The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 473 The Mayfly's Gift (Bonus chapter for Czh555's Alliance Leader donation!)

The three of them chatted in the kitchen for a while longer. It was mostly Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an who did the talking, while Xia Murui didn't say much. Perhaps he wasn't good with words, or perhaps he just wanted to hear Zhao Cheng'an and Qin Huai talk more at that moment.

Qin Huai has a wealth of experience in introducing systems and other spirits. He has to describe each one he awakens, and he is very skilled at it. When he speaks, he is very fluent and basically does not miss anything.

When Zhao Cheng'an spoke, his thoughts were relatively unrestrained. He basically talked about whatever came to mind, even things that seemed to happen in his dreams. One moment he would be reminiscing about his first incarnation, and the next he would be describing the natural scenery of the African savanna.

As he spoke, Zhao Cheng'an pulled out Qin Huai's phone from his pocket and handed it to Qin Huai very naturally: "Oh right, Qin Huai, here's your phone. When I first woke up, I wanted to test if my skills had gotten rusty, so I just took it without thinking. I don't know if you noticed."

Qin Huai took the phone, put it in his pocket, and squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth: "Guess if I've noticed."

That was a good theft. Don't steal again next time. This is truly a society governed by law. The "King of Thieves of Beiping" won't become a legend of Beiping; he'll just end up in Beiping's jail.

Sir, times have changed; we have surveillance now.

Later in the conversation, Zhao Cheng'an suddenly asked what Qin Huai's gift was, and what gifts the other awakened spirits had given him.

Qin Huai told the truth, even revealing that he had become the sole heir to Luo Jun's estate and that he would be the prime suspect should Luo Jun die unexpectedly one day.

All the other spirits gave money, and Zhao Cheng'an frowned and fell into deep thought.

“It’s not that I’m stingy,” Zhao Cheng’an clarified first. “I really want to give money, but I don’t have any right now. All my money has been used to replenish my inventory. I only have a little over a thousand yuan in my pocket, which isn’t even enough to order a dish at Fenyuan.”

"If you don't mind, Qin Huai, I'll give you the stocks and funds I bought. I don't want them anymore anyway."

Qin Huai: Are you talking about that lush green thing that makes people look pale and sickly every time they open the app?

Qin Huai was about to refuse when he said, "Please do what you can afford. If it really doesn't work, I'll give you Dean Qin's WeChat. You can do what Qu Jing did and donate something to the Sanmalu Children's Welfare Home. I don't want stocks or funds, and I don't want your so-called art pieces and paintings."

As soon as Qin Huai opened his mouth, Xia Murui generously wrote down his money and said he would cover the gifts.

“It’s normal for Ah Sheng to be broke; he’s just not good at keeping money. Ping An promised Ah Sheng that he would take care of him in the future, and now that Ping An is gone, I’m fulfilling his promise.”

“I can’t leave you all of my inheritance; I’ll leave most of it to Xiaohang. But over the years, I’ve invested in a lot of real estate in Beiping, including office buildings, courtyard houses, apartments, and shops. I also have a lot of antiques and paintings, all piled up in the back warehouse, but those things probably aren’t worth much.”

"Later, I'll have my lawyer organize my real estate and send it to me. Xiao Qin, take a look and see what you like, just pick a few."

"Ah Sheng, don't spend money so extravagantly. Let me transfer you some pocket money first." Xia Murui said, taking out his phone, opening WeChat, and squinting as he tried to transfer money to Zhao Cheng'an. However, the transfer amount was too large and the transfer was not allowed. So Xia Murui asked Zhao Cheng'an to send him his bank card number, and he would transfer the money using mobile banking.

Two minutes later, Zhao Cheng'an received 50 yuan through his mobile banking.

Qin Huai: !
Senior brother, do you need another junior brother? To be honest, in this life, Zhao Cheng'an is Master Zhou's personal disciple, and I'm practically Master Zhou's disciple too. So, rounding up, I'm Zhao Cheng'an's junior brother. Since you're Zhao Cheng'an's senior brother, you're also my senior brother! It's not that I'm short of money, it's mainly that…

The main concern is that Zhang Guanghang might think we're here to scam him. Since we've already taken the money, we can't let Zhao Cheng'an bear the brunt of the fraud blame alone; I can share some of the burden.

Our system novel's male protagonist is just that kind-hearted.

Zhao Cheng'an was overwhelmed by the warmth of the money and murmured, "If Ping An were still here, I could have received two sets of money."

Qin Huai: ...Mayfly, wake up! How are you going to face Master Zhou at Zhiweiju in this mental state?

After hearing Zhao Cheng'an say that, Xia Murui transferred another 20 yuan to him.

Qin Huai: ...

Senior brother!!!

The three chatted in the kitchen until after 10 p.m., still not quite done, but it was time to leave. If they didn't, Zhang Guanghang outside the kitchen would call the police. Qin Huai was worried that if they chatted too late, some spirits in the group would want to sleep. After this chat, there would be another one in the "Loving Family" group. Luo Jun and the others didn't know the good news that the mayfly had woken up; their family members were still waiting in the group to watch the drama unfold.

