"Why are you here all of a sudden?"
Lin Xingwan stood up from the sofa and hurried towards the door.
"Uncle Cheng," she politely greeted Cheng Zhiyuan. Although Lin Xingwan disliked Hao Manqing, Cheng Zhiyuan hadn't done anything to harm her over the years. When the Cheng family moved away, Cheng Zhiyuan had told Lin Xingwan to come to him if she ever encountered any difficulties. He had also given her a sum of money when she was in college.
Even though Lin Xingwan didn't accept the money, she couldn't bring herself to dislike Cheng Zhiyuan, no matter how sarcastic Hao Manqing was towards her.
"Xingwan, my good child, for the sake of our families' friendship, you must save Manqing." Cheng Zhiyuan's face was haggard. In just two days, he felt as if he had lived through two lifetimes.
His eyelids were dark, and his beard was unkempt. The once triumphant President Cheng now appeared disheveled and humble.
"Uncle Cheng, I don't understand why you say that. Did something happen?"
Lin Xingwan looked bewildered. Cheng Yanzhe, standing nearby, explained, "My mother went missing at your sister's wedding banquet. It's been two days and two nights. We've been cooperating with the police to find her, but since she disappeared at the Vienna Hotel, the hotel's surveillance footage is crucial to us. We requested to view the footage, but we were refused. We're at our wit's end and thought of you knowing Chen Yuchu, the secretary of the Dongfang Corporation. Perhaps you could call Secretary Chen and ask her to speak to Mr. Dongfang Junze to make an exception."
Lin Xingwan's brows furrowed slightly. Cheng Yanzhe's intention was very clear.
He wanted her to act as a go-between to quickly find Hao Manqing.
However, her relationship with Chen Yuchu was purely professional. She had already approached Chen Yuchu once for the wedding banquet held at the Vienna Hotel. To bother her again would be too much, and Lin Xingwan hesitated.
Besides, Hao Manqing disappearing was her just deserts.
Seeing Lin Xingwan's hesitant expression, Cheng Yanzhe spoke again, "I know this is asking too much and will put you in debt to Chen Yuchu, but I have no other choice. Xingwan, my mother watched you grow up and treated you like her own child. Please help us."
Cheng Yanzhe's usually arrogant eyes were now filled with pleading. Ye Qingning, standing beside them, interjected, "Even my uncle couldn't resolve this, so how could Miss Lin? Uncle Cheng, Yanzhe, I told you from the beginning this method wouldn't work. We should think of other ways, like having a hacker attack the Vienna Hotel's surveillance system..."
Ye Qingning looked at Lin Xingwan, a woman who seemed as delicate as a hothouse flower. Could she really get the surveillance footage with just one phone call?
Were the Cheng father and son out of their minds?
"Xingwan, Uncle has never asked you for anything. This time, please help our Cheng family. Regardless of the outcome, could you just make a call to Secretary Chen?"
After speaking, Cheng Zhiyuan slowly began to bend his knees in front of Lin Xingwan, clearly intending to kneel.
Lin Xingwan was startled and quickly supported Cheng Zhiyuan, "Uncle Cheng, you're being too serious. I'll call Secretary Chen right away."
With that, Lin Xingwan quickly took out her phone and dialed Chen Yuchu's number.
The call was answered quickly. Chen Yuchu's voice, knowledgeable yet serious, came from the other end, "Miss Lin, why are you calling so suddenly? Did something happen?"
"Secretary Chen, I have a personal matter I need your help with." Lin Xingwan got straight to the point.
"Please, tell me."
"A friend's mother went missing on the day of my sister's wedding banquet. They suspect something happened at the Vienna Hotel and want to view the surveillance footage from that day."
"Okay, I'll send you the footage. Is there anything else?" Chen Yuchu was surprisingly accommodating.
Lin Xingwan immediately shook her head, "No, thank you, Secretary Chen."
After hanging up, Lin Xingwan looked at Cheng Yanzhe, Cheng Zhiyuan, and Ye Qingning, who were all looking at her with eager eyes. She said, "Secretary Chen said she would send me the footage."
Just as Lin Xingwan finished speaking, her phone chimed with a new message notification. Chen Yuchu had sent her a link.
Lin Xingwan casually clicked on it and found it was the surveillance footage from the Vienna Hotel, with access to all public areas.
