Chapter 70: Unexpected Wealth

In a single afternoon, Zhou Chen received over a dozen couples seeking a divorce, but only about half of them successfully dissolved their marriages. The other half left after arguing for a few moments, and one couple was even persuaded to reconcile by Zhou Chen himself.

Over the course of this single afternoon, Zhou Chen gained quite a bit of insight, especially regarding those bickering couples. Many were fighting over trivial matters, yet sometimes it is precisely these trivial matters that become the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back.

Zhou Chen tidied up his desk and prepared to leave for the day. Government agencies had at least one great perk: leaving right on time.

Just as he was getting ready to walk out, a male colleague walked over and called out to him.

"Little Zhou, don't leave after work. Old Zhang is treating everyone to a dinner get-together."

"Got it, I understand."

As an important state department, the Civil Affairs Bureau did not have an overwhelmingly large staff, but it wasn't small either. Old Zhang was one of the department's leaders. Last month, when Old Zhang had his birthday, everyone had chipped in to buy him a gift, and this dinner was his way of returning the favor.

In state administrative units with such low staff turnover, many people worked together for years, making these kinds of social exchanges completely normal. Some civil servants stayed in the same department until retirement. After all, being a state administrative unit, once you managed to pass the exams and get in, the possibility of resigning was extremely low unless you were promoted and transferred.

Of course, the gifts everyone gave were quite ordinary. Working in a government office, people still had a clear sense of boundaries regarding what was appropriate to give and what was not.

After work, Zhou Chen joined the main group heading to the restaurant. This time, Old Zhang had invited a dozen people, just enough to fill a table.

During the meal, Zhou Chen deliberately sat next to Guo Ran, planning to gather some intelligence.

Guo Ran looked to be in his early thirties, of medium build and average looks, but he had an approachable smile. However, the hair on top of his head was rather sparse and shiny with oil.

As fellow clerks at the Marriage Registration Office of the Civil Affairs Bureau, Guo Ran had much higher seniority than Zhou Chen. Having worked there for many years, he was considered a veteran employee and was well-liked by everyone.

Spearheaded by Old Zhang, the atmosphere at the dinner table was extremely lively. Although Zhou Chen had memories of his own, they were all provided by the system; in reality, he had no deep personal connections with these people. Therefore, he kept a low profile throughout the meal and appeared rather subdued.

"Little Zhou, time to drink up! Even though you've only been in our department for two years, you still need to hang out with everyone more often. In a department like ours, dining table culture is very important."

Before Zhou Chen even had a chance to strike up a conversation with Guo Ran, the latter patted him on the shoulder with great enthusiasm, acting like a veteran dispensing wisdom and sharing his experience.

"Understood, Brother Ran. Thanks for the advice."

Though he gave a verbal assent, Zhou Chen didn't take it too deeply to heart. It wasn't that he disliked socializing; rather, he knew he wouldn't be staying long in this world, so there was no need to spend too much time networking with them, let alone trying to cozy up to superiors.

"Brother Ran, you've been working at the Marriage Registration Office for so many years. When are you planning to get married?"

"Get married? What for? I'm a lifelong bachelor. Little Zhou, you're still young. After you spend a few more years in the Divorce Registration Office, you'll probably end up just like me."

Guo Ran sighed with deep emotion. As a wounded man whose family background was poor and who constantly had to face divorcing couples, developing a mild case of marriage phobia was entirely natural.

Hearing Guo Ran's words, Zhou Chen was immediately overjoyed. This statement indicated that Guo Ran was not yet married, though he still needed to probe a bit further.

"Who knows what the future holds? Anyway, I don't have a phobia of marriage yet. But you, Brother Ran, constantly putting it off—doesn't your girlfriend pressure you?"

"What pressure? I'm a free man right now, and I have no plans to look for a girlfriend." Guo Ran wore an expression of utter disdain, as if finding a girlfriend were a terrifying ordeal.

Having obtained the desired answer, Zhou Chen felt thoroughly satisfied. It was best that Guo Ran and Yang Tao hadn't started dating yet, as that meant he wouldn't have to swing a hoe to poach someone else's partner.

"Little Zhou, you're not that young anymore either. What's the matter, seeing someone?"

"Nope. Unlike you, Brother Ran, I want to get married; I just haven't found the right person yet."

