Chapter 976 - 941: Final Payment

Ye Qingya had no choice but to take it.

Ye Changyuan didn’t seem in a hurry to leave, pulling out the chair at the dressing table and sitting down: "I just talked to your grandfather, he’s ready to accept defeat."

Ye Qingya laughed, "I know Grandpa is worried about me. I will definitely practice my martial arts well in the future and strive to be a true heroine."

Ye Changyuan laughed heartily, looking at his daughter. For some reason, he thought of his wife Lin Sijin. His daughter indeed inherited some of her genes, though Lin Sijin was more assertive. Ye Changyuan asked himself if he was also a strong character, perhaps their assertiveness led to their daughter’s introversion.

In fact, there were few opportunities for father and daughter to have a one-on-one conversation. Ye Changyuan once thought his daughter resented him, resented him for marrying her into the Qiao Family and not giving her a chance to choose love.

Ye Qingya finished her bird’s nest porridge and noticed her father had been staring at her. Somewhat surprised, she said, "Why are you looking at me? It’s weird."

Ye Changyuan sighed, "Just now your expression made me suddenly think of your mom."

Ye Qingya said, "Can we not talk about her?"

Ye Changyuan replied, "Why shouldn’t we mention her? Your mom’s temper is a bit strange, but she’s like me, she loves you."

Ye Qingya said, "Can we not discuss this?"

Ye Changyuan found it strange, not knowing why his daughter rejected her mother so strongly.

Ye Qingya knew very well, it was accumulated over the years. She felt her mother hadn’t fulfilled her responsibilities during every stage of her growth. Her mother never gave her any guidance, whether physically or emotionally. Whenever she approached her mother, she was met with impatience, as if she wasn’t her biological daughter.

Ye Changyuan said, "Qingya, I have to speak fairly for your mom. She does care about you. When you married Qiao Rulong, she stood up against it, and that’s when our marital relationship took a nosedive, leading to our separation to this day."

Ye Qingya said, "Ever since I can remember, your relationship has been bad, frequent small quarrels, and a major fight every third day. It cast a shadow over my perception of marriage."

Ye Changyuan admitted, "I concede that your marital failure is Dad’s fault."

Ye Qingya said, "It’s not considered a failure; actually, most people’s marriages are a mess."

Ye Changyuan could hear the negativity in his daughter’s tone, "Daughter, you can’t deny everything because of one failure, you’re still young..."

Ye Qingya said calmly, "I won’t consider marriage anymore. It’s great being alone, coming and going freely, doing whatever I want."

Ye Changyuan said, "But have you thought about what you’ll do when you grow old? Isn’t it lonely without a companion?"

Ye Qingya said, "Why must one have a companion? I’m not incapable of taking care of myself. Dad, you should stop worrying about me and focus more on yourself."

"Worry about what?"

Ye Qingya said, "You two have been separated for so long, what are you going to do in the future? Are you going to keep dragging it out?"

Ye Changyuan said, "Our business doesn’t need your concern."

Ye Qingya said, "Okay then, we’ll mind our own business from now on, I won’t interfere with yours, and you won’t interfere with mine."

Ye Changyuan shook his head helplessly, his gaze turning to the wall, drawn by the hanging "Heart Sutra". He got up and walked to the "Heart Sutra", widening his eyes to appreciate it closely.

Ye Qingya knew her father didn’t usually have much interest in calligraphy.

Ye Changyuan asked, "Did you write this piece?"

Ye Qingya replied, "No, I visited Du Yun Temple last month, and a senior monk gifted me this handwritten Heart Sutra. I liked it very much, so I framed it and hung it."

Ye Changyuan said, "Du Yun Temple? I’ve never heard of it."

"It’s very remote, not even on navigation maps."

Chen Qianfan was an hour late from the agreed time and apologized to Xu Chunliang with some embarrassment, "Sorry, there was traffic on the way."

Xu Chunliang said, "I understand, let’s hurry on."

Chen Qianfan asked him to hand over his luggage to the driver, and they both got into the car first.

Xu Chunliang entered the car and saw a well-looking woman seated inside. Chen Qianfan quickly introduced her, "My finance assistant Yang Xiaofeng. Xiaofeng, this is my good friend, Dean Xu."

Yang Xiaofeng promptly greeted Dean Xu.

Chen Qianfan asked her to sit in the front passenger seat, and Yang Xiaofeng pouted reluctantly but moved over. Xu Chunliang sensed a bit of ambiguity between them, and Chen Qianfan quickly explained in a clumsy manner, "She’s my subordinate. Her capabilities are decent but not very socially savvy."

Xu Chunliang thought to himself, why are you explaining this to me? Is it necessary? What kind of capability are you referring to?

Just as the car started, Pu Jian called, asking if they had left. Chen Qianfan told him they were still at the hotel entrance. Pu Jian asked them to detour to his place, as he changed his mind and decided to go back to Dongzhou with them.

Chen Qianfan couldn’t help but complain. He had specifically called Pu Jian yesterday, asking if he wanted to go back together. Pu Jian had said he had a collector’s meetup soon, not knowing why he suddenly changed his mind.

Xu Chunliang looked at the time; it was already half-past nine in the morning. This seemed likely to extend to lunchtime, but having one more companion wasn’t bad. With Pu Jian along, the journey wouldn’t be dull.

