Chapter 444: Chapter 443 This Is What It Means to Make Something Out of Nothing
That evening.
Wang Qingya didn’t come back...
Apparently, she must have been really busy.
Xu Lingjun could even imagine Wang Qingya’s disgruntled face as she pointed at her father accusingly...
Why is it always for Xiaojun? Back then, when I asked you to help me buy a small apartment in the Imperial Capital, you made all sorts of excuses about children needing to be independent as they grow up.
But when it comes to Xiaojun, why are you so biased?
This can probably be considered a unique treatment within the Wang Family...
Wang Qingya is always jealous of Xu Lingjun, and in her mind, she has a clear understanding of her own place.
Her status in the Wang Family is probably just slightly higher than a daughter-in-law, far from reaching the level of a daughter.
On the contrary, Xu Lingjun’s status seems to be much higher than that of a son-in-law, practically like a biological son. Wang Qingya even secretly took Xu Lingjun’s hair for some tests, fearing she might accidentally commit some kind of ethical blunder due to historical issues.
That evening, Xu Lingjun couldn’t sleep either.
Until early the next morning...
"Well, I’ve been back safely for two days now. It’s just that during these two days, I’ve been busy with serious matters and didn’t even have time to touch my phone. It was only last night that I got back to my place at Zhanzheng Academy. But I was worried you might have already gone to sleep, so I didn’t report my safety to you right away."
Xu Lingjun’s voice was gentle, like a soft spring breeze smoothing out the creases in Ji Roufeng’s heart, far away.
"It’s okay, just the fact that you thought of me makes me really happy."
On the other side, Ji Roufeng was indeed very happy. Even though she had her own private room, the moment she received Xu Lingjun’s call, she immediately hid in the bathroom, quickly locking the door for fear of someone interrupting their conversation.
Compared to those days when he wouldn’t contact her for months, this time, soon after he returned to Blue Star, he reported his safety to her almost immediately.
Isn’t this a rare sign of progress?
As long as he takes the brave first step... then she’ll dare to take the remaining 99 steps.
No need for him to do anything more, the rest can be left to her to handle.
"Did you get hurt during this trip to the Polar Star Battlefield?"
Ji Roufeng had just asked with concern when her beautiful features showed a look of frustration, and she gave herself a couple of slaps.
What kind of question is that? Clearly, she had simulated over ninety different conversation scenarios in her mind, yet she chose the most unoriginal one...
This kind of greeting is too cliché and carries a sense of distance, making it feel like mere polite small talk.
Xu Lingjun replied, "No worries, most of the injuries were on my enemies."
"Oh, that’s amazing. I knew it. Even back when you were so weak, your impact was so strong, your abilities must be exceptional. By now, you must be even more formidable..."
Ji Roufeng felt the conversation was drifting into polite, formulaic territory and quickly changed the subject: "By the way, what’s that sound on your end? I think I heard a swallowing sound."
Xu Lingjun chuckled, "Oh, nothing much, just eating cake."
"Eat less cold stuff; the weather isn’t that warm yet, so be careful not to catch a chill."
After saying this, Ji Roufeng couldn’t help but lightly slap herself again, feeling like all her simulated strategies were failing to take effect, reverting to nagging, which seemed unnecessarily formal.
Xu Lingjun laughed, "Don’t worry, my ice cream is hot; it won’t upset my stomach. But what’s that ’pop~ pop’ sound on your end?"
"N-No, nothing, just swatting mosquitoes..."
Ji Roufeng fell silent for a moment before apologizing, "Sorry, I seem to... become less articulate when I’m with you. Maybe I’m just too clumsy. I always want to show my strengths in front of you, but it ends up backfiring. I feel like I’m not quite myself around you. I might never learn how to face the person I love calmly, sorry..."
Xu Lingjun: "............"
This counts as being inarticulate?
He was speechless...
He let out a long sigh and said with a smile, "It’s okay; maybe it’s because we haven’t spent enough time together. When we’re more familiar and understand each other better... it should come more naturally."
