Chapter 22 Coincidence

After arriving home, Lin Yi'an changed into her pajamas and went to the back garden to check on the flowers she was growing. When she wasn't home, Wang Ma would come over from time to time to tend to the flowers and plants in the yard.

Hearing the car outside, she went out and saw Zhou Mingshi striding in. What first caught her eye was the bouquet of bright red roses in his arms.

She smiled: "There are flowers too?"

Zhou Mingshi walked over and handed her the flowers: "I saw a flower shop on the way and got off the bus to buy a bouquet."

"It's beautiful." Lin Yi'an caught it, smiled and said, then led him into the house.

Ye Lingzhi saw the flowers in her arms and took them from her, saying, "I'll put them in a vase."

After the two sat down, Lin Yi'an said, "The food will take a while, let's have some fruit first."

Zhou Mingshi nodded.

For dinner, Lin Yi'an always ate simple and light meals, as did Zhou Mingshi. Their eating habits were very similar. After spending a few days with Lin Yi'an, he had begun to enjoy the feeling of sitting and eating with her.

Summer rain can come and go in an instant. Just a moment ago it was sunny, but after dinner, thunder rumbled in the sky, and soon after, the rain started to fall in a pattering downpour.

Wang Ma and her two assistants were having a meal at a small restaurant nearby, so I didn't disturb them.

As Assistant Chen listened to the rain outside, a thought flashed through his mind: "Rainy days are perfect for keeping guests. Should we keep them?" Yes.

The thunder grew louder and the rain poured down harder. Lin Yi'an walked to the window and looked out: "With such heavy rain, why don't you stay here tonight? We have plenty of guest rooms."

Even with a car, absolute safety cannot be guaranteed during thunderstorms.

Zhou Mingshi: "I'll listen to you."

Assistant Chen and Assistant Ye came out and heard him say this. Zhou Mingshi looked up and said to him, "The rain is too heavy. Stay here tonight."

Lin Yi-an: "When we moved here, we prepared pajamas for my two older brothers. They have never lived here before and have never used their clothes. You can use theirs tonight. Tomorrow I will have someone prepare some clothes for you to keep at home, in case this happens again and you can stay overnight."

Zhou Mingshi: "Have Assistant Chen deliver it tomorrow."

Lin Yi'an: "That works too."

The two spoke at a slow and deliberate pace, discussing things carefully. Even Assistant Chen, who is usually very talkative, moved quietly, afraid of disturbing them.

Seeing that he had nothing to do, Ye Lingzhi called him to the back pharmacy to help organize the medicinal herbs, which were all sent by Changping.

Ye Lingzhi served as Lin Yi'an's assistant for four years. I dare not say about other things, but she knows almost all the medicinal herbs.

She knows a little bit about preparing medicine, such as cutting, frying, and roasting it.

Upon arriving at the pharmacy, Assistant Chen said, "I didn't expect a sudden thunderstorm."

Even the heavens couldn't stand their slow pace and couldn't resist adding fuel to the fire, allowing President Zhou to successfully stay overnight and occupy a room in Miss Lin's room. They even made preparations for staying overnight in the future, and their relationship took another step forward.

Compared to other couples, this kind of progress might not seem like much, but for two people who are in no hurry, it's a huge step forward.

Ye Lingzhi didn't say anything, but took the medicinal herbs and taught him how to slice them.

Listening nearby, Assistant Chen couldn't help but ask, "Do you also know how to cut herbs?"

Ye Lingzhi: "If you stay by Sister Yi'an's side every day, you will too."

It rained all night and the sun came out in the morning. After breakfast, everyone went to work.

Over the next few days, Zhou Mingshi was very busy and did not invite Lin Yi'an to dinner. However, unlike before, they did not go without contact for one or two months. They would send each other text messages every day to greet each other and occasionally chat for a few minutes.

On Friday, as soon as Tan Qingwen returned from his business trip, he invited the Lin family to dinner the next day.

Lin Yi'an readily agreed.

After agreeing on a time for the gathering, Tan Qingwen called her son again: "Do you have time tomorrow?"

Zhou Mingshi: "You're back?"

