Chapter Seventy-Five: Unconventional Parents

“What... what did you say?” Dad could hardly believe his ears.

Mom was momentarily stunned as well. She reached out and gave Gao Ning a playful slap. “Honestly, how old are you now? Always boasting and exaggerating—when will you ever change that childhood habit? Fine, if you don’t want to talk, I won’t ask. The bath water’s heated and ready for you. Go wash up, take a hot bath, and get to bed early.

Don’t go wandering around aimlessly tomorrow, alright? You’re coming with me to your grandmother’s house—she just bought a new refrigerator and needs someone to help carry it. Since you’re home, it’s the perfect task for you!”

Gao Ning could only smile wryly. “I’m telling the truth!”

“Truth, really! If you haven’t eaten yet, there are buns in the pot.”

Well, it seemed the two of them didn’t believe a single word. Gao Ning shook his head, torn between laughter and tears, but thought perhaps it was just as well.

I’ve said all I can—it’s not my fault if you choose not to believe me. When the truth comes out one day, you’ll have no one but yourselves to blame.

At the same time, life at home wouldn’t change too much for the foreseeable future, which was actually rather nice.

So Gao Ning decided not to explain further.

“I’ve got things to do tomorrow. Here’s what I’ll do: I have a classmate who now runs a moving company, not far from Grandma’s place. I’ll call them and have them handle it directly.

They’re professionals with all the right equipment. If Grandma wants to move anything else, let them do it all at once. There’s no need to pay them—I’ll settle things through the company.”

Having said his piece, Gao Ning turned and walked into his own room.

Dad was bemused. “That rascal—what’s he up to now? He’s even starting to sound like a real boss!”

But Mom’s gaze lingered thoughtfully on Gao Ning’s bedroom door, sensing something.

“Did you say you saw our son having dinner with the Lu family’s girl yesterday?”

“That’s right. I was quite pleased, actually. I thought maybe the two kids had finally taken a liking to each other and both families’ worries would be put to rest. But the boy didn’t say a word about it when he got home, and there was nothing odd about his expression, so I guess it’s nothing after all.”

Dad waved it off.

Mom, however, was unconvinced. “Something’s not right. Call the Lu girl and find out what’s really going on—what are those two up to lately?”

Dad dialed the number carelessly.

Little did they know, that phone call would keep the couple awake all night.

The next morning, Gao Ning opened his door and stepped out, yawning broadly. He was only halfway through his stretch when he saw both parents dressed impeccably, each with a suitcase at their side, smiling at him in unison.

Their smiles were dazzling—Dad, who always boasted about his big eyes, was grinning so broadly his eyes had all but vanished.

Gao Ning started in surprise. “What are you two up to?”

“We’re going on a trip!” they chorused.

“Huh?”

“To the Maldives!” they replied together.

“So sudden? What about the supermarket?”

At this, Gao Ning suddenly caught on and couldn’t help laughing. “You checked with Lu Yingying, didn’t you?”

Dad replied, “Not only did we check with her, your mother even drove to your company herself and saw your name on the property documents.”

Mom shot Dad a glare. “I only wanted to look at the company, but your father insisted on checking the company’s bank statements!”

Gao Ning shook his head, laughing. “Now you believe me?”

“Of course! I always said my son couldn’t possibly be a nobody. Just look—barely in your twenties and you own a company worth over six hundred million! Last time Shen Pingfang was bragging about her son’s annual salary being in the tens of millions—let her come see ours, it’d scare her silly!” Mom chuckled gleefully.

“Alright, enough with the bragging. All those women ever do is play mahjong—never anything serious,” Dad said, tugging at her sleeve. Then, to Gao Ning, “We didn’t sleep a wink last night. After learning of your sudden success, we felt both proud and a little overwhelmed.

But in any case, you no longer need us to worry about you. So, we’ve decided to put our ‘Post-Sixties Plan’ into action early!”

“What plan?” Gao Ning was curious—did his parents really have a plan?

“Well, we’d originally planned to do this after you were married and had a child. But now that you’re settled, we’re setting out to...” The two of them lifted their heads to a forty-five degree angle and declared in perfect harmony, “Travel the world!”

Gao Ning couldn’t help laughing. “Alright, alright—go have fun! Just check in with me from time to time. I’ll notify the bank to issue you new cards.

Your son may not be fabulously wealthy yet, but he can certainly fund his parents’ world tour. So spend what you like. As for your own money, just let it earn interest in the bank!”

His parents exchanged a pleased glance and high-fived in celebration.

“Good boy, that’s exactly what we wanted to hear. We’re off!”

“The car keys are under the TV—take them if you need to! Call us if anything comes up!”

Waving energetically, they dragged their suitcases out the door.

Gao Ning stood at the window, watching them drive off toward the airport, and couldn’t help feeling a surge of emotion.

How free-spirited—truly free-spirited!

Ever since he was young, Gao Ning knew his parents were deeply in love and approached life with boundless optimism. They’d always seemed like a pair of wandering heroes, merely taking a brief respite in the mundane world, destined one day to return to their own.

He never imagined his own sudden transformation would allow his parents to cast off the shackles of reality and reclaim their true selves.

He felt a tangle of emotions, but above all, genuine happiness for them.

The phone rang. Gao Ning picked up; it was Lu Yingying on the other end.

“Uncle and Aunt have left, haven’t they?”

“They’re on their way. Did they verify things with you last night?”

“They did—and they startled my family as well. When they found out I’d quit my job to join your company, they were strongly opposed. But once I showed them the company seal and documents, and explained that you'd entrusted me with six hundred million in cash, they had nothing more to say.”

Gao Ning rubbed his forehead, surprised by this unexpected outcome.

“Sorry to trouble you!”

“Don’t say that. You’re my boss now—solving your problems is part of my job. By the way, yesterday Uncle and Aunt put me in charge of the supermarket.

I’ll be hiring an experienced manager and accountant to oversee it. Do you have any plans?”

Gao Ning thought for a moment. “The location is decent, but the space is a bit small. If I remember right, the neighboring shops are privately owned, correct?

Find an agent to contact the landlords. If the price is reasonable, buy them outright. For now, let’s triple the supermarket’s size and upgrade all the basic facilities.

Since the supermarket is in our hands now, we can’t let it go under!”

“Got it,” Lu Yingying agreed readily. “The headhunting firm will be submitting researcher profiles this afternoon. Do you want to come by to review them?”

“You handle it. Also, have someone book me a flight to Hengdian—I have a pile of matters to deal with there!”