She thought dreamily that if she were able to make up with the Yan family and convince the two elders to accept her again, it would be much easier to bring up the matter about Lu Weining.

…

The two elders did not plan to hide the situation from Yan Beicheng and Yan Huaian. They gave them a warning in advance to prepare themselves for the gathering.

Yan Beicheng had mixed feelings after hanging up the phone.

He did not see Jiang Changdai much all these years. Jiang Changdai did not come to B City often but she did visit every year with Yan Zhiqing. However, the two elders would never allow her into the house. Yan Beicheng never took the initiative to visit her and she did not take the initiative to contact Yan Beicheng as well.

They finally met when he went over to Ning City last year but he was tricked into a matchmaking session.

Yan Beicheng frowned at the thought of seeing Jiang Changdai the next day. Although he was not affected by Jiang Changdai one bit, still, he could feel a tinge of emotion over it.

Lin Chu walked out from the bathroom as her fingers brushed through her long hair which was almost dried. She saw Yan Beicheng frowning and looking serious.

She immediately walked over Yan Beicheng"s long legs and moved to the other side. Her finger gently pressed on the frown between his eyebrows. She tried to smoothen it out.

"What happened to make you look so serious?" Lin Chu ma.s.saged between his eyebrows. Yan Beicheng grabbed her hand and placed it on his abdomen.

"Tomorrow"s Sat.u.r.day, let"s visit the old mansion," Yan Beicheng turned to say to her.

Lin Chu agreed with a smile. Yan Beicheng"s thumb pressed on the gentle, supple back of her hand and gently rubbed against it, "Grandma invited my mother too. She found out that she came looking for you today. The two elders are really angry about it, so they are planning to give her a little punishment tomorrow."

Yan Beicheng smiled gently, "So, you don"t need to worry. They"re standing up for you tomorrow."

Lin Chu sat up and asked in surprise. "You told the two elders about it?"

"No, I didn"t. Zhiqing was talking to her mother when grandma overheard the conversation," Yan Beicheng explained.

He gave Lin Chu"s hand a little pull and she looked at him. His eyes were filled with expectations and seemed to be hinting at something. Lin Chu found it funny that this mature man could sometimes have such a childish look on him.

Lin Chu fell into his arms. She wanted to ask if it bothered him to go back there tomorrow but decided to hold back on the question after some thought.

Yan Beicheng"s perfect fingers brushed through her thick, long hair. As he brushed through her hair, he ma.s.saged her scalp at the same time. He pressed at the right spots, making her feel comfortable.

She was already relaxed after soaking in the bathtub. In addition to his ma.s.sage, all fatigue left her body and her eyes slowly closed as she drifted off to sleep.

As she was dozing off, Yan Beicheng"s magnetic, elegant voice could be heard from above her, "Don"t worry. I didn"t feel anything when we met in Ning City, it would not be any different when I see her tomorrow."

Lin Chu was about to fall asleep but blinked for a moment as she took in the words after hearing them. She looked up at him, there was a misty gaze in her eyes.

Yan Beicheng purposely pinched her on the nose. He had thought she was worried about him, who knew that this ungrateful little thing was about to fall asleep in his arms!

But as he watched Lin Chu"s fuzzy expression, he thought it was a rare occasion for her to look so adorably hazy. He pushed her up by her waist and landed a pa.s.sionate kiss on her lips.

Before Lin Chu could react to their lips fusing, he had flipped on top of her and pressed her down beneath him.

Lin Chu"s hands could not help moving under his arms to give his shoulder an annoyed punch. It was solid and was tight with muscles.

Yan Beicheng laughed gently as he heard Lin Chu"s soft, breathy voice, "I wanted to sleep!"

"Your fuzzy expression is making me want you," Yan Beicheng"s deep, hoa.r.s.e voice flowed into her as his lips pressed heatedly on hers.

There was a mist over her eyes as Yan Beicheng took the opportunity to invade her slightly opened lips. He knocked on her door and filled her up with him.

…

The next morning, Yan Beicheng opened his eyes to see Lin Chu in his arms. No wonder he dreamt of Chu Xi pus.h.i.+ng itself into his arms the whole night.

He planted a kiss on her pretty nose. He knew he must have exhausted her last night as she did not wake up. He wondered how she was going to glare and him and bite his head off when she woke up.

