Going to work? Even a dog wouldn't go!

Chapter 17, Daughter-in-law visits
"how?"

"Is your girlfriend coming over?"

Zhang Dongshan's eyes lit up immediately after overhearing the conversation.

"Maybe!"

"I have no idea what's wrong with her!"

"They came to our door on their own initiative, which shows they're sincere. What do you mean by 'going crazy'?"

Zhang Dongshan rolled his eyes and urged, "Hurry up and eat, then clear the table. It's their first time visiting, don't make a mess!"

After saying that, Zhang Dongshan began to tidy up the somewhat messy living room.

Zhang Xian quickly finished his breakfast, then walked to the courtyard gate and looked towards the alley entrance.

Right now, Zhang Zhaodi is feeding her little yellow dog "Weir" a sausage. Since being rescued, Weir, who was originally skinny, has been fed by Zhang Zhaodi into a "little yellow pig" with a round belly.

"Xiaoxian, aren't you going fishing today?"

After Zhang Zhaodi finished feeding the last piece of sausage, she looked up at Zhang Xian.

"Go, but a little later."

Fishing is such an addictive activity; once you're hooked, it's hard to get out. Zhang Xian is one of those who fell into the trap.

Of course, this is also related to his activation of the "lying flat" system. Without the system's safety net, fishing would be a very luxurious hobby for young people.

After all, most young people work 996 hours a day like beasts of burden, where would they find the time to go fishing?

"Xiaoxian, what's wrong?"

Just as Zhang Xian was looking out of the alley, a well-dressed man with gold-rimmed glasses on his nose walked over from the other side of the alley.

"Nothing, I just finished eating and am just digesting."

"Old Pang, you're all dressed up like a proper lady, and you're even wearing perfume. Are you going on a date?"

The man wearing gold-rimmed glasses is named Pang Fei. He and Zhang Xian are childhood friends, but Pang Fei is a year older than Zhang Xian. After graduating from university, he joined a foreign company, and his father, Pang Dachun, even bought him a Camry.

Among his peers in Dongliutiao Hutong, Pang Fei was considered to be doing well, especially among the boys, where he was an outstanding figure. Zhang Dongshan often compared Pang Fei with Zhang Xian.

"You noticed that? I recently got a new girlfriend, she's a minor internet celebrity, and her looks and figure are exactly my type. I need to keep an eye on her!"

Pang Fei said with a smile.

"An internet celebrity!"

"Cattle!"

Zhang Xian gave a thumbs up, saying that these days, anyone who dares to date a female internet celebrity is a brave soul.

It's not that all female internet celebrities have character flaws, but the circles they're in make them more realistic and their consumption views are more radical than ordinary girls', which is generally unaffordable for ordinary people.

There are countless examples online of people maxing out their credit cards, taking out online loans, or even embezzling public funds for female internet celebrities. And when they run out of money, there is only one outcome: being kicked aside by the female internet celebrity.

Pang Fei's income is not bad, around 20,000 yuan a month, but this income is only for ordinary people and is not enough in the online celebrity circle.

So, upon hearing that Pang Fei had actually gotten a girlfriend who was an internet celebrity, Zhang Xian could only silently wish him good luck.

But Pang Fei was still immersed in the excitement of having a beautiful girlfriend. He said excitedly, "Xiangxiang is different from other female internet celebrities. She doesn't do anything suggestive. She just sings songs and chats."

"By the way, I heard from my dad that Dongxu also has a girlfriend."

"Xiaoxian, you need to work harder too. Out of the six of us, you're still the only one who's single!"

When they were children, Zhang Xian often played with Pang Fei and Liu Dongxu. At that time, martial arts films were popular all over the country, so the three of them gave their group a name: the Three Heroes of Six.

However, this title had been buried in Zhang Xian's memory for many years, and now that Pang Fei suddenly mentioned "Six Articles and Three Heroes", he couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

"Actually, I also have a girlfriend."

Pang Fei's information was clearly delayed; he was still unaware of his relationship with Chu Yourong.

That's normal, though. Liu Dongxu and Wang Jiajia went to the hotel after dinner yesterday, so they probably haven't gotten up yet. Liu Dongxu probably hasn't had time to spread the news.

Although Chu Yourong had instructed him not to reveal Zhang Xian's identity during dinner yesterday, the probability that Liu Dongxu would spread the news in small circles in the alley is still very high.

"is it?"

"I haven't heard of it!"

"Let's get together for a meal sometime."

Pang Fei said with considerable surprise.

"okay."

Zhang Xian nodded in agreement.

"I'm going on my date now. It's rare for me to have a weekend off; I've been working overtime lately."

Pang Fei waved and was about to leave when he noticed a beautiful, ethereal young woman walking towards him. She was wearing a pale yellow dress, the hem of which swayed gently with her light steps, radiating a soft warmth in the sunlight.

The girl had long, jet-black hair with slightly curled ends, which made her porcelain-white skin appear even more translucent. She was carrying two exquisite gift boxes in her hands. At this moment, she seemed to be looking for someone, her eyes glancing at both sides of the alley from time to time. When she saw Zhang Xian standing at the gate of the courtyard, a faint smile involuntarily appeared on her lips.

