Chapter 4: It’s not easy to break up this young couple.

Chu Qingqing's second brother, Chu Xifu, is currently unemployed and stays at home every day playing games, watching dramas, keeping up with novel updates, and chatting in forums and chat rooms.

Of course, considering that most of his forum and chat room friends are from prestigious backgrounds, it's not fair to simply label him as a lazy bum. After all, socializing among aristocrats is also necessary for the overall family.

It's just that normal intellectuals maintain social relationships by taking time off work and weekends to get together and chat, but these group of people instead of maintaining social relationships through occasional gatherings, spend all their time at home engaging in idle talk and boasting online.

Such behavior might be labeled as 'intellectual discussions' or 'philosophical conversations' within their circle, but it's essentially just self-aggrandizement. This reflects the luxury of wealthy individuals' lives, where even being unemployed and idle at home doesn't seem to burden them psychologically.

As a middle-aged otaku, Chu Xifu spends most of his time in his room. However, according to Chu Qingqing, it's quite easy to lure him out.

Just invite him to a meal.

"Is your second brother really that easy to deceive?" Cheng Jinyang asked quietly in the Chu family's restaurant.

"Of course," Chu Qingqing sat beside him, smiling gently. "Jinyang, how much money does your family give you each month?"

"Um, about thirty thousand," replied Cheng Jinyang.

"If I'm guessing correctly," Chu Qingqing said, her hand supporting her chin, her tone gentle, "Ten thousand is the basic allowance, stemming from your guaranteed sixth-grade potential, as you strive for the fifth-grade realm. This money is the monthly support fee you're entitled to receive. The remaining twenty thousand is the salary from the Tianluo Department, serving as your monthly compensation for running business operations, right?"

"Um, that's probably the ratio," Cheng Jinyang said ambiguously.

"My second brother has the same innate talent as you, guaranteed to reach the sixth grade and can strive for the fifth grade," Chu Qingqing said casually, "but he doesn't work, so he only gets ten thousand yuan per month."

"He's also a hardcore gamer, spending at least seven to eight thousand yuan on in-game purchases every month. With other living expenses, he barely has anything left, so he's very frugal when it comes to food, always opting for the cheapest family cafeteria. If we invite him to a fancy restaurant this time, he'll be ecstatic for sure and will definitely come without hesitation."

Cheng Jinyang: ......

So, your second brother is a hardcore game whale, huh? Saving even meal money just to spend on in-game purchases?

After chatting for a while, they saw Chu Xifu entering from outside the restaurant. He greeted both of them and then sat down opposite them.

Compared to Chu You'an, who had the scholarly demeanor despite his worker attire, this second brother's dressing was much more ordinary, seemingly easier to approach.

When Chu Xifu saw his own sister being intimate with someone, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of displeasure, reminiscent of Chu You'an. Cheng Jinyang captured that emotion in his eyes, silently sighing.

The notion of social status being crucial in this world is too severe. Even a slight difference in grade could lead to various criticisms and obstacles from the other family.

So, when his father chose to leave the family just to marry his commoner mother, it's evident he overcame immense obstacles!

"You're late, second brother," Chu Qingqing chuckled. "We've already ordered all the dishes."

"No problem," Chu Xifu waved with a smile. "Little sister, you know my taste preferences. Ah, who's this?"

Cheng Jinyang then introduced himself, using the same words and mannerisms as he did when dealing with Chu You'an earlier.

"It's really rare, I never thought Qingqing, who never fancied anybody, could actually find a boyfriend..." Chu Xifu chuckled, as Chu Qingqing picked up a menu clip and playfully tapped him a few times in mock annoyance.

In the distant corner of the restaurant, the secret guard responsible for monitoring Chu Qingqing disguised as a diner, using their right hand to eat with chopsticks while typing under the table with their left hand:

"...meeting with Second Young Master... displaying affection, suspect Miss wants to solidify the actual relationship..."

On the other side, according to the map provided by Chu Qingqing, Xing Yuanzhi also successfully found Chu Xifu's residence.

She hacked the electronic lock, cautiously entered the room, and quietly closed the door behind her.

