Seeing that his face had turned red with anger and the veins on his neck were bulging, Sun Yurong hurriedly asked, “What did Mingshi say to make you this angry?”
Zhou Kanghui threw his phone onto the table. “That unfilial brat told us to move out.”
“What?” Sun Yurong could no longer maintain the gentle expression on her face and blurted out in shock, “What gives him the right to tell us to move out?”
Zhou Kanghui said, “When the Zhou family’s old residence was built, a feng shui master was invited to inspect the site. The feng shui here is excellent and brings prosperity to the Zhou family. Mingshi is the heir of this generation of the Zhou family. After he gets married, the house will be transferred into his name…”
Sun Yurong had finally managed to move into the old residence. There was no way she was willing to leave. She grabbed his hand and said, “Even if the house is transferred to him, your parents will still be living there. We have to stay here to take care of them as devoted children. How can we possibly move out?”
This was also the first time Zhou Mingyuan had learned that the old residence would be transferred to his second brother after his marriage. Once the house belonged to his second brother, the thought of continuing to live there made him uncomfortable. His relationship with his second brother had never been good to begin with. If the house still belonged to Grandpa and Grandma, living there was one thing. But if it belonged to his second brother…
He didn’t really want to keep living there anymore.
He said, “Then let’s just move out. Dad isn’t exactly short of houses. Doesn’t he own two villas?”
Sun Yurong shot him a sharp look. “If you don’t know how to speak, then keep your mouth shut.”
The old residence carried a significance unlike any other place. If they moved out and lived elsewhere, they would be distancing themselves from the Zhou family’s inner circle. From then on, those people on the outside would look down on them even more.
Zhou Kanghui looked at his third son. “You really don’t mind moving out?”
Zhou Mingyuan replied, “Why wouldn’t I?”
He had his own pride. He had no interest in taking advantage of his second brother, much less living in someone else’s house.
Even without relying on anyone, he was confident he could build a home for himself. He had complete faith in his own abilities. They were both sons of the Zhou family. He wasn’t inferior to his second brother in any way.
Zhou Kanghui nodded. “Since you want to move out, then we’ll do as you say and move out.”
Sun Yurong immediately objected. “I don’t agree. I…”
Zhou Kanghui didn’t want to move either, but he knew there was no point resisting. “Whether you agree or not doesn’t matter. If either of your two children had become the Zhou family’s heir, none of us would have to move out. But neither of them lived up to expectations, so now even I have to move out with them…”
Zhou Mingyuan’s face flushed red. He didn’t think he was incapable at all. But his grandparents had always favored his second brother. Hadn’t his eldest brother moved out precisely to make way for him?
Ever since he was little, his grandparents had repeatedly told him that the family would belong to his second brother in the future, and that he and his siblings shouldn’t entertain any unrealistic hopes because it would be pointless. He had always known that. Now even his father spent his days at home with nothing to do. Even if he did have ambitions, there was nothing he could do about it.
Sun Yurong’s face stiffened.
‘Was that even something a father should say?’
Gritting her teeth, she said, “Even if the two of them were outstanding, it still wouldn’t matter. You never supported them, and their grandparents never supported them either…”
Zhou Kanghui let out a long sigh. “There’s nothing we can do about it. Your family background is too weak, and you don’t have much ability either. Mingshi’s mother, Tan Qingwen, came from an excellent family and was capable in her own right. Even after divorcing me, she started her own business. The sports brand she built now has stores all over the country. What do you have that can compare with her? My parents aren’t fools. Who they would choose as the heir goes without saying.”
“…”
Sun Yurong wanted nothing more than to kick him. ‘If I’d had a powerful family background and abilities of my own, would I ever have chosen to marry you?’
Zhou Mingyuan disagreed with his father’s words. Sitting up straight, he declared, “Even if I don’t inherit the family’s business, don’t rely on anyone, and don’t marry for an alliance, I’ll still be able to build a wealthy family through my own abilities.”
Sun Yurong wanted to slap him unconscious.
