Chapter 2005: Chapter 1908: Selling the House

The person on the other end of the line seemed to hear that something was off in Zhang Chao’s tone as well. After a brief silence, he hesitated and said:

"This isn’t something I can explain clearly over the phone. I’m at the airport right now, I should be able to get to Fucheng in about three hours. Let’s talk when we meet then. I don’t know if you could give me a specific address for the meeting, Mr. Zhang?"

Zhang Chao really hadn’t expected this scammer to say something like that, even wanting to meet him in person. If Zhang Chao actually believed that, then he really would be an idiot.

"Sir, no matter how much you pretend, I’m not buying it. You’re at the airport right now? You think I’m three years old? A specific meeting address, huh? Fine, three hours from now, let’s meet at Fucheng People’s Hospital. Whoever doesn’t show up is a beast!"

With that, Zhang Chao couldn’t be bothered to deal with this scammer anymore and directly hung up the phone.

As for what the scammer said about coming to meet him, Zhang Chao didn’t take it to heart in the slightest.

"Chaozi, he said he’s coming to find you. Could he really be that Huo Sining’s agent? I think I heard airport announcements in the background. It’s quite possible the guy really is at the airport."

Zhang Chao didn’t believe it, but Xie Qiang and Li Long, who had been listening on speaker next to him, were a bit shaken. The man’s tone had sounded too genuine, nothing like a scammer, and Xie Qiang, with sharp ears, had faintly heard some strange background noise on the other end of the call that seemed like airport announcements.

Zhang Chao really had his doubts about his buddies’ IQ: "You even believe scammers? They’ve rehearsed this a countless number of times, of course it sounds real. And that airport announcement sound—eight or nine times out of ten it’s just him playing a recording in his room. If he dares claim he’s at the airport, of course he has to make it look the part. Makes it easier to fool simple kids like you."

Seeing that Xie Qiang and Li Long still didn’t look entirely convinced, Zhang Chao waved his hand and said:

"Enough. You don’t actually think that guy is Huo Sining’s agent, really coming to Fucheng to see me and give me some compensation, do you? Stuff like meat pies falling from the sky only happens in dreams. It’s broad daylight now, so stop daydreaming."

"I bet you, a few hours from now this scammer will call me again, and he’ll probably say the plane can’t take off because of the weather, so he can only transfer the money to my card—but I have to pay some handling fee. That’s just basic scammer routine, and you two would walk right into it without a second thought."

Saying that, Zhang Chao shook his head, turned, and walked out of the hospital. His top priority now was to hurry and sell his house so he could scrape together his father’s surgery fees. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Seeing this, Xie Qiang and Li Long stopped overthinking it and quickly followed Zhang Chao out.

Over at the airport, Liu Cheng was completely dumbfounded. Although Huo Sining had given him a heads-up beforehand, he’d taken it as a joke. But just now, he’d also been hung up on by that Zhang Chao. Only then did Liu Cheng understand what Huo Sining had meant by making him go to Fucheng in person.

Well then, in all his years, Liu Cheng had never been treated like a scammer before. This time he’d not only been snapped at, he’d even been directly hung up on. That kid called Zhang Chao was really impossible to get through to.

A glint flashed in Liu Cheng’s eyes. Half amused, half annoyed, he reported the situation back to Huo Sining.

Huo Sining had long anticipated this outcome and couldn’t help but laugh: "That kid’s got quite the guard up. Looks like he’s not the type to lose his head at the sight of money. Go to Fucheng and take a look. See what the situation is first."

Liu Cheng had been with Huo Sining for nearly two years, so he naturally knew her temperament. If someone could earn her praise, it meant that kid named Zhang Chao had caught her eye. If his character checked out, maybe that kid really might have a big stroke of luck coming his way.

Thinking of that, Liu Cheng became even more curious. He really wanted to go to Fucheng and see what that kid who’d dared to talk back to him looked like, and what exactly made Huo Sining see him in a different light.

As for Zhang Chao, he first posted his house listing online, then went to a few agencies to put the property up for sale with them. After that he went back home, grabbed two sets of clothes for his father to change into, and was about to head back to the hospital.

Because of all this delay, more than two hours had already passed, and just as he was about to head out the door, someone suddenly knocked on it.

Zhang Chao thought it was just Xie Qiang and Li Long coming back with food. He hurried over to open the door, but just as his hand touched the doorknob, he heard a familiar voice calling from outside: "Xiao Chao, are you home? Hurry and open the door."

The visitor was none other than the aunt he’d called earlier. Zhang Chao froze for a moment, hesitated, then still opened the door.

Once the door was open, he indeed saw his meticulously dressed aunt standing there. Behind her was a middle-aged man he didn’t know.

"Auntie, how come you’re here?"

There wasn’t much warmth in Zhang Chao’s voice. In fact, ever since that phone call in the morning, he’d accepted reality: these relatives were unreliable, even less dependable than his teachers and classmates.

His gaze fell on the middle-aged man, wary and puzzled. He didn’t know why his aunt had suddenly come by, and even brought a stranger along. Ever since his father had fallen seriously ill, this aunt—who’d always been a neat freak—had stopped coming by because she couldn’t stand the sharp smell of medicine in the house, let alone bringing someone with her now.

Maybe sensing the confusion in Zhang Chao’s eyes, his aunt’s face broke into a fawning smile as she said to him:

"Xiao Chao, we’ve got a guest here. Why are you just standing there? Hurry and make some tea for our guest! This is Boss Jiang from Fucheng. You can call him Uncle Jiang!"

Zhang Chao didn’t understand why the two of them had come, and he certainly didn’t care for his aunt telling him to call a stranger "Uncle." But out of politeness, he still let them in and went to the kitchen to pour them each a cup of hot tea.

But when Zhang Chao came out with the tea, he saw his aunt leading that man surnamed Jiang around his place, looking around in all directions. His aunt was even enthusiastically introducing the place:

"This is a work unit apartment that my older brother was allotted. Before he fell ill, he worked at the electromechanical factory. Don’t look down on how small this place is; the location is excellent. This street is the most bustling street in all of Fucheng’s urban district..."

The boss surnamed Jiang nodded as he listened, his eyes gleaming as he scrutinized the apartment from all angles.