Yan Beicheng smiled gently and the gentleness in his eyes was like the summer wind that brought rays of the warm sun onto the face of Lin Chu. If they did not need to go to the old mansion, he would have held on to her in bed today. It would be nice not to do anything.

He gently moved Lin Chu to the side. Her position did not change as she was in deep sleep. Even his movements did not wake her up. She continued sleeping on the bed.

Yan Beicheng went to the bathroom to wash up and tidy himself up. When he came out, the sunlight has moved as the sun did. Golden rays shone on half the bed. It shone one the snow-white shoulders of Lin Chu, which was exposed outside the covers like it was covered with a layer of warmth.

Yan Beicheng walked to her side of the bed and kneeled to look at her. He had a good view of her slightly pouting lips, which were pressed by the pillow. After a night"s rest, it looked especially soft.

He lowered his head and gave her exquisite shoulders soft kiss. Lin Chu felt ticklish from it and moved a little. The slight annoyance to her dreams had her pulled up the covers further up and she covered a small portion of her chin. Only her mouth and nose were exposed for breathing.

Yan Beicheng could not help but laughed. He immediately kissed her on the lips and pinched her nose at the same time.

Lin Chu woke up immediately as she could not breathe. She rolled to the side and moved away from him.

She saw Yan Beicheng was already dressed in a s.h.i.+rt and long pants. He looked upright and fresh.

"Why didn"t you wake me up?" Lin Chu covered her lips as she said disapprovingly.

"Didn"t I just woke you up?" Yan Beicheng ignored creasing the clothes he had just put on and dove onto the bed and pressed on half her body, then pulled her into his arms.

He pulled her hand down and kissed her all over the lips, only releasing her after he had his fill of kisses.

Lin Chu, "…"

Who told him to wake her up this way?

"Get off of me, I need to get out of bed now," Lin Chu pushed him.

Yan Beicheng"s hands reached under the covers to tease her some more before getting up. His s.h.i.+rt was a little creased because of his playfulness and a corner of his s.h.i.+rt had come out of his pants. He now looked to be full of l.u.s.t, so different from the fresh, clean look she saw when she had just woken up.

"You can go out first, I"ll follow suit later." Lin Chu protected herself with the covers.

She did not expect Yan Beicheng to put a pillow upright and used it for a cus.h.i.+on for his back when he sat down and said, "I"ll wait for you here."

Lin Chu, "…"

Yan Beicheng"s hands reached out to the bedside table to grab his phone and put on an act of swiping it a few times. Then he turned towards her and looked at Lin Chu with a serious expression.

Lin Chu, "…"

That was a quick change of expressions.

Even though they have been together for a while, she was still having trouble adapting to it.

"Aren"t you supposed to get up now?" Yan Beicheng raised an eyebrow but his hands reached out to pinch her waist through the covers.

Lin Chu quickly shrank and she blushed profusely. As he did not seem to be leaving anytime soon, her legs reached out from under the covers and kicked him in anger. She gave a dainty "humph" and got down the bed in a huff. It was like she was no longer worried about him watching her.

Lin Chu kept telling herself that he had seen everything, and they have even done more intimate things, this was nothing.

However, her soft, supple skin still turned redder by the minute.

Yan Beicheng stopped looking at his phone and watched Lin Chu change with full attention. Lin Chu did not turn back, but she could feel his heated gaze fall on her skin from behind. It was scorching hot. She could feel herself getting stupid at putting on clothes as her actions become stiff and humorous.

Now, it was more than being shy, it was getting embarra.s.sing. She did not know what to do with him watching her.

The moment she managed to put on her clothes, she could almost hear Yan Beicheng quietly laughing.

She turned back with a reddened face and saw the smile that Yan Beicheng did not manage to wipe off in time.

She immediately attacked him as she lunged toward the bed, "Stop making fun of me! Stop laughing!"

She said is while lowering her head to bite him on the neck. This action electrocuted Yan Beicheng and he felt his whole body went numb. He pressed her down and kissed her.

By the time the two of them headed downstairs, Yan Beicheng was showing two imprinted set of teeth marks on his neck. It could not be covered even if he had b.u.t.toned up everything on his s.h.i.+rt.

Aunt Zhuang was alarmed by it and quickly went to the kitchen to serve them breakfast.

At that moment, the doorbell rang.

Yan Beicheng was sitting at the dining table with the newspaper while waiting for breakfast. He did not move at all.

Lin Chu gave him a look and said, "I"m aching all over. I"m too lazy to move."

