Chapter 30: You Can’t Reject a Handsome Guy Just to Save Face, Right?

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: You Can’t Reject a Handsome Guy Just to Save Face, Right?

Mr. Liang finished brewing the tea. He poured it into small cups and gestured for Chen Jingle to drink. "Come, have some tea!"

"Thank you, Mr. Liang."

Chen Jingle picked up the cup and took a sip. It tasted similar to the Honey Orchid Phoenix Dancong tea he had before, but with a slight difference. However, he didn’t know much about tea; he just drank whatever was offered.

"What have you been up to lately, Chen?" Mr. Liang asked.

"Nothing important. Mostly learning how to cook and grow flowers," Chen Jingle replied with a smile.

"That’s great. Food is the first necessity of the people, after all. Eating and drinking well is a major priority in life. Thanks to you, I can now say I’ve eaten state banquet dishes today. As for growing flowers, it cultivates character and helps regulate your mood. I saw the two pots Liang City brought back from your house. They’re very well cared for. Even someone like me who doesn’t understand flowers feels happy just looking at them. Having them here makes the whole house feel so much more lively and vibrant."

Mr. Liang smiled and pointed at the windowsills, where a pot of bougainvillea sat on each side. They were the very same pots Chen Jingle had previously given to Liang City.

"I’m glad you like them, Mr. Liang. Once my new batch of cuttings grows out, I’ll give you two more pots," Chen Jingle said with a smile.

Mr. Liang quickly waved his hands. "No, no, that’s not necessary! Two pots are enough for our home. If we have too many, I’m afraid we won’t be able to take care of them properly, and that would be a reckless waste of good plants."

"It’s fine. You can keep two pots here, and put another two at Liang City’s new house. The best thing about these flowers is that they don’t need frequent watering. Just water them thoroughly once every ten to fifteen days."

"Oh, alright then. Thank you so much."

"You’re welcome. It’s no trouble at all."

In his arms, Little Mingyue suddenly tried to turn around. Perhaps lying on her stomach was getting uncomfortable, so Chen Jingle quickly helped her change positions.

Watching them, Mr. Liang sighed in admiration. "It’s rare to see someone so popular with children. Mingyue is especially shy around strangers. When I take her out for a walk, she doesn’t even like people touching her, let alone actively asking to be held."

Chen Jingle felt a bit awkward. "I don’t know why either. It’s just been this way since I was young."

"It means you have a friendly aura. Children are the most sensitive to these things. Anyone who is well-liked by kids can’t be a bad person."

Mr. Liang had a very good impression of this young man. Without exaggeration, Chen Jingle had made the best first impression of anyone he had met in recent years. It was a pity he didn’t have a daughter, and his niece was already married.

Liang City finally found a chance to interject. "By the way, you’ve really changed a lot lately. You look even more handsome than you did a few days ago when I went to pick up the flowers. Did you take some kind of magic pill?"

Chen Jingle shot him a sidelong glance. "If such a magic pill existed, do you really think a powerless, penniless, and uninfluential commoner like me would get my hands on it?"

"True." Liang City chuckled. "Then tell me, what’s your skincare routine?"

Chen Jingle casually made something up. "Nothing special. Just sleeping early, waking up early, and sticking to a workout routine. I eat three regular, balanced meals a day, drink two liters of water, and cut out high-sugar, high-salt, spicy, and fried foods."

"Uh, never mind. Just sleeping and waking up early is already impossible for me. Who in the modern world can actually do that?" Liang City quickly waved his hand dismissively.

Mr. Liang was astonished. "No wonder you look so energetic, Chen. Just that level of self-discipline alone beats ninety percent of your peers."

Liang City silently rolled his eyes. "Dad, be more confident. It’s at least ninety-nine percent! These days, young people who can go to bed before midnight are an extreme minority, let alone those who consistently exercise. We work like workhorses every day. When we get off work and lie down in our rented apartments, it feels like our lives are over. Who has the energy to go work out?"

