“Little brother, you…” Yan Qing belatedly remembered that Zhan Yan Chen was still a student. “Are you in class right now?”
Zhan Yan Chen chuckled softly. “Class just ended. Did you need something, sis?”
“Yes.” Yan Qing pushed open the office door and stepped inside. “Little brother, I want to ask you something. Do you know anything about Lantao Group?”
“Not really, but I’ve heard my professor mention it. Lantao Group is a value investment firm that supports small and medium-sized enterprises in the industrial sector…”
Industrial sector?
Yan Qing gave a cold smile. So there really was something fishy going on.
If she had only cared about profits and rushed to go public, she would have fallen right into Fang Lin’s trap.
The only person capable of arranging for Fang Lin was Su Qianqian, who had her eyes set on Yan Qing’s husband…
Yan Qing didn’t bring this up. “Little brother, what if Lantao invests in Yuerong and forms a strategic partnership with us?”
“Lantao investing in a jewelry company has no future. Anything out of the ordinary is bound to be suspicious.”
Yan Qing laughed lightly. “We really are on the same wavelength.”
“You trust my words that much?” Zhan Yan Chen let out a low laugh. “Sis, in the workplace, you shouldn’t easily trust anyone.”
“I’ve been navigating the business world for five years. Do you think I don’t know the basics?” Yan Qing retorted, then laughed. “But you’re not part of the workplace. You’re my lucky husband who brings me good fortune. Of course I trust you completely.”
Zhan Yan Chen felt a pang of guilt. “Wife…”
“Be good, save that for when we get home.” Yan Qing still had matters to attend to. “Sis has to go deal with some scammers now. Bye.”
Zhan Yan Chen took the phone away from his ear. Fu Zhan Yu looked utterly perplexed. “Yan Chen, why are you pretending to be a cute puppy-dog guy?”
Zhan Yan Chen rested his elbows on his knees, pressing his fingers to his temples. “My wife likes cute puppy-dog guys.”
Fu Zhan Yu nearly burst out laughing. “So you’re cultivating both the wolf and the puppy?”
“That’s why I have a wife, and you don’t.”
Zhan Jiu: “…”
Fu Zhan Yu: “…”
Zhan Jiu cleared his throat lightly. “Young Master, I’ll go capture Su Qianqian right now!”
“No need.”
“Huh?” The Young Master wasn’t going to seek justice for the Young Mistress?
“Zhan Jiu, you still don’t get it.” Fu Zhan Yu said. “Su Qianqian is just an assistant—an assistant helping your Young Master pursue the Young Mistress.”
Zhan Jiu suddenly understood. No wonder the Young Master had kept Su Qianqian around all this time, and no wonder he waited until returning to the country to deal with Xia Jin.
So they were all just assistants, one after another.
Such a cunning and ruthless way to pursue a wife—truly worthy of his Young Master!
Zhan Yan Chen took out a cigarette, placed it between his lips, and lit it. Amidst the swirling smoke, his expression turned cold and resolute. “It’s time to play a game of financial warfare with the Su family.”
Zhan Jiu immediately understood, excitedly saying, “Young Master, I’ll go investigate the Su family’s nickel business right away.”
Fu Zhan Yu was also somewhat excited. A short squeeze in the futures market—a ruthless financial slaughter with no mercy.
He joked with a smile, “Yan Qing has a business brain, and Zhan Yan Chen has a Yan Qing brain.”
“It’s not just for Yan Qing.” Zhan Yan Chen exhaled a thin stream of smoke, leaving the rest of his words unspoken.
Fu Zhan Yu and Zhan Yan Chen shared a deep tacit understanding, understanding each other’s meaning without words. A cruel smile tugged at the corner of Fu Zhan Yu’s mouth.
Yan Qing and Zhan Yunduan delivered the materials on Xia Jin to the economic crime investigation unit. As soon as they returned to the company, Zhan Huaifeng and Jiang Li Luo arrived with afternoon tea.
Office.
Zhan Yunduan saw her grandparents and ran over happily. “Grandpa, Grandma.”
The two ignored Zhan Yunduan, smiling as they walked toward Yan Qing.
Zhan Yunduan pouted unhappily. As soon as her grandparents had a daughter-in-law, they ignored their precious granddaughter.
Yan Qing smiled and nodded. “Mr. Zhan, Sister Jiang.”
“Xiao Qing, you’ve lost weight. Have you been too busy to eat?” Jiang Li Luo lovingly stroked her little face. “Sister Jiang brought you some afternoon tea. Eat more.”
Zhan Huaifeng immediately placed the insulated bag in his hand on the table, smiling kindly. “Xiao Qing, eat more.”
