Chapter 458 - 282: The Eerie Progenitor (Part 2)

The babysitter at home had something urgent and took leave, and your mom went on a trip too. A friend is visiting tomorrow, surely you have to cook a meal to entertain him, right?

"Why not just eat out? Is it really necessary to cook at home?"

"Oh, you child, this isn’t a business dinner, where’s the homey atmosphere if we eat out?"

Old Wang persuaded and finally got past it, then gave Old Chen on the other side an "OK" gesture.

That night, the two old fathers were grinning like weasels that had stolen chickens, while Chen Ba, who had been so thoroughly set up, was completely oblivious.

He really didn’t expect that his dad would meet a fishing buddy of about the same age while fishing.

What surprised him even more was that the fishing buddy his dad met had an impressive status; he was none other than the famous Chairman Wang of Jiangning’s business world.

"You know him?"

"Of course, I know Chairman Wang. After all, we’re in the same city, can’t avoid meeting at various events and government-related meetings."

Chen Ba thought for a moment and then said, "But it’s just a nodding acquaintance, nothing more. We usually don’t have much interaction."

That’s perfectly normal.

After all, he’s in the gaming industry, and Chairman Wang is in real estate; they’re not even in the same track, and there’s no business overlap, definitely no intersection.

"It’s okay, now you’re familiar!"

"I’m good friends with him, so don’t bother calling him Chairman Wang or Mr. Wang later, just call him Uncle Wang."

"Ah? You two are that close?"

Chen Ba was a bit surprised. Old Chen asking him to call Uncle felt like the relationship was pretty special! If it was an ordinary fishing buddy, it probably wouldn’t be to this extent, right?

"You’ll know when we get there!"

Old Chen teased him with a secret, without telling Chen Ba how he met Old Wang or for how long they had known each other.

He didn’t say, and Chen Ba was too lazy to ask.

Anyway, in his view, the friendship of the older generation is their business. He and this Chairman Wang have no dealings, so why change anything?

Besides...

He didn’t think it was a coincidence that Old Chen and this Chairman Wang became friends.

Whether Old Chen had any schemes or not, Chairman Wang probably did. After all, Chen Ba is no longer an unknown entity, and it’s expected he would want to make friends.

But speaking of which...

Even if there was truly some agenda behind this, Chen Ba wouldn’t be too worried. After all, Old Chen is Old Chen, and he is he.

He wouldn’t change his perspective on Chairman Wang or help him just because of Old Chen, that would be ridiculous!

Chairman Wang is not his dad, just a fishing buddy Old Chen happened to meet, who cares about him?

Driving to a villa, Chen Ba first parked the car in the courtyard, then took out a case of good wine Old Chen specially bought from the trunk and saw the casually dressed Chairman Wang.

"Hello, Uncle Wang!"

"Hey, is this Little Chen?"

Chen Ba’s greeting made Wang Xuebing beam with joy and quickly invited the father and son into the house.

"I..."

Chen Ba was just about to make an excuse about company matters and leave early, but as soon as the door opened, he locked eyes with a girl dressed simply and wearing an apron inside the house.

Both were a little taken aback.

Instead, Old Chen and Old Wang shared a knowing smile.

"Come, come, haven’t eaten yet, right? My daughter found out you guys were coming and specifically cooked up a table of delicious dishes..."

"Well, I must have a few drinks then!"

Old Chen and Old Wang cozily put their arms around each other, looking like old friends who wouldn’t leave until they were thoroughly drunk today.

"Hello!"

Chen Ba was taken aback. He didn’t expect Chairman Wang, the unassuming guy, to have such a beautiful daughter. He nodded politely.

"Hello, I’m Wang Ya!"

Probably some dishes were still unfinished in the kitchen. After nodding in greeting, Wang Ya turned and went back to the kitchen.

Taking a glance at the two onlookers at the dining table, Chen Ba suddenly realized that he was probably sold out by Old Chen.

Visiting an old friend?

Needing help to move a case of wine due to a bad back?