"…" Yan Beicheng silently placed his newspaper down and went out of the dining room obediently to open the door.

Aunt Zhuang came out with a tray and placed a few appetizers on the table and asked, "Where"s the master?"

Lin Chu was about to answer when a child"s voice could be heard at the door, "Chu Xi, I"m here, Chu Xi!"

Lin Chu quickly went out to take a look and saw Yan Ningbai rus.h.i.+ng into the house.

"Woof! Woof!" Chu Xi"s voice was suddenly heard from a random corner as it replied to Yan Ningbai.

The next second, Chu Xi came rus.h.i.+ng out. It had left behind its cuteness and was looking more grown-up. Its claws were scratching on the floor while it ran.

Yan Ningbai sat down where he was and straightened his legs and opened his arm. Chu Xi ran right into them.

Now that Chu Xi was as tall as Yan Ningbai while standing up, its two front paws were on Yan Ningbai"s shoulders it licked his face enthusiastically.

Yan Huaian and Yu Zi followed from behind. Yan Beicheng was walking behind them.

"Why did all of you come over here?" Yan Beicheng asked the question that was on Lin Chu"s mind.

They were supposed to go to the old mansion.

Yan Huaian looked at his little brat rolling around the ground with the other brat, and said, "We came over here so we can leave with the two of you."

Yan Beicheng understood without needing him to explain further. They were worried that if he were to reach the old mansion first, he would have to face Jiang Changdai alone. It was something that made them concerned.

Yan Beicheng smiled, "I"m not a child anymore."

Even though he said this, their actions still warmed his heart.

Yan Huaian could tell that he did not mean what he said and for once, did not take the opportunity to tease him. He looked at the dining room instead, "Are you having breakfast? That"s just nice. We left the house early and haven"t had breakfast either."

Lin Chu quickly treated them to breakfast.

Yan Ningbai finally stopped rolling around the floor with Chu Xi when he noticed his parents ignoring him. He quickly got up from the floor and joined them for breakfast.

Chu Xi had been living in the house a few months and have turned quite plump. It rolled to the left and right and smartly used the power of inertia to get itself up. It sat in front of Yan Ningbai.

Yang Ningbai nodded and said seriously, "Are you expecting me to carry you over to eat?"

Chu Xi sat down on its solidly thick b.u.t.t and its front paws quickly scratched back and forth on the floor.

Yan Ningbai opened both arms and Chu Xi immediately leaped into them cooperatively. Yan Ningbai"s little hands held on to it. He very nearly could not circle Chu Xi"s body with his hands. He tried pulling it up but could not move it at all.

Yan Ningbai, "…"

How much food did big niece-in-law gave Chu Xi to eat?

Yan Ningbai was not about to admit that he could not carry Chu Xi. It was shorter than him even if it stood up.

So, he released his hands and patted Chu Xi on the head, "Walk yourself, you can"t be that lazy, you know."

With that, he patted the dust off his b.u.t.t and went to the bathroom to wash his hands.

Chu Xi, "…"

…

After breakfast, they did not delay longer and prepared to leave.

Yan Ningbai pulled on Lin Chu"s sleeve. Lin Chu lowered her head to see Yan Ningbai looking at her with a cute expression.

Lin Chu knew that whenever Yan Ningbai showed this side of himself, there was something he wanted, but her heart could not help but melt at him being adorable. Before he said anything, Lin Chu was prepared to tell him she was ready to give him anything he wanted.

"Big niece-in-law, can we bring Chu Xi with us? I haven"t seen it for such a long time, we"re not done having fun together," Yan Ningbai pulled on Lin Chu"s sleeve and looked at her with wide, road, misty eyes.

Lin Chu looked at Chu Xi. Chu Xi was rolling around on the cold floor. It was going left and right as it twisted its fat waist. It seemed to realize Lin Chu watching it and stopped for a moment. It gave her one look and continued to go back to rolling around.

Lin Chu turned to look at Yan Beicheng, "Does grandpa and grandma mind dogs?"

"They don"t mind!" Yan Ningbai quickly answered.

Yan Beicheng glared at him before saying, "They don"t mind. Grandma is always feeding the stray cats near the house. If she manages to capture any, she"d take them to get neutered."

Lin Chu did not decide immediately. The master of the house was Yan Beicheng.

Yan Beicheng thought of Chu Xi"s capability of destroying things and gave a big smile, "It"s okay to bring Chu Xi."

