18. My Son Has Become So Remarkable

“How could that be? Who told you such a thing?”

Sichuan Normal University, a small grove.

Their family went bankrupt?? Li Yao frowned in disbelief. Putting aside how unlikely bankruptcy seemed, in her mind Chen Ze was never foolish—just lovesick.

She wasn’t the smartest woman, but handling a lovesick Chen Ze was not difficult.

Men, by nature, are childish creatures; they always harbor vanity and a need to prove themselves, regardless of age.

Once you learn to manipulate a man’s vanity and his need for validation, controlling him is not far off.

Chen Ze knew Li Yao wouldn’t believe him. Standing up from the dining chair with a resolute, fearless look, he said:

“I wish someone had taught me this, but after the developer our family contracted ran off, the court’s asset liquidation forced us into bankruptcy. I’m now utterly broke, Yao Yao. Can you lend me 100,000 yuan? I swear I’ll bounce back and give you a happy life.”

Li Yao hung up the phone. Perhaps she’d say her phone had fallen into water or come up with some other excuse.

But Chen Ze, seeing her hang up, didn’t panic. He immediately sprinted away. Behind him came a furious shout:

“You really are impossible when you go three days without a beating!”

Chen Tianhong expertly pulled out his belt, staring angrily at Chen Ze who had run onto the balcony, pointing at him:

“You’re dating, lying—I see you’ve gone wild, saying all sorts of nonsense!”

“Dad, what are you doing?” Su Meiqing quickly stepped in to hold Chen Tianhong back. Their son had grown up; would beating solve anything?

But to Chen Tianhong, the phone call had revealed too many issues, and he was furious:

“What am I doing? Listen to what your son just said—he’s learned nothing good, only how to lie.”

——————————————————

Yao Yao, I know you won’t be with me without money. All these years, I loved you but wasn’t foolish. That’s why I said it’s better to have a short pain than a long one, so we won’t hold each other back. Also, I urgently need money now. You must have 80,000 or 100,000 yuan. I’ve consulted a lawyer and saved the transfer records. I don’t want to meet you in court. Just transfer it to my Alipay. Wishing you peace for the rest of your life, my dear Yao.

——————————————————

While Su Meiqing and Chen Tianhong were arguing, Chen Ze quickly sent a text with blind nine-key typing.

Li Yao was a sweet girl from Tianjin. After her parents divorced in elementary school, she moved with her mother to Beichen.

Chen Ze had met her mother—hard to say if she was good or bad, just a very materialistic woman obsessed with money.

Li Yao inherited her mother’s beauty and, to some extent, her character.

Unlike those girls with shattered values and no bottom line, Li Yao was not that despicable.

As mentioned before, if Chen Ze had always been wealthy, she would’ve stayed loyal to him for life.

But since Chen Ze came from the future, what he sought now was a woman who wouldn’t abandon him in poverty or wealth—and that woman definitely wasn’t Li Yao.

Having had some feelings once, Chen Ze didn’t want things to end badly or have lingering entanglements.

Taurus girls are stingy and greedy for money—he didn’t believe in horoscopes, but Li Yao was truly like that.

Over the years, he had transferred her at least half of the money he sent, plus gifts totaling at least over 100,000 yuan.

Right now, he needed money and wouldn’t say no. Whether Li Yao would give it to him or not didn’t matter.

His greatest wish was for her to stop bothering him—and the best way to make someone disappear from your life is to have them repay their debts. They vanish just like that.

“Look at what you’ve spoiled him into.”

——————————————————

Chen Tianhong was furious, especially since Chen Ze was still messing around with his phone at such a time. Did he really think he wouldn’t dare hit him?

“Alright, Nono’s still here.”

Prompted by Su Meiqing, Chen Tianhong looked toward their daughter in the baby chair, his anger subsiding somewhat.

Perhaps because Chen Ze hadn’t been beaten much before their little princess was born, he didn’t know what it meant to be punished. Now she stared wide-eyed, curious about the adults.

Chen Tianhong pulled his pants up and walked back to play with the little girl. Su Meiqing sighed and looked at her son:

“Xin Xin, quickly apologize to your dad.”

Chen Ze, holding his phone, looked up with an innocent expression and asked blankly:

“Mom, what are you talking about? What did I do wrong? At least tell me where I went wrong.”

Su Meiqing, both helpless and worried, pulled Chen Ze away from the balcony. Chen Tianhong grumbled:

“Wrong? You’re dating, aren’t you?”

“Just broke up, not dating anymore.”

Chen Ze returned to the table, picked up his chopsticks, and acted as if nothing had happened, quite confidently.

Chen Tianhong was momentarily speechless. Since the little princess was present, he sat back down and frowned again:

“And all the lies you told. If you don’t want to make friends, just say so. Who taught you to lie like this?”

