Since Yan Beicheng was here, Lin Chu would certainly not leave with the bus anymore. They had booked the same flight though, so they had to arrive at the airport on time.
The yacht ferried the six people back to the hotel. When they were in the hotel lobby, they saw Hu Yuesha walking out of the elevator in the distance.
Hu Yuesha was not shocked to see that Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng were holding hands with each other because she had heard rumors about this last night. However, her expression instantly darkened when she noticed that Zheng Yuntong was with that group of people. Worse still, she was wearing the same clothes that she had worn yesterday.
Was Zheng Yuntong trying to use Lin Chu to get closer to Wei Zilin?
Zheng Yuntong rushed to Shen Zongyi"s side when she saw the look on Hu Yuesha"s face. She even raised her head and looked at him respectfully.
Shen Zongyi glanced at her through the corner of his eye.
Zheng Yuntong was perfectly fine yesterday. Shen Zongyi was just about to ask what she was doing before Zheng Yuntong quietly explained, "Hu Yuesha is madly in love with President Wei. Anyone who stands less than one meter away from President Wei automatically becomes her love rival. Judging from the way that she looked at me earlier, she"s definitely misunderstood this. a.s.sistant Shen, please play along and pretend that I"m in love with you. Pretending that I have a crush on you is almost as bad as having Hu Yuesha stare daggers at me."
Shen Zongyi was at a loss for words.
He forced a laugh. Zheng Yuntong made it seem like having a crush on him was a terrible thing. She had even put it on the same level as being regarded as Hu Yuesha"s enemy.
Shen Zongyi gazed quietly at Zheng Yuntong while a bitter smile appeared on the corners of his lips.
As expected, Hu Yuesha relaxed and her expression returned to normal when she saw Zheng Yuntong"s actions.
Yan Beicheng returned with the others on Lin Yi"s chartered plane. Lin Chu was given an upgrade as well because Yan Beicheng had booked a seat in the first-cla.s.s cabin. They boarded the plane with Wei Zilin first since they had first-cla.s.s tickets.
Her colleagues who boarded the plane after her would definitely notice this. Lin Chu decided to put on her eye mask and cover herself in a blanket. She would feel more relaxed if she did not meet their gazes.
Yan Beicheng drove Lin Chu home once they reached B City at night. He received a phone call from Yan Huaian along the way.
After Yan Beicheng had put in his earbuds and answered the call, he heard Yan Huaian say, "When are you taking Lin Chu back to the mansion to meet us?"
"Why do you ask?" Yan Beicheng asked while raising his eyebrows.
Yan Huaian glanced at Yan Ningbai who was gnawing on a pig"s tail as he sat beside him. He ruffled the little boy"s soft hair and said, "Ningbai accidentally let it slip out at home."
Yan Huaian was too afraid to say that Yan Ningbai had intentionally revealed that secret.
Yan Beicheng simply replied that he understood before he ended the call.
He parked his car downstairs at Lin Chu"s house. Yan Beicheng gazed at Lin Chu and slowly reach out to hold her hand. "I really don"t want to send you home."
Lin Chu remained silent and held his hand.
She had already progressed to this stage with Yan Beicheng. The only reason that was preventing her from moving to Ding City was that she felt bad if she had to leave Xu Moyan alone here.
Yan Beicheng did not mention that anymore. He probably knew what she was thinking about. He merely pulled Lin Chu toward himself and sat her on his thigh.
He had recently gotten a taste of this memorable experience. Although he had just satisfied his cravings this morning, he was unwilling to release Lin Chu now. He desperately wanted to bind her to his side every day so that he could see her all the time.
"I"ll take you back home to meet my relatives later," said Yan Beicheng as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "I"m going on a business trip tomorrow, but I"ll return on Friday or Sat.u.r.day. Can I take you to the mansion to meet them when I"m back?"
"Why did you come to Hainan to see me if you"re going on a business trip tomorrow?" Lin Chu was not worried about meeting his relatives anymore when she heard this. "You"ll be exhausted."
Yan Beicheng laughed and kissed her lips. "I"m only leaving tomorrow night. I"m not in a rush."