Yan Ningbai howled happily and lunged towards Chu Xi and hugged it.

Chu Xi was weighed down under Yan Ningbai, its b.u.t.t could only twist here and there but it still could not escape from Yan Ningbai"s evil claws.

As Huskies had the nickname of "runaway dog", and in addition to Chu Xi"s completely Husky-ish personality, Lin Chu put on a least on Chu Xi. His leash was pa.s.sed to Yan Ningbai, and they left the house together.

When they were about to board their cars, Chu Xi looked at Yan Huaian"s car, and then Yan Beicheng"s car. It was more familiar with Yan Beicheng"s car and shook its tail while walking in circles, demanding to follow Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu.

Yan Ningbai gave a deep sigh. He lamented that this was not his dog and the foundation of their relations.h.i.+p was still not deep enough!

So, he could only pa.s.s the leash to Lin Chu and watched as Chu Xi walked clumsily towards Lin Chu"s feet.

When Yan Beicheng opened the car door, it immediately leaped into the backseat. However, it did remember to look out the rolled-down window to give Yan Ningbai a "woof".

Yan Ningbai finally cheered up as he smiled widely to wave at Chu Xi, "We"ll… We"ll see each other later!"

Chu Xi, "Woof!"

Yan Beicheng"s mouth twitched, "They do share the same language."

Lin Chu, "…"

…

Both cars stopped at the entrance of the old mansion one after the other.

It was Chu Xi"s first time in the old mansion. This unfamiliar place was exciting to it as it panted and its tongue rolled out.

The moment it got off the car, it went around sniffing, as if it was sweeping for land mines. It walked to the corner of the wall and squatted down to pee on it.

Lin Chu pa.s.sed the leash to Yan Ningbai for him to bring Chu Xi into the house.

Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng walked to the door when they heard a woman"s voice came from within. She sounded happy and enthusiastic, "This is Ningbai? You"ve grown up. I… I haven"t gotten to meet you. Ningbai, how are you? I"m you…"

Before the sentence finished, one could hear Chu Xi called out "Woof! Woof!" twice to interrupt the words.

"Elder Auntie, who is she?" Yan Ningbai looked up and asked.

Old Lady Yan gave a short laugh, "This is Zhiqing"s mother. She"s not familiar with the family, you don"t need to mind her."

When Yan Ningbai heard that this was Yan Zhiqing"s mother, his enthusiasm ceased. He gave a cold reply of "oh" and released Chu Xi from its leash.

Jiang Changdai"s warm, gentle expression stiffened.

She had come over excitedly early in the morning, filled with joy and looking forward to reconciling with the Yan family.

The moment she entered the house, she tried to please the elders, even crying out excitedly while calling out "mum, dad".

However, Old Lady Yan"s expression was cold, she was not willing to even look at her and said hatefully, "Miss Jiang, you no longer have any connections with this family. I"m not capable of giving birth to a daughter like you and am even more embarra.s.sed to have you as a daughter-in-law. You can refer to me as Old Lady Yan like the others."

She was distanced from the Yan family with an icy cold demeanor.

Jiang Changdai was about to call out "mum" with reddened eyes when Old Lady Yan glared at her.

Old Master Yan had yet to appear. She wondered if he was home.

Jiang Changdai started to wonder, if this was the att.i.tude used to treat her, why was she invited back and given the impression that they wanted to reconcile?

She was now aware that both elders still hated her.

Yan Zhiqing wanted to stand up for Jiang Changdai but was stopped with a look from Jiang Changdai.

She did not want her daughter to be hated in the Yan family too.

She knew that if Yan Zhiqing had grown up in the Yan family, she would be very loved by the two elders. It would be different from the current situation.

While the two elders did show Yan Zhiqing love, something was still missing. It was different from their love for Yan Huaian and Yan Beicheng, even Yan Ningbai.

It was because Yan Zhiqing had grown up with her that the two elders of the Yan family did not treat her as well.

Jiang Changdai felt that she had let Yan Zhiqing down in this sense. But, if she were given the chance to choose all over again, she would still make the same choice. She did not want to be alone with no one to accompany her.

She was selfish and did not want to live alone.

Besides, Yan Zhiqing was different for her compared to Yan Beicheng. She had Yan Beicheng not long after marrying into the family. She was filled with rage and unwillingness. It was at that time when she truly hated that person, so when she gave birth to Yan Beicheng, she hated him as well.

