I Have a Niece...

"Hurry up and serve the food! Don't let our young friend Chen go hungry!" Deng Tiejun shouted at the waiter, already addressing Chen Zhao as a peer and friend.

Deng Zixin looked surprised; in her memory, her father rarely acted like this.

Soon, the dishes were brought out one by one. Most were Chinese cuisine, but they were plated elegantly, in the style of a Western restaurant.

After the cold appetizers and four small side dishes were finished, they served silver thread scallop soup, shark fin with four treasures, cheese-baked fish, Dongpo pork, and crispy pigeon. Halfway through the meal, they brought out braised skirt steak in a pot, beef steak with fermented black beans and chili, walnut paste, chocolate cream desserts, and a small platter of fruit. There were sliced pears, Red Fuji apples, mangoes, as well as peeled lychees and grapes.

Chen Zhao basically kept his head down and ate. It was clear that the old men had spent a fortune to treat him; none of the dishes were bad, the presentation was exquisite, and the flavors were explosive. Compared to this, the instant noodles Chen Zhao usually loved to eat were practically fit for pigs.

In contrast, the three old men had little interest in the food, keeping their heads down as they studied Chen Zhao's manuscript of the Memorial to Yueyang Tower, praising it incessantly:

"This line is truly vivid! 'Floating light leaping like gold, quiet shadows sinking like jade'—the imagery just jumps right out!"

"And the word choice is incredibly precise. Look at this 'sinking' character; nothing else would work, this is the best!"

"The sublimation at the end is also excellent! 'To be concerned about the world's troubles before the world, and to enjoy the world's joys after the world'—what an admirable quality and state of mind!"

All three old men treated Chen Zhao's manuscript like a treasure, their eyes excited, looking like misers staring at gold ingots. They discussed it for over twenty minutes before stopping and looking up at Chen Zhao in unison.

"Young friend Chen, how old are you this year?" Deng Tiejun asked.

"I'll be turning eighteen in a few dozen days, right around the college entrance exam," Chen Zhao said while spitting out a grape seed.

"So that's nineteen by traditional reckoning. Zixin is twenty-three, not much of a gap!" Deng Tiejun muttered.

Deng Zixin's face turned green, then flushed bright red. She slapped her chopsticks down. "Dad, what are you thinking! Can you stop with the wild ideas! Just eat your food!"

Chen Zhao also felt a bit embarrassed, having caught the subtext in Deng Tiejun's words; it was clearly an attempt to play matchmaker between him and Deng Zixin.

"Heh heh, you misunderstood." Deng Tiejun blushed slightly and explained to Deng Zixin, "I was just thinking about what your literary level was like at his age, and how it compared to young friend Chen's. Thinking about it... it seems there's no comparison."

Ma Qingtian, sitting nearby, spoke up with a smile. It must be said, while Ma Qingtian looked like an old pedant when serious, this smile made him look rather lecherous, like an old pervert.

"Young friend Chen, I have a niece who just got into the Central Academy of Drama. She's a year older than you, comes from a good family, and is quite pretty..." Ma Qingtian said smoothly.

Chen Zhao was stunned. Is this... setting me up on a date?

That can't be right!

I just wrote an essay, and you're introducing your niece to me? Is that appropriate?

Oh, of course, if she's pretty, I'd be quite happy...

Deng Zixin leaned over and whispered in Chen Zhao's ear: "Don't believe that old guy. I've seen his niece; she has a birthmark the size of an egg on her face. Even plastic surgery couldn't fix it."

Chen Zhao looked at Ma Qingtian, maintaining a respectful smile on the surface while thinking to himself, You old rascal! Trying to scam me! You call a birthmark the size of an egg 'pretty'?

Mu Tianque glared at Ma Qingtian and shouted righteously, "Old Ma, is this appropriate! We came here to make friends through literature, why are you starting with something as vulgar as matchmaking!"

After saying this, Mu Tianque smiled at Chen Zhao: "I have a niece who is a year younger than you..."

