Chapter 38 Zhou Mingyuan
Lin Jingyun sat with Lin Yi'an for a while before being called away by a phone call.
Assistant Chen thought Miss Lin's call was timely. With her here, even President Zhou had to avoid being alone with Miss Lin, as it would interfere with their date.
The weather is getting colder and Zhou Mingshi is away on a business trip. The two haven't seen each other for half a month. Lin Yi'an usually goes to work, and when she has time off, she and Yan Shuyan will make an appointment to visit her grandparents at the Zhou family's old house.
The TCM clinic isn't busy these days, so Lin Yi'an only needs to work half a day.
After finishing get off work in the morning, as she walked out of the TCM clinic, she saw a familiar car approaching from across the street. She stopped, and the car slowly came to a stop in front of her. Zhou Mingshi got out of the car.
Lin Yi'an smiled at him and said, "You're back?"
Zhou Mingshi: "You're not working this afternoon, how about we have lunch together?"
Lin Yi'an naturally agreed.
After getting into the car, Zhou Mingshi took out a bag from the side and handed it to Lin Yi'an.
Lin Yi'an took it and asked, "What is it?"
Zhou Mingshi: "A gift for you."
Lin Yi-an: "Can we watch it now?"
Zhou Mingshi: "Take a look and see if you like it?"
Lin Yi'an opened the bag, took out the jewelry box inside, and carefully opened it. Inside was a diamond necklace. She said, "It's beautiful, thank you."
At the traffic light, Assistant Chen couldn't help but say, "This was personally selected by President Zhou at the mall."
Zhou Mingshi glanced at him: "Shut up."
Lin Yi'an smiled and said, "You put your heart into it, and I really like it."
Zhou Mingshi hummed in agreement, his voice carrying a hint of pleasure.
Upon arriving at the hotel, the two got out of the car and had lunch. Zhou Mingshi then asked Lin Yi'an, "I'm going to visit my grandparents at the old house. Will you come with me?"
Lin Yi'an nodded: "Okay."
Assistant Chen noticed the order in which his boss spoke. In the past, when he asked Ms. Lin, he would say, "Are you going?" But today, he directly said, "Are you coming with me?"
Although both are inquiries, the first one mainly focuses on Miss Lin's wishes; the second one, "Come with me," clearly carries his own desire—he wants Miss Lin to accompany him.
When they arrived at the Zhou family's house, they happened to run into Zhou Mingyuan, who was visiting with his girlfriend.
At this moment, the atmosphere at home was tense, with Zhou Qisheng and Yu Minhua sitting there drinking tea with expressionless faces.
Zhou Kanghui yawned listlessly, Zhou Jia was picking at her nails, and as for Sun Yurong, she stared at He Xishan with a sinister look, wishing she could devour her.
He Xishan stood stubbornly next to Zhou Mingyuan, not afraid of her gaze at all. At worst, they would break up. It wasn't that she couldn't live without Zhou Mingyuan, but that Zhou Mingyuan couldn't live without her. He hated her for being useless.
Seeing them was like seeing saviors for Zhou Mingyuan. Without thinking, he said, "Grandpa and Grandma, I admit that Shanshan's family background isn't good. But if you agree to let me be with Shanshan, I promise I won't marry into any other family to gain advantages for myself. You won't have to worry about me fighting with my second brother for the inheritance. I will work hard on my own..."
Before he could finish speaking, a teacup was thrown at his feet with a loud thud.
Zhou Mingyuan was startled and looked up to see his grandfather staring at him with a stern face. His face flushed red and then turned pale. He puffed out his chest and said defiantly, "Grandpa, I know I've hit the nail on the head, and you're angry, but..."
Zhou Mingshi suddenly chuckled.
Zhou Mingyuan suddenly turned his head to look at him, and said with embarrassment and annoyance, "Second brother, what are you laughing at? I've already made concessions, what more do you want?"
Zhou Mingshi pulled Lin Yi'an's wrist, sat down on the wooden sofa, and casually said, "A toad climbing onto a weight—claiming its own weight."
Zhou Mingyuan blushed furiously: "You...you've gone too far..."
Zhou Mingshi ignored him and looked at Zhou Kanghui: "Do you think my life is too easy, so you had this... to disgust me?"
Zhou Kanghui immediately sat up straight, making his stance clear: "I didn't teach him to say that. He's always said he wants to build his own wealthy family. I thought it was a good idea; he knows he's not capable enough, so he doesn't want to go head-to-head with you and end up getting hurt. From now on, for the sake of being a father, I'll make sure he doesn't go hungry..."
Zhou Mingyuan looked at him in disbelief, his face full of sorrow: "Dad, how could you, how could you say such a thing?"
Zhou Kanghui waved his hand impatiently: "Don't you know what your abilities are? Do you need others to tell you? It's not that I look down on you, but you're not even as good as your eldest brother, let alone your second brother."
Zhou Mingyuan took a step back, seemingly hurt, his eyes red: "That's because you didn't give me a chance. My second brother was wary of me, preferring to hand over the hotel to my eldest brother rather than me..."
Yu Minhua looked at him: "It seems you're very dissatisfied with your family?"
Zhou Mingyuan was just blindly confident, not truly stupid. Hearing her words, he naturally dared not tell the truth: "No."
Yu Minhua glanced at the girl next to him and said, "Your grandfather and I will not interfere in your marriage. You can be with whomever you want. As for others, we have no say in it."
Sun Yurong panicked and looked at her mother-in-law: "Mom, you can't just ignore this..."
No one paid her any attention. Zhou Qisheng looked at Zhou Mingyuan and said, "Don't tell me you don't need to arrange a marriage. Even if you did, with your abilities, what kind of family could you possibly find?"
Zhou Mingyuan lowered his head.
"Do you think you can just pick any rich girl you want just because you want to arrange a marriage? The women will also consider whether the man is worth it. What do you have?" Zhou Qisheng said, "Have some self-awareness. Without the Zhou family, you are nothing."
Zhou Mingyuan clenched his fist: "Grandpa..."
Zhou Jia couldn't sit still any longer, so she pulled him outside. He Xishan looked around and could only follow them out.
Zhou Mingyuan was pulled outside by her, and he shoved her away, saying, "What are you doing?"
Zhou Jia rolled her eyes: "Third brother, we are siblings from the same parents. Do you think I would harm you?"
Zhou Mingyuan remained silent.
Zhou Jia said, "Third Brother, you said you brought your girlfriend back, so why are you dragging Second Brother into this? What does it have to do with Second Brother? Aren't you just making things worse by saying that?"
Zhou Mingyuan's face tightened: "I didn't say anything wrong. If I'm with Shanshan, I won't be forced into an arranged marriage, and I won't compete with my second brother..."
Zhou Jia: "Even if you marry him, you still can't compete with Second Brother. Let's be honest, don't we have some self-awareness? You don't really think you can go toe-to-toe with Second Brother, do you? No one outside will believe that, not even Mom."
Zhou Mingyuan's eyes were red: "Even you look down on me?"
Zhou Jia: "......"
She glanced at He Xishan, but before she could speak, He Xishan said, "Your family doesn't trust him, but I do. I will always stand behind him."
Zhou Jia: "......"
"Whatever," she thought, too lazy to try and persuade him, and turned to go back inside.
Zhou Mingyuan looked at He Xishan with emotion and said, "Shanshan, only you will always believe in me unconditionally."
He Xishan: "You're my boyfriend, I definitely trust you."
Zhou Mingyuan was even more moved.
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