Lin Xingwan forwarded the link to Cheng Yanzhe.
From the time she made the call to forwarding the link, it took less than thirty seconds.
The people beside her were stunned, their eyes wide. They had never imagined that the difficult problem that had troubled them for two days and two nights would be solved by Lin Xingwan in mere seconds.
Ye Qingning, in particular, felt that Lin Xingwan's calm and effortless demeanor was a blatant slap in her face.
For the first time in her life, she felt inferior to someone else.
"Thank you, Xingwan. We'll hand the footage over to the police now." Cheng Zhiyuan said, his face full of gratitude, and then they left.
After the three of them departed, Liu Mengqin walked over to Lin Xingwan and sighed, "That man, he looks so familiar. I feel like I've seen him somewhere before."
Liu Mengqin looked at Cheng Yanzhe's retreating back, then shifted her gaze to Ye Qingning, "I'm also very familiar with this woman, but I just can't recall where."
"The Violin Prince Cheng Yanzhe, and the Ballet Princess Ye Qingning," Lin Xingwan explained.
Liu Mengqin suddenly realized, "Yes, yes, it's them. I watched the Spring Festival Gala with Congcong this year, Cheng Yanzhe played the violin, and Ye Qingning danced."
"Don't you think they look good together?" Lin Xingwan asked.
Liu Mengqin shook her head, "Not at all. I feel Ye Qingning can't handle a man like Cheng Yanzhe. And Ye Qingning looks like a high-class white lotus. Despite her appearance of a refined and well-behaved lady, she's arrogant and petty, the type to scheme behind your back. She's more dangerous than that idiot Lin Shirou."
After speaking, Liu Mengqin seemed to suddenly recall something and immediately said, "Wait, how do you know the Violin Prince?"
"He was our neighbor when we were kids. Later, his family became wealthy and they moved away."
"You let go of such a promising prospect and chose a scumbag like Gu Shaoting?" Liu Mengqin found it incomprehensible. "Cheng Yanzhe's family background, looks, and abilities are leagues ahead of Gu Shaoting's. I really can't understand your bizarre choice. Could it be... you couldn't have him, so you chose Gu Shaoting as a substitute? After all, the moment I saw Cheng Yanzhe, I thought of Gu Shaoting."
However, Gu Shaoting's refined and elegant demeanor was a pretense, making him seem greasy and disgusting; but Cheng Yanzhe was different. His temperament emanated from his very bones.
He was like a musician from ancient times with integrity, possessing a unique character.
"I didn't have unrequited feelings for Cheng Yanzhe." Lin Xingwan's memories returned to when she first met Gu Shaoting due to Liu Mengqin's words.
Indeed, every time she saw Gu Shaoting, she would think of Cheng Yanzhe.
After all, Cheng Yanzhe had been a constant presence in her life during her youth.
When she was bullied by classmates, her heart would flutter at Cheng Yanzhe's protection; she would feel jealous and unhappy when different girls appeared around Cheng Yanzhe; she would secretly watch him play basketball on the court; she would imagine them staying together like this until they grew old...
Over ten years of feelings, even longer than some marriages. She couldn't even distinguish whether her feelings for Cheng Yanzhe were love, familial affection, or possessiveness.
After Cheng Yanzhe went abroad, she forced herself to forget the past for a long time. Later, she met Gu Shaoting. His demeanor was similar to Cheng Yanzhe's, making it easy for her to develop good feelings.
She admitted that at the beginning of her relationship with Gu Shaoting, it was influenced by Cheng Yanzhe to some extent, but as time went on, Lin Xingwan also fully invested herself in this romance.
Everyone could be replaced, without exception.
Just as she learned of Gu Shaoting's betrayal, the chilling feeling she experienced meant she would never be able to love anyone else again. But who would have thought she would end up with Zhou Jinbai, and that this man would replace Cheng Yanzhe, replace Gu Shaoting.
Seeing Lin Xingwan's expression suddenly dim, Liu Mengqin guessed that the girl must have a history with Cheng Yanzhe. However, she wasn't one to pick at old wounds, so she said, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about this topic anymore. After all, Zhou Jinbai by your side surpasses both these men in looks and ability. Aren't we going to Lin Yin Temple? Let's pack up and go. We'll stay at Lin Yin Temple for one night and come back the next day."
