Chapter 31 Childhood Friend
After lunch, they sat for a while longer. Yu Minhua smiled and said to Lin Yi'an, "Go take a look at your wedding room, see what's missing, and tell Mingshi what you want to add."
Lin Yi'an had seen the blueprints. Their wedding room was Zhou Mingshi's former room. The room was very large, with a dressing room, a toilet, and a bathroom. Next to the room was Zhou Mingshi's study, as well as a place for receiving guests, drinking tea, and resting.
Zhou Mingshi remained seated and said to the two elders, "They couldn't control their mouths when Yi'an first came to visit. If we live together in the future, it's hard to guarantee they won't cause trouble again. In order for everyone to have a peaceful life, I don't plan to live at home after the marriage."
Zhou Qisheng said, "It's not appropriate for you to live outside."
Zhou Mingshi said calmly, "It's even more inappropriate for everyone to live together."
Yu Minhua said, "Then let your dad and the others move out."
Zhou Mingshi looked at his grandmother: "Are you willing to do that?"
Yu Minhua understood what her grandson meant. She said, "Even if we can't bear to part with them, we have to let them move out. Living together every day is so noisy. It'll be quieter if we're separated."
Zhou Qisheng sighed: "Then let them move out."
His son was disappointing, and the Zhou family still had to rely on Mingshi, so he had to consider his son's feelings.
Zhou Mingyang silently gave Zhou Mingshi a thumbs up: "Brilliant!"
Only his second brother in high society would do something like this.
Zhou Mingshi glanced at him but didn't react.
Zhou Liqing and her sister-in-law muttered to each other, "I would rather Ming Shi be in charge of this family than Sun Yurong's son."
Yan Shuyan: "That's right. If she takes charge, none of us will have a good life."
Zhou Liqing: "You and Mingyang have separated and are living separately. I'm married now, so she can't control us. But when I think back to the things she did when we were little, I don't want her to be proud of herself. If it weren't for her, why would our relationship with Dad be so distant?"
"Whenever my dad tries to show concern for us, she's there to stop him in every way."
"She's nowhere near as good as Aunt Tan. I'd rather Aunt Tan be our stepmother, but unfortunately, Aunt Tan is too busy with her career and doesn't like to talk to Dad. Only Sun Yurong is willing to please him and coax him."
Yan Shuyan thought for a moment and said, "I heard from Mingyang that our mom and dad were college classmates. After they got married, she kept urging him to be more ambitious, which annoyed Dad. Gradually, it developed into endless arguments. They would argue every time they met, and that's when our mom couldn't take it anymore and divorced him."
"Aunt Tan never mentioned encouraging him to improve himself, because she was only focused on improving herself and didn't pay any attention to him. In the end, he couldn't help but have an affair."
"Later, he married Sun Yurong. Sun Yurong would only say nice things to him, she wouldn't force him to be ambitious, and she wouldn't ignore him. Finally, she suited his tastes."
Zhou Liqing snorted, "He only cared about his own happiness his whole life. When did he ever care about other people's lives?"
Yan Shuyan sighed, "Dad is lucky. His parents are capable, and so is their son."
It has to be admitted that some people are born lucky; perhaps it's a blessing from their past life.
Zhou Liqing: "Ming Shi won't indulge him."
Yan Shuyan laughed uncontrollably: "He probably hasn't thought that far ahead yet."
"..." Zhou Liqing was speechless for a moment: "Very likely."
Her father was carefree and probably hadn't even considered that his son might dislike him in the future; he just lived one day at a time.
Zhou Mingyuan sat in the distance, listening to his grandparents' words. Although he had already decided to move out, he still felt a chill in his heart. He felt his grandparents' favoritism again. They only ever wanted his second brother. No one else was ever considered by them, and they didn't care what others thought.
This kind of home is cold and devoid of any human warmth; he feels suffocated just being in it.
Why was he born into such a cold and indifferent family?
Lin Yi'an and Zhou Mingshi had just left the Zhou family home and gotten into their car when Zhou Mingshi's phone rang.
He looked at the caller ID, answered the phone, and a hearty laugh came from the other end: "Where's Mingshi? Let's get together?"
Zhou Mingshi: "We're going to the Lin family's house."
The person on the other end asked, "Going to pick up Miss Lin? To bring her along for the trip?"
Zhou Mingshi: "Where are you?"
"Songjian Residence".
