Chapter 34 Paying Back a Favor

Words : 1473 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 34: Chapter 34 Paying Back a FavorAfter getting the business permit, Chen Feng of course told his family the good news immediately. They had been under a lot of pressure these past few days because, in their eyes, this car beauty shop was the culmination of both brothers’ life savings. If it had been shut down, hundreds of thousands invested would have been washed away. Now, hearing Chen Feng say the issue had been resolved, they were of course overjoyed and breathed a huge sigh of relief. Chen Feng didn’t go straight home but took advantage of the early hour to buy some fruit at the mall before visiting Mr. Zheng’s home. The first time he brought a housewarming gift, it was naturally a bit more extravagant, but now, only a few days had passed; there was no need to buy anything expensive again. Otherwise, it would seem awkward. Seeing Chen Feng visit again after only a few days, Mr. Zheng and his wife were very happy. They certainly didn’t mind that he brought two bags of fruit; on the contrary, it made them feel even closer to him. After chatting for a while, it was dinner time again, and this time Chen Feng didn’t refuse; he naturally stayed and joined the couple for dinner. Feng Xiaoying didn’t come over today, but she did call during dinner, and upon knowing that Chen Feng had come for a visit, she made sure to speak with him and express her thanks. After dinner, as the sky grew darker, Chen Feng took his leave. Mr. Zheng, perhaps unused to students visiting him, seemed a bit reluctant to say goodbye. After returning home and answering his family’s inquiries, Chen Feng had to explain everything again. However, Chen Feng didn’t get into specifics; he simply mentioned that a classmate had sorted it out for him. Heading upstairs to his room, the WeChat notification sound went off. Chen Feng picked it up and saw it was still Fang Xiaoyue who had messaged. Earlier, when he was at Mr. Zheng’s for dinner, she had already sent a WeChat message asking if he was free that evening. Chen Feng hadn’t replied at the time, and now she had messaged again: [Are you there?] This time, Chen Feng couldn’t not reply. [Just saw this, was at an elder’s house for dinner and didn’t notice.] [Oh, then do you have time tonight?] [I just drove back to Qingpu, just got home.] [All right, then you must have time tomorrow. I’ll treat you to lunch tomorrow.] Chen Feng knew he couldn’t avoid it; after all, he did owe her a favor, as she had indeed wanted to help him in the beginning, even though she ended up not being able to. [I should be the one treating you. The same place as last time.] [Good, twelve o’clock at noon, don’t be absent.] [Okay.] Having set a time with Fang Xiaoyue, Chen Feng went to the bathroom for a shower and, upon coming out, saw the WeChat message from Wang Fang. Since last time, when Chen Feng had clearly rejected her, Wang Fang hadn’t contacted him much. He opened it to find a text message. [How come you’re in touch with Fang Xiaoyue? I remember you guys hardly spoke in high school.] Only now did Chen Feng realize that Fang Xiaoyue had not mentioned anything about him to Wang Fang, but that was understandable. Although they seemed to have a good relationship now, it didn’t necessarily mean they talked about everything. After thinking for a moment, Chen Feng replied: [I asked her to do a favor, so we got in touch.] [Oh, it looks like she’s quite concerned about you. She asked me a lot about you, including your family. I told her everything in general, hope you don’t mind?] Chen Feng thought to himself, you’ve already told her, so why ask if I mind? Nevertheless, he typed back: [It’s okay. I happen to know her work unit leader; she may have some misunderstandings about me.] "Oh, I see. But let me warn you. Fang Xiaoyue is tough to deal with, you can’t just play with her and then dump her, she’s still single now because she’s choosy, but once she sets her eyes on someone, she becomes determined. It won’t be easy to shake her off." This could be considered a friendly reminder... I guess. "She’s still single?" Chen Feng was somewhat surprised. He had always thought that Fang Xiaoyue, even if not married, would at least have a boyfriend. After all, she looked good and had a nice temperament, and she was almost thirty. "Yeah, didn’t you know? She had a boyfriend in college but broke up and has been single ever since. Her family has arranged many blind dates for her, but none were successful." "Oh. I have no intentions towards her. I’ll be returning to Xiu Zhou in a few days." "But I think she has her sights set on you, and if you’re not interested, don’t lead her on. Don’t make trouble for yourself, considering you’re a married man. If you’re looking to have an affair, you shouldn’t pursue single women like her, there are plenty of other women for that." Reading her last message, full of insinuations, Chen Feng was speechless. It seemed Wang Fang still had some thoughts about him. Chen Feng pretended not to notice the meaning behind her words and replied, "I have to take a call, let’s talk later." Afterwards, Chen Feng ignored her. The next day, Chen Feng didn’t arrive at the restaurant until past twelve o’clock, and by then Fang Xiaoyue had already been waiting. She didn’t show any dissatisfaction with his lateness. Chen Feng called the waiter over, and after they ordered, they started to chat over tea while waiting for the food. After some small talk, Fang Xiaoyue broached the subject: "Yesterday afternoon, our department head talked to me specifically about promoting me to deputy head by the end of the year. It’s all thanks to you when it comes down to it." Hearing her say that, Chen Feng felt happy for her and said, "What could I have done? It must just be your good fortune." Fang Xiaoyue giggled and said, "It is good fortune, meeting you. Otherwise, I might have had to wait a few more years for that promotion." Chen Feng just smiled and didn’t say anything, but what she said wasn’t wrong. "Can you tell me what your relationship is with our Mr. Feng?" Fang Xiaoyue asked with blinking eyes, full of curiosity. Chen Feng hesitated for a while and then finally revealed, "She’s Mr. Zheng’s daughter." "Mr. Zheng?" Fang Xiaoyue’s eyes widened in surprise. "Our high school homeroom teacher?" Chen Feng nodded slightly. Fang Xiaoyue was suddenly speechless with shock, feeling a surge of regret inside her. After graduating from college at 23, she passed the civil service exam and had been at her current position for six years, still in the same place. Some people who came in later than her had already climbed over her head. Of course, there were many reasons for this, but in her view, the most important reason was not having any connections above. Otherwise, with her education and ability, she felt she wasn’t inferior to anyone, so why couldn’t she get a promotion. "I didn’t really want to tell you this. Do you know why?" Chen Feng stared at her and asked. Hearing this, Fang Xiaoyue quickly snapped out of her frustration, saying somewhat ashamedly, "After high school graduation, I never visited Mr. Zheng again." Chen Feng nodded and said, "That’s secondary. The main thing is, Mr. Zheng became paralyzed a couple of years ago, and among our classmates, only a handful have visited him. I’m one of them. I just visited a few days ago. I’ve been in Xiu Zhou for the past few years and didn’t know about it until this visit. Didn’t you know about it living here?" Chen Feng’s words were a bit blunt, and Fang Xiaoyue felt embarrassed and lowered her head; she indeed had heard about Mr. Zheng’s paralysis a long time ago but had never really intended to visit. Had she known Feng Xiaoying was Mr. Zheng’s daughter, did she really need Chen Feng to tell her now? "The reason I’m telling you now is that I’m going back to Xiu Zhou soon. I won’t be able to visit Mr. Zheng often. In the future, please help me by visiting him from time to time, talking to him. It would be nice. Besides, this could also be seen as repaying a favor to you." Chen Feng’s words were very straightforward, but Fang Xiaoyue couldn’t just ignore them. However, it caused the budding romance she had been harboring to dissipate completely.

Chapter 34 Paying Back a Favor

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