He indeed possessed whatever reason at his disposal.
Both were planning to enter when a young man appeared in the yard by the side. He looked slightly younger than Yan Beicheng, probably because he was wearing an athleisure outfit which made him look younger.
He saw Yan Beicheng and paused for a moment, staring blankly. He then glanced at Lin Chu who was beside Yan Beicheng and his face became clear from the confusion, "Sister-in-law?"
Yan Beicheng raised his chin proudly and replied, "Uh-huh." He turned around as he circled Lin Chu"s waist and introduced, "He"s my neighbor"s child, he always stayed here when we were young. He loved to chase behind me, following my b.u.t.t without any particular reason."
The young man did not feel like paying attention to him and just smiled directly at Lin Chu, "h.e.l.lo, sister-in-law. My name is Nan Jingheng. I"m five years younger than Brother Cheng."
Yan Beicheng looked smug aside and chuckled, "At that time, didn"t you say that you"d look for a wife earlier than me?"
Yan Beicheng even put on an act, looking for someone in front of, behind and beside Nan Jingheng, "Where"s your wife then?"
Nan Jingheng rolled his eyes; he did not regard Yan Beicheng as an outsider at all. "I"m only 29. You"ve found a wife only when you"re 33. I"ve found one before I"m 33 so I"m considered to be earlier than you."
Yan Beicheng scoffed, turned around and explained to Lin Chu, "When I was single previously, I always hung out with Chu Zhaoyang and few others. Qi Chengzhi and the ones who have a family weren"t brought to the meetups. This fellow loved to join in the fun when he had free time. There was this one time when he drank too much and boasted shamelessly that he wanted to look for a wife earlier than all of us."
Hearing this, Lin Chu became thrilled. She raised her eyebrows, finding it very interesting, and said, "A bet? Was there any stake involved?"
Nan Jingheng, "…"
No wonder she and Yan Beicheng were a perfect couple. They were both wicked!
"He said that whoever found a wife earlier than him, he would take the initiative to call Ningbai "uncle" when he sees him in the future." An evil smile appeared on Yan Beicheng"s face, as his lips curled upwards.
"…" Lin Chu looked at Nan Jingheng with sympathy. Although he was 29 years old and older than her, she felt like she was older than Nan Jingheng, perhaps due to the relations.h.i.+p that she was in with Yan Beicheng.
The way she gazed at the young man before her who looked rather pretty was similar to looking at a pitiful younger brother which made Nan Jinghmeng despondent.
Immediately afterward, he heard Lin Chu saying, "You"re pretty adventurous as well."
Nan Jingheng, "…"
He sighed once again, no wonder that Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng were a perfect couple!
It was all because of the magnetic field that bad guys had innately, making them attracted to each other!
"Don"t forget to call Ningbai "uncle" when you meet him later," gloated Yan Beicheng.
"I"m not considered a loser as long as I have a wife before 33 years old." Nan Jingheng raised his chin; he was undoubtedly 29 but he still acted like a brat.
"Haha," Yan Beicheng chuckled and sneered. Nan Jingheng was clearly acting dumb.
Everyone, however, was merely having fun so they teased him for a while. Yan Beicheng did not have other intentions.
At this moment, the gate of the Family Mansion suddenly opened. Old Lady Yan was seen walking out.
As soon as Lin Chu saw her, she called instantly, "Grandmother."
Noticing how she was still holding Yan Beicheng"s hand and fastening on his waist, she hurriedly pulled out her hand and pushed Yan Beicheng away. She always thought that it was not very inappropriate to show public display of affection in front of the elders.
Yan Beicheng, however, did not even budge, still looping around her.
Old Lady Yan did not mind when she saw them. On the contrary, she beamed, thinking it was very good that her grandson and granddaughter-in-law were this loving.
Especially when they were outside, they ought to let the neighbors witness such a sight of how impeccable her grandson and granddaughter-in-law were!
"Why did you come out?" Yan Beicheng asked.
"I saw from the window inside that you guys have arrived but you two haven"t entered for a long time. So, I thought of coming out to have a look," Old Lady Yan explained. Her gaze shot to the other side and noticed that Nan Jingheng was also present.
"Grandmother Yan," Nan Jingheng greeted politely.
"Hey!" Old Lady Yan responded happily, "Jingheng, long time no see. Are you 28 or 29 this year?"
"…" Nan Jingheng had a slight premonition, replying honestly, "I"m already 29."
"You"re already 29 but you still don"t have a wife yet?" Old Lady Yan asked in an especially genuine manner; a smug spirit glistening in her eyes could not be hidden in any way.
Nan Jingheng whimpered, "…"
Why were all the Yan family members so evil!
Old Lady Yan brushed a bout of superiority at Nan Jingheng, then pulled Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng into the Family Mansion merrily. Lin Chu felt that they united as a family to bully brats.