Lin Chu relaxed, but she recalled the matter about meeting his relatives after that. "I"m very nervous about meeting your relatives. Your family…"
"My father has pa.s.sed away a long time ago. The only people at home are my grandparents and my uncle, Yan Huaian whom you"ve already met," Yan Beicheng said. He refused to acknowledge Yan Ningbai as one of his elders. "You don"t have to worry because you already know my uncle. Since you"re already familiar with my uncle"s personality, you can probably guess what my grandparents are like as well. The two old people are very nice. They"re still young at heart. You don"t have to worry about them being prejudiced against you."
"Perhaps that"s the case, but I"m still nervous. I"m worried that they won"t like me," said Lin Chu. They had not set a time to meet his relatives, but Lin Chu was so anxious that her heart felt stuffy and she had trouble breathing when she thought about it now. She felt as though she wanted to vomit as well.
Yan Beicheng could not help but laugh. "They won"t dislike you. I like you and I think you"re great. Their tastes are as good as mine."
There was a hint of bitterness in Lin Chu"s eyes when she glanced at him. He was not worried about these things, but was it wrong for her to be nervous?
"You don"t have to think about this for now. We can talk about it later when I return from my business trip." Yan Beicheng knew that he could not stop Lin Chu from worrying just by saying a few things.
However, she needed to meet his family sooner or later. He felt that he could bring Lin Chu back home since they had reached this stage of their relations.h.i.+p.
He was also worried that Lin Chu secretly had her doubts about him. They had already done intimate things with each other. If he did not express his true feelings, she would let her imagination run wild when she had nothing else to do. Perhaps she would not do that when they were together, but there was a possibility that her mind would wander when she was alone.
Lin Chu nodded obediently. She also knew that she had to meet his family sooner or later, but she was still worried about it. Nonetheless, she had to face his family regardless of whether they liked her or not.
Yan Beicheng found it hard to resist her when she acted in a submissive manner. He pressed her directly against the steering wheel and kissed her pa.s.sionately. Frankly, he did not want to be separated from her tonight. He really wanted to take her back to Ding City with him.
He clenched his arms and felt as though he could never grasp her waist for how slim it was, and he could not hold her tightly enough no matter how hard he tried. Lin Chu felt as though he was sucking her breath out of her when he kissed her. Her mouth was filled with his breath that was both heavy yet refres.h.i.+ng. When she felt as though she was about to pa.s.s out from being unable to breathe, Yan Beicheng"s warm lips slid down the corner of her mouth. Lin Chu violently trembled when his tongue tickled her neck.
Suddenly, the steering wheel"s horn let out a loud drawn-out noise. Someone from one of the homes upstairs opened their window and yelled, "Who"s randomly sounding their horn in the middle of the night? Don"t you have any manners?"
Yan Beicheng took a deep breath and pulled Lin Chu toward him.
Lin Chu"s face was bright red now. Her neighbors had noticed that Yan Beicheng drove her home in his Grand Cherokee every day. They would ask her questions about her boyfriend every single time they saw her. They would say things like "Lil Lin, do you have a boyfriend already?", "Your boyfriend drives a nice car. What does he do for a living?", and "Lil Lin is so lucky."
She wondered if the person from earlier had recognized Yan Beicheng"s car.
"You should go upstairs," said Yan Beicheng. However, his arms were still wrapped around her waist, and he had yet to let go.
When Lin Chu saw him like this, she almost said that she wanted to go home with him, but she stopped herself in the end. She said goodbye to Yan Beicheng and pushed open the door to the apartment unit with a red face.
Yan Beicheng only got into his car and left when he saw that the lights in Lin Chu"s room were turned on. He called the Yan Family Mansion on the way home.
"Grandmother, I"m going on a business trip tomorrow. When I"m back from my trip, I"ll find some time to bring my girlfriend back home to meet all of you," said Yan Beicheng. "I haven"t set a time yet since I don"t know how long I"ll be away on that trip. Once I"ve returned, I"ll discuss the time and date with Lin Chu."
Old Lady Yan realized that Yan Beicheng was not running away from this matter when he openly mentioned his girlfriend"s name. Nevertheless, the elderly woman was uncertain whether she was excited or worried about this.
