Chapter 23 — Gossip About Wealthy Families is the Most Interesting

Just a few days after taking the wedding photos, Zhou Ziyi moved out.

This time, he moved almost all of his belongings, leaving only the bedding for sleeping, which he would bring over the night before the wedding. Fortunately, when he first moved into this house, he only brought a few things, so at least he wouldn’t have an “empty house” on the day of the wedding.

Tang Shirong came to help Zhou Ziyi move.

When they arrived, he found out that Zhou Ziyi had hired a very professional moving company, which provided packing, transportation, and cleaning services. Neither Tang Shirong nor Zhou Ziyi had much to do there.

“It’s quite impressive, bro.” Tang Shirong said.

Tang Shirong brought fruit tea for Zhou Ziyi. As they were getting in the way, they sat down together on the sofa to drink tea. “I thought you would have packed everything yourself and had the moving company deliver it,” Tang Shirong said.

They spoke in low voices, not worried about the moving company staff coming and going. Zhou Ziyi glanced at the name of the fruit tea, “Strawberry Bliss,” and took a big sip.
“Yeah, who said it wasn’t? When I moved in here before, I had already thrown away a lot of stuff. There isn’t much left now. I was thinking of arranging for a car to move the rest, but when I mentioned it to the boss(Yan Xiuzhi) he asked me to ask the property management. I thought I was supposed to schedule the moving time with the property management, but they just arranged for this moving company to come.”

Tang Shirong was amazed, “What about the cost…”

Zhou Ziyi clasped his hands together, “The boss(Yan Xiuzhi) did a good deed.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Tang Shirong said as he watched the movers coming and going, wanting to say something else, he took Zhou Ziyi to the balcony.

“You two only have less than half a month left until the wedding, when are you going to get your marriage certificate?” Tang Shirong asked, “Are you… doing alright?”

“I’m doing great, eating and drinking well. I even suspect I’ve gained weight,” Zhou Ziyi said, “We’re registering the day after tomorrow, the day the boss’s mother arranged for someone to watch.”

“…It feels so fast,” Tang Shirong said, shaking the ice cubes in his glass, “Once the bow is drawn, there’s no turning back. Are you really mentally prepared for this?”

Hearing this, Zhou Ziyi chuckled, “Brother Tang, aren’t you the one who set this up? Now you’re worried that I’ll regret it?”

“No, it’s just that I’m not sure if this is the right thing to do…” Tang Shirong scratched his head, “It’s quite absurd, but both you and Yan Xiuzhi are reliable people, so…”

“Pfft, Brother Tang, the decision is mine. You don’t have to put so much pressure on yourself,” Zhou Ziyi said, “I still have to thank you for helping me find a way out. If it weren’t for this, I might have jumped off the bridge one day.”

“Bro^[1]兄弟 = xiōngdì = brother (younger brother)., you mustn’t!” Tang Shirong was shocked, “If you have something to say, just say it. If you need help, I’ll definitely help you. Really, don’t even think about it!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t,” Zhou Ziyi lowered his eyes and slowly took a few sips of the fruit tea, “Wenwen is still trying hard to live…”

“…” Tang Shirong didn’t know what to say when it came to Zhou Wenwen.
After thinking for a moment, he changed the subject: “By the way, I heard that Yan Xiuzhi’s actions have completely intensified the conflict between the Yan family and the Chu family. When you go back to his house in the future, his father might treat you as a target, so be careful.”

Zhou Ziyi: “I’ve already been a target.”

Tang Shirong: “Huh?”

“Before the engagement banquet, Yan Xiuzhi and I went to the Yan family, and Yan Wenwu was very angry because of this matter,” Zhou Ziyi summarized, “So, none of the Yan family members came to the engagement.”

“No wonder. I didn’t dare to ask in detail that day, it turned out to be like this,” Tang Shirong recalled, “But I think Aunt Chu’s attitude is still okay.”

“It seems that my boss’s mother is more supportive of my boss,” Zhou Ziyi said, “When we went to the Yan family that day, my boss and I both argued with the Yan family, and my boss’s mother stood on my boss’s side.”

“That’s it!” Tang Shirong suddenly realized, “I knew it. The Yan family doesn’t have a deep background. If they provoke others and don’t give Yan Xiuzhi face, how could the Chu family remain indifferent? Sure enough, the more the Yan family opposes Yan Xiuzhi’s marriage, the more the Chu family will support it.”

“Huh?” Zhou Ziyi blinked, “Are they using Yan Xiuzhi’s marriage for a power play?”

“Not exactly… Well, let me explain to you a bit, so you won’t be clueless in the future in the upper-class circles.”
Tang Shirong whispered to him, “The Yan family originally started from scratch with Yan Wenwu, who built a not too big but not too small company. Later, he married Chu Ling and, with the support of the Chu family and Yan Wenwu’s own abilities, the family grew to its current status. However, many of the Yan family’s current industries were originally split off from the Chu family. Is the Yan family really the one in charge? I don’t think so.”

“Moreover, there are rumors in the circle that Yan Wenwu was very grateful to the Chu family at the beginning, and he also accepted the suggestions made by the Chu family. Because of this, the Yan family did a lot of big business with the Chu family in the early years. Later on, Yan Wenwu gradually separated from the Chu family and did his own thing. My father had some dealings with him and said that he is a bit self-willed, his words lack substance, and he becomes more boastful as he gets older.”

“After Yan Xiuzhi graduated, he went straight to Hua Hao. Initially, Yan Wenwu had some influence over his son, but later on, the supporters of the Chu family who remained in Hua Hao all supported Yan Xiuzhi, and the Chu family also helped him externally. Yan Xiuzhi managed several projects, all of which were very impressive. As soon as the board of directors convened, Yan Wenwu was sidelined and Yan Xiuzhi was promoted.”

