Chapter 221 - 220: Love Story

Chapter 221: Chapter 220: Love Story

Once Lin Xiao understood Sheng Wan’s attitude, she finally behaved herself.

Zhou Jingchuan’s brows were knitted the whole time, his thoughts unreadable.

Sheng Wan shot them a sideways glance. "What are you still standing here for? You’re an eyesore."

Lin Xiao swayed as if she couldn’t take it, her foundation failing to cover her pale complexion.

Zhou Jingchuan knew his mom was furious and that seeing them would only make her angrier, so he pulled Lin Xiao away.

Lin Xiao was in disbelief, unable to hide the disappointment in her eyes. She thought Zhou Jingchuan was supposed to be an overbearing CEO, but it turned out he had so little say in his own home!

In that moment, the image of Zhou Jingchuan as a tall, steady, and omnipotent figure in Lin Xiao’s heart completely collapsed.

Before dinner, Zhou Jingchuan’s father, Zhou Lang, returned home.

Speaking of Zhou Lang, one couldn’t help but mention his and Sheng Wan’s beautiful love story.

Zhou Lang was a "golden phoenix" who had flown out of the great mountains—a brilliant mind, a perceptive soul, and a top student blessed with divine looks.

Sheng Wan was the pampered daughter of a wealthy family from the big city, doted on and showered with luxuries since birth.

The two met in college and fell in love at first sight.

When they first got together, no one around them was optimistic, especially Sheng Wan’s family and friends. To them, a "golden phoenix" from the mountains was just a slightly more colorful country pheasant.

Worse, he might be a "phoenix man" trying to marry his way up the social ladder.

But who in the throes of new love listens to such talk? Sheng Wan wouldn’t let anyone say a single bad word about her boyfriend.

When the Sheng family parents saw they couldn’t persuade her, they simply cut off Sheng Wan’s bank cards. They figured the chaotic reality of daily necessities—of firewood, rice, oil, and salt—would sooner or later bring Sheng Wan to her senses.

As it turned out, they had underestimated Zhou Lang. There’s a wall between a top student and a god-tier one, let alone between a god-tier student and an ordinary person.

Originally, Zhou Lang’s focus was split into two parts: his school projects and Sheng Wan.

Now, to prevent Sheng Wan’s standard of living from dropping too drastically, he had to devote some of his energy to making money.

Working on projects with his advisor did earn Zhou Lang some money, but it was only enough for his own expenses and their dates. It was far from enough to support Sheng Wan.

So, Zhou Lang spent three nights researching quick ways to make money and ultimately decided to dive into stock trading.

He only engaged in short-term trading. At first, he just tested the waters with small amounts of money, rapidly accumulating experience. Then, he started making large investments and earned his first pot of gold.

He then took a large portion of his earnings and opened a coffee shop for Sheng Wan.

For one, Sheng Wan was a coffee connoisseur and had already been planning to open her own shop; this just put things back on track.

For another, Zhou Lang was usually very busy and didn’t have much time to spend with Sheng Wan. He was afraid she’d get bored and let her imagination run wild, so he decided to find something for her to do.

Sheng Wan’s management and operational skills were excellent. In just one year, the single coffee shop quickly expanded to three.

Zhou Lang was also making more and more money in the stock market, and as his project neared its end, he had more time to spend with Sheng Wan.

Their relationship grew stronger and stronger, and on the second anniversary of their relationship, Zhou Lang proposed.

The very next day, Sheng Wan took Zhou Lang back to the Sheng family home to get her household registration book from her parents so they could register their marriage.

For over a year, Sheng Wan’s parents had been secretly having someone keep an eye on them. They were fully aware of the couple’s every move.

During this process, their opinion of Zhou Lang had also slowly begun to change.

Upon learning the purpose of their visit, Sheng Wan’s parents didn’t immediately object. Instead, they called Zhou Lang into the study for a long talk.

Even Sheng Wan didn’t know what they talked about—to this day, she still doesn’t. All she knew was that after the talk, her parents agreed to their marriage.

