Larry shook hands with Jack before casting a defensive look at Rachel. He asked, "And she is?"
"My name is Rachel Shen. Nice to meet you, Uncle Larry," Rachel introduced herself with a smile.
Jack then wrapped his arm around her shoulder and said proudly, "My fiancee."
"Oh, I see." There was still a hint of query and alienation in Larry's eyes, but his lips curved into a smile.
He picked up the teapot, poured tea to the three teacups in front of him, and gave Jack and Rachel
each. Without raising his eyes, he said, "Jack, you should already know what I want to say to you
today."
"I know," Jack replied.
He then held Rachel's hand and added, "Rachel is my fiancee, so I don't hide anything from her. Even
if I don't bring her here, I'll still tell her everything after I get home. That's why I decided to take her with
me."
There was a moment of silence before Larry picked up his teacup to take a sip. Then he said seriously,
"Since you say so, I don't have any objection."
He continued, "Marcus is still ignorant. Right now, he is young and impulsive. Jack, with your current
status and experiences in life, I believe that you know what is best for him."
Jack turned to look at Rachel, who was leisurely drinking her tea, and said, "I know. I also know how
difficult it is to find true love."
Larry chuckled and said with a frown, "It seems that you are also as naive as Marcus."
He realized that it was no use persuading Jack. Tapping the table with his fingers, he looked up at him
and added, "I heard that MK Group has been trying to buy that commercial land near the West Lake.
We will sell the land at auction next week."
He looked at Jack and changed the topic back to Marcus. "I actually asked you out today because I
want to tell you not to interfere with Marcus' affairs. Also, I want to know why Dylan Xu was able to
enter your company although we both know that he lacks the capability to work there."
"Well, he may be incompetent, but that doesn't mean that he is not qualified," Jack said.
Larry concluded, "The way you say it, it seems that you are not willing to help."
Jack smiled and answered, "I'm sorry, but I think my relationship with Marcus is much closer than my
relationship with you."
He then took Rachel's hand and added, "I'm sorry, Uncle Larry. We still have a date, so I guess we
have to go now."
While walking out of the private hall, Rachel looked down at her toes and laughed.
Jack stopped and asked, "What's so funny?"
She raised her head and looked straight into his eyes. "If I understood his words correctly just now, he
was planning to give that land to MK Group, but you refused it. Don't you regret it?"
He gently poked his forehead with his index finger and said, "What do you mean regret? I don't see any
reason to regret."
He entwined his slender fingers with hers tightly, raised it, and gently kissed the back of her hand. In a
voice that sounded a bit intoxicating, he added, "Rachel, family, love, and friendship for me are far
more important than any business deals. I won't trade them for anything."
Rachel felt a lump in her throat upon hearing his sincere words. With pursed lips, she grabbed his arm,
tiptoed, and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.
However, before her gratitude could completely dissipate, Jack whispered in her ear, "Don't worry. That
land will still be mine in the end."
'This cunning fox!' she immediately thought.
She was a little worried just now because she had almost forgotten that Jack would never allow being
at a loss to anyone.
Before getting in the car, he thought for a while and said, "I think you should pay more attention to Celia
from now on. I'm afraid that the Ji family won't let this matter go so easily."
Inside the study of the Ji family, the sound of broken things could be heard continuously. Marcus stared
resentfully at Larry, who was sitting calmly behind his desk and smoking. His face flushed with anger,
and his breath became heavy. "Dad, I've already told you that I could agree with your decision to end
my career at hand and enter politics.
But I would never allow you to meddle in my love life."
Larry stubbed out his cigarette and said, "What if I don't agree?"
"Then you can pretend that you have never had me as your son," Marcus retorted, his eyes darkened
and narrowed with rage.
Larry's face turned red upon hearing what he said. He got so furious that he suddenly grabbed the
ashtray on his desk and threw it at him. "Bastard! How dare you go against me just because of a
woman! Let me remind you, as your parents, we can decide to agree or not to this marriage. You have
no right to bargain here. If I can't stop you from having a relationship with her, don't blame me for doing
something to her family."
Marcus' mother, who had been eavesdropping at the door, didn't know what was going on inside. But
every time she heard something being thrown to the wall, her heart beat faster. When she couldn't take
it anymore, she pushed the door open, just in time to see the ashtray flying towards Marcus. She
quickly pulled him aside.