“Lie?” Chen Ze raised an eyebrow, ready to lecture his father, then put down his chopsticks and smiled seriously as he asked back:

“Dad, if a fox just ate its fill and comes across a rabbit, and asks where the rabbit’s home is, but the rabbit lies and gives a false address—would you say the rabbit is good or bad? If I were still a kid, I’d tell the teacher lying is wrong, but I’m grown up now, Dad.”

Chen Ze’s words left Su Meiqing speechless. Chen Tianhong was also stumped before snorting coldly:

“That’s all twisted logic. So by your reasoning, it’s okay to spread news of our bankruptcy?”

“I don’t want to say it either, but I’m afraid it’s true. I’m afraid our family will really go bankrupt in a few days.”

Chen Ze wiped his mouth with a wet wipe. Seeing Chen Tianhong’s eyes bulging like a bull’s, he softened his tone and continued:

“Uncle told me you’ve been so worried you can’t sleep these days. When I found out, I used the last 30,000 yuan I had to investigate. Guess what?”

He paused at the end—this was a common tactic to avoid directly denying existing beliefs when trying to change someone’s mind.

Chen Tianhong wanted to say Chen Ze was meddling and wasting money, but his silence was his reply.

Su Meiqing watched, feeling almost surreal—since when did their son become so capable?

Seeing he had successfully softened his parents with two sentences, Chen Ze went on without pause:

“Actually, we didn’t find any concrete evidence, but based on the company’s situation, the risks are enough to bankrupt us. If I’m not mistaken, the company has no money now, right?”

Indeed, the company’s accounts were nearly empty. Yesterday, Chen Tianhong had taken them out to dinner to try to collect debts.

It wasn’t Gong Yaowu, but from previous projects. These days, developers are so unscrupulous—they have money but won’t pay.

People say Western capitalists exploit workers, but the Confucian cultural sphere, with thousands of years of slave mentality, exploits just as badly.

Chen Tianhong eyed his son, sensing something different, and only snorted without saying more.

“Why does our company have no money? Because Banghe isn’t paying. Why isn’t Banghe paying? Is it because they have no money, or they just don’t want to? Dad, have you thought about this?”

Chen Ze posed three questions in a row. Chen Tianhong’s anger had dissipated, replaced by some relief.

——————————————————

Human progress comes from questioning.

Why are apes apes? The difference with humans is that humans question and take action.

Chen Tianhong was no fool. He felt the money spent on education hadn’t been wasted over the years, but things were complicated.

He had been in the industry long enough to know the dangers, but things rarely went smoothly.

“The company’s problems you don’t fully understand yet. Don’t waste money and focus on your studies.”

Seeing his father buckle his belt again, Chen Ze wasn’t surprised by his words and added:

“Dad, I guess Banghe Real Estate promised to pay you within a certain time or offered something in exchange, like a certificate of topping out, right?”

Chen Tianhong had indeed considered the risks of stamping such documents, but as he said, some things weren’t that simple.

Everyone knows illness is possible.

But knowing it doesn’t help much.

In the previous life, Gong Yaowu openly admitted that the money was spent on buying new land, and only after obtaining the certificates could they use it for turnover. Otherwise, if the cash flow broke, no one benefited.

Using project funds to buy other land is common in the industry—Hengda played this game too.

The water is so muddy that even if you know the danger, what can you do? Once you’ve stepped onto the sinking ship, you can only go down with it.

That’s why Chen Ze said if he hadn’t come from the future, their family’s bankruptcy wouldn’t be unjust at all.

The country needs development, and real estate leads the way.

For economic growth and political achievements, developers who dare take risks, fight hard, and borrow boldly are pampered like infants.

For socialism and to protect workers, the interests of laborers are constantly defended. On the surface, society and the media are supposed to look out for workers.

But what about the contractors caught in the middle?

They earn little but take the brunt of complaints. When developers have problems, they blame contractors; when workers have accidents, they blame contractors.

People are selfish. Without proper regulations and management, contractors, always passive in the food chain, resort to all kinds of underhanded tactics.

The more scoundrels among contractors, the less their interests are properly protected, and the worse their reputation becomes.

It’s a vicious cycle.

On the road to changing his fate, Chen Ze’s bottom line was the topping-out certificate. As long as his father wasn’t intimidated or tricked into stamping it, he could handle the rest.

“Dad, whether someone lies or not can’t judge good or bad. The fox and rabbit’s ending can be changed. No matter what, you must never let others hold your fate.”

The real estate world was too treacherous.

Chen Ze knew his father wouldn’t listen just because of a few words. In his father’s eyes, he was still a kid.

“Mm.”

Chen Tianhong left, saying he would seriously consider things but reminded Chen Ze to focus on his own affairs.

Chen Ze wasn’t worried. His father wasn’t stubborn. Still, to be safe, he had to see some people and handle some matters himself.