Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

Clearly Auntie Hua no longer minded anything about Yang Yanzhou; she merely nodded with a smile. Now that she had made her peace with it, what Yang Yanzhou was or wasn't hardly mattered. All she cared about was whether Zhou Yanning would be happy from now on.

Auntie Hua nodded, took Zhou Yanning's hand, and held it out before Yang Juehuan. "Yang Ce, then I entrust Jiajia to you. If you treat her badly, I won't let you off," she said with the utmost solemnity.

Yang Ce rose to his feet in nervous reverence, took Zhou Yanning's hand from Auntie Hua's, and clasped it tightly in his own, overwhelmed with emotion. "Auntie Hua, I understand."

By now Zhou Yanning's face was crimson with shyness, her little cheeks red as a boiled crab shell. She kept her head down, not daring to make a sound, letting Yang Ce and Auntie Hua do as they pleased.

"Jiajia, let's have a hug—to show off how much we love each other," Yang Yanzhou said, reaching out his big hand to fold Zhou Yanning into an embrace.

But Zhou Yanning gave a little squeak and hastily wriggled out of Yang Juehuan's arms. "What are you doing? Mom's still watching!"

"That's exactly why—so she can see. Haven't you noticed Auntie Hua isn't quite at ease about us? So we ought to be affectionate and set her mind at rest." Yang Jiyan spoke with perfect seriousness.

Watching Yang Ce and her radiantly happy daughter, Auntie Hua gave a faint sigh. After all that had happened, she had come to see things clearly. Everything else was secondary now; whatever made Jiajia happy, let her do it.

To be continued.

1010. Delivered to the Door

"All right, I won't keep you from your rest any longer." President Hua rose to her feet. "It's getting late. I should be going."

"Mom—" Zhou Yanning looked at her mother with some worry. "Mom, it's the middle of the night. You're going home now?"

"That's right, Auntie Hua. Stay the night before you go—it'd be good for you to keep Jiajia company, and there are plenty of rooms here anyway," Yang Ce said. Since a moment ago, his impression of President Hua had changed a great deal; she no longer seemed as formidable as before.

In truth, President Hua was anxious to leave because she feared Yang Minlan might take offense. Through her recent dealings with the top brass of Mingyang Group, she had also come to realize that Yang Juehuan was no ordinary man.

The mere fact that Yang Ce's father had gone from an ordinary worker to the group's chairman was unusual in itself. President Hua was no fool—no ordinary worker, however capable, could suddenly transform into a group chairman. No one would believe there wasn't some story behind it.

Moreover, after Mingyang Heavy Industries was restructured from the Songjiang Machinery Plant into a private enterprise, the role of chairman was no longer what it had been under state ownership. Now the chairman was generally the largest shareholder—that is, the biggest investor.

Since Yang Dashan could become chairman, the capabilities of Yang Ce's family were not to be underestimated. What's more, through recent project cooperation with the former Wang Group—Century Xiongfeng Group, now folded into Mingyang Entertainment—and through her contacts with Hou Lin, President Hua had noticed that once Hou Lin learned her daughter was Zhou Yanning, he became utterly indifferent in the project negotiations.

This indifference, of course, was not coldness but a disregard for profit. Hou Lin simply abandoned the negotiation—whatever benefits you wish to offer, offer them; whatever price you name, name it; arrange it however you like. He was like a man willingly letting himself be fleeced.

Only then did President Hua truly grasp Yang Juehuan's influence. What sort of figure was Hou Lin in Songjiang? President Hua had investigated thoroughly. He was comparable to the Tian and Sun families of Donghai—all of them insufferably arrogant lords—yet it was only in negotiating with her that he showed such rare amiability and concession.

And not only that. The original plan to invest in the Seaside Moon Hotel in Donghai had displeased the Sun family, since not far from the Seaside Moon construction site stood the Sun family's hotel resort—the two would inevitably clash over interests in the future. But ever since the partnership with Mingyang, that resistance from the Sun family had vanished in an instant, and even the Sun family's henchmen, previously so vicious, had turned kind-faced and amiable.

All these changes could only be credited to her daughter's boyfriend, Yang Ce. Though President Hua still had something to say about Yang Ce having other girlfriends, now, after weighing the pros and cons, it no longer seemed so important.

Besides, after the incident in which Zhou Yanning took a bullet, President Hua had come around. Could all the money in the world buy her daughter health and happiness? If her daughter could do something as foolish as taking a bullet for Yang Ce, what wouldn't she do? If she herself forcibly separated her daughter from Yan, Jiajia might well try to kill herself.

So President Hua dared not take that risk again. And Yang Shuoxuan was indeed a fine young man—a bit of a philanderer, perhaps, but if her daughter didn't mind, what business was it of hers? So long as her daughter was happy, everything else was secondary.

For all these reasons, President Hua had made up her mind and spoken the words she had earlier.

Seeing that her attitude had won Yang Juehuan's understanding, President Hua was delighted. "I really have missed Jiajia. Then I'll sleep with Jiajia tonight. Yang Ce, don't be unhappy about it."

"No, no—of course, that's only right, only right," Yang Hengye said, while thinking to himself: even if you didn't stay, I'd have no way of sleeping with Jiajia and the others anyway.

Ah, this grand plan of carrying on the surname Fu really bears some careful thought. If I get the chance, I'll call over that sly fox Sun Jie and my dear adopted sister Xiao Qing, have them give a live demonstration on the spot, and let Chen Shutang, Lin Yanhe, and Zhou Yanning study it properly.

Then again, if I really did bring them over, it would probably touch off a world war at home. Better forget it.

Zhou Yanning had her own room, and President Hua was staying there with her, but Chen Shutang had dragged Lin Yanhe off instead. Yang Ce could only sigh and groan—this was really not a good sign. Given Chen Shutang's temperament, the idea of her joining in some group romp with others seemed pretty far-fetched. Truly a challenge to his own intelligence.

With no other choice, Yang Ce returned to his own room, alone again. Yang Jincong laughed to himself. He had thought his happy life was about to begin, but it turned out to still be a long way off.

He lay on the bed a while, restless and itching with frustration yet utterly helpless. He threw on some clothes, pushed open the door, and stepped into the corridor—only to hear the faint sound of a door opening. Yang Ce started, looked up, and saw Zhou Yanning in her little pajamas, poking her head out and peering around as she emerged from her room.

Ha, so little Jiajia really does care about me. She knows I'm lonely and desperate, so she came out specially to keep me company. Yang Lanxu thought this to himself and strode over to Zhou Yanning.

Zhou Yanning saw Yang Ce too, and her face flushed at once. Her heart pounded as if a little rabbit were tucked in her chest, and somewhat startled, she whispered, "Yang... Yang Ce."

"Jiajia, is your mom asleep?" Yang Ce dashed over, and without a care for anything else, pulled Zhou Yanning straight into a bear hug.

"No..." Zhou Yanning grew terribly flustered at being hugged like that by Yang Cenbin. Her breathing quickened, and she struggled slightly, though she didn't dare make too much noise.