At the age of 38, he went to college and his children were classmates.

Chapter 161, Chess Skills Reveal Character! (Please Subscribe)
"Akiyama, why did you buy so much stuff?"

Chen Qingzhu asked.

"We won an award!"

"I bought some gifts for you and Dad, and I also brought Yanran and Xiaoxiao to visit you!"

Shen Qiushan responded with a smile as he walked into the house.

At this moment, Lin Moxuan was chatting with Wang Shulan in the living room.

The two families were not only neighbors, but Wang Shulan worked at the Municipal Women's Federation before she retired, and her husband had worked at the Health Bureau. So, in addition to being neighbors, they were also well-connected.

They've gotten along well over the years, and he's introduced his daughter to quite a few potential partners in recent years.

Unfortunately, Lin Xiamo didn't like any of them.

Today we're featuring Zhang Chaofan. His appearance is so-so, but his work and family background are quite good.

He seems to be a fairly honest person, and Lin Moxuan wouldn't have any objections if his daughter were to take a liking to him.

However, Lin Moxuan knew his daughter well, and he felt that there was probably no chance.

Wow, the house is so lively today!

Shen Qiushan glanced at Wang Shulan and Zhang Chaofan, then placed the tea leaves he was holding on the tea table and said to Lin Moxuan, "Dad, the shopkeeper said this is pre-Qingming Longjing tea. Let's try some later."

"Where did all these pre-Qingming Longjing teas come from!"

"We must have been scammed."

Lin Moxuan replied casually, still wary of Shen Qiushan.

Although nothing probably happened between him and his daughter last night, their relationship was clearly abnormal.

The situation is already very bad!
We must nip any abnormal sparks in the bud.

Otherwise, I really wouldn't be able to keep my second daughter!

"Old Lin, this must be your eldest son-in-law, right?"

Wang Shulan looked Shen Qiushan up and down as she asked.

"Auntie, my name is Shen Qiushan."

"Currently studying at Sanjiang University."

Shen Qiushan introduced himself in a very familiar manner.

"Shen Qiushan?"

"You're that 38-year-old top scorer in the college entrance exam, and you even received the Nebula Award today!"

Before Wang Shulan could speak, Zhang Chaofan couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"Yeah, it's me."

Shen Qiushan smiled and nodded: "What should I call you, brother?"

"Zhang Chaofan".

"I teach at Sanjiang University of Science and Technology."

"Brother Shen, I'm a full subscriber to the book you serialized on Penguin Novels. I never expected to meet you in person today."

Zhang Chaofan said with great excitement.

In his spare time, one of his great hobbies is reading online novels. He is a premium VIP on Tencent Novels and has read almost every book that is well-known on the platform.

"Old Lin, when did your eldest son-in-law become a writer?"

“I remember you said before… uh…”

Wang Shulan swallowed her words halfway through, clearly indicating that what followed was not a kind remark.

Lin Moxuan immediately changed the subject. He glanced at the two cases of wine his eldest grandson had placed on the ground, as well as the cigarettes and tea that Shen Qiushan had brought, and asked, "Why did you buy so much stuff?"

"We won an award today!"

"Celebrate! Celebrate!"

As he spoke, Shen Qiushan waved to his daughter, who was the last to enter the house: "Yanran, give the gift to your grandma!"

"it is good!"

Shen Yanran responded and immediately took out the gold bracelet she bought at Dafu Gold Shop: "Grandma, this is a gift from my dad. He insisted that you would like this style."

"But I think it looks better than mine~"

As she spoke, Shen Yanran shook her fair wrist; the gold bracelet with its intricate design gleamed brilliantly under the light.

However, at this moment, everyone's attention was not on Shen Yanran's gold bracelet, but on the plain bracelet that Shen Qiushan gave to Chen Qingzhu.

Gold prices have been rising recently, breaking through 1000, yet Shen Qiushan gave Chen Qingzhu such a large gold bracelet.

It looks like it weighs at least 40 or 50 grams, which, at the current gold price, would be worth 40,000 to 50,000 yuan!
Although none of the people present are short of money, if we only consider their salaries, forty or fifty thousand is not a small amount!
"Akiyama, why did you give such an expensive gift?"

"You, Xiaoxiao, and Yanran are all in school, so you'll need money for many things in the future!"

Chen Qingzhu was naturally very happy to receive the gold bracelet, but she still had to be polite in her words.

"Mom, I won an award!"

"The prize money is $150 million, so there's plenty of money to spend!"

"I'm glad you like this bracelet."

Shen Qiushan replied with a smile.

"I like it, that's all."

“It’s just too expensive!”

Chen Qingzhu looked at the bracelet; she herself had gold bracelets, and more than one.

But what woman would ever complain about having too much jewelry?

In particular, the gold bracelet that Shen Qiushan gave her, although it was a plain band, had a simple and elegant design that Chen Qingzhu liked.

"Mom, I'm your son-in-law."

"As the saying goes, a son-in-law is like half a son, so talking about money is vulgar."

"It was fine before we didn't have the means, but now we do!"

Shen Qiushan's words were quite sincere.

Wang Shulan couldn't help but exclaim, "What a wonderful son-in-law!"