Yan Qing was overwhelmed by the unexpected favor. Zhan Yunduan’s grandparents had always been warm, but today their enthusiasm was a bit over the top.
“Thank you, Elder Zhan, Sister Jiang.”
To avoid arousing her daughter-in-law’s suspicion, Jiang Li Luo pulled Zhan Yunduan over. “Duanduan, you should eat more too.”
“Grandma…”
“Little Duanduan, how many times have I told you? Call me Sister Jiang.” Being called ‘grandma’ made her feel old.
“Sister Jiang!” Zhan Yunduan sweetly corrected herself with a smile. “These hazelnut pastries were made by you personally!”
She could enjoy them all thanks to her aunt.
Jiang Li Luo opened a food container and handed it to Yan Qing. “Xiao Qing, these are your favorite rose flower cakes. Sister Jiang specially learned how to make them from a good friend in Yunnan. Try them and see if they’re tasty.”
Yan Qing took one out, took a bite, and found the outer layer crispy, filled with the rich fragrance of roses.
Yan Qing nodded in pleasant surprise. “Sister Jiang, your flower cakes are even more delicious than the ones I had in Yunnan!”
Jiang Li Luo smiled proudly. “If you like them, Sister Jiang will make them for you every day.”
Yan Qing: (⊙o⊙)…
What’s going on? Why is Sister Jiang even more affectionate than my own mother today?
Zhan Huaifeng opened the drink bag and took out a cup of fruit tea. “Xiao Qing, this is rose tea. Drink it while you eat, so you don’t choke.”
After handing it to his daughter-in-law, he gave another cup to his precious granddaughter.
“Thank you, Elder Zhan!”
“Thank you, Grandpa!”
Yan Qing held a flower cake in one hand and the flower tea in the other, her little mouth never stopping. “By the way, Sister Jiang, what’s your younger son’s name? He saved my life, and I haven’t had a chance to thank him yet.”
Jiang Li Luo blinked, and Zhan Huaifeng said, “His name is Zhan Jiusi!!”
They couldn’t tell their daughter-in-law their son’s formal name, so they gave his nickname.
Yan Qing pondered and said, “Is it taken from ‘The Analects,’ where it says ‘a gentleman has nine thoughts’?”
Jiang Li Luo nodded. “Yes, when we named him, we hoped he would think nine times before doing anything.”
“A good name.” But why did she feel a sense of familiarity? As if she had heard it somewhere before?
Jiang Li Luo tried to boost her younger son’s image. “Xiao Qing, my younger son not only has a good name, but he’s also a very good person and especially handsome. Just look at me and… his father, and you’ll know.”
Yan Qing smiled awkwardly. Parents always see their children through rose-colored glasses.
Jiang Li Luo asked casually, “Xiao Qing, Duanduan said you had a flash marriage? What’s he like? Is he good to you?”
Yan Qing thought of Zhan Yan Chen and couldn’t help but smile, her eyes curving. “Sister Jiang, my husband is an exceptionally good and outstanding person. He treats me incredibly well.”
Zhan Huaifeng chimed in, “Xiao Qing, do you like him?”
Yan Qing froze. She didn’t know if she liked Zhan Yan Chen; she only knew she really enjoyed being with him.
Unconsciously, she said, “I do like him.”
The two were so overjoyed they nearly acknowledged her as their younger daughter-in-law on the spot.
Ignored, Zhan Yunduan recorded the scene with her phone and immediately sent it to her uncle.
After a while, Zhan Yan Chen gave her a big surprise: [I’m giving you the Bay Villa.]
It was Zhan Yunduan’s favorite villa. Suppressing her ecstasy, she replied: [Thank you, Uncle!!]
Yan Qing returned to her apartment after work, and as she pushed open the door, she saw Zhan Yan Chen preparing dinner in the kitchen.
Loving someone requires mental effort, physical energy, and time. Her company kept her busy, and earning money was exhausting, so she had never thought about falling in love.
Before getting married, coming home after work meant just changing locations to continue working.
Now, coming home after work felt warm, knowing someone was there with her.
“Darling, why are you standing there spacing out?”
Yan Qing snapped back to reality and looked at Zhan Yan Chen walking toward her.
Dressed in pristine white, untouched by worldly dust, with an enchanting face and an air of spirited confidence.
As Yan Qing admired her husband’s peerless appearance, a line of poetry popped into her mind: “His beauty stands alone, unmatched in this world.”
Thump, thump, thump—
Yan Qing quickly covered her wildly beating heart. Help, was she just lusting after Zhan Yan Chen’s enchanting face, or had she truly fallen for him?