Chapter 1122: Insatiable Greed

At the airport, lights shone brightly, and busy people came and went, making the airport swallow and spit them out.

At the arrival area, a tall woman in casual wear, wearing a black wool coat, pushed her suitcase and walked with long strides toward the exit. Her long hair fluttered with her steps and danced backward with the wind rushing into the corridor.

After exiting, she ran toward the man who was waiting and smiling there. They hugged and pecked, fully displaying their longing. After such intimacy, they headed toward the parking lot.

Wang Yan pushed the suitcase and asked, "Why are you back so early?"

"There's no point in being at home. What happened back then has already happened, and I haven't been home or kept in touch much these past few years. There are thorns in our hearts." Lucy sighed. "And because of me, they had another child. My mother is carrying a big belly, already six months along, and will give birth in three months. It's really..."

"Are you blaming yourself, or blaming them?"

"Both. If I had gone back a year earlier to ease things, they might not have had this idea. And my mother is over fifty—a high-risk pregnancy. It's too dangerous. Can she give birth? If she does, can she take care of it? They're being too irresponsible right now; they didn't consider anything at all. They just made a snap decision to have one..."

Wang Yan nodded. "What are you thinking?"

"That's what I'm thinking."

"I mean, are you going to do anything about it?"

"I can't just watch, can I?" Lucy said irritably. "If something really happens, won't it eventually fall on me?"

Wang Yan said, "High-risk pregnancies are indeed dangerous. How about this: have your parents move to Changsha, and I'll find a few obstetric experts to go over for a consultation and check them out first. If the conditions are sufficient, or if your parents are very determined, then arrange for them to be hospitalized there. When the time comes to give birth, I'll find experts to provide backup and try to ensure safety."

Lucy walked over, hugged Wang Yan's arm, and rubbed against him. "Thank you."

"I'm just using my connections and spending some money to do my best. If you want to thank me, just perform well later."

Lucy smiled, hugged Wang Yan, and they walked off in a crooked line...

A few days later, Ye Zhenzhen and He Minhong also finished their New Year and returned to Joyous Song one after another.

Unlike the original He Minhong, who was completely infatuated with Qi Mu, everyone was quite happy together this time. Especially since He Minhong was not only not infatuated, but had also made great progress, no longer being the one to ruin the atmosphere, making their interactions much more harmonious.

It was also at this time that Wang Yan helped Lucy arrange for experts to go over. Although it was actually finding people to consult for Lucy's mother, in name, it was an expert exchange activity.

That is, some highly qualified experts from Beijing and Shanghai joined forces to go to Changsha, organized and logistically supported by a pharmaceutical company, for a half-month academic and practical exchange of obstetric experts, and they also opened expert clinics, which could be considered serving the people there.

The examination results were, of course, not very good, and the experts did not recommend carrying the child to term. But Lucy's parents had already made up their minds, and their words were harsh: they would give birth even if they died. Lucy couldn't manage it, and Wang Yan couldn't manage it either.

In the original show, Lucy's mother didn't survive the childbirth due to heavy bleeding, and her father didn't want to take care of the child, so Lucy took the child in. What Wang Yan was doing now was trying his best to save Lucy's mother's life; spending some money didn't matter. Because in the end, if Lucy couldn't bear it and took the child in, he would still be affected.

Aside from this, there was nothing else of influence.

Ye Zhenzhen was still doing her research day and night, Lucy was still busy joining the core team of that internet company, and Zhu Zhe continued to be her housekeeping manager.

He Minhong still slacked off at work every day and diligently wrote her articles at home after work, and often communicated and asked Wang Yan for advice. Her achievements also started to improve; her followers were increasing, her traffic was growing, and she was steadily rising.

Yu Chuhui's work was very smooth, which could be called rising step by step. But her mood wasn't very beautiful, all because her father had been causing a lot of trouble in their hometown during the New Year, and relatives called her repeatedly, making her very distressed.

A few months later, her father almost beat a relative to death and got involved in a lawsuit. Of course, this had something to do with her; she had let it slip that the house wasn't in her parents' name but in her grandparents', and others started eyeing the house, which led to her father fighting for his life and almost causing a death.

But she was also scared out of her wits; after all, she was just a young girl. Her mother was the same, and the mother and daughter hugged and cried.

However, after her father was caught, her heart was put at ease. After a period of adaptation, she settled down and returned to her previous self, striving to make money.

After her trouble passed, Zhu Zhe's trouble followed one after another.

