Chapter 8 Relaxing Your Mindset

Words : 1531 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 8: Chapter 8 Relaxing Your MindsetAfter about fifteen minutes, the car arrived at Zhuangyuan Academy. Pulling over to the curb, Chen Feng turned his head and said, "Get out now. Try not to go out alone at night in the future, okay? It’s not safe for a girl like you, you know?" This time, Qin Xiaorou didn’t talk back, only saying, "If you’re worried about my safety, why don’t you come and hang out with me? Whenever I go out by myself, I just go to the arcade. I don’t go anywhere else." Chen Feng thought to himself that he wasn’t her dad. What he had just said was merely out of acquaintance, a concern from a senior to a junior. So, Chen Feng very straightforwardly said, "I don’t have the time. Alright, get out of the car. Take care of yourself from now on." Qin Xiaorou pouted and muttered "So insincere," then took out her phone, opened WeChat, and said, "Scan me." Chen Feng glanced at it, hesitated for a moment, but still took out his new phone to scan it. The friend request was quickly approved, and Chen Feng added the note "Wild Girl" for Qin Xiaorou. For Chen Feng on her end, it was "Uncle." "Uncle, next time I invite you out, will you come and hang out with me?" Qin Xiaorou suddenly asked in a pitiful, soft voice. Chen Feng wasn’t going to be fooled by her little tricks, the wild girl was pretty clever. However, he couldn’t outright reject her, to avoid her going on and on about it. So, Chen Feng replied noncommittally, "We’ll see. I might not be free." "Is that a rejection?" Qin Xiaorou looked dissatisfied, tilting her head and pouting, but it looked kind of cute. Chen Feng said with a smile, "Didn’t I say it’s not certain? I’ve got work, a wife, and kids; it’s rare for me to be free." "You’re kidding someone else." Qin Xiaorou said with disdain, "We played games all night and nobody called you. You’re just a bachelor, what wife and kids are you talking about?" Chen Feng was suddenly speechless. Are kids’ brains so sharp these days? After being so pointedly exposed by her, he didn’t feel like continuing the lie. It was pointless. "Alright, alright. I’m a bachelor, happy now? If fate allows, we’ll meet again next time. Now, hurry up and go home." "Hmph! Fine, I’m going." Seemingly a little annoyed, Qin Xiaorou opened the car door and got out. Chen Feng didn’t leave right away but watched her walk towards Zhuangyuan Academy’s gate, angrily swinging the big plastic bag she was carrying, as if venting her frustration. It was somewhat amusing to him. Although the girl was a bit unladylike, she was actually pretty cute. If he had a cute daughter like her, he would definitely give her the best care and company. Unfortunately, it looked like that wasn’t in the cards for him. Thinking about this, Chen Feng immediately felt a sense of dissatisfaction with the girl’s parents. On a late night like this, your daughter is out playing by herself, and as parents, you’re completely oblivious, which is just so irresponsible. Chen Feng continued to watch until Qin Xiaorou entered the complex of Zhuangyuan Academy, then started his car and drove away. What he didn’t know was that as he drove off, Qin Xiaorou, who had never looked back, turned around and stood there, watching his car leave with a lingering gaze. Once back at his rental place, he took a shower and then lay down on the bed to sleep. Suddenly, Chen Feng remembered that he hadn’t been experiencing any symptoms of nausea, vomiting, or headaches these past few days. Chen Feng thought carefully and realized that this seemed to have started after his divorce. Before the divorce, even when he was at the Civil Affairs Bureau going through the divorce procedures, he had a faint headache. After getting the divorce certificate, it seemed like the symptoms of the headache disappeared, followed by a streak of good luck. The past couple of days could only be described as magical. Chen Feng was extremely puzzled by his fortune in these two days, finding the luck unreasonable to the point of eeriness. However, he believed he only had two or three good months left to live, so he took it in stride and wasn’t afraid of anything. Good luck was always better than bad luck. If it weren’t for the terminal illness, he might have woken up laughing from his dreams by now. With a relaxed mindset, he slept soundly through the night. Compared to his usual insomnia, his sleep quality these past two days had been exceptionally good, surprisingly so. He automatically woke up around seven in the morning; his biological clock had been set this way over the past few years. Normally, at this time, he would hurry to get up, wash up, and then rush to work since his working hours started at eight, and it took almost twenty minutes to get there by bicycle. His ex-wife, Shen Lin, had it much easier; she worked for a government unit, officially starting at nine, but arriving at half-past nine wasn’t considered late. The job was relaxed, and the compensation was not bad at all. The five insurances and housing fund were a given, and the unit frequently gave out benefits of all sorts, providing for both food and daily needs, not to mention a substantial year-end bonus. Chen Feng, the hardworking office worker, could only look on with envy and resentment, especially since he often had to put up with a lot at his company. This had led to two years of stifled frustration, and he consequently appeared very dejected. Therefore, it was no wonder that the emotional bond between him and Shen Lin had been gradually growing thinner. Initially, what drew her to Chen Feng was, admittedly, his handsome appearance. Standing at one meter seventy-eight, with a love for basketball, being able to do a hundred push-ups each day, he was a college heartthrob with a well-maintained physique. Don’t say women don’t care about looks when choosing men. That’s just something said when there are no choices or the man is very wealthy. Otherwise, it’s just nonsense. Men and women are the same in this respect, both are visual creatures; a man is attracted to a beautiful woman, and a woman naturally feels the same about a handsome man. Chen Feng was indeed handsome, and although he had neither money nor property, his job at the time wasn’t bad either. He earned seven to eight thousand a month and was held in high regard by his leaders, set for a quick promotion and raise. It was these combined factors that made Shen Lin choose him, insisting on marrying him despite her family’s opposition after two years of dating. And then, not long after their marriage, Chen Feng suffered a significant setback in his career. First, the leader who valued him fell gravely ill and resigned. Those who were at odds with his leader took positions of power, and Chen Feng, who had been the favored protégé, was naturally subject to exclusion and repression. First, they seized on a minor mistake at work to strip him of his deputy manager position and demote him to a regular employee. Then they assigned him the most troublesome cases in the company, which, unsurprisingly, he couldn’t complete, inevitably leading to another round of reprimands. At this point, Chen Feng couldn’t bear it anymore and prepared to resign. His resignation was approved, but he was required to pay a penalty fee. This was because he had signed a five-year contract with the company, and he was only three years in. According to the contract, if Chen Feng were to resign early, he would have to pay the company a training fee of 100,000 yuan that it had invested in him early on. When he joined the company, he was sent for two months of training at a professional institution, but the cost of 100,000 yuan was exaggerated. This so-called training fee was, of course, just an excuse; in reality, it was a penalty designed to circumvent relevant laws. However, at that time, those who were sent for training by the company were talents the company valued and intended to cultivate. Therefore, such provisions in the contract were quite standard. Otherwise, if they trained you and you resigned soon after, wouldn’t it just benefit another company? Moreover, the arrangement was mutual; if the company wanted to terminate an employee within those five years, they would also have to pay a penalty of 50,000 yuan. Although somewhat unequal, such a contract was considered rather fair in today’s labor market. All the few people sent for training by the company had signed without exception. Chen Feng certainly couldn’t afford to pay 100,000 yuan in penalties, so he had to continue staying at the company, quickly becoming marginalized, rapidly sinking into degradation over a few months, with his weight increasing day by day, turning into the overweight figure he was now.

Chapter 8 Relaxing Your Mindset

Comments (0)