"We'll see."
After hanging up the phone, he asked Lin Yi'an, "A few of my childhood friends are going out to play. Do you want to go?"
Lin Yi'an had spent most of the day at the Zhou family's house and was feeling quite tired. At this moment, all she wanted to do was go back, remove her makeup, and lie down to rest. She said, "I'm a little tired and want to go back to rest. Is it okay next time?"
Zhou Mingshi noticed her exhaustion, so he didn't force her. He took her home and then went to Songjianju.
Upon arriving at Songjianju, his three childhood friends, Du Xun, Quan Zisong, and Ji Jingfeng, were playing golf. He, however, was sitting in a rattan chair in the pavilion, resting, looking relaxed.
When Du Xun and his friends saw him, they dropped their golf clubs and strode over.
Quan Zisong sat down opposite him and asked, "Why didn't you come with Miss Lin?"
Zhou Mingshi: "Today I spent time with my grandparents at the Zhou family's old house. They were tired and went back to rest."
Ji Jingfeng asked with a smile, "You're getting married in a few months, how does it feel?"
Zhou Mingshi: "It's good."
Quan Zisong said, "To be honest, I was a little surprised when I heard you were engaged to Miss Lin. There are so many rich young ladies in the circle, but Miss Lin is very low-key. She's been back in the Lin family for several years, and we've hardly heard any rumors about her..."
"In such cases, the other party is either taciturn and not good at socializing."
"Either it's simply not outstanding enough, with nothing to praise or anything to criticize, just plain and ordinary, lost in the crowd, completely unremarkable."
Zhou Mingshi: "Is it possible that there is a third possibility?"
Quan Zisong: "A third possibility? What possibility?"
Zhou Mingshi glanced at him: "Regardless of the possibility, judging a person's character based solely on one's own speculation is something that petty people like to do."
Quan Zisong clicked his tongue: "They're protecting each other now."
Ji Jingfeng laughed and said, "Isn't that obvious? That's his fiancée. They'll be a couple in the future. If he doesn't protect his fiancée, does he expect to join you in criticizing her?"
Quan Zisong smiled and apologized, "It was my fault, mainly because we hadn't met Miss Lin before... I'll treat you tonight to make amends, okay?"
Du Xun joked, "What's the point of just apologizing to Ming Shi? Shouldn't you also apologize to Miss Lin?"
These brothers, who seemed to enjoy watching the drama unfold, said helplessly to Quan Zisong, "Just tell me, how do you want me to apologize to Miss Lin?"
Zhou Mingshi paused for a moment and said, "I remember you said that your family ancestors were imperial physicians, and that your family still has well-preserved medical records and ancient Chinese medicine books?"
Quan Zisong: "It's still in my collection room at home."
Zhou Mingshi: "Miss Lin is a traditional Chinese medicine doctor. You can decide for yourself how to apologize."
Quan Zisong: "These are my grandfather's collection..."
Du Xun said, "You can make a copy. Miss Lin only wants to see the contents; she doesn't want your collection."
Quan Zisong laughed: "Alright, anyway, no one will look at that thing if it's just kept at my house. It can only be kept as a collection. If Miss Lin sees it, it might benefit the patients at her TCM clinic. I'll consider it a good deed."
As they were talking, a commotion arose outside. Ji Jingfeng frowned and asked, "What's going on?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a young girl wearing a white golf uniform walked in.
As soon as the group recognized who it was, they were about to speak when the young girl smiled and called out, "Mingshi, I just heard them say that you came here. They weren't lying to me; they really found you here."
Quan Zisong and the others looked at Zhou Mingshi with amusement.
Zhou Mingshi frowned: "What do you want?"
Bai Zhirong paused, then asked with a smile, "If there's nothing wrong, can't I come to you?"
Zhou Mingshi's tone was slightly cold: "Why are you looking for me if there's nothing wrong?"
Bai Zhirong's eyes suddenly reddened, and she looked at Ji Jingfeng and the others: "Could you leave for a moment? I have something to say to Mingshi alone."
Zhou Mingshi was already getting impatient: "Say what you have to say here, or don't say anything at all."
Bai Zhirong took a deep breath: "You forced me to do this. I just want to ask you, what is wrong with me? You would rather choose Miss Lin than get engaged to me?"
Zhou Mingshi glanced at her: "Miss Lin wouldn't do something as rude and embarrassing as questioning someone to their face."
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