"My dear grandson." Old Lady Yan hesitated for a long time, but she could not restrain herself in the end. "What does that girl do for a living?"
Yan Beicheng laughed. He had failed to see through Old Lady Yan. His tone was still kind when he said, "Her name is Lin Chu and she"s the Lin Family"s adopted daughter. However, the Lin Family mistreated her, but she didn"t try to rely on them at all. She"s currently working in the public relations department of a company called Lin Yi and rarely contacts the Lin Family. Grandmother, she"s an excellent young woman. You"ll know it once you"ve met her. Moreover, you"re already aware of the Lin Family"s shameful behavior because you"ve heard the rumors. I"m not surprised that Lin Chu hardly speaks to them. They"ve done sickening things."
"Oh, I see. You should bring her home with you. We"re not going to be prejudiced against her," said Old Lady Yan.
She knew that Yan Beicheng clearly adored that woman when she heard him spoke of her. Old Lady Yan did not want to reject the woman before she had even met her. She did not want to hurt her grandson"s feelings or cause a rift between them.
Naturally, everything would be fine if that young woman was truly a good person. If she was not… Old Lady Yan would only cross that bridge when she got to it.
Yan Beicheng ended the call without saying anything else.
Lin Chu was working overtime at the office on Sat.u.r.day morning. She did not have a lot of work this morning, so she could complete everything on time. They would be celebrating New Year"s in another week. Lin Chu planned to complete her work in the morning so that she could take the orphans to get their haircuts after that. She would take them to eat at Pizza Hut while she was at it.
The children were given financial aid, but it was used for their school fees and other daily expenses. Usually, the children were never given the chance to eat Pizza Hut, McDonald"s, or other fast food places. Most people would not think that this was a big deal, but those children ate fast food less than once a year. They were happier to eat it once than to celebrate New Year"s.
This morning, she read a text message from Yan Beicheng that he sent yesterday at midnight. The text said that he had already returned. He did not call her on the phone but merely sent a text message instead because he was worried about waking her up.
In his message, he said that he had to go to the office for work matters today. He would come and see her in the afternoon if he could finish his work.
Lin Chu glanced at Yan Beicheng"s text message again. They would talk on the phone every night even when Yan Beicheng was attending banquets. He would find some time to call her just so they could have a brief conversation. If the circ.u.mstances allowed it, he would even video call her.
It was still not the same as meeting each other in person every day, so she missed him very much.
It was especially so when their relations.h.i.+p had progressed to this point where they had done intimate things to each other. Lin Chu did not reveal anything on the surface, but she secretly relied very much on him now. The couple was forced to be separated from each other during the period when they could not bear to be apart. It was natural that they missed each other terribly.
Yan Beicheng had clearly antic.i.p.ated this. He had already told her in advance that he wanted her to meet his guardians. Lin Chu was nervous, but she was extremely relieved as well. If Yan Beicheng had not said that, she would have allowed her imagination to run wild when he went on a business trip right after they returned.
An extremely sweet smile appeared on the corners of Lin Chu"s lips when she read Yan Beicheng"s text message. Zheng Yuntong felt terribly annoyed when she saw it.
When Lin Chu exited the main door of the office building, she saw an old woman trying to catch the attention of pa.s.sersby so that they would lend her money. There were too many scammers at this time of the year. It was common to see elderly men and women who would set up fake accidents to scam others. Young people were too afraid now to step forward and help them because of that. Naturally, none of the pa.s.sersby paid any attention to the old woman. They merely a.s.sumed that she was out to cheat them of their money.
There was a middle-aged woman who seemed to have more of a straightforward personality. She turned directly to the old woman and said, "Old woman, I can tell that you"re dressed well and you pay attention to your clothes. Why did you come all the way here to cheat others of their money? Everyone is going through a hard time just to get by in life now. People like you specialize in deceiving young people. Isn"t that a form of bullying?"
A troubled expression appeared on the old lady"s face when she had been wrongly accused. She stomped her feet, feeling upset and anxious. "I"m not trying to deceive anyone. I really wasn"t trying to do that! You… If you send me home and follow me there, I"ll give you back your money!"
