Chapter 851 — Preparing to Go Out

After the meal, the women had all grown familiar with Yang's mother, and by now they had changed how they addressed her—from "Auntie" to "Mom"—which left her grinning so wide she could not close her mouth. She was already making plans: once they reached Island X, she would build a super kindergarten and serve as its principal herself. What a delightful prospect that would be!

They talked until past eleven at night, and by then it was about time. Yang Ce still had many things to settle with Sun Jie and Jing Xiaoyou, and his mother still had plenty of questions for the women, but she knew very well that her son had only just come home and would surely want some time alone with his wives that night. How could she, as his mother, stand in their way?

As the saying goes, a short parting is sweeter than a new wedding, and a single hour of such a night is worth a thousand in gold. So Yang Ce and his mother, seeing how late the hour had grown, rose to take their leave.

Yang Ce and Wang Yanqiu together escorted his father and mother to the villa next door.

"Dad, Mom, this villa belongs to Yanyan, but Yanyan will certainly be living with me from now on, so it will be standing empty. You two may as well stay here," Yang Ce said. "Have a look at whatever you need, and I'll have someone buy it for you."

"Daming, don't put yourself out. This place looks fine to me—nothing missing except a few kitchen things. Tomorrow I'll have the driver, Little Wang, go buy them. You have so much on your plate; how could I trouble you?" Yang Cheyan looked the villa over and was thoroughly satisfied.

It had, after all, been the home of a single young woman, Wang Yanqiu—clean and tidy, with furniture that was mostly new and appliances that were new as well, barely used at all. Apart from the room on the second floor where Wang Yanqiu herself lived, there was a gym, and most of the other rooms were empty; a little simple furnishing was all they needed.

"Little Wang? You mean Wang Lin?" At the name, Yang Ce thought of the driver he had once had. After he left, he had recommended the man to his father, and he had never imagined his father would still be using him.

"Yes, Little Wang is a good sort, a skilled driver and quick on his feet. But these days I usually drive myself to and from work; Little Wang only takes me out when I have business to handle for the company," Yang Cheyan said.

Yang Cheyan now had two cars: an Audi, which he drove himself, and a newly bought Mercedes C-Class, which Little Wang drove.

"I haven't seen him in a long time. Tomorrow have him drive me to Songshan City," Yang Ce said with some feeling.

"All right, I'll tell him tomorrow," Yang Cheyan said with a nod.

"As for the rooms here, yours and Yanyan's stay as they are, and your training room stays too, so you'll have somewhere to stay when you come back." Yang's mother had already made a full circuit of the villa and was thoroughly pleased. This big house—you never knew until you saw it; the more she looked, the more she liked it. Only one thing worried her: "Daming, how is the security here? There won't be any villains lurking about at night, will there?"

"Uh..." At his mother's words, Yang Ce was caught between laughter and tears.

"Mom, don't worry. Never mind the guards—they're all men from Xiao Bo's company, and they patrol this area closely," Wang Yanqiu explained. "And beyond that, when Yang Ce first worried about safety, he had the entire security system of this house rebuilt. Unless it were an assassin of my level or Yan's, no ordinary person could possibly get in."

"Ah, then I'm relieved!" Yang's mother nodded. "Otherwise, a house this big would be a little frightening."

"Heh, and even without all that, Yanyan lives right next door, and her alertness is far beyond the ordinary. I'd say any villain would be finished off by Yanyan before he even got close to you," Yang Ce said.

"So frightening, 'finished off'..." Yang's mother trailed off, then thought it over: weren't her son's own missions far more frightening than a few petty thieves? She shook her head. "All right, you two go on back. No need to keep us company—your father and I will enjoy a little time to ourselves. This villa is lovely; we mean to have a good look around!"

"Fine, then we'll be off," Yang Ce said. "Oh, by the way, there are candles in the kitchen—you can have a candlelit midnight snack."

"Haha, good!" Yang Cheyan laughed.

Yang Ce and Wang Yanqiu returned to the villa, only to find the living room utterly empty—not a soul in sight. Yang Ce found it rather odd: "Where is everyone?"

"You tell me," Wang Yanqiu said with a smile. "They're all upstairs waiting for you, of course."

"Uh... you don't say?" Yang Ce had not expected Chen Shutang to do such a thing, and was both surprised and delighted.

"Though they didn't call me along. Honestly," Wang Yanqiu said with some displeasure. "Never mind. I'm going to take a shower—you go up first..."

"Let's wash together," Yang Ce said with a smile.

"Mm..." Wang Yanqiu hesitated a moment, then nodded, thinking to herself: fine, so you didn't wait for me—but it's the latecomer who gets the best of it...

The next morning, only Yang Ce got up. The others—including the professionally trained Wang Yanqiu and Victoria—lazily slept in. But Yang Ce was glowing with vigor; whether because he had taken the simplified Great Strength Gu or for some other reason, his energy seemed utterly inexhaustible.

And that was without having cultivated the heart method Mo Kongwen had given him. Yang Ce wondered whether, if he did practice the mnemonic verses Mo Kongwen had passed to him, his vigor might become greater still.

Yang Ce phoned Little Wang, and to his surprise, Little Wang was already waiting in his car at the villa gate.

"Little Wang, long time no see. How are things—still getting along with your girlfriend?" Yang Ce nodded to him.

Little Wang was driving a Mercedes today. Seeing Yang Ce, he hurried out to open the passenger door for him. "Brother Yang, you're back! I've married my girlfriend—and I have you to thank for that. If you hadn't given me the chance, I reckon my mother-in-law would have broken the two of us up long ago. Marriage wouldn't even have been on the table!"

"Heh, the fact that my dad keeps you on says a great deal about your character. Keep up the good work." Yang Ce nodded. "Let's go—to Songshan City. The Songshan City Medical and Pharmaceutical University."

"The Songshan City Medical and Pharmaceutical University? All right, Brother Yang." Little Wang nodded, got in, and brought up the destination on the navigation system.

"Mm." Yang Ce nodded.

Since Yang Ce had told Chen Shutang and the others the night before that he would go see Shen Yuxi today, he did not disturb them again that morning and let them sleep.

Little Wang's driving had improved considerably; he wove deftly through the traffic, soon reached the expressway, and headed straight for Songshan City.