Chapter 103
It turned out that at the party that day, Yu Xueli had found a moment to chat with Larine alone. Larine was initially overjoyed, but she quickly realized that Yu Xueli was there to pronounce her death sentence. She already knew the nature of their relationship.
She loves him.
He didn't love her; he only loved Su Wenqiang.
But besides loving him, she also loved the version of herself that loved him.
Because of Yu Xueli, Shu Zili became better and more purposeful. She had finally found a new world, and was terrified that it would collapse again with Yu Xueli's departure. She had no desire to return to her past life of idleness and decadence.
“But Larine, you’ve already done so well. You don’t need to depend on anyone else; this transformed you can continue to exist.” She was actually just lacking in confidence, not certain enough. But after spending so much time together, they all clearly saw that Larine had completely transformed. “Even your daddy keeps praising you, doesn’t he? We’re all proud of you!”
"Waaah—Iris—" The familiar sobbing continued, the lingering affection still unyielding. Iris thought this time would be like the previous times—a good cry, then it would be over, and she would move on to love again. But fate intervened; the accumulation of tears finally led to a qualitative change. Larine brought a completely different ending: "Can I really do it?"
"Of course!" Iris couldn't be more certain. Once you've made up your mind, nothing is impossible. Larine will definitely become a better version of herself and will meet a partner a thousand times better than Yu Xueli.
She suddenly chuckled, "You mean Ah Xing? The one who's even better than Yu Xueli?"
Iris was stunned.
Larine wiped away her tears and laughed: "During that meeting at the nursing home, he said that it was you who asked him to go."
As expected, people's nicknames are never wrong. Iris covered her eyes; there really were some people who were as stupid as stones. But this was also Xie Jiaxing's advantage: "In this respect, he is better than Yu Xueli."
Larine still chose to refuse: "Whether it's good or bad, I'm not considering it for now. I've decided that I want to love myself and I want to change myself."
This is naturally a better result, and they should all applaud it.
As they chatted, lunch break passed quickly. Just before class started, Iris remembered that her original intention was to ask about new energy investment. Wu Zuxing spoke with great confidence, his words implying that the natural gas project would definitely be won. She just wanted to know if Uncle Shu was involved behind the scenes.
Without it, Jacob would probably get rotten eggs thrown at him on the street...
When she got home, she told Jennie about it, guessing that after half a day, her mother probably knew more about the situation. Sure enough, Jennie had already spoken to Shu Qida on the phone. She instructed her younger daughter, "Uncle Shu rejected the Tier 1 Energy cooperation plan, but he didn't expect Jacob to come to Wu Zuxing on his own initiative. By the time he received the news, it was too late to turn back. But your uncle thinks it's good for Jacob to use this experience to learn something. Once he realizes he can't get the natural gas development rights, he'll know his limitations and might not act rashly in the future."
To be honest, that "maybe" is a bit far-fetched. And Iris saw the same thought in her mother's eyes. She tentatively said, "Mommy, I'm afraid Jacob will get more and more involved."
Jennie understood immediately: "Then you should lend a hand when you need to, in your own name."
Iris couldn't help but suspect that her parents also had a desire to discipline their child, especially emphasizing the latter part of the sentence, clearly indicating that even if she caused trouble, they would have a way to handle it. This gave her a headache; how much to help and how to help were both difficult questions. However, it was good that Jennie had spoken up early, making it public, giving Iris more options to consider and ensuring she wouldn't be powerless to help when the time came. After all, if Jacob really got into trouble, she couldn't just ignore it. He was a friend, and also a memory of Ella left in this world.
Shu Ziming's identity was enough to boost investor confidence. The stock market became even more active, and news reports indicated that many people were mortgaging their homes to raise funds, hoping to get a share of this "citywide spectacle." Human greed knows no bounds; Iris will likely be making headlines again soon, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan's brothers will be busy once more.
"Hey, hey, hey," Zhuang Zhuoyuan quickly covered his mouth, "Wife, you can say that to me, but in this industry, it's a bit of a taboo." Everyone is afraid of working overtime, especially in their special industry, doing more work is not a good thing.
But now it's clear that the higher you jump, the harder you fall. Iris didn't care if she would be seen as a bad person anymore. She knelt down in front of her husband very seriously and asked, "Did you tell everyone to stop? Before the results from Malaysia come out, it's still not too late to get off the bus."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan didn't answer directly, but instead asked about the situation on her end. The two looked at each other and immediately understood the answer. Iris couldn't help but feel dejected: "It seems we'll have to prepare some money for an emergency this time."
