43: Chapter 43 Making Money

The meal was lively.

Wang Mei and Mother Lin chatted from the college entrance exam to university, and from university to how the two children would look out for each other in Chang'an in the future.

Father Lin occasionally chimed in, mostly about schools and majors. Chen Jianjun didn't talk much, but could chat a bit when asked.

When the meal was nearly finished, Chen Fan put down his chopsticks and glanced at the remnants on the table.

Under the guise of wiping his mouth, he cast a subtle glance at Lin Xi.

Lin Xi was holding her teacup, taking small sips. Sensing his gaze, she looked up, met his eyes, blinked, and then lowered her head to drink her tea as if nothing had happened.

After leaving the private room, he didn't head toward the restroom, but walked straight to the front desk.

The hallway was quiet, though the noise of clinking glasses came from the next room. A waiter passed by carrying a tray and stepped aside to let him through.

"The Zhongnange table, please settle the bill."

The cashier looked up at him, flipped through the bill at hand, and said, "386."

Chen Fan pulled four red bills from his wallet and handed them over. While waiting for the change, he glanced back at the end of the hallway to ensure no one was coming out before taking the change and tucking it into his pocket.

He returned to the private room, sat down casually, and took a sip of his tea. It had gone cold, but he didn't mind; everything was as usual.

Lin Xi glanced at him, her lips moved, but she didn't say anything.

Ten minutes later, Father Lin put down his cup and raised his hand to call the waiter in.

"Hello, is there anything you need?"

"Settle the bill for this table."

"It has already been settled," the waiter replied politely.

"Settled?" Father Lin was stunned. He turned to look at Chen Jianjun beside him, "Brother Chen, did you pay?"

"It wasn't me." Chen Jianjun was also stunned and shook his head.

Seeing this, the waiter quickly added, "It was this young brother who settled it when he went out just now," gesturing toward Chen Fan.

Upon hearing this, Father Lin's gaze fell on Chen Fan. He paused for a second before saying, "Alright, that's all. You can go out first."

The waiter nodded, turned around, and closed the door.

Mother Lin was the first to react, smiling and saying, "Little Chen, you child, why did you sneak off to pay the bill?"

"Uncle and Auntie, you've worked hard driving me to and from the exams these past few days," Chen Fan said, putting down his cup with a sincere tone. "This meal is the least I could do."

Father Lin looked at Chen Fan, his tone more formal than before:

"Little Chen, you are still a student. It's not your place as the younger generation to pay. It won't be too late to treat Uncle and Auntie to a meal once you start earning your own money in the future."

Chen Fan put down his teacup and met Father Lin's gaze without flinching.

"Uncle Lin, actually, I am already earning money."

Mother Lin was stunned and turned to look at Wang Mei. Wang Mei smiled from the side without saying anything, but her eyes held a hint of pride.

Father Lin looked at Chen Fan, his tone laced with surprise: "Oh? What do you do to earn money?"

"I write web novels."

"Web novels?" Father Lin was somewhat surprised. "Some of the young guys in our department love reading them. I've seen them doing it quite a few times."

Chen Fan nodded and explained simply, "I've been writing for a few years. It started as a hobby, but then I got lucky, and slowly, I started earning an income."

Mother Lin couldn't help but ask, "How much can you earn from that?"

Chen Fan smiled without giving a specific number: "It's enough to get by, at least enough to pay for this meal."

Mother Lin was amused by this: "You child, that's not what Auntie meant."

Father Lin looked at him, and there was an extra layer of depth in his gaze.

"Is writing novels a stable line of work?" he asked practically.

"It's fairly stable for now, but I don't intend to rely solely on this path."

After hearing this, Father Lin nodded and didn't press for details about his income.

He picked up his teacup and took a sip. When he put it down, his tone was much more relaxed than before: "By the way, what's the name of the novel you write?"

"High Martial Era"

Father Lin paused slightly, a flash of surprise in his eyes: "That name... is quite interesting."

Chen Fan smiled without saying anything.

Lin Xi had been sitting on the side without interrupting, but the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned.

She turned her head to look at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan noticed, turned his face, and gave her a quick wink.

Lin Xi immediately withdrew her gaze, picked up her teacup to pretend to drink, and her earlobes quietly turned a little red.

Wang Mei saw all of this from the side and stood up with a smile: "Alright, we've chatted enough. Since the exams just finished today, let's go back and get some rest early."

Both families then stood up and walked out.

After leaving the private room, Chen Fan walked at the back.

Lin Xi suddenly slowed her pace and walked alongside him.

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Tell you what?"

"That you were earning money by writing novels."

Chen Fan tilted his head to look at her: "You never asked."

Lin Xi glared at him: "I can't just ask about everything, can I? Shouldn't you have brought something like that up yourself?"

Chen Fan thought for a moment and replied earnestly: "I was mainly afraid you'd think I was showing off."

Lin Xi was taken aback, then turned her face away and muttered softly: "...That's true, I suppose."

Chen Fan laughed: "See, I knew it."

"You—" Lin Xi was choked up by his words and raised her hand to swat him.

Chen Fan didn't dodge and smilingly took the hit.

Lin Xi was amused despite her anger and turned to walk forward. After two steps, she looked back at him again.

Chen Fan was still standing there, watching her with a smile.

Lin Xi withdrew her gaze and continued walking, but the corners of her mouth were already curling up uncontrollably.

"You're not allowed to hide things from me in the future." She didn't turn her head, her voice wasn't loud, but her tone was serious.

Chen Fan walked a few quick steps to catch up and looked at her from the side: "I wasn't hiding it from you; I just hadn't figured out how to tell you."

He paused, his tone laced with a smile: "I just took this opportunity to say it today. Don't you think Uncle and Auntie have a pretty good impression of me today?"

Lin Xi glanced at him sideways and didn't answer, but her earlobes quietly turned a little red.

"It's alright, I guess." She turned her face away, feigning indifference.

Chen Fan smiled and didn't tease her further.

The two walked out of the hallway side by side. Neither spoke again, but they both unconsciously slowed their pace.

Outside the door, the two cars were still parked there.

Father Lin and Mother Lin were standing by the car, talking to Chen Jianjun and Wang Mei. Seeing the two come out, Mother Lin smiled and waved at them.

"Xixi, get in the car."

Lin Xi nodded and walked toward her family's car.

When she opened the car door, she paused and looked back at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan waved at her.

Lin Xi didn't say anything, climbed into the car, and closed the door.

The car started and slowly drove out of the parking lot.

Chen Fan stood there watching for a while until the car turned out of sight, then turned around to get into his family's car with his parents.