Min Xi looked up at him, with a smile twinkling in her eyes.
Fu Yanzhou rarely saw her smile like this, which was full of satisfaction and a bit of coquettishness.
Her father-in-law is home today and she looks happier than usual.
In their own little home, she had never had such a relaxed look on her face. Most of the time, she had a sullen face and looked like she wanted to find fault with him. She was completely different from now.
Min Xi's plate was piled high with food, so she asked her father and brother not to put more food on her plate as she couldn't finish it.
She didn't really like eating meat, she usually ate more fish and shrimp, but she still picked up the piece of meat and put it in her mouth.
As a courtesy, she intended to pick up some food for Fu Yanzhou, so she put down her own chopsticks and reached out to take the serving chopsticks next to her, but Min Ting took them away first and put them where she couldn't reach.
Min Xi: “…”
She glanced at Min Ting, but Min Ting acted as if nothing had happened and didn't even look at her.
Under the table, she gently kicked her brother to ask him to give her the serving chopsticks.
Min Ting picked up the serving chopsticks, but used them himself, picked up some food and put it on her plate.
Her father was there, so she couldn't fight with Min Ting for food at the table.
Fu Yanzhou saw the secret rivalry between the brother and sister. He asked Min Xi, "Do you want serving chopsticks?"
"Yes." Min Xi took it with a smile.
Min Ting glanced at Fu Yanzhou dimly, and Fu Yanzhou raised his eyes indifferently and gave him a cold look in return.
Min Xi didn't expect that they couldn't have a peaceful meal. In order to avoid further conflicts, she decided not to serve food to either of them. After all, there was a sequence of orders and it was impossible for them to serve food at the same time.
She only picked up some food for her father.
Fu Yanzhou kept waiting for Min Xi to pick up some food for him, but she didn't get any food for him until she put down her chopsticks.
Min Jiangyuan vaguely sensed that his son and son-in-law were not getting along, so he poured them both another half glass of red wine: "You two drink one each."
No one wanted to toast the other first, let alone speak to the other first.
Fu Yanzhou and Min Ting replied to Min Jiangyuan almost at the same time:
"We are all family, there is no need to be so formal."
"You are not an outsider. There is no need to be polite."
Min Jiangyuan couldn't do anything about them, so he picked up the wine glass, first clinked it with Fu Yanzhou's glass, and then clinked it with his son's.
"I'm usually busy, thank you for taking care of Xixi."
Fu Yanzhou: "Dad, you're welcome. It's my duty."
Min Ting said, "Dad, no one is taking care of Xixi. She is now on a business trip and takes care of herself. She even makes her own breakfast."
Fu Yanzhou: “…”
He tilted his head slightly to drink, glancing at Min Ting out of the corner of his eye.
Fortunately, at this time Min Xi's cell phone rang and a video call came in, interrupting their confrontation.
"Work call?" Min Jiangyuan asked.
"No. It's my mom calling."
An hour ago, she sent a message to her mother, asking if she had finished her work and if she was tired. Her mother just replied now.
Min Xi wiped his hands and connected the video.
My mother appeared on the screen. She must have just returned to the hotel where she was staying. She was still wearing her work clothes and had not taken off the work ID hanging in front of her white shirt.
The mother is always elegant and intellectual, but her shoulder-length hair always remains exquisite and pleasing to the eye.
When he looked at her with a smile, his eyes were bright and gentle.
"Eating noodles? Don't you dislike noodles?"
The mother's sweet and gentle voice came from the video.
Min Xi pointed the camera at his bowl and said, "My dad made wonton noodles. The salt was just right today. It finally stopped choking my throat."
Jiang Rui smiled: "Really?"
Min Xi never hesitated to praise his father in front of his mother: "Well, Dad's cooking skills have improved by leaps and bounds recently. When you come back from your business trip, let Dad cook for you."
Jiang Rui hasn't seen her husband for a long time. She and her husband haven't met for as long as her daughter's marriage.
"Mom, when are you going to have dinner? With your coworkers?"
"Well, we have to discuss work while eating."
"Then talk to Dad for a while."
Before Jiang Rui could say anything, she heard her husband's voice coming from the other end of the phone. He said to his daughter, "No need to chat. Tell your mother to go eat."
Before Min Jiangyuan could finish his words, his daughter had already stuffed the phone into his hand.
With his son-in-law and son still there, Min Jiangyuan had no choice but to pick up his phone. He and his wife never had video chats, they would just call when there was something, and they rarely even sent messages.
璍
He asked his wife about her recent work and meetings.
Jiang Rui looked at her husband on the screen with a serious expression. He had been in a high position for a long time, and when he spoke to her it felt like a leader inspecting the work, and there was no trace of the concern that should exist between husband and wife.