The middle-aged woman did not believe her at all. She shook the old woman"s hand off. "Scammers like you are so shameful these days."
She left right after she said that.
Old Lady Yan mentally sighed. She inwardly lamented that she had ended up humiliating herself when she came to test her granddaughter-in-law.
She was not the one who came up with this idea. She had visited the Qi Family Mansion to chat with Old Lady Qi. When their conversation was getting exciting, she had accidentally mentioned her worries about her future granddaughter-in-law. She was afraid that her grandson would be deceived, but she was even more worried about her own relations.h.i.+p with her grandson. She did not want her to reveal anything inappropriate carelessly.
Old Lady Qi had numerous grandchildren and even great-grandchildren who were crawling all over the floor. There was nothing for her to be unhappy about. She had nothing else to do in her free time aside from making guest appearances on television dramas and movies that Han Zhuoli"s company invested money into producing. Other than that, she liked listening to her old friend"s problems and helping her solve them.
Old Lady Qi immediately gave Old Lady Yan a suggestion when she heard this. She told her to test Lin Chu by pretending to be a penniless old woman who was trying to get home after losing her wallet. She gave Old Lady Yan free acting lessons to help her because she was worried that she could not act convincingly and told her driver, Lil Fan, to take her to the Yan Family Mansion every day so that she could give Old Lady Yan acting lessons.
Old Lady Yan was unable to play any other character aside from the role of a lost old woman now. She was truly convincing when she acted.
When Old Lady Yan turned around, she immediately saw Lin Chu walking outside. The old woman stopped Lin Chu at the stairs and grabbed her arm. She acted as though she was so panicked that she was nearly crying. "Young lady, please help me. Please help me. I"m not a scammer. My… My family is rich! Someone stole my wallet, but I don"t know where they went. I can"t go home now."
"Don"t you have a cell phone? You should contact your family so that they can come and get you," said Lin Chu.
"It was inside my bag as well," said Old Lady Yan as she gestured. "The bag was this size. It contained my money and my cell phone. A young man on a motorcycle s.n.a.t.c.hed it and fled. I don"t remember my family member"s phone numbers because I"m too old! I don"t have any money with me now. I"ve walked for some time, but I can"t walk anymore. n.o.body is willing to lend me even just one yuan!"
Lin Chu pondered before she said, "Why don"t I accompany you to the police station for now? You can make a police report."
Even if the old woman did not know the way back, at least the police could send her home.
Old Lady Yan covered her face and cried. She thought to herself that her granddaughter-in-law was certainly smart. This young woman would not be tricked under normal circ.u.mstances.
"I"m an old woman with a bad memory. I can"t remember what that young man looked like and I don"t know the number of his license plate. I don"t even know the different types of motorcycle brands so I won"t be able to recognize it. I fell on the ground when he suddenly s.n.a.t.c.hed my bag and that frightened me terribly. How would I be able to remember so many things? A police report… A police report would be useless! Now I… I just want to go home as soon as possible. Oh no, oh no… I just want to go home…"
The pa.s.sersby"s gazes drifted over when Old Lady Yan started crying.
n.o.body was willing to help her when she wanted to borrow some money because they a.s.sumed that she was a scammer, but now they were looking at Lin Chu with judgemental gazes when the old woman cried in front of her. They felt that a young person like Lin Chu was supposed to be sympathetic toward the old woman and wondered if Lin Chu was bullying the elderly lady for some reason.
There were several troublemakers who took out their cell phones to take videos as well.
Lin Chu ignored them and simply kept her eyes on the old woman. The old woman looked rather energetic from the way she was dressed. Her short hair was dyed black, and it was even curled in a fas.h.i.+onable style. Judging from her face, she appeared to be about sixty years old. She also carried herself well. Lin Chu was truly unable to tell her actual age.
Although she could not tell if the old woman was wearing expensive clothes, Lin Chu noticed that she was decently dressed and was clearly very particular about the clothes she wore.
Old Lady Yan was following Old Lady Qi"s instructions.
