Chapter 310 Stealing the Zhou Family's Most Beautiful Flower
A smile quickly appeared on Zhou Huaiyan's face. He said, "Today is a big day for our Yaoyao. Nothing is more important than Yaoyao. Today, your brother will stay by Yaoyao's side and not go anywhere else."
He then added meaningfully, "Moreover, on a day like today, there are countless people outside who covet my sister, Zhou Huaiyan. Of course, I have to keep a close eye on Yaoyao to prevent any ill-intentioned people from taking advantage of her."
Jiang Xingyao said, "Brother, you're exaggerating. Everyone knows I'm remarried now, nobody would..."
“Yaoyao, you have to understand the feelings of an older brother. Don’t go anywhere today, just stay by my side,” Zhou Huaiyan said.
Yao Yao always habitually overlooks her own excellence.
Even without the Zhou family as her backing, her current achievements in the piano world alone would attract countless people eager to pursue her.
Zhou Huaiyan held this family reunion banquet simply to give his sister the respect due to the Zhou family, not to let those sluts from the outside world harass her.
"Okay, I'll do whatever you say, brother." Jiang Xingyao felt that Zhou Huaiyan seemed to be more worried about her than Qu Xinting most of the time.
Even Ji Yunyin, upon learning of Zhou Huaiyan's attitude towards her, joked that Zhou Huaiyan was probably a sister-obsessed brother.
Jiang Xingyao even searched online for the meaning of the term "sister complex." Although Zhou Huaiyan's behavior wasn't as exaggerated as the online comments suggested, it didn't seem too far off.
When the banquet began, Jiang Xingyao entered arm in arm with Zhou Huaiyan.
Zhou Keyuan and Qu Xinting stood on either side of the two, making them look like a family of four.
Today, Jiang Xingyao wore a champagne-colored dress. The swaying of the skirt as she moved resembled the shimmering light in a wine glass, making her look noble and radiant.
The moment she appeared, she became the focus of the entire banquet hall, and even Zhou Huaiyan became a mere foil beside her.
In no time, many people came over with their wine glasses to greet Jiang Xingyao.
But Zhou Huaiyan thwarted all their little tricks.
Zhou Huaiyan's gaze swept coldly over everyone present, his eyes seeming to linger in a certain direction for a moment before quickly returning to his own. He said, "As everyone knows, today is a family reunion banquet held by my Zhou family for my sister, but the purpose of this banquet is only one thing: to tell everyone the identity of my Zhou family's daughter."
From now on, I will not interfere in her social life or marriage. But if I find out who is trying to get close to my sister with ulterior motives, I think everyone knows what I, Zhou Huaiyan, will do.
To put it simply, my sister is innocent and doesn't get involved in any disputes. I also don't want any other dirty thoughts to get involved with her. Anyone who wants to befriend her must come with a sincere heart.
As for today's banquet, I don't want any conflicts of interest to arise. This is a banquet held for my sister, not a place for you to discuss business.
Born into a wealthy family, whether it's a wedding, funeral, or birthday party, everyone has an unspoken purpose when a banquet is held: to make connections and for business benefits.
So many people came here today hoping to curry favor with the Zhou family, but Zhou Huaiyan's words not only dashed their hopes but also drew sighs from the crowd.
Everyone present was deeply moved; Zhou Huaiyan treated his sister, who had appeared out of nowhere, with utmost kindness.
If even social interactions are so strictly vetted, what will happen to marriage in the future...?
It seems being Mr. Zhou's brother-in-law isn't so easy.
Perhaps intimidated by Zhou Huaiyan's words, most of the people who initially swarmed up to talk to Jiang Xingyao dispersed in the blink of an eye.
Those around Jiang Xingyao also seemed terrified, glancing cautiously at Zhou Huaiyan's expression after every few words, afraid that Zhou Huaiyan would think they had ulterior motives and were deliberately trying to befriend her.
Even though everyone else was being careful, Jiang Xingyao felt a bit bored after staying in the banquet hall for so long.
She greeted Zhou Huaiyan and then went to the yard for some fresh air.
There is also a small rose garden in the Zhou family's huge manor.
According to Zhou Huaiyan, those were all planted by Zhou Keyuan himself.
Since the Zhou family moved to the port city, Zhou Keyuan has set aside a piece of land specifically for growing roses.
Jiang Xingyao only learned later that roses were Qu Xinting's favorite flower, so her grandfather liked to grow roses, and she gradually came to like them as well.
Now, in front of that rose garden, Zhou Huaiyan also had a swing set built for Jiang Xingyao.
Jiang Xingyao never told the Zhou family about her past experiences at the Jin family, but it seemed that everyone in the Zhou family knew, and they were all trying to heal the wounds Jiang Xingyao had suffered in their own ways.
Winter is coming again, and the roses have withered once more, but Jiang Xingyao seems to smell a faint rose fragrance in the air.
The swing set swayed slightly, as if it were being gently pushed. Jiang Xingyao turned her head slightly and saw Jin Qingyu standing behind her.
The man's suit was a little disheveled, and the collar of his shirt seemed to be covered in dust. He held a bunch of pale pink roses in his hands, with many petals missing from the edges of the flowers, making them look quite pitiful.
