Fated Love With the Billionaire
Chapter 38: Checking Household Registration

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Checking Household Registration

Chen Ningxi’s mind blanked for a few seconds, "Uh... Mom,"

not knowing what possessed her, she blurted out, "My boyfriend."

"Who?" Ye Yujun’s voice jumped an octave, her expression one of surprise.

Cheng Qiaobei was also stunned, what did she mean?

Chen Ningxi placed the camera face-down on the countertop, clasped her hands together in front of Cheng Qiaobei, and whispered, "This is an emergency."

Cheng Qiaobei spread his hands, "What do you mean?"

Chen Ningxi leaned in closer, tiptoeing and whispering in his ear, "My mom wants me to go on a blind date again. I don’t want to go—just help me out, pretend to be my boyfriend and block it for me."

Cheng Qiaobei lowered his eyes, and just as she was about to pull away, he said, "If I help you, what do I get in return?"

Chen Ningxi turned her face, realizing they were standing close, causing her cheeks to heat up instantly. She cleared her throat and stepped back.

She looked at Cheng Qiaobei the entire time, thought about it, but realized asking for help was quite abrupt.

"Forget it." She gave up on asking Cheng Qiaobei for help and was just about to pick up her phone when he took it first.

Knowing Chen Ningxi was vigilant, he thought he’d get more out of an equal exchange than helping her for no reason.

Cheng Qiaobei deliberately said, "If you sign the paper, I’ll help you."

Chen Ningxi blinked. The return receipt was the last step for power archiving, and didn’t involve any procedural violation. She picked up the pen and signed her name in a few quick strokes, returning one copy to Cheng Qiaobei.

Cheng Qiaobei immediately smiled and greeted the person in the video, "Hello, Auntie."

When Ye Yujun saw the stranger suddenly appear in the video, she asked, "And who are you?"

"Auntie, I’m Ning Xi’s boyfriend. You can call me Xiao Cheng."

The person in the video had handsome features and a well-defined face, looking very proper, speaking in a polite tone. Hearing he was Chen Ningxi’s boyfriend, Ye Yujun seemed both pleasantly surprised and shocked.

"Oh, you’re Ning Xi’s friend." So surprised, she couldn’t even find a topic.

Cheng Qiaobei switched the camera, aiming it at the sink. "I passed by a fruit store, saw they’re really fresh, and bought some for Ning Xi."

The person in the video looked somewhat familiar, but she couldn’t immediately recall where she’d seen him before.

"Very thoughtful, Xiao Cheng." Ye Yujun asked, "How old are you?"

Cheng Qiaobei switched the camera back to himself, "Twenty-nine."

"Twenty-nine." Ye Yujun calculated, Ning Xi was twenty-seven, two years younger, just right.

Chen Ningxi just wanted Cheng Qiaobei to help muddle through the current situation, not involve him further. She took the phone, intending to end the call, "Mom, he has to go, talk next time. Bye-bye."

"Wait, Chen Ningxi, just try hanging up." Ye Yujun hastily said. Cheng Qiaobei assured her, saying it’s fine, taking the phone back with a smile, "Auntie, I’m not leaving."

Though Ye Yujun worried about Chen Ningxi’s marriage, having learned from past experiences, she wanted to know more about the other person.

"Xiao Cheng, don’t mind Auntie being naggy."

"I wouldn’t." Cheng Qiaobei deliberately stood by Chen Ningxi, both appearing in the video simultaneously.

Handsome man and beautiful woman, looking at them together seemed even more fitting.

Ye Yujun was quite satisfied with Cheng Qiaobei’s appearance, at least he looked much better than the children of those in her sunset sister’s group.

"What do you do?" Ye Yujun asked.

Cheng Qiaobei said, "Auntie, I’m in hotel management, currently managing Zhoushan’s Jade Jiali."

Mentioning Jade Jiali, a top domestic hotel chain, but in Ye Yujun’s eyes, no luxury hotel matched the reliability of a secure government job.

"Oh." The smile on Ye Yujun’s face noticeably faded.

