Volume One, Chapter 19: The Big Boss Has to Squeeze onto the Bus

The dark mist finally dispersed, the wine vessel clattered to the ground, and the woman’s voice faded away. Chu Fangfei, wiping her tears, asked, “How could this happen? Why is it that good people aren’t rewarded, and bad people never get their due?”

Chi Xingwan comforted her, “Those who harmed her will face retribution.”

“Boss, how do you know?” Both Chu Fangfei and Jin Feng were curious.

Chi Xingwan replied, “Didn’t you notice the face of that unmarried woman across from us? That’s the look of someone whose end draws near.”

Honestly, no, they hadn’t noticed.

“What about the wronged spirit? What will become of her now?” Chu Fangfei asked.

“Her soul entered the afterlife long ago. What lingered was but a thread of resentment. Now that it’s dispersed, she’ll likely soon be reborn.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Relieved, Chu Fangfei put on her professional smile and turned to Chen Qifan.

“Mr. Chen, the task is complete. When would you like to settle the remaining payment?”

Chen Qifan had already forgotten what he’d originally posted, so he took out his phone to check. Then, from beneath his collar, he pulled out a necklace.

“Here.”

Chu Fangfei received it with delight.

“Boss, are you really giving me such a fine piece of jade?”

Chi Xingwan merely glanced at it. “You only took this job for the jade, didn’t you? Keep it. I have no use for it.”

“Thank you, Boss!” Chu Fangfei was so grateful she nearly hugged and kissed Chi Xingwan.

Chen Qifan offered weakly, “Um, it’s not worth much. Maybe I could offer something else? Red jade or mutton fat jade, perhaps?”

It was, after all, just an ordinary piece of black jade, not particularly lustrous, and certainly not of the same caliber as red or mutton fat jade.

When Chen Qifan had first posted for help, he hadn’t taken it seriously and had just snapped a photo of this piece as a placeholder reward.

“No need to trade. I want this black jade,” Chu Fangfei said, and immediately put it on.

Jin Feng patted Chen Qifan on the shoulder. "Jade has its own spirit, but not all jade does, and price isn't everything. This black jade suits my junior perfectly."

Chen Qifan relented, “The jade is yours, but you must also accept payment.”

He turned to his father. “Dad, you agree, right? They’ve helped us so much, we can’t just give them a piece of jade as their reward.”

Mr. Chen nodded quickly. “Of course, of course, we must. I have my checkbook in the car. Would ten million suffice for the three of you?”

Chi Xingwan replied, “That’s fine—let the money go to them.” She nodded toward Jin Feng and Chu Fangfei.

Jin Feng and Chu Fangfei drew sharp breaths. When had their Seven Stars Sect ever earned such a sum?

After leaving the Chen family estate, the three planned to depart, but Chen Qifan tagged along shamelessly.

“Now that the problem’s solved, what’s next?” Chi Xingwan asked Chu Fangfei.

Chu Fangfei immediately pulled out her phone and opened the “Lingling Spirit” app. “Just submit the task here, and the Association will send someone to verify it. Once it’s approved, the points are credited to our accounts.”

Chi Xingwan suddenly remembered she hadn’t registered for “Lingling Spirit.”

She handed her phone to Chu Fangfei for help.

The app had a regular and a spirit master version; Chu Fangfei downloaded the latter and registered Chi Xingwan with her Spirit Master ID.

Chen Qifan craned over, surprised. “You guys have an association? And an app? Cultivators really keep up with the times.”

“Enough, you don’t need to follow us. You should head back,” Chi Xingwan told him.

Chen Qifan grinned foolishly. “Sister-in-law, let me see you to the bus.”

Chi Xingwan didn’t refuse. “All right, then.”

So Chen Qifan followed them to the bus stop.

“Sister-in-law, you’re taking the bus?” he said, astonished.

“Sometimes I take a cab,” Chi Xingwan replied.

“Why not drive yourself?” he asked.

She pointed at herself. “Do I look like I can drive?”

He understood immediately. “Of course, Sister-in-law just came down from the mountain, hasn’t got a license, never learned to drive—makes sense.”

“Then why doesn’t the Chi family assign you a driver?”

She didn’t answer. The bus arrived, and she boarded with Chu Fangfei and Jin Feng.

Just before the doors closed, she called out to Chen Qifan, “That bronze wine vessel is no longer a problem. You can keep it as a collectible.”

Chen Qifan stood there dumbly for a moment before pulling out his phone, opening the second-generation group chat, and indignantly denouncing the Chi family’s behavior.

[Setting Sail: The Chi family is too much! My sister-in-law’s been back for ages and they haven’t even assigned her a driver, making her squeeze onto a hot bus! (angry face)]

Someone quickly replied:

[Who are the Chi family? No one in our group has that surname.]

[Wait, I remember now, isn’t Xiao Yue’s fiancée surnamed Chi?]

[Oh, so it’s that family. But at the engagement banquet, they all looked so dignified. Didn’t think they’d be so disgusting behind the scenes.]

[Xiao Yue’s fiancée is only their niece, not someone they raised. She probably isn’t close with them.]

[Xiao Yue’s fiancée bullied by her own family? No wonder Chen Qifan’s so upset.]

Everyone knew that Chen Qifan and Xiao Yue were close—he’d never distanced himself, even after Xiao Yue’s accident, and still visited at least once a week.

Chen Qifan continued to vent in the group, with others chiming in halfheartedly. When he’d finally had his fill, he decided he’d go to the Xiao family the next day to lodge a complaint with Old Lady Xiao.

As it happened, someone beat him to it.

At midnight, Xiao Yue woke up, Chen Qifan’s words echoing in his mind.

His fiancée had to squeeze onto a bus? Unacceptable.

After some thought, Xiao Yue didn’t call his assistant, but went straight to his grandmother.

“Grandmother, please hire a driver for Chi Xingwan. She doesn’t have a license or know how to drive. It’s inconvenient for her to get around.”

He added, “Yes, and the driver needs to be brave.”

“Of course,” Grandmother Xiao agreed, surprised by his attention to detail. “How did you even think of something like this? I hadn’t.”

Xiao Yue couldn’t very well explain that he spent his days as a parrot, so he glossed over it.

The next day, Chen Qifan stormed into the Xiao family home, launching into a tirade.

For half an hour, he railed against the Chi family, then turned to Grandmother Xiao. “They’re no good, treating my sister-in-law like this. Grandmother, you can’t let this slide.”

Grandmother Xiao’s gaze darkened. “I understand. I won’t let anyone bully Xingwan.”

After Chen Qifan went to see Xiao Yue, Grandmother Xiao instructed Secretary He, “The Chi family has acted shamefully. Create some trouble for them.”

“Yes, madam,” Secretary He replied.

At the Chi residence, Chi Xingwan received a message from Grandmother Xiao, informing her that a driver had been hired for her. On reflection, Chi Xingwan realized it would indeed be convenient to have someone on call, so she accepted the offer.

A week later, Chi Qianyu was finally discharged from the hospital.