The wind carried the heat of early summer. Yu Jiuyuan sat in the leather chair in the student council office, her fingertips tapping absentmindedly on the table, her gaze fixed on the row of phoenix flowers in full bloom outside the window.
Two documents were spread out on the table: one was the student council's activity plan for next week, and the other was the Yu Group's strategic adjustment plan for the new quarter.
She had just signed two documents and glanced at the time on her wrist.
It was four o'clock in the afternoon, two hours before the agreed time to return to the old house.
"President, the car is ready." The secretary's voice rang out from the doorway.
Yu Jiuyuan hummed in agreement, and as she stood up, she casually picked up the suit jacket draped over the back of the chair, her movements swift and decisive.
As she reached the door, she bumped into Rong Shenghan carrying two glasses of lemonade. Seeing that she was about to leave, a barely perceptible hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes: "Going out?"
“Hmm,” Yu Jiuyuan took the water glass he handed her, tilted her head back and took a sip. The cool liquid slid down her throat, suppressing some of the fatigue from the past few days. “Come with me somewhere.”
Rong Shenghan raised an eyebrow: "Not using the student council's car?"
"No need, drive my car."
Yu Jiuyuan smiled and gently pinched his wrist with her fingertips. "Let's go to the old house for dinner."
Rong Shenghan paused in his steps.
He wasn't unfamiliar with the reputation of the Yu family's old residence; it was the true foundation of the Yu family, home to several highly respected elders, a place that Yu Jiuyuan was always reluctant to mention.
The implication of her offering to take him along at that moment was self-evident.
He quickly concealed the surprise in his eyes, and a gentle smile appeared on his lips: "Okay."
There were no extra questions, no deliberate tension, just a calm acceptance, as if it were just an ordinary dinner.
Looking at him like this, Yu Jiuyuan's lingering resentment caused by the old house suddenly dissipated. The person she chose always seemed to be able to perfectly handle all her decisions.
The two walked out of the gates of Saint Sakura Academy side by side, where Yu Jiuyuan's black Bentley was already waiting by the roadside.
The driver tried to open the car door for them, but Yu Jiuyuan stopped him with a raised hand: "You go back first, I'll open it myself."
The driver paused for a moment, then quickly bowed and stepped back.
Rong Shenghan naturally opened the passenger door and sat down, watching Yu Jiuyuan walk around to the driver's seat and lightly tap the steering wheel twice with her fingertips as she started the car.
"The people in the old house... are not easy to deal with."
Yu Jiuyuan looked straight ahead, her tone indifferent, as if she were talking about something unimportant, "You don't need to rush to answer their questions, just watch my expression."
Rong Shenghan turned his head to look at her. Sunlight streamed through the car window and fell on her face, turning her long eyelashes golden.
Her profile was sharp and clean, her lips pressed into a straight line, and her usual nonchalant laziness was replaced by a calm sharpness.
"Okay," he replied, a smile playing on his lips. "But what I'm more interested in is, how do you plan to introduce me?"
Yu Jiuyuan turned a corner, and the car drove onto an old road lined with sycamore trees on both sides. At the end of the road, a cluster of buildings with blue bricks and gray tiles could be vaguely seen.
She turned her head and met Rong Shenghan's eyes. In those eyes, which always held a hint of unpredictable amusement, her image was now clearly reflected.
“My people,” she said, emphasizing each word with unwavering certainty, “that’s all.”
Rong Shenghan laughed, his eyes shining like shattered stars: "That's enough."
The car slowly drove into the gate of the old house. Several well-dressed servants were already standing at the gate. When they saw Yu Jiuyuan, they all bowed and greeted her.
Yu Jiuyuan didn't say anything, but led Rong Shenghan straight inside, through the carved beams and painted rafters of the corridor, and arrived at the entrance of the main hall.
Several elderly people were sitting in the main hall. The one in the lead was an old lady with gray hair, who was leaning on a dragon-headed cane. She was the great-grandmother of the Yu family, who was the most senior member of the family at the time.
Her gaze fell on Rong Shenghan behind Yu Jiuyuan, scrutinizing him, and she slowly asked, "Jiuyuan, who is this?"
Yu Jiuyuan walked up to her great-grandmother and stood there, nodding slightly in a manner that was neither humble nor arrogant: "Great-grandmother, elders, this is Rong Shenghan."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over everyone present, and clearly repeated, "The person I've chosen."
After he finished speaking, the main hall fell silent.
The elderly people's expressions varied, some showing surprise, some dissatisfaction, and others observing them with a calm demeanor.
Great-grandmother tapped her cane lightly on the ground, making a dull sound: "A child of the Rong family? How come I've never heard of such a person in the Rong family?"
Rong Shenghan stepped forward, a perfectly polite smile on his face: "Junior Rong Shenghan has been living abroad and only recently returned to China."
His tone was calm, without any deliberate attempt to curry favor or the slightest hint of cowardice, as he accepted everyone's scrutiny with equanimity.
Yu Jiuyuan glanced at him sideways, a hint of approval flashing in her eyes.
"Returned from abroad?" The second grandfather beside the great-grandmother frowned. "Jiuyuan, you are the heir of the Yu family. How can your marriage be treated so lightly? This Rong family boy..."
“Second Grandfather,” Yu Jiuyuan interrupted him, her tone still calm but with an undeniable firmness, “I have never taken this matter lightly. I brought him here not to ask for your opinions, but simply to let you all know that Rong Shenghan is someone who will stand with me, Yu Jiuyuan, from now on.”
Her gaze fell on her great-grandmother's face, and she said, word by word, "I will soon be the head of the Yu family. I will naturally make my own decisions. If any of you elders think there is anything wrong with him, you can bring it up, but whether you listen or not is up to me."
These words were almost a blatant declaration, disregarding the rules and authority of the Yu family's old residence.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
