Chapter 154: with translation of chapter title

The company is now slack and strict; slack because the boss is absent, and it's possible they won't see him for the next one or two months.

The strictness is due to heavy workload; without the boss holding up the sky, they have to hold it up themselves.

The front desk receptionist was propping her chin, bored and slacking off; upon looking up, she saw Zhou Yinhe coming up from the staff parking lot elevator.

She was startled, quickly stood up and asked how he was.

Zhou Yinhe indifferently nodded and asked the front desk if there was a delivery for him.

The front desk nodded, turned and handed him the box on the desk; Zhou Yinhe took it and turned to walk toward the CEO's exclusive elevator.

The secretaries in the secretary department were still busy; upon seeing Zhou Yinhe walking over slowly, they were momentarily dazed, until he walked into the office without looking sideways; Chen Yu was the first to react, hurriedly following after him.

"Boss, why did you suddenly come today?"

Zhou Yinhe hummed, didn't give a direct answer, only said 'Let's go out.'

Chen Yu paused, let out an 'oh', hesitantly left, and before closing the door, sneakily glanced at Zhou Yinhe.

After the office door was closed, Zhou Yinhe began to open the box in his hand.

Inside the box lay a ring quietly; Zhou Yinhe picked it up, examined it thoroughly, pursed his lips, and it didn't disappoint him.

This was the raw stone he had selected, having Jiang Jibai oversee sending it for cutting and design into a ring; during that period he stayed in front of Wen Ling, fearing that if the surprise leaked it wouldn't be a surprise, so from beginning to end, aside from glancing at the raw stone once, he never saw it again.

He put the ring back into the box, got up and walked to his lounge, placing the box inside the safe.

He wasn't yet ready to give it to Wen Ling; of course, this wasn't an engagement ring, he simply wanted to give it to Wen Ling so she could wear something nice.

Besides being nice, it would also let outsiders know that Wen Ling is taken, letting those who eye her covetously have a sense of her status.

Outside the rain was still falling; Zhou Yinhe propped his forehead and flipped through documents, while the secretaries came in repeatedly, including the department heads downstairs.

After just one or two hours, the long-lazy Zhou Yinhe became irritable.

He scratched his head, forcibly making his hair a mess; later Chen Yu entered the office to get Zhou Yinhe's signature, seeing him in such a shameless state, he bit his cheek to hold back laughter, and by the time Zhou Yinhe walked out of the office, his cheek was about to burst from holding it in.

At noon, Zhou Yinhe glanced at the time and called Wen Ling.

"It's time for lunch; where are you? I'll come find you."

Wen Ling was obviously chewing something, and mumbled: 'No need, you eat at the company.'

"..." Zhou Yinhe narrowed his eyes: "Are you already eating?"

"Ah..." Wen Ling blinked, about to explain, but Ning Qing had already taken her phone; hearing Ning Qing say something into the phone, she hung up, then returned the phone to Wen Ling.

"Just eat yourself, don't worry about us."

Wen Ling took back her phone, and Ning Qing said: 'Ah Ling, men don't understand things; you need to teach him well, don't always indulge him, or else you'll be the one suffering.'

"Ah." Wen Ling felt she could hardly speak; Shang Zhiyu smiled softly, not interjecting, nor telling Wen Ling that when she first married Zhou Yanqiu, Ning Qing had specially taken her out to earnestly teach her how to train her husband to be obedient and compliant.

Ning Qing saw Wen Ling clueless, so she began to teach her what she had learned, and also updated Shang Zhiyu with new experience.

If Zhou Yanqiu and Zhou Yinhe were present, they'd probably be driven crazy by their own mother.

His wife and his own mother went out to play for half a day and learned a bunch of tricks to deal with them; they're going to be screwed!

However, the Zhou Family brothers currently don't know.

Ning Qing finished speaking, lifted her juice, took a sip to soothe her dry throat, and sighed: 'Later, when Congyu has a girlfriend, I'll have to teach him again; sigh, more kids mean more worries.'

After Ning Qing's lecture, Wen Ling expressed great admiration, blinking her starry eyes at Ning Qing: 'Auntie, you're amazing.'

"What's that?" Ning Qing waved her hand, full of heroic spirit.

Wen Ling had forgotten that Zhou Yinhe hadn't eaten yet; after settling the bill, she actively linked arms with Ning Qing, their intimacy greater than before.

However, this happiness came to an abrupt halt upon seeing Qin Siqing.

"Ah Ling." Qin Siqing softly called her; upon seeing her being affectionate and close with Ning Qing, a hint of sadness flashed in her eyes.

Originally, her daughter should have been this affectionate toward her; they would get along like sisters, and the daughter would tell her any private thoughts.

But all of this was ruined by her former selfish self, who only wanted freedom.

Ning Qing knew their mother-daughter relationship was poor, but which child doesn't crave maternal love? She therefore proactively invited Qin Siqing to have afternoon tea together.

Even though they had just finished lunch.

Wen Ling remained silent throughout, only responding with a smile when Ning Qing asked her something.

The four sat down; Wen Ling and Ning Qing sat together, while Shang Zhiyu and Qin Siqing sat opposite them.

Wen Ling turned her face away, not looking at Qin Siqing who kept gazing at her; the hand she had withdrawn from Ning Qing's arm crook twisted together nervously; Ning Qing, noticing from the corner of her eye, quietly reached out and patted the back of Wen Ling's hand.

Qin Siqing's voice was so soft it seemed afraid to startle Wen Ling: 'Your dad went back to M Country for something, but he'll return in a couple days.'

Wen Ling lowered her eyes and gave a muffled hum; seeing her respond, Qin Siqing continued trying to find a topic.

"We now live next to your maternal grandfather's house, not far from your residence; just now when I went out, your maternal grandfather said he hadn't seen you in a long time and really missed you."

Regarding the maternal grandfather who had doted on her since childhood, Wen Ling still felt reluctant to hear this; likely because the grandfather knew she was in a difficult position, so since Qin Siqing returned, he has never called on her behalf nor asked her to go to the Qin Family.

Wen Ling looked directly at her for the first time, gazing at the face before her that resembled her own but was gentler; she was first startled, then said: 'When the weather improves, I will go visit my maternal grandfather.'

Qin Siqing's eye sockets gradually reddened, and she nodded with a choked voice.

At this moment, Zhou Yinhe's incoming call rescued the awkward, embarrassed Wen Ling; she picked up her phone, stood, and hurried away to answer.

"Thank goodness you called."

Wen Ling softly exhaled, then heard Zhou Yinhe say: 'My mom sent me a message, telling me to call to rescue you.'

Wen Ling was stunned, turned and glanced, then said aggrievedly: 'Really good, Baobao, your family is also nice.'

"Of course, so don't be unhappy." Zhou Yinhe said softly: 'How about this, I'll pick you up? Last time I never introduced you to my company.'

Wen Ling hummed, hung up the phone, she walked back to her original seat, avoiding Qin Siqing's gaze, and only spoke to Ning Qing and Shang Zhiyu.