Mr. Liang nodded. "True. The pressure on your generation is much heavier than it was for us back in the day. When I got into a technical school and graduated to become a teacher, schools were fighting to hire me. College and university graduates were all destined to become government officials; they rarely ended up in rural towns. But look at things now. A single rural civil service position has hundreds of college students competing for it. Better units like the sub-district offices are even attracting master’s degree holders. Not to mention, over the past year, many people couldn’t find a job at all after graduating."

"That’s just how this era of intense competition is."

The conversation grew a bit depressing. Liang City quickly changed the subject, talking about when he would report to his new workplace.

As they kept chatting, the topic somehow shifted to international politics, with them playing armchair politicians and analyzing global affairs. Ah! Men’s conversations truly never escaped this fate.

Meanwhile.

Zhong Qing only saw the message from her sister after her class ended. She froze for a moment before quickly replying.

"Who is this handsome guy? Is that Little Mingyue he’s holding?"

Judging from the sofa in the background, it looked like the photo was taken at Liang City’s house. To be honest, his looks and aura were entirely her type. In trendy terms, he was practically overflowing with youthful charm.

Staring at the photo for a while, she actually found her heart racing and her cheeks growing slightly warm. Wait!

Zhong Qing suddenly remembered something. "My sister mentioned she wanted to introduce one of Liang City’s friends to me earlier. Could it be him?" she thought.

He didn’t look like he was the same age as Liang City at all!

"Did she use a beauty filter?!" Zhong Qing thought with a frown. She zoomed in on the image. It didn’t look like it was taken with a beauty app. It was probably a standard Apple camera, but maybe the beauty parameters had been tweaked. Or did Apple phones come with built-in beauty filters? She had never used an Apple phone, so she didn’t know.

However, even setting aside any potential beauty filters, he was still incredibly handsome.

Zhong Qing lost her composure. If he really was the friend Liang City had mentioned last time, this was going to be a massive slap in the face. Back then, she had confidently declared that a thirty-year-old was an old man and that the age gap was too big, insisting there would be a generation gap. Her attitude had been completely unyielding.

If she went back on her word now, wouldn’t they laugh at her?

She suddenly felt hesitant and faintly regretful. If she had known, she wouldn’t have spoken with such absolute certainty.

Zhong Jing replied very quickly. "He’s Liang City’s friend, the one I told you about last time. We happened to invite him over for dinner today, so I casually snapped a picture."

"Crap! What you fear is what you get," Zhong Qing thought, feeling slightly dizzy. Her face instantly scrunched up into a bitter grimace.

"So? Is he old? I didn’t use a beauty filter, by the way. Without exaggeration, he’s even more handsome in person than in the photo, especially since I just took it casually." On the other end, Zhong Jing had just finished washing the choy sum and dried her hands to find a moment to reply.

Zhong Qing gritted her teeth and replied, "He’s just average."

"Oh, never mind then. I was originally planning to ask for his contact information for you, but since you don’t even like him, I won’t bother embarrassing myself." Zhong Jing sneered to herself, seeing right through her sister’s little trick.

Reading this message, Zhong Qing felt like her heart was bleeding. She stared at the photo again and again before hurriedly typing back. "Sister, I was wrong. I was just joking earlier. He really is handsome, okay?"

Between a handsome guy and her pride, she ultimately chose the former.

Truth be told, after making her choice, she felt much more relaxed. After all, a person couldn’t just give up on a handsome guy for the sake of so-called pride, right? Pride wasn’t worth anything anyway!

Zhong Jing’s expression turned teasing. "Too late. I actually think you’re a bit out of his league now."

"What are you saying?! I’m your sister, your biological sister!" Zhong Qing was ready to stomp her feet in anger.

"Just telling the truth."

Zhong Jing snorted softly, her hands typing rapidly on her screen.

"He’s handsome, capable, and his family background isn’t bad either. He could easily find a girl with much better qualifications than you.

"Have you seen my latest Friends Circle update? That state-banquet-level dessert was made by him. Bet you didn’t expect that, did you? He’s incredibly talented!"