Chapter 9 The Zhou Family
As soon as Zhou Mingshi and his assistant Chen went upstairs, Chen's phone rang.
He opened his phone and saw that it was President Tan calling. He immediately looked at Zhou Mingshi and said, "It's President Tan on the phone."
Zhou Mingshi: "What's wrong with her phone call? Are you afraid to answer her calls?"
Assistant Chen coughed and said, "Didn't you catch a cold and have a fever? I was afraid she would blame me for not taking good care of you."
"Too much drama."
Zhou Mingshi laughed and scolded, then said, "Hurry up and answer the phone. If President Tan finds out you're ignoring her, she'll cut your New Year's red envelope in half."
Assistant Chen dared not say anything more. President Tan's New Year's red envelope was very generous, and he would be heartbroken if he lost half of it. He hurriedly asked, "Then let's not tell President Tan that you have a cold?"
Zhou Mingshi: "It's just a minor cold."
Assistant Chen understood, answered the phone, and said in a loud voice, "Hello, Mr. Tan, this is Chen Shi."
Tan Qingwen: "I know you are Chen Shi, but what about Ming Shi?"
Assistant Chen: "President Zhou is in his office."
Tan Qingwen: "I heard from Zhou Kanghui that he went to Changping to be with An'an?"
Zhou Kanghui is his boss's father, and only his ex-wife, President Tan, would address him by his name in such a tone. Assistant Chen thought to himself, but still said, "He arrived last night."
Tan Qingwen: "Why didn't you tell me when you went? I was preparing some gifts for An'an's parents and grandmother."
Assistant Chen: "President Zhou made this decision on a whim and didn't have time to tell you, but don't worry, we have prepared a gift."
Tan Qingwen: "Your preparations are yours, and my preparations are mine. How can they be the same? I bought some things for An'an, her parents, and her grandmother and sent them over. Please remember to sign for them."
Assistant Chen: "Okay."
Tan Qingwen: "Give the phone to Mingshi, and I'll talk to him."
When Assistant Chen looked at Zhou Ming, he said, "President Tan wants to talk to you."
Zhou Mingshi leaned back on the sofa: "Give me your phone."
Assistant Chen handed him the phone, and Zhou Mingshi took it, saying, "Mom!"
Tan Qingwen: "Your voice sounds off, are you catching a cold?"
Zhou Mingshi laughed: "I can't hide it from you."
Tan Qingwen frowned: "Don't forget to take care of your health when you're busy with work."
Zhou Mingshi: "With Chen Shi taking care of me, aren't you worried?"
Tan Qingwen: "He's not honest either. He listens to everything you say. He didn't even tell me you had a cold just now."
Zhou Mingshi: "I'm at your future daughter-in-law's house now. Your future daughter-in-law is a doctor. It's just a minor cold, nothing serious."
Tan Qingwen: "I told An'an's parents that I would visit them when I had time. You two have been engaged for so long, I should go and see them."
Zhou Mingshi: "Hmm."
While the mother and son were on the phone, Lin Yi'an hung up on her eldest sister's video call, and then her second sister, Lin Jingyun, called again.
Lin Jingyun lay on the bed: "An'an, when are you coming back? Everyone's gone to work, and I'm so bored at home all by myself!"
Lin Yi'an: "Zhou Mingshi is over here."
Lin Jingyun's eyes widened: "Really?"
Lin Yi'an: "Really, my older sister and the others all know."
Lin Jingyun said, "My older sister didn't tell me how he ended up with your adoptive parents?"
Lin Yi-an: "He has some free time recently and said that we will get married in a few months. We should try to get to know each other and adapt to living together. I am not in the capital, so he came to Changping."
Lin Jingyun asked curiously, "How are you two getting along?"
Lin Yi'an: "It's alright."
Lin Jingyun could tell from her calm tone that her "okay" was not the same as her own. However, An'an had always been like this, always slow and indecisive.
However, An'an is the third young lady of the Lin family. She is good no matter what she is like. She doesn't need to change. She can just be herself.
She smiled and said, "Let me tell you, Zhou Mingshi's stepmother's younger sister told someone that it's her mother's forty-sixth birthday, and you're going to go celebrate her birthday."