"I barely see my son-in-law once a year!"

"That's because your son-in-law is abroad."

"Young people are at the age where they should be building their careers, so we should understand that."

Chen Qingzhu offered a word of comfort, then quickly invited Shen Qiushan to sit down and chat.

"I'll go make a pot of tea."

"You guys keep talking."

Shen Qiushan sat down directly next to the tea table, looking quite sensible.

However, his sudden visit directly disrupted the rhythm of this blind date.

The contrast is just too stark!
As the eldest son-in-law of the Lin family, Shen Qiushan is undoubtedly handsome and is now a renowned writer who has won the Nebula Award.

Moreover, he brought such generous gifts, not to mention gold bracelets, Moutai liquor, and Qinghualang liquor!
Even a random pack of cigarettes is worth more than the two tattered gift boxes Zhang Chaofan brought.

My eldest son-in-law is so outstanding!

Therefore, Zhang Chaofan, who came to "apply" to become the second son-in-law of the Lin family, will inevitably be compared with others.

In comparison, he was completely outclassed!

After all, there's no harm without comparison!
"Old Lin, since we have guests, let's get on with the formalities!"

Wang Shulan also realized that Shen Qiushan's arrival had inadvertently increased the difficulty for Zhang Chaofan.

But there is nothing we can do about it.

What a coincidence!

Shen Qiushan, the eldest son-in-law, just happened to be on a blind date.

"Miss Lin, I have already told you my basic information."

"Please feel free to make any requests you may have."

Zhang Chaofan quickly chimed in. Although he really wanted to chat with Shen Qiushan a bit more, he was here for a blind date after all.

Moreover, he genuinely liked Lin Xiamo, his blind date.

"Require?"

Are you referring to material things?

Lin Xiamo asked a question in return.

"Both material and spiritual are acceptable."

"I will do my best to fulfill your request!"

Zhang Chaofan looked very confident.

"It's hard to talk about the spiritual aspect, let's talk about the material aspect first."

Lin Xiamo said calmly, "I like the apartments in Jinjiang Bay, the 246-square-meter one."

"As for cars, the U8 looks pretty good. I test drove it once and really liked it."

"As for the bride price, let's forget about it. The country doesn't encourage bride prices anymore, and we should respond to the country's call..."

Lin Xiamo solemnly stated her request.

They even proactively stated that they didn't want a bride price!

But that's not the point.

The garage in front is the key!
Jinjiang Bay is a well-known luxury residential area in Sanjiang City, featuring large, single-level apartments with river views, and the average price of the apartments is around 5 yuan.

A 246-square-meter house would cost around ten million yuan.

The Yangwang U8 is a representative of domestically produced luxury cars, priced at 109 million yuan!
In other words, Lin Xiamo directly raised the material threshold to the tens of millions level.

This was naturally out of reach for Zhang Chaofan.

Although he is a university teacher and comes from a well-off family, he still can't afford a mansion worth tens of millions.

Therefore, after hearing the conditions proposed by Lin Xiamo, Zhang Chaofan, who had been full of confidence just moments before, suddenly felt somewhat embarrassed.

"Brother, have a cup of tea."

"Dad, you should try some too, see if it's from before the Qingming Festival..."

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Shen Qiushan took the tea tray and placed it on the coffee table, then poured two cups of tea, handing one to Zhang Chaofan and the other to Lin Moxuan.

Then, he poured a glass for Wang Shulan and Chen Qingzhu each.

"Thank you, Brother Shen."

Seeing that Shen Qiushan stepped in to smooth things over, Zhang Chaofan was quite grateful.

However, his calling Shen Qiushan "Brother Shen" always felt a bit off.

Because he looks much older than his age (37), people would believe he's in his 40s.

Shen Qiushan, who is 38 years old, looks very young; people would believe he is 30.

"Dad, I forgot to give it to you earlier."

"I also have an antique inkstone here."

Shen Qiushan then handed the antique inkstone he had bought to Lin Moxuan, whose father-in-law was fond of calligraphy.

Giving an inkstone as a gift is considered to cater to the recipient's taste.

as predicted.

Lin Moxuan smiled immediately after receiving the ancient inkstone from Shen Qiushan.

In particular, Shen Qiushan had just defused a minor embarrassment at a blind date.

Lin Moxuan suddenly realized that his son-in-law, Shen Qiushan, wasn't as bad as he had imagined.

Their performance today, in particular, was truly remarkable!

A thought suddenly popped into his mind.

This is much better than Zhang Chaofan!
The thought startled Lin Moxuan as soon as it crossed his mind.

How can I compare him to Xiao Zhang!
Xiao Zhang is unmarried and childless.

Another genuine returnee from overseas!
"MoMo, I remember you didn't seem to have any strict requirements about things like houses and cars before!"

"Houses in Jinjiang Bay are so expensive; not many people can afford to buy a house there."

At this moment, Wang Shulan, the matchmaker, stepped forward.

If we can't agree on the material terms, there's nothing more to discuss.

"Aunt Wang, I've been reflecting on this recently, and that's why I haven't found a suitable partner yet."

