Chapter 57: Looking at a House
Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Looking at a House
She felt her brother was utterly irresponsible. He neglected his family duties, refused to get a proper job, and spent his days mooching food and drinks.
Someone like him needed a good hard push.
Zhao Hui stood to the side, looking sullen and displeased.
If he weren’t trying to coax Zhao Xiangjun into looking at Wang Hao’s house, he probably would have stormed off already.
For dinner, they went to the Qianxun seafood buffet. Chen Xiao had gotten ten vouchers from Li Guoqiang the other day; they were complimentary gifts that Zhongjian Equipment Co., Ltd. gave to its clients.
Chen Xiao wasn’t a big fan of seafood, so he’d given them to Zhao Xiangjun. Conveniently, there was a Qianxun location in Wansheng Square, so she could take her friends there sometime.
He kept a few for himself and had given one to Ma Jing today.
Zhao Hui, who had apparently never been to such a "high-end" buffet, gorged himself. Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Zhao’s hearts ached at the presumed cost, and they kept asking Zhao Xiangjun how much the meal was.
They didn’t relax and focus on the food until Zhao Xiangjun told them she was using complimentary vouchers.
But while getting more food, her father overheard someone at the next table mention the price was 598 yuan per person. When he returned, he sighed, "The food is good, but it’s just one meal. For the four of us, it would be over 2,000 yuan! We could buy enough meat to feed the whole family for two months with that!"
Zhao Hui chimed in from the side, "They’re gift vouchers. You can’t trade them for cash, so we might as well use them."
’Actually, you *could* trade them for cash. You could always sell them to customers by the entrance,’ Zhao Xiangjun thought, but she couldn’t be bothered to explain.
In a lull during dinner, Zhao Hui said, "Xiangjun, I’m taking you somewhere in a bit!"
"Where?" Zhao Hui was acting a bit strange today, which put Zhao Xiangjun on alert.
"To a residential community. How about I take you to check out a house?"
Zhao Xiangjun’s brow furrowed. "Take me to see a house? Why? Are you buying one? Why would you need to take me? I’m not going."
Zhao Hui froze. Her words were a sudden reminder: ’If I mention Wang Hao directly, she’ll definitely refuse to go. But if I say *I’m* planning to buy a house and just want her opinion... and if she likes it... then later...’
With that thought, he said, "Mom and Dad are going, so you should come along too!"
Zhao Xiangjun thought for a moment and agreed. She had no desire to help Zhao Hui pick out a house, but she should keep her parents company.
She was also puzzled. ’Where did Zhao Hui get the money for a house? He didn’t take Mom and Dad’s life savings again, did he?’
She sighed at the thought. Her parents scrimped and saved, and her father worked his fingers to the bone to earn money. Yet everything, including the money she’d given them over the years, was funneled to their son.
’No matter what, the son is always best.’ The older generation’s mindset was impossible to change.
As she ate, she chatted with Mrs. Zhao about things back home, mostly about her little nephew and niece. A doting smile spread across her face at the thought of the children.
She didn’t notice Zhao Hui constantly tapping away at his phone, sending messages.
He was giving Wang Hao a quick update. He would take his sister to see the house first. Once she was stunned by the "luxury home," he would choose the perfect moment to reveal that it belonged to Wang Hao—and was intended to be their future marital home.
He believed this plan would work wonders. Wang Hao, suspecting nothing, agreed that the "scene" was well-designed. He left the key in the utility closet by the door and went to wander around nearby, planning to stay out of sight for a while.
Once Zhao Xiangjun and her family arrived and finished the tour, he would reappear and give them a "surprise."
Of course, the "surprise" was entirely in his own mind. If he actually knew Zhao Xiangjun, he would never have done something so childish and cringey. It was more likely to scare her than impress her.
After dinner, Zhao Xiangjun led them into the elevator and down to the second basement level of the parking garage.
Zhao Hui quickly said, "Wrong way, wrong way!"
Zhao Xiangjun knew what he meant; he wanted to go to the ground floor to hail a cab. Her parents were thinking the same thing. But as luck would have it, Zhao Xiangjun had driven.
She had tested the Wisdom Realm R7’s autonomous driving that morning. It was already almost at the level of an experienced driver—and certainly better than her.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dared let her parents ride in a car she was driving. In Chen Xiao’s words, "You should stick to autonomous driving. Don’t go out there and be a menace to society!"
When they reached the B2 level, she finally said, "I drove today!"
"Drove? What car?" They were all stunned. They’d never heard anything about her buying a car.
Zhao Xiangjun didn’t bother explaining. She just kept walking until she stood beside her Wisdom Realm R7 and lightly tapped the hood of the frunk twice with her finger.
The hood popped open automatically, leaving Zhao Hui and her parents gaping in astonishment.
This feature on the Wisdom Realm R7 was incredibly convenient. It even had a soft-close function. It was nothing like most cars, where you have to fumble for a lever under the dash to open the hood, which then requires a lot of effort to slam shut.
Once they were inside the car, their amazement grew. It was undeniable that domestically produced cars had advanced by leaps and bounds; their materials and craftsmanship now far surpassed those of many joint-venture brands.
"Good heavens, Xiangjun! This car is even nicer than the Wang family’s Mercedes-Benz! Look at all this space, these seats, this interior!"
Zhao Xiangjun’s parents loved the car too, but her mother had to ask, "How much did this cost? It looks brand new. Did you just buy it?"
"Not too much. It’s electric," she said, offering no further explanation.
When she activated the autonomous driving, Zhao Hui, sitting in the passenger seat, became even more agitated. "Holy crap! This car... this car can drive itself!"
She asked Zhao Hui for the address of the house, then activated the autonomous driving with a voice command. The car’s noise reduction and sound insulation were superb, and the ride quality felt even smoother than in Chen Xiao’s CLS.
"Man, we don’t have a place to charge at home, or else I’d drive this car and you could have mine!"
He was so entitled. In his mind, and in the minds of his family, what belonged to his sister also belonged to him.
Zhao Xiangjun ignored him. Setting aside the fact she would never agree, she couldn’t even drive that old Accord of his properly.
The security at Hu Hai Manor was clearly not as strict as at Bihu Twin Seals. Zhao Hui just had to get out and sign a visitor log at the guard booth, and they were let right through.
On the way in, Zhao Hui was still showing off. "See? Look how responsible the security guards are here. They won’t let you in unless you register!"
Zhao Xiangjun fought the urge to roll her eyes. ’What’s there to brag about? Isn’t that the bare minimum?’ At the same time, she understood that his idea of "good" was based on a comparison with the resettlement housing where he lived.
"Look at this community’s parking garage! Look at the epoxy floor coating! The ground is so clean!"
Zhao Xiangjun stared at the dimly lit underground garage, rendered speechless by Zhao Hui’s incessant praise.
But since her parents were nodding along in agreement, she held her tongue. ’As long as he’s happy, that’s all that matters. He’s the one who’ll be living here, anyway.’
Once they were in the garage, the car couldn’t pinpoint the exact destination, so the autonomous driving disengaged.
Zhao Hui gave directions. Now, everyone in the car could clearly feel how rusty Zhao Xiangjun’s driving was. Compared to the autonomous system, her skills were worse by several orders of magnitude.
She broke out in a nervous sweat but finally managed to get them to the spot. Parking, the bane of many a female driver’s existence, was no problem for this car, which could park itself.
After everyone got out, she tapped the one-touch park assist. Then, as her family watched with their mouths agape and eyes wide, the car drove itself perfectly into the parking space.