Just as Zhou Mingshi and Assistant Chen arrived upstairs, Assistant Chen’s phone rang.
He took out his phone and saw that the call was from President Tan. He immediately looked at Zhou Mingshi. “It’s President Tan.”
Zhou Mingshi said, “So what if it’s her? Don’t tell me you’re afraid to answer her calls.”
Assistant Chen gave a dry cough. “Well… you came down with a fever. I’m worried she’ll blame me for not taking good care of you.”
“You’re overthinking it.”
Zhou Mingshi laughed and scolded him lightly before adding, “Answer it already. If President Tan finds out you kept her waiting, she’ll probably cut your Lunar New Year bonus in half.”
Assistant Chen dared not say another word. President Tan’s New Year bonus was extremely generous. Losing half of it would be heartbreaking. He quickly asked, “So… we’re not telling President Tan that you’ve caught a cold?”
Zhou Mingshi replied, “It’s just a minor cold.”
Understanding what he meant, Assistant Chen answered the call in a loud, cheerful voice. “Hello, President Tan. This is Chen Shi.”
Tan Qingwen said, “I know it’s Chen Shi. Where’s Mingshi?”
Assistant Chen replied, “President Zhou is working.”
Tan Qingwen asked, “I heard from Zhou Kanghui that Mingshi went to Changping to spend time with An’an?”
Zhou Kanghui was his boss’s father. Only President Tan, his ex-wife, would call him so casually by his full name. That thought crossed Assistant Chen’s mind, but he did not forget to answer, “We arrived last night.”
Tan Qingwen said, “Why didn’t you tell me before you left? I would have prepared some gifts for An’an’s parents and grandmother.”
Assistant Chen replied, “President Zhou decided to come on short notice, so there wasn’t time to let you know. But don’t worry, we brought gifts with us.”
Tan Qingwen said, “What you prepared is one thing, and what I prepare is another. How could they be the same? I’ve bought some gifts for An’an, her parents, and her grandmother and had them shipped over. Remember to sign for the delivery.”
Assistant Chen replied, “Will do.”
Tan Qingwen continued, “Put Mingshi on the phone. I want to talk to him.”
Assistant Chen looked at Zhou Mingshi. “President Tan wants to speak with you.”
Leaning back on the sofa, Zhou Mingshi said, “Give me the phone.”
Assistant Chen handed it over, and Zhou Mingshi answered, “Mom.”
Tan Qingwen immediately asked, “Your voice doesn’t sound right. Did you catch a cold?”
Zhou Mingshi smiled. “Nothing gets past you.”
Tan Qingwen frowned. “No matter how busy work gets, don’t forget to take care of yourself.”
Zhou Mingshi replied, “With Chen Shi looking after me, aren’t you at ease?”
Tan Qingwen said, “He’s not exactly reliable either. He always does whatever you say. He didn’t even tell me you’d caught a cold just now.”
Zhou Mingshi smiled. “I’m at your future daughter-in-law’s house right now. Your future daughter-in-law is a doctor. It’s only a minor cold. Nothing serious.”
Tan Qingwen said, “Tell An’an’s parents that I’ll come visit them when I have some free time. You’ve been engaged for quite a while now. It’s about time I paid them a visit.”
Zhou Mingshi replied, “Okay.”
While the mother and son were talking on the phone, Lin Yi’an had just ended the video call with her eldest sister when another video call came in from her second sister, Lin Jingyun.
Lying on her bed, Lin Jingyun pouted. “An’an, when are you coming back? Everyone else has gone to work. I’m all alone at home, and I’m so bored!”
Lin Yi’an said, “Zhou Mingshi is here.”
Lin Jingyun’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”
Lin Yi’an nodded. “Seriously. Eldest Sister and the others already know.”
Lin Jingyun asked, “Big Sis didn’t tell me. Why did he go to your adoptive parents’ house?”
Lin Yi’an replied, “He recently had some free time. He said we’re getting married in a few months, so we should start spending time together and get used to living with each other. Since I wasn’t in the capital, he came to Changping instead.”
Lin Jingyun asked curiously, “So how are the two of you getting along?”
Lin Yi’an answered, “Pretty well.”
Hearing her calm tone, Lin Jingyun knew that her sister’s definition of “pretty well” was nothing like her own. But An’an had always been like this, gentle and unhurried in everything she did.
Still, An’an was the third daughter of the Lin family. No matter what she was like, she was wonderful just as she was. She didn’t need to change. She only needed to be herself.
With a smile, Lin Jingyun said, “By the way, Zhou Mingshi’s younger half-sister has been telling people that it’s her mother’s forty-sixth birthday and that you’re going to attend the birthday celebration.”