Fake, all of it’s fake! This is evidently a play crafted by Old Chen, intended to coax him here to meet Wang Ya.

So the question is...

In this play, what role did Wang Xuebing occupy?

Chen Ba glanced at the two old crafty men and then looked at the kitchen again, sitting down with an unchanged expression.

This meal, it seemed, he couldn’t get away without eating!

The stage was set, the script was written, and the actors were all in place; he probably couldn’t leave even if he wanted to, at least Old Chen and Old Wang wouldn’t let him.

What a situation!

Thinking about being unwittingly tricked into a matchmaking session, Chen Ba found it somewhat amusing. He should have just refused Old Chen and gone to the company to play games with Lu instead.

Soon, the dishes were all served.

Chen Ba couldn’t drink because he was driving, and Wang Ya was the same; both poured themselves juice. Old Chen and Old Wang alone were drinking heartily, soon addressing each other as brothers and pouring out their hearts.

"Brother, my life is tough!"

"Brother, my life is tough too..."

"When will I see Ya get married and hold a grandchild?"

Chen Ba had never seen this side of Chairman Wang. Ever since he’d known him, he was always the smiling, gentle, and successful person.

But now?

With bleary drunken eyes and a dour face, he was lamenting to Old Chen like a neglected woman, detailing his grievances and hardships.

Listening to this, Chen Ba looked at Wang Ya sitting next to him with an odd expression, and coincidentally, Wang Ya was also looking at him; their thoughts aligned.

Case closed!

Not only was he arranged, but it seemed Wang Ya was also set up by Old Wang; she was also kept in the dark, otherwise wouldn’t have shown that expression.

"Alright, alright, let’s not talk about this."

Old Wang pretended to wipe nonexistent tears and said, "Today’s a happy day, let’s not talk about such sad things, come on brother, cheers!"

"Say, why did you stop?"

Old Wang: "..."

Chen Ba grinned, feeling today wasn’t in vain as he got to witness such a show.

Argue, come on, argue!

What’s interesting about deep family affection? A drama should have rich family conflicts; come on Chairman Wang, continue, I love watching this...

Originally, if Wang Ya hadn’t spoken, Chen Ba was prepared to break the ice himself, but since Wang Ya said something, he just watched the show.

"Oh dear, I’m drunk!"

Chairman Wang was probably prepared in advance, his acting was just like those seasoned actors to Chen Ba.

Look at that expression and those eyes, he claimed not to be drunk, who would believe it?

What?

Chairman Wang, tested by numerous drinking sessions, getting drunk after less than two measures, that’s unbelievable?

Maybe he just has a low tolerance, who knows?

Old Chen noticed his son looking toward him, realizing Chairman Wang faked being drunk to dodge a bullet. Next, it would probably be his turn, so he decisively slumped onto the table.

"I’m drunk too..."

The two old men intentionally pretended to be drunk, leaving Chen Ba, who originally wanted to pursue responsibility, utterly speechless.

"It seems they won’t wake up."

Chen Ba knew at a glance that someone pretending to be drunk wouldn’t wake up no matter how much you called unless they wanted to wake up themselves.

"Let’s exchange contact information!"

Wang Ya took out her phone, scanned Chen Ba’s chat contact, they added each other as friends, and then turned to shout at the two feigning-drunk old men: "The food’s getting cold, time to wake up?"

"Right, right, the food’s getting cold!"

Old Chen and Old Wang swiftly sobered up, going from seemingly drunk to eating heartily in the next second.

Chen Ba shook his head, not taking it too seriously.

He guessed Wang Ya shared his thoughts: since both parents wanted them to connect a bit, let them.

After all, arranging such a meal only to embarrass the two old fathers would seem unacceptable.

But connecting is one thing.

Whether anything comes of it isn’t their decision; later they could easily say they didn’t connect, and this matter could be closed.

It’s just adding a contact.

Chen Ba figured adding this contact was merely going through the motions and that neither of them would initiate a conversation, probably won’t even see each other’s updates.

Does anyone really believe in love at first sight? That’s obviously just a case of being infatuated at first glance!