Chapter 569 - Who’s Feeling Worse? (1/2)
Su Peizhen wasn’t expecting things to get so interesting. The man named Zhang Yichen had turned out to be Huo Yifan’s uncle.
This would be fun.
She looked at the photos she’d taken again. She had yet to come up with a plan before then, but at that moment, she started to get some ideas.
Those photos in which Su Qingsang and Zhang Yichen had seemed so close because of the angle of the camera, they wouldn’t be near enough for Huo Jinyao to doubt Su Qingsang.
Huo Jinyao was no fool. Su Peizhen could tell that Su Qingsang and Zhang Yichen weren’t all that close to each other in those photos, and she believed that Huo Jinyao would be able to see it too.
She could photoshop those pictures and make the two look closer, but she didn’t feel like resorting to such basic ploys.
Now how should she set about making something happen for real between those two?
…
Xiang Caiping looked at Su Peizhen. The girl had stayed home to have her meals for a couple of days in a row. That was rare.
She had been intending to call Su Qingsang to get her to send her physiotherapy instrument to Ms. Zhao for her, but Su Peizhen barely left the house these days.
“Mom, why are you looking at me like that? What’s wrong?”
Su Peizhen drank her soup gracefully. Ms. Zhao was a good cook indeed.
“Why are you free again today?”
“I’ve had some free time recently. Haven’t I been staying home with you these days?”
Su Peizhen raised her brows and asked, “Mom, don’t you like it when I stay at home with you?”
“I do. I do.”
Xiang Caiping couldn’t help but find it abnormal however, and she gave Su Peizhen another searching glance, finding the girl seemed to be in a good mood.
“I’m glad that you’re pleased, Mom.”
Su Peizhen placed some food onto Xiang Caiping’s plate as she said that.
“Mom, try this.”
Xiang Caiping looked at the piece of fish on her plate and then to Su Peizhen. She didn’t know why the girl seemed to be so delighted.
She was about to say something but paused and thought better of it.
“Oh, and Mom, I have a boyfriend.”
A boyfriend? Xiang Caiping raised her head to look at her.
“Where is he from? What does he do? How old is he?”
Xiang Caiping felt a little nervous upon hearing it. Su Qingsang had already been married when she knew her, so she had never felt the need to worry about Su Qingsang’s personal life.
Su Peizhen was different. Xiang Caiping was concerned for her.
“Mom, look at you. I said that I have a boyfriend, not that I’m about to marry him. I’ll bring him to meet you when our relationship becomes more stable.”
Xiang Caiping knew that Su Peizhen always made her decisions independently.
She didn’t need to say what she wanted to, but she was worried.
“You’ve just moved to Rong City. You won’t know much about the people you meet here. Just be careful. About everything.”
“Mom, don’t worry. I assure you that you’ll like him. Everything about him is perfect.”
The more she complimented her boyfriend, the more Xiang Caiping worried about her. Xiang Caiping felt like she could not act too strict towards Su Peizhen, but nor could she be relaxed around her. As she sat across from the girl, she felt like she had no clue how to deal with her.
…
Huo Jinyao read the report before lifting his head, staring at Yang Wenchang with doubt in his eyes.
“He’s out of his mind, isn’t he?”
Yang Wenchang didn’t know how to respond to that. He wouldn’t have discovered it if Huo Jinyao hadn’t asked him to keep an eye on Su Peizhen.
At that very moment, Huo Jinyao didn’t know what expression he should make to show his feelings.
Liu Tongjia was doing everything she could to make sure the Tianyu Group went to Huo Yifan, but Huo Yifan had gone off and founded a company of his own.
Huo Jinyao and his cousins all held their own companies. Some of those companies had been founded for frivolous reasons, and others were founded in response to the requests from their elders because the older generations wanted them to learn how to operate businesses from experience.
Huo Jinyao had a few companies under his charge as well. Those companies weren’t as large as the Tianyu Group, and the market share they held was at a completely different level than that of the Tianyu Group.
The companies owned by his cousins were all around the same level. None of them had ever attempted to compete with the Tianyu Group.
Huo Jinyao had never attempted it either, and it was certain that neither Huo Mingguang nor Old Master Huo would ever allow anything like that.
They had never stopped the younger generation from developing in their own way. On the contrary, they had always encouraged them to form their own thoughts and to experience the world for themselves.
All that aside, they would not allow anyone to harm the interests of the family or the Tianyu Group.
“President Huo, what are we going to do about this?”
Huo Jinyao narrowed his eyes as he looked at the files in his hands.
Abruptly, he raised his head to look at Yang Wenchang with an obvious look of cunning in his eyes.
“Nothing, for now.” Huo Jinyao thought for a moment and then amended, “No. Actually, there is something that we can do now.”
Yang Wenchang looked at him. At that moment, Huo Jinyao looked as crafty as a fox.