Once they entered the Family Mansion, Yan Huaian and his family were already present. Yan Ningbai was holding an iPad playing "Clash of Clans". When he was creating soldiers, he heard the noise emitting from the entrance hall and the proud laughter of Old Lady Yan. He subsequently closed his game, climbed down from the sofa and dashed towards the entrance hall.
He could not help but felt disappointed after seeing that n.o.body was behind Lin Chu, "Where"s Chu Xi?"
"I went to the orphanage today so I didn"t bring it with me. I"ll bring it next time," explained Lin Chu.
Yan Ningbai looked dispirited and simply replied "oh". Yan Beicheng shot him a glance and said, "Why didn"t you look for your friends and play with them?"
"I was waiting for Chu Xi!" Yan Ning said, slightly disheartened, "I even told him beforehand that I would bring Chu Xi to let him experience it himself. Chu Xi is very smart!"
"Tsk." As Yan Beicheng clicked his tongue, he fished out his wallet, took out a red banknote and gave it to Yan Ningbai. "Take this and go with Nan Yuan to buy something to eat."
With a big stride, Yan Ningbai rushed forward and s.n.a.t.c.hed the red banknote. He clutched it with his short, chubby and white fingers and then, patted Yan Beicheng"s shoulder in a conceited and seasoned manner. "Big nephew, un…uncle will remember your merits!"
After finished talking, he did not wait for Yan Beicheng to spout at him and ran out rapidly. The sound of him making a phone call could be heard from the entrance hall, "Nan Yuan, let"s go out and play. Great uncle will treat you something tasty. It"s a tribute given to me by my big nephew!"
Yan Beicheng, "…"
Seeing how shrewd he looked, he had some experience dealing with Yan Beicheng.
"What"s the matter with sending Ningbai away?" Old Master Yan asked while raising his eyebrows.
Everyone could tell something was up.
Yan Beicheng did not deny and spoke about the matters of Dai Huimin. Regardless of whether Dai Huimin would pull tricks or not, he thought it was best to inform the two elders in advance.
Just in case if anything would happen and caught them unprepared.
Plus, Lu Weining was involved. They had no choice but to be on guard.
Lin Chu said truthfully that she did not want to meet Dai Huimin. The two elders, Yan Huaian and his wife all understood why. Per Yu Zi"s bad temper, she would not meet her, let along identify with one another.
Although Lin Chu could be heard having this type of att.i.tude as well, she did not have much to say in the end.
Old Lady Yan could not help sighing, "This Lu Weining, what exactly has to be done? It"s so annoying that she keeps doing this! Of all people, the Lu family also has a solid footing. We"re the Eight Dominant Families and we"re stronger than the other families but it"s not like we can do whatever we want to the person we find offensive. Though Lu Weining is indeed reliant on the Lu Family"s background, we can"t do anything to them. Small-scale arguments don"t hurt much. We can"t deal with such a family that has inside information as we please."
Having a glib talk, it was simple to handle the Lu Family, but it was unrealistic to do so.
The Yan family truly did have such a capability, yet their vitality would be wounded once they did it. What was the point of executing such a matter if both parties would suffer?
If they could make a move, the two Yan family elders would have done something at that time and would not wait until now.
No matter what would happen, the prerequisite was to not harm oneself.
The Yan family themselves had to grow also. It was already a difficult thing to suppress the Jiang family and Lu family for a long time so much so that both families could not make a little progress. Allocating such energy had already caused Yan Hui to lose some. The development of Yan Hui would have been far better than the present state otherwise.
In rapt attention, Yan Beicheng tapped his knee with his index and middle fingers rhythmically. "Lu Weining doesn"t know her place. She"ll slowly come up with something if we let her do as she wishes."
Was Lin Yuwen not like this as well? She was doing what she wanted and seized as an opportunity by him.
The greater and vigorous Lu Weining was pretending, the easier that she would slip up.
The two elders contemplated that it was what could only be done for now; they, hence, no longer said anything.
On Monday, Lin Chu came out of the office at noon. She wanted to go to Yan Hui.
She did not have to bring takeout along when she went there. Yan Beicheng would buy takeout from Sheng Yue in a very experienced manner and prepared it in the office. He merely had to wait for Lin Chu to eat the food upon arrival.
Sometimes Lin Chu would even bring the lunchbox that she made. The food made overnight, however, was unhealthy. Therefore, Lin Chu would wake up a few hours earlier than usual in the morning to make her lunchbox.
Yan Beicheng felt bad for her for he was not fond of her being so busy very early in the morning. He only permitted her to do so once in a while.
Lin Chu was waiting with Zheng Yuntong in front of the elevator. Now that Lin Chu could not have a meal together with her, she would eat with her other colleagues. Since Zhen Yuntong had a good relations.h.i.+p with people, she was not affected by the slightest.
