Chapter 12: President Jia Wants to See You
Lu Yuan focused his attention on the “+” symbol behind True Essence and silently thought, “Add 1 point.”
The numbers in the system flickered slightly. He saw his True Essence change from 110/110 to 110/111.
“So the number at the back is the maximum limit, and the number in front is the current amount,” Lu Yuan muttered.
He then looked at his merit points.
As expected, they had dropped by 100, now at 1900.
“The ratio between merit points and the True Essence cap is 1 to 100. That means with my current merit points, I can raise my cap to 130.
Wouldn’t that let me completely surpass Jia Xuanxuan?”
Thinking about Jia Xuanxuan’s cold rejection earlier, Lu Yuan felt a bit uncomfortable. He knew she was a good person, but getting rejected still stung.
“No rush. I’ll raise it to 120 first and keep 1000 merit points in reserve. Who knows what might happen later.”
With that decided, Lu Yuan focused on the “+” again and thought, “Add 9 points.”
Unexpectedly, his True Essence became 111/111, while his merit points only dropped by 1, becoming 1899.
After pondering for a moment, he realized this was another function of the “+” symbol: restoring True Essence.
When True Essence was not full, adding points would replenish it. Only when it was full would it increase the cap. One merit point restored one unit of True Essence.
“Add 9 points!”
Still unwilling to give up, Lu Yuan tried again.
This time, his True Essence successfully became 111/120.
“Using merit points to restore True Essence feels like a waste.”
Looking at his remaining 999 merit points, Lu Yuan decided not to fill it up for now. Normally, such energy should recover on its own—he would check again tomorrow morning.
The system gave Lu Yuan great confidence. He stood up and stared at the wall in front of him.
“Let me test my newly enhanced body!”
He gathered his strength and punched the wall as hard as he could.
…
…
…
That hurt…
Early the next morning, as soon as the alarm rang, Lu Yuan sat up and checked his True Essence.
As expected, it had recovered a bit. After a night’s sleep, it went from 111/120 to 114/120.
“That’s pretty slow…”
He decided to leave it for now.
According to his plan, today there was a high chance he could secure his mother’s medical expenses.
But before that, he needed to make breakfast for Xiaobing.
It was the Dragon Boat holiday, so seniors didn’t have classes.
From the fridge, he took out shredded pork and preserved eggs, along with rice that had been marinated in oil—prepared the day before for making preserved egg and lean pork porridge.
As he chopped the ingredients, Lu Yuan happily whistled.
In his previous life, after years of working as a chef, he had actually grown to dislike cooking. His skills were just a way to make a living, and he rarely ate his own dishes.
But now, cooking for family brought him joy.
By the time the porridge was almost ready, Xiaobing woke up. Exhausted from yesterday, she shuffled into the kitchen in a daze and hugged Lu Yuan from behind.
“Brother, it smells so good. What are you making?”
“Preserved egg and pork porridge… Don’t touch it yet, it’s not ready. Go brush your teeth.”
Xiaobing obediently went to the sink. Just then, Lu Yuan’s phone rang.
“Brother, your phone.”
She picked it up, but when she saw the caller ID, she covered her mouth in shock.
“Brother! Big news! Jia Xuanxuan is calling you!”
A faint smirk appeared on Lu Yuan’s face.
“Old fox…”
“Brother, what?”
“Nothing. Xiaobing, answer it and tell her I’m busy. Ask her to call again later.”
Xiaobing stared at him in disbelief. “Are you serious?
That’s Jia Xuanxuan—your goddess!”
“Just do it!”
“Alright…”
Xiaobing answered the call.
“Hello? Who’s this?”
“Me? I’m his little sister, of course.”
“You’re looking for my brother? Who are you?”
“Jia Xuanxuan? Never heard my brother mention you. You’re not a scammer, are you?”
“Oh my, big sister, you sound so fierce. You’re scaring me!”
“My brother is busy right now. Call back later.”
“Bye-bye, Sister Xuanxuan!”
She hung up and waved the phone proudly.
Lu Yuan was stunned.
In his mind, his little sister was sweet, gentle, and pure like an angel.
What was that just now? That level of sarcasm was off the charts.
The porridge was ready. Lu Yuan served two bowls and placed them on the table.
The phone rang again—it was Jia Xuanxuan.
“Go brush your teeth!” Lu Yuan said, shooing Xiaobing away before answering.
Jia Xuanxuan’s voice was as cold as a winter night.
“Lu Yuan, finally free to answer?”
“Haha, I was making breakfast just now.”
“Your sister is quite cute.”
“She really is, haha!”
There was a pause on the other end. Lu Yuan thought he could hear her breathing grow heavier.
After a moment, she said, “My father wants to meet you. Can you come to my house now?”
“Sure. I’ll come after breakfast.”
“We’ll be waiting.”
She hung up.
Lu Yuan smiled and continued eating.
Xiaobing leaned over. “Brother, what did she say?”
“Nothing much. Her father wants to see me.”
Xiaobing froze. “Wait… meeting the parents already?”
“What are you thinking?”
Lu Yuan laughed. “It’s about business.”
“Jia Shengnan probably wants to buy exclusive rights to zongzi. If everything goes well, I can get Mom’s medical expenses today.”
Xiaobing bit her lip, looking up at him. She wanted to believe him, but she knew businessmen weren’t always kind.
“Brother, would they really be that generous? Zongzi are easy to make—I can do it now too.”
Lu Yuan smiled slightly.
“If it were just a small roadside restaurant, the owner would definitely not pay for exclusivity after learning the recipe.”
“But Shiweixuan’s boss has bigger ambitions. He can’t afford to act carelessly.”
“Besides, I have something to hold over him. Don’t worry.”
Xiaobing nodded, her eyes slightly red.
They finished their porridge in silence.
“Was it good?”
“Yes, really good. The best I’ve ever had.”
“There’s more in the pot. I might not make it back for lunch, so just eat more porridge. I’ll cook something nice for you tonight.”
“Okay.”
Lu Yuan got ready to leave.
“No.”
Xiaobing suddenly stopped him.
“You can’t go dressed like that.”
Lu Yuan looked at himself—T-shirt and sweatpants, a typical poor student outfit.
“Dad has a suit. He wore it at his wedding. Wait here.”
She ran into their parents’ room and rummaged around, eventually pulling out a gray suit.
Though old, it was clean and neatly pressed.
Lu Yuan agreed with her and changed into it—a gray pair of trousers, white shirt, and a gray-beige jacket. It fit him fairly well.
Looking at himself in the mirror, he saw a faint shadow of his former self.
“And this.”
Xiaobing found a black tie.
Standing on tiptoe, she tied it for him. Her technique was clumsy, and it took several tries before she succeeded.
Neither of them spoke during the process. They both knew how important this meeting was. Their mother’s life depended on it.
“Brother… good luck.”
“Yeah. Wait for me at home.”
With that, Lu Yuan stepped out the door.
ns216.73.217.39da2
and then Add to home screen.