Chapter 32 The Many Changes of a Girl as She Turns Eighteen

Words : 1433 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 32: Chapter 32 The Many Changes of a Girl as She Turns EighteenChen Feng said he had a classmate at the Environmental Protection Bureau, and it wasn’t a lie. It was just that this female classmate had barely spoken to Chen Feng during high school, and Chen Feng didn’t know if she would give him any face. He found her directly in the classmate group, composed a message, and sent it, inviting her for lunch because he needed a favor. After waiting a few minutes, he received a reply--she had promptly accepted his invitation. This was quite unexpected for Chen Feng. In his previous impression, this female classmate was a bookworm, introverted, and rarely interacted with other students. Since she was short and always sat in the front rows, while Chen Feng was tall and seated in the back rows, plus the gender difference, they hardly ever spoke during high school. At first, Chen Feng even wondered if she still remembered this old classmate of hers. But now, it seemed she obviously remembered him. He immediately sent her the location for the meal, a passable restaurant in the county known for stir-fry dishes. It was not far from their old school; during high school, some well-off classmates would host birthday parties or treat others there. The time was set for twelve noon. When he arrived in the county, it was almost nine o’clock--still early. Chen Feng went to see the new house he had bought and considered whether to refurbish it. Yet, in the end, he decided against it. It wasn’t to save money, but because he didn’t know the preferences of his brother and sister-in-law; if they didn’t like his renovations, it would be better not to do them. Besides, if he died, the money he left would be ample for his family to handle any renovations. The location here was good; just take the elevator down, walk out of the back gate of the complex, cross a one-way street, and there was a large shopping mall with convenient shopping options, including a big supermarket with fresh produce and vegetables. The nearest kindergarten, primary school, and middle school were just a ten-minute walk away. After strolling around the mall for over an hour, he still hadn’t finished. Passing by the shop where he bought the electric footbath the day before, Chen Feng spontaneously bought one to give to his parents. Then he wandered around the supermarket, picking up a lot of stuff--food, essentials, and toys for his two little nieces. Time passed quickly this way. By almost eleven o’clock, he reached the restaurant. Its exterior decoration hadn’t changed much from their high school days; it was an establishment with a long history. The business was good in the restaurant; it was not even mealtime yet, and it was already quite full. He reserved a private room, ordered a pot of tea, leisurely sipped it, and sent the room number to his old classmate Fang Xiaoyue. He thought she wouldn’t arrive until at least twelve, but to his surprise, she came shortly after eleven-thirty. She knocked on the door politely, and after Chen Feng said, "Come in," she pushed the door open and entered. Chen Feng saw her dressed in a blue business suit with a ponytail, exuding a clean and crisp air. At first glance, he didn’t even recognize her. Firstly, she no longer wore glasses, and secondly, she had grown considerably taller. In high school, she seemed to be at most one meter fifty-five, quite thin, and wore thick prescription glasses. Besides her academic performance, she had almost no presence. Now, she looked to be at least one meter sixty, and her aura was entirely different from the bookworm she used to be. She had become very confident, which perhaps highlighted her current beauty, making her pleasant to look at. To put it simply, she now had the feel of an ugly duckling turned into a swan. "Chen Feng, you couldn’t recognize me, could you?" Fang Xiaoyue was quite satisfied with Chen Feng’s astonished expression and smiled. Back then, she really didn’t stand out much in class--not much presence among the male students, and almost the same with female students, with just a few from the same dormitory and her deskmate interacting with her. Now, almost twelve years had passed, and women changed significantly at eighteen, which was just the case. "Fang Xiaoyue, I honestly didn’t recognize you. You’ve really changed a lot since you were a girl," Chen Feng joked with a smile before rising to greet her. "Thanks for the compliment," said the now totally outgoing Fang Xiaoyue with ease. "Back in the day, I was the well-known bookworm of the class. Among you boys, hardly anyone remembered me." Chen Feng didn’t deny it but simply smiled and motioned for her to sit down opposite him. The two had been high school classmates for three years, in the same class until they were divided in the second year of high school. As a result, even though they hadn’t interacted much in high school, they found plenty to talk about concerning those days and quickly became more familiar with each other. Fang Xiaoyue brought up Wang Fang, saying she was now on good terms with her and that they often went out shopping and dining together. Chen Feng felt a bit enlightened when she mentioned Wang Fang. No wonder she agreed so readily to his dinner invitation. However, Chen Feng didn’t mind. In today’s society, people are very pragmatic creatures. Of course, it wasn’t necessarily due to Wang Fang. She might have agreed out of classmate sentiment. They chatted for about fifteen minutes before ordering. Once the food they ordered was served, they talked over their meal for another half an hour, and then Chen Feng brought up the real issue, asking her for help in checking the relocation deadline of his family’s car beauty shop. Fang Xiaoyue agreed readily, promising to help. Chen Feng’s opinion of her significantly improved after this. Their meal lasted over an hour and, as she had to work in the afternoon, it didn’t continue. Before parting, Fang Xiaoyue took the initiative to say that she would look into it in the afternoon and contact him as soon as she had any news. Fang Xiaoyue was as good as her word; less than two hours after they separated, she had news for Chen Feng. Indeed, his family’s car beauty shop had been reported. Fang Xiaoyue did not disclose the specific name of the complainant but hinted slightly, and of course, Chen Feng understood. Furthermore, according to the regulations, his family’s car beauty shop should have sought approval and obtained a permit from the Environmental Protection Bureau before opening. Of course, nowadays, most similar shops hadn’t done so. But since Chen Feng’s had been reported, he definitely needed to obtain one. The most important thing was to manage the pollution control well. As long as the pollution control was handled properly, even if surrounded by actual farmland, it wouldn’t be a problem. Chen Feng then inquired about the materials and procedures needed to get the permit, and Fang Xiaoyue provided detailed answers. Chen Feng first went home to gather all the necessary materials and then went to the Environmental Protection Bureau to apply for the permit. Fang Xiaoyue accompanied him throughout the process, which obviously made things go much smoother. Fang Xiaoyue said he could have the permit within five days, after which someone would come to do a field inspection. Therefore, Chen Feng’s best course was to set up the pollution system in advance; she even recommended a company that specialized in this. Chen Feng contacted the company, and after consulting, they quickly agreed to send someone for a site visit and to provide an estimate. By the time Chen Feng got back to his hometown, the company representatives had already arrived. The pollution treatment project was not large, and their quote was very reasonable—just 50,000 yuan for design and construction. Chen Feng and his brother, Chen Rui, didn’t think twice before agreeing. Five days later, the pollution treatment project was completed. From then on, the shop’s wastewater would be directed straight into the sewer, obviously eliminating the possibility of contaminating any surrounding farmland. Besides, the surroundings couldn’t really be considered actual farmland. That day, Chen Feng also received a call from Fang Xiaoyue, who told him that there was a setback with the permit approval and asked him to come over. Chen Feng immediately got in his car and headed there.

Chapter 32 The Many Changes of a Girl as She Turns Eighteen

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