Zhou Ziyi was stunned: “It feels like this board of directors is also quite intense.”

“Definitely. There were a lot of rumors during that time,” Tang Shirong said, “But the Chu family has shares of Hua Hao. Chu Ling personally has some too. It is said that when Yan Wenwu and Chu Ling got married, they specifically signed an agreement stating that Yan Xiuzhi would be given original shares after he reached adulthood. Calculating it this way, I think Yan Xiuzhi has a considerable amount of shares he can control. It’s quite normal for him to kick out his father.”

Zhou Ziyi said, “I checked the financial news and it said that Hua Hao expanded several times and the stock price rose after Yan Xiuzhi took over.”

“That’s true,” Tang Shirong sighed, “Some people are just naturally talented, like Yan Xiuzhi. My dad used to like to compare him to the neighbor’s kid, and now that I’m hanging out with you guys, he’s started talking about him again.”

Zhou Ziyi was curious, “So, how did your dad react to the news about him marrying a man?”

“He didn’t say much, just cautiously confirmed a few times whether I’m straight or not,” Tang Shirong said, “I showed him photos of all my past girlfriends, and he beat me up, then he was at ease.”

“So, he doesn’t care about you taking over the family business?”

“He had long given up, deciding to hire a professional manager. By then, he would occasionally act as the chairman and give some instructions.”

“I guess Yan Wenwu also has this idea,” Zhou Ziyi said, “He wants to make Yan Xiuzhi a professional manager, and he himself acts as the emperor, giving orders.”

Yan Xiuzhi definitely won’t listen. If he did, Hua Hao wouldn’t be where he is today, and you wouldn’t have married him either,” Tang Shirong sighed. “Ah, thinking about it, Yan Xiuzhi even needs to use his marriage as a tool. It seems like he wants to get rid of all the tumors left by the Yan family. You… be careful.”

“What am I afraid of? I’m just a prop,” Zhou Ziyi smiled lightly, “Thirty million, what kind of show can’t I afford to accompany?”

Tang Shirong didn’t know what to say. Going back a few years, Zhou Ziyi was also a promising figure with a good family background, but with just one car accident, everything changed.

Tang Shirong wasn’t even sure if Zhou Ziyi had truly accepted his current life or was just suppressing himself.
But saying these words would be too sentimental and too stimulating for Zhou Ziyi. Tang Shirong couldn’t say them, so he could only pat Zhou Ziyi’s shoulder.

Then, Tang Shirong thought of something else, “By the way, no one asked about those recent moments you posted?”

“Hmm?” Zhou Ziyi didn’t know what he was trying to say, “Who are you talking about? Chu Ling? My sister?”

Tang Shirong said, “Your previous classmates. When you were at N University, didn’t you know a lot of people?”

“Them? They’ve all unfriended me long ago,” Zhou Ziyi self-mockingly smiled, “When the accident happened, I was desperately borrowing money from everyone, they… probably didn’t want to get involved with a beggar, I guess.”

Tang Shirong didn’t know what to say again, so he went straight to the point, “It probably wasn’t completely deleted.”

“What?”

“Let me say first, I guarantee I didn’t mention a single word,” Tang Shirong said, “But the group of people we used to hang out with often, I don’t know how, but they found out that you were going to marry Yan Xiuzhi.”

Zhou Ziyi said, “If they knew, they knew. Yan Xiuzhi sent out a lot of invitations, and everyone in the circle knew about it. It’s not surprising that it reached the ears of those who knew me before.”

“Anyway, many people are gossiping about you,” Tang Shirong looked at his expression and continued, “Saying that you’re after Yan Xiuzhi’s money.”

Zhou Ziyi laughed, “They’re not entirely wrong.”

Tang Shirong said, “Ziyi, it’s fine if you tell me this, but you must never say this to outsiders.”

“I know,” Zhou Ziyi blinked, “Mr. Yan knows about my situation and still married me, which means he truly loves me—good enough, right?”

“It could be, but…”

“But what?”

“Do you remember Sheffield?”

“Oh,” Zhou Ziyi said, “That idiot who brought three female companions to the party and insisted on playing pool with me for a thousand dollars a game.”

“Well, it’s that idiot.” Tang Shirong said, “Someone said he also knows about this, and even said that he knew you could…be kept, he would have negotiated with you for a million dollars a year.”

“Tsk, Boss Yan could easily offer me more than this price without even trying. He really thinks highly of himself.”
Zhou Ziyi said, “Ignore him. Even when I was at my lowest, I never borrowed a penny from him, just because the way he looked at me was disgusting. If I really had to deal with him for money…I might as well jump off a bridge.”

“Dear, stop talking about jumping off bridges all the time, okay? You’re scaring people!” Tang Shirong interrupted him, “I’m just telling you so you can be mentally prepared. Do you think I care about these opportunistic people? They avoid you, and if something happens to me in the future, they probably won’t feel any old affection for me.”

Zhou Ziyi looked at him and said, “Brother Tang, I only have you.”

“Damn it, don’t say that, it’s giving me goosebumps.” Tang Shirong rubbed his arms, “I don’t want to give Yan Xiuzhi a green hat either.”

Zhou Ziyi burst into laughter.

Tang Shirong continued, “But, you might not be the only one he’s really interested in, Yan Xiuzhi might have someone else.”

“….Ah?” Zhou Ziyi felt like he was hearing gossip and asked, “Who? Who?”

Tang Shirong thought for a moment and described, “His childhood friend, who is now studying for a Ph.D. abroad, is… his white moonlight, I guess?”