The phone at the Zhou residence rang all afternoon and didn't stop even into the evening. Contrary to Zhou Xiangnan's initial expectations, almost all the calls were congratulatory. Only Zhou's wife, a member of the Zhou family in Shanghai, called to reprimand him.

It was said that the clan already knew about this, and the old man was furious, nearly fainting while looking at the newspaper.

He reprimanded Wang Shujin for how she raised her daughter. He also said that Zhou Shaoqiu's entanglements with so many men should have been kept secret, and how could she make it public knowledge?

It's said that Ji Mingkai is an excellent candidate in terms of both education and family background. Since they've already become involved and the whole city is buzzing about it, they should keep the engagement a secret. Making a scene will only make people think that the Zhou family girl is frivolous and unruly.

Wang Shujin listened with a worried expression, remaining silent and unable to reply. Zhou Xiangnan, who had overheard the whole thing, snatched the phone and said coldly to the other end, "I had the clarification notice posted, just to save face for the Zhou family's daughter. My sister-in-law knew nothing about this. If you have anything to say, say it to me."

I don't know if it's really the custom in Beijing that the aunt has more face at home than the daughter-in-law, or if she's afraid of Zhou Xiangnan's character, or something else. The person on the other end didn't ramble on and on. They just said that the old master would invite them to the mansion to talk when he had time, and then hung up the phone.

In this day and age, things are neither entirely Chinese nor entirely Western; there are rules, but not everyone follows them, and they can be broken. Xu Keke couldn't quite understand the phone call from her family's wife.

How come some scoundrel is clinging to her? Just because he's good-looking and comes from a good family, she wants to marry him. Otherwise, even if he's from the same clan, they'll still accuse her of being unfaithful. Is this how people here scheme against their own kind?

Xu Ke was so angry at Wang Shujin that she couldn't speak. She could only look at Zhou Xiangnan again. Zhou Xiangnan gave her a cold smile, "You look down on Minister Feng's son, but others are all eyeing him. Those girls over there are too picky and think they're more respectable than you because they're the legitimate daughter of the wife."

"If I don't marry, can they?" Xu Keke still didn't understand. It wasn't her fault; Zhou Shaoqiu's memories were largely devoid of these so-called mundane affairs and rules. She was well protected by the two women in front of her.

Zhou Xiangnan: "That's what they think. What kind of person is Feng Shaozhe? He just feels guilty for advising your father to leave Beijing, which caused him to fall ill and lose his life. But this has nothing to do with him. Your father was already weak and suffered from acclimatization problems, which is why he got sick."

At that time, the main branch of the family wanted us to move in with them, citing your father's passing. Feng Shaozhe wanted to intervene, but he was mindful of the inconvenience for the widow and her orphan, and afraid of further gossip from the main branch. That's why he visited the old master and proposed a marriage alliance between the two families.

"I don't know how the old man could be so shameless as to think that Feng Shaozhe favors the Zhou family. Doesn't he realize that his family is full of old-fashioned, powerless remnants? What could anyone possibly want from them? They're just stubborn and inflexible."

Zhou Xiangnan picked up her coffee, raised an eyebrow, and sneered, "You don't need to worry about it. Your mother and I are handling this; they won't steal the marriage away."

Xu Keke, “…”, but that’s not what she meant.

Xu Keke wanted to find out what was going on outside, so she waited for Zhou Zian all night. It was already 11 o'clock when Wang Shujin urged her to go upstairs.

She hadn't been upstairs long when she heard a noise downstairs. She quickly got up and went back down. Sure enough, it was Zhou Zi'an returning.

Because she heard Zhou Xiangnan muttering, "You either need to come back earlier in the future, or get married as soon as possible, so your mother won't worry so much and I won't be able to go to bed early."

"Where's my little sister? Is she asleep?"

As Zhou Shaoqiu grew up, his family rarely called him by that nickname anymore.

"Don't let her go out tomorrow, and put away all the newspapers at home."

"What's wrong"

"You didn't go to the movie premiere today. The villain in it was written by my sister. Is that Zhang who writes essays? I guess he came to curry favor with me because of our marriage alliance with the Feng family. He whispered in my ear. It'll be in the newspaper tomorrow."

Zhou Shaonan said urgently, "Go ask your Uncle Feng to suppress this. I've read the script. Mingyu looks upright and kind. The villain who hurts her will be condemned by everyone. Several companies are promoting Mingyu. This play will definitely be a sensation."

Zhou Zian's voice was dejected, "We can't suppress it anymore. This afternoon, when our clarification letter was released, it shocked the other party. The newspapers were printed this afternoon, but they were all packed up and taken away. If I hadn't come back now, I would have contacted several newspapers, but they all said the newspapers weren't with them."

"They're incredibly audacious, how dare they..."

Zhou Zi'an chuckled, "What are you saying, Aunt? Why wouldn't they dare? The marriage agreement was only published this afternoon. I'm just Uncle Feng's subordinate; our family has no power or influence, so how would anyone know about our relationship with the Feng family? Luckily, I listened to my sister today and published the clarification letter early, otherwise it would have been even more troublesome."

"Uncle Feng did say that he would have someone collect all the newspapers first thing tomorrow morning."

"What's the use of that? The more you accept, the more they'll think we're afraid of them. It'll make them think we're guilty. Anyway, we've already gained the upper hand. Let's not rush things and make things chaotic."

"Yes, so I told Uncle Feng that if we don't want it, we should let the other party sell it. We'll talk about it later."

Zhou Xiangnan said, "Alright, I'll call him again later. Sister Hua, don't wake Miss up tomorrow. She can sleep in as late as she wants, and don't bring the newspaper in either."

Xu Keke quietly retreated back into the house.

Xu Keke slept soundly that night. No one woke her up, and she didn't get up until ten o'clock. She changed her clothes and went downstairs, only to find no one home.

Sister Hua said that a car from the family arrived, and Zhou Xiangnan accompanied Wang Shujin there. Zhou Zian had left early in the morning.

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