Then Miss Ah Zhi looked at the mess all over the floor, feeling an endless wave of disgust rising from her throat.

It's so dirty, even dirtier than Jinyang's house before I came. How can anyone have the courage to live in such an environment? Could he be a cockroach?

With a deep sense of discomfort, Xing Yuanzhi bypassed the dirty socks strewn on the ground and went straight to the computer, quickly inserting the Trojan USB drive while calling for support from outside the scene.

"Wangshu!"

"Here I am (_),"

"Is it done yet?" Xing Yuanzhi covered her nose, staring at the cracking progress bar on the screen.

"Almost there, Sister Ah Zhi," The sound of Yang Wangshu tapping the keyboard quickly came from the phone, "This old otaku still has some tricks up his sleeve, much harder to deal with than his brother. Let me see what he's hiding... Ha! It's indeed a hidden secret movie, 10 terabytes!"

"Yang Wangshu!" Xing Yuanzhi exclaimed angrily, "What did I ask you to help me investigate?!!"

"I know, I know, I'm decrypting his files right now. How would we know what's inside until we crack it?" Yang Wangshu said indifferently, clicking to initiate a transfer download, then proceeding to globally search the files for evidence.

"Mmm..."

"What's wrong?"

"Otaku's are really disgusting," Yang Wangshu said disdainfully.

"I don't think you're qualified to say that about others."

"No, Sister Ah Zhi, I'm just a regular indoor girl, not an extreme otaku."

"What's the difference between an indoor girl and an otaku? I'm not quite sure."

"Haha, as the founding father of us indoor folks, His Majesty Emperor Sima Yi once said, the criterion for distinguishing between otaku and ordinary indoor person is..." Yang Wangshu continued to operate while chatting away.

In the restaurant, completely unaware that his room had been invaded, Chu Xifu, the second brother, was gossiping with his sister about her romantic history.

"So how did you two meet?"

"We met each other during the last time when father asked them to handle the metal hydrogen plant incident," Chu Qingqing had already coordinated their testimony with Cheng Jinyang and replied with a smile, "At that time, a team of senior Tianluo members went in and lost contact. Father was immediately worried and requested Jinyang to go in for assistance."

"Jinyang was still a newcomer at the time, just following senior colleagues for internship observation and had no combat experience. However, in order to fulfill the contract with our Chu family, when the seniors lost contact, he still courageously rushed into the factory, rescued the trapped seniors inside, and prevented the criminals from detonating the factory, forcing them to flee in a panic."

She described it vividly, with sparkling eyes, like an admiring fangirl, clutching Cheng Jinyang's arm tighter.

Cheng Jinyang: ......

When the employer is so proactive, all you can do is smile throughout.

However, girl Qingqing is really not modest, is it necessary to go to such lengths? Hmm, it seems like she's developed even better than Ah Zhi. Fortunately, Ah Zhi isn't here; otherwise, there would be another intense Shura field targeting me.

Watching the couple cuddling opposite him, Chu Xifu's expression was somewhat stiff.

Obviously, neither father nor elder brother would allow a young man from a declining fifth-grade family to be with Qingqing, who doesn't even have a guaranteed fifth-grade potential.

However, Chu Qingqing herself has excellent innate talent. If resentment towards the family arises due to forcing her to break up over such trivial matters, it would be utterly foolish.

Only a narrow-minded and short-sighted low-ranking family would act so recklessly.

The hormones of young girls come and go quickly. At this time, it may be better to temporarily hold back and not interfere abruptly with breaking them up.

Later, the clan will use their methods to find an excuse to separate the two from each other, forming a de facto long-distance relationship.

Over time, feelings will gradually fade away, and introducing Qingqing to a suitable and accomplished match from a compatible background would eliminate the last bit of concern...

Well, even if big brother were here, I believe he would make the same judgment as me.

With this thought in mind, Chu Xifu once again revealed a gentle smile.

Across the table, Cheng Jinyang and Chu Qingqing also wore similar smiles because they had just received a message from Xing Yuanzhi:

The search is complete.