Chapter 23: 23. Borrowing the Necklace (Seeking collections, seeking recommendation votes!)

Regarding Meng He's reminder, Zhang Ran had a plan in mind, though he was also more confident. "Don't worry, I won't tie my own hands, and it's not like I haven't made any preparations at all."

Hearing Zhang Ran say this, Meng He didn't say anything more; he trusted that Zhang Ran wouldn't be reckless or impulsive.

Next, the two of them ate and chatted there, continuing until three o'clock in the afternoon before finishing. No one knew exactly what they had discussed inside; even Meng Mingxuan and Meng Zixuan had been shooed away.

Zhang Ran and Meng He walked out of the room and found the two little ones, Taotao and Susu. Susu was fine; although she seemed to have had a fun time playing, she still maintained her cool and aloof demeanor.

But the little guy Taotao was different. By the time Zhang Ran and the others found them, Taotao was already soaked in sweat from head to toe, still shouting incessantly, and there were many toys around him.

Clearly, these were all bought by Lin Meizhi. No wonder the two little ones were so happy.

Needless to say, Taotao had not grown up in a wealthy family, and the little guy was very sensible, so he had never asked his parents to buy anything.

But not asking didn't mean he didn't want them.

As for Susu, due to her family situation, apart from her mother Zhang Siyan buying her some toys, she also rarely received any.

What surprised Zhang Ran a bit was that Meng Mingxuan, that guy, was actually playing video games with Taotao with great intensity. Meng Zixuan was more bored; she just sat to one side playing on her phone, as she didn't really like playing around with children.

Seeing them come over, Taotao immediately ran toward them. Susu also subconsciously took two quick steps in this direction, but then she realized what she was doing and stood in place.

Zhang Ran took all of this in, smiled, and picked up Taotao, then walked over to Susu and picked up the little girl as well.

"How was it? Did you have fun playing with Grandma Lin and the others?" Zhang Ran asked with a smile.

"Fun! Grandma Lin is super nice," Taotao said loudly.

Susu also said in a low voice, "I like Grandma Lin too."

Hearing the two little ones say this, Lin Meizhi felt her heart melt instantly; these two little ones were truly too adorable.

"I'm not nice, then? Little guy, I spent the whole afternoon playing with you," Meng Mingxuan said from the side, feeling dissatisfied.

"Hee hee, Uncle Meng is very nice too," Taotao said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Susu just glanced at Meng Mingxuan without saying a word.

"Brother Zhang, I'm going back to Yangcheng tomorrow. I'll leave Ming Xuan here in Shanghai; if you have anything to do, just hand it over to him to handle," Meng He said.

Actually, at first, Meng He had thought about taking Zhang Ran to Yangcheng with him, but he hadn't expected Zhang Ran to suddenly turn up with a pair of children, a grandson, and a granddaughter.

However, he still wanted to keep Meng Mingxuan by Zhang Ran's side. Although Meng Mingxuan kept saying he didn't want to inherit the company, Meng He couldn't let him continue to be idle like this; after all, this company was his life's work.

Moreover, having talked with Zhang Ran, he knew Zhang Ran's thoughts. The management of the company would remain in their family's hands in the future; Meng Mingxuan couldn't go on like this anymore and needed to be tempered.

He hadn't had a good way to do it before, but now, handing him over to Zhang Ran for guidance, he felt very reassured.

Zhang Ran also understood Meng He's meaning. He thought for a moment and said, "Alright, but I won't be doing much during this period, so he'll just be helping me with odd jobs here."

"Uncle Zhang, don't worry, you can leave the odd jobs to me. Plus, I have a super talent for causing trouble. If there's anyone you find unpleasant, I can have them actively provoking us in minutes," Meng Mingxuan said proudly.

Meng He: "........"

Meng Zixuan: "........"

What the hell was there to be proud of in that?

But Zhang Ran's eyes lit up, and looking at him, he said, "Fine, this skill of yours is quite good."

