Ten minutes later, at the villa’s entrance.
Secretary Fan had already prepared a car and was waiting nearby.
“Mr. Zheng, Madam Zheng, I’ll be taking my leave now.”
“Mr. Lu, at least let me drive you back myself!”
“No, no—you and Madam Zheng haven’t seen each other in half a year. I’m sure you have plenty to talk about.”
Lu Chen smiled and politely declined. “I won’t intrude on your reunion.”
Mr. Zheng and his wife exchanged a glance, then both bowed solemnly with clasped hands. “Mr. Lu, we will never forget this great kindness for as long as we live.”
Zheng Changguo added with extra seriousness, “Mr. Lu, if you ever run into any trouble in the future, don’t hesitate to come find me, or give me a call. I’ll be there for you without question.”
“Alright, then I won’t stand on ceremony.”
After all, the man was still the former governor of Jiang Province—and the most renowned one at that. Even out of office, his influence was beyond imagination.
Having such a connection was something Lu Chen naturally wouldn’t turn down.
Consider it a hidden bonus reward from this mission.
“Mr. Zheng, Madam—until we meet again.”
“Mr. Lu, safe travels.”
The car slowly pulled away from No. 1 Court.
Along the way, Secretary Fan made sure to keep up some light conversation with Lu Chen.
He practically exhausted his entire arsenal of flattery, and Lu Chen soaked it all in with sheer comfort.
If you didn’t know any better, you’d think he’d just rescued the Queen Mother of the West herself, instead of Lady Zheng.
Sure enough—people who wield pens sure know how to talk.
“Mr. Lu, let me tell you—” Secretary Fan was just getting into the swing of it when a soft snore came from the back seat.
He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw that Lu Chen had fallen fast asleep at some point.
Secretary Fan smiled knowingly.
It seemed the past seven days of demon-hunting, plus the trip to Chenghuang Street, had completely worn out this young man.
He said nothing more and focused on the road.
At nearly ten in the morning, the car pulled into Nanshan Residential Compound.
“Mr. Lu? Mr. Lu?”
Secretary Fan turned around and gently shook Lu Chen a few times. But Lu Chen was clearly in a deep sleep—no matter how he called, the young man wouldn’t wake.
Now Secretary Fan was in a bit of a bind.
He rolled down the window and asked a passing auntie, “Excuse me, ma’am—do you know which floor Mr. Lu Chen lives on?”
“Little Chen? Who are you?” The auntie’s eyes sharpened with caution as she craned her neck to peek into the car. Sure enough, there was Lu Chen, fast asleep.
“Is he…?”
“Oh, he’s been exhausted from missions these past few days and slept through the whole ride. Could you tell me which floor he lives on? I’ll carry him up.”
“No need, no need—leave him to us!” The auntie quickly turned around and called for help.
Before long, a whole crowd of neighbors from Nanshan Compound rushed over—some carrying soft cushions, others holding quilts.
An old man and another elderly gentleman took charge on the spot: “Be gentle when you lift him—don’t wake Little Chen up! The softer the movements, the better!”
Soon, seven or eight strong men had Lu Chen securely lifted and carefully carried him upstairs.
Witnessing all this, Secretary Fan was taken aback.
He hadn’t expected Lu Chen to be so well-liked in the neighborhood.
“Looks like a phoenix has flown out of this humble little nest,” he murmured to himself, gazing at the modest surroundings of Nanshan Compound.
By the time Lu Chen groggily woke up, it was already the next day.
He’d slept like a log—so deeply it felt like he’d made up for all the sleep he’d missed over the past seven days.
In that whole week, Lu Chen’s total sleep time hadn’t exceeded ten hours.
If it weren’t for the Huai Lan Diao ability keeping him going, his body would have long since collapsed.
“Huh? How did I get home?”
He looked around, confirmed it was his own tiny bedroom, and hopped out of bed with ease, pushing open the door.
In the living room, his parents were resting on the sofa.
At the sound of movement, they both snapped their eyes open as if on reflex and shot to their feet.
“Son, you’re awake!”
“Mom, Dad—why are you sleeping out here?”
“We’ve been watching over you. You slept through an entire day and night.”
“That long!” Lu Chen blinked in surprise.
“What kind of mission have you been running these past few days? How did it wear you out this badly?”
His mother came over, her face full of worry as she touched his cheek, her eyes brimming with tenderness.
