Chapter 75: Blind Date
After learning that the show’s powers were fake, Illya lost interest in the TV drama.
He turned to Chu Feng. “Are we going to the supermarket again tomorrow?”
“Do you want to go? If you do, then we’ll go.”
Illya nodded. “I want to!”
Chu Feng looked at him and thought: Didn’t expect Illya to love the supermarket this much.
“I saw you using that… thing—your phone—to pay. If I had a phone, could I also buy whatever I want?”
Chu Feng: …
It’s not the phone that makes it possible—it’s having money in the phone account.
“It’s not like that. I just store my money in the phone.”
“Do people here all have lots of money on their phones?”
Chu Feng: …
Not everyone. Some people have no money—just debt.
Illya looked at Chu Feng. “Are you rich?”
“Pretty much.”
Chu Feng thought to himself: He could be considered wealthy. Maybe not on the national rich list, but in this small city, being worth over 100 million yuan definitely made him one of the top.
As they chatted, Chu Feng’s phone rang.
It was his aunt.
Chu Feng answered, surprised. She rarely called him. Her tone was unusually warm, and Chu Feng couldn’t help but suspect she’d taken the wrong medicine.
“Xiao Feng, how have you been lately?”
Her sudden concern creeped him out. After his parents passed away, she had always avoided him, worried he might ask to borrow money.
“I’m doing fine.”
“You’re not getting any younger. It’s time to think about settling down. I know a nice girl—she’s a teacher. Meet her tomorrow.”
Chu Feng froze.
Is she trying to set me up?
This wasn’t the first time—his cousin Chu Anzhi had already been “sacrificed” to one of her matchmaking setups. He couldn’t believe she’d now turned her sights on him. She used to think he was good-for-nothing and destined to die alone!
Chu Feng thought for a moment and figured the issue probably had something to do with the lottery win.
He suspected his grandfather had probably sold him out again. The old man couldn’t keep a secret—he’d say “keep it quiet,” but then probably went and blabbed everything he wasn’t supposed to.
“No need, I’m not considering marriage for now,” Chu Feng said.
“Don’t be so ungrateful! She’s a teacher—a stable job with a guaranteed income! If I hadn’t fought for this opportunity, do you think you’d get such a good chance?”
Hearing that, Chu Feng suddenly calmed down. Now that sounds more like her, he thought. Her earlier “gentle” tone had felt way too out of character.
Zhao Hong was still chattering nonstop on the other end. Chu Feng directly said, “I’m busy,” and hung up.
Chu Feng hung up so decisively that Zhao Hong was fuming, stomping her foot.
“This ungrateful brat!” she grumbled, glaring at her phone.
Lin Guoqiang looked at Zhao Hong, shook his head, and said, “Forget it. If Xiao Feng isn’t interested, just let it go.”
Zhao Hong huffed, “I’m doing this for his own good! Even if he did win three million, he can’t just sit around spending it all! I’m introducing him to a responsible wife to keep him in line, and he still doesn’t appreciate it.”
Lin Guoqiang frowned. “That’s three million. He’s probably not short on money right now.”
Thirty thousand and three million are worlds apart.
Zhao Hong frowned. “Did he really win three million?”
Lin Guoqiang nodded. “Most likely. Anzhi’s an honest kid—he wouldn’t lie about something like that to the old man.”
“True,” Zhao Hong said. “I heard he’s even bought a house—paid in full.”
She rolled her eyes. “And with three million, he didn’t even buy a big unit. Is he saving the money to blow on nonsense?”
Lin Guoqiang shook his head. “It’s his money. He can spend it however he wants. Even if he just puts a million in the bank, the interest alone would be decent every year.”
Zhao Hong rolled her eyes again. “How’d that kid suddenly get so lucky?”
Lin Guoqiang shook his head. “When luck comes, there’s no stopping it.”
*
Illya tilted his head and looked at Chu Feng, a little confused. “What’s a blind date?”
Chu Feng glanced at Illya, thinking, Did he hear that?
He hadn’t even turned on speakerphone. But Illya was a gifted one—maybe he had sharp hearing.
“It’s nothing.”
Illya tilted his head, unconvinced. “It has to be something.”
Chu Feng: …
Illya suddenly leaned in and kissed Chu Feng on the lips. “Is this what a blind date is?”
Chu Feng’s face instantly turned bright red. He felt like his face was burning hot enough to fry an egg.
“You—why did you suddenly…”
Illya pointed at the TV. “It was on TV.”
Chu Feng: …
Wait, what had been on TV again?
