At the entrance of the Zhou family mansion, Lin An got out of the taxi and saw a Porsche Cayenne parked in front of him.
He was very familiar with this car; it was Lin Haoran's usual vehicle.
Lin Haoran, dressed in a designer suit and with his hair slicked back, stepped out of the car. Lin Wan and Lin Rou followed. Lin Wan wore a well-fitting beige dress, while Lin Rou's dress was eye-catching—a burgundy backless deep-V bodycon dress that showed off her beautiful figure.
Soon, the reception staff at the entrance of the Zhou residence came up and chose to greet Lin Haoran first.
Lin Haoran clearly saw Lin An; this was the first time the father and son had met since they signed the agreement to sever ties more than half a month ago.
Lin Haoran looked him up and down, a hint of anger in his eyes: "Where did you buy these cheap clothes to embarrass yourself here?"
Lin An replied indifferently, "What's it to you?"
"I'm your father, don't force me to slap you here."
"Have you no shame? You've already taken 200,000. If you dare to cause trouble again, I'll repay you a thousandfold."
Lin Haoran's neck turned red with anger. Lin Wan didn't want the conflict to escalate: "Dad, today is President Zhou's birthday. Let's not cause trouble. Let's go inside first, and we can talk about other things later."
He pulled Lin Haoran and walked into the Zhou residence.
Lin Rou didn't rush to follow. She glanced at the gift bag in Lin An's hand, a sneer on her lips, and said with a hint of sarcasm, "The Zhou family is not an ordinary family. You can't curry favor with them. Giving such cheap things is embarrassing. You might as well go back as soon as possible."
Lin An looked at the smug Lin Rou and sighed, "Didn't I tell you to go to the hospital to get your brain checked? Why haven't you gone yet?"
Lin An took out the invitation, handed it to the receptionist, and walked into the Zhou residence without looking back.
Lin Rou snorted and followed him inside.
The Zhou residence covers an area of over 1,000 square meters. It is a four-story villa, magnificent and glittering, with various luxury cars parked in the yard.
Lin An stepped into the hall, which was bustling with people. Zhou Ya, who had been staring at the entrance, locked her gaze on Lin An and greeted him with a smile.
Today, Zhou Ya, having dressed up meticulously, shone like a dazzling pearl in the crowd, outshining all the celebrities attending the banquet.
"Lin An, you've arrived."
"Brother, come here quickly, let me introduce you to a distinguished guest. This is Lin An, Dad's savior."
Beside Zhou Ya was a richly dressed young man; their faces bore a resemblance.
The young man extended his hand and shook hands with Lin An: "Hello, I'm Zhou Chen. Thank you for saving my dad."
"Hello, I'm Lin An," Lin An replied readily.
Lin Rou, who had been searching for Zhou Chen in the hall, saw him shaking hands with Lin An and quickly walked over: "Brother Chen, it's been a long time."
"How do you know him? You don't know him? He's just an ill-mannered country bumpkin. Don't be fooled by him."
Lin Rou's voice was too loud, which drew the attention of everyone.
Everyone was extremely surprised that the Zhou family had invited such a lowly, unruly child to their banquet.
Zhou Chen frowned slightly: "Please do not slander our Zhou family's distinguished guest."
Lin Rou hurriedly explained, "Brother Chen, no, I know him very well..."
Lin Rou wanted to say something, but Lin Wan, who had approached, pulled her aside and reminded her to pay attention to the stage.
At this moment, Zhou Shengren, who was using a cane, had already walked to the middle of the stage.
He stood in front of the microphone, his voice confident and surging: "Dear friends, partners, and agents, first of all, I, Zhou, sincerely thank you for coming here today to celebrate my birthday."
"Secondly, I would like to introduce to everyone here an outstanding young man. If it weren't for him, I, Zhou, would not be standing here today."
Everyone couldn't help but wonder what kind of young man could be introduced by a big boss like President Zhou on such an important occasion. This was tantamount to announcing to the entire Hai City business circle that the Zhou family would endorse and support this young man.
Zhou Shengren looked towards the entrance of the hall and spoke with a smile:
"Let us welcome our Zhou family's most distinguished guest, Lin An."
Lin Rou looked to her side in disbelief, only to see Lin An walking calmly towards the stage under Zhou Ya's guidance.
Lin An hadn't expected President Zhou to arrange this kind of segment, but it would definitely benefit his future development. He kept his composure and confidently went on stage.
People nearby whispered among themselves: "Isn't that the wild kid from earlier? Who is he? Why does President Zhou value him so much?"
"They must be extraordinary; I need to find an opportunity to get to know them."
