Chapter 7: The Red Line is Drawn

These words immediately drew a sidelong glance from Madam Tan. "Zhaojing, what did you say?"

He then glared at the brat with agitation, "Tan You, you better explain yourself!"

Tan You was speechless. "That was for the new drama."

The second wife didn't believe a word of it. "The new drama needs Zhaojing, yet he specifically asked you about it?"

Hands on hips, she demanded, "Tell me, did you two talk about it?"

Tan You: "No!"

He pleaded for help, "Auntie, please help explain this, my mom doesn't understand."

No sooner had he finished speaking than his cousin, who had been looking for trouble, stood up from the sofa and said indifferently, "Let's go back."

"...That's going too far! At least let your aunt finish explaining before she leaves!"

His cousin ignored him.

Mingxian smiled and stopped the second wife from hitting someone. "Don't believe it. The marketing accounts are just making things up to hype up the new drama."

Taking advantage of this brief moment, Lin Zaoyi moved closer to Tan You. Knowing that gossip knows no time, she whispered, "Tell me secretly, are you together or not?"

But then I heard another voice say, "They're gone."

What would happen if I waited half a minute...?

In the heat of the moment, Tan You couldn't care less about anything else. "Brother, don't you have anything better to do? You called me over to chat just to talk about this kind of gossip???"

Tan Zhaojing ignored him.

Mingxian chuckled and patted Tan You's arm. "Zhaojing is just concerned about you."

He took his daughter's hand and followed her out of the living room.

Lin Zaoyi whispered to her mother, "I'll ride back in Uncle Tan's car."

Mingxian glanced at her daughter with a smile, "Why do I feel like you're afraid of Zhaojing?"

This fear is not the same as that fear. Lin Zaoyi touched her nose. "Well... I just feel a little uncomfortable."

That's possible.

Mingxian believed her daughter's explanation. Zhaojing was serious and rarely smiled, which was not surprising.

“Your Uncle’s car was taken by Jia Ni, so we’ll all ride in Zhao Jing’s car later.”

In the center of the courtyard, a black car was parked haphazardly. Tan's father turned to look at his son and asked, "When did you become so reckless?"

They were talking about Tan Zhaojing, but Lin Zaoyi was embarrassed. She quietly turned her head, and in just a moment, he turned his gaze back to her, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"......"

Don't laugh, she's just admitting her mistake.

With his lips slightly parted and an explanation still in his throat, Tan Zhaojing spoke up, "I was in a hurry to answer a phone call and just stopped here."

Is he... speaking up for her?

It seems so.

I also helped out at the dinner table earlier.

From this perspective, Tan Zhaojing seems to be alright.

In the living room, a few meters away.

Madam Tan continued to press her son for answers, and only after receiving his repeated assurances did she feel a little relieved. She said that dating was fine, but one's background had to be clean. That circle was like a big dye vat; unless one had powerful connections, very few people were truly clean.

Thinking of her son's previous attitude towards Zaoyi, she pressed him for an answer, "What about Zaoyi? You seemed to be having a good time chatting with her, so you must like her, right?"

Tan Youzhen really wanted to beg, "Zaoyi is no different from Jia Ni in my eyes."

The second wife was still skeptical. "Really?"

Tan You answered decisively, "Yes."

The next second, I heard my mother say, "Don't be so sure, I quite like Zaoyi."

He really thanked him.

“You can adopt her as your goddaughter. I wouldn’t mind having another sister. But she’s definitely not suitable as a wife.”

Inside the car driving along the green path, Mingxian asked the same question, only with a different object.

Lin Zaoyi didn't understand where her mother got her judgment from. Was it just because she talked to Tan You a few more times?

Before she could answer, Uncle Tan, sitting in the passenger seat, echoed his mother's words, "I think it's okay."

"Where is it okay..."

The two elders didn't take her words seriously at all; they seemed to be both teasing and speaking the truth, constantly trying to pair her up with Tan You.

They even help plan for the future.

