I am not just a tycoon

Shen Yuan drove back, dropping Chen Na off at the café before heading to his "new home".

Today was the day to light the new house's hearth, and Old Shen and Ms. Li had called in the morning to ask him to come home for dinner.

It was only this morning that he had learned, during a previous period, Old Shen and Ms. Li had been house hunting and, after much searching, hadn't found a suitable place.

Either they complained about the new houses not having adequate amenities, finding it inconvenient for a trip to the vegetable market or a big supermarket, or they disliked the location for being too remote, far from the downtown area.

For various reasons, they started looking at second-hand houses and, after two days, they unexpectedly found their old home listed for sale.

Old Shen and Ms. Li both liked the old apartment very much, being satisfied with its amenities, location, floor number, and décor, but out of necessity, due to debts that had to be paid back in 2021, they sold the apartment for 2.08 million yuan.

The buyer was a property speculator who, with housing prices falling, listed it for sale at 1.98 million yuan.

Without any hesitation, Old Shen and Ms. Li decided to buy back their old apartment and, after some tough bargaining, the speculator, fearing getting stuck with the property, sold it back to them for 1.88 million yuan.

In effect, the property speculator spent 200,000 yuan to not only not live in the apartment but also to keep it for them for two years.

Shen Yuan felt a bit like laughing. It seems not all speculators have a keen eye. Buying a house as an investment in 2021 was as reasonable as joining the national army in '49.

Shen Yuan bought a bottle of soy sauce at the shop near the housing complex entrance and took the familiar route to Building 2, then took the elevator to the familiar 16th floor; the door of 1601 was open.

Inside, everything was almost as if it hadn't changed at all since three years ago.

The only possible change might be the sofa and dining table, which Ms. Li had replaced with new ones. Also, there was Old Shen sitting on the sofa watching television, his face bearing more wrinkles and his temples slightly grayer with white hair.

"Yuan, you're back."

Shen Heping turned his head and, upon seeing his son, said with a cheery smile, "Your mom and I looked around but ultimately decided to buy back this one. I put a lot of thought into the renovation of this apartment, and both the location and amenities are good."

Shen Yuan replied with a smile, "That's good, everything is a familiar flavor."

"Mom, your soy sauce is here!"

Shen Yuan brought the soy sauce to the kitchen and spoke to Ms. Li, who was cooking, while his sister, Shen Xuan, was there helping with chopping and washing the vegetables.

"Brother, you're back!"

Shen Xuan, wearing glasses, gave Shen Yuan a sweet smile.

"Yeah, did you miss me?"

Shen Yuan affectionately pinched Shen Xuan's cheek.

"Ouch, stop pinching! My face turned out like this because you kept rounding it with your pinches!"

Shen Xuan gave him a glare, complaining. If her hands hadn't been wet, she would have definitely counterattacked.

It's funny, really; Shen Xuan isn't overweight but her face is quite round.

"Don't spout nonsense, you inherited Dad's round face whereas I inherited Mom's good looks. Isn't that right, Mom?"

After teasing Shen Xuan, Shen Yuan also took the chance to flatter Ms. Li.

Ms. Li rolled her eyes at her slick son: "Don't make trouble here, go sit outside."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Shen Yuan left the kitchen to join Old Shen on the sofa to watch TV.

The television was airing a melodramatic soap opera which Old Shen was watching with great interest; Shen Yuan had no such enthusiasm and decided to check his WeChat on his phone instead.

There were quite a few messages waiting for him, starting with Fu Yingzi. She sent some promotional posters and text to Shen Yuan about the startup hub, seeking his advice on whether anything needed to be changed before publishing them on the official WeChat and Weibo accounts.

Shen Yuan skimmed through them quickly and found them to be fine, so he sent back an "OK" emoji.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

After a moment's thought, he typed another message: "I'll stop by the event classroom tomorrow afternoon, you come too. I'll let you know the exact time later."

Fu Yingzi replied, "Okay."

After finishing with Fu Yingzi, the next message was from Coach Liew, who sent several pictures of clothes she had bought for him.

There were white shirts, zip-up cardigan POLO shirts, single-breasted POLO shirts, and a few pairs of business-casual pants.

It seemed Coach Liew was quite on point with her role as a personal butler. Although he didn't need these clothes at the moment, as his wealth rapidly expanded, he would undoubtedly need to attend formal occasions, so these clothes would come in handy.

Shen Yuan: "Well done, for a reward."

Liew Menglu quickly responded: "What kind of reward?"

Shen Yuan: "Reward you a few 'small goals'."

Liew Menglu: "Then, can I be rewarded tonight? /emoji.smirk/"

Shen Yuan thought for a moment, there didn't seem to be anything on for tonight: "Sure, wait for me in the executive suite."

Liew Menglu: "Okie dokie, Meng Lu will prepare nicely on her own~ To give Daddy a surprise~"

Shen Yuan chuckled at this message, recollecting her tantalizing figure, feeling a warm rush through his abdomen.

Little tease!

I'll tame you tonight!

Shen Yuan resolved, continuing to scroll through the conversation list where he also saw a message from Fang Minhui.

"Shen Yuan, I miss you."

"Tomorrow is the weekend, will you have time~"

Shen Yuan thought, class belle, you have to get in line. So, he replied: "Let's see about tomorrow night."

