Zhou Zhenfei smiled and said, “That’s great.”
Uncle Li drove slowly, and although Shuai Chang started late, he arrived home almost at the same time as Wei Yanze and the others.
At home, Aunt Lin had already tidied up Wei Yanze’s bedroom, and Shuai Chang directly carried Zhou Chengxing to the bed. Next to the large bed was a crib with a soft mattress, adorned with toys designed to attract the child’s attention.
Zhou’s mother had been holding the baby all the way, and seeing her look weary, Shuai Chang quickly took the sleeping Zhou Chengxing from her arms and placed him in the crib.
“Mom, go rest for a while; don’t exhaust yourself. Your grandson is right here at home, so you can look at him anytime.”
After persuading Zhou’s mother to take a break, Shuai Chang closed the bedroom door, stretched lazily, and lay down next to Wei Yanze. “You’re back, that’s wonderful.” He hadn’t slept much the previous night, and as soon as he finished speaking, he tilted his head and fell asleep.
Wei Yanze gently touched the dark circles under his eyes with his fingers. “Get some good rest.” Both of them had been quite tired these days.
Shuai Chang slept soundly until noon, and when he opened his eyes, he found Deng Jie had already arrived and was nursing the baby. He ran his fingers through his hair and sat up to say, “Deng Jie, if you need anything in the room, just let Aunt Lin know; she will help you bring it back when she goes to the supermarket every day.”
Deng Jie smiled and replied, “Mr. Zhou, Madam Zhou has already informed me of everything. By the way, I think I heard Aunt Lin looking for you downstairs just now.”
“Yanze is always very considerate.” Shuai Chang went to wash his face in the bathroom and tidy his hair. After that, he said to Wei Yanze, “I’ll go downstairs and see what Aunt Lin wants.”
Wei Yanze nodded affirmatively. “Okay.”
Their eyes met, and neither was willing to look away until Zhou Chengxing let out a small whimper, awakening them.
Wei Yanze’s face turned red as he looked down, his tea-colored pupils shimmering with warmth, containing boundless springtime allure.
With a cheerful mood, Shuai Chang headed downstairs to find Aunt Lin, who was busy packing red eggs into a bamboo basket.
“Aunt Lin, were you looking for me?”
Aunt Lin smiled and said, “I boiled some red eggs. Here they are, all in the basket. Please deliver them to people you know, so they can share in the joy.”
“You really are thoughtful, Aunt Lin. I couldn’t have thought of that.”
“You and your son are alike; you both love to praise me.” Aunt Lin placed the basket into Shuai Chang’s hands, saying, “Go on now, give five or six to each family.”
During midday, Shuai Chang drove around for most of the city, delivering the red eggs. By the time he returned home, everyone else had finished eating. Aunt Lin said, “I’ll go heat up your meal. I specially saved some for you; just heat it in the microwave for three minutes, and it’ll be ready.”
“Then I’ll wash my hands upstairs first.”
There’s a restroom downstairs, so why go upstairs?
Of course, it was to see Wei Yanze.
Wei Yanze and the little one were both asleep, while Deng Jie was washing the baby bottles. Shuai Chang tiptoed in, first giving Wei Yanze a kiss, and then bending down to kiss his tiny son, who was no bigger than his palm.
The little guy had delicate, soft, and fair skin. Shuai Chang brushed his lips against him and quickly pulled away, fearing he might hurt him.
When Zhou Chengxing turned three, no outsiders were invited. Zhou’s father didn’t have any relatives, so the only guests were Zhou’s mother’s sisters, Li Xue and Li Hua.
Among the three sisters, Zhou’s mother Li Ting was the most married off, yet she was the only one who lost her husband in middle age.
Li Xue had a pair of twins, who were now twenty-six years old, the same age as Wei Yanze. They used to bully Wei Yanze when they were young and had not outgrown that habit.
As soon as they entered the bedroom, the siblings began to criticize. Peng Yue said, “Yanze, you’ve got to feed the baby yourself. Such a pity.”
Peng Tian chimed in, “Yeah, nowadays who doesn’t hire a nanny to care for babies? Just look at those dark circles under your eyes; you look like a sixty-year-old man, so haggard.”
Zhou’s mother was downstairs entertaining her sisters, while Shuai Chang stayed beside her, but thinking of Peng Yue and Peng Tian upstairs, he felt uneasy. “Mom, I’m going upstairs to check.”
Zhou’s mother nodded, saying to her sisters, “Zhen Ting can’t bear to leave his son. He feels uncomfortable if he doesn’t check in on him once in a while.”
As Shuai Chang approached the door, he overheard the siblings speaking disrespectfully to Wei Yanze. He pushed the door open and entered, startling Peng Yue and Peng Tian. Seeing him, they relaxed, as previously Zhou Zhen Ting had been much harsher on Wei Yanze than they were, and so they didn’t think should Zhou Zhen Ting would help Wei Yanze.
Unfortunately, they were mistaken this time; Shuai Chang not only intended to stand up for Wei Yanze but also to avenge him.
With a frown, Shuai Chang coldly said, “Is that how you speak to your sister-in-law? If you don’t know how to speak respectfully, I wouldn’t mind teaching you personally.”
Zhou Zhen Ting was tall and strong, towering over Peng Tian. He grinned, dismissing it, “I’m just worried that if your sister-in-law gets ugly, cousin you might not like her anymore.”
Shuai Chang looked at Wei Yanze’s face and then at Peng Tian and Peng Yue’s faces, incredulous, “You two ugly monsters still have the audacity to say your sister-in-law is ugly? If your sister-in-law is ugly, then there wouldn’t be anyone good-looking left in the world.”
Having been called ugly monsters to their faces, Peng Tian and Peng Yue’s expressions soured. Peng Yue angrily exclaimed, “Cousin, why are you speaking so harshly? We were just stating some truths. Is it really that serious?”
Peng Tian couldn’t help but shout, “We’re calling you cousin out of respect for our aunt; Zhou Zhen Ting, don’t push your luck.”
Coming from such a mediocre background, it was baffling how they could have such an arrogant attitude.
Shuai Chang was no pushover either. “You two have been dismissed from Zhou Corporation; you’ll complete the handover procedures tomorrow.”
Peng Yue and Peng Tian attended low-tier universities, and after graduating struggled to find good jobs. Li Xue had asked Zhou Zhen Ting for help securing positions for them, and Zhou Zhen Ting, out of respect for Zhou’s mother, had placed them in Zhou Corporation, where their positions paid well without requiring much effort.
Holding the power of life and death over them, Shuai Chang felt it was necessary to give them both a real lesson.
“W-What?!” Peng Yue screamed in panic.
Zhou Chengxing was sleeping soundly in Wei Yanze’s arms but startled and began to cry loudly due to Peng Yue’s outburst.
Wei Yanze hurriedly comforted him while Shuai Chang grabbed both Peng Yue and Peng Tian by the scruffs of their necks and pulled them out of the room.
“I’m going to tell my mom!” Peng Tian said, his expression pale but his voice defiant.