Chapter 89: Family Gathering
Chu Feng drove Illya back to the villa. Illya tilted his head and looked at him, asking curiously, “Are you in a bad mood?”
Chu Feng nodded. “A little.”
“Because of the person you saw tonight?”
Chu Feng nodded again. “Yeah.”
He used to dislike Chu Jinghui—used to envy him, too. Jinghui had a better family, two living parents, and even their grandfather favored him. Meanwhile, Chu Feng had been worn down by life early on. If not for his sudden ability to travel between worlds, his life would’ve stayed that way.
After a long pause, Chu Feng said, “I used to be really jealous of him.”
Illya tilted his head. “Why would you be? You’re way better than him.”
Chu Feng looked at him. “What makes you say that?”
Illya thought for a moment. “Because, when we’ve been out these past few days, people have really liked being around you.”
“Really?”
Illya nodded. “Definitely. I can feel people’s emotions. A lot of them want to be close to you. Some of them are even jealous of me.”
Chu Feng: “…” Am I really that great? Why don’t I feel it?
All he’d done recently was shop—tag along with Illya and spend money like crazy. No wonder people liked him. Who wouldn’t want a walking wallet who carried your bags without complaint?
“From a certain perspective, I am pretty impressive.” In a society driven by money, having cash was already a huge advantage. On top of that, he was young and not bad-looking. He could be considered an ideal partner.
“That guy probably envies you too,” Illya added.
Chu Feng was surprised. “You think so?”
Illya nodded seriously. “I don’t think I’m wrong. He tried to hide it, but I could tell—he’s really jealous of you.”
Chu Feng had always been the one jealous of Jinghui. But now… was it finally the other way around?
Thinking about it, it made sense. He and Chu Jinghui lived in completely different worlds now. Of course Jinghui would envy him. If Chu Feng were still a broke delivery guy and one of his coworkers suddenly won 3 million, he’d probably be jealous beyond recognition too.
Illya licked his ice cream and asked, “Want some?”
Chu Feng shook his head. “No. And you should eat less of that—you’re still injured, and that stuff’s ice cold.”
Illya licked again. “But I feel like it’s helping me heal faster.”
Chu Feng: “…” That’s definitely just your imagination.
Then Illya picked up a nearby thermos. “This cup is amazing. I put hot water in earlier, and it’s still warm!”
Chu Feng rolled his eyes. “It will get cold—just more slowly.”
“With this, I can drink hot water anytime in the winter!”
Chu Feng nodded and said, “True. The weather in the other world is getting colder and this thermos will come in handy.”
“There are so many great things in your world!” Illya couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.
Chu Feng nodded. “I guess you could say that.”
Illya glanced at him and asked, “Can we bring a refrigerator over there?”
Chu Feng: “…” Why does he want a fridge? To eat ice cream anytime, anywhere?
“Even if we bring a fridge, there’s no electricity to power it!”
Illya puffed out his cheeks. “Don’t you have a big generator? Didn’t you say you were going to bring one to the castle?”
Chu Feng: …Illya is really catching on fast—he even knows about generators now. “It’s almost winter over there. A fridge won’t be much use then.”
“How could it not be useful? You don’t turn off your fridge in winter here either!” Illya lifted his head to look at Chu Feng, cheeks puffed, eyes bright and clear.
Chu Feng nodded. “Alright, got it—we’ll bring a fridge.”
He shook his head, thinking to himself: Illya is getting too familiar with this world, it’s getting harder to fool him.
“We’ll fill the fridge with ice cream.”
Chu Feng: “…” I knew it.
Illya tilted his head, a little embarrassed. “It’d be a waste to leave it empty!”
“We need to get the generator there first. Without it, a fridge is useless,” Chu Feng said.
Illya sighed. “Then we’ll wait a little longer. Things are really great in your world—when it’s cold, it’s really cold, and when it’s hot, it’s truly hot.”
Chu Feng: “…” That’s… kind of true.
Illya blinked and asked, “Are you bringing the generator so you can have electricity in your room?”
Chu Feng nodded. “That’s the plan.” He was used to being active at night. Sleeping as soon as it got dark in that world felt pretty miserable.
Illya looked at him and asked, “You came back this time for something, didn’t you?”
Chu Feng blinked. “Ah, yeah. I did.”
Tomorrow was the Mid-Autumn Festival. He had to return home to celebrate. His third uncle had been texting him non-stop, worried he’d forget.
“I might not be here tomorrow night. Will you be okay on your own?” Chu Feng asked.
Illya nodded. “Sure!”
He tilted his head and added, “I already know how to use everything here. And don’t worry, I won’t go playing with fire.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Good. I’ll try to come back early.”
Illya tilted his head again. “Do you have something special planned for tomorrow?”
Chu Feng shook his head. “Just dinner with family.”