As the elevator pinged to signal its arrival, the door opened gradually. A lot of people were seen inside the elevator, but it was not an issue for a few more people to step into it. Shen Zongyi was standing by the elevator door, holding it open by pressing on the "open" b.u.t.ton.
There was a good deal of people who were not worried; some were unwilling to be squeezed, rather waiting for the next ride. Since the situation was as such, Lin Chu and Zheng Yuntong entered. Plus, both were relatively close to Shen Zongyi; it would not be a good sight if they did not enter the elevator.
Only then, Shen Zongyi pressed the "close" b.u.t.ton. When they went down one level, two persons crammed in stubbornly. Zheng Yuntong was squeezed to the side. She could not do anything but to stand and stick close to Shen Zongyi. Her arm clung tightly to his arm, merely feeling that his arm was too st.u.r.dy and firm.
Because she was squeezed by the people beside her, her body was squashed in the wrong way. Her arm ended up sliding backward while her chest pressed against Shen Zongyi"s brawny arm.
Shen Zongyi, "…"
It seemed to be hotter inside the elevator; she wanted to lift her hand to fan herself, but it was too crowded that she could not budge.
Lowering his head, he saw Zheng Yuntong"s face turned scarlet in embarra.s.sment. The tight crowd in the warm elevator seemed to be the cause that made her face redder.
Shen Zongyi switched places with Zheng Yuntong in silence, letting her stand in the inside as he blocked outside so she would not be too squashed.
Lin Chu witnessed both of their actions clearly while standing beside them. She blinked at Zheng Yuntong when she gazed at her awkwardly.
Zheng Yuntong"s face exploded in redness.
She did not interact much with Shen Zongyi; no follow-up was available after the meal they had last time. It was the same as the past when they met in the company. Though a small peculiarity existed in her heart, it was not manifested, right? Shen Zongyi did not talk much with her as per usual. It was as if she was the only one who felt that there was some slight difference in her heart, causing Zheng Yuntong to cast aside the oddity at last with strenuous effort.
What was the matter with Lin Chu"s current expression that screamed: "I knew about the infidelity that you two had!"
With great difficulty, they finally reached the first floor. Everyone exited the elevator in relief. Lin Chu tidied up her crumpled s.h.i.+rt and said coolly, "Having someone in the company is certainly nice. Look at how lonely I am here; I didn"t have anyone to protect me."
Shen Zongyi who was walking in front paused his footsteps for a moment. His cartilage blushed weirdly red.
Only when Zheng Yuntong saw that Shen Zongyi did not turn around, she sighed in relief. She abruptly pulled Lin Chu behind to put some distance between them and Shen Zongyi who was walking ahead.
Seeing how far he had walked, she then said, "You…you don"t randomly make jokes. It"ll be awkward."
"Tsk." Lin Chu responded, "a.s.sistant Shen doesn"t even take care of me that well. When did you two start having such a close relations.h.i.+p? Is it because of the meal you had last time? Look, he wasn"t seen protecting others when we were squeezing inside the elevator."
Zheng Yuntong glared as her eyes widened, simply feeling that her cheeks were scalding hot. She subconsciously raised her hand to cover her cheeks. Roasted by the heat of her cheeks, her slightly cold palms became hot. "Keep your voice down! Nothing is going on between us. Look, you can see that he"s not warm to me. It"ll become a joke if this spreads around."
Lin Chu genuinely regarded Zheng Yuntong as a friend; she, hence, was afraid that she might be awkward. Although she thought that Shen Zongyi and Zheng Yuntong were likely to get along well, they were both still ambiguous now. Looking at Shen Zongyi, it was not like he did not have feelings for Zheng Yuntong.
Judging from Shen Zongyi"s character, he probably was rather obtuse in the relations.h.i.+p aspect. He had not thought properly about this aspect for a moment.
Lin Chu, therefore, did not say much. She was afraid that if she spoke too much about it, it would cause them, who originally had a slight indistinct favorable impression for each other, to be forcibly estranged.
An appropriate amount of teasing could catalyze their development, but it would backfire if it went overboard.
Both Lin Chu and Zheng Yuntong slowed down their pace as they walked. Shen Zongyi intended to hear what they were talking behind him, yet he felt embarra.s.sed to do so in obvious. He had no choice but to walk out of the office building with his red ears.
Zheng Yuntong was waiting for her colleagues by the entrance to lunch together. Lin Chu, meanwhile, left first. So, she did not see that Shen Zongyi leisurely turned around and returned, acting as if nothing happened.
At the same time, a few female office workers from the accounting and customer service departments exited from the building. They had all agreed to have a meal together with Zheng Yuntong.
"I just realized that there"s a restaurant that sells grilled fish located two streets behind the company and it has a very good review. Let"s give it a try today," said Xiao Zhao from the accounting department.