Old Lady Qi had said, "You"ll truly look like a distressed elderly woman if you wear extremely simple clothes. However, anyone who has a brain will definitely think that you"re out to cheat them out of their money. Do you think that there are any kind people who would willingly choose to be deceived because of their generosity? Would you help someone when you clearly knew that they were going to cheat you?"
Old Lady Yan shook her head firmly back and forth then.
Old Lady Qi continued, "You don"t have to dress extravagantly, but you must look clear-headed and lively. That way, other people will know that you live a good life and that your family background is fine as well. They"ll believe that you actually lost your wallet. That girl is definitely a good person if she helps you. On the contrary, you should actually consider your potential granddaughter-in-law if she"s reluctant to lend you a hand."
Old Lady Yan felt that this advice was reasonable when she heard it. She immediately said, "It"s true that old ladies like us always have the most wicked ideas!"
Old Lady Qi was speechless.
She would not argue with this simple-minded woman.
That was how they came up with their current scheme.
Old Lady Yan praised her own acting skills as she cried. When she looked through the s.p.a.ce between her fingers, she ended up seeing someone who was driving a Bentley Mulsanne behind Lin Chu. The car slowly stopped before Chu Zhaoyang got down from it.
He was briefly shocked when he saw Old Lady Yan crying there. He was just about to go over and ask her what was going on.
Old Lady Yan panicked. She would be exposed if Chu Zhaoyang came over.
While Lin Chu was distracted, Old Lady Yan peeked through the s.p.a.ce between her fingers. Chu Zhaoyang noticed that there were no tears in her eyes when she glared at him. "Don"t come over!"
Chu Zhaoyang stopped in his tracks, and his lips moved. Finally, he turned around and entered the main door of the office behind Lin Chu. He pretended that he did not see the two women.
Only then did Old Lady Yan let her guard down and uncovered her eyes completely.
Chu Zhaoyang scanned his surroundings once he had entered the main door. After that, he walked into a coffee shop and sat beside the French window. He could see Old Lady Yan and Lin Chu when he looked out of the window.
He glanced at them before turning around, taking his cell phone out and called Yan Beicheng. "I saw your Old Lady acting like a big bad wolf to scare Lin Chu."
Yan Beicheng was stunned for a moment. However, Chu Zhaoyang was too lazy to explain any further. His previous sentence was already long enough. He ended the call abruptly.
Yan Beicheng was stunned when the other party hung up suddenly. Then, he widened his eyes. "He"s so lazy! Would it kill him to say "goodbye"?"
Lin Chu truly did not think that the old woman was a scammer when she considered her style of dressing, bearing, and the way she carried herself. Nonetheless, she could have been a scammer who was highly skilled in acting.
Nevertheless, Lin Chu still consoled her by saying, "Don"t cry, there"s no need to worry. Can you tell me where you live?"
"Oh." The old lady sniffled and took the piece of tissue paper that Lin Chu had pa.s.sed to her. She put on an act as she lowered her head and wiped off the few drops of tears and snot that she had forced out. She simply held the tissue paper because she did not know where to discard it. The trash can was several meters away. What would she do if Lin Chu ran away when she walked there?
Lin Chu noticed that this old woman was not shabbily dressed. She was also concerned about the environment as she refused to litter. Lin Chu was more convinced that she was not a scammer. She took a plastic bag out of her bag. "You can throw it here."
Old Lady Yan threw the tissue that was stained with snot and tears into the bag. She did not forget to compliment Lin Chu. "Young lady, you"re so considerate."
She meant what she had said.
Lin Chu smiled. "Why don"t you tell me where you live?"
It seemed as though the elderly woman had forgotten her address. She pondered for several moments as Lin Chu waited patiently without rus.h.i.+ng her.
Old Lady Yan sighed and patted her thigh furiously when she felt as though she had put on enough of an act. "Look at my mind now. People like me often forget things because we"re old. My family noted down my address on my cell phone because they were worried that my memory has worsened."
Lin Chu became worried when she heard that. She remembered the old woman saying that someone had stolen her phone. Was she mistaken?
However, Old Lady Yan continued, "They wrote it on a piece of paper as well. They were afraid that I wouldn"t have my phone with me if I got into accidents. They made sure that I carried it along wherever I went."