Yang Liqun, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, sat half-sideways in a chair. His hands rested on his lap, and his black leather shoes, complementing his new attire, made him look even more distinguished. He wore a respectful smile throughout, answering Mr. and Mrs. Lin's questions respectfully from beginning to end.

Zhang Guoqing noticed the designer watch on the man's wrist—a very understated brand. He secretly wondered if his aunt Lin Liying had made a mistake. How could this be considered unimpressive? His manners were impeccable. This was the true nature of a person who conceals his true identity.

Yang Liqun diligently answered the elders' questions. After following Lin Xuelin to greet everyone, he remained silent, observing them silently. He was accustomed to the conflicts within large families. He quickly realized that, aside from son-in-law Zhang Guoqing, who communicated with Old Lady Lin, the rest of the Zhou family more or less ignored her.

As his grandfather had said, the Zhou and Lin families were at odds. It seemed his grandfather's speculation made sense. So, what should he do? After a slight pause, he immediately focused on responding to Old Man Lin.

This time, he finally met the legendary Zhou Xiaozheng family. Many families in the capital were now paying attention to this family. Zhou Xiaozheng's resurrection had become legendary, and the fact that his only daughter and son-in-law met with the president and deputy general was particularly eye-catching.

According to gossip, the higher-ups are very impressed with this young couple. Everyone speculates that if nothing unexpected happens, the couple has already been registered there and has a bright future ahead of them.

Just now, he had caught a glimpse of the rumored Zhou Jiao—the girl the president had met. She truly lived up to his grandfather's and other elders' descriptions of her as the daughter of an aristocratic family. As for whether she resembled her grandmother's demeanor? He had never witnessed Ms. Gu's demeanor, but he felt her every move was perfectly balanced, neither overly enthusiastic nor rude.

She just stood quietly among her cousins, her tranquility became a beautiful sight. Who could imagine that she was raised in the countryside?

Yang Liqun glanced across at Zhang Guoqing. Rumor had it that he was incredibly capable. This 18-year-old boy had quickly gathered a circle of distinguished comrades since arriving in Beijing, and within a short time, he had earned the respect of several senior officials within the compound.

After being received by the President and the Vice General, the couple has become even more reclusive. According to his grandfather, they are a smart couple and he should pay more attention to them.

Yang Liqun remembered what his grandfather had told him before he left. He smiled at Zhang Guoqing and said, "Xiaowu, right? How old is your child? Have you named him yet?"

"Hello. The child is not even three months old. His nickname is Ping'an and his full name is Zhang Mingxuan." Zhang Guoqing responded with a smile. He did not mention his marriage to Lin Xuelin. In his opinion, the Lin family was not suitable for him.

"You're the only one among us to become a father at such a young age."

Zhang Guoqing chuckled. He didn't know what to say next. He couldn't say you're almost there too. Everything has its surprises. He wasn't a matchmaker.

"I have several friends who want to meet you. Please come to our yard when you have time. I heard that you are good at football, and they all want to play a game with you."

"Brother Yang, where did you hear this gossip? Haha... I was just playing around. What do you do for fun besides work?" Zhang Guoqing said with a smile.

Yang Liqun shook his head and smiled, "You're too modest. I'm not good at anything. I don't have much to do except read. I just get together with a few good friends for a drink and chat."

Zhang Guoqing smiled playfully. He didn't believe their lives were so simple. In the eyes of the children in the compound, they were just a bunch of second-generation rich kids. They were regulars at places like the cinema, Lao Mo's, and private restaurants, and their lives were incredibly comfortable. Even within the compound, there were military constraints; they were the lawless children of high-ranking officials.

"Reading is good." Zhang Guoqing glanced at Mr. Lin and responded with a smile.

Yang Liqun nudged Lin Xuelin beside him and said softly, "I'm fine here, you go play with your younger brothers and sisters."

"Okay. Remember to call me if you encounter any problems." After saying this, Lin Xuelin glanced at the old man and Zhang Guoqing a few more times, then left, looking back every few steps.

Yang Liqun smiled awkwardly at everyone.

Zhang Guoqing suppressed a smile, lowered his head, and changed his position to hold the child. This cousin was quite tactless. What else could she do here to embarrass the guests?

Yang Liqun said to Old Man Lin, "Grandpa Lin, Uncle Lin and Uncle Lin haven't finished get off work yet?"

"They got off work a long time ago. They just went out and came back a while ago." Old Master Lin knew that he wanted to see Lin Aiguo and said with a smile.

Zhang Guoqing looked over at Zhou Xiaozheng and saw that he and his uncle, Li Jianjun, were still chatting. Everyone else was in the living room except for the two Lin Aiguo brothers.

After a moment, Old Man Lin looked at the two people in front of him with a smile. He was quite satisfied with meeting Yang Liqun. He didn't have high expectations for his eldest granddaughter. To find such a man, his eldest granddaughter was already marrying up.

He waved to his grandsons, asking them to come over and entertain the guests, then stood up and walked over to his two sons-in-law.

"Dad, how can I help you?" Li Jianjun said quickly when he saw him coming.

Old Master Lin pointed to the study and said, "It seems that we won't be able to have dinner for a while, so let's go to the study and have a cup of tea first." He said drinking tea because he saw that the living room was too noisy and it was not suitable for his sons-in-law to sit down.

Zhang Guoqing, seeing Lin Dingsheng approach, teased, "How's it going? Do you have a character in mind for a tryout?" He'd become quite familiar with him over the past couple of days; he was a typical disciple of Old Master Lin. He wasn't like Lin Aidang, the second son of the Lin family, who was exactly like his eldest uncle, Lin Aiguo.

