Ning Qiuxiu and Zhan Qingyue had been sparring for a long time and repeatedly failing, but she finally achieved an overwhelming victory in terms of strength.

She set the speechless Zhan Qingyue down and innocently asked, “Mr. Zhan, are you satisfied with this answer?”

“… It’s fine.” He couldn’t say otherwise, fearing that Ning Qiuxiu might next lift him and the wheelchair together.

The thought of that image was too intense for him.

He preferred Ning Qiuxiu as a delicate girl, seemingly easy to handle.

Since Zhan Qingyue had promised Ning Qiuxiu not to ask about the charms anymore, he had kept his word and hadn’t inquired further or even brought it up in conversation.

So, he was only somewhat aware of the effects of the charms Ning Qiuxiu used.

On one hand, he thought her great strength might be related to those mysterious charms she made.

On the other hand, he had a bit of a skeptical scientific view and subconsciously doubted that Ning Qiuxiu was an ordinary person.

While she wasn’t as exaggerated as a fox spirit or ghost, he felt that an ordinary person wouldn’t be like her.

If an ordinary person had Ning Qiuxiu’s ability to create charms, they would have ascended to heaven long ago and wouldn’t be here, occasionally bullied by him and criticized by haters…

So, there was a possibility that she was an ordinary person among extraordinary ones, with charm-making as just an additional skill.

Because she was too ordinary among extraordinary people, her life seemed quite ordinary.

— The meticulous Zhan Qingyue’s intelligence backfired, as he never expected that Ning Qiuxiu was an extraordinary person with a special talent but content with her normal life.

Ning Qiuxiu: Hehe, didn’t see that coming, did you?

By dinner time, Zhan Qingyue’s expression was still somewhat strange.

With so many people arriving suddenly, the house became lively.

The cook had prepared a whole table of dishes to entertain everyone.

“Don’t be shy, if you can’t reach the dishes, stand up and get them,” Grandpa Zhan said to the younger generation. “Without a turntable on the square table, we’ll just have to make do. It’s a major drawback of a square table.”

— The villa’s dining table was a rectangular square table, not the round table Grandpa Zhan preferred, which he was quite particular about.

Since Zhan Qingze had offended Zhan Qingyue last time, he was eager to make up for it and said in a domineering manner, “It’s a small matter. I’ll have someone bring a round table tomorrow. What kind would you like, uncle?”

Before Grandpa Zhan could respond, Zhan Qingyue spoke first, “I prefer one with gold inlay, preferably made of pure gold.”

Zhan Qingze: “……”

“Add ivory chopsticks and white jade bowls to make it more upscale,” Zhan Qingyuan added.

Zhan Qingze himself wasn’t bad, but his family was really unpleasant.

He had disliked them for a long time.

Zhan Qingze: “qaq I think the square table is quite good, no need to change it.”

“Alright, don’t bully Xiao Ze,” Old Master Zhan saw his two grandsons ganging up on their nephew and was worried it might scare the child.

He said, “Xiao Ze, don’t listen to their nonsense. Eat more, you’re still growing.”

Zhan Qingyue: “Grow your intelligence as well.”

Zhan Qingze: “……”

He now regretted, very much regretted, why he had to tease Ning Qiuxiu and offend this vengeful big brother.

Compared to this, he realized how lovely his sister-in-law, Qiuxiu, was.

She didn’t punch him for his teasing.

His sister-in-law, Qiuxiu, had been busy outside these days.

She was tired and had been eating simple meals, usually having box lunches with everyone.

Facing such a lavish feast now, she wished she could just dig in and enjoy.

Zhan Qingyue, on the other hand, hardly touched his food.

Old Master Zhan, sitting beside Zhan Qingyue, noticed his lack of appetite and asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Not hungry?”

“It’s nothing,” Zhan Qingyue replied calmly, “Grandpa, you eat. Don’t mind me.”

Old Master Zhan looked a bit puzzled but didn’t say anything more.

Ning Qiuxiu, of course, knew the reason for his lack of appetite.

Thinking about how he usually bullied her, she felt a bit triumphant.

Zhan Qingyue being put in an awkward position was so rare!

She picked up the serving chopsticks and put a piece of chicken in Zhan Qingyue’s bowl, smiling as she said, “Eat up and get better soon.”

Seeing her smug expression, Zhan Qingyue quietly said, “Last night’s hot search and the online army amounted to 900,000.”

Ning Qiuxiu: “？？？”

“I’m sorry, boss!” Ning Qiuxiu shamelessly surrendered in the face of money, and put the chicken back on the plate. “I’ll make it up, I’ll make it up!”

“Ugh,” Lin Xitian watched them openly whispering to each other and passing the meat back and forth in front of everyone.

As a single person, she felt a thousand points of impact and said with envy, “Cousin and sister-in-law, you’re so cheesy.”

Zhan Qingyue looked at her and asked, “Do you want to experience it too?”

“No, no, no,” Lin Xitian, seeing her cousin’s expression, knew he was about to set her up.

It didn’t seem like an experience at all.

She quickly grabbed some food and said, “I’m very happy doing it myself.”

Everyone: “…”

So pathetic.

After dinner, the young rich and wealthy had nothing to do.

The butler suggested they could go to the home theater on the basement level to watch a movie, and he assured them it was a top-notch experience.

Everyone rushed downstairs to watch the movie.

Ning Qiuxiu had never personally experienced what it was like to watch a movie at home as a rich person and found it quite novel, so she joined them.

Only Zhan Qingyue had some tasks to take care of, and Grandpa Zhan didn’t like such lively gatherings, so he stayed behind.

“Qingyue,” Grandpa Zhan called him as Zhan Qingyue was about to head to the study with his semi-automatic wheelchair.

