Zhang Ying treated everyone to lunch.
The venue was at Shu Land Restaurant, located near Jincheng Garden in the Jingtai Commercial District. Zhang Ying came from Sichuan and had the bold and fiery personality typical of people from that region. However, after spending time in the capital, she had also become sharp and business-savvy.
She had come to the capital at the age of nineteen and had lived there for five years. Although she hadn't reached great success, she had still managed to carve out a career for herself. Compared to fellow "Beijing drifters" like Li Feiyu, Little Mei, and even Lu Chen a few months ago, she was doing quite well.
But no matter how good the capital was, it wasn't home.
So, this meal was a farewell. After settling the apartment matters, Zhang Ying was ready to return to her hometown.
Li Feiyu and Little Mei were both a bit sad. Little Mei even had tears in her eyes, clearly reluctant to say goodbye.
Zhang Ying hugged her friend and said, "Little Mei, if you miss me, come visit Chengdu. And Brother Li here is a good guy. If he puts in some effort, maybe you should give him a chance."
She spoke loud enough that both Lu Chen and Li Feiyu, standing nearby, heard it clearly. Li Feiyu's face turned red instantly, and he couldn't help but stare at Little Mei with hopeful eyes.
It was obvious to everyone how much he liked her!
Little Mei, blushing, said, "Stop talking about him. If he wants to win me over, he'll have to prove himself!"
Zhang Ying laughed and hugged her again. Then, turning to Lu Chen, she said, "Handsome guy, Little Mei and I are leaving now. If you need anything, give me a call. Or, if you're just bored, you can call me for a chat too!"
Lu Chen smiled and replied, "Safe travels!"
The landlord of the new apartment lived abroad and was unlikely to return. Zhang Ying had originally signed the lease with the landlord's agent in China, so as long as the rent and property fees were paid on time, there wouldn't be any issues.
Naturally, Lu Chen and Zhang Ying exchanged contact details.
After Zhang Ying and Little Mei left, Li Feiyu stood there staring at their departing figures, lost in thought.
Lu Chen patted his shoulder and said, "Stop staring. You still have a chance. But for now, help me move!"
In truth, Lu Chen wanted to tell Brother Li that his chances with Little Mei were slim, but everyone needs something to strive for in life. Whether it's chasing a career or a girlfriend, having a goal is better than drifting aimlessly.
Moving was simple.
The single apartment had everything in it already. All that was needed was to change the locks.
Originally, Lu Chen was going to call a locksmith, but to his surprise, Li Feiyu offered to do it himself. He bought the locks and installed them, saving Lu Chen at least 100 yuan in service fees.
Moving out of the Jingming Community was a bit more complicated. Lu Chen first contacted his landlord to end the lease and get his deposit back.
The underground apartments in the capital, with their good locations and affordable prices, were always in high demand. Lu Chen wasn't worried about finding someone to take over. Since he was leaving early, the landlord had no issue with the arrangement.
As for Lu Chen's belongings, aside from a few clothes and books, all he had was his old computer.
With a new computer waiting in his new home, the old machine was ready for retirement. However, thanks to Li Feiyu's connections, Lu Chen found a tenant in the same community who bought the old computer, along with the mouse and keyboard, for 450 yuan.
Let the old machine continue to be useful!
Lu Chen didn't keep the money. He added another 150 yuan to make it 600 and asked Li Feiyu to book a table at Master Chen's Private Kitchen for dinner that night, inviting all his neighbors.
During his time in the underground apartment, Lu Chen had hosted livestreams in the evenings, which probably caused some disturbance to the neighbors. Although no one had ever complained, he still felt a bit guilty and wanted to make it up to them.
Everyone who was home and willing to come was invited!
While Li Feiyu handled the guest list and food arrangements, Lu Chen went to a nearby mall to buy new household items for himself, including bed linens, towels, and toiletries to set up in his new home.
Earlier that morning, Lu Chen had wired 300,000 Yuan to his family. Then he paid 30,000 Yuan for the rent. Now, after spending bits and pieces throughout the day, his bank account, online wallet, and cash added up to less than 1,000 yuan.
Back to square one in an instant!
But Lu Chen didn't mind in the slightest because he was confident about his future.
That evening's dinner also served as a farewell but for a different reason.