Oh right—a martial arts drama. The male and female leads were originally lovers, but the guy’s mother had killed the girl’s mother, and his father had… violated her mother. A blood feud separated them, but they were so madly in love that they kept fighting until they rolled into bed together.
Chu Feng had thought the show made no sense—completely absurd.
But now, he suddenly felt the director was actually quite talented.
Illya looked at Chu Feng. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Chu Feng turned to him. “Say what?”
Illya frowned. “You’re not allowed to go on that blind date tomorrow.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Of course not. I promised to take you out again tomorrow.”
Illya nodded. “That’s true. But you’re not allowed to go the day after either.”
“Why not?” Chu Feng teased.
Illya shook his head. “I don’t know. I just don’t want you to go.”
Chu Feng smiled. “If you don’t want me to go, I won’t go.”
Illya smiled. “Good!”
“I’m going to bring the stuff from the car upstairs,” Chu Feng said.
“I’ll help,” Illya offered.
Chu Feng shook his head. “No need. You watch TV.”
Illya nodded. “Alright.”
He actually liked watching TV. Everything on it felt new and fascinating.
*
Chu Feng put the yogurt he’d bought into the fridge. At some point, Illya had wandered over.
“What are you doing?” Illya asked.
Chu Feng glanced at him. “Yogurt needs to be refrigerated, or it’ll spoil.”
Illya stuck his head into the fridge and exclaimed, “Ooh! It’s so cool in here!”
Chu Feng helplessly pulled him away. “Don’t do that.”
“Is this the machine you said can change the temperature?”
Chu Feng shook his head. “No.”
Illya looked puzzled. “It’s not?”
“No,” Chu Feng said. “That’s the air conditioner. This is a refrigerator.”
Illya nodded, only half understanding. “Oh. I’m going to take a bath.”
After bathing yesterday, Illya had fallen in love with the feeling of soaking in warm water.
“Go ahead,” Chu Feng said.
Not long after Illya left, a sweet and slightly cloying scent drifted from the bathroom. Chu Feng figured he must be using the pink bubble bath again.
If Illya likes that kind of stuff so much, I better buy more of it, Chu Feng thought.
He remembered checking after Illya’s bath last night—the bubble bath was already half gone. He had no idea how Illya managed to use that much.
*
The Next Morning
Still half asleep, Chu Feng was suddenly pushed awake by an excited Illya.
Illya looked at him and said, “Let’s go out and play!”
Chu Feng looked at him and thought: Guess there’s no sleeping in anymore.
Back in Crescent Village, Illya didn’t bother him when he slept in—but here…
Chu Feng nodded. “Okay, but let’s wash our faces and brush our teeth first. Then I’ll take you out for breakfast.”
Illya nodded and said, “Sure!”
Chu Feng took Illya to a bun shop and ordered a variety of breakfast items.
As Illya munched on a bun, slurping up the soup inside, he said, “This tastes really good!”
“That one’s a soup dumpling—be careful, it’s hot,” Chu Feng warned with a smile, thinking to himself: Illya seems to think everything tastes good.
“Just try a bit of everything. Don’t eat too much—you’ll be full. There’s still a lot more we can eat later.”
Illya nodded. “Okay! I want to eat ice cream.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Got it. I’ll get you some later.”
They went to the mall afterward, and Chu Feng planned to help Illya pick out some clothes. Illya looked around at the endless rows of clothing stores, wide-eyed.
“These clothes are so pretty!”
Chu Feng glanced through a shop window. “If you like it, go take a look.”
He thought: Illya has good taste. First pick and it’s a designer store. It’s nice having money—without it, I wouldn’t even dare go in a place like this.
“Are the clothes here expensive?” Illya asked in a low voice, leaning in.
Chu Feng smiled. “Not at all. Very cheap. Browse freely—if you like something, we’ll buy it.”
A nearby sales associate heard Chu Feng’s words and instantly perked up, smiling like a blooming flower—clearly sensing they’d run into a big spender.
“Sir, you’re so handsome—you’d look good in anything. But I think this piece would suit you especially well,” one of the salesgirls said warmly.
Illya was pulled into the fitting room to try on clothes while Chu Feng stood by, amused. Salespeople nowadays had silver tongues and overflowing enthusiasm. Illya tried on over a dozen outfits, but eventually realized something wasn’t right and, no matter how sweetly the salesgirl spoke, he refused to try on more.
Chu Feng bought several of the outfits Illya liked.
“Your total comes to 83,000 yuan,” the cashier said.
Chu Feng paid by phone.
One of the salesgirls glanced over at Illya, who was sitting on a nearby sofa, waiting patiently, and a trace of envy flickered in her eyes.
Illya looked around curiously, unaware of the attention.
