茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

Chapter 140 The Damn Ego

“What’s wrong, did you argue with Wang Han?” Xiang Kun didn’t hesitate to ask straight away.

Chang Bin shook his head with a sigh, “No, it’s her family.”

Xiang Kun was surprised, “You fought with her family? How did that happen? Uh, because of the marriage?”

He knew that Wang Han, like Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’er, was a local with a decent family background. Chang Bin’s father was a teacher, and his mother was an enterprise worker. His family was relatively well-off, although not as wealthy as Wang Han’s family.

But Chang Bin himself was very capable. After graduation, he did not work in the IT industry, but joined an event planning company. Later, he established his own team, found investors to partner with, and is now his own boss. His annual income should be pretty good, and he had already bought two houses in the city, both of which were in better locations and were larger than the house Xiang Kun lives in.

It’s already 2019; in such a big city, this kind of family disparity should not be a

serious issue. Chang Bin and Wang Han are planning to get married, so how could they start to object now?

Sigh, getting married is indeed troublesome, he mumbled to himself.

Chang Bin looked somewhat complicated, ‘We didn’t actually have a fight. In front of her family, I just went along with them. But it… it’s just a bit frustrating…”

Originally, Chang Bin planned to go to a barbecue restaurant that they often frequented with Xiang Kun. However, they found that the restaurant was undergoing some renovations when they arrived, so they drove a bit further and went to the bar that they had been to with Zi Cheng.

This bar was recommended by Chang Bin because it’s not far from several universities, often attracting student customers. Therefore, it’s not as chaotic or noisy as other nightclubs, making it suitable for chatting. Occasionally, there would be good singers performing, which attracted people to come to listen to the music.

After Chang Bin walked into the bar, Xiang Kun instinctively started gathering information about the various people in the bar.

He was quick to notice that two of the bar’s waiters were different from before and that among the customers, three were the same as the last time he came. One of them was Yang Jie, the female postgraduate student wearing glasses, whom he and Zi Cheng had interacted with.

During their last chat, she had mentioned that she was a postgraduate student at ** University nearby and lived here. The last time Zhang Qian returned to

China, Yang Jie had brought her to this place where they met Xiang Kun and Zi Cheng, the unparalleled pair of ‘womanizers’.

Now it seemed like she was here with several classmates, sitting in the large booth, chatting, and didn’t notice Xiang Kun and Chang Bin entering. Xiang Kun naturally had no intention of walking over to greet her.

Chang Bin ordered beer and some snacks, while Xiang Kun just ordered a bottle of mineral water.

“You’re just too fucking disciplined. Not drinking alcohol, not even touching any other drinks?” Chang Bin gestured at the bottle of water in Xiang Kun’s hand.

“I’m used to it, I still find water to be best,” Xiang Kun replied with a smile. However, looking at the bottle of water in front of him, he felt a bit of a toothache — 35 yuan for a bottle, and he saw the bartender pour the water from a two-yuan bottle of Farmer Springs water right in front of him…

“Is there any problem between you and Wang Han?” Xiang Kun shifted the topic back to Chang Bin.

Chang Bin let out a sigh, poured himself a glass of wine, and after finishing it, he said, “She’s great, I know she has done a lot of work and spoken highly of me in front of her parents. Xiao Han is a very understanding woman; being able to marry her is my blessing.”

Xiang Kun smiled, “Isn’t that settled then? You’re marrying her, not her family. As long as you two are happy, that’s all that matters.”

Chang Bin took another sip of his drink and sighed, “I used to think the same, but I found out later that marriage… it’s not merely about two people, it’s about two families.”

While pouring more wine, Chang Bin added, “Originally, Xiao Han and I had discussed it and were planning to move to her previous apartment first. Then we would renovate the one we’re living in, change some electrical appliances, and it would serve as our new home. After all, this isn’t the right time to buy a house, and capital turnover in my company has been tight lately. “However, when Xiao Han’s father found out, he bought a 200 square meters house in Xiao Han’s name as her dowry, for us to use as our new home.”

Xiang Kun adjusted his glasses, perplexed, “Isn’t that great? You’re not upset because the woman’s family paid for the house, and you’re not comfortable living in it, are you?”

Chang Bin took a sip of his wine, looked at his friend and said, “Yeah, it’s great. The location is better than my current house, the space is larger, and it has better lighting. But you know where the house is located? Right beneath Xiao Han’s parents’ apartment building….

“Hmm, it’s probably because they want to live closer for the sake of taking care of their daughter,” Xiang Kun said quietly.

“Xiao Han’s father came to my home once, and the next day he had a furniture company deliver a sofa to replace ours. He said the sofa was uncomfortable, but he never sat on it when he visited! Xiao Han’s mother has visited my house several times, and the first time she arrived, she said that the brand ‘Alsace’ of cat food was too poor and needed to be replaced! But that food was clearly

‘Desires’ brand, and Xiao Han and I often make meals for the cat ourselves… Yet my future mother-in-law didn’t care and sent numerous bags of what she thought was good cat food the next day. As a result? ‘Alsace’ wouldn’t eat them at all! When Xiao Han’s mother asked about it, Xiao Han didn’t dare to say so explicitly, otherwise my future mother-in-law would definitely suspect that ‘Alsace’ was sick..

The “Alsace” Chang Bin was talking about was a British shorthair cat that he and Wang Han raised. When they first bought it, they solicited names for it on WeChat Moments, and the name “Alsace” proposed by Zi Cheng was selected by most…

“There are many, many more things like this, but before, we didn’t live together, so it wasn’t an issue to accommodate them when they came over or when we met, as they weren’t really big issues of principle. But if we live in the same building, one above the other? Can you imagine? The mere thought of this situation makes me want to tear my hair out!” Chang Bin shook his head and took another drink.

Xiang Kun began to understand. Though he sympathized with the parents’ concern for their daughter and their need to look after Wang Han, their controlling attitude would invariably make Chang Bin, a man who likes to be in control and is somewhat of a chauvinist, very uncomfortable. It might even affect his relationship with Wang Han in the future.

“At the dinner table that day, her brother ‘tactfully’ asked me how my company was doing. He mentioned that many companies’ activity budgets and marketing budgets have decreased, and asked whether our company’s volume of business has been affected. He then asked about our annual turnover and profit, and afterward, he suggested I join their company, saying they’d give me a managerial position, a Mercedes S400, and a driver. The annual bonus wouldn’t be less than what I earn from my current company, and I’d have less to worry about, so it’d be easier. With more time on my hands, I’d be able to spend it with his sister…”

Chang Bin spoke with a bitter smile on his face: “In the end, it’s my fucking ‘ego’ that’s causing all the problems.”

Kudos to ‘Big Firefly in the Ruler’ for his novel ‘Life Exchange Game’, a humorous and fun-filled novel..