Chapter 64 The president of Shijie said, "I didn't give Shi..."

The last time Chenci visited her maternal grandfather was before her college entrance exam. After so many years, stepping into this place again, Chenci found that her state of mind was completely different.

She still remembered the dog her grandfather used to have, which loved to lie in the garden and sunbathe. It was a big yellow dog, said to have been rescued by her grandfather from a dog dealer. Chen Ci didn't know its exact breed; it wasn't very affectionate, but it wouldn't attack people unprovoked either. It was especially docile in front of her grandfather.

Now, when the car drives past the garden in front of my grandfather's house, we can no longer see that big yellow dog.

Chen Ci didn't know if her grandfather felt lonely, but he didn't keep any more dogs. The garden was so quiet that it was almost unsettling.

After the car stopped in front of the house, Zhou Shilin and Shen Ci got out. Zhou Shilin was carrying some gifts prepared for Shen Ci's maternal grandfather, while Shen Ci herself came empty-handed, having prepared nothing.

Someone came out to greet them. Chen Ci and Zhou Shilin walked in side by side and saw that not only her parents and maternal grandfather were in the living room, but also her uncles, who were all there.

It's not even this neatly arranged during Chinese New Year.

Chen Ci suddenly found it a little funny. When they were little, Zhou Shilin ignored her, but now that they were seeing Zhou Shilin, he ran faster than anyone else.

The adults who used to seem so impressive were actually nothing special.

"Little Porcelain's here." Seeing the two of them walk in hand in hand, Chen Porcelain's father smiled sarcastically and said, "It's really not easy to see you these days."

Chen Ci smiled and looked at him, "You'll get used to it."

Mr. Shen: "..."

The room fell silent for a moment. Zhou Shilin's gaze quickly swept over everyone, and he greeted them, "Hello, Grandpa Lin, hello, uncles and aunts. It's nice to meet you all. I've prepared some small gifts."

The butler who led them in took the gifts he was carrying and set them aside. Several uncles and elders next to him kept their eyes glued to him, as if they had a thousand words to say to him, but they held back for the time being because the old man had not yet spoken.

Shen Ci's maternal grandfather also greeted Zhou Shilin and asked him and Shen Ci to sit down on the sofa: "Sit down and talk."

Zhou Shilin and Shen Ci walked to the sofa and sat down, but their hands were still clasped together.

"I called you over today just for a casual meal, so don't be too formal." Grandpa Chenci's gaze inadvertently swept over the two of them holding hands.

"Mm," Zhou Shilin responded.

Chen Ci glanced at him sideways. He did indeed seem unreserved, just as natural as when he was having a meeting in the conference room.

"Xiao Ci's parents, I heard you've met them too?"

"Um."

"Xiao Ci has also met your parents?"

"Um."

“…Okay.” Chen Ci picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip of tea.

Taking advantage of the break, the uncles next to him started to talk to Zhou Shilin: "Hello, Mr. Zhou, I am Chen Ci's uncle."

The younger uncle had even prepared his own business card and handed it to Zhou Shilin.

Zhou Shilin took the business card but didn't give one back to the other person: "Sorry, I'm not out for work today, so I didn't bring any business cards with me."

"It's okay, it's okay. How about we add each other on WeChat?"

"Okay." Zhou Shilin took out his phone and added his uncle on WeChat.

Then all the uncles and aunts present took out their phones to add Zhou Shilin on WeChat.

If you didn't know better, you'd think this was Zhou Shilin's fan meeting.

"Alright, since Xiao Zhou has already said that he's not here to work today, you can stop with all this."

After Grandpa Chen Ci spoke up, everyone put their phones away after adding Zhou Shilin on WeChat.

Grandpa Chen Ci started chatting with Zhou Shilin again: "I heard you just returned from a business trip abroad. Did the trip go well?"

Chen Ci glanced at her grandfather, as if to say, "You want others to stay quiet about work so you can talk about it, right?"

"It went quite smoothly."

As soon as Zhou Shilin finished speaking, Chen Ci's father interrupted, "Didn't it also make it onto a few trending topics with negative connotations? It even dragged our little Ci into being criticized."

