“I am the eldest son of the Yan family, but it is my younger brother who will inherit the family business,” Yan Wei held Zhou Qiaoqiao’s hand, his eyes seemingly empty as he said, “I am now just an overshadowed eldest son. Perhaps the only purpose I serve is to make a strategic marriage. If I need others to decide the person who accompanies me for a lifetime, why shouldn’t I choose for myself?”
At this point, Yan Wei suddenly smiled, his gaze earnestly fixed on Zhou Qiaoqiao as he said, “To choose the person I am willing to accompany for a lifetime.”
Zhou Qiaoqiao blushed under his gaze and then asked, “But why me?”
“Because you…” Yan Wei looked up, pondered for a moment, and Zhou Qiaoqiao watched him. Then she heard Yan Wei say, “You are the one and only Zhou Qiaoqiao in the world!”
Zhou Qiaoqiao was taken aback by his words. The only Qiaoqiao? Was she the only one?
Mao Liang: “…” Did I search on Baidu yesterday for this?
(Sansukini: Um, maybe he searched for pick-up lines for his boss?)
Meanwhile, Manager He of Zhongtai was angrily shouting, “Who is the idiot that offended Mr. Yan? I went to great lengths to invite this esteemed god, who among you offended him?”
He had been acting like a servant, pouring tea and speaking kindly, just to get Mr. Yan to agree to send someone to inspect the site tomorrow. The investment was about to come through, but now Mr. Yan directly sent a message saying he was busy tomorrow?
What the h3ll, busy? As soon as he arrived, he got into the car and left without even looking back. He must have been furious! Just because I was a little late with the gifts, how did someone offend him? Who the hell was it?!
Manager He ran off in a fit of anger to ask the employee who had led Mr. Yan, and soon he had a general idea of what had happened.
Meanwhile, inside the interview room, Ruan Xiaojiao was still explaining to the dissatisfied manager, “Sister Zhang, it’s not that I’m targeting anyone in this matter. Her abilities are indeed not enough for our company. And my dissatisfaction with her is not because I look down on her for not having money, but because she lacks competence.”
Sister Zhang, who was holding a stack of documents, didn’t know Zhou Qiaoqiao and naturally wasn’t stepping in for her sake. Her dissatisfaction was directed at Ruan Xiaojiao, who had entered the company through her father’s connections and was now acting like a little manager. Now she was talking about competence? What a joke.
Therefore, Sister Zhang just smiled and said, “They say that one day apart seem like three autumns. [1] You and her haven’t seen each other for two years. How can you be sure of her abilities?”
Ruan Xiaojiao pursed her lips and didn’t argue back. She put on a look of grievance. The room was not just the two of them; there were others who thought that Sister Zhang is bullying a junior.
Sister Zhang couldn’t stand this side of Ruan Xiaojiao the most, and she felt a disgusting heart attack for a moment.
“What’s going on with you guys?” Just as she was thinking, Manager He pushed the door open and came in. The people waiting outside for their interviews peeked inside and quickly pulled back.
Manager He slammed the door shut and shouted at these people, “Who? Who??? Who offended Mr. Yan?”
Everyone was stunned and asked, “Manager, which… which Mr. Yan?”
“Which one?” Manager He laughed in anger, “Are there so many Mr. Yans for you to see? Don’t you know who made someone angry? Don’t you know it yourselves?”
Sister Zhang frowned and pondered for a moment. She cautiously asked, “Is the manager referring to the man with a crew cut, [2] about 1.9 meters tall, who was here just now?”
Manager He had no idea how tall Mr. Yan was, but he was definitely tall. He was frustrated and stomped his foot, saying, “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know! Now, immediately, go and kneel down to Mr. Yan and apologize on your knees! Hurry!”
Manager He forcefully pointed to the door, but then he realized what could these useless people do? Fuming with anger, he turned around and left.
Yan Wei took Zhou Qiaoqiao home. When she got off the car, she obediently turned back and bid farewell to Yan Wei.
But to her surprise, Yan Wei got off the car very seriously. Zhou Qiaoqiao widened her eyes and asked, “Why did you get off? What are you doing?”
Yan Wei glanced at her residential area and said with a hint of grievance, “I’m escorting you upstairs!”
Zhou Qiaoqiao gave him a skeptical look, then nodded. Yan Wei followed Zhou Qiaoqiao into the residential area. Each building in this community had approximately 24 floors, and the houses were all fairly new, probably built within the past few years. Zhou Qiaoqiao lived on the 17th floor, and the elevator was a standard silver one.
Zhou Qiaoqiao’s living situation was different from his. Yan Wei also owned an apartment in Yiwu City. It had a good environment and every balcony there could catch the sunlight at different times of the day. Looking out from the French windows, there was a beautiful landscape of grass, clusters of trees, a lake-like rockery, and winding paths. Of course, the recreational facilities were also top-notch. There was a swimming pool, a tennis court, basketball court, gym, and a small playground for children.
In the highly sought-after real estate market of Yiwu City, a community with such well-equipped facilities and a great environment naturally wouldn’t come cheap. After leaving Yuyao, Yan Wei quickly purchased the apartment, but he almost starved himself living there alone, so he was called back to the Yan family mansion.
As for Zhou Qiaoqiao’s residential area, every square inch was maximized for use. Even the area where they waited for the elevator was just a narrow corridor. Not to mention any facilities, except for a basketball court in the two buildings behind, there was only a small playground with a slide at the front, and nothing else.
The grassy area was small, and the few trees were sparsely planted in the ground. Some stones had been pried off from the paths within the grassy area.
