After tidying up and changing out of her pajamas, Yan Hao went downstairs to have breakfast. Lou Jingyi spent two hours in the study before coming out. As soon as Yan Hao finished her breakfast, she sat on the sofa waiting. The moment Lou Jingyi walked down the stairs, Yan Hao put her phone into her bag and stood up. “Let’s go.” Yan Hao nodded. “Okay.”
Along the way, the two of them didn’t exchange a single word. Driving the car was Lou Jingyi’s assistant, Du Lai. “President Lou, the plane tickets for the business trip have already been booked.” “Mn.”
A business trip? Was he going on a business trip? Yan Hao leaned her head gently against the car window. She had only been at Jing Garden for a few days, and now he was going on a business trip.
Over half an hour later, the car pulled up in front of the Lou family’s old mansion. A servant hurried forward to open the car door. “Eldest Young Master, Miss Yan.” Lou Jingyi buttoned the top button of his suit jacket and nodded to the servant.
This was one of the rare times Yan Hao stood side-by-side with Lou Jingyi. Over the past few days, her understanding of Lou Jingyi had deepened. He always wore a detached and aloof expression when dealing with people—showing three parts politeness and seven parts coldness. She rarely saw Lou Jingyi look relaxed, nor had she ever seen him smile. Perhaps it was because the relationship between her and him hadn’t reached a level of complete candor. That was why Yan Hao had never seen his truest self.
Lou Chang, the old patriarch of the Lou family, had a total of two sons and one daughter. Lou Minhe was Lou Chang’s eldest son. Years ago, after Lou Chang retired, Lou Minhe took over the company. He had cultivated his only son, Lou Jingyi, into an exceptionally capable person.
In the courtyard, several young children were playing, with a few servants accompanying them and keeping watch. Yan Hao didn’t recognize any of them. When they caught sight of Lou Jingyi, they dropped their toys and rushed over to him. “Uncle! You’re back!” Lou Jingyi bent down to pick up a little girl and told them, “Mn, I didn’t bring any gifts today, I’ll buy them for you another day.” “Thank you, Uncle~” The child kissed him on the cheek, and the corners of Lou Jingyi’s lips curved into a smile. After exchanging a few more words, he put the child down. “Go play.”
“Look at them, they’re just so attached to you!” Song Ying walked out from the house. “Mom.” “Auntie.” Song Ying smiled in response. “Yanyuan, come here quickly.” She linked her arm through Yan Hao’s and said to Lou Jingyi, “Go inside and keep your grandparents company. I’m going to chat with Yanyuan for a bit.” Hearing this, Lou Jingyi glanced at Yan Hao, nodded at Song Ying, and said, “Then I’ll go inside first.” “Go on.”
Song Ying pulled Yan Hao down to sit on a chair in the courtyard and inquired, “Yanyuan, how is my Jingyi treating you? Is he good to you?” “He’s quite good, Auntie,” Yan Hao said. Song Ying smiled with satisfaction. “That’s good. Once the two families discuss the details, the wedding can be held. Rest assured, our Lou family won’t treat you unfairly.” “When the time comes, you and Jingyi will be husband and wife for life. The wedding will definitely be grand—sounds good?” “Good,” Yan Hao nodded. “Thank you, Auntie.”
With Yan Hao’s parents both passed away, Song Ying didn’t want her to have any regrets regarding the wedding. Yan Hao felt her eye sockets grow a little warm.
Back when she was in elementary school, the Lou and Yan families got acquainted in the business world. Lou Jingyi’s father, Lou Minhe, and her father, Yan Hui, frequently collaborated. It wasn’t until middle school that the two families truly established a closer connection. Yan Hui greatly admired his business friend, and the two families gradually grew close. When Yan Hao was fourteen years old, the two families arranged an engagement between her and Lou Jingyi.
Later on, both companies became too busy, and with the two families living in different cities, Yan Hao and Lou Jingyi rarely saw each other more than a few times a year. On top of that, Lou Jingyi had his own social circle and didn’t visit the Yan household often. He would only follow his parents to visit the Yan home during the Chinese New Year. Yan Hao had secretly glanced at Lou Jingyi countless times, hiding her feelings so well that he had never noticed her intentions.
Song Ying asked a few more related questions before Zhao Laifang came out to the doorway to call them inside. “Why haven’t you let Yanyuan come in yet?” “Mom,” Song Ying smiled as she stood up. “I just wanted to have a little private chat with Yanyuan!” Yan Hao also stood up, not expecting Zhao Laifang to be followed by quite a few people. Back when her parents were alive, Yan Hao had never accompanied them to the Lou family’s old mansion, so she didn’t recognize these people.
Just as she was pondering how to greet them properly, someone spoke up first. “So this must be Yan Hao? First time meeting her, I didn’t expect her to be so pretty.” It was Lou Jingyi’s aunt who spoke. “Hello everyone, I’m Yan Hao.” “She really looks wonderful, a great match for Jingyi. No wonder my big brother was able to get you two engaged so early!”