Even though he was a little reluctant to part, Xia Murui casually waved his hand to indicate that he would leave and wouldn't see him off tomorrow. He would come to Beiping to see this old man again when he had time, as the opportunity was not very frequent given his health condition, and it would be best to come at least once a year.

Zhao Cheng'an did indeed create a small group chat, where he was nicknamed "Chen Sheng" and Xia Murui was nicknamed "Xia Sheng." Only Qin Huai used his real name. When Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an came out of the kitchen, Zhang Guanghang was still sitting outside, staring at them with a sharp gaze that seemed to ask, "What have you been doing to my master in the kitchen these past few hours?" But Xia Murui didn't give Zhang Guanghang a chance to keep staring at them; she directly called Zhang Guanghang into the kitchen to talk to him.

Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an took a taxi back.

On the way back, Qin Huai didn't immediately add Zhao Cheng'an to the group chat. Given Chen Huihong's personality, the first thing she would do upon discovering a new person in the group would definitely be to initiate a group call. This was precisely the time when Chen Huihong was engrossed in playing on her phone, so she would definitely notice immediately.

Given Zhao Cheng'an's state just now, Qin Huai was afraid that Zhao Cheng'an would take a voice call in the taxi and speak loudly, leaving the driver with the deep impression that he had picked up two lunatics that night.

Qin Huai decided to talk about something else.

"Zhao Cheng'an, what are your plans after you return to Hangzhou...?"

"Qin Huai, why is Xia Murui so determined to buy Taifeng Restaurant?"

The two spoke almost simultaneously, then looked at each other. Qin Huai's eyes were mostly filled with surprise, because he found that Zhao Cheng'an's state was very different from Chen Sheng's at this moment. Both his tone and expression were much more normal.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Zhao Cheng'an asked.

"I just feel like there's a bit too much of a contrast between you and others," Qin Huai said honestly.

"Oh, because I was just pretending." Zhao Cheng'an said frankly, "Xia Murui hasn't seen me for so many years. If my way of speaking and doing things is very different from before, he will not be used to it."

Qin Huai was surprised again.

“Actually, I had a lot to say just now, but I didn’t know what to say.” Zhao Cheng’an glanced out the window. Under the illumination of the streetlights and countless other lights, it wasn’t dark outside at all, and he could clearly see the pedestrians on the road. “This area used to be very dark, and I often came here in the dark to scout it out.”

"So many years have passed, the place has changed, I didn't even recognize Fen Garden as the former Prince's Mansion, how could the people not have changed."

"Don't you think he's actually faking it too? It's just that he's not as good at it as I am. Xia Murui can't pretend to be young anymore. He's not young anymore. When he was young, he didn't dare to laugh even when he wanted to, and people would think he was smiling shyly. Now he doesn't dare to laugh even when he wants to, and people will just think he's smiling very kindly."

"Unlike me, I'm still very young."

Qin Huai: ...At your rate of reincarnation, you won't even have the chance to grow old.

"He probably won't be able to sleep tonight," Zhao Cheng'an said. "I doubt I will either."

“I’ve never had this much money in my bank account before. My dad has never given me 70 yuan in one go.”

"Oh right, what did you just ask?"

"You just said that Master Xia is very determined to buy Taifenglou." Qin Huai didn't repeat his own words, but instead repeated Zhao Cheng'an's words, "Did you mention this just now?"

"No?" Zhao Cheng'an asked in return. "We probably mentioned it during our conversation, but I forgot to bring it up later. Taifeng Restaurant changed hands several times back then, and was finally bought by the young mistress of the Li family, that is, Miss Jiang Huiqin. It is now in the hands of Miss Jiang's son."

"Xia Murui has wanted to buy Taifenglou and reopen it for decades, but Mr. Li, who is also Miss Jiang's son, has always refused to sell. He said that Miss Jiang's last wish was to wait for the descendants of the Jiang family to return to Beiping and then hand over Taifenglou to them. But so many years have passed, I have come, and no one from the Jiang family has returned to Beiping, and Mr. Li no longer lives in Beiping."

"Xia Murui has always wanted to buy Taifenglou, and has raised the price several times. Last year, it was three times the market price, but Mr. Li is just stubborn and refuses to sell. I don't know what they are so fixated on," Zhao Chengan sighed.

Qin Huai thought for a moment and said, "It's probably just a lingering thought."

"Things have changed over the years. Even Fen Garden, you didn't recognize it as the old Prince's Mansion at first, did you? But Taifeng Restaurant is well preserved and is no different from what it was back then. Master Xia was so determined to buy it, and Mr. Li was so determined not to sell it. It was all because of a little something in his heart."

Zhao Cheng'an shook his head: "I really don't understand."

"It's good that you don't understand. If you did, there would be nothing wrong with your brain."

Zhao Cheng'an: ?

(End of this chapter)