"How are you feeling? Victory is just around the corner, you must be in a great mood!"

This guy really did call on purpose to mock me!

Xu Yanshu chuckled inwardly, his expression relaxed, but he couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

"It's a pity I can't pick her up from the airport!"

He had already asked Shengyi about the airport pickup and confirmed that Ouyang Ming and his wife would be there to pick her up, so he had no choice but to avoid it.

There was a moment of speechless silence on the other end, before Jiang Zhengyu, unable to contain himself any longer, lashed out, "Xu Yanshu, do you really have to be so impatient?!"

"No matter what, Shengyi has already been allowed to return to China. Otherwise, wouldn't you two still be in a long-distance relationship? You should be secretly happy!"

Those statements all seem to make sense.

Xu Yanshu suddenly felt enlightened, his depressed mood vanished, and he retorted without hesitation.

"Although what you said isn't entirely unreasonable, I still suspect you're just being a sour grapes, after all, you, Attorney Jiang, have been single since birth."

"I'm jealous? You're..."

"Okay, I need to get back to processing the documents. We'll talk again when we have time!" With that, Xu Yanshu hung up the phone without hesitation.

Having composed himself, Xu Yanshu resumed working on the documents in front of him.

According to the reports, the studio's recent operations are going very well. At this rate of development, the studio will be able to expand its scale very soon.

A glimmer of hope flickered in Xu Yanshu's eyes. He hoped the company would develop better and better as scheduled, so that he could negotiate with the Ouyang family with a clear conscience as soon as possible.

As his thoughts wandered, Xu Yanshu recalled what Zhou Shengyu had mentioned to him that day, and he frowned thoughtfully.

Zhou Zehao has been suspended from his job for some time now, and his father doesn't seem to have any intention of letting him return to the company.

If this continues, it's hard to guarantee that Zhou Zehao won't be unable to restrain himself and will do something... Given my current position, it's not appropriate for me to presume to offer any advice.

Xu Yanshu could only console himself with the thought that his father must have made plans long ago, while pondering what he could do for his family.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Zhou Shengyu and Shen Wei were discussing the same topic.

"Old Zhou, when are you planning to bring Xiao Hao back to the company? He can't just stay idle like this forever!"

Despite her anger, as a mother, she couldn't bear to watch her youngest son continue to idle away his time.

Zhou Shengyu's expression turned almost imperceptibly serious. "Don't worry about this matter. I know what I'm doing."

Originally, the plan was just to give him a minor punishment as a warning, but unexpectedly, one after another, people came to plead for Zhou Zehao in the past two days.

Something unusual must be going on. Even if he was slow to realize it, he could sense that something was wrong.

Zhou Shengyu never expected that his son would dare to play tricks right under his nose, and he was extremely unhappy about it.

He still hasn't figured out how to handle this matter, and doesn't know how to bring it up with his wife.

What do you mean he doesn't need to worry? Shen Wei snorted coldly, annoyed.

Zhou Shengyu belatedly realized that his tone had been somewhat inappropriate, and he quickly put on a smiling face.

"Honey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you!"

Shen Wei stared intently at Zhou Shengyu. "Tell me honestly, are you hiding something from me?"

Under intense scrutiny, Zhou Shengyu hesitated for a moment before choosing to tell the whole truth.

“No matter what, we are still father and son. If he really wants to go back to the company, he can just talk to me directly.”

"And I never expected him to deliberately guide others to take sides. Isn't this blatantly telling others that my son and I are at odds?"

Such a thing actually happened?

Shen Wei unconsciously frowned, and couldn't help but sigh helplessly. Xiao Hao's thoughts were much more complicated than they had imagined.

"Perhaps it's just a coincidence," Shen Wei said, as was her habit, trying to make amends for the other person, her words tinged with helplessness. "Don't rush into any rash actions."

"I'll find a suitable opportunity to have a good talk with Xiaohao someday, and figure out what he's really thinking before making a decision."

After all, he was a child who had grown up with the couple since he was little. She didn't want to believe that Xiao Hao was really so hopeless, nor did she want to give up on him like this.

Having not yet figured out how to handle the situation, Zhou Shengyu readily agreed.

Thinking about her husband's evasive attitude earlier, Shen Wei felt it necessary to clarify things, so she cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Whether it's Yan Shu or Xiao Hao, they are not only your sons, Zhou Shengyu, but the children also call me Mom,"

"So no matter what happens, we should work together to find a solution. I'm not as fragile as you think."

As a devoted husband, Zhou Shengyu readily agreed, his gaze softening as he looked at his beloved. "Wife, we've been married for almost thirty years now!"

Shen Wei was taken aback by this sudden remark. After regaining her senses, she nodded in agreement, "Yes, aren't both of our sons this big now?"

...

On the day Qin Shengyi returned to China, Ouyang Ming and his wife put aside their work to come to the airport to greet her. After exchanging pleasantries, Ouyang Ming drove, and the mother and daughter sat affectionately in the back seat.

"Mom, from what I've observed, the people at the branch office are all quite reliable. Why did you even consider layoffs before?" Qin Shengyi asked casually, a peculiar glint in his eyes.

Qin Yao looked uncomfortable for a moment, then managed to find a suitable explanation.

"It's because we received an anonymous tip, and we thought it best to be on the safe side, so we asked you to go over there and keep an eye on the situation."

It seems I was absolutely right!

Qin Shengyi silently observed her mother's unusual behavior and sighed helplessly to herself. She really didn't understand why her parents had such a strong prejudice against Yan Shu.

"Zhengyu has probably already explained what happened regarding the kidnapping to you, right?" Ouyang Ming, who was driving, suddenly asked.

Why bring this up out of the blue?

Qin Yao looked up and glared at the person who spoke, silently making a mental note of it.

"Yes, I roughly know what happened," Qin Shengyi replied truthfully, his demeanor suddenly becoming somewhat depressed. "You two can handle it yourselves; there's no need to tell me!"

Qin Yao couldn't help but complain, "Exactly, why did you bring these things up in front of Nannan?"