Since Shen Du firmly clarified the rumors about his relationship with Shu Yang, the gossip on the internet has subsided somewhat, but the gossip among Shen's internal employees has never stopped.

After a busy day at work, the gossip group started flashing messages again as soon as it was time to leave work.

"I heard that President Shen and Xie Yao are each other's first love. I think they have a chance."

"I've heard about it too. Xie Yao is so capable at work, she and President Shen are a match made in heaven. They even have common topics to talk about."

Some people asked in confusion, "Where did you hear this gossip from? How do you know they've been in a relationship?"

"Oh, you don't know this, do you? My cousin went to the same school as them. They did date in high school, but I don't know when they broke up."

"I've also heard from my sister that President Shen and Xie Yao went to the same high school and they did date!"

"Wow, isn't that like a long-awaited reunion?"

"This is so exciting! I want to know more about their drama."

"Xie Yao has been with Shen's for four years, and her work ability is evident to all. If she were to get together with our CEO Shen, I could accept it."

"I'm so into them! President Shen and Xie Yao have a height difference; one is tall and handsome, and the other is petite and delicate. They're such a perfect match."

Someone in the group poured cold water on the idea, saying, "Come on, they haven't been together for four years, what possibility is there?"

"I think so too. It's been four years. If we were going to be together, we would have been together long ago."

Someone retorted, "Maybe President Shen didn't go public to protect Xie Yao. Don't you know how damaging rumors can be these days?"

"That's right, maybe they're giving Xie Yao time to let us all see her work ability."

The group chat was flooded with all sorts of comments, with everyone sharing their guesses.

Meanwhile, Shen Du, the subject of their gossip, was having dinner with Old Master Shen and several elders at the old house.

At the wide, long table, several slightly older people sat on either side, with Chen Du sitting at the lower end.

The white-bearded old man sitting to the left of Grandpa Shen ate his meal while smiling at Shen Du and asked, "Adu, you're not young anymore, are you planning to get married?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Du looked at him, but before he could answer, the old man in a Zhongshan suit to the right of Old Master Shen laughed and said, "Oh, I say, Old Fang, our A-Du has good looks, a good family background, and the ability. Are you worried that he won't be able to find a wife?"

The white-bearded old man, called Lao Fang, smiled and said, "I'm just worried about his grandfather. If he doesn't get married soon, when will he be able to hold his great-grandson?"

Old Master Shen smiled but said nothing.

The old man in the Zhongshan suit laughed and said, "Come on, I think you're the one who wants to hold your great-grandchild."

The white-bearded old man, called Lao Fang, gave an awkward smile: "Sigh, my son is a good-for-nothing, he's so old and still not married."

Grandpa Shen smiled and said, "No rush, the child will get married when he wants to."

Old Fang looked surprised and said, "Oh my, this is incredible! You used to be the one who urged us to get married the most. When did you come to your senses?"

The old man in the Zhongshan suit also said, "That's right, you even arranged for Adu to marry a girl from the Ye family back then, when did you come to your senses?"

Grandpa Shen smiled and said, "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings, but if you meet the right person, you can get married."

Upon hearing this, Shen Du remained silent.

The elderly men were friends of Mr. Shen from his youth, and were all elders familiar to Shen Du. After dinner, Shen Du saw them off one by one. When he returned, the old man was still sitting on the sofa. Seeing him come in, he waved and said, "Come, let's have a chat, just the two of us."

Chen Du walked over and sat down beside him.

Old Master Shen looked at him and asked, "What do you think about marriage?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Du remained silent for a long time.

He had never thought about this issue carefully. He had been engaged a few years ago, but he didn't like Ye Zhao and was very resistant to marriage. After the engagement was broken off, he only felt relieved, but never thought about marriage again.

He felt that marriage was meaningless to him and that he didn't need it.

He had no interest in romantic relationships.

He did have a relationship with Xie Yao when he was young, and he was indeed resentful because of her leaving without saying goodbye. After they reunited, he was confused about his feelings for a while, but as they spent more time together, he seemed to be able to distinguish them.

Perhaps because he had given Xie Yao other signals during this process, which led to some misunderstandings from her and others, he has been particularly tolerant and caring towards Xie Yao in the past two years.

But he has no interest in matters of the heart.

After a long silence, the old man sighed and said, "I didn't force you to like Zhaozhao back then, but life is so long. Are you really sure you want to leave alone?"

Seeing that Shen Du remained silent, he continued, "You young people think differently from our generation. I won't force you. I just hope that whatever decision you make, you won't regret it."

After saying that, he helped Butler Liu up and went into the room without waiting for Shen Du to say anything.

Chen Du sat on the sofa for a long time until he received a call from Fang Yizhou, at which point he got up and went out.

The largest private room at the Blue Ocean Club was only occupied by a few people, a far cry from its usual bustling atmosphere.

Fang Yizhou leaned back on the sofa, sighed dejectedly, and said, "I just don't understand, why do we have to get married?"

Wang Shuo leaned against the side, glanced at him upon hearing this, and said, "You should ask Lu Chuan about this. You've noticed that he's been spending less and less time out since he got married, and even less so after having a daughter."

He Jie put down his cigarette and asked, "What's wrong? Is your family pressuring you to get married again?"

Fang Yizhou sighed and pointed to Chen Du in the corner, saying, "It's not just me who's being urged, Brother Du is being urged too."

He Jie smiled and said, "Your grandfather is waiting to hold his great-grandson. If you take a child back to him, I promise he won't rush you anymore."

Shen Du glanced at him but didn't say anything.

Fang Yizhou said, "Do you think I'm like Brother Shuo? Someone who can just take care of a kid whenever they want..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was kicked by Wang Shuo.

Xie Ming laughed and said, "Don't follow your brother Shuo's example. We don't even know if that child is his."

He Jie leaned back on the sofa and said lazily, "Won't we know once it's born? Let's wait another month."

Wang Shuo is known in their circle for being a playboy. It was one thing for him to be young and mischievous, but he hasn't matured as he's gotten older. Recently, a heavily pregnant woman came to his door, insisting that the child in her belly is his. She has all sorts of evidence, so Wang Shuo has no choice but to admit it. However, it's still uncertain who the father of the child is.

The news had spread throughout the upper-class circles of City A, and Wang Shuo's reputation had become even worse. He didn't care, but the rest of the Wang family had lost face and he hadn't been allowed to go home for a while.

Xie Ming, who had been silent until now, suddenly frowned and asked, "Where's Jiang Che? Where has he been lately?"