If she hadn’t found a way to marry into the Zhou family, allowing him to be born as the young master of a wealthy household, then even if he struggled for several lifetimes on his own, he might never enjoy the life he had now.
Build a wealthy family just because he said so?
Such a naïve young master.
If building a powerful family were really that easy, Zhou Mingshi wouldn’t be entering a marriage alliance with the Lin family.
Zhou Kanghui, however, patted his son’s shoulder. “Work hard. From now on, I’m counting on you.”
“You can count on me,” Zhou Mingyuan replied confidently.
Sun Yurong was speechless.
The next morning, after breakfast, Lin Yi’an headed to the traditional Chinese medicine clinic.
As soon as she walked inside, one of the nurses greeted her with a smile. “Dr. Lin, you’re back from your vacation?”
Lin Yi’an smiled. “I brought everyone a few gifts. Zhizhi will hand them out for me.” With that, she walked into the consultation room.
Ye Lingzhi followed behind her carrying several bags and distributed the gifts one by one.
“Dr. Lin brings us gifts every time she comes back from vacation.”
“There’s tea too. I just finished the tea Dr. Lin gave us last time. Now I don’t have to worry about running out.”
“Wow, there are even two boxes of pastries! The pastries from this shop are especially delicious. Of course, they’re expensive too.”
Lin Yi’an entered the consultation room, changed into her white coat, and had just taken a seat when Li Chenglin walked in.
“An’an, when did you get back?” Li Chenglin asked.
“I got back the day before yesterday.” Lin Yi’an smiled. “You’ve worked hard these past few days.”
Li Chenglin sat down and said, “Most of the patients come here specifically to see either you or Dr. Xiong. While you were away, they all went to Dr. Xiong instead, so I wasn’t too busy.”
As they were talking, a nurse came in and whispered, “That young lady is here again.”
Li Chenglin said, “She’s here to see a doctor. We just treat her properly. What’s there to make such a fuss about?”
Lin Yi’an looked at them. “What’s going on?”
The nurse glanced at Li Chenglin.
Li Chenglin explained, “Miss Zheng was introduced by her cousin. Her cousin is Xu Xin, who used to come here for treatment for her cervical spondylosis…”
The clinic had been open for three years. Some patients had found it on their own, while others had come through recommendations. Thanks to word of mouth, the clinic was busy every day.
Before Li Chenglin could finish speaking, a familiar voice came from outside.
“Has Dr. Lin come back?”
One of the nurses answered, “She has.”
A moment later, there was a knock on the door to Lin Yi’an’s consultation room.
“Come in,” Lin Yi’an said.
Xu Xin’s eyes lit up the moment she saw Lin Yi’an. “Dr. Lin, you’re finally back.”
Smiling, Lin Yi’an pointed to the chair in front of her. “Miss Xu, have a seat.”
Xu Xin waved her hand. “I won’t sit. I came with my cousin. Please see her first…”
Miss Zheng followed her into the room. The instant she saw Lin Yi’an, she declared, “I want this doctor to treat me. I won’t let anyone else do it.”
After saying that, she noticed Li Chenglin standing off to one side and instinctively edged farther away from her.
The moment Xu Xin heard those words, a headache came on, but she still patiently said, “All right. Dr. Lin will see you.”
Li Chenglin found the situation rather amusing but said nothing. She left the room with the nurse, pulling the door shut behind them.
Miss Zheng looked at Lin Yi’an and immediately felt much more at ease. This doctor was young and looked so gentle. She definitely wouldn’t be as stern as Dr. Xiong or Dr. Li.
With that thought in mind, she obediently took a seat. Looking curiously at the young doctor before her, she asked, “You’re Dr. Lin? The doctor who cured my cousin’s cervical vertigo?”
Lin Yi’an replied, “Your cousin’s cervical spine had straightened, which affected the blood supply to her brain. Her vertigo has disappeared now, but she’ll still need to get plenty of rest and take good care of her health.”
After saying that, she added, “Let’s check your blood pressure first.”
“Oh,” Miss Zheng responded.
After taking her blood pressure, Lin Yi’an looked at the readings. “Your blood pressure and heart rate are both normal.”