Wei De was full of smiles as he held the keys in his hands. He sounded even more amiable. “Sorry to have kept the two of you waiting for so long. Old Chief, you must be hungry. Why don’t we have our meal first?”

  “Let auntie serve the dishes.” Toward this, Zhai Yaohui did not intend to make things difficult for Wei De at all.

  Hearing Zhai Yaohui speak, Zhai Hua let out a sigh of relief. “It’s already so late. Let’s quickly have our dinner.”

  After all, there were only three people having a meal in the Zhai family tonight. The family did not have the habit of wasting food. Hence, the dishes prepared were very ordinary and commonplace.

  Soon after, the auntie brought out three dishes and one soup to the table.

  At the sight of these three dishes and one soup, Wei De was full of disdain.

  He had not been doing business for a long time. One year had not even passed. However, since he started doing business, he had not taken any food that was worse than this.

  This was the home of the prominent old chief, yet the dishes were so distasteful. They were just a little better than that of his home in the countryside. It was so shabby.

  Did they want to use such means to force him to stay away from the Zhai family?

  Did they treat him as a young lad that had not seen the world?

  The more the Zhai family utilized such means against him and underestimated him, the more he had to persist. He wanted to let the Zhai family see the sincerity and determination that he had toward Zhai Hua.

  He did not believe that he would not receive approval from the Zhai family in his lifetime.

  He was a man. He could drag his feet but not Zhai Hua.

  \r \r \r

  Zhai Hua was almost thirty years old now. If the Zhai family was not anxious, he would not be anxious either. When Zhai Hua was forty, fifty, or even sixty years old, he wanted to see if the Zhai family would be anxious.

  When Zhai Hua was so old that she could not even give birth to a child, the Zhai family could then wait for Zhai Hua to feel resentful toward them.

  “Old chief, eat more.” The resentment in Wei De’s heart was now as deep as that of a scorned woman. Nevertheless, the smile on his face was still as sunny and bright as the April sun.

  “Help yourself.” Zhai Yaohui was not willing to accept the dishes that Wei De picked up for him at all. It was all thanks to Zhai Hua that he could have a meal at the same table with Zhai Yaohui.

  Only someone as shameless as Wei De could still act as though he was very close with the Zhai family. He was so enthusiastic and affectionate.

  At the sight of Wei De fawning on her father despite the latter’s cold shoulders, all of a sudden, Zhai Hua was torn. Should she feel bad for Wei De or should she feel bizarre by his capability of acting dumb and completely ignorant of other’s feelings?

  The stance of the Zhai family was too obvious. Zhai Hua could not find any excuse for their behaviors even if she wanted to. Nevertheless, without any consolation, Wei De could still continue to behave as if the Zhai family was his in-laws……

  After some time, Zhai Hua sighed as she felt disheartened.

  Clearly, the Qiao Nan that Zhai Sheng had found was not any better. Her parents also felt revulsion toward her on a few occasions. Why was it that her parents’ attitudes were not so detestable during their interactions with Qiao Nan?

  When this much-delayed dinner ended, Wei De had finished about three cups of tea before Zhai Sheng finally brought Miao Jing home.

  At the sight of Wei De still at her home, the corners of Miao Jing’s mouth drooped.

  “Madam Zhai, Regiment Commander Zhai, you’re back.” At the sight of the two of them, Wei De was full of smiles. He courteously and respectfully stood up to welcome them.

  Zhai Sheng pursed his lips and acknowledged coldly. That attitude was as though Wei De was still an unknown junior soldier in his army. Those slanted eyes of his when he looked at Wei De made the latter feel that he was looked down upon so much as if he was dust.

  “Hua Hua, you’re too insensible. It’s already so late and you still let Boss Wei stay in the house. Boss Wei is very busy with his business. His time is very precious.” Miao Jing started to nag at Zhai Hua. “Boss Wei, sorry. Please excuse us.”

  The address ‘Boss Wei’ simply distanced Wei De from the Zhai family as far as it could.

  Upon hearing the address ‘Boss Wei’, Wei De’s expression did not change. “Madam Zhai, please don’t say that. Hua Hua is a good woman. How would she not know? If she really doesn’t, that means you’ve indulged her too much. There’s too little time today and I did not even chat much with Madam Zhai. I’m the one who has been impolite. It’s late. I shall not disturb you. I’ll visit you again next time.”

  Miao Jing was pleased that Wei De was willing to leave. She had dawdled for so long after dinner before making her way back as she wanted to see less of Wei De.

  However, when she heard Wei De saying that he would visit another time, Miao Jing’s expression froze and it looked extremely ugly.

  Miao Jing’s immediate change of expression made Wei De feel that he was the victor for this round.

  This time, Wei De gave the first and the most sincere smile that he had at the Zhai family today. “Old chief, Madam Zhai, Regiment Commander Zhai, I won’t disturb you further today. I’ll see you again next time.”

  “I’ll send you off!” As a girlfriend, Zhai Hua immediately stood up, caught up with, and followed Wei De out.

  “This is really……” That genuine smile of Wei De gave Miao Jing a great blow. “Hua Hua has so many options. Why did she pick someone like that? If I had known that this would be the case, I would have forced Hua Hua to find a marriage partner when she was twenty-five years old. It has been so many years. I’ve introduced so many good men to her but she rejected them all. She did not want any of them. Now, she’s already twenty-eight years old and she brought back such a man. I’m going to be driven to an early grave.”

  Which of those men whom she had arranged blind dates for Hua Hua with previously were not better than Wei De?

  Hua Hua picked the bad ones instead of the good ones. Was Hua Hua’s brain kicked by a donkey?

  “We have expected this long ago. It’s not surprising, right?” Zhai Yaohui asked the auntie to make another cup of tea. However, Zhai Sheng took it away before he could take a few sips. “Nan Nan is right. Having too much tea will affect your sleep.”

  His son had taken away his freshly brewed cup of tea. Zhai Yaohui did not insist. “Nevertheless, he’s young and aggressive and will lose his cool. That smile of his when he left made me feel more assured. I’m not afraid of other matters. I’m just afraid that he’s too deep and scheming and Zhai Hua will be coaxed and taken in by him for life. Since Wei De is so sensitive and retaliates so easily upon provocation, there’s always a chance to let Hua Hua see for herself clearly what kind of person he is.”

  “When will that be?!” Miao Jing was unconvinced. “Don’t forget that Hua Hua is already twenty-eight years old this year. Wei De and Hua Hua have been together for more than one or two years. When Hua Hua finds out what kind of person Wei De is, she will already be thirty years old. What should we do?”

  “The daughter of Zhai Yaohui will worry about being left on the shelves?” What a joke!

  “There’s certainly no hurry.” Zhai Sheng agreed with Zhai Yaohui’s words.

  “You……” Miao Jing was angered by the words of the father-son pair. “You’re not women. What do you know? Women are different from men. A man can still make a woman pregnant when they are fifty or sixty years old. However, there’s an age limit for a woman to give birth. After a certain age, she can’t conceive anymore.”