Lin Yi'an thought for a moment and asked, "Are you talking about Zhou Jia?"
Lin Jingyun: "It's her."
Lin Yi'an said, "I have never been in contact with her, nor do I have her contact information, let alone her mother's contact information. As for whether or not I will attend her mother's birthday party, it depends on what Zhou Mingshi says."
Hearing her serious tone, Lin Jingyun couldn't help but laugh: "Yes, that's how it should be. This is a matter for the Zhou family, and it depends on Zhou Mingshi's attitude."
As far as she knew, Zhou Mingshi didn't have much affection for his stepmother or her two children.
Zhou Mingshi's father, Zhou Kanghui, was married three times.
His first wife was his college sweetheart. They had a son and a daughter after marriage, but divorced not long after.
Later, Zhou Mingshi arranged a marriage with the Tan family. The Tan family initially refused, but for some reason, Zhou Mingshi's mother, Tan Qingwen, agreed. Her only condition was that the Zhou family's heir could only be her child, and the Zhou family agreed.
Not long after Zhou Mingshi was born, his father's affair was discovered, and the two quickly divorced.
Later, Zhou Kanghui married the woman he had an affair with, who was also Zhou Jia's mother.
As they chatted, Lin Jingyun added, "Not long after you left yesterday, my aunt had Wang Xiujun move back to their own home, and now it's finally quiet at home."
Lin Yi-an: "She's too noisy."
Lin Jingyun: "She's not just noisy, she's a real blabbermouth. Who wouldn't be annoyed by what she says? When she moved out, she was crying and saying that since you went back to Changping, she wanted to stay a few more days, but my aunt didn't agree."
Lin Yi'an: "My mom listens to my older brother and sister."
Lin Jingyun laughed and said, "I think my aunt is a little annoyed with her now, otherwise she wouldn't be in such a hurry to make her move out."
Aunt used to love Wang Xiujun very much, otherwise she wouldn't have let her live in the Lin family. But who told her to be so ignorant, to speak without thinking, and to be so unlikable?
Lin Yi'an smiled and said, "I can tell."
As they talked, Yi'an felt sleepy and yawned, saying, "I'm sleepy."
Lin Jingyun: "Then you should go to sleep."
She knew that An'an's schedule was always regular, so she didn't disturb her any further.
Lin Yi'an: "Mm."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Yi'an checked the time; it was almost ten o'clock. She quickly went downstairs to heat up Zhou Mingshi's medicine and had Assistant Chen bring it to him. She then went back to her room to wash up.
Assistant Chen carried the warmed medicine into the room. Zhou Mingshi was leaning against the bed watching the news on his tablet. When he saw Chen bring in the medicine, he said, "Didn't you take your medicine? Why are you bringing it again?"
Assistant Chen said, "It's been five hours since you last took the medicine. Ms. Lin said you can take it again. She personally heated it up for you and asked me to bring it to you."
After saying that, seeing that he was somewhat resistant, she thought to herself, "Miss Lin is a traditional Chinese medicine doctor. If you get sick after you get married, you may have to drink Chinese medicine. You should get used to it as soon as possible."
Zhou Mingshi: "Do we really have to drink it?"
Assistant Chen: "How about I tell Miss Lin that you don't want to drink Chinese medicine?"
He was about to turn around as he spoke.
Zhou Mingshi: "Stop! Bring the medicine here."
Assistant Chen quickly handed him the bowl.
Zhou Mingshi took the bowl and said, "You've become something else now, you even want to control me, and you're using Yi'an to pressure me."
Assistant Chen chuckled twice: "I promised President Tan that I would take good care of you. I can't fail in my duty. The candy has been prepared for you, so please drink as much as you like."
Zhou Mingshi snorted, "You're quite thoughtful."
Assistant Chen knew he was unhappy and said, "Miss Lin went to great lengths, running up and down to warm your medicine, all so that you could recover your health as soon as possible. If Miss Lin knew you didn't want to drink the medicine she warmed, she would be heartbroken."
Zhou Mingshi ignored him, finished his drink in a few gulps, and went to eat candy.
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