"Mm-hmm, I think so too. After all, we surely have common interests... actually, I also really love ice cream, even though it’s always cold."
Ji Roufeng finished speaking, unable to resist a satisfied little chuckle. This sentence showed their shared interest and expressed her closeness. If all went as expected, he would probably say, "Next time, I’ll treat you to some hot ice cream."
This would lay the groundwork for the next meeting. Yes... this sentence perfectly showcased the deep expertise I’ve gained from reading over a hundred romance novels.
"Alright then..."
But suddenly, Xu Lingjun felt a bit awkward.
The two of them had a couple more awkward exchanges... It couldn’t be helped; in person, they had a harmonious connection, but since they hadn’t spent much time together, they didn’t have much to talk about over the phone.
So, they had to hang up.
Putting down the phone...
Xu Lingjun let out a long sigh, reached out to touch Su Huanqing’s smooth long hair, and said with a smile, "Time to get up... Teacher Su, hurry up and go take a shower; otherwise, Sister Yaya might be back soon."
"Now you remember she’s coming back soon? Scumbag..."
Su Huanqing rolled her eyes at Xu Lingjun, got up, and quickly dashed into the bathroom.
Half an hour later.
Wang Qingya really returned, and along with her came Wang Tiancheng... Although he didn’t usually live here, upon learning that his son had returned, he naturally couldn’t wait to come over and see him.
"Hahaha, son, did you miss Dad?"
He went up and gave a hearty bear hug.
Then he praised, "Not bad, Xiaojun, your physique is even stronger now. Good boy, you’ve earned your father a huge sum of money again. This time, our family didn’t have to spend a single penny, like catching a white wolf with bare hands, hahaha..."
Xu Lingjun blinked and listened to Wang Tiancheng’s self-satisfied explanation, finally understanding what had happened.
Turns out when he bought the land, it wasn’t even in full; he took out a loan from the largest bank in the Empire, Heaven and Earth Bank...
With a token personally issued by the Great Xia Empire’s Emperor as a guarantee, this was the ultimate assurance!
Then, Wang Tiancheng exploited a loophole in the rules.
Instead of directly paying half price, he used the token to extract half of the needed funds to pay for the land.
Then, he used the loaned half of the funds to build villas... In other words, he hadn’t spent a single penny; he not only bought the land but also acquired the funds to build the houses.
Now the villas aren’t even finished yet.
But they’ve already been sold out.
"Hahaha, not only did I pay off the loan, but I also made a massive profit. Xiaojun, your Father Wang is planning to break into this year’s rich list!"
Wang Tiancheng was immensely pleased with himself.
This operation filled him with pride, even now he was still proud of his spur-of-the-moment decision back then.
Not spending a penny, getting a huge piece of land for free, and the villas on top haven’t even been finished, the loaned funds haven’t been fully spent, and yet people have already paid up.
And when all is settled, even after the loan is paid off, a significant amount of money will remain, and along the way, he’s made connections with numerous nobles and the like... Those pretty girls, even he finds himself tempted.
His son’s indulgence is guaranteed now.
"Rest assured, when it comes to your neighbors... as the saying goes, distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. Father Wang will definitely screen them properly for you, so you don’t need to step in, leave it to Father Wang, and it’ll be handled perfectly."
Wang Tiancheng paused for a moment, then said with a smile, "Also, considering the future education of you three children’s children, I’ve given one of the villas to Instructor Zhong Yuebai, the one that’s closest... After all, she’s a true intellectual and scholar, keeping close ties with her also facilitates the future education of your kids, right?"
Xu Lingjun couldn’t help but find it even more amusing.
Especially paired with Wang Qingya’s continuous eye-rolling beside him...
Wang Qingya thought to herself, who doesn’t know what you’re up to, old man? It’s so shameless of you to say this out loud.
Besides, children this and that...
You’re just overthinking it. Although Xu Lingjun and I never use raincoats, she’s pretty meticulous with her birth control. Wanting to have grandchildren?
Wang Qingya felt she probably had a better chance of getting a little sister.