When she was pregnant with Yan Zhiqing, she had let down Yan Beicheng"s father and felt guilty. When she gave birth to her, she naturally loved her more.

Besides, he was no longer in this world. She had no one to hate anymore.

At that moment, Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu entered.

Old Lady Yan spotted them, and she smiled as a flower had bloomed on her face. "The two of you are here. Lin Chu, come and sit down. I"ve got Xiao Chen to make your favorite Spicy Poached Pork Slice for the afternoon."

"Elder Auntie, what about me?" Yan Ningbai, who was playing with Chu Xi, looked over upon hearing those works.

"There"s something for you too. Don"t you love Sweet Corn with Pine Nuts? We made this for you this afternoon," said Old Lady Yan.

She suddenly clapped her hands. "Look at me, I"ve completely forgotten. Your grandpa is still in the study. He gave me instructions to ask him out here the moment you arrive."

Old Lady Yan smiled and slipped out quickly towards the study.

Jiang Changdai clenched her teeth. There was an unspeakable rage within her.

Old Lady Yan and Old Master Yan were too obvious. They ignored her while they treated Lin Chu so well.

From the moment she arrived, Old Master Yan was not present. She did not even know if he was at home and Old Lady Yan made no mention of it.

In fact, the moment she was here, she did not say another word to Old Lady Yan after getting warned by her. It confused her on the reason Old Lady Yan invited her over.

Now that she had seen Lin Chu, she started to understand. Old Lady Yan wanted her to accept Lin Chu.

That was why she created the opportunity to get them to meet.

Watching Old Lady Yan"s enthusiasm towards Lin Chu"s arrival and her cold att.i.tude towards her, Jiang Changdai got so mad, she trembled with anger.

She had now completely understood why Yan Zhiqing hated Lin Chu so much.

If the two elders treated Lin Chu so much better than Yan Zhiqing on the day Yan Zhiqing arrived, one could not blame Yan Zhiqing for being angry!

Jiang Changdai glanced coldly at Lin Chu and pretended not to see her. Her gaze fell on Yan Beicheng, who was next to Lin Chu.

She got up and looked as if she was guilty and her eyes went red as she called out, "Beicheng."

"Mother," Yan Beicheng greeted casually.

It was cold and distant, unlike calling out to a close mother. It was like he was forced to refer to her as "mother" due to her status. To him, it was like a nickname, much like someone"s name.

Whoever referred to their mums with such a cold, unfamiliar "mother"?

Jiang Changdai"s guilt on her face disappeared for a moment because of Yan Beicheng"s dissatisfaction, but she immediately put her game face back on. She ignored Lin Chu and went over to hold Yan Beicheng"s hands.

"Sit down. Let your mother take a good look at you."

Jiang Changdai turned around, as if she had just only noticed Yan Huaian and Yu Zi, and said apologetically. "Huaian, Yu Zi, long time no see. I remember when you haven"t met each other. Huaian was still in university, such a young and good-looking boy."

Yan Beicheng pulled his hand away coldly. It felt a little dirty after Jiang Changdai had touched them. He put his hands behind his back and wiped his hands on his coat discreetly.

Jiang Changdai had noticed this little movement, which Yan Beicheng had wanted her to see on purpose.

He saw the smile on Jiang Changdai"s face stiffened and heard Yan Huaian said, "Everyone said I looked a lot like my nephew. Even though I"m the senior, but I still felt that I could not compare to even a millionth of him."

His nephew was naturally Yan Beicheng"s father.

Jiang Changdai took two steps back as she cringed, "I… I let him down, I let Beicheng down."

"Mum, what"s going on?" Yan Zhiqing had just finished a call in her bedroom. She came down the stairs to see Jiang Changdai stagger back in retreat.

She may not be able to see her face, but it must have been really pale.

Yan Zhiqing rushed over to help her.

Jiang Changdai looked weak as she shook her head, "I"m okay. I"m just overjoyed to see Beicheng."

Yan Zhiqing wanted to say something when Old Master Yan and Old Lady Yan appeared happily.

Old Master Yan was so happy to see Lin Chu and quickly got her to sit down. "I went fis.h.i.+ng again yesterday and especially caught one to keep in the aquarium first. Xiao Chen will make you West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy. Oh! I know, you love sour and spicy flavor."