The more Tan's father spoke, the more plausible it seemed. He pulled his son, who had been silent all along, aside and asked, "Zhaojing, what do you think?"

Lin Zaoyi's gaze, which had been fixed on the view outside the window, unconsciously turned back. She was positioned to the right, and from this angle, she could only see his profile—cold and sharp.

He parted his lips slightly, his voice cool and clear, "Not very good."

Right, there are still rational people.

When his father asked him a casual question, knowing his son's temperament, he usually just laughed it off and didn't get involved. Little did he know that his son would give him advice, albeit the opposite one.

He smiled and was about to ask what was wrong when his phone on the control panel vibrated, stopping him from speaking.

Tan Zhaojing put on his headphones and said, "Speak."

The cold voice startled Assistant Shao on the other end of the phone. Was the boss in a bad mood?

He straightened his posture and said, "Mr. Tan, I checked, and it seems that the trending topic about you was bought by the other party. Should I remove it?"

"No need." Tan Zhaojing stared at the road ahead with cold and deep eyes. He said indifferently, "Let him handle it himself."

Assistant Shao: "...Okay."

It seems that Xiao Tan has offended the boss.

Less than a minute later, Lin Zaoyi's phone rang. She glanced at the contact name: Sun Yao, a classmate from Peking University, but from a different department. They had worked together in the student union.

I don't know how he found out she wanted to do an exclusive interview with President Duan of the Duan Group, but he asked her, "President Duan will be at the golf course this afternoon, would you like to come with me?"

Without hesitation, she immediately agreed, "Give me the address."

The voice on the other end said, "I'm coming to pick you up."

"No need, I'll go by myself."

At this moment, Sun Yao was fiddling with his bangs in front of the car's rearview mirror, his phone casually tossed on the center console. It wasn't the first time he'd been rejected, but he was always quite annoyed.

He closed the rearview mirror with a rather dramatic gesture, his tone revealing nothing, "It's sunny outside, I'm coming to pick you up, just bend the steering wheel."

"Really, no need," Lin Zaoyi said, not wanting to bother her casual acquaintances. "It's quite convenient for me to get a taxi here."

Okay.

Sun Yao wasn't in a hurry; he could pursue the beauty slowly.

I gave them an address.

Lin Zaoyi glanced out the window and estimated the time, "It will take me about an hour."

As soon as I hung up the phone, my mother asked, "What's up?"

"There's an interview."

Lin Zaoyi shifted her body slightly, leaning forward, her gaze still fixed on the man's strong jawline. "Brother Zhaojing, could you please pull over?"

But he asked, "Where to?"

Um?

She blinked a beat late; did this mean he wanted to give it to her?

After a half-second hesitation, he spoke again: "Location."

"...Meiyuehua Club on Jiayang Road".

Fifty minutes later, the car came to a smooth stop in front of the club.

Mingxian handed her daughter a bottle of water. "Are you coming back for dinner?"

As she asked the question, she noticed a boy standing a few meters away and pointed at him. "Is that him?"

Lin Zaoyi glanced at it sideways and said, "Mmm."

Then she saw her mother wink at her knowingly, "Where have we gotten to?"

Ignoring it completely, I opened the car door and jogged along under the blazing sun.

Hearing footsteps, Sun Yao looked up. Lin Zaoyi was wearing a light blue dress today. It was an ordinary dress, but on her, it looked stunning.

It was worth all the effort he put into pursuing her until now.

Inside the car, Mingxian's gaze remained fixed on her daughter. She saw the boy approach her daughter with an umbrella, patting the back of the driver's seat. "Zhaojing, drive later."

She gestured for her husband to look, saying, "Looking at it this way, he's quite thoughtful, worried about the sun getting into the morning sun."

The father understood the implication: "Satisfied? What about Tan You?"

Mingxian laughed, "I was just saying. Besides, in the end, it's up to Zaoyi to decide who I end up with."

"Alright, Zhaojing, let's go."

Tan Zhaojing withdrew his gaze expressionlessly.