Just as everyone was still reeling from the shock that Fang Chenyi owned five companies, Bai Mengyao couldn’t hold back any longer and was the first to cry out in astonishment,

"Brother-in-law! You actually opened five companies? What are their names? Are they all in our city?"

Fang Chenyi was at a loss for words. It would be awkward not to answer the question, especially with everyone’s eyes now fixed on him.

Just as Fang Chenyi was hesitating about whether to say anything, the door to the private room suddenly opened, and a little girl of about thirteen or fourteen ran in.

"Grandma, First Uncle, First Aunt, Dad, Mom, Third Uncle, Third Aunt, Sis, Brother-in-law, Second Sis... Wow, you must be Second Sis’s husband! You’re so handsome!"

The little girl ran into the room, greeting everyone one by one. Her gaze finally landed on the only stranger in the room, and she instantly figured out who he was.

"Oh, Mengjie, you’re out of school? Come here and let your Second Sis love on you a bit!"

Watching Bai Menghan stand up to greet the young girl who bore a slight resemblance to her, Fang Chenyi felt a flicker of confusion. ’Who is this? Could she be Menghan’s sister? But I’ve never heard Menghan mention her before.’

’Wait, no,’ he realized. ’The girl just called Second Uncle ’Dad’... Uh... Is this Second Uncle’s youngest daughter?’

A moment’s thought was all it took for Fang Chenyi to deduce her identity, and the ensuing conversation confirmed his guess.

"You silly girl, look how old you are, still making your Second Sis carry you. All right, all right, hurry up and go wash your hands."

The young girl stuck her tongue out and made a face at her father before climbing out of Bai Menghan’s arms. She then turned to Fang Chenyi, who was watching her with a smile, and said with a mischievous glint in her eye,

"Hehe, you really are handsome, Brother-in-law!"

Bai Menghan gave the girl’s forehead a light flick, saying with fond exasperation, "Alright, alright, go wash your hands. We’re having your favorite today—sweet and sour pork tenderloin." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Gasp! Sweet and sour pork tenderloin! Okay, Sis, I’m going to wash up right now!"

With that, she spun around and dashed toward the nearby restroom.

Fang Chenyi couldn’t help but smile at the adorable sight.

Her father, Second Uncle, saw this and called out exasperatedly, "Slow down!" before turning to Fang Chenyi with an apologetic smile.

"Ah, kids will be kids. Come, Chenyi, let’s get back to our drinks. Don’t mind them. By the way, Chen Xi, what’s the status of getting Mengjie into Qinhuang Sunlight Noble Private Middle School? She’ll be graduating in a little over ten days."

As he spoke, he suddenly remembered that his precious daughter was about to graduate from elementary school. He had already spent a full fifty thousand yuan pulling strings to get her into that good school.

Hearing this, Fang Chenyi paused. ’Qinhuang Sunlight Noble Private? Why does that name sound so familiar? Right! The special reward I got from that student ID I found while collecting junk last night... wasn’t it shares in this very Qinhuang Sunlight school?’

’In other words... I think I’m its biggest shareholder now?’

Ignoring Fang Chenyi’s confusion, Chen Xi quickly responded to his father-in-law’s question.

"You can relax, Dad. A friend of mine is a director at that school and has a lot of pull. I’ve already taken care of everything. We’re just waiting for Mengjie to finish her entrance exams, and she’ll be admitted right away."

Second Uncle’s face filled with relief at his son-in-law’s assurance. ’Even if he isn’t as wealthy as Fang Chenyi,’ he thought, ’when it comes to getting things done, this son-in-law of mine is absolutely reliable.’

"Second Brother, you’re planning to send Mengjie to Qinhuang Sunshine?" Third Uncle couldn’t help but chime in. "We looked into it last year when our Mengying was starting junior high. Forget the fact that they don’t even accept students from our district—the tuition alone is over twenty thousand a year!"

It was a strange quirk of the Bai family’s current generation: of the three brothers, the eldest only had one daughter, Bai Menghan. The second brother had two daughters, Bai Mengyao and Bai Mengjie. And the third brother also had no sons, just his daughter, Bai Mengying, who was now in her second year of junior high.

Second Uncle put on a helpless expression, but he couldn’t keep the smugness out of his voice.

"Sigh, tell me about it. The tuition is twenty-six thousand a year, and that’s not even counting room, board, and other living expenses. I’ve done the math—it’ll cost at least fifty thousand a year!"

Hearing this, Third Uncle gasped. He’d heard the tuition was expensive, but he never imagined the total cost would be fifty thousand yuan a year. ’I only make thirty-seven or thirty-eight thousand a year from work,’ he thought with a sigh. ’That school really isn’t for poor folks like us.’

Seeing Third Uncle’s expression, Second Aunt, who was sitting beside her husband, chimed in.

"Hah, you could do a lot with fifty thousand yuan, couldn’t you? But what can you do? It’s a good thing she has such a wonderful big sister and brother-in-law. Chen Xi has already spent fifty or sixty thousand running around for this. He’s going to be paying for all of Mengjie’s tuition from now on, too."

Chen Xi felt a surge of satisfaction as the conversation finally turned back to him. ’That’s more like it,’ he thought gleefully. ’I should be the center of attention.’

He instinctively raised his wine glass and took a self-satisfied sip. ’Mmm, this ten-thousand-yuan wine is delicious.’

After that brief moment of inner praise, reality suddenly hit him. He looked at the glass of ultra-expensive wine in his hand, and his proudly raised chin drooped sheepishly.

RING RING RING...

Just then, Chen Xi’s phone rang. He gave everyone an apologetic smile and then took out his phone.

His eyes lit up when he saw the caller ID. Instead of answering immediately, he turned the screen toward his father-in-law.

"Haha, Dad, speak of the devil! It’s Director Wu. He’s probably calling to let us know about the early entrance exam."

Second Uncle’s face lit up with excitement.

"Heh, it really is him! Quick, answer the phone, Chen Xi! Even though he’s the one who needs to stay on your good side, we’re the ones asking for the favor. Don’t keep the man waiting."

Chen Xi gave a nonchalant reply and casually answered the call. Seemingly to reassure his father-in-law, he immediately put the phone on speaker.

As the call connected, a middle-aged man’s apologetic voice crackled from the speaker:

"Uh, President Chen? I have to tell you something. That, um... that thing we talked about? I’m afraid there’s been a change in plans. Regarding your sister-in-law attending our school... it’s probably not going to happen."

The words had barely left the speaker when the confident smile on Chen Xi’s face instantly vanished, his expression turning pale.

[To be continued...]