Chen Zhao felt his head throbbing. What is going on here!

Chen Zhao quickly indicated that he was too young and wasn't considering marriage yet. Deng Tiejun looked at Deng Zixin with a worried expression, seemingly thinking, You're still young, but my daughter isn't. Deng Zixin was nearly dumbfounded, wondering which nerve her father had misfired today; she was so angry she almost flipped the table.

What followed was idle chatter. The three old men were curious about Chen Zhao's situation and spent a long time questioning him like they were checking his household registration. When they learned that Chen Zhao had ranked first in his grade last time, the three old men clicked their tongues in admiration, sighing that a genius is a genius—not only good at literature but proficient in other things as well.

In the end, the host and guests were all satisfied. Chen Zhao exchanged WeChat contacts with the three old men, and everyone headed home.

As for the handwritten copy of the Memorial to Yueyang Tower, it was given to Deng Tiejun. The other two old men were extremely jealous; the fire in their eyes when looking at Deng Tiejun showed they clearly wanted the manuscript too. A first draft of a good article has great collection value. However, because Deng Zixin was Chen Zhao's landlady, Chen Zhao decided to gift it to Deng Tiejun. Deng Tiejun promised to help Chen Zhao submit it to a magazine.

At the end of the banquet, Chen Zhao had a few sips of alcohol. He didn't feel much at the time, but as he sat in the passenger seat of Deng Zixin's sports car, feeling the wind on the way home, the alcohol kicked in, leaving him slightly tipsy.

The leather seat of the sports car felt very comfortable against his face. By lowering his head, Chen Zhao could see the fair, smooth legs under Deng Zixin's leather skirt. Looking up, the city lights reflected on Deng Zixin's pale, fair face, and the thousands of household lights were mirrored in her eyes. For a moment, Chen Zhao suddenly felt that it would be quite nice to marry a wife like Deng Zixin—pretty, cool, with a building to collect rent from, and a father-in-law who was a painter whose work sold for ten thousand per square foot. But soon, Chen Zhao sobered up, feeling that this wasn't very realistic.

It was already very late when he got home, so Chen Zhao didn't stream. He hung a "taking leave" sign in his live-streaming room and fell straight to sleep.

The fans waited for a long time, but instead of seeing Chen Zhao show off his marksmanship, they were met with a cold, heartless leave note, and they all howled in anger.

Little Bamboo Shoot also cried out in misery. Without Chen Zhao, the master, to carry her, she returned to her miserable state of being eliminated immediately upon landing every single game. She was beaten until she couldn't find north, crying and logging off in shame.

The next day, during the exam, Chen Zhao felt a bit overwhelmed.

He had slept too late and drank alcohol, so his physical condition was poor, and he wanted to sleep while taking the test.

So, Chen Zhao spent less than half the time finishing the paper in a rush, then laid his head on the desk and fell into a deep sleep.

And he didn't just sleep; he even snored softly!

The other top students in the exam hall were shocked.

Shocked and angry!

Everyone else was racking their brains, using every ounce of energy, and racing against time to squeeze out an extra point or two on their papers.

And Chen Zhao was actually sleeping on his desk?!

This was clearly showing no respect for the other top students in the hall!

He was simply an arrogant maniac!

After the exam, many top students gathered together to whisper. They weren't checking answers, but discussing the egregious behavior of Chen Zhao sleeping and snoring during the test:

"This Chen Zhao, he does have some skill, but he gets arrogant the moment he does well. I bet his score will definitely drop this time."

"That's right. We might not be able to match him, but all the top students in the school are here checking their papers repeatedly. Surely we can't lose to him?"

"When the results come out, he'll realize he shouldn't have been sleeping, but should have used every second to check his work!"

"Arrogance leads to regression. Let's see what rank he drops to."

"I estimate he'll drop out of the top ten!"

Two days later, the scores were released. Chen Zhao scored 694, once again ranking first in the entire school.