Liu Mengqin was still very confident in Zhou Jinbai. Although his family background was a bit lacking compared to these two men, he made up for it in other areas.
"Just the two of us? Why don't we ask Jinbai to drive us?"
Lin Xingwan suggested.
"Absolutely not! I'm going to Lin Yin Temple to pray for a good marriage. If your man comes along, I, a single dog, will have to endure watching you two be lovey-dovey the entire way, which would be worse than killing me. Are you reluctant to part with Zhou Jinbai? It's just for one night, you can bear it."
Liu Mengqin looked at Lin Xingwan mischievously. Lin Xingwan was helpless and finally called Zhou Jinbai, then set off with Liu Mengqin towards Lin Yin Temple.
Meanwhile, Zhou Jinbai, who had just finished preparing lunch at home to deliver to the company, ate a heart-shaped slice of watermelon after Lin Xingwan hung up.
The old lady sat on the swing, eating watermelon, and looked at her grandson's crestfallen face with schadenfreude. "I told you to cut me heart-shaped watermelon too, but you didn't. Now look! You're getting what you deserve! Hurry up and tell me."
Although the old lady said this, she had a rough idea in her heart. Only her granddaughter-in-law could make her grandson wear such an expression.
"She's accompanying a friend to Lin Yin Temple to pray for a good marriage and won't be back until tomorrow," Zhou Jinbai said irritably but helplessly. "Now all the heart-shaped watermelons are yours, and the heart-shaped lunch. It's all filled with your grandson's love for you, so please enjoy it slowly. I have a mountain of work waiting for me at the company, so I need to go in."
The old lady was so angry at Zhou Jinbai's words that she threw the watermelon rind she was holding towards where he was standing. "You little rascal, you just don't want to spend time with me, and you call it dealing with company matters. Do you think I'm a three-year-old child?"
Zhou Jinbai easily dodged the watermelon rind attack, feeling that the old lady's temper was becoming more volatile.
"I've always considered you a little girl of eighteen years and a few hundred months," Zhou Jinbai said, then placed the cut watermelon in front of the old lady.
The old lady picked a piece of watermelon and put it in her mouth, her bright eyes narrowing. "But speaking of which, granddaughter-in-law went to Lin Yin Temple with Liu Mengqin, right?"
"Mm."
"Old Mrs. Bai mentioned Liu Mengqin to me several times, saying she really likes Liu Mengqin and plans to set her up with Bai Xiao if possible. What do you think?"
"I'll look at it with my eyes."
The old lady's mouth twitched with anger. "You brat, I'm asking what you think of this matter! Are Bai Xiao and Liu Mengqin suitable?"
"It's best not to meddle in other people's relationships or offer advice. If they're doing well, our suggestions won't matter, but if they break up later, they'll resent us. Let their feelings take their natural course. They're not young anymore and will have their own considerations."
When facing other people's matters, Zhou Jinbai was always rational and detached.
Even for his good friends, he was unwilling to interfere in their marital affairs.
"You're right. Forget it, I won't bother. Since granddaughter-in-law is going to Lin Yin Temple, you should go too and get me an autograph from Monk 'Bu Luan' at Lin Yin Temple. I've really come to like him recently. Although he's young, he lives with such clarity, and his words even make us elders feel enlightened."
After speaking, the old lady took a Kesi brocade fan from the swing and handed it to Zhou Jinbai. "Sign it in the bottom right corner of this fan."
"Xingwan is already on her way. Why don't you have her get you an autograph?"
Zhou Jinbai didn't want to make a trip just for an autograph.
"Monk 'Bu Luan' is young and looks like a seductive monk who could bring down a nation." After saying that, the old lady pulled up a video of Monk 'Bu Luan' sweeping the floor from her phone.
In just over ten seconds, it had garnered over three million likes.
Zhou Jinbai gasped after watching it.
Fine!
He had the demeanor of a "male green tea," which was exactly the type his wife liked.
The man smiled slightly. "I will definitely have Monk 'Bu Luan' sign it for Grandma."
With that, the man turned and left.
The old lady's narrowed eyes slowly opened, and she muttered to herself, "You brat, Grandma will help you a bit more, otherwise by the time you two have children, I'll already be a small jar preserved in Yong'an Hall."