“Uh… just a few days of demon dungeon runs. It’s fine, Mom—look how energetic I am now.”
Lu Chen bounced around a couple of times to show off his vitality.
“Son, don’t put so much pressure on yourself. Your dad and I just want you to be healthy and happy—that’s all.”
“Got it, Mom.” Lu Chen grinned, then rubbed his belly. “I’m hungry, Mom.”
“Hold on—I’ll make you something right away.” His mother hurried into the kitchen.
His father, Lu Jianming, chuckled and scolded him from the side: “You little rascal, sleeping that long had us worried sick. Don’t do that again, you hear?”
“Got it, Dad. Where’s little sis?”
“She’s at school. She stayed up all night watching over you too—we had to talk her into going this morning.”
“Heh—at least I didn’t spoil her for nothing!”
Soon, his mother brought out a big bowl of seafood noodles—generous portions and bursting with flavor.
While eating, Lu Chen pulled out his phone.
An unread message caught his eye:
“Once you’ve slept enough, give me a call.”
— Sun Yourong.
“No way—did this woman install a camera on me? How does she know everything?”
Lu Chen immediately called back.
“Ring… ring…”
“Slept enough?” Sun Yourong’s voice came through the line.
“Just woke up. What’s up, Sister Sun?”
“I’ll send you a location. Come find me later.”
With that, she hung up.
A location pin soon arrived—South Suburb Industrial Park, near the southern part of the city. Though the name had “suburb” in it, it was still within city limits.
“Looks like it’s about the ghost-money factory.” Lu Chen had a good idea what this was about.
He wolfed down the rest of his noodles.
“Mom, I’m heading out.”
“Out again? You should rest more!”
“It’s fine—young people are meant to hustle while they’re awake!”
Bam. The door shut behind him.
His parents exchanged glances and let out a synchronized sigh.
“Even sons don’t stay home forever.”
——-
Forty minutes later—South Suburb Industrial Park.
“Sister Sun, I’m here.” Lu Chen shut the taxi door.
“Head all the way in, to the very end. You’ll see my car.”
“Got it!”
Lu Chen’s speed surged like a gust of wind, and soon enough, he spotted Sun Yourong’s luxury minivan.
“Huh? Whose car is that—and why is the color so flashy?”
He noticed that parked right next to Sun Yourong’s car was a brand-new pink minivan of the same model.
“Seriously? Who buys a minivan in this color? What were they thinking…”
Lu Chen simply couldn’t wrap his head around that kind of aesthetic.
“So, what do you think? Not bad, right?”
Sun Yourong walked out of the factory.
“Sister Sun.” Lu Chen greeted her.
Whoosh—
Something flew through the air toward him.
Lu Chen caught it instinctively and looked down—it was a set of car keys.
“Wait a second…” Lu Chen’s eyes went wide as the realization hit him. He pointed at the pink minivan. “This couldn’t possibly be…?”
“Yep. It’s yours. I promised you a car before, remember?”
“Holy crap! Pink? This—this is way too extra!”
Lu Chen wanted to say “tacky,” but bit his tongue at the last second, thinking better of it.
“Extra? I think it’s pretty chic. You call me ‘bro,’ so it’s only fair I call you ‘sis,’ right? And since you’re a ‘sis,’ driving a pink car is perfectly logical.”
Sun Yourong’s smile carried a hint of mischief.
Lu Chen: “…”
Revenge! This was absolutely revenge!
“Sister Sun, how about we trade? You take this pink one, and I’ll drive yours.”
“Nope. I’m used to mine. Driving anything else makes me cough.”
“…”
“What’s wrong? Don’t like it? Give it back if you don’t.”
“No, no, no—I love it! I love it!”
A free car was a free car—only a fool would refuse it.
Pink or not—at least he couldn’t see it from the inside.
But the moment Lu Chen pulled open the door, his pupils dilated in shock again!
“The interior is pink too?!”
“Inside and out—pink all the way. So chic.” Sun Yourong was doing her best to hold back her laughter.
She’d been dying to see Lu Chen’s reaction to this car!
And it was perfect!
Exactly as she’d imagined!
“Alright, the car’s yours now. Saves you from always having to borrow mine. Now come on—let’s go inside.”
She waved her hand with effortless flair.
Lu Chen turned back to stare at that flashy, over-the-top pink luxury minivan.
Here he was—a mighty, unyielding, rock-solid man of steel—driving this thing.
How on earth was he supposed to show his face on the road with it…?