Yan Wei followed along without saying anything. He wanted to be with Zhou Qiaoqiao seriously, as she was the only person who could make his heart flutter like this. Moreover, she was like the missing piece of his life puzzle, completing his life. This chapter is updated first at novelping.com.
But he also knew that Zhou Qiaoqiao was different; she was still young. Their lives were like two parallel lines that would never intersect, no matter how close they got.
Yet, despite this, he changed the direction of his line.
He looked at the woman in front of him, waiting for the elevator. He hadn’t investigated her. However, even with just a glimpse, he knew that her life was more difficult than what she showed.
If she was willing, they would be together, and he would protect her for a lifetime.
Due to insufficient natural light in the corridor, the lights were on even during broad daylight. Some strange advertisements were pasted on the walls of the corridor. After Zhou Qiaoqiao pressed the elevator button, they waited for almost a minute before they heard the ding sound.
The elevator doors automatically opened, and the first thing Yan Wei saw inside was a stack of overlapping advertisement papers.
Fix your plumbing, call 130xxxxxxxx.
Buy furniture from xxxx, with home delivery.
xxx Hotel, phone: 158xxxxxxxx.
Unclog your toilet, call 177xxxxxxxx.
Advertisement after advertisement, all of them commonly encountered in daily life. Some people even used a black marker to cross out the phone numbers on other people’s ads or directly pasted their own ads on top of them.
Such an elevator was naturally impossible in his upscale residential area. Yan Wei’s upscale residential area had spacious elevators, with dark red velvet carpets and no sound when stepping inside. High-quality imitation art paintings hung around the elevator. However, Yan Wei didn’t dislike this elevator filled with a sense of life. Perhaps, it also represented a part of Zhou Qiaoqiao!
The 17th floor arrived quickly. When the elevator doors opened, they faced a long corridor, with a row of doors resembling prison cells. It was dimly lit with only a few windows.
Zhou Qiaoqiao stopped at the 6th door and took out her key to unlock it.
Yan Wei waited for Zhou Qiaoqiao to open the door before saying, “Then I’ll go back now.”
Zhou Qiaoqiao stood behind the door and called out to him suddenly, “Yan Wei.”
Yan Wei turned to look at her, and Zhou Qiaoqiao grabbed her hair, then suddenly pulled off her wig.
Without any warning, a bald head gleamed in his sight.
Yan Wei: “…”
“I’m bald. Do you mind?” Zhou Qiaoqiao asked.
Yan Wei seemed to understand the intention behind Zhou Qiaoqiao’s sudden question. He wore a serious expression and said, “I don’t mind.”
“I may not be very smart. Do you mind?” Zhou Qiaoqiao asked.
Yan Wei: “I don’t mind.”
“My own family doesn’t like me. Do you mind?”
Yan Wei: “I don’t mind.”
“I may have a bad temper, I may be insecure, I may not be good at housework. I have many flaws. Do you mind?”
Yan Wei: “I don’t mind.”
“I haven’t fallen in love with you yet. Do you mind?”
“Then do you love me?” Zhou Qiaoqiao refused to accept it.
Yan Wei suddenly smiled and asked, “If I say I love you, would you believe me?”
Zhou Qiaoqiao shook her head.
Yan Wei then asked her, “Then why did you ask?”
“I wanted to make sure,” Zhou Qiaoqiao said, wanting to confirm and avoid sinking herself.
Yan Wei asked her, “Qiaoqiao, I’m not the heir of the Yan family. Do you mind?”
Zhou Qiaoqiao shook her head and said, “I don’t mind.”
“I may not be as romantic as Yan Ye. Do you mind?”
Zhou Qiaoqiao continued shaking her head and said, “I don’t mind.”
“My parents may not be very close to me. Do you mind?”
Zhou Qiaoqiao: “I don’t mind.”
“I may sometimes be cold and sometimes too arrogant, but I will change those. However, I will still have many flaws. Do you mind?”
“Well, I mind,” Zhou Qiaoqiao nodded.
Yan Wei: “…”
Zhou Qiaoqiao touched her bald head and said, “I’m not very intelligent. If you ignore me, I will overthink, and it’s scary.”
Yan Wei smiled and gritted his teeth, saying, “I’ll… change.”
Zhou Qiaoqiao looked at him with confusion, “You don’t seem very willing?”
Yan Wei continued smiling and gritting his teeth, “I’m… willingly… accepting!”
Zhou Qiaoqiao became even more puzzled and asked Yan Wei, “Why are you so good to me?”
Yan Wei looked up, thought for a moment, and said, “Perhaps it’s because I have enough ability and open-mindedness to accept all your flaws, and the two strengths you have are enough for me to enjoy a lifetime.”
Zhou Qiaoqiao furrowed her brows more and said, “What if you don’t like these two strengths of mine in the future?”
Yan Wei took a step forward, held her hand, and said, “I think… by that time…” He took out a ring from his pocket and then looked down at Zhou Qiaoqiao, saying, “I have already fallen in love with you.”
The ring was a simple platinum ring, without diamonds or patterns.
“So, would you be willing to wear it?” Yan Wei asked.
Zhou Qiaoqiao reached out her hand and said, “Yes, I promise. Put it on!”
Yan Wei: “…”
From the beginning, he felt that the situation wasn’t quite right.
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[1] chinese idiom: 一日三秋 one day apart feels like 3 years; used to express missing someone so much
[2] In one of the early chapters, YW was described to have a fashionable french crew cut hairstyle