“Yes, Grandpa?” Zhan Qingyue responded.

“Well, ahem,” Elder Zhan looked a bit awkward, “Although a short separation feels like a fresh marriage, you’re still recovering, so you should be a bit restrained.”

Zhan Qingyue: “…”

From Old Master Zhan’s perspective, Zhan Qingyue had no appetite, while Ning Qiuxiu had a big appetite.

It was only natural for him to think that since Ning Qiuxiu had just returned in the afternoon, they must have spent some time in their room…

This misunderstanding was a bit of a blunder, and even Zhan Qingyue found it both amusing and frustrating.

However, he didn’t argue and smiled, “It’s all because Qiuxiu was too proactive.”

Ning Qiuxiu sneezed in the home theater.

“…” Elder Zhan was quite embarrassed and waved his hand, “Just make sure to have some self-restraint.”

“Alright.” Zhan Qingyue happily went to the study and opened his computer.

Ning Qiuxiu was facing a major problem with the Ning family affairs that needed urgent resolution.

He had to get it sorted out today.

As he furrowed his brow, focused on his computer, the door of the study was knocked.

After he said “Come in,” the door opened, but instead of the usual servant bringing fruits, milk, or snacks, it was… Ji Weiliang.

“Big Brother, sorry to disturb you,” Ji Weiliang said, standing at the door with a hint of nervousness, “Can I take a little of your time to talk? It won’t be long.”

Zhan Qingyue had barely exchanged two words with Ji Weiliang and didn’t know much about his brother’s girlfriend.

Despite being unfamiliar with her, Zhan Qingyue remained polite and said, “Of course, please sit.”

“Thank you.” Ji Weiliang sat down in the chair at the desk and hesitated before speaking, “I…”

Ji Weiliang wasn’t sure how to start and looked up at Zhan Qingyue, feeling a bit intimidated.

But seeing that Zhan Qingyue had no signs of displeasure or impatience made her feel a bit more confident.

She continued, “Qingyuan… he hasn’t told you about what happened during the two years you were unconscious, has he?”

Zhan Qingyue replied calmly, “No, he hasn’t.”

“When you first got sick, it was so sudden that Zhan Corporation fell into great turmoil.

The stock prices dropped continuously, and there was a lot of panic.

Zhan family relatives tried to take advantage of the situation.

Qingyuan, under immense pressure, took over Zhan Corporation despite having no prior management experience.

To prevent the work of three generations from going to waste, he learned on the job.

During that time, he had to go to the company and the hospital, sleeping only about four hours a day.

Within just a few days, he lost a lot of weight.”

“He managed to hold on for six months under such high stress and workload, gradually stabilizing Zhan Corporation’s finances and stock market.

However, he became seriously ill.

Even while hospitalized, he continued to work for the company.

After recovering, he went to University A for further studies, spending an entire year to steady the company.”

Zhan Qingyue listened to Ji Weiliang’s detailed account of Zhan Qingyuan’s hardships during his illness.

He had a rough idea of how much Qingyuan had suffered, even without Ji Weiliang’s story.

Still, he asked politely, “So?”

“So, Big Brother,” Ji Weiliang said, “Could you please, considering how hard Qingyuan worked, not easily dismiss his efforts? Without him, Zhan Corporation wouldn’t be where it is today.”

Ji Weiliang had been anxious since seeing the message from Jia Qing’s father to Zhan Qingyuan.

She believed Qingyuan wouldn’t give up on love for his career, but she was unsure about Zhan Qingyue’s temperament.

In her view, Ning Qiuxiu would definitely stir up trouble and push her to seize the main management rights of Zhuosen.

She had no way to deal with this.

After thinking it over, she decided to talk directly to Zhan Qingyue and share some things that Zhan Qingyuan wouldn’t tell him.

She wanted to explain how much Zhan Qingyuan had invested in Zhuosen and hoped Zhan Qingyue would recognize Zhan Qingyuan’s efforts and not easily go after the management rights or take action against Zhan Qingyuan.

She didn’t know much about Zhan Qingyue but had heard of his past “reputation” and knew he was much tougher than Zhan Qingyuan.

If it came to a conflict between brothers, Zhan Qingyuan would definitely be at a disadvantage.

Although Zhan Qingyue guessed her intentions, it still amused him.

Since he woke up, he had been focused on his recovery and hadn’t asked about Zhuosen at all.

He couldn’t understand why people thought he would be so ruthless toward Zhan Qingyuan.

“Miss Ji,” Zhan Qingyue said politely, “If I understand correctly, you’ve come to negotiate with me.”

Well, Ji Weilang wasn’t sure if this could be considered negotiation.

After thinking about it, she realized it did have the tone of negotiation and said, “Roughly speaking, yes.”

“In my dictionary, there is only ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ not ‘roughly.’”

“…” Zhan Qingyue’s tone remained calm and his expression unchanged, but Ji Weilang felt a bit of pressure. She knew she couldn’t back out now and steeled herself, saying, “Yes.”

“Then, Miss Ji,” Zhan Qingyue smiled, “What’s your negotiating leverage?”

Leverage? This question stumped Ji Weilang.

Like Ning Qiuxiu, she had little experience with business matters; her background was in the entertainment industry.

Her bargaining chip… was probably her identity as Zhan Qingyuan’s girlfriend?

She guessed Zhan Qingyue wouldn’t be impressed.

After a moment, Ji Weilang said, “I just want you to know about Qingyuan’s efforts over the past two years. He has many difficulties and struggles, but he doesn’t tell you about them and bears them silently. I believe you’re not an unreasonable person…”

“There’s no need to flatter me,” Zhan Qingyue cut her off, losing patience.

He waved his hand and said, “Since Miss Ji has no negotiating leverage, I understand your point. Please leave.”