Chapter 184: Chapter 143: A Good Man Buys a House, But Doesn’t Write His Own Name
"Brother Feng, you’re a real man’s man. Most guys can’t compare to you," Zhang Zhengyang said.
"It’s nothing, it’s nothing. Isn’t this just what a man is supposed to do?"
Sun Hongfeng’s sense of superiority was immensely satisfied. He felt like he had finally scored a point.
"If I’m not mistaken, Xiaojiang’s property deed only has his name on it, right?" Bi Xiaoyun said with a hint of sarcasm.
"He didn’t even offer to add Zhiyi’s name. That’s a bit subpar, if you ask me."
"What are you talking about, Cousin? I didn’t pay a single cent, so why would my name be on it?"
Li Zhiyi was getting annoyed. ’What a thoughtless thing to say,’ she thought. ’It’s so embarrassing for me.’
’It’s a blessing he’s even with me. How could she bring up adding my name? What is she thinking?’
’Does she really think a man should go bankrupt and pour out his heart and soul just because a woman sleeps with him?’
"Zhiyi is right. We didn’t contribute anything, so we can’t make a request like that." Li Jianshu readily agreed.
"Actually, I think Xiaoyun has a point. You know how women are, they all want a sense of security. It’s not wrong to ask for that," Zhang Zhengyang said, adding fuel to the fire.
"You two only have one daughter, Zhiyi. Now that she’s settling down in Zhonghai, you and my uncle will have to move here too. You’ll need a place to stay, won’t you?"
"Even if we did move here, we would never live with them," Huang Chunying said, refusing unequivocally.
"It’s too inconvenient for young people and old folks to live together. I’m not about to do that."
The words were spoken casually, but they hit home for Li Zhiyi. She instantly remembered what had happened the night before, and her ears burned.
"But if you don’t live with them, where will you go?" Zhang Zhengyang asked.
"We’ll just buy a place," Lin Jiang said nonchalantly.
"Xiaojiang’s right. We’ll just buy one," Li Jianshu said.
"We have a house in Beijing, and the property prices are about the same in both cities. We can definitely afford to buy a place here."
"That’s great! You could get a small unit. Brother Feng knows the developer here, he could even get you a discount," Zhang Zhengyang said.
"A discount won’t be necessary. It’s not that much money anyway," Lin Jiang said.
"Hm?"
Zhang Zhengyang looked at Lin Jiang. "What do you mean by that? You don’t need a discount? Are you just jealous of Brother Feng’s connections?"
"What does he have that I should be jealous of?" Lin Jiang asked.
"What I mean is, we’re not talking about pocket change here. The discount on a house is always limited; it’s not going to save that much money."
"That’s easy for you to say. This is about saving my aunt and uncle some money. It’s fine if you don’t have the connections, but you can’t stop us from using ours."
"I never said they’d be buying the house with their own money."
"What’s that supposed to mean? If they’re not paying for it, are you?"
"Yes. I’ll buy it for them."
Everyone present fell silent. Even Li Zhiyi was stunned for a long moment.
"I think we passed the sales office on the way here. Let’s go take a look and see if they have any suitable units."
"Huh? You’re really going to buy a house?" Li Zhiyi tugged on Lin Jiang’s arm and whispered. "My parents haven’t even decided if they’re moving here yet."
"If they don’t move, you can live there. Just think of it as a place I’m buying for you, so you won’t have to live in a rental anymore. Come on."
Lin Jiang took Li Zhiyi by the hand and started walking.
The others exchanged glances, then had no choice but to follow.
When they arrived at the sales office, a sales agent immediately approached them.
"Sir, ma’am, are you here to look at our properties?"
Lin Jiang nodded. "Do you have any units with an ocean view?"
"We do. Our current featured model is a 138-square-meter unit with an ocean view."
As she spoke, the saleswoman led the group to a large architectural model of the development, which included a model of the show flat.
"This is our featured unit. It’s a three-bedroom, two-hall, two-bath layout, so there’s plenty of space. Plus, our units come with all the interior finishing, so you just need to buy furniture and appliances to move in."
Lin Jiang looked over at Li Jianshu and Huang Chunying.
"Uncle, Auntie, what do you think of this unit?"
The old couple was at a loss for words. He was going to buy them a house after just meeting them for the first time. For them, it was like something out of a dream.
"We’ve only just met. We can’t possibly accept a house from you."
Huang Chunying looked at Lin Jiang. "Son, we appreciate the thought, but we can’t accept the house. All that matters is that you two are happy together."
"We may have just met, but things between Zhiyi and I are serious. We’d be buying it sooner or later anyway. If you think the size is right, let’s go see the actual unit now. If there are no issues, I’ll put a deposit down."
The old couple was touched. This was a true show of his sincerity, a sign that he truly cared for their daughter.
"It’s perfect, just perfect. For the two of us, a house this big is more than enough."
"Alright then. Let’s go take a look at the unit itself. If there are no problems, we’ll lock it in."
"Yes, yes, of course."
Li Jianshu was grinning from ear to ear. A son-in-law this good was impossible to find, even if you searched high and low.
Led by the sales agent, the group headed toward the unit.
"Old Li, are we really just going to accept a house from him for no reason? This doesn’t feel right. I feel a little uneasy."
