Since the matter was decided by the old man, he had no place to say anything. He could only play along with it and see what unfolded.
If Zhao Youlin really had some ulterior motive, regardless of whether she had the support of the old master behind her, he would do everything to kick her out of his house. He would not give her any chance to hurt his family.
However, if Zhou Youlin really cared about them, he would not mind having another daughter. After all, he had always known that Duan Yarong wanted a child, and he had been unable to give her one. Not to mention that the only one they had had…That was his biggest regret in life.
Zhao Youlin smiled meekly, as she nodded and said, “Okay.”
Duan Yarong was relieved to see that they got along with each other nicely. She had intended to hang with Zhao Youlin and her son for a little longer.
But the banquet downstairs had started. As the current apparent persons in charge of the Zhao family, they had to go down and greet the guests. Duan Yarong said lingeringly, “Youlin, take Joy to the pavilion in the courtyard to eat something first. I’ve asked Uncle Zhao to send some delicious food over. There are too many people at the banquet, Joy won’t be able to eat to his heart’s content over there.”
Zhou Youlin felt very grateful for Duan Yarong’s thoughtfulness. After that charade just now, she really did not want to be in the center of attention again.
“Okay. Joy, Grandma is going downstairs to talk to the guests now. She can’t play with you anymore. Say goodbye to Grandma. We’ll see her again later.”
When Joy heard that this woman who had been hugging him and playing with him while his mother was gone was going to leave, he turned his head quickly and said in a reluctant manner, “Bye-bye, Grandma.”
After spending the whole afternoon with him, Duan Yarong had grown very fond of her sweet grandson. Most importantly, their relationship had become different from before, the child was now officially her grandson, of course she would like him more every time she looked at him.
Zhao Shunrong saw the lingering emotion in her wife’s eyes. He sighed lightly and softly advised, “It’s not like we’ll never see each other again. When there are fewer guests, we’ll go to find them.”
Duan Yarong nodded reluctantly and instructed the two to wait for her to find them before following Zhao Shunrong downstairs.
As soon as Duan Yarong and her husband left, Zhao Youlin carried Joy to the direction Duan Yarong had just pointed and stepped into the courtyard that was filled with white flowers where she had once walked through before.
There was a small pavilion in the center of the courtyard. The top of the pavilion was wrapped with a variety of flowers and plants, which looked very beautiful.
After Uncle Zhao finished serving the old master, he sent a lot of delicious food over to the pavilion as instructed by Duan Yarong, most of them were children’s food. Most importantly, among the food was…
“Cupcakes!” As soon as Joy got close to the stone table inside the pavilion, he immediately saw a few delicate cupcakes placed on it with his sharp eyes.
Uncle Zhao looked at Joy with a smile, “Because I don’t know what flavors of cakes you like, I prepared several kinds. Young Master Sun, please try and see if they are to your liking.”
Joy turned his head to look at Zhao Youlin in anticipation. She smiled and stroked his head, “You can have just two.”
“Yes!” Joy reached out toward a piece of cake on the table, but he could not reach it because he was too short.
Uncle Zhao saw this and handed a piece of cake he wanted to him. Joy was stunned a little, before he grinned and said, “Thank you.” After saying that, he ate it joyfully.
Seeing Joy’s actions, Zhao Youlin smiled. Then she turned to Uncle Zhao and said, “Joy likes fruit-flavored cakes, especially mango flavored ones, but of course others are also acceptable. Thank you for preparing so much food for us, Uncle Zhao.”
Uncle Zhao returned a smile and said, “Young Lady, you are welcome. This is what I should be doing. I will keep in mind what Young Master Sun’s favorite is.”
Zhao Youlin nodded in satisfaction. She turned her head to take a look at Joy, only to see that the little kid was not eating the cake, but he was biting the spoon and staring at her motionlessly.
“What’s wrong? Is the cake not good?”
Joy shook his head. He was staring at Zhao Youlin with his two eyes glowing, “Mommy, mommy is prenny… Mommy looks different from usual!”
Prenny? It took Zhao Youlin a few seconds to realize that the kid was saying that she was pretty today, and that she looked different from usual.
Thinking of this, Zhao Youlin did not know whether she should laugh or cry. So she teased the child, “Joy, are you saying that Mommy is not pretty at other times? Now Mommy is sad.”
Joy’s big eyes widened. He was obviously fumbling for words. He wanted to explain but he did not know what he should say, “No…no…”
Uncle Zhao saw that the kid was getting so anxious that even his face became red. He could not resist but said something to help him out, “I think what Young Master Sun was trying to say is you are always beautiful, but today, you look extra beautiful, Eldest Lady.”
Joy’s eyes lit up and he looked gratefully at Uncle Zhao, causing the two adults to smile in amusement.
The ambiance inside the pavilion was harmonious until they suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from the side.
Not long after, several figures came in through the door that Uncle Zhao led Zhao Youlin through in the afternoon.
The moon was very bright tonight. The light in the pavilion seemed less obvious compared to the illumination of the moonlight in the lush courtyard.
Plus, the direction in which those people came in happened to be on the same side as the direction of the pavilion, so these people did not notice Zhao Youlin and the others in the pavilion.
“The birthday banquet has already started, right? This is all your fault. Why did you have to go back to the office all of a sudden? We’re late because you took the car with you, this is such a bummer.” A slightly sharp arrogant female voice came from the side, projecting a strong annoyance and displeasure to the listener.
Immediately after, a gentle but more obsequious male voice was heard. His voice was overflowing with apologies and fear, “That’s because an emergency came up in the company and I had to go back immediately to deal with it.”
Before the man could finish, the female voice snapped. She sneered and said, “An emergency came up and you had to deal with it? What emergency could come up in a small design department? It must be just some trivial things, yet every time you were asked to go there personally. Only an idiot like you would believe their words. If you really have to do everything yourself, what do we need those elites in the department for? Are they getting paid for doing nothing?”
After saying that, the woman seemed to have not had her fill yet. As she added after a pause, “Seriously, why can’t you be like your eldest brother or your second brother? One is really in charge of the company, he is well respected and presentable; while the other one chooses a cushy job, he gets paid for doing nothing. Unlike a fool like you, you chose to be a technical department head. Not only is it an unrewarding position, but you don’t have any actual power as well. You don’t earn a lot of money, and you have been spending a lot of time in the office. You’re acting like you’re a busy man, but all you have is false authority. If you’re not embarrassed by yourself, well I am!”
What that woman said was awful to hear. Zhao Youlin furrowed her brows. She turned her head and saw Uncle Zhao’s grim expression. She cocked an eyebrow, lowered her voice, and asked, “These voices belong to…”
Uncle Zhao sighed and lowered his voice as well to answer Zhao Youlin, “It’s Master Shunchang and Madam Fengzi.”
