Chapter 35: Long Qi vs. Eighth Boss, Boss Wavers, Xing Mian Takes a Risky Move...
Uncle Shen smiled and nodded. "Hello, please come in."
After entering the house, Ayu placed the fruit on the side cabinet in the entryway. Her aunt was still cooking in the kitchen and hadn't come out yet, so she went to the kitchen door, pushed the sliding door open a crack, and poked her head in: "Hello, Auntie~ We're here. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Mother Shen: "No, I've almost finished here. Xiao Xu can just sit in the living room."
Throughout her conversation, Shen's mother avoided eye contact with Xu Zhiyu, keeping her head down and busy with her own affairs. Even when she went out to get something, she wouldn't look up at Xu Zhiyu. Although there was nothing wrong with what she said, Xu Zhiyu always felt a little awkward sitting in the Shen family's house.
She sat down on the sofa as instructed. Some delicate fruit was laid out on the coffee table. There was a fat, fierce blue cat in the house; it was the only one who would rub against people, never letting anyone touch it. Ayu, who was usually close to stray cats, felt a surge of affection upon seeing the cat and tried to reach out to pet it, but the blue cat glared at her fiercely. She suddenly felt a little disappointed, though she couldn't quite put her finger on why.
Uncle Shen came over and chatted with her for a few minutes, asking her how the supermarket business was going, what her future plans were, and whether she wanted to open a branch or franchise a store.
These questions left her somewhat at a loss, because she really hadn't thought about the future. The shop was doing very well, and her parents and she were all living a stable and happy life. She hadn't considered opening a branch, much less joining another chain store.
She gave a perfunctory answer, clearly not wanting to discuss the topic.
This made the already tense and awkward atmosphere even more anxious.
Shen Siqing was called to the kitchen by his mother to help, and he hasn't come out yet. Ayu looked towards the kitchen several times, feeling extremely uneasy, hoping that he would come out soon and not leave her alone with his father in the same space.
After a while, they started serving the dishes.
Watching them come and go, Xu Zhiyu felt helpless. She wanted to help, but she didn't know if it was appropriate.
In the end, she helped, so he wouldn't just stand there like a block of wood.
Most of the dishes on the table were seafood, such as crabs, fish, and shrimp. The dish closest to her was stir-fried lotus root slices. Shen Siqing knew that lotus root was the vegetable that Xu Zhiyu disliked the most.
Uncle Shen opened the red wine and poured it for everyone. Ayu felt it was inappropriate for an elder to pour her wine, so she quickly stood up and held the glass with both hands. However, the wine was accidentally spilled, making her feel even more embarrassed.
Before picking up her chopsticks, she clinked glasses with her elders. The two elders looked at her with forced smiles and said, "Welcome."
So Xu Zhiyu could only awkwardly reply, "Thank you."
The rest of the meal was dominated by the two elders talking about Shen Siqing. He worked for a state-owned enterprise, and his parents were very concerned about his not-too-busy job, offering him advice and suggestions, such as which leader they had invited to dinner before, and which leader they should invite next if he wanted to be promoted.
This is completely different from Ah Yu's previous work experience. In the past, she had to rely on her own strength and performance to get promoted. But after listening to the conversation between Shen Siqing's parents and him, she sadly realized that in such a family, strength is something that doesn't need to be mentioned at all, because interpersonal relationships are enough, and strength is insignificant.
This turned her once-proud work ability into a joke.
Ah Qing hadn't told her about these work-related matters that his uncle and aunt discussed. He explained them in great detail, and she listened attentively. He shared all the minor difficulties, obvious logic, and problems that could be solved without much thought with his parents, and he always received perfect praise. No wonder he had such a good personality; with such cheerful parents, he naturally thought he was the best in every way.
Mr. Xu found this meal particularly difficult to endure.
The other party was probably used to serving, but after having the cheerful and talkative Boss Xu serve like this for several hours, she only felt chest tightness and anxiety, sometimes spacing out, sometimes sighing quietly.
She gradually began to understand her father's words. This kind of life was not suitable for her at all. Was she going to live such a restrictive life from now on?
She used to think that she and Aqing were a match made in heaven, but now when she turned to look at him, she seemed to see a chasm between them and didn't know how to cross it.
After the meal, Auntie looked through the fruit Ah Yu had brought and murmured, "We're often not home, so it's a waste if we can't finish this fruit. Why don't you take it home and eat it?"
Shen Siqing said, "If you're going to work, then take the food to your workplace. I bought it for you. If we want to eat, we'll buy it ourselves. You can keep it."