After Huo Jinyao’s had given him his instruction, Yang Wenchang’s eyes shone in appreciation.
“President Huo, that’s a wonderful idea. Although, I’m afraid that Huo Yifan might go crazy when he finds out.”
“Let him go crazy.” Huo Jinyao would not feel sorry for Huo Yifan.
He understood that the man wanted to make more money, but there was a line that should not be crossed.
He was now merely waiting to witness Huo Yifan’s downfall.
…
As Huo Jinyao waited to see Huo Yifan’s undoing, Su Peizhen too was waiting for something.
She was waiting for an opportunity.
After she had gotten together with Huo Yifan, she had managed to figure out the relationships between all the members of the Huo family little by little.
She was from the Su family and had been brought up well by Li Qianxue. When it came to interpersonal relationships, she was far more sensitive to their nuances than Su Qingsang was.
As quickly as she could, she had worked out the ties between Huo Yangxiu, Huo Yangyuan, and all their families.
She also learned something interesting. Huo Jinyao and his uncle Zhang Yichen were rather close.
She wondered what Huo Jinyao’s face would look like when he found out that his dear uncle was actually in love with his wife, and that something had already happened between them.
The opportunity that Su Peizhen had been awaiting arrived surprisingly quickly.
“What did you say?”
Su Peizhen looked at Huo Yifan. They’d just had a crazy time together and her entire body was sticky. She had been about to take a shower, but before she got up, she’d heard what Huo Yifan said.
“I said my grandpa is inviting you to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival with our family.” Huo Yifan poured himself a glass of wine and looked at Su Peizhen meaningfully. “What?” he teased, “Don’t you want to go?”
He knew exactly how much Su Peizhen wanted a chance like that.
“I’ll go, of course.”
Su Peizhen propped herself up and then draped her body across his chest.
“There’ll be many relatives there, I gather?”
“Yeah, my grandaunt, my granduncle, and their families. They’ll all be there.”
Su Qingsang hadn’t celebrated the previous New Year with the family. After she had come to Rong City, the family had barely gotten together.
This time, Huo Yangxiu and her husband happened to have a few days off. They promised Old Master Huo they would come back to meet the wife of their nephew.
“Your grandaunt and her family? So, that uncle of yours will be there as well, right?”
“Yeah,” Huo Yifan put his glass aside and looked at her before he spoke. “I find that you’ve been getting more and more interested in that uncle of mine.”
“Why, are you jealous?” Su Peizhen looked at Huo Yifan with a big smile.
“A little.”
“I’m interested in him because I’ve never met a serviceman before. And, I think that your grandpa seems to like him very much.”
Ever since she had learned about Su Qingsang and Zhang Yichen a month ago, she began to dig deep into Zhang Yichen’s background.
Old Master Huo seemed to like Zhang Yichen a lot, and Zhang Yichen was certainly paid him plenty of respect. He visited Old Master Huo almost every time he returned to Rong City.
“Yes. My uncle is young and capable. My grandpa does really likes him.”
Huo Yifan suddenly turned, pressing Su Peizhen down into the bed as he growled, “Woman, I don’t like you talking about another man in front of me.”
“I’m not talking about another man.”
Su Peizhen looked at Huo Yifan with a pointed smile.
“I am trying to earn your grandpa’s favor for you though.”
“You are? Thank you, then.”
Huo Jinyao liked how smart she was. He lowered his head to hers and took her body once more.
…
Su Qingsang and Huo Jinyao arrived early to the family celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival.
Some people had arrived even earlier than them. Huo Yangyuan had come with his eldest son and daughter-in-law. His younger son was there too, although his youngest daughter-in-law couldn’t make it.
His grandchildren were there as well. They were just a few years younger than Huo Jinyao. Currently, the lot of them were all seated together.
Huo Yangxiu had come with her son and daughter. Her eldest son was named Zhang Liangze, and her daughter, Zhang Hanlei. Zhang Yichen wasn’t there yet. Someone had said that he had been out on a mission yesterday, so he would probably be late.
Both Zhang Hanlei and Zhang Liangze brought their children. The two families sat together, creating a warm atmosphere in the living room.
Huo Mingmei, Huo Mingliang, and their families were also there.
Su Qingsang came in, greeted the Huo family’s elders one by one. She noted Huo Yiyang was there, but not Huo Yifan.
Huo Yifan had not arrived yet. He didn’t keep the others waiting long though. Soon enough he arrived together with Su Peizhen.
Su Peizhen greeted the elders in her customary graceful manner. Huo Yangyuan and his sister had heard in advance that Su Peizhen would be there, so they had both prepared gifts for her.
Su Peizhen never once looked at Su Qingsang from the moment she came in.
Zhang Hanlei realized something and remarked upon it to the others.
“What a coincidence. Jinyao’s wife and Yifan’s girlfriend both have the same family name.”
“They don’t just have the same family name. They’re sisters.”