Lin Dingsheng left his younger brothers to entertain the old lady. When he came over, he saw Zhang Guoqing with a gloating look on his face and rolled his eyes at him.

Lin Dingsheng, 23 years old, has handsome features and a tall stature. As the eldest grandson of the Lin family, he's already considered a difficult prospect by his elders. His family background and personal qualities are exceptional, and many women are attracted to him. But he's always been reluctant to settle when it comes to his future partner.

"All day I meet people who are either men or look like men, and Xiao Fei and I have different tastes. I'll let you have some fun now, but I'll punish you tonight."

Zhang Guoqing raised his eyebrows and squinted at him, "Let's find an opportunity to spar. Are you sure you can take me down?"

Lin Dingsheng pointed at Zhang Guoqing and said with a smile, "Look, he's still not convinced? Your brother-in-law is beating up your brother-in-law, and you dare to fight back? Try it, and see."

Zhang Guoqing smiled and said to Yang Liqun, "Did you hear that?"

Yang Liqun laughed heartily and nodded. He changed the subject and asked, "Are you two going back to Beijing this time? Why don't you stay here?"

Lin Dingsheng frowned slightly and said with a smile, "It's not that convenient to go back to Beijing. The old lady wants me to stay, but I'm also afraid of going on blind dates every day. Xiaowu should stay and accompany my uncle."

"I have to get back to work, so I'll see in a few years. You should start looking for a daughter. The sooner you decide, the sooner the old man can hold his great-grandson." Zhang Guoqing said with a smile. If he was right, the other party might not leave this time. Last night, Mrs. Cheng said that Mr. Lin was inquiring about further training. He guessed this was an opportunity for Lin Dingsheng. It seemed that the old man couldn't win over the old lady and decided to keep his eldest grandson.

In the past few days, several elders in the compound have instilled in him the idea of ​​following in his father's footsteps.

He has now become his father-in-law's successor, a result he never expected.

The most interesting thing is that Mr. Lin never joined the lobbying team, whether intentionally or not. Conversely, the three Cheng family members, father and son, refrained from persuading him, but their actions involved either taking him on military tours or introducing him to connections. The priorities of some things are clear at a glance.

Zhang Guoqing smiled as he watched Lin Dingsheng and Yang Liqun converse enthusiastically. It seemed Yang Liqun had already gained the approval of the Lin family. As long as the Yang family's father agreed, the marriage would be almost certain.

He thought of the Yang family mentioned by Old Lady Cheng, and smiled knowingly at Yang Liqun.

"Xiao Wu, how about we get together tonight? A few of my buddies in the hospital and you guys should go for a drink. Let's take advantage of this rare opportunity to get to know each other so that we can keep in touch in the future." Yang Liqun made a suggestion.

Zhang Guoqing immediately shook his head and said with a smile, "It's really not possible tonight. I've already promised my dad that I'll go meet the elders with him. You guys go have fun first. We're all in the city, so are you worried that we won't have the chance to meet each other later?"

Are you kidding me? How dare he get together with these people? Not to mention him, I guess several of his friends in the compound who he can talk to wouldn't be happy to go there.

Lin Dingsheng was just about to suggest that they make an appointment another day when he suddenly remembered Fang Fei saying that they were having dinner at Zhou's house tonight and planned to stay up all night.

He laughed and said, "Don't even think about getting together with everyone tonight. You still have to take Xiaolin out to the streets? Maybe you'll even have to go home to see Grandpa Yang and the others."

Yang Liqun smiled and nodded. "I actually forgot my grandfather asked me to bring Xiaolin back for dinner. Let's make an appointment later. Usually, we are all idle at home except for work. If you have time, please let me know."

Zhang Guoqing simply nodded. He could tell this guy wasn't very sociable. Why did he have to get everyone together? If he wanted to build relationships, he should have invited the cousins ​​present to go out for dinner and drinks over the next two days. Once they were close enough, they could fit into any circle.

Yang Liqun then talked about several of his good friends.

Zhang Guoqing smiled the entire time, nodding occasionally. From the corner of his eye, he saw Lin Dingsheng listening intently to the other person's backgrounds and family histories, then echoing his words with a familiar tone.

The more he interacted with her, the more he realized the importance of heredity. Lin Dingsheng had inherited Gu Ruyi's snobbishness and utilitarianism. No wonder Fang Fei said that people become more complex as they grow older. Perhaps he sensed this?

Elsewhere, Zhou Jiao saw Lin Xuezhen and the others surrounding the old lady. She retreated to the kitchen and saw Chen Jingru and her two sisters-in-law just starting to prepare.

She frowned and quietly walked to the corner of the living room. She saw Zhang Guoqing nodding in agreement seriously, his eyes never leaving the child in his arms. She lowered her head and chuckled, then picked up the cakes on the coffee table and walked towards the study.

In the study, Zhou Xiao was flipping through a book boredly. Not far away, Old Man Lin and his son-in-law were playing chess.

Zhou Jiao came in and smiled apologetically at Mr. Lin and the others, pushed the cakes in front of their table, and pointed outside with her father. Zhou Xiaozheng stood up, nodded to the two of them, and followed her out.

The father and daughter came out without responding to anyone else. Seeing Lin Lishan about to stand up, Zhou Jiao smiled and shook her head at her, pointing outside. The two of them went straight out of the yard and returned home.

After eating the dumplings Zhou Jiao cooked, Zhou Xiaozheng happily played chess with her. He knew that the Lin family was unreliable, leaving guests with nothing to eat after work. Or maybe his Jiaojiao felt sorry for him.

The heartless father and daughter abandoned their family and were completely engrossed in playing chess at home. They kept waiting for someone to call them, and they were still reluctant to leave the chessboard.