Although Yan Yuan and Yan Bo look alike, their personalities and temperaments are completely different.
Although Yan Bo is assertive, his gentle appearance and refined, elegant speech are extremely deceptive. Such a person can easily gain the trust of others.
On the contrary, Yan Yuan was clearly the kind of person who meant what he said. Even now, sitting at the table in front of the elder whom his younger brother had repeatedly instructed him to treat well, he still had a serious and unsmiling expression.
That makes sense, though. The eldest son of the Yan family in the capital has never needed to bow down and flatter anyone. He's always the one being fawned over!
All I can say is that Yanbo, the youngest in the Yan family, is an oddball in terms of personality.
The Tong family members were all eloquent and articulate, and Yan Bo was no exception. As a result, after everyone sat down at the table, Yan Yuan suddenly exuded a solemn and dignified aura.
As an elder, Tong Ma was afraid that being too formal would make Yan Bo and his brother lose face, and she was also afraid that her daughter would feel uncomfortable. So she gestured to her daughter to fill Yan Yuan's teacup with her eyes, and then smiled at Yan Yuan.
"Mr. Yan is too kind. You've come all this way and you've even taken the time to treat us to a meal."
"Aunt Tong, you're too kind. Xiao Bo works hard in L City all by himself, and he usually relies on Uncle Tong and Aunt Tong for their care and help. I came here to thank you in person."
Yan Yuan wasn't incapable of speaking; he simply preferred to remain silent unless absolutely necessary.
After exchanging pleasantries with Tong's mother, he said "thank you" to Tong Xiaohuai, who had poured him tea.
Tong Xiaohuai smiled at him, filled everyone's cups with tea, and then sat back down in her own seat.
Yan Bo sat between her and Yan Yuan. Seeing her sit down, he quickly reached out and took her hand, which was under the table, to comfort her.
Tong Laoda knew Yan Yuan's background, so he didn't ask any questions about what the other party did. As for what he did, he believed that Yan Yuan knew perfectly well.
Having spent so many years navigating the complexities of society, he could tell that Yan Yuan was being excessively polite to his family of three.
What does this mean?
He just hoped that he was overthinking things.
In short, he reiterated that he trusted Yanbo. Since Yanbo dared to provoke his precious daughter, he had the ability to help her clear everything away and give her a stable future.
Tong's mother naturally noticed what he saw, but she wasn't very clear about Yan Bo's family background and simply assumed that this older brother couldn't accept their family's identity and background.
Only Tong Xiaohuai, the person directly involved, couldn't see any of Yan Yuan's politeness; after all, she was too busy being nervous.
Yan Bo is Yan Yuan's younger brother, so he could see the disapproval hidden beneath his older brother's occasional faint smile. He felt a little helpless, but he didn't give up.
That day, after making an appointment with the Tong family elders, he returned to the company and called Yan Yuan to tell him the truth. Yan Yuan was quite happy to hear that he had a girlfriend, but when he heard that the girlfriend was the daughter of the L City gang leader, Yan Yuan immediately fell silent.
After a long silence, Yan Yuan's deep voice came from the other end of the phone, "Xiao Bo, do you just want to enjoy being in a relationship, or do you want to be with her for a long time?"
Yan Bo paused for a moment, then suppressed his displeasure. "Brother, my feelings for her are the same as your feelings for your assistant!"
Although the two brothers have completely different personalities, they actually talk to each other about many things. Therefore, Yan Bo basically knows everything that Yan Yuan needs to know about his assistant.
There was another silence on the other end, before someone said, "Xiao Bo, you should really think this through. It would be very difficult for a family like ours to accept her."
Yanbo knew it would be difficult, but if he could give up on someone he liked just because it was difficult, then it probably couldn't be called liking them at all.
"Brother, Uncle Tong, Aunt Tong, and Xiao Huai have really helped me a lot lately. Otherwise, it would be difficult for me to have a hot meal or a warm soup when I come to L City alone."
Yan Bo continued speaking in the same vein as Yan Yuan, and then the Tong family took over. In this back-and-forth exchange, the four of them exchanged pleasantries for a while.
Fearing she might say too much and make a mistake, Tong Xiaohuai simply took on the role of a waitress, constantly pouring tea and serving water to everyone present. Only when the waiter brought the food did she sit down and nervously pick up some food to eat.
It can only be said that she was too young at that time. The situation would be very different if this scene of meeting the parents were to take place later when she gradually became more assertive.
Throughout the meal, Tong Xiaohuai ate cautiously, while the others ate politely.
Even if Yanbo is incredibly capable and knows how to smooth things over, he can hardly change an objective fact.
That is, from a traditional perspective, the Tong family and the Yan family are indeed two families that are not well-matched in terms of social status.
If there really are class distinctions in this society, then the Tong family probably belongs to the lowest class. Even though the Tong family is rich and powerful, it cannot change their grassroots nature.
The Yan family, on the other hand, is at the very top of the social hierarchy. Even if the Yan family is not as wealthy as the Tong family, their power is like that of a missile versus a hand grenade.
On the surface, the meal, the first meeting between the two families, was filled with laughter and friendly conversation, but everyone knew in their hearts that the meal had not really changed anything.
After finishing their meal, Yan Bo and his brother saw the Tong family of three off to their car and watched it drive away before Yan Yuan and Yan Bo turned and walked towards their own car.
He wasn't familiar with L City, so Yanbo drove him back to his residence.
After the car had been on the road for a while, Yan Yuan finally spoke meaningfully.
"Xiao Bo, I have no problem with Xiao Huai, but I'll say it again: break up while your relationship isn't too deep yet."
Yan Yuan spoke these words with great seriousness, and as for his reasons, he believed that with his younger brother's intelligence and emotional intelligence, it was impossible for him not to understand.
Yan Bo had already figured out his brother's intentions from the meal just now, so he wasn't surprised to hear him say this now.
"Brother, why didn't you and your assistant break up sooner?"
Yan Yuan's face darkened. "Xiao Bo, how can this be the same? She just comes from a poor background, and it's just a matter of time before Dad accepts her. But Xiao Huai, her family is involved in the underworld. Do you understand that? You don't naively think that just because you've left politics for business, the kind of wife you marry won't have any impact on the Yan family, do you?"
Yan Bo remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a sigh.
"Brother, I understand what you're saying. But like you, if I could control myself, I would never have let myself get into this mess and have no chance to turn things around!"
It was only after meeting Tong Xiaohuai that Yanbo realized there really was such a person in this world who could make you disregard all gains and losses, and even lose your basic rationality.
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