Chapter 165 Winning

Hearing the sound of the glass shattering, Ren Xiping, fearing the young couple might get hurt, rushed out. Zhou Pingchuan then released Xia Mian and turned to go back inside.

Zhou Pingchuan had no interest in a drunkard; he wanted complete possession, not taking advantage of someone in distress. So he ignored Xia Mian and waited until he was sound asleep before lying down beside him.

Ren Xiping's trip to Nangang was sudden; she hadn't brought anything with her. Back in Beijing, she spent a whole day packing her luggage. Her son was married, and someone was taking care of her Mianmian, so she didn't stubbornly refuse to leave.

Buying the house wasted a day and a half of his time. Zhou Pingchuan had a lot of work to do, so Xia Mian had to take Ren Xiping to Nangang herself.

The two were still traveling on Zhou Pingchuan's Gulfstream. Just before boarding, Ren Xiping hesitated, "Mianmian, what about Mingzhao..."

Although Ren Xiping and Xia Mingzhao had no romantic relationship, Xia Mingzhao was Ren Xiping's biological son by blood. She was worried that if Xia Mingzhao needed her, he wouldn't be able to find her after being gone for almost half a year.

"Tell him," Xia Mian understood her hesitation. "If he happens to be free, he might be able to come and see you off."

After speaking, fearing that Ren Xiping would feel uncomfortable, Xia Mian deliberately walked to the side and took out her phone, pretending to browse Weibo.

Seeing that her son didn't blame her for it, Ren Xiping breathed a sigh of relief and dialed Xia Mingzhao's number.

She had little connection with her biological son; they didn't even add each other on WeChat, only exchanging phone numbers.

She was afraid that Xia Mingzhao wouldn't want to talk to her, but to her surprise, the other party answered quite quickly: "Hello."

Clearly, Xia Mingzhao didn't have her phone number saved. Ren Xiping paused for a moment: "Hello Mingzhao, I am... Ren Xiping."

She didn't even know how to introduce herself.

"Ah... Mom," Xia Mingzhao called out awkwardly, "Did you need something from me?"

"Nothing much, I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to Nangang. I should be back around next spring."

Nangang has a pleasant climate and plenty of oxygen, which is beneficial to cardiovascular health. Many retirees have the habit of spending the winter in Nangang, but the prerequisite is that they can afford to buy or rent a house there.

Xia Mingzhao knew all too well about Ren Xiping's financial situation. After learning that the two families had switched the babies, he stayed in a dirty and chaotic slum for a few days and never wanted to set foot there again in his life.

So...where did her money come from?

In order to gain custody of him, Xia Dongbo gave Ren Xiping a sum of money, but that amount was far from enough to buy a house in Nangang. Moreover, she had serious underlying health conditions and needed to take imported medication year-round, so she certainly wouldn't dare to spend money recklessly like that.

“Nangang is a good place. It’s good to stay a while longer to recuperate. Do you have a place to stay when you get there? Do you have enough money?” Xia Mingzhao paused for a moment, “Send me your bank account number, and I’ll transfer some money to you.”

Ren Xiping wasn't looking for him to ask for money. He quickly refused, "No need, no need, Mingzhao, I'm already very happy that you have this thought. Mianmian and Pingchuan bought me a house a couple of days ago, a big villa, it's so beautiful! You don't need to worry about me, just be happy with Zhou Ting."

……What?

Buy a house for Ren Xiping?

Xia Mingzhao had been on variety shows and was considered someone who had one foot in the entertainment industry, so she knew that making money in this circle was like printing money. However, Xia Mian had only recently become popular again, and settling accounts would take time, so she might not have that much cash on hand. The money was most likely provided by Zhou Pingchuan.

...Zhou Pingchuan and Xia Mian have absolutely no feelings for each other!

Outsiders might not know, but he knew all too well the inside story of that marriage. It was something Xia Mian begged Zhou Pingchuan for; how could Zhou Pingchuan, who only wanted to use Xia Mian, possibly have spent money to buy a villa for Xia Mian's adoptive mother?