Even now, Ah Yu still doesn't understand why she was unhappy with today's meal.
Until, by chance—
Shen's friend returned from out of town and invited Shen and Yu to dinner. Coincidentally, the day he invited was the same day that Aunt Shen had invited Yu to the Shen family for dinner again. Upon hearing this, Aunt Shen simply asked Shen Siqing to invite his friend to her home for dinner as well.
Shen Siqing's friend is named Bai Yue. His family runs a business and has quite a bit of money. Bai Yue brought his girlfriend Xiao Yi with him when he came. They arrived later than Shen Yu and his wife. It was their first time visiting Shen Siqing's home to meet the two elders. They brought several beautifully packaged fruits and health products.
When Ah Yu saw the gifts they brought, she immediately realized that she had made a mistake last time.
She realized that gifts like this should be presented in a box to appear more respectable, and she secretly regretted it, but could only sigh helplessly.
When Bai Yue arrived at the door with Xiao Yi, Aunt Shen was still preparing dinner. However, upon hearing the noise outside, she quickly came out of the kitchen, looked Bai Yue's girlfriend up and down, and then glanced at the bag on the cabinet. Her eyes and brows were full of enthusiasm: "Oh my, this is Bai Yue's girlfriend? She's so beautiful!"
Then, noticing the gift boxes they had placed down, she made a coquettish face and said, "You came all this way, why did you bring anything?"
Bai Yue: "I just bought a little bit, I hope your uncle and aunt won't mind."
Xiaoyi greeted the two elders, then stood next to Ayu and asked softly, "Did Auntie go to the kitchen to cook? Do we need to go in and help?"
All those scenes had just happened, and Ah Yu understood immediately why she hadn't enjoyed that meal last time.
Ayu replied to Xiaoyi, "No need, let's sit in the living room and wait. You don't need to be so polite."
Uncle Shen didn't sit down, and Bai Yue and Xiao Yi also stood politely to the side. A Yu had taken it all in stride and didn't want to continue feeling awkward, so she sat down on the sofa first, ate the washed strawberries, and said, "Please sit down and have some fruit."
Xiao Yi only dared to sit down next to A Yu after A Yu sat down first.
This meal became even more bizarre. Ayu was Shen Siqing's girlfriend, but his aunt and uncle were more concerned about Xiaoyi. Xiaoyi was still pursuing her master's degree, and they asked her where she was doing her master's and where she had studied abroad for her undergraduate degree.
Aunt Shen: "Since the family isn't short of money, why not finish your master's degree and then pursue a doctorate together! I'm the one who strongly advocates that girls should study more and not just stay at home without working."
Xiaoyi chatted happily with them.
Aunt Shen said that she thought Xiao Yi was an ambitious businesswoman, but she didn't know that Xiao Yi was actually very gentle and followed her family's arrangements in everything. Even when she was dating and getting engaged to Bai Yue, she obeyed her parents. If her parents thought it was good, then she thought it was good too. She was not the kind of girl who could make her own decisions.
Because of Aunt Shen's cold and distant attitude towards A Yu, she also lost interest in the two elders of the Shen family. She focused on eating and no longer wanted to participate in their hypocritical conversations.
Ah Qing was still good to me, but marriage is not just a matter between two people.
She wavered.
.
Shanghai.
After looking at the properties under the Lin family, some could be sold after some fiddling, but in general, they didn't truly belong to him in name. Selling the houses was understandable, since they were gifts from his father, so they were his property. But the other properties couldn't be sold off casually.
Xingmian asked several well-connected friends for ways to make quick money.
The ideas that came up were of varying quality, but one of them stood out.
[My second uncle's place often has people betting on football. If you're skilled enough, you can make money really fast—one million per cent. Do the math yourself. But this can't be discussed publicly; it's inconvenient to talk on the phone. Let's arrange a time to meet and discuss it.]①
Information about my friend Yu Xuan.
The betting he was referring to was golf betting. His second uncle owned a golf course, and betting on sports was a common form of entertainment. However, the amount involved was clearly too high, making it something that absolutely could not be publicized. But compared to other methods, this was indeed a way to make money quickly and easily.
Why do we say that we can control it ourselves?
Because ultimately, it comes down to skill, not luck.
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Author's Note: Please note
① Golf betting is a form of entertainment, but excessive amounts are not legitimate means. For the sake of the plot, this statement is made hereby, and it should not be encouraged or imitated. Readers are asked to maintain a critical attitude.
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