Chen Qianfan asked the driver to head to the address Pu Jian had sent. When they arrived, they saw Pu Jian with a backpack, carrying a dish in one hand and a case of beer in the other.

Pu Jian handed the beer to Xu Chunliang, "Hold on, I’m going to the nearby shop to get another case."

Chen Qianfan said, "I have alcohol in the car."

"Who drinks that on a hot day? Get some chilled beer to perk up!"

Chen Qianfan said, "I have a refrigerator in the car."

Pu Jian glanced at him disdainfully, "So what if you have a refrigerator?"

Chen Qianfan looked at the back of Pu Jian and said, "Why do I feel like this guy is in a bad mood? Why is he picking on everyone?"

Xu Chunliang said, "It’s hot, people get irritable."

They had started drinking in the car by noon, and there was a reason for Pu Jian’s irritability. The final payment for Du Yun Temple hadn’t been received yet. He had called a few times, but Mo Han ignored him.

Pu Jian complained to Xu Chunliang, "Do you think she, such a big boss, really needs the little money she owes me? I told my friends that the final payment would be made by now, but it hasn’t been paid."

Xu Chunliang said, "There was an unexpected situation. Master Tonghui disappeared, maybe she can’t deal with you right now."

"What does Tonghui running off have to do with me? I worked on Du Yun Temple, is the project done? The final payment wasn’t made on time, there’s no sense of contract spirit. Besides, Tonghui also signed the papers properly."

Chen Qianfan said, "You can run off a monk, but not the temple, can’t you find someone to collect this payment?"

Pu Jian said, "Now there’s only a Mute Monk left at Du Yun Temple. No matter what I say, he just mumbles. Anyway, there’s no money. It was Mo Han who hired me to renovate Du Yun Temple. If there’s a debt, there has to be a debtor. I can only ask her for the money."

He looked at Xu Chunliang with both eyes.

Xu Chunliang said, "She owes you money, not me. Why are you looking at me?"

"It was through you that I met her. She’s not paying me and isn’t answering my calls. Shouldn’t you bear some responsibility as the middleman?"

Xu Chunliang said, "You guys discussed the business without me, and I didn’t get any benefit from it. Why should I take any responsibility?"

Chen Qianfan said, "That’s a fair point."

Pu Jian said, "It’s none of your business, Old Chen. Just drink your wine, even donkey meat can’t shut your mouth."

Yang Xiaofeng turned her head from the passenger seat, "Mr. Pu, be more polite to our President Chen."

Pu Jian blinked his eyes, "Oh, a defender of justice! So, you’ve formed a united front against me."

Xu Chunliang said, "Is it that serious? Do you really think you deserve that much attention?"

Pu Jian said, "Alright, you have a big face. Can you call Mo Han for me and ask about the final payment? No one else wanted to take on the Du Yun Temple project. I went through significant effort to help her. There’s no reason for me to be out of pocket."

Chen Qianfan said, "Are you short on money recently? If you are, I can lend you some for turnover."

Pu Jian rolled his eyes, "I have money myself."

In front of Xu Chunliang, he called Mo Han again, but she had turned off her phone and couldn’t be reached.

With the call on speakerphone, Pu Jian said, "Listen, her phone’s off. You think she might disappear just because of the little money she owes me?"

Xu Chunliang laughed, "How much does she owe you in the final payment?"

"Five hundred thousand!"

Xu Chunliang said, "Here’s the deal. If she doesn’t pay, I’ll give you the money. You can be one hundred percent assured."

Pu Jian said, "Why should I take your money? You two aren’t even a couple."

Chen Qianfan said, "Look at Chunliang’s generosity, then look at you. People just can’t compare."

Pu Jian said, "Even if you die, I won’t."

Yang Xiaofeng couldn’t take it anymore and turned her head, "What kind of talk is that?"

Pu Jian said, "Old Chen, how do you train your company employees? Does she usually like to butt in?"

Chen Qianfan laughed, "Xiaoyang, it’s okay. We’re all buddies. We’re just kidding around."

Pu Jian said, "This Xiaoyang comrade really defends President Chen. I can see she considers Old Chen as family."

Chen Qianfan said, "Our company is managed like a family. Everyone treats me like a family head."

"Xiaoyang, what’s your name?"

Yang Xiaofeng ignored him.

Chen Qianfan said, "Yang Xiaofeng."

Pu Jian chuckled, somehow finding it amusing, and after a couple of coughs, he said, "Old Chen, I knew you liked ’little crevices.’"

Chen Qianfan and Xu Chunliang were speechless, knowing that he was definitely getting off track.

Yang Xiaofeng turned around for the third time, "You pervert!"

Pu Jian said, "Hey, how does that make me a pervert? Isn’t Yang Xiaofeng your name? Can’t I say it? Unless this ’little crevice’ is exclusively for President Chen?"

Xu Chunliang kicked Pu Jian. This guy never knows when to stop and doesn’t have any filter when excited.

Chen Qianfan said, "Xiaofeng, watch your language. They’re all my buddies."

Yang Xiaofeng rolled her eyes dramatically, unwillingly turned around, and put on her headphones.

Pu Jian said, "I have to say, Old Chen is stronger in this area than you. You, boy, prioritize your lover over your friends."

Xu Chunliang said, "Alright, alright, you’ve been ranting forever. You just want me to help you collect the debt. Fine, I’ll call Mo Han now."

"Her phone’s off."