Song Ying introduced her to Yan Hao: “This is Jingyi’s little aunt.” Lou Minmin was Lou Chang’s youngest daughter, and both Lou Chang and Zhao Laifang doted heavily on her. When Lou Minmin turned thirty, Lou Chang felt she was capable enough to stand on her own feet and wanted to start a company for her. Lou Minmin didn’t care for such things, preferring to travel everywhere and live a carefree life; to this day, at forty-five, she remained unmarried. “Hello, Little Aunt.” “Hello, Yanyuan, come over here.” Song Ying: “Go on over and let your little aunt take a good look at you.” Yan Hao nodded and walked over toward Lou Minmin.
“Second Brother, doesn’t Yanyuan look nice?” Lou Mingping nodded. “Mn, she has a pleasant look. How old is she now?” Presumably, this was Lou Jingyi’s second uncle. Yan Hao replied, “Second Uncle, I’m twenty-three.” “Jingyi is twenty-five this year, two years older than you. That’s a good age gap—he’ll know how to take care of you.”
Hearing this, Yan Hao didn’t know what to say, while Lou Jingyi stood silently on the side without uttering a word. “Jingyi, put in some effort and give Yingying and Yangyang a couple of younger siblings.” Yan Hao’s face flushed red, and she lowered her head. Suddenly hit with this urging from Lou Mingping, Lou Jingyi was momentarily stunned as well. “Second Uncle, no need to rush.” “Uncle~ Uncle~ I want a little brother or sister!” Little Lou Yang, the girl Lou Jingyi had just been holding, came over and hugged his leg, acting coquettishly.
Lou Mingping and Yang Mei had given birth to a pair of fraternal twins, Lou Jingyang and Lou Jingqi. Lou Jingyang had a child out of wedlock during college and single-handedly raised the fraternal twins, Lou Ying and Lou Yang, who were now four years old. Lou Jingyang was twenty-four this year and had no interest in the businesses of the Lou Group. He chose to be a carefree boss instead, opening quite a few shops spanning various industries. Lou Jingqi was a moderately well-known journalist.
Lou Mingping didn’t mind whatever path his two children wanted to take; with his nephew Lou Jingyi handling the Lou Group, he felt completely at ease. Lou Jingyi picked up Lou Yang and told Lou Jingyang, “Did you hear that? Yangyang wants a younger sibling.” Lou Jingyang put on an indifferent attitude. “Brother, this has nothing to do with me. I’m not even married, and my daughter is clearly urging you to have kids.”
Lou Minmin pulled Yan Hao aside and introduced her to the rest of the family members one by one, allowing Yan Hao to finally tell everyone apart. They all walked into the grand hall together.
Yan Hao felt a twinge of envy. Lou Jingyi had such a large family, which suddenly made her think of her own mom and dad. Around a large round table sat dozens of people, while a few nannies fed a group of young children at a separate table. With so many relatives visiting today, the atmosphere was lively. Yan Hao was seated right between Zhao Laifang and Lou Jingyi. As soon as Zhao Laifang picked up her chopsticks, the others began to pick up theirs and select food.
“Yanyuan, try this.” Zhao Laifang picked up a large lobster and placed it on Yan Hao’s plate. Song Ying was just about to instruct someone to come and help peel it, considering that shelling such a large lobster could easily hurt Yan Hao’s hands. “Jingyi, peel the shrimp for Yanyuan.” Yan Hao quickly waved her hands in refusal. “Grandma, I can do it myself…” “That won’t do. Since you have a man around, make him help you. Otherwise, what use is he?”
Lou Jingyi rarely disobeyed his grandmother. He put down his chopsticks, put on a pair of gloves, and began peeling the shrimp. Seeing this, Zhao Laifang placed two or three more onto Yan Hao’s plate. “Keep peeling.” After instructing Lou Jingyi, she turned back with a beaming smile to look at Yan Hao. “Yanyuan dear, eat more. How come you look like you’ve lost weight after just a few days?” “Did Jingyi not feed you well at home?” “No, Big Brother Jingyi treats me quite well. It’s just that I changed environments and wasn’t quite used to it yet.”
Lou Jingyi’s hands paused mid-action. Big Brother Jingyi? This was the first time he had ever heard Yan Hao address him that way. “From now on, this is your own home. Cook whatever you want to eat, make your own decisions. If Jingyi gives you any grievances, just call Grandma, and I’ll deal with him right away!”
Yan Hao thought to herself: How could she ever dare to falsely complain… She verbally agreed, hoping Lou Jingyi hadn’t taken those words to heart.
The shrimp were all peeled. Lou Jingyi took off his gloves, and a servant handed him a hot towel to wipe his hands. “Eat up, Yanyuan. This was peeled for you by Jingyi, after all.” “Okay, Grandma.”