“Coughs…” Zhao Youlin was eating a meatball when she heard Duan Yarong’s words. The meatball slipped into her throat, and she choked.
“Mommy…” Joy widened his eyes and looked helpless.
Duan Yarong was shocked when she saw this. She hurriedly served Zhao Youlin a bowl of soup.
Zhao Youlin quickly took it from her and poured the soup into her mouth to force the meatball down her stomach.
“It’s fine, it’s fine… I choked, and I swallowed it.” Zhao Youlin looked up and saw everyone at the table standing. They looked at her worriedly. She waved her hand to indicate that she was fine.
After speaking to them, Zhao Youlin turned around and looked at Joy. As expected, Joy was looking at her with teary eyes, a pitiful look as if he was about to cry.
Zhao Youlin let out a bark of laughter. She leaned close to him and gave a peck on his cheek. She caressed his head and comforted him, “I’m fine, Joy. Let’s continue to eat.”
Joy sniffed. He stared at Zhao Youlin for a while longer. After he was convinced that his mother was fine, only then did he nodded obediently.
Zhao Youlin heaved a sigh when Joy finally picked up the spoon and continued eating. She looked up at Duan Yarong embarrassedly and said, “Mother, I don’t have that in my mind for now…”
“You spend all day in the company and hardly contact more than ten men in a day. Moreover, most of them are about your father’s age. So, it’s no wonder you don’t have the thought for it. I’ve selected the men who are about your age. I’ve carefully picked those who have the looks, background and talent. You could see if any of them catches your interest. Even if you don’t, no worries. Uncle Zhao and I would continue to look for others until we could find someone who understands you, is thoughtful, and dotes on Joy.”
Zhao Youlin felt speechless. “Mother, you just can’t wait to marry me off, can’t you?”
Ever since Mu Tingfeng had said in front of everyone that he wanted to remarry Zhao Youlin, Duan Yarong had been very worried.
Even though Zhao Youlin assured her that she and Mu Tingfeng were never going to be together, she could not drive away her worriness, especially when she recalled Mu Tingfeng’s attitude on that day. As such, Duan Yarong thought she could not just sit there and do nothing.
After thinking over it, Duan Yarong decided to take the initiative to act on it. She wanted to find a son-in-law who doted on Zhao Youlin and her son before Mu Tingfeng did. She wanted Mu Tingfeng to give up on his thoughts, once and for all.
Looking at Duan Yarong’s eagerness, Zhao Youlin’s jaw dropped. She said awkwardly, “Mother, what I meant is that I don’t have the intention to start a new marriage for the time being. I need to devise a long-term plan for this. We can’t rush for things like this.”
Duan Yarong disagreed with Zhao Youlin, “Youlin, I didn’t ask you to get married right away. I only ask you to see if you’re interested in anyone. If you do, you could spend time with him first. After that, if you find that both of you could get along with each other well, you could marry him by then.”
The corners of Zhao Youlin’s lips stiffened. She thought to herself, ‘Mother, you don’t look like you’re taking things slowly. You look as if you couldn’t wait to find someone and sicc me on him!’
Seeing Duan Yarong’s expectant look, Zhao Youlin could not bring herself to refuse her. So, she helplessly gave a pleading glance at Zhao Shunrong who had been sitting next to Duan Yarong.
Zhao Shunrong looked away quietly, not willing to meet her gaze. Apparently, he wanted to remain silent about this matter.
Meanwhile, the other decision maker who had a say on this…
“I think… Duan Yarong’s proposal sounds good,” The former master stated his opinion with a grin. At the same time, he also blocked her only way out.
The former master seemed to have finally found a chance to return fire on Zhao Youlin. He said happily, “Youlin, Joy is not young anymore. How could a child grow up without a father? It’s time to find a husband for yourself. At the same time, it’s also about time to look for a stepfather for Joy. As for the candidates, you could be rest assured that with the status of the Zhao family in Shalnork, coupled with your position in the Zhao Enterprise, how could you not find someone who meets your standards? Your mother and Uncle Zhao could help you to pick one, and you’ll be sure to find one that’s a thousand times better than the one before.”
Zhao Youlin felt speechless, ‘Grandpa, are you adding fuel to the fire? Are you doing this on purpose?! Yes, you are!’
The more Zhao Youlin thought about it, the more she could figure out what was happening. Who was Uncle Zhao, after all? He was the former master’s most trusted confidant. Although Duan Yarong was the lady of the Zhao family, she could not simply instruct the old man to do things for her, unless she had gotten the former master’s approval.
Moreover, how could Uncle Zhao not inform the former master when it came to such matters?! This was very obvious!
After Zhao Youlin figured this out, she rolled her eyes at the former master without hesitation. He was the worst role model. She felt depressed.
Duan Yarong became more spirited when she gained support from the former master, “Indeed. Father has spoken my mind. Youlin, did you hear him?”
Zhao Youlin was bombarded with words from the two elders for several rounds. In the end, she had to give in to them. She said stiffly, “Al-right… I’ll just take a look.”
Little did Zhao Youlin know that, the moment she agreed to them, she was destined to be forced to deal with the tragedy of various blind dates later on.
Zhao Youlin lost her appetite during the meal right after the topic Duan Yarong had brought up.
After finishing the meal, Zhao Youlin planned to find a reason to run away from them. However, she was unexpectedly caught by Duan Yarong who was already well-prepared. So, Zhao Youlin had to go with Duan Yarong, who was in high spirits and looked at a stack of photos of her blind dates.
Duan Yarong badgered the agonized Zhao Youlin into going on blind dates. In the end, Zhao Youlin agreed to meet up with a decent-looking young man after a few days. It was only then she finally got out of her misery and rushed back to company.
Zhao Youlin went to her office to lie low until the fuss went down. Before she even had time to calm herself down, her secretary, Li, came in from outside, looking hesitant.
Zhao Youlin quirked her eyebrow when she saw this. She thought something had happened in the company while she was not around. She frowned and asked, “What’s the matter?”
Li hesitated before she answered truthfully, “General Manager, Minister Zhao came in this morning, and he wanted to look for you. I told him that you’re not coming in the morning. But, he said it’s fine, he could wait for you outside. He wants to see you once you come back.
“Minister Zhao?” ‘Minister Zhao? Which Minister Zhao? Is it Zhao Shunchang or…’
“Er… The president’s younger brother. He’s Ms. Zhao’s father. In other words, he’s also your…”
“Oh, him,” Zhao Youlin said in a low voice. Her eyes flashed in understanding.