Last year, her brother wanted to get married but couldn't, and wanted a job but had baggage, so he incited his mother to ask Zhu Zhe for money and to find a way to arrange a job for him in Shanghai.

After the New Year, he came directly to Shanghai. After some research—perhaps also tracking and scouting—he found where Zhu Zhe was. He made a huge scene, wanting to use people who didn't know the truth to morally kidnap Zhu Zhe. However, because the location was at the hotel, and at the entrance to the basement, his plan didn't succeed.

After being scolded by Zhu Zhe, he had to deliver express packages and food, and he acted cute to Zhu Zhe, always wanting financial help from her.

But in the end, they were family. Even though Zhu Zhe was extremely disappointed, seeing her brother like this, she still couldn't bear it. She often had to talk on the phone and help give advice, and later she introduced her brother to a company she knew to work.

The boss of that company was her friend who had started his own business. She let her brother go there; although it was still tiring, it wasn't just pure physical labor like delivering express packages or food.

Things were quite good up to this point. But there were always twists, always catching people off guard...

This day, everyone was eating out together because Zhu Zhe had been promoted to Assistant Regional Commander manager of the hotel branch and had finally straightened out her work and had time to relax, and the others' schedules finally aligned. Just as they were eating, drinking, and laughing happily, Zhu Zhe received a call from home and lost control of her emotions.

"Mom, am I your daughter? How much bitterness have I eaten for the family all these years? How much exhaustion have I suffered? I bought the house with my own hard-earned money. What does it have to do with my brother? What 'backing' is he providing? What backing has he provided? All the money I've earned over the years has gone to pay for his education. What has he achieved? Huh?"

They had been laughing and joking before, but Zhu Zhe's sudden outburst instantly silenced everyone in the room. They looked at each other, not knowing what to do, only listening to Zhu Zhe's trembling, tearful voice as she accused her own mother.

From the one sentence Zhu Zhe had just blurted out, everyone already understood what was going on. She had a house; everyone knew that. What kind of character her brother and sister had was something everyone had witnessed. What kind of attitude her parents had was also something everyone could imagine.

Now the matter was very clear: Zhu Zhe's parents had heard somewhere that Zhu Zhe had bought a house, so they wanted Zhu Zhe to give the house to her brother, let him truly establish himself in Shanghai, and perhaps she would have to continue paying the mortgage...

After a long while, Zhu Zhe, who had tried to reason with her mother and clarify things, gave up completely. She hung up the phone and slumped against the wall, about to sit down.

Ye Zhenzhen and Lucy were nearby and hurriedly went over to support Zhu Zhe, helping her sit down on a chair.

Zhu Zhe was tearful, looking at everyone miserably. "It's quite ridiculous, isn't it?"

"Jiji..." Ye Zhenzhen patted Zhu Zhe's back, trying to comfort her, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she found she didn't know what to say.

Lucy and the others were the same. Having such a family and having such things happen—anything they said was useless, and they didn't know how to say it.

Just listening to it was distressing; one could imagine how Zhu Zhe, the person involved, felt.

But unanimously, they turned their eyes to Wang Yan, who was eating and drinking heartily. He was someone with a solution, so one after another, they gave him winks, hoping he could say something.

Wang Yan took a sip of tea and said to Zhu Zhe, "You had expected this kind of thing long ago, otherwise you wouldn't have kept the house purchase a secret. Today, this matter has finally happened, and you should give up hope. The urgent priority is to solve the problem; avoidance is useless."

"Otherwise, if this drags on, your parents will come straight to Shanghai, block the hotel, and make a huge scene, which will affect your work. You've worked for so many years, and it hasn't been easy to get to where you are today. You can't let these things affect your current good situation."

"Right, right, right, Wang Yan is right. Jiji, you still need to pull yourself together; solving this matter is the most important thing." Ye Zhenzhen followed up immediately.

The others also chimed in, echoing her words.

Wang Yan continued, "You have two paths now: either give it, or don't give it. How do you choose?"

"Definitely don't give it, Brother Yan, does that even need asking?" It was He Minhong who spoke first, filled with righteous indignation. "Sister Zhu's parents and her brother are too much."

Zhu Zhe shook her head and said with a choked voice, "I've given enough. My family raised me for sixteen years, and I've supported my family for seventeen years. Whether as a daughter or as an eldest sister, I haven't done poorly. I have a clear conscience."