Xia Mingzhao was puzzled, but couldn't ask. She said absentmindedly, "Okay, then take care of yourself. Call me if you encounter any problems."

Putting away his phone, Xia Mingzhao glanced at the soy milk on the dining table, which Zhou Ting had made for him before leaving for work.

After their marriage, they did not live with their parents, but instead lived in the marital home that Zhou's father had bought for them. This villa appeared in the TV series "Our Little Life," and its luxury and elegance made many viewers envious.

What they didn't know was that besides him and Zhou Ting, the villa only had two servants, one to clean the interior and the other to clean the exterior.

Because Zhou Ting couldn't bear to give up his university professorship after getting married, he never joined Kepler University. Zhou Ting's salary was only enough to support the two of them, and even the salaries of the two maids were paid with the dowry money.

Fortunately, Zhou Ting was very attentive to him. He would get up half an hour earlier in the morning to make him breakfast, and the first thing he would do when he got home from get off work in the evening was to put on an apron and make dinner. Day after day, he never complained.

Unlike scions of aristocratic families, and lacking the pretense and cunning of men in the world of fame and fortune, he is always kind, always humble, and always polite.

There was a time when this was what he admired most about Zhou Ting.

But recently, Xia Mian suddenly started live streaming, and the footage showed a villa that was two stories bigger than his house—or rather, two villas, attentive servants, famous paintings, watches, and high-end designer clothes... It was simply dazzlingly wealthy.

Especially noteworthy are the thousands of imported Juliet flowers and the handkerchiefs made by renowned Suzhou embroidery masters.

That's the kind of life the wealthy should have.

Everyone envied him for being able to enter the Zhou family's main house, but they didn't know that Zhou's father controlled the shares very strictly. He could only truly transfer the shares to them if he were paralyzed in a hospital bed one day.

Everyone envied the wedding of the century, but little did they know that the couple had already spent most of their dowry and wedding gifts on it.

Although the Xia family ostensibly gave him the only profitable Intercontinental Cinema chain, in business, you can't just touch the money on the books. That's called operating revenue, and losing even a penny could affect the whole business.

When it comes time to distribute dividends, in addition to the eagerly awaiting shareholders, the Xia family may also directly divert the profits to salvage other loss-making projects.

In short, he has very little money at his disposal.

Even though Tang Wenhua felt sorry for him and always secretly subsidized him, it was nothing compared to the luxurious life Xia Mian lived in the live stream!

Xia Mingzhao took a deep breath, not even wanting to drink the soy milk, and texted Zhou Ting: [Are you in class?]

Zhou Ting: [No]

Xia Mingzhao then dialed the number: "Let's hire a chef."

Zhou Ting: "Why are you suddenly hiring a chef? What do you want to eat? I'll pick you up after get off work, and we'll go out to eat."

Xia Mingzhao: "I don't want to eat out! I just hate it! I hate drinking soy milk and milk every morning, I hate eating the same home-cooked meals every few days, and I hate washing and peeling fruit myself during the day. I want to have a private dinner too, don't you understand!"

To be honest, Zhou Ting didn't understand.

In his mind, the best food is always his mother's home-cooked meals, but unfortunately his mother passed away early, and he hasn't tasted them for a very long time.

But he didn't want to provoke Xia Mingzhao. Mingzhao had been acting very strangely lately, always throwing tantrums and bringing up inexplicable topics that made neither of them happy.

“I asked the housekeeper at the old house to help me find a chef. But Mingzhao, we don’t have much money left, so we have to be careful with our spending. Let’s find a local high-end chef to try out first. Maybe he’ll be just as good as a private banquet chef. When the funding for my project comes through next spring, if you’re not satisfied, we can find another one.”

Look, he can't even change a chef until next spring, but Xia Mian can take a picture of a thousand miles of rivers and mountains without blinking.

Xia Mingzhao suddenly began to doubt: he had won Zhou Ting from Xia Mian, but in real life, had he really... won over Xia Mian?