Holidays used to be the busiest time for courier work. Last year, he was still delivering packages non-stop just for the overtime pay—he didn’t even rest. No one invited him to dinner then.
But this year was different. Mid-Autumn hadn’t even arrived and he’d already gotten several phone calls.
Illya looked at him and asked, a bit puzzled, “You don’t really want to go, do you?”
Chu Feng rested his chin on his hand. “You could tell?”
Illya nodded. “Yeah, it’s written all over your face. I didn’t even need to read your emotions. Isn’t dinner with family a happy thing?”
Chu Feng gave a bitter smile. “Not really.”
His grandfather only invited him back to dinner because he probably wanted him to help Chu Jinghui in some way—not out of care or love.
Just thinking about who he’d see there made him feel bored and uninterested.
Illya looked at him and said, “If you really don’t want to go, then don’t.”
Chu Feng shook his head. “I still have to go.” No matter how frustrated he felt, there were certain relationships he had to maintain.
Illya nodded. “Alright. I know how to use everything in the kitchen—I can cook for myself.”
Chu Feng looked at him, thinking: Cook? More like just eat all the ice cream in the fridge once I’m gone.
“Better to order takeout. You know how to do that, right?”
Illya nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ve known how for a while now.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Good.”
He had bought Illya several phones of different screen sizes. Illya learned how to use them quickly—he was already downloading cheesy soap operas and had recently become obsessed with melodramatic family dramas.
After settling Illya, Chu Feng drove home.
*
“Xiao Feng, you’re back!” Gu Jia greeted him warmly.
“Yes.” Chu Feng smiled and carried a few boxes out of the car.
He had brought a box of mooncakes, a case of wine, a case of milk, and a box of nutritional supplements.
Gu Jia helped him carry the items inside. Yan Ping saw Chu Feng and secretly felt a pang of jealousy.
“Xiao Feng, you’re a big shot now. It’s really not easy to see you these days!” Chu Feng was long used to her tone and said calmly, “I’ve been pretty busy lately.”
Yan Ping looked at the items Chu Feng brought and said, “You gave several cases of Mou Tai to the Lin family, and now you’re visiting your real grandfather with just these? Get your priorities straight—this is your actual grandfather.”
Chu Feng gave a faint smile. “I don’t know what Aunt gave him. Maybe you could tell me so I can use it as a reference next time.”
He rolled his eyes inwardly. Yan Ping was shrewd—she never brought anything when she visited.
Grandpa and Grandma favored the eldest uncle’s family and doted on Chu Jinghui. They never minded that she came empty-handed.
On holidays, the gifts sent to the house were usually taken back by the eldest uncle’s family. And it’s not like they were short on money either. Chu Feng had always found their behavior distasteful.
He may not have brought Mou Tai, but the items he did bring were still worth several hundred yuan—not too shabby.
If he had brought Mou Tai, odds were the moment he left, the eldest uncle’s family would just carry it off.
The ones who came empty-handed were now criticizing him for not bringing enough.
Chu Ding looked at Chu Feng’s car and asked, “A new one?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yeah.”
Originally, he hadn’t planned on driving the car over, but then he thought—since Chu Jinghui already saw it, he might as well bring it. Pretending otherwise would be pointless.
The narrow country roads weren’t easy to drive on. When he arrived, quite a few people stopped to watch. Chu Feng couldn’t help feeling like a returning success story.
He’d never understood why so many people liked flaunting their wealth, but now he realized—it actually felt pretty good. People live for appearances, don’t they?
“You bought such an expensive car—can you even afford the upkeep?”
Chu Feng replied casually, “I didn’t buy it on credit, so it’s not much pressure.”
Chu Jinghui’s expression shifted slightly. His car was bought with a loan. At the time, it felt impressive, but lately he’d regretted it. Mortgage, car payments, plus issues from his wife’s side—he was buried in stress.
His salary was gone the moment it came in, and he had racked up credit card debt too.
Chu Ding looked at Chu Feng and said earnestly, “Even if you won three million, you shouldn’t spend so recklessly. You’ve almost blown through it, haven’t you?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Pretty much.”
Chu Ding shook his head. “Three million, gone so fast?”
Chu Feng laughed indifferently. “Guess I’m destined to be broke. Never seen that much money before, so I couldn’t help myself.”
Gu Jia sighed. “What are you saying?”
She thought: Sister-in-law always said Chu Feng was destined to be poor, and I guess he’s carried that with him ever since.
Chu Feng thought to himself: If he hadn’t gotten the ability to travel between worlds, he really would still be a poor nobody. And if he were, no one would have pitied him anyway.
“Alright, let’s eat,” said Chu Linsheng, stepping in to ease the tension.
“Sounds good. I’m starving,” Chu Feng replied with a smile.