Wang Yan nodded and said, "This matter must have been brought up by your brother to your parents, so in the final analysis, it's still your brother's problem. Do you know where he is? Let's go talk to him and see what he's thinking."

Zhu Zhe looked up at Wang Yan. "I'll listen to you." After saying that, she stood up.

"Are you full? Want to eat some more?"

"How could I have the heart to eat now?"

Wang Yan took another sip of tea and stood up with a smile. "You guys eat slowly. I'll go take a look with her."

Ye Zhenzhen and the others, who had intended to go along, sat back down upon hearing this, gave a few instructions, watched Wang Yan and Zhu Zhe leave, and then started buzzing with discussion...

Zhu Zhe's brother was in Retainer, sharing a rental there.

Wang Yan drove Zhu Zhe to the outside of the neighborhood. Zhu Zhe called her brother, and it took more than half an hour for him to come out. It was clear he had communicated with his parents and built up his psychological defenses before coming out.

"How did you know I bought a house?" This was the first thing Zhu Zhe said when they met.

Zhu Zhe's brother glanced at Wang Yan, who was smoking with a smile on the side, and said, "A man surnamed Wang, your former leader, came to our company to chat with the boss and heard I was working here. He found me and said a few things. He's the one who told me. Eldest sister, you're really good at hiding. Every time I was short of money before, you wouldn't save me. I didn't expect you to buy a house without a sound."

There was still a bit of resentment in Zhu Zhe's brother's words. Before, he had even saved money for Zhu Zhe; now, his attitude was a bit subtle.

It's easy to learn bad habits, but it's truly hard to learn to be good...

Zhu Zhe stared at her good brother and said, "You took so long to come down, you must have called Mom and Dad. Tell me, what's your attitude?"

"Eldest sister, you've seen what I've been like for the past half year. Do you still not believe I've turned over a new leaf? I really don't want your house. Telling Mom and Dad was my fault for not thinking it through. I didn't expect Mom and Dad to ask you to give the house to me and even make you continue paying the mortgage."

"So your meaning is, you don't want it, but if Mom and Dad ask for it from me to give to you, you won't refuse either. Did I understand that correctly?" Zhu Zhe's eyes were red as she looked at this good brother she had supported.

Zhu Zhe's brother didn't expect Zhu Zhe to grasp his thoughts so quickly, but of course, he wouldn't admit it, so he covered it up. "Eldest sister, you really misunderstood me. The house is yours; what does it have to do with me? Besides, the loan isn't paid off yet, so the name can't be changed. It's Mom and Dad who insisted on you giving the house to me. I can't control them. But don't worry, eldest sister, I definitely don't want it."

His skill level was truly not enough to be seen; he couldn't hide his inner thoughts in front of Zhu Zhe. Although he looked eager to prove himself, "want" was still written all over his face.

Moreover, there was other evidence—for example, he knew Zhu Zhe had a house, so why didn't he contact her, whether to condemn her or anything else, but instead contacted his parents? It wasn't until now, when Zhu Zhe came to his door, that he said this useless crap.

Seeing him like this, Zhu Zhe was heartbroken and couldn't help but shed hot tears again.

Wang Yan stepped on his cigarette butt and stepped forward with a smile. "Remember me?"

"Brother Wang, how could I forget? And I heard you're dating my sister, right? Is it okay if I call you brother-in-law? It sounds closer." Zhu Zhe's brother wore a somewhat ingratiating smile. "Brother-in-law, persuade my sister. I really didn't covet her house."

"You don't want me to pay the money, pay off the mortgage, and then transfer it to your name?"

"Uh... how could that be? You and my sister aren't even married yet; how could I spend your money?" Noticing Wang Yan's smiling expression, Zhu Zhe's brother continued, "Besides, I didn't want the house in the first place. Brother-in-law, why don't you believe me? With you as my brother-in-law, what do I need a house for? I'll beg my sister to let you introduce me to a good job; isn't that better than anything? Right?"

"Isn't that all the same? I pay the mortgage, and later if things between me and Zhu Zhe fall through, Zhu Zhe will owe me money. It doesn't stop you from living in the house and having me find you a good job."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile. "You've made progress since I last saw you. Your brain is more active, and you know how to hide things when you speak. Very good."

Zhu Zhe's brother jumped in a panic. "Oh, eldest sister, brother-in-law, why don't you believe me? I'm really wronged..."

He began to defend himself eagerly, wanting to prove his innocence... ===== CHAPTER 1123 =====