Chapter 102: Chapter 7: The Mother-in-law Looks at Her Son-in-law_2
He patted his dispirited old classmate on the shoulder. "Once you succeed in your career, she’ll definitely look at you in a new light."
"My ex-mother-in-law is even worse than her."
Hearing this, Qian Zhi felt like he’d found an ally. His mood improved immensely, and he started to laugh.
"Look at you," Sun Dasheng chided with a sidelong glance. "Wipe that grin off your face before it splits your cheeks."
"Hehe... Dasheng, don’t blame me. I’m just an ordinary guy. For some reason, hearing that you also got the cold shoulder from your ex-mother-in-law really cheered me up," he explained. "I certainly wasn’t trying to mock you."
"It’s fine. We’re all men here. I get it," Sun Dasheng said with understanding.
The elevator doors opened, revealing two girls, one older and one younger. The older girl, though young herself, was dressed in a very mature style. She wore heavy, adult-style makeup and a pair of huge, eye-catching earrings. Clad in a cool but thin denim outfit, she seemed entirely unafraid of the cold. The younger girl was about six or seven years old, her hair in a ponytail, carrying a large backpack.
Seeing the men in the elevator, she stretched out her arms and ran over.
"Daddy!"
It turned out to be Qian Zhi’s darling daughter. He scooped her up, glanced at the older girl, and asked, "Why did your big sister pick you up today?"
"If you two had gone, school would’ve been closed by the time you got there," the cool girl said disdainfully. "If my aunt hadn’t called, I wouldn’t have bothered. Now that Niu Niu’s home, I’m off. My friends are waiting for me at the bar."
The series of sudden events had left the couple with no time to pick up their child. Thankfully, Yang Meina had been thoughtful enough to have her niece go instead. This cool girl was her elder brother’s daughter, named Yang Xintian. Her name, which meant "fragrant" and "tranquil," was completely at odds with her rebellious personality.
"Wait a minute," Qian Zhi called out to her.
"What else?" she asked, turning around impatiently.
"Your grandparents happen to be over, and Grandpa is cooking tonight. Why don’t you stay for dinner before you go?"
Although their relationship wasn’t great, she had helped pick up his child, so offering a meal was the right thing to do.
Yang Xintian licked her lips. Her grandfather’s cooking was clearly a strong temptation, but thinking of her friends waiting at the bar, she shook her head and declined.
"I’m busy today, so I won’t stay. Just tell my aunt that the mission is accomplished, and don’t forget my reward. Bye-bye."
"Sorry you had to see that," Qian Zhi said to Sun Dasheng, holding his daughter. He then smiled at the little girl. "This is your dad’s classmate, Uncle Sun. Say hello."
The little girl was very polite, sweetly greeting, "Hello, Uncle Sun." She then turned to her dad and said, "This Uncle Sun is so handsome!"
A child’s innocent words made the two men laugh heartily.
"Your Uncle Sun was quite the heartthrob back in school," Qian Zhi said, not forgetting to add, "and of course, your dad was a handsome guy back then, too."
The little girl seriously studied both men before declaring, "Daddy is handsome, too, but not as handsome as Uncle Sun."
"Hahaha!" Sun Dasheng roared with laughter, his smile stretching from ear to ear. "Your daughter is so cute. Why don’t you give her to me?"
But the little girl just hugged her father’s neck tighter and shook her head furiously. "I don’t want to change daddies."
Qian Zhi patted her on the back. "Uncle Sun is just joking with you."
After the joke, Sun Dasheng asked, "What grade are you in? Why is your backpack so big?"
"She just started first grade this year," Qian Zhi said, his expression turning melancholic as he spoke of her education. "The competition for kids these days is just too intense. What can you do?"
Most of his annual salary went to either the mortgage or his child’s education.
"Since it’s our first time meeting, let me give her a small gift. Wait here a moment."
Sun Dasheng walked over to his car and returned shortly after. He opened a small jewelry box, revealing a delicate bracelet. After adjusting the size, he personally slipped it onto Niu Niu’s wrist.
"Do you like it?" Sun Dasheng asked.
Niu Niu was thrilled with her new gift. She shook her arm, admiring the way the bracelet sparkled on her wrist. "Thank you, Uncle. Niu Niu likes it a lot."
Qian Zhi glanced at it. It looked like a simple, unremarkable bracelet, so he didn’t pay it much mind.
"Alright, I’ll see you off here. Hurry and get Niu Niu back inside," Sun Dasheng said, bidding the father and daughter farewell. He got into his car and told the driver to head home.