"Chu, Chu Yourong!"

"I am not wrong, right!"

Pang Fei was shocked and could hardly believe his eyes. He was an IT professional, a programmer at a major company, and many of Chu Yourong's fans were tech geeks like Pang Fei.

"It really is Chu Yourong."

"Xiaoxian, you know Chu Yourong, right?"

Pang Fei excitedly grabbed Zhang Xian's arm with one hand, then whispered, "See? She's smiling at me."

"Luckily, I had a date, so I dressed up carefully!"

"However, why did she end up in our alley? She's been trending on social media every day since she announced her relationship. Yesterday, paparazzi even photographed her having dinner with her boyfriend!"

"She's walking towards us."

As he spoke, Pang Fei subconsciously puffed out his chest.

Zhang Xian shook off the arm that was being held tightly by him: "Old Pang, can you let go first?"

"Xiaoxian, how can you be so calm?"

"You don't even know Chu Yourong?"

Pang Fei released his grip and said with some confusion.

"Of course I know him."

"She is my girlfriend."

Zhang Xian shrugged slightly.

"what?!"

"Chu Yourong is your girlfriend??"

"Don't make trouble!"

"She's already officially announced her boyfriend on Weibo, and it's not you!"

Pang Fei was startled at first, then shook his head.

"The boyfriend she officially announced hasn't even shown his face, how do you know it's not me?"

"It's like that internet celebrity who holds concerts without showing her face. Do you know who she is or what she looks like?"

Zhang Xian spoke with conviction.

However, Pang Fei naturally didn't believe it. He rolled his eyes and said, "You said her boyfriend didn't show his face, so it's possible for me too!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Yourong had already walked up to the two of them.

"Why are you poking me like that!"

"You didn't even bother to pick me up!"

Chu Yourong's first words were a complaint.

Pang Fei, on the other hand, looked completely bewildered.

Uh?
Is this talking to me?
He quickly put on a smile and said, "I'm sorry, I was just too excited to see you."

"what?"

Chu Yourong was taken aback for a moment, then quickly explained, "I was talking to Zhang Xian, he's my boyfriend."

"What???"

Pang Fei was completely stunned. He had thought Zhang Xian was joking, but now the person in question had admitted it.

"Old Pang, he's my childhood friend."

Zhang Xian gave a brief introduction to Pang Fei, then pointed to Zhang Zhaodi standing to the side: "She is my third sister, Zhang Zhaodi."

"Hello, Lao Pang. Hello, Third Sister."

Chu Yourong greeted the two of them with a smile.

"Are you Xiaoxian's girlfriend??"

Zhang Zhaodi blinked her big eyes, curiously looking at Chu Yourong while asking questions.

"Yes, my name is Chu Yourong."

Chu Yourong nodded politely.

"You're so beautiful!" "How did you end up with a crush on Seohyun?"

Zhang Zhaodi asked again with a blank expression.

Well.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xian was speechless: "Zhang Zhaodi, if you can't speak properly, then don't speak at all!"

"cluck"

Chu Yourong laughed heartily, but from Zhang Zhaodi's tone and demeanor, she also noticed something amiss. Although the other person had the appearance of an adult, her tone of voice and mannerisms were completely unlike those of an adult.

Coming to his senses, Pang Fei muttered to himself: Actually, I wanted to ask that question too!

"Zhao Di, go tell Old Zhang that the person he wants to see has arrived!"

Zhang Xian was afraid that Zhang Zhaodi would make some more outrageous remarks, so he sent her to inform his father.

"Oh."

Zhang Zhaodi responded and turned to run into the courtyard.

Pang Fei secretly glanced at Chu Yourong. He wanted to chat a bit more, but he didn't know how to start. Just then, his girlfriend "Xiangxiang" called. He gestured to Zhang Xian and Chu Yourong and went to the side to answer the phone.

"How did you come?"

With no one else around, Zhang Xian asked in a low voice.

"Your trick of having me pretend to be your boyfriend worked really well. Didn't you see on Weibo? We had dinner together and it's trending again. This morning, my manager, Sister Huan, told me that the company has already notified the legal team to negotiate with my lawyer. If all goes well, I'll be able to terminate my contract soon."

"So, I'm going to add fuel to the fire!"

Chu Yourong's face revealed a triumphant smile.

"Well, that's good news."

Zhang Xian shrugged slightly. If Chu Yourong could terminate her contract as soon as possible, his mission would be accomplished.

Two million in hand, I'm quite happy.

"Zhao Di seems a bit off?"

Chu Yourong said softly again.

"Her IQ was stuck at the level of a 9-year-old. She did this to save me. I'll tell you the details later."

Zhang Xian gave a simple explanation.

At this moment, Zhang Dongshan, who had received the news, came out of the yard with a big smile: "Why are you still standing at the door? Come in quickly!"

"Hello, Uncle, my name is Chu Yourong. I'm sorry to bother you."

"Not at all, how could this be considered a disturbance? Xiao Chu, you should have come much sooner!"

Zhang Dongshan's face was full of smiles.