Lin An walked to Zhou Shengren's side, and Zhou Shengren affectionately put his arm around his shoulder. Lin An picked up the microphone and said, "Thank you for your trust, Mr. Zhou. First of all, I wish you a happy birthday and a long and healthy life. I don't think any of you guests know me. I hope we will have the opportunity to get to know each other in the future."
The audience erupted in applause, showing unprecedented enthusiasm for Lin An out of respect for the Zhou family.
The Lin family members in the crowd couldn't believe what they were seeing. What kind of luck had their rebellious son, whom they had kicked out of their home, gotten to be so basking in glory at this event?
Lin An helped Zhou Shengren off the stage with one hand, while carrying the birthday gift he had prepared in the other. He hadn't had time to register the gift at the gift table yet.
Lin Rou's gaze swept over his hand, and a mischievous thought popped into her head. She leaned closer and said, "President Zhou, I wish you a long and prosperous life."
Zhou Shengren forgot to ask Secretary Zhao to remove Lin Haoran from the invitation list. He didn't expect Lin Haoran to be so shameless, not only coming by himself but also bringing his daughter. However, since this was his special day, he couldn't very well turn him away, so he coldly said, "Hmm."
Lin Rou didn't sense the other party's displeasure. She pretended to be surprised and took the bag from Lin An, saying coquettishly, "Uncle Zhou, I really want to see what gift our distinguished guest has prepared for you."
Before Lin An could answer, he took out the wooden box and quickly opened it.
Everyone was curious about the young man and wanted to see what rare treasures he had prepared, so they gathered around.
Inside the wooden box was only a small piece of paper, about the size of a palm, with strange drawings on it.
This is a health talisman that Lin An drew according to the instructions in the book, which can help Zhou Shengren's leg injury recover as quickly as possible.
Lin Rou chuckled: "What did you send? A hand-drawn greeting card? And it's so ugly."
The crowd burst into laughter and started pointing and whispering. The most high-end thing about this gift was the outer packaging bag. Some even speculated that Mr. Zhou was too old to realize he had been scammed.
Lin Haoran secretly rejoiced, thankful that he had severed ties with his father, otherwise he would have been utterly humiliated.
No one noticed that Zhou Shengren's pupils were shining, his gaze fixed on the wooden box, and his voice trembled: "Quick, let me see it."
Lin Rou looked puzzled. What was so interesting about such a shabby gift? She handed it over reluctantly.
Zhou Shengren stroked the patterns on the bottom of the wooden box, his expression excited. He never expected that he would be able to see a blessing object from the ancient kingdom of Baekje in his lifetime. For a seasoned antique collector, this was an incredible honor: "Old Lei, where is Old Lei? Please come and take a look for me."
Lei Dong squeezed through the crowd, his eyes suddenly lighting up: "Let me see it quickly."
"It's a blessing item from Baekje, right?"
Lei Dong took out his magnifying glass and ultraviolet light, examined it carefully for a while, and gave President Zhou a reassuring look: "It is indeed a sacred object of Baekje, no problem."
Zhou Shengren was overjoyed and held Lin An's hand tightly: "You are truly my benefactor. I have been searching for this for more than ten years, searching all over the country. This is the best gift I have ever received in my life. How can I thank you enough?"
Legend has it that the Baekje Kingdom was descended from a divine race, and sacred objects used for blessing the family are believed to bring good fortune. Zhou Shengren has been searching for such a thing for many years.
Lin An smiled and said, "I just happened to come across this and felt that you would like it, so I brought it with me."
Lei Dong's heart was in turmoil. This young man was so young, yet he could recognize such an unknown ancient sacred object. He was no ordinary person.
Lin Rou was stunned. A piece of paper with scribbles in a broken box had excited President Zhou so much. What kind of small place was Baekje? She had never even heard of it. If she were to take out the Qing Dynasty painting that she and her sister had spent more than 200,000 yuan to buy, President Zhou would be completely captivated.
She took out the calligraphy and painting given to her by the Lin family from the gift table, and proudly boasted, "So President Zhou likes antiques. Look at this painting, it's an authentic work by a famous Qing Dynasty artist. My sister and I specially chose it for you."
Zhou Shengren glanced at it and saw that it was indeed a work of calligraphy and painting by a famous artist. It was too ordinary to be worthy of being put into the Zhou family's storeroom. He sneered, "Alright, put it down."
Lin Rou assumed he was unfamiliar with the market and explained, "Mr. Zhou, this painting is quite valuable. Please take a closer look."
Zhou Shengren suppressed his anger, gave Secretary Zhao a look, and pulled the person away.
"Hey, hey, don't pull me! Let me explain the painting to Mr. Zhou."
"Miss Lin, you should save your energy and go to the yard to eat something."
Various drinks and pastries were laid out on a long table in the courtyard, and Lin Rou was left sitting on the table.
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