The fear is that there's no way to save them all. Zhuang Zhuoyuan recalled the agreement Edward made with them when he married Iris: they could provide assistance in times of poverty and emergency, but they couldn't be a constant source of security for others. His initial understanding of this was based on witnessing the experiences of other cross-class sons-in-law in this circle, a conjecture about the distance required to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship. To put it simply, the higher-class party would consciously control the rights of the married partner for the benefit of their children and family, including but not limited to the allocation of assets and job arrangements. He had accompanied Iris to high-society events and seen several people maintain a facade of success, and had even heard of "outsiders" who, despite being married for years, were never allowed to attend. Iris had only told him these things as gossip, but Zhuang Zhuoyuan couldn't help feeling uneasy, unsure if he was considered an outsider unqualified to handle internal affairs in his in-laws' eyes. The people in this unfamiliar circle were all such good actors; even after years of being a discerning police officer, he sometimes couldn't distinguish between genuine and feigned sincerity. The only thing he was certain of was that Edward and Jennie weren't particularly happy when Iris first mentioned marriage and her pregnancy to her parents.
"That's because I was pregnant out of wedlock, and they were afraid you were lying to me!" One day, after confirming that his in-laws truly considered him family, Zhuang Zhuoyuan finally told his wife about his initial concerns. Iris, surprised at her own neglect of her husband's emotions, couldn't help but scold him: "Why are you thinking so much? Our family is different from others! Those who are wary of their sons-in-law are just afraid he'll have ulterior motives and run off with the family fortune. Your character, profession, status, and family are all perfect. Given time, Daddy and Mommy will definitely understand and accept you. How could you think such things? Why didn't you ask me!"
Zhuang Zhuoyuan had also learned to joke about himself at that time: "You have to give me some time to get used to being a son-in-law of a wealthy family."
After calming down, he didn't think about Edward's words for a long time. Until today, he suddenly understood his father-in-law's meaning: a little kindness is appreciated, but too much breeds resentment; one should never overestimate human nature. And those who, despite their reminders, remain stubbornly deluded in this chaos, how are they any different from gamblers?
“BB, I think we need to think about this carefully.”
Quite a few people wisely backed out, like Su Wenqiang. Before Iris could even ask, he had already withdrawn his funds and was preparing to buy a car with his small windfall. Iris had mentioned this plan when she gave her the edited DVD, but more than a week had passed and there was still no sign of a new car. When she arrived at the car dealership at my invitation, she joked with Su Wenqiang, who was waiting for her at the entrance, "Why didn't you call your honey to come with you?"
Su Wenqiang chuckled and lifted her chin: "Can't you replace her with your bastard?" Men and women always have different perspectives when it comes to choosing a car. Asking Iris to help you choose one is definitely a good idea, especially since she has already brought Yu Xueli here once. As for him, he will only cause trouble.
When a customer walks in, the salesperson usually asks about their needs before making recommendations. Even when promoting new products, they will usually choose a few popular models to introduce. However, as soon as Su Wenqiang walked in, the salesperson naturally came over to tell her that a new seven-seater had arrived at the store, which made Iris take notice.
"Qiang, you don't want me to compare our family's nanny van, do you?" You know, if Tangyuanzai hadn't been born, they wouldn't have added this big car to their garage.
Her gaze had already drifted to Su Wenqiang's lower abdomen. Su Wenqiang felt embarrassed and hurriedly clarified, "I just wanted to buy an SUV for transportation. It was all just Ah Li joking around last time."
“Looks like little Yu Xueli is getting impatient,” Iris teased gossipily. “So, when is he going to propose to you? It’s a pity our Tangyuan can’t walk yet, otherwise she could be your flower girl.”
“You’re taking this way too far.” After dismissing the shop assistant, Su Wenqiang took Iris around the store. The two talked about cars and her relationship status: “We’re pretty stable right now, but from my point of view, we’re not considering having children yet.”
Iris expressed her understanding: "That's right. You've only just become a Flying Tiger. If you get pregnant at this time, you'll basically have to say goodbye to the SDU."
See, this is the tacit understanding between women, unlike Yu Xueli, who only says that if she waits any longer she will become an elderly mother. Su Wenqiang nodded vigorously a few times, gaining more confidence from Iris's support: "Anyway, I have told him my thoughts, and he did not force me, so let's just let nature take its course."
"Let nature take its course," Iris was a little afraid to hear this phrase. She couldn't help but remind her friends: "Do you know how Tangyuan came about? Ah Yuan and I were just too natural back then, which is why Tangyuan came so easily. The human body is really amazing. Apart from menstruation, I think every day is a dangerous period. So if you really don't want a child right now, you must tell Ah Li to take precautions, starting from the first day after your period ends."
Su Wenqiang was shocked: "Was Tangyuan's accident really that unexpected?" She herself had studied nursing and knew the probability described in books, but this was the first time she had encountered such a real-life example.
Iris was also helpless: "Maybe God was going to give me and Ayuan this gift. You know, after I got together with Ayuan, he took very good care of me. At that time, I was busy with work and my schedule was irregular, so my endocrine system was probably out of balance. Before we knew it, our little dumpling came secretly."
In modern society, many women suffer from irregular menstruation. Hearing her say that, Su Wenqiang realized the danger was indeed greatly increased. She really needed to give Yu Xueli a good talking-to when she got home, otherwise all her plans would be disrupted. Right now, they really would have to buy a seven-seater instead of a four-seater. And their accidents would certainly be harder to handle than Iris's.
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