Hearing this, Guo Ran shook his head repeatedly. "Living alone is so comfortable, so carefree. Little Zhou, you're just not thinking straight."

Zhou Chen smiled. Being single had its perks, and marriage had its benefits too. Being single was great for the moment, but when you grew old—well, if you had money, you could suffer a little less, but if you didn't have much money, ending it yourself might genuinely be better.

Since Yang Tao and Guo Ran had not yet begun dating, it meant the plot had not officially kicked off. That made completing his mission considerably easier.

The group ate for three full hours before wrapping up. Afterward, Zhou Chen rode his electric scooter home.

Riding the scooter through the breeze, the slight dizziness from the alcohol quickly faded, and his mind cleared up.

His current situation in this world was truly wretched. He didn't even have a car for transportation and had to make do with an electric scooter. Furthermore, the two-bedroom apartment he lived in had only been bought last year; after working for several years, he had barely managed to scrape together a down payment, and the location of the apartment was quite poor.

Yet, considering that his current identity was an orphan with no living parents and no relatives to rely on, it all made sense.

Being completely on his own without any outside help, being able to afford the down payment on an apartment in a mega-city like Beijing at the age of twenty-eight—even in a remote area—was already a remarkable achievement.

Noticing an Industrial and Commercial Bank of China branch by the roadside, Zhou Chen steered his scooter over, parked it, and walked into the self-service lobby.

Earlier at work, he had discovered that he only had a few dozen yuan in cash on him. In an era where mobile payments were not yet ubiquitous, not having cash was inconvenient, so he decided to withdraw some money from the ATM.

Pulling his bank card from his wallet, he inserted it into the machine, entered his PIN, and checked his balance.

"Huh?"

At the sight of the balance, Zhou Chen froze instantly, then began counting the digits: "Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, tens of millions, holy crap..."

He couldn't help but curse aloud, because the account balance truly exceeded his imagination. In this world, wasn't he supposed to be a broke loser? What was this balance?

"Over twenty-three million... why does this number feel so familiar?"

After the initial shock subsided, Zhou Chen found the bank balance strangely familiar. The figure gave him an inexplicable sense of déjà vu. He pondered for a moment and suddenly realized why.

"But how is this possible?"

In the world of *A Little Dilemma*, the bank card belonging to his character also had a balance of over twenty-three million. But that was utterly impossible—how could money from that world follow him here?

Just as he stood there in shock and confusion, the system suddenly transmitted a message to him, explaining the origin of this fortune.

This money was indeed his savings from the world of *A Little Dilemma*. However, it wasn't that the currencies of the two worlds were linked; rather, it was a reward he had received after completing the previous mission, bundled together with attribute points and skills.

The catch was that this reward could only be used within the cinematic worlds, and it hadn't been displayed on the system interface, which was why he hadn't known about it beforehand.

Learning this, Zhou Chen felt a tinge of regret. If he could carry over his balance from the previous world every time he transmigrated, that would be fantastic. Unfortunately, such a thing was mere wishful thinking; being able to acquire this sum upon completing his last task was already incredible fortune, and future missions might not be so generous.

Regardless, this money was an unexpected windfall for him. With this fortune, his scope for completing the mission expanded immensely.

The three essential elements for pursuing a woman were: tall, rich, and handsome.

Tall: He wasn't particularly tall, falling short of 1.8 meters by two centimeters, which made him only average for this era.

Handsome: He could be considered somewhat handsome. After all, he had double-lidded big eyes, a high nose bridge, and an oval face—altogether quite pleasant-looking. But compared to a true heartthrob, he was miles away, and he had enough self-awareness to know that.

Rich: Before seeing this deposit, he certainly wouldn't have qualified. But now, with over twenty million, he was definitely not poor in this era, even in Beijing. At the very least, he was a person of moderate wealth.

Since he couldn't count on being exceptionally tall or drop-dead handsome, having money wouldn't guarantee he could win Yang Tao's heart, but it gave him a much wider array of options.

Therefore, for Zhou Chen, the arrival of this money was nothing short of crucial.

"It's just that damn system—it gives out rewards without giving any advance notice, making me find out on my own. If I hadn't come to withdraw cash today, who knows when I would have found out?"

A routine mental complaint directed at the system.