Coming out of Baolong Plaza, Jiang Wei stepped to the curb and flagged down a cab.

Xu Ye got in after her.

She looked at him. “The front passenger seat is empty. Why aren’t you sitting up there?”

“I don’t know the driver.”

“I don’t know you either.”

Xu Ye gave her a look. “Aren’t we about to be business partners?”

She had no answer to that. She turned and looked out the window on her side.

The driver, assuming he’d picked up a bickering couple, turned his head. “Where to?”

“Yue Yang Garden Estate.”

He pressed the accelerator and pulled out.

The ride passed in silence. Jiang Wei said nothing; Xu Ye didn’t push his luck and spent the time watching stock prices on his phone.

About twenty minutes later the cab stopped at the estate entrance. Jiang Wei said “pay” and got out. Xu Ye reached for his phone and scanned the code.

She didn’t go straight inside — she waited at the gate until he’d finished paying and climbed out, then walked ahead into the complex without a word. He grabbed the bag with the cigarettes and tea and followed.

They made their way to Unit 1, Building 7, fifth floor.

Jiang Wei took a breath and knocked.

A woman of about forty opened the door. Seeing Jiang Wei, her face brightened immediately. “Weiwei, come in, come in — have you eaten?”

She was about to call her husband when she noticed Xu Ye standing behind Jiang Wei.

She stopped. Looked him up and down. Then drew Jiang Wei aside and lowered her voice. “Boyfriend?”

Jiang Wei looked startled. “No — just a classmate.”

The woman’s expression said clearly that she wasn’t convinced.

In all the years since Jiang Wei’s mother had died, she’d always come and gone alone — no classmates, no friends, never brought anyone back with her…

Director Jiang Ping, recently home from work, heard the voices and came out from inside. He’d been thinking about having Jiang Wei over for the past couple of days, and here she’d come on her own. He stepped forward, was about to say something, and found himself tugged by the sleeve by his wife, who pointed toward the door.

Jiang Ping looked at Xu Ye. His eyes went round.

In all his memory, this was the first time Jiang Wei had ever brought someone to the house. And to make it even more alarming, it was a young man.

Seeing her aunt and uncle’s expressions, Jiang Wei knew exactly what they were thinking. “Let me introduce you,” she said quickly. “This is Xu Ye. He’s a freshman in the Finance department. He has something he wanted to discuss with Uncle — I just brought him directly.”

The aunt immediately found Xu Ye a pair of guest slippers. “Come in, come in.”

Xu Ye stepped inside. “Good evening, Director Jiang. Good evening, Auntie.”

“And this?” Jiang Ping gestured at the bag.

“Just a small thing I picked up on the way — I didn’t want to show up empty-handed.”

Jiang Ping’s expression read clearly: Kid, you’re plenty bold, I’ll give you that.

The aunt, warmth undiminished, waved it away with a smile. “Oh, don’t worry about that. You’re a student. None of that is necessary.”

Jiang Ping had always been the attentive uncle — closer to Jiang Wei than her own father had been since the remarriage, and his wife had always looked out for her too. So the relationship between Jiang Wei and this branch of the family was a genuinely warm one.

Still. Even knowing she was his niece and not his daughter, watching her walk in with a young man was… a lot to process.

“Sit wherever you like, sit.”

Jiang Ping settled onto the sofa. His wife asked the obligatory question: “Have you two eaten?”

Xu Ye said, “We actually just finished dinner together.”

Jiang Wei shot him a look that could have cut glass: Yes, we ate, but why did you have to say together?

He pretended not to see it.

Jiang Ping cleared his throat and got to the point. “Xu Ye, yes? What is it you wanted to discuss?”

Good. Once he was face-to-face, the rest would be easier.

Xu Ye launched into it without preamble, well-prepared and clear-headed, explaining the vending machine proposal in organized turns:

“First, I believe vending machines on campus would be a genuine convenience for students.”

“Second, they’d enhance the school’s image and generate additional revenue for the institution.”

“Third, vending machines offer service coverage that no staffed store can — twenty-four hours, no breaks.”

“…”

Jiang Ping listened without committing. He asked the question again when Xu Ye finished: “You’re a freshman in Finance?”

“That’s right.”

He hadn’t expected someone this age to think like this. Vending machines in a university campus — now that he heard it spelled out, it did sound like a potentially solid business.

But he was a university administrator. He’d spent years cultivating the appropriate measured response. He sipped his tea and said, unhurried, “This is the kind of thing you’d come to me for, yes. But it’s not as simple as you might think.”

Usually, at this point in the conversation, whoever had come to ask for something would produce their “goodwill” gesture. Xu Ye didn’t. He just glanced at Jiang Wei.

She understood her cue. “Uncle, Xu Ye is a friend of mine. Can you help him out on this?”

That sentence confirmed exactly what Jiang Ping had been suspecting.

If this young man were just a classmate, she wouldn’t be here speaking on his behalf.

He wasn’t sure what to do. This was something he probably ought to run by his older brother first — if Jiang Chao had no objection to them being together, then family being family, he’d have to help whether he had reservations or not.

But it would be better to know what was actually going on first.

“Weiwei. Come with me for a moment.”

He stood and headed toward the bedroom. Jiang Wei glanced at Xu Ye and followed.

Inside, door pulled almost shut, Jiang Ping lowered his voice. “Weiwei. Be honest with me. What’s the situation between you and this Xu Ye?”

“He’s a friend.”

“That I don’t believe. You’re not someone who brings friends to family. You’ve never done that. And you wouldn’t speak up for a friend the way you just did. He’s… is he your boyfriend?”

“No.” She shook her head immediately. “We’re friends. But there’s also another kind of relationship.”

“What kind?”

“Business partners.”

“Business partners?”

“Yes. I think there’s real money in this idea, and he thinks the way I do about business, so I’ve decided to work with him. He’s my partner.”

Jiang Ping blinked.

Oh. So that’s what this is.

Which would also explain the call about money.

“He already has a girlfriend, by the way. This is purely a business arrangement. I’m in it to make money.”

Jiang Ping knew Jiang Wei well — she’d always been fiercely independent. After her father remarried, she’d stopped taking money from him entirely. Refused it even when it was offered.

If it really was just a business partnership, that changed things entirely.

His niece wanted to start something, and he could help. That being the case, there was only one answer.

When he came back out to the living room, his whole manner had shifted.

“Xu Ye, how confident are you in this project?”

“Very. I also run a fruit shop on our campus’s food street — business has been consistently strong. I think vending machines are where things are heading.”

“How many units are you planning to place?”

“I’ve already negotiated with the manufacturer. Thirty units have been ordered. Our campus is the pilot — if the returns are good, I plan to expand to other schools.”

Jiang Ping nodded, thought for a moment, and added: “You’re probably aware we have a second campus in Songjiang?”

“I am.”

“I have a good relationship with the logistics supervisor over there. If things go well here, I can arrange for you to place units in Songjiang too.”

“Director Jiang, does that mean you’re agreeing?”

“Weiwei’s my niece. I’m doing this as a favor to her. But I also have to justify it to the school — so there’ll need to be a nominal fee for electricity and venue usage.”

Xu Ye barely contained his excitement. “Absolutely. No problem.”

(End of Chapter 96)