After chatting for less than two minutes, Min Jiangyuan said he would not delay her meal and ended the video.
Her father put the phone next to her. Min Xi turned her head and looked at her father meaningfully.
"What's wrong?" Min Jiangyuan smiled and asked calmly.
"Do you usually talk to your mother about work in this tone?"
"Aren't you all here next to me?"
For the first time in his life, Min Jiangyuan felt guilty.
Because I lied to my daughter.
He and his wife always use a similar tone when talking about work, so his daughter thought that he and his wife had a very close relationship, but that was not the case.
Min Xi breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. I'll explain to mom later that you're embarrassed to be so gentle in front of us. Dad, let me tell you, the tone you used when talking to mom just now was exactly the same tone I, as Party A, use when talking to me, condescendingly."
"Which Party A?"
Min Jiangyuan and Min Ting asked in unison, their eyes fixed on her.
Fu Yanzhou roughly guessed who it was, Sheng Jianqi from Shengshi Technology.
Min Xi lied: "A former client from abroad."
I didn't expect their focus to be like this.
"Don't talk about me. Dad, don't change the subject."
Min Jiangyuan kept smiling: "I didn't change the subject. Okay, I'll listen to you. Dad will pay attention next time." He corrected: "It won't happen again."
Min Ting lowered his head and ate in silence.
In the eyes of outsiders, the relationship between parents is deep and strong, but in reality it is not the case. As a teenager he once caught his parents arguing in their room.
His parents thought he and his sister were playing outside and would not be home for a while, so the door was not closed tightly and the sound of their quarrel could be clearly heard from the room.
If he hadn't heard it with his own ears, he wouldn't have believed that his usually gentle mother would lose her composure and throw a tantrum.
Only then did he realize that his father did not love his mother.
For him and his sister, they had been creating the illusion of a harmonious relationship.
So when his sister wanted to arrange a marriage, he strongly opposed it. He was not sure how much his sister liked Fu Yanzhou, but she definitely had a good impression of him.
He didn't want his sister to be like their mother and live an unhappy life.
But my sister didn't listen at all.
At this point, he could only be extra nice to his sister. He tried his best to make up for what Fu Yanzhou couldn't do, but he also knew that the goodness of family affection could not replace the goodness of love.
--
On the way back from his father-in-law's house, Fu Yanzhou looked sideways at Min Xi from time to time. She had been looking at the information on her tablet since she got in the car. She had a pen and a workbook in her hands, and she was drawing on the workbook while looking.
He glanced at her workbook, which contained a diagram of the press conference site.
Thinking about the video conversation at the dinner table in the evening about the tone of voice his father-in-law and mother-in-law used when talking about work, he was not sure what kind of image he had in Min Xi's mind.
He asked, "When I talked to you about work, was I condescending, like a leader talking to a subordinate?"
Min Xi stopped writing and turned to look at him: "Have you talked to me about work?"
Fu Yanzhou was speechless for a moment.
Apart from the time when Chu Yi intercepted her project, he indeed had never asked about her work. He even learned about her promotion to project director from Secretary Bai.
Compared to this, he is not as good as his father-in-law.
Min Xi eased the atmosphere: "It's different from other industries. You don't understand how we operate."
The topic was passed over.
She lowered her head and continued to think about how to arrange the seats for the media, especially the front rows, which required a lot of attention.
"I will be flying to Jiangcheng frequently in the next few months. Lingyu New Materials is selecting a site there. There are three phases in total."
Fu Yanzhou took the initiative to talk about his itinerary.
Min Xi was a little flattered. She looked up and met his deep eyes. She smiled and said, "Are you reporting to me?"
Fu Yanzhou thought about it and decided to answer according to her wishes. He nodded: "I guess so."
Min Xi requested again: "Then report frequently what you are busy with in the future."
"Okay." Fu Yanzhou rested his chin on his hand, his posture relaxed, and asked, "What's the frequency? How often do you report?"
Min Xi looked at him and said, "I don't mind reporting twice a day."
She felt that it was not enough for him to call her twice a day.
Fu Yanzhou smiled and thought she was just talking casually, so he naturally didn't take it seriously.
"If you have time to learn how to drive in reverse on the weekend, tell me in advance, or contact Secretary Bai."
Min Xi was looking through the information and responded.
She couldn't guarantee a certain day when she would be free, as work could come at any time. She was different from him, as he was the boss and could manage his own time.
The list of media invited to the press conference also needs to be finalized this week.
On Friday afternoon, a second discussion meeting was held with the Media Department.
Yan Yinnan projected the remaining media list on the big screen. She used to have the final say unconsciously, but after Yu Chengtan pointed it out many times, she changed a little.