However, although she felt sorry for him, she as well didn't agree with his relationship with Celia, so
she scolded him with a cold face, "How could you talk to your father like that? Since you met that girl, I
don't know where you have thrown all the manners we've taught you!"
She pulled Marcus' messy tie and added slowly, "Eden is waiting for you downstairs. Go back to your
room and fix yourself up. I suppose you don't want to be a laughingstock in front of her."
Eden Chen was the woman arranged by Larry to be Marcus' fiancee. She was a tall woman with long
and straight black hair, an oval face, and thin red lips. One could say that her beauty was only average.
However, she had the beauty that most elders loved. In their eyes, she was a daughter-in-law material.
She was the type of woman who didn't talk too much or hang out with friends a lot. She only focused
her life on her household and her career.
For elders, these characteristics had a lot of advantages. But for Marcus, aside from being dull, these
kinds of women were also tedious. So, every time he would be with her, it made him miss Celia, who
was quirky.
He was unwilling to face Eden, but thinking about Larry's threat, he didn't have a choice but stood in
front of her. He asked expressionlessly, "You have something to give me?"
Eden immediately took out something from the bag behind her and said, "Marcus, I baked some
cookies at home yesterday. Try them. I'm sure you will like them."
"Just put them there." He didn't even bother to cast her a glance. Instead, he looked at his wristwatch
and said coldly, "I have to go now. I have something important to do."
Gossips were natural things in the hospital. Even if Rachel didn't want to listen to them, these would
still reach her ears, whether she liked it or not.
The recent one was about a department director in the hospital who had an affair. It was said that his
mistress came to his house with a newborn baby and asked his wife to divorce him immediately.
Everyone was enjoying talking about it, which made the gossip about Celia uninteresting to them
anymore.
Celia sneaked into Rachel's office with a cup of coffee in her hand. After being the subject of
everyone's gossip recently, she couldn't help but sigh. "These people are terrible. Rachel, I will never
gossip with these women outside ever again."
Rachel replied with a smile, "Now, you know. It isn't easy to know about it, right?"
She had also experienced being the topic of gossips in the hospital, so she knew how it felt.
Celia rested her chin on her hands and rolled her eyes. She then decided to change the topic. "By the
way, do you have time after work? I cleared my wardrobe yesterday, and I have a pile of old clothes
that I want to donate to charity. But they are too heavy for me to carry them alone."
"You want me to be your driver?" Rachel joked.
Celia suddenly snapped her fingers and said, "Rachel, why are you so smart?"
They went to an old community where the corridor was narrow and dim. The elevator was not working
either.
Celia had no choice but to let Rachel take the stairs with her. On their way up, she kept on reminding
her, "Rachel, be careful with your steps."
Rachel would reply, "Don't worry about me. I'm fine. You watch your steps, not me."
They reached the twelfth floor in one breath, but they were also out of breath. Rachel fanned herself
with her hand while looking around the not-so-spacious apartment and asked, "Where is your room?"
She could imagine how difficult it would be for them to carry the bag of clothes downstairs later.
When they entered Celia's room, she scratched the back of her head and smiled shyly. "I was too busy
this morning to tidy it up." She immediately covered the pile of clothes on the bed. "There, you won't
see the mess anymore."
Rachel could only smile helplessly.
Celia pulled out a huge bag of clothes from the corner below the window and wrapped it with black
plastic tape. When she tried to carry it, her face twisted so Rachel couldn't help asking, "How many
clothes do you have?"
With a pout, she replied, "He used to be rich and gave me an allowance every month. I used most of
the money to buy clothes."
Rachel knew that she was referring to Dylan.
Celia bent down and took out a sweater from the bag. She showed it to Rachel and said, "Look, this is
still new. In fact, I have only worn this once. It's just a waste to throw them all away, so I want to donate
them instead."
Rachel agreed with a nod. She was about to ask Celia to lift the bag together when they suddenly
heard a loud crash outside, followed by a sharp voice. "This shabby house! The elevator is broken
again. This is so tiring! I was so stupid to marry him. I thought I could enjoy my life. I didn't expect that I
would suffer like this."
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