The twelve-person table was completely filled. Everyone who could make it came. Aside from Li Feiyu, the guests were all Lu Chen's neighbors— men and women, a total of eleven people, with additional chairs brought in to accommodate everyone.
Previously, most of them only knew each other in passing, with little to say. But now, with Lu Chen moving out and hosting dinner, conversations flowed freely. People who weren't close before were suddenly chatting happily.
Upon learning that Lu Chen had moved to the Jincheng Garden community, everyone was envious and offered their congratulations.
For many "Beijing drifters," moving out of a basement and into an expensive single apartment was already considered a success!
The dinner was lively and didn't end until after 8 p.m., with three cases of beer consumed.
Li Feiyu was clearly a bit tipsy. His eyes were glazed, and his speech slurred. After Lu Chen paid the bill, he helped Li Feiyu back to his tiny apartment, where the guy collapsed onto the bed and immediately fell asleep.
By the time Lu Chen returned to his new home, it was already 9 p.m.
The apartment was clean.
Lu Chen placed his new toothbrush and cup in the bathroom and hung up the fresh towels. He then enjoyed a long, hot shower before comfortably lying down on the Simmons bed, now covered with brand-new sheets.
Gazing at the beautiful patterns on the metallic ceiling, Lu Chen felt as if he were in a dream.
It was as if he had traveled back to a few years ago, when his father was still alive, and his family was well-off. The room he lived in back then was even bigger, with more luxurious decor.
He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them again. Everything was still the same.
It wasn't a dream!
Suddenly, his phone on the bedside table rang.
Lu Chen snapped back to reality, quickly turning over and grabbing the phone to answer the call.
"Hello!"
A voice unfamiliar to him came through the phone, "Hello, is this Mr. Lu Chen?"
Lu Chen hadn't looked at the caller ID and didn't recognize the voice, so he asked, "Yes, this is. Who's calling?"
"Hello, Mr. Lu Chen," The voice said. "I'm Wu Shanshan from Whale TV, also known as Coral Fish."
Lu Chen immediately realized who it was. "Oh, hello, Ms. Wu! What can I do for you?"
Back when Lu Chen was kicked out of StarryLive, it was Coral Fish who invited him to join Whale TV and offered him a formal contract with a signing bonus of 50,000 Yuan.
For Lu Chen at the time, it was a lifesaver, and he had always been grateful for it.
Now that his streaming career at Whale TV was flourishing, he knew that Wu Shanshan had played a significant role in supporting him.
Lu Chen and Wu Shanshan had kept in touch, though their conversations were mostly on WeChat.
Wu Shanshan said, "It's not convenient to talk over the phone. Can we chat on WeChat?"
Lu Chen quickly replied, "No problem, just a moment!"
He got out of bed and walked into the living room.
The living room of the single apartment wasn't much larger than the bedroom, furnished only with a simple three-seater sofa and a computer desk. A large-screen TV hung on the wall, filling the space completely.
The desktop computer was one that Zhang Ying had sold to Lu Chen at a discounted price. Although he hadn't turned it on yet, the screen, case, and peripherals all looked brand new, and since they were well-known brands, he agreed to buy them for 3,000 Yuan. That, along with the rent, totaled 30,000 Yuan.
Zhang Ying hadn't asked for a deposit, so Lu Chen didn't feel it was appropriate to haggle further.
He powered on the computer, and the system booted up in less than ten seconds, quickly reaching the desktop.
Lu Chen immediately knew that the 3,000 yuan was well spent. Still, out of habit, he checked the computer's specifications.
He was stunned!
The computer's specs were extremely high, featuring a flagship six-core, high-frequency CPU, 32 GB of RAM, a 1 TB SSD, and the latest-generation graphics card, capable of running any game on the market.
Lu Chen had studied computer applications in college and had been considering upgrading his old machine recently. He knew enough about hardware to recognize that this setup would cost at least 15,000 yuan if he bought the parts and assembled them himself.
Even the 27-inch monitor had a 2K resolution!
He suddenly remembered that Zhang Ying had mentioned the computer was a gift from someone and that she had barely used it.
Lu Chen couldn't help but wonder— who was the generous person who gave this away?
Finally remembering what he needed to do, he logged into WeChat, making sure not to keep Wu Shanshan waiting.
(End of the chapter).
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