Cheng Qiaobei also detected her dissatisfaction from her "Oh," but he didn’t rush to impress, waiting for the upcoming questions.

"How many people are in your family?"

Cheng Qiaobei’s expression became slightly uneasy but quickly readjusted, unnoticed by Ye Yujun.

"Three people."

"... Complete family, at least still good, everyone has health insurance, right?"

Cheng Qiaobei paused, "...Yes."

"..." Assured, wouldn’t become a burden for the young couple in the future, "Do you have a house or a car?"

Chen Ningxi couldn’t take it anymore, "Mom, what are you doing, conducting a household survey? Not even the police are this thorough when they meet someone."

Cheng Qiaobei laughed, "It’s fine, Auntie, I have a house and a car. Due to work reasons, I currently have four properties under my name, three domestic and one overseas, and the car’s quite decent."

Four properties, one overseas, no need to quote the car, the class must be high.

"Xiao Cheng," not waiting for Ye Yujun to speak again, Chen Ningxi interrupted, "Mom, alright, this is just the first meeting, asking too many questions isn’t appropriate."

Ye Yujun laughed, "Haha... Xiao Cheng, you two can chat."

"Okay, Auntie."

"Xiao Cheng,"

"Yes, Auntie?"

"On the weekend, come over to our house with Ning Xi for dinner."

Cheng Qiaobei was about to agree when Chen Ningxi cut him off, "He’s busy, no time."

"Did I ask you, Xiao Cheng?"

"Alright, Auntie, I’ll definitely come."

Chen Ningxi grabbed the phone, glared at Cheng Qiaobei, and walked out of the kitchen a few steps, speaking into the video, "Mom, you really know how to probe, probing, probing so much, for what?"

Ye Yujun shared her perspective, "I had to know more about it. You suddenly sprung a boyfriend on me, who knows where he came from, I had to ask, what if he’s a scammer. Scammers are everywhere these days."

"Oh, Mom!" Chen Ningxi sighed helplessly, "Alright, Mom, he’s leaving."

Ye Yujun objectively commented, "That Xiao Cheng, besides his job being a bit lacking—not a civil servant, everything else is great."

"Mom, you’re obsessed with government jobs and ranked positions." Chen Ningxi shook her head helplessly.

"Alright, let him go early, you and I can chat once he leaves."

Ye Yujun ended the call. Chen Ningxi dropped her hands, thinking of Cheng Qiaobei in the kitchen, let out a long sigh, "Sigh..."

Cheng Qiaobei came out with a plate of fruit, placing it on the coffee table, "Have some fruit, girlfriend."

"..."

Chen Ningxi’s body stiffened, she closed her eyes with a pained expression, then slowly turned around to apologize, "About what just happened, I’m sorry. My mom is quite stubborn, I had no choice. Don’t worry, I definitely won’t cause you any trouble."

She ended by clasping her hands in front of Cheng Qiaobei again.

Cheng Qiaobei lounged on the sofa, looking nonchalant, "I’m not troubled."

With that smile, Chen Ningxi couldn’t help it again. Good-looking people, when they smiled, looked even better, it was hard not to take a good look.

The two of them were face to face, neither saying a word, the living room quiet to the point of awkwardness.

"Uh, maybe my mom might ask about you again, but for a while, I can’t say we broke up."

"Broke up?" Cheng Qiaobei frowned, "We just started and now we’re breaking up?"

Chen Ningxi’s lips parted slightly, "No, no, what I mean is, I only pretended to have a boyfriend to fend off the blind dates my mom set up, we’re fake, it won’t cause you any trouble.

For now, I can’t tell her we broke up—that fake relationship just can’t end yet. I need to push away the arranged date, and later, when she asks about you, I can say we broke up, I absolutely won’t bother you. I promise!"

Chen Ningxi, trying to gain Cheng Qiaobei’s trust, was about to raise her hand to swear when Cheng Qiaobei stopped her, "We’ve all had nine years of compulsory education, no need to make it so dramatic."

"Okay." She drew her hand back again.