Today she spoke and let them express their opinions.
The atmosphere of today's meeting was quieter than last time.
Yan Yinan is taciturn, so other people in the media department dare not be too active.
Min Xi's expression remained calm. She had experienced the same scene before when she was meeting with Sheng Jianqi. The atmosphere was even more awkward than now, but she could remain calm then, let alone now.
If they didn't express their opinions, she would take the initiative to ask about things she didn't understand.
Since she asked, Yan Yinan had no choice but to answer.
The three-hour meeting was quite fruitful.
After the meeting, Min Xi worked overtime until 9:30 in the evening to finalize the media list and sent it to Yu Chengtan.
Yu Chengtan quickly replied: [At home or in the office? 】
Min Xi opened the WeChat dialog box: [At the company. 】
Yu Chengtan: [I’m here too, come up and discuss this face to face. 】
Min Xi turned off the computer, took his phone and went upstairs.
The lights in the president's office were on, and Ju Youyou and several other secretaries had not yet left work.
When they arrived at Yu Chengtan's office, he was making coffee and asked her if she wanted a cup.
After a pause, he said, "Forget it, it's too late for coffee."
He poured Min Xi a glass of water and didn't drink any more coffee himself.
Yu Chengtan sat down at the table, on which was the list of media to be invited that he had just printed out.
He asked with concern: "How was the communication with Yan Yinan?"
"Good."
Yu Chengtan put down his teacup, picked up the list and looked at it. He printed two copies and gave one to Min Xi.
After reading and discussing it together and going through the list, I was quite satisfied with the cooperation between her and Yan Yinan.
"Min Xi, let go of your prejudices against others, so that you can go further, understand?"
"I know. Thank you, Mr. Yu."
She would only listen to such words if they were spoken by Yu Chengtan.
Yu Chengtan looked at his watch and realized that an hour had passed without him noticing.
"Send the list to Shengshi Technology on Monday and see if they have any other requirements. We will do our best to meet them. It's getting late. You should go back. Be careful on the road."
Putting away the list, he reminded again: "Have a good rest at home during the weekend."
Min Xi stood up. She would only chat with Yu Chengtan about topics other than work after get off work.
"No time to rest. I plan to learn how to drive in reverse."
Yu Chengtan thought he had misheard: "Learning to drive in reverse?"
Min Xi nodded: "Reverse, you heard it right."
Yu Chengtan thought it was interesting, but he didn't understand her sometimes thought process. He said with a smile: "You have a driver, or you can change to a car that can park automatically. Self-driving cars will gradually mature. Why are you wasting your time?"
Min Xi said: "Fu Yanzhou said that my reversing skills are too poor and he wants to teach me how to practice."
Since it was a decision made between them, Yu Chengtan didn't say anything more.
He changed the topic and said, "It's okay to practice. It will be convenient if you can reverse by yourself. You also like to drive your SUV."
Min Xi had not originally planned to learn it as it was time-consuming and laborious, but learning reverse parking for half a day a week would give her another opportunity to get along with and understand Fu Yanzhou, and she didn't want to give up.
After chatting for a while, she said goodbye.
【work overtime? 】
Min Xi had just entered the elevator when Fu Yanzhou's message came in.
She typed quickly: [Okay, I'll be right back. Are you home? 】
Fu Yanzhou: [Just arrived. 】
The car had just driven into the yard a minute ago and he hadn't gotten out yet.
Just as he replied, Chu Yi called.
Chu Yi has always been a man of action. Last time he said he would find time to have a dinner together and asked the couple to come over, so he wanted to arrange it this week.
"When is Min Xi free?"
Fu Yanzhou pushed the door open and got out of the car. "She hasn't come back yet. I'll ask her when she comes back."
"Then I'll wait for your call. If I'm free tomorrow night, I'll book a hotel now." He hung up the phone neatly.
Fu Yanzhou went back to the bedroom upstairs, took a shower and read a few emails before Min Xi came back.
Hearing footsteps outside, he walked out of the study.
The first thing Min Xi said when she saw him was, "I'm free all day tomorrow. You can learn reverse driving in the afternoon or in the morning. It's up to you."
Fu Yanzhou planned to let her sleep early: "Study in the afternoon."
"My classmates are having a dinner party tomorrow night and we are asking you to bring your family members. Do you want to go?"
Min Xi was silent for a moment. If Zhu Youran was there, she would not go.
She inquired, "Who are they? Do I know them?"
Fu Yanzhou: "I don't know him. Only Chu Yi you may have heard of."
It would be fine if Zhu Youran didn’t go. She didn’t want to meet Zhu Youran.
She agreed: "Okay, I'll go with you."
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