It's just that they have money.

"Damn, who told you that?"

Fang Chen parked the car on the side of the road and replied earnestly, "Well done, I'll treat you to dinner when I get back."

Zhang Zhenghao replied instantly: "Eating again? Can you use a different word?"

Fang Chen: "Then I'll treat you to a drink."

Zhang Zhenghao: "My liver function hasn't recovered yet."

Fang Chen: "Then what did you say?"

Zhang Zhenghao sent an eye-rolling emoji.

The parking spot had a nice view. Xu Wen was organizing his notes, while Fang Chen put down his phone, leaned back in his chair, and looked at the scenery.

[The host industry layout has achieved phased progress: the first medical project has been successfully launched, and the second has been signed; the brand plan for the agricultural project has been confirmed, and the supply chain system construction has begun.]

[Progress update for the long-term mission "Establishing the Host's Industrial Foundation": The phase reward of 5000 million yuan has been distributed.]

"Boss?" Xu Wen's voice came from the side.

"Um?"

What are you laughing at?

Fang Chen glanced at her: "It's nothing."

He then sent a message to Lin Dong: "Zhenghao told me about the second order. You guys need to cooperate well and not let the client think we're newbies."

Lin Dong replied instantly: "Understood. The process has already been run once, the second order will only be smoother."

Fang Chen then messaged Zhang Zhenghao: "You're handling the second case. Go with me during the surgery, follow it from beginning to end, and thoroughly understand the process."

Zhang Zhenghao replied: "Received! Mission accomplished!"

It was followed by an old-fashioned salute emoji.

"Even though you're a 90s kid, please don't act like an old man."

Zhang Zhenghao withdrew the message and replaced it with a cute kitten emoji.

"And don't act like a gay man."

A middle finger emoji.

We were stuck in traffic for quite a while, and it was already dark when we got back to Jiangcheng.

Fang Chen drove Xu Wen back to his residence. He got home around nine o'clock, took a shower, and leaned back on the sofa to look at his phone.

Lin Dong sent a video. Mr. Chen is already able to walk in his hospital room and is recovering very well.

After reading it, Fang Chen replied with a "good".

Zhang Zhenghao sent several more messages, rambling on about the details of the second order. Fang Chen glanced at them but didn't reply.

This guy talks a lot; if you don't reply to him, he can talk all night long.

Around eleven o'clock, Fang Chen's stomach rumbled twice.

I've been eating the same weight-loss meals I've been using for fitness lately, and they don't taste very good. But when I went home and had a country feast, my cravings were really whetted.

Plus, I hadn't eaten much for dinner, so I was really hungry.

Most shops were already closed at this time; the area outside was mostly filled with barbecue restaurants.

Since it's a indulgence meal, don't be too restrained.

Fang Chen bought two bottles of ice-cold beer, ordered twenty skewers of beef, twenty skewers of tendon, and a plate of roasted potatoes, and sat alone at the entrance of the shop, drinking and eating.

Just as he was enjoying his meal, Fang Chen heard a commotion and argument behind him.

A man's voice, mumbling something, was mixed with a woman's resistance.

Fang Chen looked in the direction of the sound and saw a man in a floral shirt pulling a blonde woman by the arm and dragging her toward him.

The woman staggered and almost fell; the wine bottle in her hand hit the wall with a crisp sound.

"Don't...don't touch me." The woman's voice was hoarse, heavily tinged with drunkenness.

The man in the floral shirt chuckled twice: "Beautiful lady, you've had too much to drink. I'll take you home..."

"I told you not to touch me!"

The woman abruptly shook off his hand, swayed, and landed hard on her bottom.

Her hair was disheveled, obscuring half of her face.

But her blonde hair made Fang Chen recognize who she was.

Ivy.

Fang Chen walked over quickly.

The man in the floral shirt frowned when he saw someone approaching, but still showed no sign of letting go.

Who are you?

Fang Chen ignored him, walked up to Ai Wei, and put his hand on her shoulder.

"it's me."

Ivy squinted at him for two seconds, then suddenly laughed, a laugh that was somewhat incoherent: "President Fang? What are you doing here?"

"Let's go out for a late-night snack," Fang Chen said. "You've had too much to drink, I'll take you home."

The man in the floral shirt protested, "Hey, hey, I was here first..."

Fang Chen turned his head and glanced at him.

He didn't say anything, just stared.

The man in the floral shirt opened his mouth, looked at Fang Chen's physique, then at the watch on his wrist, and finally muttered something before turning and leaving.

This wasn't some dark alley; the surrounding diners had already been glancing at it, but no one bothered to interfere.

And coincidentally, Fang Chen was the only one with free time at that moment.

Ivy sat on the ground and took another swig of wine.

Fang Chen then noticed that she was carrying a bottle of whiskey, which was almost empty.

"How much did you drink?"

"Not much." Ivy shook the bottle. "Just... just this one."

Fang Chen frowned.

A bottle of whiskey, not much.

The key issue is that Ivy's condition is not right.

Based on our brief interactions, she appears to be easygoing but never loses her composure.

Something must have happened today.

"I'll take you home." Fang Chen reached out to help her.

Ivy pushed his hand away, her voice rising slightly: "No need...no need for you to see me off. I can walk by myself."

She took two steps forward, swayed, and almost fell.

Fang Chen helped her up, and she didn't push him away again.

Where do you live?

Ivy didn't answer, her head was down, and her shoulders were trembling slightly.

Fang Chen had no choice but to help her back to the barbecue stall and ask the owner for a folding stool with a backrest for Ivy to sit down.

After a long while, Ivy finally spoke, her voice muffled, as if squeezed from deep in her throat.

"Mr. Fang, tell me... what is the point of living?"

Fang Chen did not answer.

There is no standard answer to this kind of question.

Ivy sat on the folding stool, still clutching the nearly empty whiskey bottle in her hand.

The glow of the charcoal fire at the barbecue stall reflected on her face, flickering in and out.

Fang Chen didn't urge her.

He opened a bottle of ice-cold beer and slowly drank it while eating the now-cold grilled skewers, waiting for her to speak.

A night breeze blew by, blowing Ivy's loose blond hair to the side of her face.

She ignored it and just let it block her eyes.

"Mr. Fang, have you ever met that kind of person?" she suddenly asked, her voice very soft. "You know, the kind of person... you try your best to pull her out of the pit, but she jumps right in herself."

Fang Chen put down the beer bottle and looked at her.

"I sponsored a girl," Ivy said, her voice faltering. "From the time she started high school, I paid for all her tuition and living expenses. Her family was poor, and her parents were in poor health; they couldn't afford it. I thought that if I could support her through college, she could change her fate and wouldn't have to go through what I did back then..."

She paused, took another swig of wine, and then tossed the empty bottle aside.

"She's a senior in college and will graduate soon. She called me a few days ago and said she's getting married. Her fiancé is more than ten years older than her, runs a business, and has some money. She said she doesn't plan to look for a job and will stay home as a housewife."

Ivy's voice trembled.

"I asked her, 'You've studied for so many years just to marry a rich man and become a housewife?' She said, 'Sister, you don't understand. I'm too tired. I don't want to struggle anymore. I want to live an easy life.'"

Fang Chen felt that although this incident was sad, he wouldn't go out drinking to drown his sorrows if he were in that situation.

So he didn't say anything, but handed her a few skewers of beef and waited for her to continue.