Chapter 66: The End

Zhou Chen and Yan Peng met at the same coffee shop.

"Brother, this is our factory's valuation and the share transfer contract. Have a look."

After sitting down, Yan Peng did not bring up the matter of money right away. Instead, he took out a document and pushed it across the table toward Zhou Chen.

Zhou Chen was slightly taken aback and asked in confusion, "Why are you giving me this?"

"Brother, you being willing to lend money to me is the greatest kindness imaginable to our family. But friendship is friendship, and business is business. After evaluation, our factory is currently worth about forty-six million. This represents a fifteen percent share transfer. Three months from now, if we fail to repay the loan on time, this share transfer agreement will take effect."

Yan Peng did not mention that this was a recent valuation; in reality, once the factory could resume full operations, its value would far exceed this amount.

After all, their factory was in the real economy, equipped with numerous machines, plenty of pending orders, and uncollected invoices, among other assets.

A fifteen percent stake in the factory definitely exceeded the interest Yan Peng had previously promised.

"Is this really necessary?"

Zhou Chen did not want to take advantage of someone's misfortune. He could tell that Yan Peng was being completely sincere. He had previously wondered if he should ask Yan Peng for some kind of collateral, but he truly hadn't known how to bring it up.

Yet before he could say anything, Yan Peng had taken the initiative. Was this really the same Yan Peng he knew?

Yan Peng shook his head. "No, business is business. Brother, if you don't accept this, I won't take your money either."

His experiences over the recent period had forced Yan Peng to mature a great deal. In truth, he was not stupid; he simply hadn't been willing to apply himself in the past.

Yan Peng's persistence surprised Zhou Chen. "Does it really have to be this way?"

Yan Peng replied, "Yes. The fact that you are willing to lend me money at a time like this is an immense favor. But right now, during the pandemic, no one can guarantee when work can resume. If the factory cannot reopen, I still won't be able to repay you on time. Therefore, you must sign and accept this share transfer contract."

Since the conversation had reached this point, Zhou Chen had no choice but to accept it.

"Alright, I can keep this for now, but I won't sign it just yet. Keep the money, persevere a bit longer, and you will definitely get through this."

He knew the pandemic would last for quite a while, but domestic companies and factories would gradually resume operations. Although Yan Peng's family factory had violated regulations, as long as they paid the fines in full and smoothed things over through connections, reopening should not be a problem.

Furthermore, the Yan family factory had been running for many years. It lacked neither machinery, workers, orders, nor distribution channels. Once operations resumed, turning a profit was only a matter of time.

"Thank you, thank you so much."

Yan Peng gripped the bank card with trembling hands. Borrowing money under such circumstances was exceedingly difficult, especially because earning money during the pandemic was so hard, let alone securing a huge sum of five million.

After a long while, Yan Peng finally calmed his emotions and suddenly said, "Brother, I've decided to divorce Tian Yulan."

"Huh?"

Zhou Chen was somewhat stunned.

Normally, family matters shouldn't be aired outside, but at this moment, Yan Peng truly had no one else to confide in. He was feeling terribly choked up, and the stifled grievance in his heart was hard to release.

"If it were just a matter of losing money, I wouldn't be thinking about divorce. But Tian Yulan has truly gone mad. I'm afraid that if things continue like this, our entire family will know no peace. Most importantly, there's Ziyou. Now, whenever Ziyou sees her, he gets terrified and locks himself in his room all day. In the past, she was strict with Ziyou, but most of it was for his studies. Now, she forces him in every possible way. I feel that if this keeps up, before she loses her mind, Ziyou will be driven mad."

"After more than a decade together, if things hadn't truly reached this point, who would want a divorce? But for the sake of my family and Ziyou, I have to do it."

Zhou Chen did not know how to offer counsel in a situation like this, so he could only listen as Yan Peng poured his heart out. The two men stayed at the coffee shop for over two hours before parting ways.

Upon returning home, Zhou Chen shared what happened with Nan Li. She was equally astonished. Although she had never looked favorably upon Tian Yulan, she had never expected things to escalate to this extent.

Some time passed. As the pandemic gradually came under control, people's lives slowly returned to normal. However, the biggest change compared to before was the heightened emphasis on health and safety; people wore masks almost everywhere they went, and inspections were strict.

With life back to normal, schools reopened for regular classes, and Chenxing Education resumed as well. However, foot traffic was noticeably lower, as more people chose online tutoring instead.

Through Nan Jianlong, Zhou Chen learned of Tian Yulan's ultimate outcome.

Yan Peng had indeed divorced Tian Yulan, and the two even engaged in a legal battle primarily over the custody of their son, Yan Ziyou. However, Yan Ziyou was no longer a toddler and possessed a certain degree of independent choice. Coupled with the fact that the Yan family's financial situation was much more stable than Tian Yulan's, custody was eventually awarded to Yan Peng.

When the verdict was announced, Tian Yulan seemed to lose her mind completely. Disregarding the propriety of the venue, she threw a massive scene at the courthouse, resulting in utter chaos.

Yet no matter how much of a scene Tian Yulan made, the only person who suffered in the end was herself. Yan Peng still retained some affection for their years as husband and wife, and even after the divorce, he provided her with a sum of money.

Even so, having gone through this ordeal, Tian Yulan suffered a severe psychological blow, and her mental state became somewhat unstable. In the end, Cai Jujing had to take her back home to look after her.

Zhou Chen felt a complex mix of emotions regarding Tian Yulan's fate. He had never anticipated that things would end up this way, but he did not believe it had anything to do with him.

The online exposure previously had at most caused Tian Yulan to lose face. Her current state was the result of her personality worsening drastically after taking over the Yan family factory, which ultimately led to her downfall.