Lin Chu knew that the two elders were trying to back her up and give her standing in the family. She was touched by their actions and played along. "Grandpa, grandma, you really do know how to spoil me. Grandma remembers I love Spicy Poached Pork Slice and grandpa remembers that I love West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy. Both of you remember my favorite dishes. But… Listening to you both talk about it, it"s like I"m a big eater."

"Hahaha, this child!" Old Lady Yan was tickled by Lin Chu and laughed uproariously.

This was a very different treatment from when she faced Jiang Changdai, even Yan Zhiqing had not been treated this way before.

Even though they were aware of the exaggeration in this "act", Jiang Changdai and her daughter were, nevertheless, seething in their hearts.

 Yan Huaian smiled slightly as he teased, "Lin Chu, your favorite flavors are going to be tricky when you get pregnant. It would be hard to judge if it is going to be a boy or girl since loving sour flavor means you have a son and loving the spicy flavor means you would get a girl."

Lin Chu"s face went red. She avoided looking at Yan Huaian and looked towards Yu Zi instead, "You did promise not to allow granduncle to bully me, grandaunt."

Lin Chu purposely emphasized the words, "grandaunt".

Yu Zi had previously said to not make her sound old. But now, she smiled as she threw a piece of chocolate towards her and replied, "Call me that again and I won"t help you!"

Lin Chu smiled and did not say more. She tore open the chocolate wrapping and popped a piece in her mouth. One could see her teasing, cunning demeanor from her eyes, it was bright and lively.

Yan Beicheng could hardly control himself as he watched her, he wanted to have her in his arms and kiss her wildly.

However, he still managed to compose himself with what little he had left, but his burning eyes could not hold back from watching Lin Chu"s face intently, scanning between her eyes and her lips.

His heated gaze was audacious and obvious. It was difficult for Lin Chu to ignore them. Her face reddened as she quietly pinched him on the waist.

What was he doing in front of all his seniors?!

It did not escape from the eyes of the two elders and Jiang Changdai. There was a smile on Jiang Changdai"s face, but her words did not reflect it, "Beicheng, would you and Lin Chu please watch yourselves? This is inappropriate when grandpa and grandma are present."

Old Lady Yan immediately pulled her face. "Miss Jiang, if you don"t remember what you should refer me as, then the Yan family should not keep you here any longer.

Jiang Changdai went stiff. She did not expect Old Lady Yan to say this in front of so many people, especially in front of Lin Chu. She did not leave her any dignity at all.

She had wanted to take the opportunity to berate Lin Chu, but now she could only say with a rigid expression, "Old Lady Yan, it was a slip of the tongue."

Yan Zhiqing looked sadly at Old Lady Yan and suddenly called out, "Grandma! How… How could you say that about my mother, she was only…"

"Zhiqing!" Jiang Changdai pulled down Yan Zhiqing to sit by her.

She gave Old Master Yan and Old Lady Yan a seemingly apologetic look and said to Yan Zhiqing, "Don"t spout nonsense if you don"t understand what is going on. Old Lady Yan has her reasons."

Yan Zhiqing clenched her teeth, she was still resentful over it.

Jiang Changdai pulled herself together and picked up the clay teacup and had a sip of hot tea to calm herself down before asking slowly, "Miss Lin, where do you work?"

She was acting as if she had not met Lin Chu before.

There was a flash of ridicule in Old Lady Yan"s eyes. This Jiang Changdai had not improved one bit after all these years, she was still stupid as ever. She had truly learned nothing in almost twenty years.

Lin Chu was taken aback and looked stunned at Jiang Changdai, "Didn"t you block me in front of my office doors yesterday?"

She had already found her office, could she not know what her occupation was?

Jiang Changdai"s mouth twitched, her fake smile was glued to her lips. Lin Chu"s stunned look does seem realistic. It does seem believable that she was surprised, as if she did not expect her to ask this question.

"I know which company you work at but I"m not aware of what exactly do you do," the corner of Jiang Changdai"s eyes twitched as she said in an unfriendly manner.

Lin Chu did not seem to mind and replied politely, "I"m working in the Public Relations Department at Lin Yi. To put it simply, if there is an issue with public image, we would be in charge of salvaging that image or stop it from further damage."

"Hoho, I"m not some uneducated housewife, would I not know what does public relation executives do? I won"t mistake it for those kinds of women at the roadside," Jiang Changdai finished her tea at one go and placed the teacup back on the table as she replied sarcastically.

