Chapter 1097: You Profiteer!

Chapter 1097: You Profiteer!

The man nodded gravely, as if confiding a royal secret. “Yes, Su Shen and I go way back—war buddies, you know. We’ve literally had each other’s backs in life-or-death situations. These days, we dabble in business together from time to time, make a little money here and there. So you—” he jabbed a finger for emphasis, “—you’d better treat Su Shen like your own blood brother. Show him proper respect.”

Chen Xi rolled his eyes dramatically. “Oh please. Life-and-death, my foot. You sold him this dump, didn’t you? Real touching friendship. You’re nothing but a profiteer!”

Just then, Gu Zi, who had noticed Su Li taking a suspiciously long time to answer the door, wandered out to investigate. Her perfectly arched brows drew together as she caught the end of Chen Xi’s critique. “What’s wrong with the house?” she asked, voice clipped. “Su Li, who’s here?”

Su Li jumped in quickly, “Mom, it’s Dad’s army buddy. And that guy who lost to Big Brother on the train—Chen Xi.”

Chen Xi gave up resisting fate. He wasn’t even offended by the way Su Li introduced him. Seeing Gu Zi, he launched into his warning like a public service announcement. “Gu Zi, since we are uni mates, I have to be honest with you—this house is not livable. You see, this place used to…”

Before he could finish, he was abruptly cut off—quite literally—with a swift kick from his older brother that sent him stumbling forward.

How could this clueless kid not have any sense of decorum? First time visiting someone’s home and he’s already insulting their property? Honestly, Chen Yu thought, that kick had been too polite.

Chen Xi staggered toward the ground and, as fate would have it, landed face-to-snout with a massive dog—fangs bared, eyes gleaming. He nearly wet himself on the spot. “G-Gu Zi! Help me! I’m scared!”

Gu Zi called out with practiced calm, “Big Yellow, sit.” The big dog immediately pulled back his lips, tucked in those terrifying teeth, and obediently retreated to his doghouse, tail wagging like a good boy.

She didn’t push the subject any further. Livable or not, they’d already moved in. There was no turning back now. If there was something seriously wrong, she’d get to the bottom of it later.

For now, she turned to the two men. “So what brings you both here looking for Su Shen?”

Chen Yu stepped forward with the poise of a man who believed first impressions mattered. “Hello, I’m Chen Yu. And this is my younger brother, Chen Xi. Imagine the coincidence—who would’ve thought you two were uni mates? I heard you moved in, so I brought my little brother along for a formal visit.”

Gu Zi understood their intent and called Su Li to fetch Su Shen. Moments later, he emerged from the kitchen, still holding installation tools in his hands. He looked up, pleasantly surprised to see Chen Yu, arms weighed down with bags. “Old Chen, you didn’t have to bring anything.”

Chen Yu grinned. “Come on, how could I not? You told me your wife got into Imperial Capital University, didn’t you? I brought a little something to congratulate her—a gift for her success. This is for her. And these—” he gestured to the other packages, “—are shoes and toys for the kids. Nothing fancy, just a small gesture.”

Truthfully, Chen Yu had planned to linger a bit, maybe formally introduce Chen Xi to Su Shen and lay the foundation for future visits. But now that he knew Chen Xi and Gu Zi were uni mates, the bond was already there—whether they liked it or not.

Frankly, the way this kid ran his mouth, Chen Yu just wanted to make a quick getaway before his little brother said something else utterly inappropriate.

Inside, Gu Zi had just put away the gifts and was heading back out to invite them to stay for lunch—only to discover that both brothers had vanished like smoke. So quick. They must’ve sprinted off the moment the dog sat down.

Conveniently, Jiang Nan showed up right at that moment. “Hey, girl! Did someone just come by?”

Gu Zi nodded. “Yeah, but they’ve already left. By the way, Jiang Nan, how long have you been living here?”𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Jiang Nan smiled. “I grew up here. Born and raised. It’s been decades. Why? Something on your mind?”

Gu Zi didn’t beat around the bush. “I heard it’s incredibly hard to sell property in this area. No one wants to move in. Why is that?”

Jiang Nan let out a long, world-weary sigh. “Ah, so that’s what this is about. Remember I told you about that Jiang Yao? The man who beat his wife to death? The whole thing blew up back then. And of course, the rumors started—wild, eerie stuff. People claimed they could hear the poor woman sobbing at night, said our village was cursed, doomed to suffer some cosmic retribution. The gossip just got more superstitious and twisted from there.”

Now it all made sense. No wonder Chen Xi had been so dramatic about the house. And no wonder these courtyard homes couldn’t sell, even at a steep discount…

Meanwhile, back in the car, Chen Xi was still stewing. “Bro, you’ve got no conscience. You smile and say all the right things, then you go and sell that family such a wreck of a house. You sly snake. Don’t think I don’t know you locked down this entire project. You’re the ultimate profiteer.”

Chen Yu shot him a side glance. “So what if you know? Let me tell you something you don’t know—this project isn’t mine anymore. Su Shen bought the entire lot of courtyard homes. He took over the whole investment. You think he doesn’t know exactly what he’s doing? You think he’s as shortsighted as you?”

Chen Xi blinked. “Then why’s he still living there with his wife and kid? He doesn’t strike me as someone who can’t afford a better house.”

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