After their marriage, Zhou Lang continued to make great strides in the world of academia, while Sheng Wan gradually took over her family’s company, becoming a powerful CEO in her own right.

Decades passed in a flash, but Sheng Wan and Zhou Lang’s love was as strong as ever. They were known in their social circle as a model couple.

Both husband and wife were devoted, steadfast people. They never expected their only son to be so muddle-headed when it came to love.

Back then, Sheng Wan had insisted on fulfilling the marriage contract precisely because she could see that the two "children" had feelings for each other. But she never imagined...

Sheng Wan sighed, her dissatisfaction with Zhou Jingchuan growing. Her gaze even turned a little hostile as it fell upon Zhou Lang.

Zhou Lang’s eyes shifted slightly; he quickly grasped the crux of the matter.

"Did Zhou Jingchuan make you angry?"

Sheng Wan huffed and turned her head away.

Zhou Lang relaxed. ’Looks like I guessed right.’ He glanced at Zhou Jingchuan, then saw Lin Xiao beside him with some surprise. He quickly deduced the gist of what had happened.

Zhou Lang immediately lost interest in asking any further. He turned back to his wife, a warm smile gracing his lips as he handed her a gift bag. "A present for you and Yinyin."

Sheng Wan wasn’t in high spirits, but she took the gift bag anyway. She pulled Gu Qingyin to sit on the sofa with her to unwrap the presents, completely ignoring Zhou Jingchuan and Lin Xiao.

Inside the bag were two jewelry boxes, which, judging by their size, probably contained necklaces.

Sheng Wan opened one first. Sure enough, it was a necklace fully encrusted with diamonds. The largest stone at the bottom was a heart-shaped pink diamond, slightly bigger than a thumbnail.

"Oh!" Sheng Wan broke into a smile. When she looked up at Zhou Lang, her eyes were sparkling as if they were full of stars. "How did you know I wanted this?"

Zhou Lang smiled back at her. "Just a guess."

Gu Qingyin looked from one to the other and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. ’I miss Huo Yunjing.’

"Yinyin, hurry and see what your gift is!" Sheng Wan urged impatiently, her eyes filled with childlike anticipation.

Gu Qingyin snapped back to reality, finding it rather remarkable. ’So even a strong woman like Sheng Wan has a girlish side in front of the man she loves.’

Gu Qingyin opened her box. Inside was also a necklace, but the style was more youthful.

It was fully studded with diamonds, though the stones were small. The pendant was a small dolphin, perfect for everyday wear.

Gu Qingyin’s eyes curved into a smile. "Thank you, Godfather. I love it."

Zhou Lang smiled as well, then turned to Sheng Wan and said, "I’m going upstairs to change."

Gu Qingyin was about to put the necklace away, but she turned and her gaze met Lin Xiao’s, which was filled with envy and jealousy.

She smiled slightly and said to Sheng Wan, "Godmother, can you help me put it on? I want to see how it looks."

Sheng Wan followed Gu Qingyin’s gaze, glanced over, and understood everything. She played along, taking the necklace and rising to walk behind Gu Qingyin to help her put it on.

Sheng Wan looked her over for a few moments and nodded in satisfaction. "Our dear Yinyin has natural beauty. She looks good in anything."

Seeing this, Lin Xiao’s eyes turned red with envy. She unconsciously tightened her grip on Zhou Jingchuan’s hand.

Zhou Jingchuan frowned, pulling his gaze back to look at her. "What’s wrong?"

The moment he spoke, Gu Qingyin and Sheng Wan, who were admiring the necklace, both looked over.

A flash of panic crossed Lin Xiao’s eyes. She forced a smile. "It’s nothing. My head just hurts a little. I think I might have caught a cold."

Zhou Jingchuan touched her forehead. "You don’t have a fever. Just drink some hot water later, you’ll be fine."

Lin Xiao froze, unable to believe those words had come from the mouth of an overbearing CEO.

Gu Qingyin burst out laughing without reservation.