As Ren Yu spoke, there were two knocks on the private room door.
"Come in."
Liu Chen remained seated, as did Ren Yu.
Although Shen Yi was in a wheelchair, he was not someone who needed assistance.
"Shen Yi from the Shen family, it's a pleasure to meet you for the first time. I've long heard of the genius in the third generation of the Ren family, who, in his early twenties, built a net worth of over a hundred million starting from scratch. Seeing you today, I didn't expect you to be so handsome as well."
Shen Yi was wearing a cotton-padded jacket in the style of traditional Chinese attire, holding an old-fashioned hot water bottle. Only the copper rotating stopper was visible at the top. He extended a hand in Ren Yu's direction.
Ren Yu reached out and clasped Shen Yi's hand briefly before both quickly released.
"Ren Yu from the Ren family, I've also heard of Uncle Shen's great reputation for a long time."
Upon hearing Ren Yu address him as "Uncle Shen," Shen Yi's smile gradually faded. He then turned to Liu Chen, seated opposite Ren Yu, and asked,
"This is your first time using this card, correct? If I may be so bold to ask, is this a date?"
"Ah?" Liu Chen was taken aback by the direct question and quickly shook his head. "No, Ren Yu Ge accompanied me to survey the market today. It got late, so we're having dinner together."
After all, Liu Chen felt a bit too embarrassed to admit that Ren Yu was pursuing him.
"Is that so?" Shen Yi glanced at Ren Yu, then turned back and said,
"I haven't eaten yet either. May I be so bold as to join you for a meal? I quite enjoy company."
"Of course."
Liu Chen readily agreed, as his ability to establish supermarket channels in Beijing relied on the Shen family's influence.
Throughout the meal, Ren Yu found his food tasteless. He must have been out of his mind the last time he was here to have thought the dishes at Tianwang Tower were good.
In contrast to Ren Yu's silence, Shen Yi, far from his previous frail and taciturn demeanor, frequently shared anecdotes at the table about wealthy businessmen bringing their new celebrity girlfriends to dine, only to run into their own wives with their lovers.
The couples would pretend not to know each other at the time, only to accuse the other of infidelity and ruining the marriage upon returning home.
By the end of the meal, Liu Chen felt he had heard more gossip than he had encountered on the internet in his entire previous life.
After the meal, as they drove off together, Shen Yi, who remained in the private room, finally made a call to someone named Shang Gulan.
"Hello? It's about time you called your Aunt Shang, you rascal?" Shang Gulan's strong voice boomed from the other end of the line. Judging by the background noise, she seemed to be watching a Korean drama.
Shen Yi, one hand resting on the wrapped copper hot water bottle and the other holding the phone, said,
"Aunt Shang, guess who I just had dinner with."
"Who? Your girlfriend?"
"Liu Chen and Ren Yu were eating together."
"They invited you to dinner?"
"No, they were eating at my place. I saw them and joined them for a meal."
As soon as Shen Yi said this, the noisy Korean drama background sound from the other end of the line abruptly ceased, replaced by Shang Gulan's hushed question:
"Are you saying that Ren Yu brought Chen Chen to your establishment for a meal, just the two of them, and they requested a private room?"
A mocking smile curved Shen Yi's lips as he replied in a low voice, "Mm."
"Are you implying that they might be dating?"
Shen Yi narrowed his eyes. "I asked. Liu Chen said it wasn't a date."
Upon hearing this, Shang Gulan immediately became displeased. "Honestly, what kind of person are you, getting involved in the affairs of youngsters at your age? You're an uncle, and you're asking a junior if they're dating? The nerve!"
Shang Gulan's reaction was unexpected. Shen Yi had anticipated she would be displeased with Ren Yu and Liu Chen being together, especially since Ren Yu's mother had acknowledged Liu Chen as her goddaughter.
But now, judging by Shang Gulan's tone, it sounded as if she were scolding him for interfering with her grandson's pursuit of Liu Chen.
"They're like sworn siblings," Shen Yi felt compelled to point this out, intending to remind the scolding Shang Gulan.
"So what if they're sworn siblings? They're not real siblings! If I find out you do something like this again, just you wait!"
Shen Yi watched the phone hang up and looked up at the sky outside the window.
"Understood..."
Shang Gulan, who had just ended the call, sat on her white lace-covered sofa, pondering. She wanted to call Ren Yu and tell him that her grandmother supported him, but she worried that if her grandson failed to win Liu Chen's heart, she would lose face.
She mulled over the matter for days, and by the morning of the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the old lady was so anxious that a large blister formed on the corner of her mouth.
Upon waking up that morning, as Shang Gulan brushed her teeth, her mouth felt as if it were being torn apart. She leaned closer to the mirror and discovered a large blister on the corner of her mouth.
This blister couldn't have come at a worse time. The Lunar New Year was approaching, and during this period, many distant relatives visited. As the matriarch, she had to give red envelopes and offer words of encouragement.
She tried to open her mouth.
"Hiss..."
It hurt.
The old lady managed to finish brushing her teeth, her face tense, and walked out of the bedroom to the dining room.
As soon as she entered the dining room, she saw Ren Yu, unusually seated at the dining table eating toast. The old lady was about to bring up the matter of Liu Chen.
However, before she could even open her mouth to speak, the corner of her mouth began to hurt.
But who was the old lady? She was Shang Gulan! So, enduring the throbbing blister, the old lady opened her mouth as wide as possible, keeping the arc to half of its usual size, and asked,
"Are you pursuing Chen Chen?"
Her words were not as clear as usual, but the meaning was conveyed accurately. Upon hearing this, Ren Yu paused his toast-eating motion. But Ren Yu was Ren Yu; he put down his toast, turned around, and faced Shang Gulan.
"Yes, I am pursuing Chen Chen."
Shang Gulan's usually dull eyes sparkled as if she saw diamonds.
"Then..."
At this moment, Ren Yuanying's yawn was heard from outside the door. Ren Yu quickly made a shushing gesture to the old lady.
"Grandma, please keep this a secret for now. If it doesn't work out, can we just pretend this never happened?"
Shang Gulan looked at her grandson, Ren Yu, who was usually so proud, utter such words. She moved her lips, unsure of what to say.
Yes, Ren Yu was an excellent young man, and their family was quite well-off.
But was Liu Chen lacking?
Not at all; that child was exceptional. Elder Shen and Brother Chen were both strong supporters of Liu Chen.
Therefore, it was entirely possible that her own cherished grandson might not succeed in winning Liu Chen over.
The thought alone made the blister on the old lady's lip hurt even more.