"It's because I don't have a clear standard, so I can't make a judgment."

"Now that I've clarified the standards, I want to search according to these standards..."

Lin Xiamo gave her reasons.

"That's it."

Wang Shulan frowned: "But isn't this standard a bit too high?"

"maybe."

Lin Xiamo shrugged lightly: "However, I have no plans to lower the standards at the moment."

Upon hearing this, Wang Shulan subconsciously turned to look at Zhang Chaofan, who shook his head helplessly.

Clearly, Zhang Chaofan could not meet these material requirements.

"Xiao Zhang, you don't need to listen to Momo's nonsense."

"You two should get to know each other first. Put material things aside for now; the main thing is whether your personalities are compatible."

Seeing that the blind date was about to end inconclusively, Lin Moxuan stepped forward.

"Yeah."

"I think so!"

Wang Shulan nodded repeatedly.

"Sister Wang, Xiao Zhang, don't leave yet, stay and have a meal with us!"

Lin Moxuan then extended an invitation.

"Alright, then I'll take my leave!"

Wang Shulan quickly agreed, and then winked at Zhang Chaofan.

"Uncle Lin, Aunt Chen, then I'm sorry to trouble you."

Zhang Chaofan quickly offered a polite remark.

"Xiao Zhang, do you know how to play chess?"

Lin Moxuan asked.

He roughly understood his daughter's thoughts, so he deliberately proposed material conditions that were beyond the reach of others, hoping to dissuade them.

But Lin Moxuan wouldn't allow that to happen, and took over today's matchmaking session directly.

Although he wasn't entirely satisfied with Zhang Chaofan, it was still much better than his daughter being abducted by Shen Qiushan.

Chess?

"I know a little bit."

Zhang Chaofan replied politely.

"Old Lin, Xiao Zhang is just being modest. He's an excellent chess player; he even won the Sanjiang City Amateur Chess Championship!"

Wang Shulan said with a smile.

"Runner-up, it's runner-up."

Zhang Chaofan humbly corrected him.

"The runner-up is amazing too!"

Lin Moxuan smiled and nodded. He had originally wanted to have a match with Zhang Chaofan, but then he thought that Zhang Chaofan was the runner-up in the Sanjiang City Amateur Chess Tournament, and he couldn't possibly beat him.

However, whether the price drops too much or too low is not the key point.

The key is to let Zhang Chaofan demonstrate his strengths!
"Qiushan, you play a couple of games with Xiao Zhang, I'll watch from the sidelines."

Lin Moxuan, a seasoned veteran who had spent his entire life working within the system, easily came up with a way to kill two birds with one stone.

Having Zhang Chaofan play against Shen Qiushan would not only showcase Zhang Chaofan's superior chess skills but also put a damper on Shen Qiushan's arrogance!
Are you trying to kidnap another one of my daughters?
Dream on!
Let alone giving away an antique inkstone!

Even if you bring the Imperial Seal of the State, it won't work!
"Okay."

"I've been in military training lately and haven't played chess in a long time."

Shen Qiushan smiled and nodded; he could roughly guess what his father-in-law was thinking.

However, what Director Lin didn't know was that Shen Qiushan had a cheat code.

He previously used skill cards to redeem the "extraordinary" skill: Chess Way.

In this time and space, Shen Qiushan is the ancestor of all kinds of chess!

Let alone a runner-up in an amateur chess tournament, even a professional champion would have no chance against Shen Qiushan.

"Brother Shen, you should go first."

After taking their seats on either side of the chessboard, Zhang Chaofan humbly gestured for them to proceed.

"it is good."

"Then I'm not welcome!"

Shen Qiushan didn't mince words and went straight for a standard opening move, firing the first shot.

Zhang Chaofan's vault defense...

And so, the two began to fight.

Lin Moxuan sat beside him, holding a teacup in his hand, occasionally taking a light sip, looking quite relaxed.

Although he didn't personally intervene, in Director Lin's view, both of them were actually pawns in his game.

This feeling of being in complete control put him in a good mood.

Zhang Chaofan's moves were particularly brilliant, and he quickly gained the upper hand.

Lin Moxuan nodded repeatedly, but couldn't help but say to Lin Xiamo beside him, "Momo, look at Xiao Zhang's chess playing, he's really skilled!"

Lin Xiamo naturally knew what her father was thinking; he simply wanted Zhang Chaofan to put Shen Qiushan down in the game of chess.

But in Lin Xiamo's opinion, this was a very boring thing.

So what if you're good at chess?
What does it represent?
She had never heard of a woman looking for a boyfriend based on his chess skills.

"A person's character and their chess skills are often linked."

"Superb chess skills mean high intelligence, which means excellent genes..."

Seeing that Lin Xiamo didn't take it seriously, Lin Moxuan quietly explained his theory to his daughter.

However, just as he was speaking, the situation on the chessboard suddenly changed.

Shen Qiushan deliberately sold a horse, and Zhang Chaofan, being greedy and careless, was immediately plunged into a desperate situation.

Lin Moxuan frowned immediately, silently calculating the course of the game in his mind.

The conclusion drawn from the results is:

There's no solution to this dead end!

(End of this chapter)