Tian Yulan's affairs did not trouble Zhou Chen for long; he continued living his own life. There was not much time left before the transition from elementary to middle school. Aside from work, he spent most of his time urging Huanhuan to study. While entering Hanlin Middle School could be achieved through financial means, he still hoped Huanhuan could pass the entrance exams based on her own merit.

Paying one's way in versus passing on one's own strength were two entirely different concepts.

"Honey, as you requested, I've set up two cards. This one is for my mom, and this one is for your mom."

Nan Li handed two bank cards to Zhou Chen. "Every month, I'll deposit ten thousand yuan into each of these cards as their retirement allowance."

Zhou Chen nodded. This was something he had instructed Nan Li to do because, as time went on, he sensed that he would soon leave this world. Consequently, a sense of panic and reluctance welled up inside him, prompting him to make arrangements for after his departure.

Since the system offered no communication channel, he had no idea what this world would become after he left, nor whether it would freeze the moment he departed, much like what happened when he first crossed over from the real world.

Having lived in this world for over a year, he had genuinely integrated into it. Yet the real world was where he truly belonged, so he had to go back.

Uncertain of what the future held, he could only do his utmost to prepare.

In this world, he had taken over Xia Junshan's body and inherited everything belonging to him. Matters at home were well taken care of, and the only person he had never reached out to was his mother, far away in their hometown. Although he did not share a deep emotional bond with Xia Junshan's mother, he still felt he needed to do something.

The ten-thousand-yuan monthly allowance was prepared precisely for the mother he had in this world. Since he made such provisions for his own mother, he naturally had to treat everyone equally, preparing an identical bank card and allowance for Nan Li's mother, Zhao Na.

In the blink of an eye, the summer vacation passed, and the new semester was about to begin.

"Dad, Mom, hurry up! Today is the first day of school, we can't be late!"

Huanhuan, wearing a new backpack, hurried over and called out urgently to Zhou Chen and Nan Li.

After the start of the new semester, Huanhuan was officially a middle school student. She had grown a bit taller and matured slightly, though her cheerful personality remained largely unchanged.

In the new term, Huanhuan attended Hanlin Middle School, a private middle school in the district, becoming a seventh-grader there.

During the earlier entrance examinations for Hanlin Middle School, Huanhuan had performed decently, but her score had still fallen a few points short of the admission threshold. With no other option, Zhou Chen had to resort to financial leverage, pulling strings and paying a substantial sponsorship fee to ensure Huanhuan successfully entered Hanlin Middle School.

Naturally, this was handled privately without the school publicizing it. She was admitted directly, and even Huanhuan herself believed she had passed through her own ability.

Public middle schools had transparent cutoff scores, but private schools were different. They held direct internal exams, and interested students could take them there. If the results satisfied the school, they would be admitted on the spot.

It was through the school's direct internal exam that Huanhuan had "passed" her way into Hanlin Middle School.

"All right, let's head out!"

Once Zhou Chen was ready, he gave a hearty shout, took Huanhuan, and left home, heading straight for Hanlin Middle School.

The very moment he dropped Huanhuan off at the school gates, the hitherto dormant system finally stirred, prompting him that the task was complete and that he would return within twenty-four hours.

Although he had long anticipated this, when it actually happened, Zhou Chen still experienced a strong wave of reluctance and heartache.

That day, Zhou Chen took leave from work and went nowhere else, staying home alone as he reflected on everything that had transpired over the past year or so.

Chenxing Education was developing quite well. Zhong Yi and Zhang Xueer, serving as teachers and junior shareholders, poured their hearts into it, and the entire institution radiated a flourishing atmosphere.

The Yan family factory had successfully resumed operations. The five-million-yuan loan Yan Peng borrowed was repaid within the deadline, complete with a twenty percent interest bonus, and Zhou Chen had returned the share transfer contract to him.

Having shared a few drinks with Yan Peng, Zhou Chen knew that Yan Peng had begun learning how to manage his family's factory. Ziyou, on the other hand, was primarily cared for by his grandparents. Although his grades were no longer at the very top as they once were, his spirit and vitality had vastly improved, and the Yan family had also paid to send Ziyou to Hanlin Middle School.

As for Tian Yulan, under Cai Jujing's care, she had fully recovered her mental stability. However, she had left Jiangzhou to work in another city, though she returned once a month to visit her son and mother.

After all, Yan Ziyou was still a child and harbored deep affection for his mother Tian Yulan. Every time they met, they would spend a long time together, and he had even hoped his parents would remarry. Yet neither Yan Peng nor Tian Yulan had any such intentions.

The two elderly individuals, Nan Jianlong and Cai Jujing, were also living quite comfortably on their own. However, Nan Jianlong frequently called Nan Li to complain of loneliness, and Nan Li would agree, taking the children to visit him whenever she had free time, though most of their meetings took place outside to avoid running into Cai Jujing.

Zhao Na maintained her aristocratic demeanor just as she always had. With the assistance of Mi Tao's mother, her life was even more comfortable now. Aside from dropping off and picking up Chaochao, she spent her time amusing herself, and sometimes even went to Chenxing Education to help Nan Li out.

Xia's mother, far away in their hometown, remained alone. Zhou Chen had considered bringing her to Jiangzhou for better care, but was flatly refused. In the end, he could only leave her with the bank card that received monthly deposits.

Initially, Xia's mother had been unwilling to accept it, but due to Zhou Chen's insistence, she kept it.

Looking back on the past year and more, while there had been plenty of vexing moments, in terms of sheer excitement and richness, it certainly surpassed the real world.

"It's time to leave!"

That night, Zhou Chen lingered with Nan Li for a long time until she drifted into a deep sleep...