Tong Xiaohuai could hear the doubt in Tong Laoda's voice, but Yan Bo remained calm, showing no sign of lying.
"Uncle Tong, besides company business, I also helped a friend out on this business trip. He wanted to pay me, and I just happened to see this teapot, so I asked for it. That's all."
Yan Bo explained patiently. After he finished speaking, seeing that Boss Tong still didn't relax his brows and obviously didn't believe him, he added, "He encountered a very difficult client. That client happened to be my business partner from when we started a business abroad. I went over and negotiated with them. His business was settled, and he didn't lose out by giving me this teapot."
Clearly, it was a very large order, and Yanbo didn't seem to be lying.
"Then thank you, Xiao Yan. I really love this teapot. But since we're all family now, I won't mention money to you. I heard from Xiao Huai last time that you really wanted to design a traditional-style tea house. I'll think about it carefully and see if I can come up with a few designs."
Yan Bo was overjoyed. He had never forgotten about this matter, but seeing that Shen Weiyao's health was not very good, he had never dared to mention it.
"Aunt Tong, thank you in advance! But I'm not in a hurry. Take your time, it's okay, I can wait."
Although he really wanted to provide his mother with an elegant tea house, he also had to consider his future mother-in-law's health.
When Tong Laoda heard Shen Weiyao mention wanting to work on the diagrams, his expression darkened again. Now, hearing Yan Bo's words, he quickly advised, "Xiaoyao, you haven't fully recovered yet, you can't overexert yourself..."
In front of his daughter and Yanbo, Tong Laoda dared not speak too plainly.
My daughter is slow to grasp this, but Yanbo is a shrewd person.
Little did Tong Laoda know that Yan Bo already knew about Shen Weiyao's illness before they even returned to China. He hadn't mentioned it simply because he didn't want Tong Xiaohuai to be sad.
"Mom, Dad and Yanbo are right. Just treat it as drawing a few strokes in your spare time, but don't overwork yourself."
Shen Weiyao felt helpless about the fact that she had unknowingly become everyone's focus of protection again, but she also understood that if she didn't agree, let alone produce a few drawings, they probably wouldn't even let her touch a pen.
"Alright, I promise you, okay? I'll do what I can!"
She cherishes her life, especially now that her daughter is in a relationship, she wants to see her grandson born.
Only then did the father and daughter let Shen Weiyao go.
After eating a few dumplings, Tong Laoda stood up and offered to help his mother back to her room to rest.
Yan Bo used Tong Xiaohuai to say goodnight to them and then stayed to have a late-night snack.
"Don't you think tonight's late-night snack is a little tastier?"
After her parents left, Tong Xiaohuai asked Yan Bo.
"Yes, Uncle Guan took leave?"
"Yes, Uncle Guan's mother, who lives in the countryside, is sick. Uncle Guan went back to visit her yesterday and will probably not be back for a few days."
Then, Tong Xiaohuai talked about what happened in the Tong family while Yan Bo was away. Yan Bo listened very attentively as usual, occasionally offering a few opinions or asking a few questions, but without interfering excessively.
As they talked, Tong Xiaohuai brought up the topic of decorating the sauna.
“My dad thinks I’ve been too lenient with Li Lin. He’s always worried that Li Lin will use the sauna incident as an excuse to mess with me again. What do you think?”
Yanbo found it difficult to draw a conclusion on this matter immediately.
After all, Boss Tong has been in the top position for so many years, and he has his own set of management methods.
Tong Xiaohuai has only been in office for a few months, and it's clear that applying Tong Laoda's management methods is not suitable. Only she herself can know what methods are suitable for Tong Xiaohuai after she has tried and refined them.
"Xiao Huai, if you think this is the right thing to do, then go ahead and do it."
In short, he has been silently watching over her all along. This time, even if Li Lin dares, he can guarantee that she won't come up with any new tricks.
Tong Laoda is a competent eldest brother, but he is obviously not as thoughtful as Yan Bo. Therefore, he does not understand that his precious daughter now needs the affirmation and support of her family, in addition to establishing her authority in front of her brothers.
She may become very powerful in the future, but right now, she definitely needs more support to grow step by step.
Tong Laoda subconsciously knew these things, but in practice, he wasn't as meticulous and thorough as Yan Bo.
Although Tong Xiaohuai suffered a setback from her father, she received affirmation and encouragement from Yan Bo, which restored her wavering faith.
"Yes, I'll keep a close eye on his movements. If anything seems amiss, I'll cripple him immediately."
As the two chatted, their late-night snack took nearly an hour to finish.
Uncle Yuan seemed to understand that the young couple had been separated for several days and were exchanging many sweet nothings, so he wisely refrained from showing up.
After the two men walked out of the dining room with their bellies full, Uncle Yuan instructed the servants to clean up the room.
Yan Bo's guest room was the last one in the corridor around the corner, quite far from Tong Xiaohuai's bedroom. Tong Xiaohuai's bedroom, on the other hand, was not far from the living room.
Yan Bo escorted her to the bedroom door and stood there.
Tong Xiaohuai checked the time; it was past eleven o'clock. Usually, she and he wouldn't be asleep yet.
She hesitated for a moment, then finally pointed to her room and asked.
"Would you like to... come in and sit for a while?"
Yan Bo's face lit up with surprise. "Is that okay?"
Being able to stay at her house was already enough to make him happy, but he never expected that she would invite him into her bedroom.
Of course, he understood perfectly well that Tong Xiaohuai simply wanted to invite him in for a chat, without any other implied meaning or suggestion.
Even so, he was already very satisfied.
"Yes, please come in and have a seat. It's alright."
Even though she was the one who brought it up first, Tong Xiaohuai suddenly became nervous, her palms sweating profusely.
Yan Bo nodded, "Then I'll go in and sit for a while. It won't take too long. Everyone has to get up early tomorrow."
Yan Bo seemed to be assuring her something, but in reality, he was also secretly warning himself not to have any improper thoughts.
He's a young, hot-blooded man, so it's normal for him to overthink things when invited into his girlfriend's bedroom.
But he couldn't overthink it, nor could he let his mind wander, because the time wasn't right for him and her.
Tong Xiaohuai quietly wiped the sweat from her palms onto the hem of her clothes, reached out, and held the doorknob. The door clicked open in response.
Tong Xiaohuai stepped aside to let Yan Bo go in first.
"Come in... Would you like something to drink?" She followed her inside, nervous and unsure of what to say.
Yan Bo glanced at her, noticing her nervousness. "Open the door and let some air in."
Yanbo understood very well that doing this would not only put her at ease, but also put Uncle Yuan and his future in-laws at ease.
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