「 」
Upstairs, when Yang Meina saw her husband and daughter enter, she rushed over, swept Niu Niu into her arms, and planted several kisses on her face. "Niu Niu, it’s Mommy’s fault for not picking you up today. Where’s your sister?"
"Mommy, Sister left."
"So Xintian picked Niu Niu up?" Yang Meina’s mother came over and helped her granddaughter take off her backpack.
"Yes, I called her," Yang Meina said, then turned to her husband. "Qian Zhi, why didn’t she come up for dinner? Didn’t you ask her?"
"Of course I did," Qian Zhi replied. "She refused, said her friends were waiting for her at the bar."
"That girl," her mother sighed, at her wit’s end. "She’s been rebellious since she was little, always a handful." The entire family was at a loss with her.
"Oh? Where did Niu Niu get that bracelet?" her mother suddenly asked.
Her sharp eyes had noticed the diamond bracelet on her granddaughter’s wrist. It looked very similar to a designer piece she had seen before. She quickly opened a website on her phone and looked it up. Sure enough, it was identical.
Yang Meina leaned over to look, and then both women stared at Qian Zhi.
"Oh, that’s a welcome gift from Da Sheng for Niu Niu," he answered.
"Goodness, to give something so expensive as a first-meeting gift," his mother-in-law marveled at Sun Dasheng’s generosity.
"Mom, how much could a little trinket like that be worth?" Qian Zhi said dismissively.
"You call this a little trinket? This is a limited-edition Bulgari diamond bracelet! It’s worth over a hundred thousand! Honestly, you’re so clueless," Yang Meina’s mother said, thoroughly dissatisfied with her son-in-law.
"It’s that expensive?" Qian Zhi was dumbfounded.
「 」
The gift-giver, Sun Dasheng, was on his way home. The traffic on the outer ring road was light, so the driver was moving quickly, overtaking many cars along the way. One red BMW, in particular, seemed competitive and repeatedly tried to pass them, only to be effortlessly left behind by the Bentley each time.
Sun Dasheng’s driver was a former army driver who had chauffeured a high-ranking official for over a decade. After his former boss got into trouble, he had to find new work and was hired. His driving skills were top-notch. Even while constantly overtaking other vehicles, the ride inside the car remained perfectly smooth and stable.
Suddenly, the driver stopped the car.
Sun Dasheng, who had been on his phone, looked up. "What’s wrong?"
"Director Sun, there’s been an accident ahead," the driver reported. "That red BMW that kept trying to pass us wasn’t paying attention to the road and hit a car parked in the emergency lane."
"It doesn’t involve us, does it?" Sun Dasheng asked.
"No," the driver confirmed.
"Then it’s fine. We’ll just wait for the traffic police to clear the road." With that, Sun Dasheng lowered his head and went back to his phone.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Someone was rapping on the window.
"Director Sun?" the driver asked, looking back.
"Roll down the window and see. Someone might need help," Sun Dasheng said after a moment’s thought.
The window slid down.
"What kind of driving was that? Do you even know how to drive?"
Instead of a request for help, they were met with a harsh scolding. The voice was female and sounded vaguely familiar, as if he’d just heard it recently.
Then he remembered. It was the rebellious girl from the elevator, Qian Zhi’s niece, Yang Xintian.
Seeing that no one in the car was responding to her, Yang Xintian grew even angrier. She banged on the window again. "You made me crash my car, and you’re just going to sit there? Get out here!"
Sun Dasheng was slightly amused by the pestering, rebellious girl. At the driver’s questioning glance, he gave a slight nod, permitting him to exit the vehicle and handle it.
The car door opened, and the driver stepped out.
Yang Xintian’s harsh words died in her throat. It wasn’t her fault; the man in front of her was truly intimidating. He was a hulking figure, standing two meters tall, with muscles that strained the fabric of his clothes. Anyone facing such a giant would be left speechless.
"Young lady, you wanted me to get out. Is there a problem?" the driver asked.
"Well... um... you made my car get wrecked." Her tone had softened instantly, all traces of her rebellious defiance gone.
The burly driver, however, was unmoved. "You crashed your car because you were overtaking recklessly," he stated bluntly. "It has nothing to do with me. You should call the traffic police to clear the accident scene. Otherwise, my car will be stuck here for a long time. It would be bad if you delayed my boss."
Hearing the word "boss," her eyes lit up.
I can’t deal with you, but I’ll be damned if I can’t deal with your boss!
"Get your boss out here!" she started yelling again.