Chapter 67: How Much Is Our Relationship Worth?

The morning of the second day of the camping trip marked the time for farewells.

The families all felt a lingering reluctance to leave, especially the children who, having played hard all day, now leaned limply against their parents.

"Mr. Chen, President Jiang, thank you both so much for today."

Zhao Kai said, "Especially the lunch prepared by Niannian's dad. It is hands down the most delicious picnic I've ever had in my life."

Lin Weiwei nodded vigorously beside him, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Chen Yu with undisguised admiration.

"Yes, yes, Chen Yu! Your skewer-grilling skills are simply out of this world!"

Chen Yu smiled politely and shook hands with him. "It's just some everyday home cooking, nothing special."

He spoke with modesty, but the live stream's comment section was having none of it.

[Nothing special? God Yu, you call that nothing special? My Michelin three-star chef friend watched the live stream, ripped off his chef's hat on the spot, and declared himself an absolute failure!]

[Hahaha, stop exaggerating upstairs. But seriously, if God Yu opened a private-kitchen restaurant with these skills, reservations would probably be booked through next year.]

[The way Lin Weiwei is looking at God Yu, tsk tsk tsk, is brimming with stars! And the way her husband is looking at him is brimming with... panic?]

[A sense of crisis! A strong sense of crisis! Family hierarchy status: 1, 1, 1...]

Niannian rubbed her sleepy eyes, cradled in Jiang Zhiyun's arms. She obediently waved her tiny hand at Lin Weiwei's family. "Goodbye, little Jie. Goodbye, uncle and auntie."

"Goodbye, Niannian. Let's play together again next time."

After simple goodbyes, the two families boarded their respective vehicles and slowly drove away.

The black Cullinan drove smoothly along the road back to the city.

The little girl had already fallen sound asleep, her small head resting on Jiang Zhiyun's shoulder, a sweet smile still lingering at the corners of her lips as if she were having a lovely dream.

Jiang Zhiyun carefully adjusted her seating posture to make her daughter more comfortable.

At that moment, Chen Yu, who had been driving in silence, suddenly spoke up.

"Right. That issue with your company... is it resolved?"

Yet this ordinary sentence accurately landed in the softest part of Jiang Zhiyun's heart, stirring up warm, expanding ripples.

He... still remembered this matter.

Is he worried about me?

As soon as this thought popped up, Jiang Zhiyun felt her cheeks grow slightly warm.

She cleared her throat, trying to maintain her usual cool and aloof tone, but the tail end of her voice carried a trace of softness that even she hadn't noticed.

"Mm, it's resolved."

"Oh, as long as it's resolved."

Chen Yu nodded, his tone sounding relieved.

The warm current in Jiang Zhiyun's heart surged even more violently.

See? He really was worried about her.

This man, although usually a bit sharp-tongued and overly fond of money, still kept this family—and her—in his heart.

She had wanted to see what kind of reaction this nominal husband of hers would have when she hit "rock bottom."

Would he immediately flip sides like a weather vane, or would he... choose to stand by her?

As it turned out, not only did he not run away, but he even took the initiative to write songs to help her raise funds, and at the critical moment, he protected both her and their daughter.

This answer left her immensely satisfied.

One might even call it a pleasant surprise.

"About that..." Jiang Zhiyun's fingertips tapped unconsciously on her knee, uncharacteristically hesitant. "This time... thank you."

Hearing this, Chen Yu acted as if he had just heard some earth-shattering good news; he almost lost his grip on the steering wheel.

He glanced sideways at Jiang Zhiyun through the rearview mirror, raised an eyebrow, and the familiar, punchable smile spread across his lips.

"What's the use of just saying thank you? Too superficial."

Jiang Zhiyun: "..."

The tiny bit of emotional warmth that had just arisen instantly vanished into thin air.

She knew it—this man couldn't remain serious for even three seconds!

"Then what do you want?"

she asked, exasperated.

Chen Yu chuckled, flashing a row of white teeth.

"That has to be a hardship fee, obviously! I wrote songs for you and helped stabilize your army's morale. This emotional distress fee, labor fee, and creative fee... added together, it's no small sum. Now that your company's crisis is over, shouldn't we settle this account?"

Jiang Zhiyun took a deep breath, telling herself not to lower herself to the level of this money-grubber.

The viewers in the live stream were already laughing hysterically.

[Hhahahahahaha! I take my words back! God Yu isn't caring about President Jiang at all; he's purely eyeing his hardship fee!]

[“Resolved? Great! Hand over the money!” I'd call this thought process an absolute masterpiece!]

[President Jiang's expression: Was my brain flooded with water just now for thinking he was warm?]

[I'm dying. The dynamic between these two is the entire source of joy in my life. If I don't watch them every day, I feel uncomfortable all over.]

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Jiang Zhiyun coldly asked, "How much do you want?"

In truth, she had already calculated it in her heart.

The valuation given by top-tier music producers in the industry for the songs Chen Yu wrote started at a minimum of eight figures, and they were practically priceless.

Their value simply couldn't be measured by money alone.

Therefore, no matter what price Chen Yu named, as long as it wasn't too outrageous, she was prepared to agree.

However, Chen Yu's next words caught her off guard yet again.

He mused for a moment, speaking in a tone that carried a hint of probing playfulness:

"Well, this... depends on how much our relationship over this period of time is worth in your heart."

With that, his mental abacus clicked and clacked away.

This woman had just gone bankrupt, so her liquid assets probably weren't very plentiful.

If he asked directly for a few million or tens of millions and she couldn't cough it up, how awkward would that be? Better to pass the ball back to her.

Letting her name her own price would not only make him look sentimental and loyal, but also allow him to test where her bottom line was.

If she gave too little, he would use reason and emotion to make her add more.

If she gave too much... well, that would naturally be even better!

Chen Yu thought blissfully, already picturing the generous scene from last time when Jiang Zhiyun transferred one million without hesitation.

How could this time be anything less than seven figures?

Hearing this, Jiang Zhiyun froze for a moment.

Relationship... how much is it worth?

She looked at Chen Yu's profile.

Was this guy... talking to her about feelings?

For a moment, the female CEO skipped a heartbeat, and the blush on her cheeks crept up quietly once again.

She pursed her lips, and that familiar arrogant streak rose up in her again.

Without a word, she silently pulled out her phone, her slender fingers tapping rapidly across the screen.

"Ding-dong."

Chen Yu's phone notification chime rang out.

It's here!

A wave of joy washed over him as the corner of his eye instantly darted toward the phone screen on the center console.

WeChat transfer.

Sender: Fake Wife.

Chen Yu's lips curved upward crazily, nearly stretching to his ears.

It's here, it's here—the scent of money!

He could already picture that long string of zeros.

Suppressing the urge to pull over immediately and check, he said in a deliberately casual tone, "What? You figured it out so fast? It seems my weight in your heart is still pretty..."