Zeng Xinyue's face flushed red at a visible speed. She keenly caught the veiled sarcasm in Lin Chen's words. This young junior, though he didn't say it explicitly, was clearly insulting her! Ever since Li Dalong was promoted in the city, countless people had fawned over her and tried to curry favor with her.
She enjoyed those hidden perks—official travel and overseas trips—which gradually made her arrogant and led her to look down on Li Dalong's poor relatives. Now, it was this very relative she had always despised who was repeatedly slapping her in the face with facts, how could she not be angry?
"Is this how you treat your elders? You're obviously ill-mannered. What kind of future can a student who was expelled from Haizhou University have? In the future, won't he still have to ask us for help to find a job?" Zeng Xinyue said with disdain and undisguised sarcasm.
Seeing this, Li Dalong had no choice but to step in again to stop her. He also felt that his wife was becoming increasingly direct and unreasonable in her speech. However, his intervention seemed to have no effect.
"What, did I say something wrong? If I remember correctly, your sister has asked you for help several times already, right? Every time it was for work-related matters. She's already overwhelmed with her own family, and now there are two more outsiders! She's such a burden, and she only has a high school diploma. If she wants to find a decent job, she still has to ask you for help. Where did I say anything wrong?" Zeng Xinyue said relentlessly.
Li Dalong remained silent for a moment, a silence that clearly indicated his agreement with his wife's words. He knew that after this incident, his relationship with his eldest sister, Liu Xinxin's maternal grandmother, and Liu Xinxin's entire family would definitely be strained.
Liu Xinxin couldn't stand it anymore and stood up for Lin Chen, looking directly at Zeng Xinyue, the elder she had once respected. From that moment on, Liu Xinxin no longer held any place for Zeng Xinyue as a relative, treating her as a complete stranger.
Su Yanan also stood up at this moment. Looking at Zeng Xinyue's arrogant and conceited demeanor, she felt as if she were looking at a clown. Lin Chen needed them to find him a job? What a joke! If they were to reveal Lin Chen's wealth right now, they would be scared to death on the spot!
"Lin Chen earns more money in a day than you can even dream of, more than you could ever earn in a lifetime. You're not even qualified to find him a job! It's absolutely laughable!" Su Yanan said excitedly, unable to bear seeing Lin Chen being looked down upon like this.
At this moment, Su Yanan exuded a cold and imposing aura, her words revealing a hint of emotional agitation. Li Dalong looked at this young yet unbelievably beautiful woman, surprised by her commanding presence. Suddenly, he felt she looked familiar, as if he had seen her on television before.
All eyes turned to Su Yanan, whose emotions were unusually agitated, especially when Lin Chen was mentioned. After all, Lin Chen and Su Yanan were both "outsiders" in this group, so their close alliance was not hard to understand, given their shared plight.
A subtle silence fell over the room.
"Hmph, a little brat, she doesn't even think before she speaks. At such a young age, she's already trying to boast and exaggerate. Look at who she's showing off to." Zeng Xinyue put her hands on her hips, her tone full of disdain and sarcasm.
"You've probably only been to a few tourist attractions, taken a few photos with a peace sign, and you dare to call yourself a travel expert? It's utterly laughable." Upon hearing this, Su Yanan sneered and retorted, "With your limited knowledge, you dare to talk about travel? You're just a frog in a well, ignorant of your own limitations."
"You brat, say that again if you dare!" Zeng Xinyue's anger flared up instantly.
Just as tensions were rising, a loud roar suddenly came from outside the door, attracting everyone's attention. A black Mercedes-Benz G-Class slowly drove into the alley, its massive body almost taking up the entire passageway. After some difficult maneuvering, it finally came to a steady stop in front of Grandma's house.
The car door opened, and a man of about thirty years old stepped out. He was tall and strong, like an iron tower, and was carrying bags of gifts.
"Director Zhao?" Li Dalong's gaze instantly locked onto that person. He had no time to pay attention to the awkward atmosphere at the table and hurriedly got up to greet him, his face full of smiles.
"Oh, it's Director Li. What a coincidence! I didn't expect to meet you here," Zhao Zhuowen replied with a smile.
"Yes, I didn't expect Director Zhao to be here either. Director Zhao, do you have any relatives around here?" Li Dalong asked curiously, his gaze lingering on the gift boxes.
"I guess so. Is Director Li a local?" Zhao Zhuowen asked casually.
“Yes, this is my hometown,” Li Dalong nodded.
"That's good, Director Li, I've found the person I'm looking for." Zhao Zhuowen said, his gaze passing through the crowd and landing on Lin Chen.
Lin Chen was surprised to see Zhao Zhuowen. He hadn't expected Zhao Zhuowen to appear at this time.
The two embraced tightly upon meeting. Zhao Zhuowen patted Lin Chen's back forcefully; had Lin Chen not possessed exceptional physical strength, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand it.
Hearing the loud slapping sound, Lin Chen's expression changed slightly, and he muttered to himself, "Why is Brother Bawang here?"
"You little rascal, because of what you did, our group no longer has to suffer those hardships at the border, and we've gone straight into the organization." Zhao Zhuowen's tone was slightly teasing, but more so, it was gratitude towards Lin Chen.
Hearing these words from a distance, Li Dalong was stunned.
"Join an organization? What organization?" Lin Chen looked blank, clearly unaware of the information.
"I'm now the deputy director of the provincial security department," Zhao Zhuowen said casually, but his tone revealed a hint of pride.
"What? Really?" Lin Chen's eyes widened. He never expected that the "Operation Red Sea" club would have such great power, and that it could so easily place someone in such a high position.
After leading Zhao Zhuowen into the house, Lin Chen, acting as the middleman, introduced the two sides. Apart from Li Dalong and a few others, the rest of the family were very hospitable. They had just witnessed Li Dalong rushing out and understood that whoever could make Li Dalong so flustered must be a high-ranking figure in the organization. And Zhao Zhuowen, so young yet holding such a high position, clearly had a powerful background.
Lin Chen felt deeply gratified and proud to have such friends and brothers. Zhao Zhuowen's arrival undoubtedly added a special touch to this family gathering.
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