Chapter 45: Childhood Memories

It was ten o'clock in the morning when Jiang Jin stepped off the plane.

He took out his phone and called his mother, Li Yuru.

"Hey, Mom, I've landed. What? You guys went to the auto show? Okay, I'll just take a taxi straight there."

At the International Exhibition Center, inside the Baishui Auto Show, right in front of the Audi booth.

"Old Jiang, when do you think our son will ever be able to drive a car like this?"

Li Yuru gazed at the gleaming Audi A6 on the stage, her eyes full of envy.

In her mind, anyone who drove an Audi A6 was either a major boss or a high-ranking official.

In short, the Audi A6 was a symbol of status!

If Jiang Jin could ever drive an Audi A6 one day, she would smile in her sleep.

Jiang Jianye's gaze was equally burning with desire, but it quickly dimmed.

"That's still way too far off for Xiaojin."

Their family of three were all wage earners, and Jiang Jin hadn't even settled down with a new apartment yet, let alone dared to dream about luxury cars.

Nearby, a middle-aged man wearing a black suit, a gold tie, and an air of distinction laughed.

"Old Jiang, you're being too modest. The lowest-tier Audi A6 only costs four hundred thousand yuan on the road. As long as Jiang Jin works hard, he'll be driving one in three to five years."

His name was Yang Jian. He used to be a neighbor and colleague of Jiang Jianye, and they used to be very close.

Back in 2003, Yang Jian quit his job at a state-owned enterprise, went south to plunge into the business world, and became a small boss.

Having returned in glory a few days ago, he specifically visited Jiang Jianye and arranged to meet at the auto show today.

"Exactly, it's just an Audi A6. Even if someone gave it to me to drive, I'd be too lazy to drive it. An ordinary person can still afford it if they just put in some effort."

"As for top-tier luxury cars like Bentleys and Rolls-Royces, Xiaojin probably won't ever have any hope of affording them in his lifetime."

A middle-aged woman glittering with jewelry chimed in with a sarcastic tone.

Her name was Wang Meili, and she was Yang Jian's lawful wife.

The expressions of Jiang Jianye and his wife turned somewhat awkward.

"It doesn't matter if Brother Jiang Jin can't afford one! I can drive a Bentley to take him for a spin later!"

Yang Chuxue waved the Bentley key in her hand and said with a smug expression.

This Bentley Continental was a gift from her parents for her twentieth birthday, which had cost nearly five million yuan back then.

"You girl!"

Wang Meili affectionately tapped the tip of her nose.

"Aunt Li, why hasn't Brother Jiang Jin arrived yet?"

Yang Chuxue turned to look at Li Yuru and asked eagerly.

Li Yuru replied, "He got off the plane half an hour ago, he should be here soon."

"Mhm, as soon as Brother Jiang Jin arrives, I'll take him for a spin in the Bentley. Brother Jiang Jin will definitely love it."

Yang Chuxue beamed with smiles, looking extremely happy.

Li Yuru smiled with relief. Yang Chuxue was a year younger than Jiang Jin and had been following behind him since kindergarten, calling him "brother" at every turn.

After the two families met yesterday, Yang Chuxue kept crying out to see Brother Jiang Jin.

Li Yuru felt that since the two grew up together, Yang Chuxue was single, had blossomed into such a beauty, and still kept her Brother Jiang Jin constantly on her mind, perhaps she could play matchmaker between the two?

So she called Jiang Jin.

Now it seemed her intuition was right; it would just depend on how things developed between the two once Jiang Jin arrived.

Wang Meili frowned slightly and said, "Taking him for a spin is fine, but make sure not to let him drive. He has never driven this kind of luxury car before. If he wrecks it, he won't be able to afford the compensation."

Yang Chuxue obediently nodded and replied, "Mm, I know, I won't let Brother Jiang Jin drive."

The smile on Li Yuru's face instantly froze.

Jiang Jianye's expression also changed slightly. He pulled Li Yuru aside and whispered,

"Yuru, why don't we call Xiaojin and tell him to go back?"

He hadn't thought much of it when the two families met yesterday, but today Wang Meili's family acted somewhat condescendingly, which made him rather unhappy.

Li Yuru glared at Jiang Jianye and reproached, "What are you talking about? If you make Xiaojin go back now, what will Old Yang's family think?"

Although she was also boiling with anger inside at the moment, considering the relationship between the two families and the affection between her daughter and their son, she decided to endure it for the time being.

Jiang Jianye let out a cold snort and grumbled resentfully, "I don't care what they think! Hearing the things they say just makes my blood boil!"