After thinking for a moment, Lin Yi’an asked, “Are you talking about Zhou Jia?”
“That’s her.”
Lin Yi’an said, “I’ve never had any contact with her. I don’t even have her contact information, much less her mother’s. As for whether I’ll attend her mother’s birthday banquet, that’ll depend on what Zhou Mingshi says.”
Hearing how seriously she answered, Lin Jingyun almost laughed. “Exactly. That’s how it should be. This is the Zhou family’s business. It depends on Zhou Mingshi’s attitude.”
As far as she knew, Zhou Mingshi had never been particularly fond of either his stepmother or the two children she had with his father.
Zhou Mingshi’s father, Zhou Kanghui, had been married three times.
His first wife was his college sweetheart. They had a son and a daughter after getting married, but divorced not long afterward.
Later, the Zhou family arranged a marriage alliance with the Tan family. The Tan family had initially refused, but for reasons unknown, Zhou Mingshi’s mother, Tan Qingwen, agreed. Her only condition was that the Zhou family’s heir could only be her child. The Zhou family accepted.
Not long after Zhou Mingshi was born, his father’s affair was exposed, and the two of them divorced almost immediately.
Afterward, Zhou Kanghui married the woman he had cheated with, who was Zhou Jia’s mother.
As the two sisters continued chatting, Lin Jingyun suddenly said, “Not long after you left yesterday, Eldest Aunt had Wang Xiujun move back to her own home. The house is finally peaceful again.”
Lin Yi’an said, “She talks too much.”
Lin Jingyun snorted. “More than that. She’s practically a loudmouth. Who wouldn’t get tired of listening to the things she says? When she was moving out, she even cried and said that since you’d gone back to Changping, she wanted to stay a few more days. Eldest Aunt wouldn’t agree.”
Lin Yi’an said, “Mom listens to Big Brother and Big Sister.”
Lin Jingyun smiled. “I think Eldest Aunt’s getting fed up with her too. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been in such a hurry to send her away.”
Eldest Aunt had genuinely doted on Wang Xiujun in the past. Otherwise, she would never have let her stay with the Lin family. But Wang Xiujun simply didn’t know when to stop. She spoke without thinking and constantly rubbed people the wrong way.
Lin Yi’an smiled. “I could tell.”
As they chatted, drowsiness crept over Lin Yi’an. She yawned and said, “I’m getting sleepy.”
Lin Jingyun replied, “Then hurry up and get some sleep.”
She knew An’an always kept a regular schedule, so she didn’t keep her any longer.
Lin Yi’an nodded. “Okay.”
After ending the call, Lin Yi’an checked the time. It was almost ten o’clock. She quickly went downstairs to warm up Zhou Mingshi’s herbal medicine and had Assistant Chen take it upstairs to him before returning to her room to wash up and get ready for bed.
Assistant Chen carried the warmed herbal medicine into the room. Zhou Mingshi was leaning against the headboard with a tablet in his hands, reading the news. Seeing the bowl of medicine, he said, “Didn’t I already take medicine? Why is there another bowl?”
Assistant Chen replied, “It’s been five hours since your last dose. Miss Lin said you can take another one now. She personally warmed it up for you and asked me to bring it upstairs.”
As he spoke, he noticed the reluctance on Zhou Mingshi’s face and thought to himself, ‘Miss Lin is a traditional Chinese medicine doctor. Once the two of you get married, whenever you fall ill, you’ll probably have to drink herbal medicine. You’d better get used to it sooner rather than later.’
Zhou Mingshi asked, “Do I really have to drink it?”
Assistant Chen replied, “Then… shall I tell Miss Lin that you don’t want to drink the herbal medicine?”
With that, he made as if to turn around.
“Stop.” Zhou Mingshi sighed. “Bring me the medicine.”
Assistant Chen quickly handed him the bowl.
Taking it, Zhou Mingshi said, “You’ve gotten pretty bold. Now you’re even trying to manage me, and you’re using Yi’an to pressure me.”
Assistant Chen gave an awkward laugh. “I promised President Tan I’d take good care of you. I can’t neglect my duty. I’ve already prepared some candy for you, so just drink it.”
Zhou Mingshi snorted softly. “How thoughtful of you.”
Knowing he was dissatisfied, Assistant Chen continued, “Miss Lin went to all the trouble of running up and down the stairs just to warm your medicine. Wasn’t it all because she wanted you to recover sooner? If Miss Lin found out you didn’t even want to drink the medicine she warmed up for you, she’d be heartbroken.”
Zhou Mingshi ignored him. He finished the bowl in a few gulps, then immediately reached for the candy.