Naming Technique of the Night

Qing Chen was sprinting in the street, and as he climbed over the fence, the unhealed wound on his hand got snagged by a barb on the iron railing, tearing it open again.

The young man's expression was stern; he hadn't expected that the first thing his father would do after being released from detention was to sell their house.

When he rushed back home, he overheard an agent saying, "Don't judge this house by its shabby looks, but it's a genuine school-district house, once registered, your child can go to the nearby Los Angeles Foreign Language School. Moreover, it's so close to the school that it will only take your kid five minutes to cross the street to get there."

"Living farther away makes it inconvenient for you to pick up and drop off, cycling is unsafe, and moreover, your child can sleep an extra 40 minutes every day, which is far better than the other students."

There were six people viewing the house, apparently three couples, all drawn by the school-district attributes.

At that moment, the agent added, "Moreover, the landlord mentioned that his child was the top scorer of the middle school exams in Los Angeles, so this is virtually a top scorer's former home."

Qing Chen: "..."

Honestly, he had never anticipated that his title as the top scorer would be used as a selling point for the house.

Qing Chen spoke coldly, "Who told you to come view this house? This house is not for sale!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

At those words, everyone's gaze turned towards Qing Chen.

The real estate agent hesitated for a moment, "Who are you?"

Qing Chen replied succinctly, "The top scorer."

Agent: "..."

The middle-aged men and women viewing the house unconsciously glanced at a photo on the wall, which was of Qing Chen at the award ceremony.

At that time, the city of Los Angeles had rewarded him with 5000 yuan. Of course, the money had been gambled away by Qing Guozhong.

The agent hesitated, "This house has been entrusted to us by Mr. Qing Guozhong, and we've checked the property deed, which is indeed in his name, so there's no mistake. Also, he gave me the keys, he was just here a moment ago. Let me call Mr. Qing Guozhong to confirm."

While speaking, he dialed Qing Guozhong's number, putting it on speakerphone.

But all that could be heard from the other end was the sound of mahjong tiles clashing. Qing Guozhong spoke impatiently, "What's up?"

"Hello Mr. Qing Guozhong," said the agent, "I've brought some clients to view the house, but... it seems your son is here saying that the house is not for sale."

Qing Guozhong sounded puzzled, "Isn't that kid supposed to be in class? Why is he suddenly home? Never mind him, the house is in my name, I say sell it, red dragon!"

The agent said, "Um, I'm afraid that won't do Mr. Qing, you need to come and sort this out yourself, or else there will be problems clearing out the house."

"Then I'll head over tomorrow afternoon, I'm busy right now, two bamboo!" Qing Guozhong responded.

With that, the line went dead.

The agent, speechless, held the phone and then looked at Qing Chen, "Um, we will come back tomorrow afternoon then."

At that moment, Qing Chen wondered why Qing Guozhong had money to gamble as soon as he was out of detention.

After everyone left, he immediately checked under his mattress only to find that the several thousand yuan he had gotten from selling the gold bars had also been taken by Qing Guozhong.

Qing Chen was a student, and a noticeably poor one at that. Having a few thousand yuan in cash stuffed in his wallet would easily arouse suspicion.

He felt somewhat relieved that he had put the gold bars into his backpack before going to Laojun Mountain; otherwise, those four gold bars might have been taken as well.

At that moment, Jiang Xue walked in and asked softly, "Xiao Chen, are you alright?"

Qing Chen silently shook his head.

Jiang Xue said, "I just went to confirm with the agent, if your father wants to sell this house, you really can't stop him. Legally speaking, it's his house."

Outside the window, the noisy sounds could be heard as the agent explained the situation to the visiting clients who, having made a wasted trip, were quite upset.

"Hmm," Qing Chen replied softly.

"But it's okay, Xiao Chen. It's okay not to have such a father. From now on, you can move in with us. Xiao Yun and I will share a room, and I will clean up her room for you," Jiang Xue comforted, "From now on, you are part of our family. Focus on your studies, and once you get into college, Auntie will cover your tuition fees."

Qing Chen smiled, "It's alright, Aunt Jiang Xue. Xiao Yun has grown up too, it's not suitable for her to share a room with you now."

At that moment, a knocking sound suddenly came from outside the door. Qing Chen looked out and was surprised to see Hu Xiaoniu in a wheelchair and Zhang Tianzhen together.

Behind them, someone was pushing the wheelchair.

Hu Xiaoniu pondered for a moment and said, "Qing Chen, we overheard the agent talking outside. Here's the thing, your next-door neighbors have moved out, but I have already bought that house. If you don't mind, you could move in there."

Honestly, Hu Xiaoniu had never dealt with such matters before, given his privileged upbringing. He couldn't understand how a father could sell the house and leave his son homeless.

He couldn't understand it.

Qing Chen thought about it and said, "I really appreciate your kindness, and I indeed urgently need a place, but I can't stay for free. I know you aren't short of money, but please accept the rent. Also, I will remember this favor."

Hu Xiaoniu smiled, "Okay, no problem."

In Qing Chen's view, although the other party had an extra house, they didn't necessarily have to rent it to him, so he had to accept this favor.

If the other party ever faced trouble in the future, he would certainly help them for free once.

Hu Xiaoniu had someone fetch the keys and hand them to Qing Chen: "Normally, the rent is 1200, but we've just renovated this house and replaced many things, like the air conditioning, the smart toilet, and the TV, so the rent will be a bit higher, 1400. What do you think?"

"That's reasonable," Qing Chen said to Jiang Xue, "Aunt Jiang Xue, could you cover it for me first? I'll pay you back after I earn the money."

"Sure," Jiang Xue nodded.

Hu Xiaoniu sincerely said to Jiang Xue, "I may have been a bit offensive due to our own reasons in previous dealings with you. Please forgive us and hope it doesn't leave a bad impression. Hopefully, we can become friends when the chance arises."

Jiang Xue smiled, "It's okay, don't worry about it."

"Alright," Hu Xiaoniu nodded.

After speaking, he slowly got up, holding onto the railing and climbed the stairs step by step, while someone behind him carried his wheelchair up.

Jiang Xue looked at Qing Chen, "What are you planning to do next?" Continue reading at empire

Qing Chen turned back and glanced at his familiar home, the dimly lit room, the worn-out curtains, and the couch. He had always thought he would leave this place someday, but when the moment to leave actually came, he felt somewhat reluctant.

He remembered the years when his father still brought home Taotao Rice Noodles, and they would sit on the couch, eating around the coffee table.

He remembered the house was occasionally visited by ants searching for food, and his mother Zhang Wanfang would always complain about the bugs being too plentiful and the house too damp.

He remembered looking out from his desk and seeing the fig tree in front of the door.

He remembered every detail of this house, both the good and the bad.

Then, his mother left.

After that, his father stopped coming back too.

Perhaps that's the downside of having a good memory.

However, as things stood,

"Perhaps it's time to put an end to it," Qing Chen said calmly as he stood in the small room: "Tomorrow, let's sever the past life."

...

The plot is about to get even more interesting~

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