On Xiao Nan's very first day at work, his career faced a grave crisis. With death waiting whichever way he turned, he simply said, "You know how hard it is for us working stiffs."
"I don't."
Xiao Nan: "..."
Damn it, could someone make this little tyrant work like a beast of burden for once?!
"Pull over by the roadside in a bit and go buy some gifts."
Xiao Nan: "Yes!"
Good, they had moved past the subject. He had survived!
"No, there's no need. We have everything at home..."
"We can't neglect courtesy. Did you hear me, Xiao Nan?"
"Understood!"
Meanwhile, Chu Yanzhang's assistants nearly descended into chaos when they heard that President Chu was bringing a friend home. Since Xie Zhuzhou was coming, Chu Yanzhang couldn't take him to a residence full of dangers, so he chose the secluded, secure Parasol Tree Residential Complex. The special assistant team rushed over in a flurry to furnish the recently purchased home, even thoughtfully lighting some lightly scented aromatherapy candles.
All of this took them less than half an hour!
When they brought Chu Yanzhang home, his chief assistant, Wen Shuming, stood at the door to welcome them, dressed in casual sportswear and exuding an easygoing air.
Xie Zhuzhou briefly swept his gaze around their home. "Hello, Brother Chu. I'm Little Yan's friend, Xie Zhuzhou. You can just call me Little Xie."
"Hello, Little Xie. My name is Wen Shuming... Actually, I'm just Little Yan's cousin. Welcome to our home." After saying that, he noticed the two expensive bottles of red wine and the nutritional supplements Xie Zhuzhou had brought.
"Why did you bring gifts? Don't bring any next time.
I just bought some groceries. Why don't you stay for dinner tonight? Little Yan rarely has friends over."
Wen Shuming scratched his head, looking embarrassed.
Xie Zhuzhou handed over the gifts and nodded. "Sure. Sorry for imposing, Brother Wen."
Xie Zhuzhou was starting to suspect this man was unemployed. He never went to work. Or did he work from home?
He furrowed his brows, recalling those two people at school saying that Chu Yanzhang had been kicked out of his home. Was that why he was temporarily staying with Wen Shuming?
At this point, Chu Yanzhang had thoroughly become a stray puppy in Xie Zhuzhou's mind.
Wen Shuming soon finished preparing dinner, only to suddenly receive a phone call saying that something had come up tonight and he couldn't come home for dinner.
By then, Xie Zhuzhou had already seen Chu Yanzhang's room. It was very ordinary and had been cleaned thoroughly.
It just didn't seem very lived-in.
Having finished his inspection, the helpful citizen Mr. Xie sat down and said simply, "I'll serve you. Tell me what you want. Tonight we have sweet-and-sour pork ribs, red-braised fish, steamed egg custard, steamed prawns, Chinese lettuce, and beef brisket stewed with potatoes."
They were all very homestyle dishes.
"I like all of them."
"Not a picky eater, huh." Xie Zhuzhou used the serving chopsticks to put food into his bowl. "Eat."
Chu Yanzhang nodded and smiled. "Thank you."
Meanwhile, at the Ji Family home, Ji Wuqiu was somewhat surprised when Xie Zhuzhou failed to return and he heard that he was having dinner at a friend's house.
Ji Wangyun was equally surprised. "I didn't think our little brother actually had friends!"
Ji Wangchen swept him a cold glance. "Shut up."
"What friend?"
Ji Wuqiu knew that his youngest son was pursuing three boys at once. Fortunately, none of them had any taste, so he had left them to it.
"Assistant Nan didn't say, and our little brother doesn't want to tell us either. Father, it's best not to interfere too much."
"Did anyone follow him to protect him?"
"Yes."
Since there was nothing unusual, Ji Wuqiu told everyone to eat.
At this point, Ji Wangyun still couldn't help envying his dad. "I heard our little brother gave Dad everything he scored yesterday. He's so filial."
Ji Wangyan was the last to find out. He looked at Ji Wuqiu, who seemed extremely pleased.
Ji Wuqiu put on a stern expression. "He's just still young and entrusted them to me to manage. Don't get any ideas about those things."
"Our little brother also said that if Dad wouldn't accept them, he wouldn't live here anymore."
Only now did Ji Wangyan finally realize that this Xie Zhuzhou might be after something bigger. But only Xie Zhuzhou could have pulled off a move that let Father recoup his investment in one go. Should he call Xie Zhuzhou the more formidable one?
A newborn calf had no fear of tigers.
Xie Zhuzhou really hadn't worried about offending everyone yesterday. Those people were probably so angry they could cough up blood and were itching to trip him up, weren't they?
Honestly, this was his first time meeting someone like Xie Zhuzhou, who thought nothing of anyone.
Saying he was asking for a beating would be going too far.
The guy even said thank you. As long as people didn't provoke him, they could coexist peacefully.
But if someone rubbed him the wrong way, even Grandfather would get bulldozed.
Last night, he had watched the surveillance footage from the cameras he had installed in the old residence and clearly heard what Xie Zhuzhou had said in the reception room.
Grandfather had originally intended to sow discord to make Xie Zhuzhou recognize his place, then brainwash him and feed him empty promises.
Instead, he had lost at the very first step. Not only had Xie Zhuzhou refused to budge, he had bluntly asked whether Grandfather was trying to sow discord.
He had even sarcastically told Grandfather not to think so much at his age.
The underlying message might have been: Don't overreach. Act your age and behave!
He had also heard that nobody in the old residence, from top to bottom, had slept well last night. His little brother really knew how to stir things up. In less than a day, their circle would probably have a new little tyrant...
At that thought, Ji Wangyan felt a headache coming on.
After all, Xie Zhuzhou hadn't done anything wrong from start to finish. More importantly, everything he said seemed to make perfect sense!
Meanwhile, news that the youngest son of the Ji Family's eldest branch had returned to the family spread like wildfire, flying into the ears of every prominent family as though it had wings.
First of all, the Ji Family was one of City A's long-established wealthy families. Although it was internally fractured, it still appeared united from the outside. Moreover, the family's economic lifeline was now in the hands of its eldest branch.
Had it been an illegitimate son of one of Old Ji's other sons, he might not have attracted much attention.
But this happened to be Ji Wuqiu's illegitimate son. They had also heard that Ji Wuqiu treasured this son greatly, having kept him hidden for years without his rivals discovering him. Now that he had returned, he had even moved straight into the Ji Family home to live with the sons of Ji Wuqiu's ex-wife.
That showed just how much importance Ji Wuqiu placed on this son.
Linking this to Old Master Ji's efforts to find a marriage partner a few days earlier, the prominent families all roughly understood.
Although nothing was settled yet, that didn't stop people in their circle from asking members of the Ji Family about this illegitimate son's character.
The answers left them disappointed.
After all, they had asked the wrong people, so the information they received could only work against Xie Zhuzhou. How could the uncles and aunts Xie Zhuzhou had fleeced bear to pass up this opportunity to smear him and spread rumors?
In less than half a day, Xie Zhuzhou's image grew increasingly outrageous and savage. Before even meeting him, some people already believed he must be hideous, ill-tempered, disrespectful of his elders, and morally corrupt.
He was also insatiably greedy, hot-tempered, and vicious-an extremely difficult person to get along with.
The rumors spread from ten people to a hundred, permeating the wealthy social circle.
Many people instinctively frowned upon hearing Xie Zhuzhou's name. After all, as an illegitimate son, he was so arrogant that he wouldn't even show Old Master Ji any respect. Who else could he possibly treat pleasantly?