Zhou Xinman from the HR department came over just in time and was stunned for a while before asking in surprise, "a.s.sistant Shen?"
Was her vision blurred just now? She was sure she saw a.s.sistant Shen came out a moment ago.
Shen Zongyi nodded and greeted calmly, "I left something behind, so I come back to retrieve it."
"Oh, oh." Zhou Xinman did not doubt his words.
At this moment, Zhen Yuntong recalled what Lin Chu said just now and felt awkward, so much so that she did not dare to look at Shen Zongyi.
She previously did not interact much with Shen Zongyi. Merely looking at his cold face, she did not have much courage to speak to him casually. Shen Zongyi was the one who followed Wei Zilin. Whatever matter was something going on would be directly conveyed to the person in charge of the department; no one had to visit the department easily. Plus, Zheng Yuntong was not working as an a.s.sistant. It was not her role to deliver the files to the higher-ups. Her relations.h.i.+p with Shen Zongyi was at most nodding and greeting with each other.
It was unknown whether it was because of the frequent interaction she had with him recently, or the teasing made by Lin Chu just now, circles of ripples began to lap in her heart. She initially did not overthink, but she could not help did so lately. When she did not see him, his solemn face would always appear inside her mind. Once she saw him, her gaze would not bear to not look at his face.
Slowly, the shadow he cast on her heart became clearer and heavier. Her heart would beat faster when she thought about him sometimes.
Zheng Yuntong did not have a single clue why this sort of feeling appeared out of the blue now when she did not sense it at all in the past. Though she was not old, she had been in the company for a very long time and she could be considered as an experienced staff.
It was the most confusing part for Zheng Yuntong. She, thus, was really in doubt of what her heart was feeling exactly.
Was it because she had actual feelings for Shen Zongyi or was it an infatuation?
Anyway, it was as if she could smell the faint fragrance of a gentleman on his body when she faced Shen Zongyi. It was frankly an ordinary fragrance that could be smelled when pa.s.sing by the sales counter in a shopping mall. This time was different; her face would blush red smelling it.
Shen Zongyi shot a glance at her without leaving a trace. Zheng Yuntong, meanwhile, was having her head down, so she did not notice his glance. She could only vaguely feel a stare, let alone the slightly curled corner of his lips that appeared and quickly vanished.
He gave them a light nod and returned.
Everyone found his action strange, yet they did not dwell too much on it. They then walked towards the grilled fish restaurant behind the office building together.
Lin Chu came out of the company, turned a corner and strode towards Yan Hui. She did not notice there was an Audi parked by the road. A pair of eyes were staring at her without blinking behind the car window.
Dai Huimin placed both of her hands on the window, suddenly feeling hesitant and scared.
Seeing at how outstanding Lin Chu"s current presence was, she thought that she was much better than Lu Weining.
Lu Weining had a type of presence that was proper for her ident.i.ty, but Lin Chu did not pretend. It was perfectly natural, gentle and comfortable.
Looking at such a gentle person, she did not know whether Lin Chu would hate her or not?
"Why don"t you call her?" Lu Weining urged, "If you keep delaying, I think she will never know that she still has a mother who cares about her all along."
"I…" Dai Huimin was hesitant. She wanted to meet and talk to her, but she did not dare to do so when the time came. "Later, I…what is the first sentence I should speak to her?"
Lu Weining held back the impulse to roll her eyes. She opened the car door and pushed Dai Huimin out of the car. "You should pluck up your courage to go there. Words will flow naturally once you meet her."
Dai Huimin was forcibly pushed out of the car by Lu Weining. The car door behind her closed at once.
Lu Weining was afraid that she would be seen by Lin Chu; she immediately drove slightly further, looking for a spot where she could stop by the road and see them.
As she clenched her teeth, Dai Huimin leaped in front of Lin Chu timidly, blocking her way.
Lin Chu was taken aback by her sudden presence. When she gave a good look at the person, she remembered that she was the one who appeared sneakily at the entrance of the orphanage.
Thinking about the words the Princ.i.p.al told her, she knew this person was her so-called mother.
Lin Chu furrowed her eyebrows when she saw her, not having other sorts of emotion.
Resentment and excitement were out of the question. Her heart was so still that a small ripple did not even appear.
Lin Chu looked up, did not bother to act stupid around her and said coldly, "Ms. Dai."
She did not know what to say at the beginning, but she did not have to worry about it now, merely blurting out subconsciously, "Do you know who am I?"
Lin Chu replied, "The Princ.i.p.al told me."
"That…that was…was you?" Dai Hui"s eyes turned red and tearful immediately. "I brought your birthdate to the orphanage but the Princ.i.p.al said that she did not remember. I knew that she remembered but she just doesn"t want to tell me. I…"
Furrowing her eyebrows, she felt that Dai Huimin"s words sounded like she was blaming the Princ.i.p.al.