When Zhang Xian mentioned that he had a girlfriend, he thought she was probably just an ordinary person. He never expected that his future daughter-in-law would be so beautiful, even more beautiful than most female celebrities on TV.

Oh, it's Chu Yourong.

This name sounds so familiar!

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhang Dongshan suddenly felt that the name Chu Yourong sounded familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere recently.

After letting her into the house, Zhang Dongshan carefully examined his future daughter-in-law and suddenly realized that she looked like the female celebrity in the news.

"Xiao Chu, are you a singer?"

Zhang Dongshan asked in surprise.

"Yes, I am a member of Moonlight Girls, but I am currently negotiating with the company to terminate my contract."

Chu Yourong nodded in response.

"So, the person in the news really is you?"

"Is that person with the mosaic blurred out Xiaoxian??"

Zhang Dongshan asked in shock. As an older man, he naturally wouldn't care about girl groups, so he didn't know who Chu Yourong was before.

But Chu Yourong's relationship has been so hot these past two days. He accidentally came across it while scrolling through Douyin, and when he saw the photos, he was silently criticizing it in his mind.

Is the man too ashamed to face anyone or something?

It turned out that this "ashamed" guy was actually his own son!

"Yes, I don't want Zhang Xian to be harassed; after all, he's not in the entertainment industry."

Chu Yourong provided an explanation.

"Yes, yes, you're doing this for Xiaoxian's own good."

Zhang Dongshan nodded repeatedly. Recently, "Apple Fragrance" has become a huge hit, and he has also experienced the taste of "fame".

As the saying goes, with fame comes trouble. Although his Douyin live streams have been very popular these past few days, they have also been met with insults and criticism.

Therefore, it's better for an ordinary person not to be exposed in the media.

For example, if Zhang Xian were to be exposed as Chu Yourong's boyfriend, it would definitely attract countless insults and ridicule.

Phrases like "You don't deserve it," "Good cabbage is being eaten by pigs," and "A beautiful flower stuck in cow dung" will flood the comment section.

"Uncle Zhang, Zhang Xian told me you're also a singer, and the original singer of the recently popular song 'Apple Fragrance'!"

"You're really amazing!"

Chu Yourong praised with a smile.

"It's not that I'm amazing, it's that my Xiaoxian is amazing."

"Many singers can make 'Apple Fragrance' a hit song, so Xiaoxian, the creator, is even more amazing!"

Zhang Dongshan, abandoning his usual boastful style, attributed all the credit to Zhang Xian.

The reason he did this was, of course, to promote his son.

Chu Yourong is a member of a famous girl group and a nationally renowned female celebrity. Zhang Dongshan still doesn't know how she ended up with his son.

However, adhering to the concept of "marrying someone of equal social standing," if the future daughter-in-law is a female celebrity, then the son Zhang Xian must also have a matching title.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be a situation where "the woman is superior to the man"?

The title of "famous creator" is somewhat fitting for a female celebrity.

"The Scent of Apples was actually written by Zhang Xian?"

Chu Yourong was shocked; Zhang Xian had never mentioned this to her.

"Yeah, didn't Xiaoxian tell you?"

"It's just a song I wrote, what's there to say!"

Zhang Xian took over the conversation, waving his hand dismissively.

"Our Xiaoxian is just modest."

Zhang Dongshan immediately added with a smile.

"She's quite humble and very low-key."

Chu Yourong glanced at Zhang Xian beside her. She hadn't chosen Zhang Xian as her "boyfriend" randomly.

Zhang Xian fished by the river for three days, and she sat in the coffee shop she ran with her best friend Han Ziwei for three days.

In her opinion, the fisherman was quite "down-to-earth" and had enough patience, and he also had plenty of time to cooperate with her acting.

Chu Yourong never expected that the "boyfriend" she picked up by the river would actually be the creator of the hit song "Apple Fragrance." It's just a pity that this type of song is not suitable for her, otherwise there would be opportunities to collaborate in the future.

When the "daughter-in-law" first visited, Zhang Dongshan prepared a large red envelope according to custom and invited Chu Yourong to stay for a meal.

It wasn't until after 2 p.m. that Chu Yourong left the Zhang family home, accompanied by Zhang Xian.

"Bring it here!"

After walking a distance, Zhang Xian reached out his hand.

"what?"

Chu Yourong looked at Zhang Xian with a puzzled expression.

"A red envelope!"

"My dad gave it to me!"

Zhang Xian shrugged: "The agreement stipulates that if either side's elders give money, it must be returned in full."

"嘁~"

"As if I care about it!"

Chu Yourong pursed her lips and immediately took out the red envelope that Zhang Dongshan had given her from her handbag and handed it to Zhang Xian.

"Wow, it's pretty thick!"

"Old Zhang really went all out!"

Zhang Xian squeezed the thickness of the red envelope, sighed, and then said to Chu Yourong, "I'm planning to use this money to buy a new fishing rod. If Lao Zhang asks about it later, just say it was a gift from you. Don't let it slip!"

"understood!"

Chu Yourong snorted coldly and strode towards the alley entrance.

(End of this chapter)