Meeting Jiang Xingyao's gaze, Jin Qingyu simply shoved the flowers from his arms into her hands.
Jiang Xingyao said, "Why do you look so disheveled? Did you steal these flowers from somewhere?"
Jin Qingyu said, "This flower isn't the one, but I do have this plan."
He bent down slightly, looking solemnly into Jiang Xingyao's eyes: "I'm going to steal the Zhou family's roses right now, is that alright?"
At such close proximity, the scent of ebony mingled with the fragrance of roses invaded the nasal cavity.
Jiang Xingyao's face also flushed. She shoved Jin Qingyu, and seeing his disheveled appearance, she immediately knew the answer. She said, "Jin Qingyu, did you sneak in?"
Jin Qingyu said, "Yes, I'm here to steal the Zhou family's most beautiful flower, Yao Yao..."
"No good." Jiang Xingyao said stiffly. She lifted her eyelids, looked to the side, and kindly reminded him, "Jin Qingyu, you'd better leave quickly."
"I haven't picked the flower I want yet, but I won't leave easily. Yao Yao, I've prepared other gifts for you. Shall I take you to see them?"
"President Jin is really something, handling such petty theft so skillfully." Zhou Huaiyan's sarcastic voice rang out as he crossed his arms and looked at Jin Qingyu with a hint of disdain.
Jiang Xingyao also whispered, "I was just about to tell you, my brother was right next to me the whole time."
Although she and Jin Qingyu had nothing going on, Jiang Xingyao felt somewhat embarrassed to have been caught red-handed by Zhou Huaiyan.
Jin Qingyu's lips twitched slightly, but when he turned to face Zhou Huaiyan, he still maintained a self-righteous attitude: "Zhou Huaiyan, are you going to haunt me?"
"Shouldn't I be asking President Jin that question?"
"Do you have an invitation from the Zhou family? You've barged into my Zhou family home using improper means, and now you're even threatening to take my sister away. Mr. Jin, aren't you afraid I'll call the police?"
As Zhou Huaiyan spoke, he walked up to Jiang Xingyao and forcefully separated Jin Qingyu and Jiang Xingyao.
The atmosphere between the two was tense, and it seemed as if there was a gunpowder smoke all around.
Jin Qingyu said, "I'd have to ask President Zhou about that. Does Yaoyao know how childish her brother is? He tricked people into coming with invitations, then blocked them at the door. Does President Zhou not respect me as a business partner, or does he not respect the Jin family?"
Zhou Huaiyan is Jiang Xingyao's brother. Although Jin Qingyu hadn't expected this, it had already become a reality. Logically, if he wanted to win back Jiang Xingyao, he should try to please his brother, Zhou Huaiyan.
But this time, Jin Qingyu showed no sign of backing down.
Zhou Huaiyan was clearly trying to intimidate him. If he kept backing down, the other party would only become more aggressive in the future.
At this point, he needed to let Zhou Huaiyan see his attitude.
Jiang Xingyao had no idea that Zhou Huaiyan had resorted to such childish tactics behind the scenes.
This was actually a trivial matter. Seeing that Jin Qingyu had brought up the Jin family, Jiang Xingyao was worried that things would escalate to an irreversible point, so she quickly tried to smooth things over: "Jin Qingyu, my brother was just joking with you, why do you have to take it to heart?"
Brother, don't take it to heart. He's just talking nonsense, and I didn't intend to go with him.
Zhou Huaiyan's expression was still not very good. Jin Qingyu seized the opportunity and, before he could speak, went along with it: "So it was just a joke. Mr. Zhou's acting skills are really convincing. He even fooled me."
Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, I'll go have a drink with Mr. Zhou.
As he spoke, he put his hand on Zhou Huaiyan's shoulder, acting like they were good buddies.
Zhou Huaiyan frowned and brushed his hand away with disdain, directly exposing him: "Whether it's a joke or not, you know perfectly well in your heart."
Jin Qingyu said, "I'll listen to Yao Yao. If Yao Yao says it's a joke, then it's a joke. Let's go, big brother-in-law."
The last few words Jin Qingyu spoke were quite flirtatious, making Zhou Huaiyan's brow twitch with disgust, and Zhou Huaiyan's hand clenched into a fist.
Jin Qingyu added, "Your brother-in-law probably doesn't want Yao Yao to worry, right? If you have a problem with me, let's talk about it privately, so as not to scare Yao Yao."
This time he lowered his voice so low that only Zhou Huaiyan could hear it.
Taking advantage of Zhou Huaiyan's momentary lapse in concentration, he dragged and pulled Zhou Huaiyan into the banquet hall.
Jiang Xingyao followed behind, unaware of the undercurrents between the two.
But on the surface, they seem to be getting along quite well.
After Jin Qingyu entered the room, he acted very intimately with Zhou Huaiyan.
Furthermore, since many people knew that he was Jiang Xingyao's ex-husband and had been trying to win her back recently, speculation soon arose in the banquet hall, with people suspecting that Jiang Xingyao and Jin Qingyu were considering remarrying.
Even Zhou Huaiyan didn't object, which is why he still seemed so close to Jin Qingyu.
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