house for the lacquer tray, totaling over six million yuan, had all been credited to his account!

Compared to such a massive sum of money...

The ten million yuan from the early morning soccer match suddenly didn’t seem so appealing.

The real treasure had only just arrived!

Because of this.

The bank manager even called specifically to inform him.

At the same time, they inquired if Lin Yu had any plans to invest in financial products or open a fixed deposit with such a large sum of money.

Chi Qingchi was right next to him at the time.

Lin Yu didn’t say much and politely declined.

A fixed deposit?

Invest in financial products?

As the saying goes, "As long as you don’t mess with finances, your finances won’t mess with you."

Besides, Lin Yu didn’t need to worry about running out of income anytime soon.

What if he ran out of money?

He could just take out a couple more worldly treasures and sell them!

For now.

It wasn’t the right time to sell off items one after another.

Just auctioning off one item had already drawn the attention of Wang Biao, the "florist landlord."

If he kept pulling treasures out like a magician, one after another, sooner or later, more people would realize that Lin Yu was someone who "possessed great wealth."

It wasn’t that he was afraid of offending or provoking anyone.

He simply didn’t want the peace and quiet of his life to be disrupted by those so-called "external demons."

Seventy million yuan.

Unless he encountered some extraordinary trouble, it was more than enough to solve most of life’s worries.

With a spring in his step, he and Chi Qingchi bought three boxed meals and carried them together to the flower shop.

Although Lin Yu had said earlier that today wasn’t a day for Chi Qingchi to treat him.

She insisted on paying anyway and made it very clear to the cashier not to accept Lin Yu’s money.

In the end.

Not only did she buy Lin Yu’s meal, but she also paid for Aunt Chen Qimeng’s meal.

Boxed meals weren’t exactly expensive.

Lin Yu didn’t turn it into a dramatic scene of fighting over the bill, and he eventually relented and let her pay.

When they arrived at the flower shop.

Chen Qimeng cleared a table for the two of them so they could eat first.

As for herself, she hurriedly took two bouquets she had prepared and rushed off to deliver them to nearby customers who had placed orders.

In this day and age, delivery services weren’t as widespread.

Flower deliveries were something the shop owner had to handle personally.

Back when He Jing was around, things were a bit easier for Chen Qimeng.

Although He Jing had her ulterior motives, she did contribute quite a bit to the shop.

Now, with only Chen Qimeng left to manage the flower shop.

Even though there weren’t too many deliveries, it was still enough to wear her out.

So, with seventy million yuan in hand, shouldn’t Lin Yu suggest that Chen Qimeng close the shop and enjoy life?

Such a foolish idea was, of course, something he would never say out loud!

If you truly respect and admire someone.

You must genuinely value their work and efforts.

This wasn’t ancient times. No one existed solely for another person’s "leisure and entertainment."

…

Twenty minutes later.

Chen Qimeng hurried back to the shop.

"I’m back. Sorry, I couldn’t eat with you two."

"The second delivery was a bit far, so it took me some extra time."

Chi Qingchi quickly picked up the boxed meal meant for Chen Qimeng and said:

"Aunt Qimeng, please eat something. You look so tired."

Chen Qimeng waved her hand dismissively:

"This is nothing. No job is easy money."

"That’s why you two must study hard and find an easy job in the future."

"Don’t end up like me…"

Hearing the self-deprecating tone in Chen Qimeng’s voice, Lin Yu felt a twinge of discomfort.

When his parents were still alive, he had heard his mother mention this.

Apparently, Chen Qimeng had once passed the civil service exams—both the written test and the interview—but ultimately failed because of family background checks.

One misstep, and my whole life changed.

If I had chosen to become a civil servant back then,

Maybe I wouldn't have ended up as my ex-husband's sham marriage partner.

"Aunt Qimeng, why not hire someone part-time to help out?"

"I actually know someone suitable; I can ask them!"

Suddenly, Lin Yu's mind flashed with the thought of someone.

…