He Ru was still unwilling to give up. She dug her nails into the table and said with a ferocious expression, "You outsiders have no right to say such things to me. I am Zheng Lin's fiancée, after all."
"Did my uncle acknowledge you? Who in our Zheng family acknowledges you?" Zheng Qi took the last piece of steak, put it on a plate, cut it into large pieces, and stuffed it haphazardly into his mouth.
His eyes were only on the delicious food on the table; his reply was merely out of politeness typical of the Zheng family.
One of the etiquette rules taught to the younger generation in the Zheng family is to respond to the words of elders and also to the words of the weak. The former stems from respect for elders, while the latter stems from compassion for the weak and to protect their self-esteem.
Clearly, He Ru was the latter. Despite his reluctance, Zheng Qi answered her question earnestly.
Who can blame them when the self-esteem of the weak is more in need of protection?
He Ru: "It's enough that my godmother acknowledges me; she is Zheng Lin's mother."
"Oh? But my aunt caused a huge scene at the Zheng family ancestral hall many years ago, and even erased her name from the Zheng family genealogy, claiming that she would not be enshrined in the Zheng family ancestral hall after her death. She does not acknowledge that she is a member of the Zheng family. My aunt herself does not feel that she is a member of the Zheng family, so your statement is not valid."
After enjoying his meal, Zheng Qi grabbed a hot towel from the side and wiped his face.
He picked up his water glass, drank half of it, glanced sideways at He Ru to his right, and asked earnestly, "Who else?"
He glared at him angrily.
Judging from his lack of words, Zheng Qi's understanding of the weak...
"If not, then I need to correct something you just said."
Zheng Qi looked at her leisurely and said in a mature tone, "My father is five years older than my uncle. My uncle has to respectfully call my father 'elder brother.' My father's name is also in the Zheng family genealogy. Our family is not the outsider you are talking about. As for you, a real outsider, let alone whether you can be included in the Zheng family genealogy, it is also uncertain whether you can successfully marry my brother."
He paused, his small eyes narrowing. "My uncle, my father, and my mother only acknowledge my sister-in-law, Su Jin. When you see her in the future, you'd better show her some respect. That kind of rude behavior of slapping someone, if it happens again, will be considered an open enmity with our entire Zheng family."
His voice was that of a young boy, very gentle and warm, yet he spoke the harshest words in the gentlest voice.
This slightly childish face now surprisingly possessed some of Zheng Lin's charisma.
He Ru was stunned by his small eyes, and her scalp tingled slightly.
This is part of the Zheng family's bloodline; they seem to be born with more courage and drive than ordinary people.
He dared not utter another word.
She never expected that so many people in the Zheng family would support Su Jin. She really underestimated Su Jin. She hadn't been a daughter-in-law in the Zheng family for very long, yet she had won over so many people's hearts!
It will be too difficult for her to replace Su Jin in the future.
Zheng Qi cleared his throat, picked up a carton of milk from the corner of the table, stood up and said to He Ru, "Thank you for preparing dinner. Although I don't approve of you being my sister-in-law, I really appreciate your cooking skills. It was a wonderful dinner."
After summarizing the dinner, Zheng Qi drank his milk and slowly went upstairs.
He slammed her fist on the table, and her little fingernail snapped instantly. She recoiled in pain. What followed was an excruciating, piercing pain in all ten fingers.
"The cooking is excellent, made by a French chef, of course it's good," He Ru muttered to herself with a sarcastic expression.
This meal cost her quite a bit of money.
Her godmother gave her very little money left this month. If it weren't for the little pocket money her godmother gives her every month, she wouldn't be able to support herself given her family's financial situation.
He Ru glanced at the account balance, then turned to open her godmother's latest photo, liked it, and showered her with compliments. This tactic always worked on He Rong.
Sure enough, ten minutes later, He Ru received a transfer notification that He Rong had transferred 500,000 yuan to her in one go.
This amount was hardly a bribe for He Rong, and He Ru accepted it with a clear conscience.
Su Jin had been thinking about her ID card all night, and when she sneaked into Zheng Lin's room that night, she was caught red-handed. Until early morning, she still couldn't figure out where he had hidden it.
She and Zheng Lin went downstairs at the same time, glaring at him as they walked.
Just then, the landline phone in the villa rang.
Su Jin, who was nearby, sat down on the sofa and picked up the phone.
"Hello Ms. Su, because of an emergency that happened at the beach last night, we would like to remind you to try not to go out today. Staying indoors will better ensure your personal safety."
The call was from the resort's front desk staff.
Su Jin sensed something was wrong and asked urgently, "Can you tell me specifically what kind of emergency it is?"
"Well, we can't say for sure."
"Then..." Su Jin wanted to ask more, but a man's finger pressed the button on the landline, hanging up the call for her.
Su Jin, holding the phone, turned her head and stared at him with wide eyes: "What are you doing?"
Zheng Lin tugged at his collar, took out his phone, and bent down to place it on the coffee table. "There were two stabbing incidents over there yesterday. Because they're afraid of causing a bad impression, they won't tell you even if you ask again. Take a look, so you don't have to ask others."
Su Jin picked up his phone and zoomed in on the picture with two fingers.
This is a message that Assistant Gao sent to Zheng Lin; it's all screenshots of private chats between other people in a group.
Zheng Lin kindly reminded him: "Just look at the latest three pictures, don't scroll back. The pictures before that are from the scene."
"There's nothing to be afraid of." Su Jin was no stranger to bloody scenes. In her previous life, she had been quite bloody herself. During a car accident, both of her legs were pierced and her flesh was mangled.
Moreover, she was still fully conscious at the time, watching helplessly as her legs were destroyed, blood splattered all over her, and even the whites of her eyes were stained with her own blood.
However, while she wasn't afraid, she wasn't curious or perverted, and didn't want to see such live photos.
Su Jin handed the phone back to Zheng Lin. She opened her mouth to say something, but Zheng Lin spoke first: "I've already had Gao Zixin find out Zheng Guang's whereabouts and handed him over to the police. If nothing unexpected happens, Zheng Guang should be arrested right now."
Su Jin smiled: "You've finally made the right decision. I thought you would continue to give him chances."
“Given what has happened, I am no longer prepared to defend him.” Zheng Lin’s gaze was deep as he slowly said, “First and foremost, I am a human being, and only then am I the adopted son of the Zheng family. As a human being, there are things I should and should not do.”
The veins on the back of his hand, which was gripping the phone, were bulging; it was clear he was very angry.
Su Jin then remembered that when they were in school, Zheng Lin was also very upright and would always stand up against injustice.
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