"The fact that he’s doing this shows how much he cares for our daughter. You don’t need to overthink it," Li Jianshu said.
"We only have one daughter. When we’re gone, this house will go to them anyway. To be frank, we’re just borrowing it for a while. Don’t feel so much pressure about it."
"You have a point. The house we live in now will be theirs eventually too. There’s no point in overthinking it."
"Exactly."
Lin Jiang’s group of four walked ahead, while Bi Xiaoyun’s group of four followed behind, all of them completely dumbfounded.
"Can he really afford this place? It’s a luxury condo worth over ten million," Bi Xiaoyun said.
"I doubt it. Even if he’s rich, there’s no way he’d spend this much money to buy a house for someone else’s parents," Zhang Zhengyang said.
"There are plenty of women prettier than Zhiyi. She’s not worth this kind of investment."
"Let’s just wait and see."
The four of them felt uneasy. They couldn’t figure out Lin Jiang’s game at all.
Soon, the group was inside the unit.
The unit had a north-south orientation that allowed for great airflow. The living room featured bright, floor-to-ceiling windows. There was nothing to fault in the layout, and the interior design was stylish and tasteful. Overall, it had no obvious flaws.
"Uncle, Auntie, do you think this place will do?"
"It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect."
Lin Jiang smiled, nodded, and then looked at Li Zhiyi.
"What do you think?"
"I think it’s wonderful too, but I feel bad about you spending so much money all at once."
Li Zhiyi whispered, her voice barely audible,
"I’m not with you for your money. I’d be with you even if you didn’t have any."
Lin Jiang smiled and patted her head. "Silly girl. What are you overthinking for?"
"But that’s really how I feel."
"Alright, wait for me."
Lin Jiang walked up to the saleswoman. "We’ll take this one. Please prepare the contract."
The saleswoman was a bit slow to react. ’Buying it after just one look? Have I just met a whale?’
"Of-of course! Please, follow me."
The group returned to the sales center, and the saleswoman quickly prepared the contract.
"Uncle, Auntie, please sign here."
"Huh? In our names?" Li Jianshu asked, surprised.
"I’m buying this house for you two, so of course you need to sign."
"We couldn’t possibly do that," Li Jianshu said.
"We appreciate the gesture, Uncle and Auntie do, but since you’re the one buying the house, it should be in your and Zhiyi’s names."
"Then you sign for them," Lin Jiang said to Li Zhiyi.
Li Zhiyi nodded. She knew there was no point in arguing. They only had one daughter, so it didn’t matter whose name was on the deed.
Taking the pen, Li Zhiyi signed her name on the contract first, then handed the contract and pen to Lin Jiang.
But Lin Jiang didn’t sign it. He handed the contract directly to the saleswoman.
"Let’s go. I’ll transfer the payment."
"Huh? But you haven’t signed yet," she said.
"It’s a house for you all. I’m not signing."
With that, Lin Jiang left with the saleswoman.
The mood in the room was mixed. Li Zhiyi’s family was ecstatic. Anyone would be happy if someone spent over ten million to buy them a house.
But the expressions on the faces of Bi Xiaoyun’s family were strained. It all felt completely unreal.
Sitting on the sofa, Bi Xiaoyun’s face fell completely.
In this situation, she couldn’t bring herself to say a single bad thing about Lin Jiang, even if she wanted to.
’Even if he’s just playing around, he still spent over ten million on a house. If someone’s "just playing with you" like that, you can’t find a single thing to complain about.’
’Forget Li Zhiyi—if Lin Jiang were willing to spend over ten million on a house for me, I’d let him do whatever he wanted, and I’m a married woman.’
Soon, Lin Jiang and the saleswoman returned, and he was holding a set of keys.
This was proof that Lin Jiang had actually paid. The deal was done, no more surprises.
"Ma’am, your husband has completed the payment. There’s just a little more paperwork that we need you to handle with us."
"Alright."
Huang Chunying looked at Huang Chunli. "Big Sis, why don’t you wait here for a bit? We’re going to go sort out the paperwork, and we can all go out for a walk later."
"Okay, okay..."
As they were leaving, Lin Jiang looked at Sun Hongfeng with a smile.
"If you really want to give your partner a sense of security, the best way is to not even put your own name on the deed. Now that’s what I call being a real man."
Sun Hongfeng: ...
"Oh, right. Don’t you have a project in this complex? Make sure you do a good job on the landscaping. If it’s not up to par, we’ll be sure to call and complain."
Sun Hongfeng: ...
The feeling of being completely and utterly crushed made Sun Hongfeng want to slap himself. ’Why the hell did I even come here?!’
’Wasn’t this just asking to be humiliated?!’
"Brother Feng, he’s just an upstart gloating. Don’t stoop to his level."
Seeing Lin Jiang’s group leave, Zhang Zhengyang immediately went to console Sun Hongfeng.
"Get lost! I fucking regret ever coming here with you! You can forget about working on any more of my projects!"
After the angry outburst, Sun Hongfeng stormed off.
Zhang Zhengyang’s eyes went blank. He wanted to run after him, but he didn’t know what he could possibly say.
The only thing he wanted to do was slap himself.
’I’m such a fucking idiot.’
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