Anyone with eyes can see that this matter is aimed at Shijie; Chen Cichun is only implicated because of her status as Zhou Shilin's girlfriend.

However, Chen Ci's maternal grandfather said, "This is also Xiao Ci's fault for being too impulsive. She was like this when she was a child, and she never learned her lesson."

"If I hadn't acted impulsively, the thief would have disappeared." After the incident went viral, the police specifically questioned the man again, asking if someone had instructed him to do it. However, the man did not admit it, only saying that he saw that the price of cheese rins was being inflated online, so he wanted to make some money.

Chen Ci didn't know if he was telling the truth or not, but it was true that he ran very fast at the time.

"So you think you're right?"

Chen Ci said, "Not only do I feel I did nothing wrong, but the organizers of the Science and Technology Expo even wanted to send me a banner to thank me for my act of bravery. You might not know, but this thief didn't just steal from us; he stole from many other people as well. When the police opened his backpack, wow, it was full of stuff, like Doraemon's pocket. I don't know how he managed to fit it all in. The managers of the other booths also said they wanted to thank me and even gave me gifts, but of course I didn't accept any of them. I only did a small favor and didn't want anything in return."

Grandpa Chen Ci: "…………"

They used to think that Chen Ci didn't talk much, but now she talks a lot more.

The room fell into a strange silence for a moment. Zhou Shilin coughed lightly and said, "What she said is true. I even helped her refuse the banner."

After he finished speaking, the room seemed to become even quieter. Chen Ci's grandfather took another sip of tea strategically and then lectured Chen Ci: "But what you did has indeed brought trouble to Shijie."

Chen Ci turned her head and asked Zhou Shilin, "Excuse me, Mr. President of Shijie, have I caused any trouble for Shijie?"

Zhou Shilin said, "No."

Chen Ci looked at her grandfather: "The president of Shijie said that I did not cause any trouble for Shijie."

"…………"

No one spoke in the room anymore.

Chen Ci picked up a clean cup from the table, poured herself a cup of tea, took a sip, stood up and said to Zhou Shilin, "It will probably take a while before we finish eating. How about I take you for a walk in the garden?"

"Okay." Zhou Shilin also stood up, and before leaving, he asked Grandpa Chen Ci, "Shall we go now?"

His question sounded rather insincere, because he was already stepping outside. Grandpa Chen Ci coughed softly and answered before he could leave, "Yes, go ahead."

Chen Ci pulled Zhou Shilin out of the house and took a deep breath: "The air outside is indeed better."

Zhou Shilin accompanied her to the lawn. Chen Ci pointed to an osmanthus tree in front of her and said to him, "This tree was here when I first came to my grandfather's place. It smells especially sweet every autumn."

It's the blooming season for osmanthus flowers, and the branches of this osmanthus tree in the garden are covered with blossoms, filling the air with their fragrance: "When I was little, every year when the osmanthus flowers were in full bloom, my grandma would make me osmanthus-flavored sweet rice balls, and I loved eating them!"

This was the first time Zhou Shilin had heard her mention her maternal grandmother. He turned to look at Chen Ci beside him and said to her, "Your maternal grandmother seems to treat you quite well."

“Yes, my maternal grandmother was much kinder than my maternal grandfather. Whenever I was frightened by my maternal grandfather, my maternal grandmother would secretly slip me small candies to calm me down.” As she said this, she looked up and smiled at Zhou Shilin. “When I was little, I never understood why my maternal grandmother, such a good person, would marry my maternal grandfather. I even suspected that my maternal grandmother was kidnapped by my maternal grandfather.”

"...And then what? You want to rescue Grandma from Grandpa?"

“I did think about it, and I even told my grandma about it once.” Chen Ci paused here, “and then my grandma laughed all afternoon that day.”

"..." Zhou Shilin couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Chen Ci glared at him, her eyes sharp: "What's so funny? Isn't it normal for me to have such thoughts? My grandfather was really scary back then!"

Back then, my grandfather was accompanied by a vicious dog named Dahuang, who was practically a messenger of the devil.

