“Grandmother, don’t chase Grandfather away. I want to spend time with him too.”

The old man’s face was dark, and Zhou Cheng quickly spoke up for him.

Grandmother Zhou smiled, “Well, for my good grandson’s sake, I won’t chase him away.”

Grandmother Zhou kept examining Zhou Cheng, insisting he had gotten thinner and darker. Actually, after returning from the seaside and staying covered for half a year, his skin had returned to its normal tone. He wasn’t thinner either – his muscle definition was well-shaped, and his shoulders had become notably broader. When he was younger, his frame was more boyish, but in these past two years, he had developed a more mature masculine presence, with a deeper voice and changes in his bone structure and physique.

But there’s no arguing when your grandmother thinks you’re thin. Grandmother Zhou wanted to nourish her dear grandson, so Zhou Cheng was forced to eat another breakfast.

Grandmother Zhou watched her grandson eat with a smile while Zhou Cheng struggled with the fullness.

“How many days will you stay in the capital this time? Come visit grandmother more often with Xiao Lan.”

“It’s not certain yet. I’ll return once I’ve finished what I need to do.”

When Zhou Cheng was leaving, Grandfather Zhou spoke meaningfully, “If there’s something you can’t handle alone, tell the family promptly. Don’t feel embarrassed – there’s strength in numbers, it’s always better than fighting alone.”

“Yes, I understand, Grandfather!”

As Zhou Cheng left, he happened to see Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi hadn’t expected to run into her cousin, “Zhou Cheng, why are you here?”

While Zhou Cheng partly felt that Zhou Yi’s frequent visits to show filial piety to their grandparents were commendable, he was also exasperated by his cousin’s idleness.

“I took leave to handle some business in the capital and came to see the grandparents. Sister Zhou Yi, are you busy today? If not, shall we talk?”

Zhou Cheng had been wanting to ask around, and now that he’d caught the person herself, why bother going through others? Better to be direct.

Zhou Yi felt somewhat nervous.

Although she was the elder sister, her lack of success compared to Zhou Cheng meant he would be the future “family head” of their generation. Regardless of age, who wouldn’t feel nervous being called for a talk by the family head?

Moreover, she had recently tried to get Xia Xiao Lan involved in her affairs… Zhou Yi gritted her teeth. Weren’t such matters usually handled between women? In other families, it was natural for an elder sister to seek help from an unmarried sister-in-law, but Xia Xiao Lan didn’t follow convention, skillfully evading Zhou Yi’s request and leaving her disappointed.

Not helping was one thing.

But to tell on her – really…

Zhou Yi could only curse in her heart. She didn’t dare to confront Xia Xiao Lan directly and naturally cowered before Zhou Cheng too.

“Talk about what…”

Zhou Yi followed slowly behind Zhou Cheng, her small high heels clicking on the ground.

Zhou Cheng did have feelings for his cousin. When they were young, they were often left in Grandmother Zhou’s care together. Zhou Yi was older than him by several years, and they used to play together.

Later, as Zhou Cheng grew more handsome, he no longer wanted to play with girls, including Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi, taking advantage of being slightly older, would lead other compound girls to admire her cousin’s good looks whenever they saw him… that’s why girls were annoying, why should Zhou Cheng pay attention to them?

Once children pass 10 years old, boys and girls develop gender awareness and can’t play together as easily.

When Zhou Cheng entered junior high and Zhou Yi was in high school, even their two-three year age gap created a generational divide, and the siblings gradually grew distant.

After Zhou Cheng finished secondary school, he saw even less of Zhou Yi. As he became increasingly successful, the unsuccessful Zhou Yi couldn’t maintain her elder sister’s dignity before him.

Listening to Zhou Yi’s clicking heels, Zhou Cheng had already reviewed their entire sibling relationship history.

Never mind, Zhou Yi’s personality wasn’t formed in a day or two, what was there to be angry about?

“Sister Zhou Yi, you’re dating someone, right? When do you plan to bring him home?”

Zhou Cheng asked directly. Zhou Yi tried to maintain her elder sister’s dignity, but under Zhou Cheng’s gaze, her small thoughts and prepared excuses had nowhere to hide. Like a primary school student being questioned by a teacher, she spoke honestly with slightly averted eyes:

“Well… there is someone, but his family circumstances aren’t very good. I’m not ready to bring him home yet.”

At least she was being honest.

If she had lied to his face, Zhou Cheng might have been too busy with his affairs to bother anymore.

“His family circumstances aren’t good, but what about him as a person? Our family’s rules aren’t that strict. When Aunt married Uncle, he was just an ordinary teacher, and grandparents didn’t object.”

Of course, Uncle was a good person. While Grandfather didn’t care about family background, he certainly would have tested Gu Zhengqing’s character.

Zhou Yi was troubled – Aunt’s marriage was almost 20 years ago, and the Zhou family’s situation was completely different now. Back then, family status wasn’t emphasized, even her father Zhou Wenbing had only been working for a few years. Who knew that 20 years later, the Zhou family would go from being unremarkable to having significant influence in Beijing?

Her uncle used to be an ordinary teacher, but after marrying her aunt, he now worked in the Education Ministry’s Development Planning Department.

When Zhou Cheng asked about her boyfriend, wasn’t this exactly what worried Zhou Yi?

For those from poor family backgrounds, with Xia Xiao Lan as an example, exceptional personal qualities might suffice – if he were a Qinghua or Beijing University graduate, Zhou Yi wouldn’t need to worry and could bring him home directly.

Now she didn’t dare.

Her mother always liked to compare her with her Second Uncle’s family.

When Zhou Cheng started dating Xia Xiao Lan, her mother had even found it amusing.

Later when there was nothing to laugh about, her mother still harbored resentment.

“…Anyway, I can’t bring him home. My mother definitely won’t agree.”

Zhou Cheng was utterly speechless.

“Then don’t ask Xiao Lan to help. Aunt must be busy arranging blind dates for you. Once those work out, you can break up with your current boyfriend!”

“Zhou Cheng, how can you say that? If Second Aunt had arranged blind dates for you and asked you to break up with Xia Xiao Lan, would you have agreed?”

Zhou Yi forgot about being intimidated, provoked by Zhou Cheng’s dismissive tone.

Zhou Cheng chuckled: “Well, I didn’t agree, and you know what happened after that, don’t you?”

Zhou Yi was left speechless.

Zhou Cheng had remained firm despite Second Aunt’s opposition and despite how excited Tong Lili had been, brazenly trying to establish a connection. Zhou Cheng had withstood all that pressure.

Everyone knew the outcome – Zhou Cheng’s judgment proved excellent. When Xia Xiao Lan appeared, the entire Zhou family could find no fault with her.

Zhou Yi felt extremely depressed.

She hadn’t anticipated when feelings would develop. At first, she was just playing around, but gradually became emotionally invested. Now she couldn’t bear to break up but knew bringing him home would lead nowhere.

“Zhou Cheng, help your sister. I still want to try. Whether good or bad, he’s the person I chose. I definitely won’t be happy marrying someone from a blind date. I just like him – his current circumstances being poor doesn’t mean they’ll always be bad.”

At least she showed some spirit. Zhou Cheng neither agreed nor disagreed:

“Let me meet him first, then we’ll talk!”