Li Yuru let out a soft sigh and persuaded helplessly, "I'm boiling too, but Xiaoxue is still a nice person. Let's wait and see."

Jiang Jianye nodded and didn't speak further.

Yang Jian called out to Jiang Jianye, "Old Jiang, the main highlight of today's auto show is Rolls-Royce. Shall we go over and take a look?"

A hint of yearning tinged Yang Chuxue's voice. "I heard Rolls-Royce is launching a globally limited ten-unit model at this auto show."

Wang Meili chimed in, "It's said that this limited-edition Rolls-Royce Phantom is priced at over one hundred million yuan. Many wealthy people in China are interested in it."

At this point, a look of yearning appeared on Wang Meili's face.

A luxury car priced at over one hundred million yuan—even people like them could only feast their eyes on it from the sidelines. If they wanted to buy it, they'd probably have to sell off all their assets.

"We'd better not go. You guys go ahead."

Jiang Jianye thought for a moment and said.

Which man didn't like luxury cars?

But this limited-edition Phantom was damn too expensive; it simply wasn't something ordinary people like him should even look at.

Sometimes, lacking money really meant lacking the confidence even to look at a commodity.

"Old Jiang, you don't think looking at it costs money, do you?"

Yang Jian laughed out loud, walked over, and grabbed his arm.

"Let's go together so you can broaden your horizons."

Wang Meili echoed from the side, "Exactly. Even if you can't afford to buy it, just catching a glimpse of it will give you bragging rights with others in the future."

Jiang Jianye felt a stifled rage burning in his heart. Silently and sullenly, he followed behind them to the Rolls-Royce booth.

At this moment, a large crowd of visitors had already gathered here.

Right at that moment, Li Yuru received Jiang Jin's call.

"Hello, Xiaojin? You've arrived? We're over at the Rolls-Royce booth. Great, hurry on over."

Beside her, Yang Chuxue's eyes sparkled as she asked eagerly, "Has Brother Jiang Jin arrived?"

Li Yuru smiled and nodded. "He's here, he's here. He'll be over soon."

"Yay, that's wonderful! I'll get to see Brother Jiang Jin right away, I'm so happy!"

Yang Chuxue clapped her hands in excitement.

Li Yuru smiled with relief. Although Yang Jian and his wife had changed a lot, Yang Chuxue was still very pure and cute.

Perhaps she really could play matchmaker between Xiaojin and Yang Chuxue?

Before long, Jiang Jin found his way here.

Because he hadn't figured out how to tell his parents that he had become wealthy yet, he didn't wear luxury clothing, nor did he wear an Armani wristwatch.

He just wore a full set of Li-Ning athletic wear, looking precisely like a college student who hadn't yet stepped out into society.

"Dad, Mom."

Jiang Jin spotted Jiang Jianye and his wife from afar. After calling out, he trotted over.

Even though he was a transmigrator, the original owner's memories remained, allowing him to genuinely treat Jiang Jianye and his wife as his own parents.

Furthermore, since this was his first time meeting the elderly couple face-to-face, he felt somewhat emotional.

After the family of three met, Li Yuru made the introductions.

"Xiaojin, this is your Uncle Yang Jian, Aunt Wang Meili, and this is your younger sister, Yang Chuxue."

Upon hearing his mother's introduction, Jiang Jin quickly and politely greeted them, "Uncle Yang, Aunt Wang, Xiaoxue, long time no see."

Yang Jian and his wife looked Jiang Jin up and down, a flash of disdain crossing both of their eyes.

He was supposed to be a high-achieving graduate from Jiang University, and he'd been working for two years now, yet he dressed so shabbily.

Although they felt a bit of contempt in their hearts, the two still smiled and offered Jiang Jin a few words of praise.

Yang Jian smiled warmly and praised, "Haven't seen you in over a dozen years, Xiaojin has grown into a strapping young man. Very dashing and talented, not bad, not bad."

"Wow, Brother Jiang Jin, you're so handsome!"

Yang Chuxue hopped in front of Jiang Jin and said with a star-struck expression.

Faced with Yang Chuxue's enthusiastic and direct praise, Jiang Jin couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed. He scratched the back of his head and smiled in response, "Sister Xiaoxue has also blossomed into a great beauty."

If a perfect score was one hundred, Yang Chuxue could easily score an eighty-five.

Of course, she couldn't compare to Wu Qingya or Liu Sisi, but placed in a crowd, she was still a beauty who would make people's eyes light up.

Immediately afterward, Yang Chuxue blinked her eyes and asked curiously, "Brother Jiang Jin, I heard from Auntie that you're still single?"