Chapter 13

Chapter 13 In the afternoon, Zhou Jingyu was invited by his second uncle, Zhou Jiarong, for tea. “Since you were three years old, your grandfather took you to live with him. At that time, besides your father who had already married and moved out, your third uncle and I still lived with your grandfather. You grew up right under our noses,” Zhou Jiarong said warmly as he personally brewed a pot of tea and handed a cup to Zhou Jingyu, speaking to him like a caring elder. Zhou Jingyu accepted the tea and blew away a leaf floating on its surface. “Second Uncle, Third Uncle has always been very kind to me since childhood. I keep that in my heart and will never forget it.” Zhou Jiarong laughed heartily. “What’s there to be afraid of? You were so tiny back then, and there were no other children in the family besides you. Your second uncle truly cherished you.” “You are the eldest grandson of the Zhou family’s main branch. Your grandfather devoted himself to cultivating you. When you were young, he said he would entrust this family to you in the future. It’s just that you’re still young after all, and you haven’t seen much of the world. Don’t blame us for overseeing too much in the company. We support you wholeheartedly, only wanting you to avoid taking detours.” Zhou Jingyu took a sip of tea, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Of course not. Second Uncle and Third Uncle mean well.” Zhou Jiarong nodded approvingly. In fact, he and Zhou Jiaxin had never taken Zhou Jingyu seriously when he was young. It wasn’t until he turned eighteen and showed his sharp talents that Zhou Donghai insisted on placing Zhou Jingyu in the company right after high school graduation. Only then did they realize what a major obstacle Zhou Jingyu could be. “About that land in the Western District…” After some back-and-forth with Zhou Jingyu, Zhou Jiarong gradually got to the point. Zhou Jiaxin wanted to snatch his land, so Zhou Jingyu naturally wouldn’t hand it over. It had been decided that the final ownership would be determined by a vote among board members. Among the board members, since Zhou Jingyu was the chairman, he held two votes alone, which was a very high proportion. Zhou Jiarong believed it was necessary to win him over in advance. Zhou Jingyu understood the implication and said, “That land in the Western District originally belonged to Second Uncle. Second Uncle went through great pains to obtain it, so it’s only right that he do whatever he wants with it. Third Uncle wants to take it from Second Uncle without lifting a finger—where’s the logic in that?” “Second Uncle, rest assured. This time I will definitely vote for you.” This was exactly what Zhou Jiarong wanted to hear. He stood up with a smile, patted Zhou Jingyu’s shoulder, and sighed, “You’ve really grown up in these ten years away from the country, Jingyu!” He continued, “Since you’ve grown up, there are some things you should decide for yourself now.” Zhou Jingyu smiled. “Thank you, Second Uncle.” Zhou Jiarong replied, “What are you thanking me for? We’re all family.” On his way back to the office, Zhou Jingyu remembered he had been chatting with someone before meeting Zhou Jiarong for tea. He took out his phone and checked. Sure enough, there were two unread messages. He opened them. 【A Candy: Senior, how do children who grow up in complete families, loved by their parents, turn out? Are they carefree every day with no worries?】【A Candy: Senior, I’m so envious.】 Zhou Jingyu frowned at these two messages. What was wrong with her? Zhou Jingyu replied with a message. 【Y: ?】 When Wen Tang saw this message, she was already on her way to shoot a fashion magazine cover. Her good mood today had been completely ruined by Liu Meifen. She couldn’t understand why other people’s parents could deeply love their children and willingly give everything for them, but her parents? They only sucked her blood. Wen Tang still remembered what life was like before she turned eight. After Liu Meifen and Wen Haifeng divorced, they abandoned her in the countryside without a care. From age three to eight, her memory held no parents—only her grandmother who took care of her and raised her single-handedly. Though her grandmother loved her dearly, as an elderly woman, there were times she couldn’t provide complete care. Without parents to back her up, Wen Tang was bullied by other children. It wasn’t until she turned eight that she happened to appear in a television drama, which became a huge success, making her a household-name child star. Then Liu Meifen, who had ignored her all these years, appeared and took over all her future work and life. Shortly after, Wen Haifeng also showed up. It took a long time before she saw Gong Yue reply with just a simple question mark. It was his style. Wen Tang had a belly full of sorrow and grievance with nowhere to pour it out. But seeing that question mark felt like being drenched with cold water, quickly cooling her down. Forget it, better not say anything. People might not want to listen anyway. Besides, as a female celebrity, how could she casually chat about family matters with others? Wasn’t that embarrassing? Especially for someone like her—not just embarrassing, but enough material for others to attack her with. She glanced at her phone, about to put it away, when unexpectedly, two more messages came through quickly. 【Y: My mother passed away early, my father remarried, and I was also raised by my grandfather. I’m sorry, I can’t answer your question because I haven’t experienced it either—what it’s like to grow up in a normal family from childhood.】【Y: But my grandfather gave me enough care and love. Since childhood, I’ve believed that I’m not lacking anything compared to others.】 This was probably the longest message he’d sent during their chats. Wen Tang stared at these two lines, momentarily stunned. So Gong Yue’s background was… like this too? He wasn’t a talkative person. In their previous conversations, he had never mentioned his background. So was he… saying this to comfort her? Though it felt a bit tragic, it was indeed comforting. 【A Candy: So Senior was raised by your grandfather too! I grew up with my grandmother!】【A Candy: *pats Senior’s head*】 Zhou Jingyu sat in his leather chair. After waiting a moment and seeing her message, a slight smile played at his lips. It was afternoon, and the setting sun streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting its glow upon Zhou Jingyu. He was already exceptionally handsome, and in this moment, he seemed like a deity descended from heaven. His special assistant felt deeply moved upon entering and looking up. In the three-plus months of working together, this seemed to be the first time seeing the boss smile so gently, with a genuine warmth and no reservations whatsoever.　　He had always known that his boss’s appearance was extraordinary, but Zhou Jingyu had always maintained a businesslike, cold and distant attitude toward others. It was rare to feel any human warmth from him. Yes, the executive assistant did not find Zhou Jingyu easy to get along with. Although he appeared to be an approachable person, the CEO’s executive assistant was no ordinary person. To have risen to this position at such a young age, he possessed an unusually sharp intuition. CEO Zhou was not as refined and cultured as his appearance suggested. He was dangerous. The assistant had come to deliver documents and had already called Zhou Jingyu’s extension. Upon seeing him, Zhou Jingyu’s smile faded slightly as he said coolly, “Leave it here.” After delivering the documents, the assistant quietly withdrew.