"Don"t say anything if you don"t know how to!" Old Master Yan said coldly. He was worried Jiang Changdai would mistake the words for being directed at Lin Chu, so he glared specifically at Jiang Changdai to let her know he was referring to her.

He turned lovingly towards Lin Chu and said, "Lin Chu, don"t you mind her. She still hasn"t learned to talk despite being at this age."

Lin Chu smiled and did not say more.

Jiang Changdai finally understood the reason why Old Master Yan and Old Lady Yan asked her back here, it was to give Lin Chu support and to make her aware of their intentions.

The two elders might have already known that she had met Lin Chu yesterday.

Jiang Changdai looked coldly at Lin Chu. They had only just met yesterday and she had already started complaining behind her back. She wondered what Lin Chu had said to make the two elders so prejudiced against her.

"I did meet Miss Lin yesterday, but please do not be unhappy about it. After all, I am Beicheng"s mother and I"m very concerned about his matters. I"d like to see what the woman he likes looks like and understand her better. I"m always scared for Beicheng getting cheated," Jiang Changdai said coldly.

Old Lady Yan replied haughtily, "Enough. I"ve seen many things, living at this ripe old age. I"ve seen vicious mothers who treat their child badly, but those are happenings that we see in the news. I had never imagined that our own family would ever have one. That did make me open my eyes. You"re still going to refer to yourself as Beicheng"s mother after all those things you"ve done?"

Jiang Changdai did not expect Old Lady Yan to say this out loud, she did not want to see the delighted look on Lin Chu"s face. "Old Lady Yan, I admit that the past was my fault but I"ve since been sorry about it and I want to change for the better. I want to be a better mother. It"s not right of me to say that I"m making it up to Beicheng, but please treat it as my attempts at righting my past mistakes. I"d just like to treat Beicheng better. It"s normal of me to be curious about Beicheng"s girlfriend, I"d like to know her better because I"m afraid Beicheng will get cheated. After all, I"ve never heard about Lin Chu before. I don"t know who she is and her background, and that worries me. Please don"t misunderstand my intentions and think the worse of me."

"Stop being so high and mighty with us. How stupid do you think we are? Is this really for Beicheng"s own good or is this you being selfish?" Old Lady Yan was previously expressionless, but she was now unable to hide the hate in her eyes.

"If it was me who had done all those disgusting things you did, I"d be too guilty or embarra.s.sed to see others and go into hiding. Yet, you still have the gall to come here happily. You had never shown any effort to make amends and you chose the exact moment when Beicheng has a girlfriend to show your concern and throw your weight around like a mother? Beicheng is a cultured person and you did give birth to him. If nothing, he still gives you some respect but that does not mean you can use your status to give pressure to Beicheng and Lin Chu."

"To put it plainly, you"re still Beicheng"s mother if we allow it. If we don"t, you"re nothing!" Old Lady Yan said bluntly.

This was the first time Lin Chu had seen Old Lady Yan speak this way, it was so different from her usual loving self.

But she was not scared off by it. Instead, she was feeling great about it. Jiang Changdai deserved a good scolding!

Jiang Changdai"s face went completely pale and her eyes reddened, her lips were trembling, "Mum… You… You"ve been looking at me this way all these years? How could you say that? I"m… I"m really thinking on behalf of Beicheng! All these years, I"ve known I was at fault, you…"

Old Lady Yan was seething with anger, she could no longer be bothered by Jiang Changdai calling her "mum". She waved her hand to stop her talking, "Are you really thinking about Beicheng or are you thinking about yourself? I asked you over here today along with Huaian"s family and Beicheng with Lin Chu is because I wanted to tell you this in front of everybody here today."

"You have not been a part of the Yan family for a long time, so don"t interfere with the Yan family matters. You may have given birth to Beicheng but you"ve never taken care of him for even one day. You"re even unwilling to give birth to him. Since that is the case, you shouldn"t treat yourself as his mother. Beicheng"s surname is Yan, he"s from the Yan family. If you"d like to interfere with a family, go back and have your hands full with the Jiang family. You"re not qualified to meddle with the Yan family."

"I"d like Lin Chu as my granddaughter-in-law. I"ve liked her since the first day I met her. Even if they aren"t married yet, our family is already treating her as Beicheng"s wife. You may not know about her background, but we already know Lin Chu very well," Old Lady Yan remained grim-faced as she talked to Jiang Changdai. But whenever she mentioned Yan Beicheng or Lin Chu, the expression on her face turned gentle.