Zhou Shilin reached out and brushed a few osmanthus blossoms off Shen Ci's head, asking her, "And now?"

“Now…” Chen Ci thought for a moment, “I think I’m really not afraid of him anymore. Before, when he looked at me, I would hold my breath.”

"Hmm, now you can make him choke and hold his breath."

"...This shows I've really grown up!"

Another gust of wind blew, and many osmanthus flowers fell from the tree. Chen Ci sat down under the tree, picked up some fallen osmanthus flowers, and put them in her palm: "It's a pity that my grandmother passed away too early. After she was gone, I was even less willing to come here."

Zhou Shilin also sat down against the trunk of the osmanthus tree, the two of them shoulder to shoulder, quietly looking at the osmanthus tree above their heads.

“But now I understand a little why my grandmother ended up with my grandfather.” Chen Ci fiddled with the osmanthus flowers in her hand, as if looking at her grandmother through them. “Although my grandfather was not good to others, he was always very good to my grandmother. After my grandmother passed away, he never remarried and lived with his dog. Later, the dog also passed away.”

Zhou Shilin comforted her, "It's okay, your grandfather still has work to do."

Chen Ci: "..."

It's reassuring to think that Mr. Zhou is the one who speaks.

“My maternal grandfather is indeed unlike your father, who handed over the entire management of Shijie to you at such a young age.”

Zhou Shilin said, "My dad will be sixty in a few years, he's not young anymore."

"...So, Mr. Zhou also wants to retire in his fifties?"

Zhou Shilin looked at her and said, "If my child is as successful as I am, I'm willing to retire at forty."

"...Then you're being a bit too hard on the child."

Zhou Shilin chuckled, and Chen Ci asked him again, "If it's a daughter, should she inherit the company too?"

"If she has the ability and the willingness."

"What if you only have one daughter, and she doesn't want to?"

"Then ask Zhou Mingye's child."

"..." Chen Ci was silent for a moment, then burst into laughter.

Just like her grandmother that afternoon.

When the housekeeper came to call them inside for dinner, it seemed as if they could still hear the clear laughter under the osmanthus tree.

There are strict seating arrangements at her maternal grandfather's house, which is one of the reasons why Chen Ci didn't like coming here when she was a child. The housekeeper had already arranged everyone's seats, and Chen Ci and Zhou Shilin went over, sat down in their respective seats, and waited for the meal to begin.

Perhaps it was because she was unhappy every time she visited her maternal grandfather's house in the past, so she had no taste for food. Now that her mindset is different, Chen Ci was surprised to find that her maternal grandfather's cook had truly exceptional skills.

"Grandpa, was this the chef who cooked in the kitchen when I was little?" Chen Ci couldn't help but ask.

In the past, Chen Ci would always keep her head down and remain silent at the dinner table. Although she became more cheerful later, she would not take the initiative to ask him about these things, especially at the dinner table.

"No, the previous chef has retired. This is the apprentice he introduced."

"Oh, I knew it." Knowing that the person had been replaced, Chen Ci was relieved. "His apprentice's skills are much better than his."

Hearing her say that, Chen Ci's father picked up another piece of food with his chopsticks and tasted it carefully: "Really? I think it's about the same as before."

The chefs in the old man's family cook according to his taste. His taste has never changed over the years, and now that he is older, the chefs have made the food even lighter than before.

Chen Ci said, "If I say it exists, then it exists."

Otherwise, all those years she's been eating here have been a complete waste!

"Alright then." Shen Ci's father didn't argue with her about this, but urged her to spend time learning to drive. "Your company is quite large now. You're a director, after all. You can't not even know how to drive."

Chen Ci felt a headache coming on when she heard about learning to drive, but she also felt that driving skills were something she should definitely learn.

"Grandpa Lin," Zhou Shilin suddenly called out to Chen Ci's maternal grandfather, "can I take some of the osmanthus flowers from the yard with me when we leave?"

Although somewhat surprised, Grandpa Chen Ci nodded: "Sure, what do you want to do?"

Zhou Shilin said, "Make osmanthus-flavored rice balls for Chen Ci."