Tan Qingwen: "I just got back. I've made plans to have dinner with your Aunt Wang and Yi'an. Do you want to come along?"

Zhou Mingshi said casually, "You've already made arrangements, wouldn't it be inappropriate for me not to come?"

Tan Qingwen: "Then let's come together. I bought some things for you and An'an on this business trip. How about we bring them over tomorrow?"

Zhou Mingshi laughed and said, "Yi'an is your future daughter-in-law. You can give her a gift if you want. She won't be shy."

Tan Qingwen: "...That's a bit much."

Zhou Mingshi: "What are they?"

Tan Qingwen: "Dolls, clothes, shoes, jewelry, bags, cosmetics..."

“…” Zhou Mingshi sat up straight: “Choose two items each of clothes, jewelry and bags, and leave the rest for later.”

Tan Qingwen said with some regret, "Okay."

Zhou Mingshi: "Don't give me anything except a watch, cufflinks, and tie clip."

Tan Qingwen: "Understood."

Since her older brother, older sister, and Lin's father were all busy with work, only Wang Yuehua and Lin Yi'an could come to keep the appointment.

Upon arriving at the hotel, they happened to run into Zhou Mingshi and Tan Qingwen getting out of their respective cars.

Lin Yi'an called out with a smile, "Aunt Tan!"

Zhou Mingshi then greeted Wang Yuehua.

Tan Qingwen responded and greeted Wang Yuehua before taking Lin Yi'an's hand: "An'an, I bought some things for you on this business trip. They're all in the car. I'll give them to you after we finish eating."

Of course, she always handled things properly, and when preparing gifts for her future daughter-in-law, she naturally included gifts for the other members of the Lin family as well.

Lin Yi'an smiled and said, "I also prepared a gift for Aunt Tan."

Tan Qingwen was surprised by the unexpected delight: "What is it?"

Lin Yi-an: "Ming Shi said you like to paint..."

Tan Qingwen's eyes lit up: "So it's a painting?"

Lin Yi'an nodded: "It's in the car. I'll give it to you after I finish eating."

Although Tan Qingwen was curious, he didn't rush to look at the gift because the location was inappropriate.

Wang Yuehua smiled as she watched her daughter and future mother-in-law get close.

Upon entering the hotel, Tan Qingwen said, "Why is it so noisy? I wish I hadn't made the appointment at this hotel."

Wang Yuehua: "We're in a private room, so they can't disturb us."

No sooner had she finished speaking than a surprised voice rang out from behind her.

"Second brother? Are you here for my mother's birthday party too?"

Several people turned around, and it was Zhou Jia.

Zhou Mingshi: "Let's eat."

Zhou Jia then noticed Lin Yi'an and the others beside her. When her gaze fell on Tan Qingwen, she instinctively shrank back. She asked reluctantly, "My mother's birthday banquet is being held at this hotel, second brother, do you want to...?"

"Jiajia, what are you doing? Come over here and greet the guests."

A lot of guests arrived at once, and Zhou Mingyuan was completely overwhelmed. Unexpectedly, his sister even slipped away.

Zhou Jia glanced at Zhou Mingshi again, then ran over to Zhou Mingyuan and said, "I saw my second brother."

Zhou Mingyuan: "Second brother is here?"

After saying that, he looked up and didn't see his second brother, but he did see his second brother's mother, Tan Qingwen. He frowned and asked, "Second brother and his mother have come to the hotel?"

Zhou Jia nodded: "And Miss Lin and her daughter, they're probably having dinner at the hotel."

Zhou Mingyuan: "There are so many hotels, why did you have to choose this one? Since my second brother didn't want to come back for Mom's birthday banquet, why did you have to eat at this hotel today? What a coincidence! I don't believe he didn't do it on purpose."

Zhou Jia: "Really? Second Brother doesn't seem like the kind of person who's that bored, does he?"

Although she didn't get along with her second brother, he was outstanding from a young age, a popular figure at school, and someone everyone admired. Many people liked him, and many knew that she was her second brother's sister, so they would deliberately try to get close to her.

Occasionally, she would wonder why her second brother and she didn't share the same mother.

She knew her second brother's temperament quite well; he wasn't that kind of person.