Fang Minhui: "Mm!"

Further down, there were daily life snippets shared by Chen Na. She often sent Shen Yuan photos of coffee and the lush green plants in the courtyard of the café.

Shen Yuan: "Seen."

After responding to these, Shen Yuan put his phone away and mused that he was now quite adept at handling three 'babies' simultaneously and reckoned he must have reached at least a junior level of time management mastery.

Just then, Shen Yuan suddenly felt a large, firm hand land on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw Old Shen looking at him with an incredibly complex expression.

"No way, Old Shen, how long have you been watching?"

Shen Yuan felt a little guilty.

Shen Heping spoke earnestly, "Shen Yuan, you're only 21 years old now. You should focus on your studies and entrepreneurship. Your mother and I don't oppose you dating, but don't go overboard."

"But Old Shen, it's not what you think."

Shen Yuan tried to explain.

Shen Heping glanced at his son, still picturing his mischievous image as a child. In the blink of an eye, the child had turned into a 21-year-old young man.

But this flirtatious trait didn't seem to follow from him....

Shen Heping generously waved his hand, "Alright, your dad isn't so old-fashioned. I'm just advising you not to be fickle. If there's a suitable girl, you can also bring her home for us to meet."

"But Old Shen, it's really not..."

Shen Yuan still wanted to argue, even though he didn't know how to explain himself.

"Alright, alright."

Shen Heping interrupted him again, speaking with the wisdom of someone who had been through it all, "Your dad was young once, too. What you're experiencing now, I've been through before."

"....."

Shen Yuan thought to himself that Old Shen was really something. Could it be that he, too, had dated several girls at the same time in the past?

If Ms. Li found out, she'd probably tear him to shreds.

"Let's eat. Anyway, bring a suitable partner home for us to meet."

Shen Heping stood up and went to the kitchen to help serve dishes and set up bowls, just as Shen Xuan came out with a plate of food. Hearing the word "partner," she immediately ran over to Shen Yuan with curiosity.

"Bro, did you find me a sister-in-law?"

Shen Xuan looked at him with curious, wide eyes, "Is sister-in-law pretty? Show me a photo of her."

"Which sister-in-law are you referring to?"

Shen Yuan asked.

Shen Xuan couldn't help rolling her eyes, "As if you got me a handful of sister-in-laws."

Shen Yuan knew Shen Xuan didn't believe him, which was exactly the effect he had hoped for. He didn't bother explaining further and stood up to help clear the dinner table.

Li Hongjuan had prepared a table full of delicious dishes. During the meal, she asked, "Yuan, how's your business venture going?"

"Not bad, still trading the coins."

"And dealing in foreign exchange and futures as well."

Shen Yuan replied casually.

Trading Bitcoin and foreign exchange futures were relatively low-hurdle ways to make money, so his explanation seemed logical. Neither Li Hongjuan nor Shen Heping thought much of it, since Shen Yuan had already helped the family pay off a debt with earnings from Bitcoin last time.

And he had mentioned there was still a lot of money left in Bitcoin.

"Good, then take it easy, try to be steady and solid."

Li Hongjuan said "steady and solid," thoughtfully glancing at Shen Heping.

Shen Heping coughed awkwardly and changed the topic, "Besides these, you can also look into some tangible industries."

Shen Yuan nodded, "Yeah, I am exploring those too."

"When are you going to find a partner?"

"You're also 21 this year, and by next year you'll be of the age to register for marriage. If you find someone suitable, you can bring her home for us to meet."

Li Hongjuan added.

As the saying goes, the speaker means none, but the listener means all. Father and son, Shen Yuan and Shen Heping, shared a knowing look, then simultaneously looked away.

"Okay, if there is one, I'll bring her."

Shen Yuan replied nonchalantly, thinking that when the time came, he might be bringing home not just a partner, but a grandchild.

He wondered what kind of expressions Old Shen and Ms. Li would have at that time.

They talked for a while about Shen Xuan's studies before Shen Heping raised his glass and said, "Let's drink to our family moving back into our 'new' home."

Shen Xuan and Shen Yuan cooperated instantly, picking up their drinks to clink glasses with Shen Heping, while Li Hongjuan was very content today, raising her glass with a smile.

Not long after finishing their drinks, Shen Heping, beaming with joy, raised his glass again, "Also, let's all toast to Yuan. If it weren't for that lottery ticket he got for 6.8 million, we would still be crammed in a rental."

"Son, cheers!"

"Bro, you're awesome, I toast to you!"

Shen Xuan picked up her paper cup with both hands, imitating Shen Heping's gesture, spun around for everyone, then turned her cup upside down to show not a drop was left.

Li Hongjuan rolled her eyes, "You're a young lady, why don't you learn something nice instead of picking up your dad's habits?"

"Hahaha~"

"..."

The family enjoyed a harmonious dinner. When Li Hongjuan was collecting the dishes, she said, "Son, your room is ready. Why don't you stay at home tonight?"

Shen Yuan was just about to explain that he had things to do at night, but Old Shen suddenly took over, "Let the boy sleep wherever he wants. He's grown up now; we should give him some more space."

Shen Yuan was moved to tears and couldn't help but give Old Shen a thumbs up.

That's my real dad, playing along perfectly!

...