Lotus leaf-steamed chicken

After roughly ten seconds of stalemate, Li Hongmei spoke.

"Can that game of yours really make money?"

"Yeah, it can."

"You're already in your senior year and still playing games? We're replacing your phone!" Li Hongmei took off her apron and glared at him angrily. "No more playing from now on. Save that money yourself, and don't waste it."

"Ah, sure, sure." Jiang Nian didn't really care. He didn't need a phone to complete the system's tasks anyway.

Then her tone softened. "Quite a feast you've made. My son's finally growing up."

At that, Jiang Nian let out a silent sigh of relief and went back to grinning.

"When's Old Jiang getting off work?"

"Soon. Look at you, getting all pleased with yourself. Go call Qianqian over for dinner." Li Hongmei kept a stern face. Her son had never been serious about anything, even as a child. Give him an inch of encouragement, and he'd get carried away.

"What about Uncle Xu?" he asked.

Li Hongmei took a watermelon out of the fridge. "Away on a work training trip. He left this morning."

Knock, knock, knock.

At the knocking, Xu Qianqian opened the security door halfway, revealing her flushed face.

"What do you want?"

"To call you over for dinner. Hey, why's your face red?" Jiang Nian spotted something suspicious and shamelessly tried to squeeze inside. "What have you been doing at home all afternoon?"

"Get lost!" Xu Qianqian stubbornly guarded the doorway.

Jiang Nian grabbed her arm, and immediately felt her whole body stiffen. Then she shouted at the top of her lungs toward the Jiang family's apartment across the hall.

"Auntie, Jiang Nian's touching me!"

"Huh? No, you...?"

Li Hongmei's scolding rang out from the kitchen. "Jiang Nian, are you asking for a beating? Stop bullying Qianqian!"

"I'm not! Don't make things up." Startled, he panicked and squeezed straight inside. Seeing that Xu Qianqian was about to shout again, he quickly covered her mouth.

"Mmph! Mmph!"

They were so close that he could even make out the fine down on her face. Her large, bright eyes stared at him, filled with panic.

The summer evening breeze was hot and dry. He could smell the fragrance coming from Xu Qianqian's neck, and for some reason, he felt awkward.

"Don't shout."

"Mmph."

"I'll let go if you stop shouting. Nod if you agree."

Xu Qianqian made more muffled noises, then nodded.

The instant Jiang Nian released her, she bit him, leaving a clear set of teeth marks on his arm. He sucked in a breath from the pain, but didn't dare cry out.

"Xu Qianqian, are you part dog?"

"Hmph. You deserved it." Xu Qianqian turned her head away.

A faint blush covered her cheeks, seemingly from their scuffle. Only then did Jiang Nian notice that she was dressed differently. He looked her up and down and paused in surprise.

"A school uniform skirt? Did you just buy it?"

No wonder she hadn't wanted to open the door. She'd been trying on clothes. But it wasn't like she'd been changing, and the uniform wasn't revealing. The skirt wasn't particularly short either. What was there to hide?

Xu Qianqian didn't see it that way. She felt rather embarrassed.

"What's it got to do with you?"

"Nothing. It looks nice." Jiang Nian rubbed his arm as he headed out. "Come over for dinner in a bit. There's lotus leaf-steamed chicken, your favorite."

Thud. The door closed.

Standing in her living room, Xu Qianqian took a deep breath to calm herself before turning and going back to her bedroom to change.

At seven thirty.

Jiang Weizheng came home and froze at the sight of the table full of dishes. He set his briefcase aside.

"What's the occasion?"

"No occasion. Your son made all this." Li Hongmei rolled her eyes at him and urged him to wash his hands for dinner, then called over the two youngsters watching TV on the sofa.

"Dinner's ready. Turn that off."

Soon, all four were seated at the table, and Li Hongmei repeated what Jiang Nian had told her earlier. Old Jiang and Xu Qianqian listened in astonishment, then both turned to look at Jiang Nian.

"You can make money from that?" his father asked.

"Of course, Comrade Old Jiang." Jiang Nian answered without so much as a blush or a flutter of his heart.

"Seriously?" Xu Qianqian glanced at him several times. She'd never lacked money growing up, and her food, clothes, and other necessities had always been a notch above his. "You're still playing games in your senior year? You might not get into college!"

They'd been close as children, and she had often given Jiang Nian little bread rolls to eat. Later, they'd stopped getting along. Later still, they'd both grown up and lost their taste for snacks.

At that, Li Hongmei sternly scolded him some more and brought up replacing his phone again.

Old Jiang picked up a piece of lotus leaf-steamed chicken with his chopsticks. After a bite, his expression grew complicated.

"Nian, did your grandpa teach you this?"

"Yeah. Good, right?"

"Ah, it's not as good as your grandpa's." Jiang Weizheng sighed and set down his chopsticks. "When I was little, your grandpa's version was truly something special."

Jiang Weizheng seemed about to say more, but stopped himself. "Forget it. That's all in the past. Let's eat."

Jiang Nian didn't mind. He didn't have much appetite for his own cooking anyway. Xu Qianqian, however, seemed to love it. For once, she ate two bowls of rice.

Ding! A settlement panel appeared.

[Task: Make a lavish dinner for your parents. Reward: 800 RMB (completed).]

Almost simultaneously, his phone buzzed.

Even though Jiang Nian knew it was the bank transfer notification, he couldn't resist taking out his phone to look. He'd spent almost four hundred on groceries, then received the eight-hundred reward.

His current balance was 1,350.64 RMB.

"Oh, Hongmei, did you pay the utility bills?" Old Jiang suddenly looked up and asked.

"No. Why?"

"Our utilities seem to..." He stopped halfway, as though something had occurred to him, and turned toward Jiang Nian. "Did you pay the utility bills?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Old Jiang stared for several seconds. "Nothing. Keep your money for yourself. There'll be plenty of things you need money for when you're older."

As he said this, his gaze drifted almost imperceptibly toward Xu Qianqian. He sighed inwardly. His son was as clueless as an ox.

The two families were well matched and knew each other inside out. Unfortunately, the two children didn't get along, and there was no point forcing it. Who knew who would eventually win over Old Xu's precious daughter?

After dinner, Xu Qianqian and Li Hongmei went to wash the dishes while Jiang Nian cleared the table. Twenty minutes later, a bowl of chilled watermelon was brought out.

After eating the watermelon and chatting for a while, Xu Qianqian went home.

Once the door was closed, the family of three prepared to turn in too.

Old Jiang sighed. "Nian, which class is Qianqian in again

?"

"The class next to ours. Haha!"

The moment he heard Jiang Nian laugh, Old Jiang's temper flared. "What the hell are you laughing at? If you were even half as sensible as Qianqian, we'd have to thank all our ancestors."

Jiang Nian wasn't laughing about Xu Qianqian. His tasks had refreshed again.

[At thirty-eight, you have long since worn your body out. Your health is the foundation of everything you do. Rebuilding a healthy body and improving your personal appeal are the basis of turning your life around.]

[Side task: Complete a 2-kilometer run in one go (no resting). Reward: 300 RMB.

Complete a 3-kilometer run in one go (no resting). Reward: 700 RMB.

Complete a 5-kilometer run in one go (no resting). Reward: 1,000 RMB.]