The middle-aged couple was stunned.

Zhang Jingshan and Li Changfeng were also dumbfounded.

What was going on?

Couldn't afford the tuition?

This...

How much could tuition possibly cost?

"Sorry, Principal Zhou, you're absolutely right. As parents, we shouldn't have let this happen. Yuyou's mother might really be struggling financially, and because she's at odds with me, she didn't tell me anything about this, leaving me completely in the dark! Principal Zhou, how about this: I'll handle the tuition fees, and you can inform Yuyou's mom to bring her back to Zijing Kindergarten. Would that work?" Ye Chen hurriedly suggested.

He truly didn't know about this.

Even if he had known, the person he used to be wouldn't have cared or intervened.

Back then, all he cared about was drinking and gambling. Besides alcohol and gambling, nothing else mattered to him.

But hearing Principal Zhou Xiaolan's words now, his heart was filled with endless guilt and self-reproach.

This time, it was guilt toward Yuyou, remorse for failing Yuyou.

Because if Zhou Xiaolan hadn't mentioned it, he would never have known. Even in his previous life, when he lived to be 89 years old, he didn't know this had happened to Yuyou.

Hearing Ye Chen's sincere self-reproach and his demeanor, which was a complete departure from the one he'd shown last year during the Children's Day incident, Zhou Xiaolan was momentarily dazed.

She had even prepared herself to face Ye Chen's outburst and was ready for a heated argument.

She never expected him to be so reasonable.

"Isn't it normal for couples to have some disputes? But how many couples let those disputes affect their child's education and growth?" Zhou Xiaolan's tone softened.

"Yes, yes, you're absolutely right, Principal Zhou!" Ye Chen agreed repeatedly.

"I owe you an apology as well; I lost my temper earlier. Please don't take it to heart!" Zhou Xiaolan said.

"Principal Zhou, you're being too kind. I should be the one thanking you for caring so much about Yuyou," Ye Chen said. "Later, could I trouble you to accompany me to handle the tuition fees?"

"No problem. I just happened to be out with a friend today, so I'm free to go back whenever you're ready," Zhou Xiaolan replied.

Originally, Ye Chen had thought Zhou Xiaolan might be buying a house herself, and he had considered offering her the down payment agreement he held at a discounted price.

But hearing that she wasn't purchasing a house, he decided there was no need to mention it.

After exchanging WeChat information and phone numbers, Ye Chen continued on to the sales office.

"Mr. Ye, I have friends who can connect you with some prestigious private schools. If you need, I can help transfer Yuyou there," Li Changfeng suggested as they walked.

"No need! People should be realistic about their circumstances. We're not at that level yet. Suddenly putting a child into those elite schools might not be a good thing. If she gets bullied or humiliated there and ends up with a complex, it would be hard to fix," Ye Chen said, shaking his head.

Li Changfeng awkwardly nodded, unable to deny that Ye Chen made a valid point.

At the sales office.

As Ye Chen walked in, he immediately spotted Xu Tong, who was bustling around.

"Manager Xu, busy as always, huh?" Ye Chen said with a smile.

"Oh, Mr. Ye, it's you!"

The moment Xu Tong saw Ye Chen and Zhang Jingshan, his expression turned sour.

Three days ago, these two had secured two properties with a deposit of 200,000 yuan.

Who could have predicted that within just three days, a government policy would make Jinlin Mansion the hottest, most sought-after real estate?

Under normal circumstances, the developer could just cancel the contract and pay double the deposit as compensation. But because the market was so quiet at the time, they had signed an airtight purchase agreement with Ye Chen.

Now, properties that could sell for 40,000–50,000 yuan per square meter were effectively locked in at just 20,000–30,000 yuan per square meter for these buyers.

In total, the developer would lose at least 12 million yuan on the four units.

"Manager Xu, how much are the properties I reserved priced at now?" Ye Chen asked with a grin.

"Four... forty-eight thousand," Xu Tong replied through gritted teeth, his face ashen.

"Oh, 48,000. According to the agreement, anything above 8,000 yuan per square meter is discounted by 50%. That's 20,000 plus the original 8,000, so 28,000 yuan per square meter, right?" Ye Chen said.

Even Ye Chen was a bit surprised by the 48,000 price tag.

In his previous life, rumors had it that the prices had increased fivefold, but he hadn't paid attention to the exact figures.

It seemed that the "king" units had experienced a sixfold increase this time.

Still, that worked in his favor; he could raise the asking price for his down payment contracts.

"Yes," Xu Tong replied reluctantly.

Ye Chen smiled and turned to the middle-aged couple. "Sir, Madam, this down payment contract—2 million yuan. What do you think?"

"Two million?" Xu Tong's eyes widened.

A down payment of 100,000 yuan flipped for 2 million?

In just three days, a twentyfold profit?

This... this was more ruthless than a developer!

"What? Two million? A 100,000-yuan down payment contract, and you want to sell it for 2 million? Isn't that asking for too much?" The middle-aged man exclaimed, his expression changing dramatically.

He thought at most it would be worth 500,000–600,000 yuan, or 1 million at the very highest.

"Too much? A property priced at 48,000 yuan per square meter can be secured for just 28,000 with this contract. That means a total price of nearly 7 million yuan is reduced to 4 million. Asking for 2 million isn't unreasonable. Together, you're still saving close to 1 million yuan. Does that sound excessive to you?" Ye Chen said, his expression darkening slightly.

Initially, Ye Chen had thought the market price would be 30,000–40,000 yuan, so he had planned to sell the contract for 1 million. But now, knowing it was 48,000, 2 million seemed entirely reasonable.

The middle-aged man was stunned.

"If you think it's too expensive, feel free to stay in line. There'll always be someone who doesn't think so, someone who recognizes the value here," Ye Chen said.

"No, Mr. Ye, please don't listen to him. It's not expensive, not expensive at all! Two million, right? I'll take it. I'll take it! In fact, you have two contracts, don't you? I'll take both for 4 million!" The woman next to him hurriedly interjected, as if afraid Ye Chen might change his mind.

Taking into account Ye Chen's 4 million transfer fee, the total cost for the two properties was just 12 million. Yet, their combined market value was already 14 million, not to mention the possibility of further increases in such a hot market.

"How can you not see that this is a good deal? After all these years in business, can't you do the math?" the wealthy woman scolded her husband.

Ye Chen remained unfazed and smiled in agreement.

"Manager Xu, could I trouble you to handle the transfer process for us?" Ye Chen turned to Xu Tong.

"Of course. Please follow me," Xu Tong said, casting Ye Chen a complicated look before leading the way.

200,000 yuan turned into 4 million in three days.

This was, without a doubt, an unprecedented success in the world of real estate speculation.