Chapter 107: Xia Yu’s House

After another round of self-righteous mocking aimed at Xia Yu, Chen Shufen simply carried the bowl of wine broth from the table and served it out to her husband, her son, and Liu Jing.

Watching her pour it until not a drop remained, Xia Yu was speechless.

He had long thought Lin Yuxin and her mother were already shameless enough, but beside this family, they seemed like amateurs. Their brazenness had reached another level. Even Liu Jing was part of it—truly, vice has a way of traveling in families.

Zhao Sijie, who had seen so much of it herself, stood silent and speechless.

After the scene they had made, Xia Yu had no appetite left. Even Zhao’s mother had ruined the mood completely. He just watched them eat until they were full, then hurry away.

As they came out of the restaurant, Zhao Sijie said first, “Uncle, I’ll book you a hotel room. As for when you all want to go back, we can do it anytime.”

“Why stay in a hotel? It’s such a waste,” said Chen Shufen. “Xia Yu has a place, so we can stay at his.”

“Yes, exactly,” Liu Jing added with an irritated tone. “Aren’t you Xiao Sijie’s boyfriend? We’re her relatives. We came all the way here; it would be odd for us to stay in a hotel.”

“Since you do have a place, it’s fine for us to stay. Or do you have no place at all and were just showing off a bit just now?”

“You… you—”

“I haven’t married Bro Yu yet,” Zhao Sijie hurriedly interjected, “so how could I just go stay in his place?”

She knew exactly what she was doing. Of course she knew he owned no home; he had left his last marriage empty-handed.

If that bluff was exposed, they’d oppose their relationship even more.

Seeing her panic, Chen Shufen and Liu Jing became even more convinced that Xia Yu had been lying. A man who drove for others, a broke man, living on someone else’s wage—how could he possibly own a place in Shen City? They knew how absurdly expensive housing was there. With a salary of only a few thousand a month, he couldn’t even afford a toilet.

Yet Xia Yu, helplessly calm, said, “If you want to stay at my place, then let’s go.”

Everyone froze. They hadn’t expected him to agree so easily.

“Xia Yu, think it through. Don’t force yourself. If we really come there and you tell us there’s nowhere, that would be terrible,” Cao Jun snorted.

“Then do we go back to a hotel?” Xia Yu replied wearily.

“Who stays in a hotel when there is a house to stay in?” Chen Shufen snapped. “Fine, if you’re in, show us the way.”

“Bro Yu, where on earth did you get this house?” Zhao Sijie pulled him to the side in urgency.

“It’s fine. Come on.”

Xia Yu drove to the garage and rolled out his business sedan. “Do you still need a taxi?”

“Forget it,” someone said. “No one knows where your place is anyway. We’ll just make do in this rattling old car.”

Liu Jing opened the door and let Chen Shufen’s group in first.

On the way, as the road grew more and more remote, Cao Jun rolled down his window and lit a cigarette, swaggering like a little boss. “Xia Yu, just make sure you’re not taking us to some godforsaken place.”

“A place too poor for us to live in would be impossible,” he muttered.

“Right,” Chen Shufen said impatiently. “Anyway, where is your house? Why are we going so far out? This won’t be some village in the countryside, will it?”

“Almost there,” Xia Yu answered flatly.

Soon the car entered White Cloud Mountain’s villa district. Sleek and expensive villas rose up at the foot of the mountain. The setting was so beautiful that even their expressions began to soften in confusion.

“Xia… Xia Yu, your place can’t be around here, can it?” Liu Jing said, disbelief clear in her voice.

“Bro Yu, did we come to the wrong place?” Zhao Sijie asked quietly from the passenger seat.

“It’s not the wrong place.”

Xia Yu drove straight up the mountain, and their astonishment grew. The higher they climbed, the grander the villas became.

“Xia… Xia Yu, where is your house exactly? We’re nearly at the top. It’s not really at the very top, is it?” Liu Jing’s voice trembled.

“Yes,” Xia Yu said.

“W-” Cao Jun began to challenge him, perhaps to tease out another lie, but Xia Yu had already pulled to a stop. He took the electronic lock and pressed the key.

The security gate opened slowly, and he drove in, parking in a vast yard.

“We’re here. Get out.”

“Whoa…”

“That must be the so-called villa.”

“It’s gorgeous…”

They climbed out and cried out in disbelief. Even Zhao Sijie stood open-mouthed. The mansion on the mountain top had shaken them to the core.

Xia Yu calmly lit a 4.5-yuan Hongjin Dragon cigarette and, with easy composure, walked to the front door and unlocked it.

Gradually they came back to themselves. Cao Jun asked in disbelief, “Xia Yu, you’re sure this is yours?”

“Don’t turn around and look too long. Someone might come to chase us away!”

“Yes,” Liu Jing pressed on. “You’re sure you’re not bragging?”

She stared at him. What they saw was too far from what they had imagined. Even if Xia Yu had a place, she had assumed at most a small mass-market apartment, never a villa of this scale.

Not just a villa—this mansion itself was vast and majestic. Living in such luxury was something they would never dare to dream about.

The real blow was this: a chauffeur who drove for others, a poor fool—how could he possibly afford a house like this? Impossible.

“If this isn’t my house,” Xia Yu said softly, “how could I have the key to open the door? Do you still want to stay?”

“Of course we do. Why wouldn’t we?” they shouted. There was no reason to refuse.

Excited, they all ran inside, and once they’d taken it all in again they gave up every pretense of courtesy, darting around as if they owned the place.

“We’ll stay here. We’re staying here. This is amazing.”

After looking around, Cao Jun and Chen Shufen and her son shouted with excitement. There was no longer even the smallest trace of doubt about whose house it was.

Even if someone came with a gun to drive them out, they would not leave.

“Pick any guest room you like,” Xia Yu said, then Zhao Sijie pulled him aside.

“Bro Yu, what on earth is going on? How do you have a place this good?” she asked. “Is it really safe to let them stay here?”

“Don’t worry. It’s fine.”

“Then whose place is it, really?”

“If I told you it was mine, would you believe me?”

“Stop pretending to be poor and tell us the truth,” Zhao Sijie said, stamping her foot impatiently, almost adorably.

“Fine,” Xia Yu sighed. “It belongs to my boss. He’s out of town on business. He usually only stays here with his family, so he rarely uses this villa. I asked his permission before bringing you.”

“Oh, then that makes sense,” Zhao Sijie said, not surprised at all; she had guessed as much already. “Bro Yu, who is your boss? He must be incredibly rich. A place like this is worth tens of millions.”

“He is very wealthy. I’ll introduce you to him when I can.”

Xia Yu gave a bitter little smile. The truth was simple: the house was not his. It was provided by the Xiao family.

Of course, if he wished, the Xiao family would surely be happy to put his name on the deed.