After parking his car, Zhou Lingjing arrived at the private room they had reserved.
His childhood friend Lin Sheng had just taken a few sips of wine when he saw him enter. Immediately, Lin Sheng nudged the woman accompanying him, signaling for her to leave.
The woman was dressed provocatively, yet her appearance was sweet and adorable. Her eyes were dewy and bright, truly giving off the aura of an innocent beauty.
She gently smoothed her skirt, but instead of obediently leaving, she picked up two glasses of red wine and sashayed toward Zhou Lingjing with cat-like steps. She knew this man held a higher status; if she could latch onto him, she’d never have to worry about anything for the rest of her life.
Her eyes fixed intently on Zhou Lingjing as she cooed in a sugary voice, “Sir, let me offer you a toast.”
Zhou Lingjing didn’t even spare her a glance from the corner of his eye. He brushed past her and walked straight to the sofa, crossing his legs casually as an air of nonchalance radiated from his entire being.
One hand lightly tapped on the armrest of the chair. His expression was cool, his gaze detached. He didn’t say a word.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the room grew quiet. Chen Yuhang, watching from the sidelines, secretly smirked, the corners of his mouth lifting. Serves Lin Sheng right for bringing a woman in—Zhou Lingjing had always been most annoyed by this sort of thing.
Lin Sheng sneered from his seat, swirling the wine glass in his hand. His handsome, devilish face was filled with disdain and mockery.
“I say, people shouldn’t be too greedy. Isn’t my status enough for you?” he remarked.
At his words, the woman panicked. She hurried over to Lin Sheng’s side, dropping to one knee and tugging at the hem of his clothes, her expression flustered.
Anxiously, she said, “No, Young Master Lin, that’s not what I meant! I just wanted to offer this gentleman a toast since he just arrived.”
“Hah, how many business tycoons worth billions have offered him a toast, and he might not even accept it. What makes you think you’re special?” Lin Sheng mocked her.
“Alright, get out of here now. Don’t ruin our mood. If you keep making a fuss, you won’t be working here anymore,” he snapped impatiently.
No matter how unwilling she was, the woman had no choice. After all, she didn’t want to lose her job. Rising with regret and resentment, she stormed out.
Click. The door closed, and the room fell into complete silence.
Young Master Lin spoke up as if nothing had happened, “Come on, she’s gone now. Don’t let this little incident ruin our fun tonight.”
He then poured wine into the glass in front of Zhou Lingjing.
Zhou Lingjing watched his movements, giving him a faint glance. Lin Sheng immediately felt a chill run down his spine.
Looking somewhat guilty at Zhou Lingjing, he said, “Don’t look at me like that. As soon as you arrived, I told her to leave, didn’t I?”
“Hahaha, serves you right. I told you to cut back on the women. If you don’t rein it in, just wait and see how your dad deals with you,” Chen Yuhang chimed in gleefully from the side.
“You think I’m Zhou Lingjing? Aloof and abstinent are his trademarks, not mine,” Lin Sheng said casually.
“By the way, I heard you suddenly got married a few days ago. It really shocked all of us,” Lin Sheng got back to the point and asked him.
Chen Yuhang perked up too, pricking up his ears to listen.
Zhou Lingjing elegantly swirled the red wine in his hand and said calmly, “Getting married at a certain age is normal. What’s so surprising about it?”
“Hey, I wouldn’t be surprised if anyone else got married, but you, Zhou Lingjing? That’s enough to shock anyone,” Lin Sheng retorted.
“So, when are you going to introduce your little wife to us? You can’t keep a lovely wife at home forever without bringing her out to meet people, right?” Lin Sheng teased him.
Zhou Lingjing chuckled lightly, “It’s not like you two haven’t met her before.”
Upon hearing this, both of them widened their eyes in shock!!! They exchanged a glance.
“Wait, we’ve met her?!” Chen Yuhang raised his voice.
“Oh, you met her twenty years ago and even held her,” Zhou Lingjing said with a smirk. He glanced at the two of them and cut to the chase. “Su Zhaotang, the daughter of the Su family. She stayed at my place for a while when she was little. When you came over to play, you thought she was adorable and would always try to coax her with snacks just to hold her.”
His words left them completely stunned.
“Damn, Zhou Lingjing, you beast! An old cow eating tender grass—how could you go after her?” Lin Sheng protested indignantly.
Zhou Lingjing gave him a cold look but didn’t deny the age gap between him and Su Zhaotang.
“If I remember correctly, a certain Mr. Lin’s father is fifteen years older than his mother,” Zhou Lingjing remarked pointedly.
Beside them, Chen Yuhang choked on his drink in excitement, coughing and sputtering, “Cough… cough… damn, I almost choked to death, hahaha… cough…”
“Alright, alright, I’ll stop,” Lin Sheng conceded.
“But when are you going to bring her out to hang with us? I haven’t seen little Zhaotang in ages.”
After meeting her when she was just a few years old, Su Zhaotang was taken away and later went abroad to study. It had indeed been years since they last saw her, and they had no idea what she looked like now.
Zhou Lingjing replied, “When she has time. She’s probably very busy lately.”
Lin Sheng raised his glass of red wine and clinked it with Zhou Lingjing’s. “Alright, we’ll wait for you two.”
Zhou Lingjing raised his glass in response and took a small sip of the wine.
Meanwhile, that evening, Su Zhaotang was leisurely lounging on the sofa in her plush pajamas, hugging a pillow while watching TV with her mother when her phone suddenly rang with a video call notification.
Deeply engrossed in the drama, the sound startled her.
She picked up her phone and saw it was a video call from her grandmother. Su Zhaotang quickly answered, and her grandmother’s kind face immediately appeared on the screen.
“Grandma, good evening,” Su Zhaotang said sweetly, her smile charming and bright. Her eyes curved into crescents, and her lips curled up, revealing two adorable dimples.
“Ah, my dear girl, aren’t you asleep yet? What are you up to?”
Su Zhaotang switched the camera to show the TV, her mother, and a quick pan around the living room before flipping it back to herself.
“I’m watching TV with Mom. And you’re telling me? It’s so late, and you’re not asleep either. If you keep this up, I’ll have Aunt Wang keep a close eye on you to make sure you sleep properly,” Su Zhaotang pretended to scold, her tone full of concern.
Grandma laughed, looking at her affectionately. “Nothing of the sort. Grandma just misses you. When are you coming to see me, my dear? And when you come, bring that rascal Haoxuan along too. Otherwise, I hardly ever get to see him.”
“Just say the word, and I’ll be right there tomorrow, Grandma. I miss you too,” Su Zhaotang declared, patting her chest with a determined expression. It had indeed been a long time since she last visited her grandparents, especially after being abroad for so long.
Grandma Su was amused, her joy evident even through the wrinkles on her face. “Good, good. I’ll be waiting for my dear granddaughter tomorrow. I’ll make you something delicious.”
“Great! I’ll save my appetite and eat everything you make, Grandma.”
Grandma gave her a mock-disapproving look.
“Don’t feed me empty promises, you with your kitten-sized appetite, talking about eating everything up.”
“Wow, Grandma, you’re so trendy, you even know about ‘painting big cakes’!”
Su Zhaotang was amused by her grandmother.
“Of course, I’m a surfing expert now,” Grandma said proudly.
“Alright, alright, just wait patiently for me and that guy Haoxuan tomorrow. Now hurry up and get some rest.”
“Okay, I’ll listen to our Zhaozhao. Grandma’s hanging up now.”
Su Zhaotang waved goodbye, said goodnight, and hung up.