Reborn not to be a simp, the school beauty's whole family goes crazy

"However, I paid for all the household expenses this month, and I didn't ask any questions..."

The more Chen Xiumei talked, the more she felt something was wrong, and she lost all interest in peeling garlic.

"Dongzi, what happened?"

"It's nothing, I was just curious."

"What's there to be curious about?"

"I'm curious about how much money I can earn when I start working, so I'm planning ahead."

"I didn't mean anything by it, so please don't overthink it, sister."

"Dad said he's calling you all home for dinner tonight."

"By the way, is my brother-in-law home? I want to learn how to ride a motorcycle from him."

"He drank too much last night, he probably hasn't gotten up yet."

Chen Xiumei gradually became worried.

"He's been looking rather down lately, could something really be wrong?"

Chen Dong started rambling on and on to distract Chen Xiumei.

Chen Xiumei didn't think much of it.

After the store manager called her and she started getting busy, Chen Dong left.

Chen Dong didn't go home; instead, he rode his old bicycle to Guo Miao's house.

"Come on, let me take you for a ride on my motorcycle."

"Huh? When did you get a motorcycle? And can you even ride one?"

Guo Miao hurriedly followed Chen Dong downstairs.

When I got off, I saw it was his old bicycle, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him.

"Go to my brother-in-law's house, he just bought a 125".

"He's free this weekend, let's have him take us out!"

Guo Miao's eyes lit up: "That's great!"

But then she suddenly grabbed Chen Dong and asked, "Aren't you going to Shen Yue's house today?"

"Where are you going? I already told you I don't like her, so don't mention her again."

"Whoa whoa."

"Would you like to go?"

"Let's go!"

Guo Miao quickly hopped on his old bicycle and followed behind Chen Dong.

The staff dormitory building of the Herb Bureau is under renovation, so Qin Min's family is temporarily renting a place to live outside.

As soon as Chen Dong and his companion arrived downstairs, they saw Qin Min coming down and preparing to ride his motorcycle out.

"Follow."

Chen Dong quickly led Guo Miao to follow.

Fortunately, Nanjiang County is not a large town, with narrow roads and many people.

Qin Min headed towards the city center, but his speed wasn't much faster.

The two of them managed to avoid being dumped, but they were exhausted.

"No, no, Dong-ge, we can just call out once, why follow my brother-in-law all the way here?"

"Didn't you say you were taking me out for a drive?"

Guo Miao was panting heavily from exhaustion.

Chen Dong's gaze was fixed on Qin Min in front of him.

"Look where this is?"

Guo Miao took a closer look.

Game room?

"Hey, Dong-ge."

"Your brother-in-law seems like a very honest person, does he also come to the arcade to play with tokens?"

Arcades in the 1990s were a mixed bag, rife with petty theft, fraud, and all sorts of vices.

Minors entering arcades are considered delinquents.

Many parents forbid their children from going to such places.

Not to mention adults like Qin Min who work in public institutions and have respectable jobs.

The two of them parked their bicycles only after Qin Min went inside.

"Let's go in and take a look."

"Boss, give me 5 yuan."

"Okay."

The shopkeeper grinned and quickly took the money, giving Chen Dong 20 coins.

At that time, one yuan could buy four game coins.

20 coins, enough to keep you entertained all day if you're just playing arcade games.

"Hey, you two young men, you look unfamiliar. Is this your first time here?"

Chen Dong nodded: "I heard the boss has some big ones here, so I came to take a look and test the waters."

The boss looked at Chen Dong, who was neither young nor old, and spoke with a lot of experience, so he was somewhat skeptical.

The boss remained cautious, smiling as he said, "You two have fun outside first. Call me if you like it."

After saying that, the shop owner went behind the counter and continued reading the newspaper.

Chen Dong immediately understood: "Okay, boss, you go ahead and get busy."

Guo Miao looked on in surprise: "Brother Dong, you've been to the arcade before? When did you come here without my knowledge?"

"Never been here before?" Chen Dong smiled, grabbed a handful of game tokens and gave them to Guo Miao, "Just play around."

"Are you serious?"

Guo Miao glanced at the smoke-filled hall.

Many young men with medium-length or buzz cuts were eyeing the two of them intently.

"What are you afraid of? I'm here."

Chen Dong found a computer with the book "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and sat down.

From here you can see the small door ahead, with a burly man sitting guarding it.

Qin Min then went inside.

Chen Dong was enjoying playing "Dynasty Warriors 2: Battle of Red Cliffs" immensely.

This was the most popular arcade game at the time; The King of Fighters wasn't that popular back then.

This can be considered as making up for the regret of not being able to play before.

After playing for about ten minutes, Chen Dong still hadn't seen Qin Min come out.

It seems the other party is taking a gamble.

Chen Dong wanted to go in and catch them in the act, but he had no money and the burly man with the buzz cut behind the door wouldn't let him in.

Just as Chen Dong was thinking, several people gradually walked up behind him and surrounded him and Guo Miao.

With a flick of the switchblade, the tip was concealed against their lower backs.

"Dong, Brother Dong..."

Guo Miao trembled, his face turned deathly pale, and he could barely speak.

His legs were shaking like a leaf.

He had never seen anything like this before.

Chen Dong, however, remained unfazed.

He has lived for decades, built his own business empire, and seen all sorts of ups and downs.

"Dude, what does this mean?"

"What do you mean?"

A man with hair styled in a 4/6 split, exhaled a puff of smoke, then nudged Chen Dong with the tip of his knife: "Kid, do you know the rules?"

"What rules?"

"Pretending to be ignorant, huh?"

The man with the 4/6 parting slapped Guo Miao's head hard, making him cry out in pain.

"No, please don't hit me! We really didn't know, brother."

The petty thugs of this era are truly daring to go in with knives and come out with knives.

They might stab you and run away just for a dozen or so game coins.

He could run away to another city and hide for a few months, and once the storm had passed, he'd be a hero again.

If you get stabbed, you can only accept your bad luck.

Moreover, in such places, the boss will not only not help you, but will also collude with them.

Therefore, Chen Dong certainly wouldn't confront them head-on.

"Hmph, you little brat, do you recognize me?"

"Playing on my Monkey King's turf, you can't just sit around without paying your dues?"

Monkey King snatched all the game coins from Guo Miao's hand.

Another young man with a side-parted hairstyle, Lin Zhiying, also reached out to snatch Chen Dong's things.

"Besides these, hand over all the money you have on you!"

Monkey King? Chen Dong wanted to laugh when he heard that.

"Brother, don't be angry, let's talk this out."

Chen Dong turned around and stood up.

"This is our first time here, and we don't know any better. Consider this game currency as a treat for you guys."

"We are just poor students, we don't have much money."

"How about this, you release my brother first."

“My brother-in-law is playing cards inside. Take me in, and I… I’ll get some from him as a small token of my respect for you, Brother Monkey.”

The group was taken aback, clearly not expecting anyone to be playing cards inside.

However, Monkey King is highly skilled and daring; it would be a fool not to make money when it's available.

"Young man, you're pretty savvy."

"Okay, we'll go in with you."

"But if you dare to say anything out of line, my knife doesn't have eyes!"

Monkey Brother called over a man with a 3/7 split hairstyle, and the two men, one on each side, hooked their arms around Chen Dong's shoulders as they walked away.

"Dong, Brother Dong..." Guo Miao called out.

"It's okay, you wait for me outside."