He was praising him sincerely.

"Thank you for the praise, Uncle Zhang." Meng Mingxuan clearly didn't feel ashamed, but rather proud of it.

Hospital.

During the lunch break, Liu Lu took out her phone, pulled up the photo of the necklace, and began to admire it carefully.

She hadn't put the necklace on immediately. At first, she had wanted to, but after trying on clothes all night yesterday, she discovered that she didn't have a single outfit that matched it.

This left her very conflicted. She actually really wanted to wear this necklace; after all, she truly liked it very much.

But she couldn't bear to spend an expensive price to buy clothes that would match the necklace.

It must be said that a woman like Liu Lu is a man's first choice for a domestic life.

"Sister, what are you looking at?" The young nurse Wang Jiajia walked over and asked curiously.

Immediately, she saw the photo of the necklace on Liu Lu's phone and became mesmerized. Truly, such a fine piece of jewelry would make every girl who likes to dress up unable to help but love it.

"Sister, where did you take this? It's so beautiful!" Wang Jiajia murmured.

She didn't think it belonged to Liu Lu. Ever since she started at the hospital, Wang Jiajia had followed Liu Lu to learn; the two could be considered master and apprentice. Liu Lu also took very good care of this little sister in daily life, so their relationship was very good.

Wang Jiajia naturally knew some of Liu Lu's family situation and knew that she wasn't someone who could afford such an expensive necklace.

However, Liu Lu's answer surprised her: "This is a wedding gift from my father-in-law to me and my husband."

Although it was a few years late, this was the wedding gift Zhang Ran had given them.

"Huh? Your father-in-law? Sister, didn't you say before that your husband's family only had him and his sister?" Wang Jiajia asked in surprise.

This information was basically known from chatting in daily life; it wasn't a secret.

"You know about the news regarding the Goddess of Destiny a while back? My father-in-law was on that cruise ship," Liu Lu didn't hide it.

"Wow, I didn't expect such a fantasy thing to happen in your family, Sister. People who could ride that kind of cruise ship back then weren't simple people. Your father-in-law must have been very rich back then," Wang Jiajia said curiously.

"He probably had some money back then, but so many years have passed; even if he had money, it's useless now," Liu Lu said.

Wang Jiajia also had a look of regret: "Indeed, your family probably had millions in assets back then, but placed in the present, it's not worth much."

"That's not right, though. If he had that much money at the time, why didn't your husband inherit it?" Wang Jiajia realized.

Liu Lu smiled bitterly: "The situation inside is very complicated; I can't explain it in a moment. Anyway, your brother-in-law didn't get a single cent."

"Alright, but a million is still not bad. You could buy a small apartment in Shanghai, pay a down payment in a remote area," Wang Jiajia said.

But who knew Liu Lu would still shake her head: "My father-in-law was only twenty-three when he had his accident."

She didn't say the rest, but Wang Jiajia understood. That meant Liu Lu's father-in-law was still twenty-three now, which also meant that in the future, he would very likely need to find another wife, which would also require money.

"Sister, you're just too kind, always considering others first," Wang Jiajia said.

But soon, Wang Jiajia had a pleading look and said: "Sister, can you lend me your necklace for a day? Just one day."

"What are you going to do?" To be honest, Liu Lu was a bit reluctant; she hadn't even had the heart to wear it herself yet.

"I've arranged to take some portraits with my best friends in a few days, so I want to borrow your necklace to use. Just for a moment, please, Sister." Wang Jiajia began to act spoiled.

Just as Wang Jiajia had said, Liu Lu was still too kind, so although she was very reluctant, she still agreed.

"Thank you, Sister, you really are my own sister! Mwah!" Wang Jiajia hugged Liu Lu directly and kissed her.

However, after this time, Liu Lu did not dare to take the photo out in public again; she was truly somewhat reluctant to lend this necklace to others again.