Jiang Nan Fang smiled and said, "Whether the sisters are close or not, I don't know, but my son is closer to you than me. Aren't I going to check on my son?"
Zhan Bei Jue was persistent.
"How many sons do you have? Are there others born outside of me? Don't all those surnamed Zhan sit here in this family? Who are you going to care about?"
To dare speak to him like that, Jiang Nan Fang raised her hand to hit him.
"Don't be disrespectful. What nonsense are you talking about in front of the children?"
"Jia Ying's birthday is coming up. It's rare that I have time today to visit your sister's place. She's my son's leader now. I had to chat with her a bit more when I had the chance."
So that's how it was.
Zhan Bei Jue kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you, Madam. What did you find out?"
Jiang Nan Fang pinched his mouth, signaling him not to be affectionate with her in front of the children.
She only let go and spoke when she knew Zhan Bei Jue had surrendered.
"It's good. Jia Ying said he's doing well in all aspects, almost flawless. The only drawback is that he's not happy spending time with people his age. So I want to discuss something with you."
Upon hearing Lu Jia Ying's name and his own, Jiang Jing Yu unconsciously looked up from his book, but he didn't look at his parents, instead pricking up his ears to listen.
When he heard Lu Jia Ying say he was impeccable but unhappy spending time with people his age, he felt a surge of anger.
He clearly had shortcomings in his work performance and didn't appear unhappy when he was with them. Why was she lying?
Zhan Bei Jue loved Jiang Nan Fang.
His wife was like the Old Madam of Mount Tian, her beauty unchanged by the passage of time.
Even though their children were so grown, she was still as breathtakingly beautiful as she had been years ago, making him fall for her all over again every time he looked at her.
So when Jiang Nan Fang sweetly asked to discuss something with him, he agreed without hesitation.
"Don't you make all the decisions, big or small, in our family? Just give me an order if you need anything, we don't need to discuss it."
"Am I that bossy?"
Jiang Nan Fang pouted.
"Even though I make all the decisions, you, the employee, also need to make time. We still need to discuss it."
"Madam, please give your orders. I will definitely make time. What do you need me to do?"
Jiang Nan Fang said, "Jia Ying is right. Jing Yu is still young. It's enough to temper his will and let him experience the hardships of work. There's no need for him to stay like this day after day. It's not very meaningful and deprives the child of the freedom he gained through hard study."
"Since we haven't traveled for a long time, let's take the two younger ones and our family of five out for a trip while the child is free."
So, if Mom meant what she said, he didn't have to go to the company anymore?
Then wouldn't he never see Lu Jia Ying again?
Jiang Jing Yu's first reaction was that this was unacceptable.
Similarly, Ge'er and Tian Tian also questioned their mother's words.
The three almost simultaneously turned their gazes towards her, expressing their opposition.
"Mom, what did you say?"
Jiang Nan Fang knew that Tian Tian and Ge'er would question her decision, and she had already prepared her rebuttal.
"Jing Yu got admitted with his own merits and interned at the company for over a month without any complaints, receiving positive feedback from his superiors. This holiday is earned by him through his own efforts. Do you still have any objections?"
"You two have to study and take exams. Even if you have objections, you have to keep them to yourselves. Otherwise, do you want to drop out and go play? If our family plays so ridiculously, our father's reputation will be ruined."
The two pouted. Tian Tian said,
"We didn't say we wanted to drop out and play, but the accounts aren't calculated like that. What do you mean 'our family of five'? Are those of us who aren't going on vacation not your children?"
Ge'er also said, "Exactly. Mom doesn't speak nicely. Mom is biased."
Jiang Nan Fang smiled, "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. Mom is old and has dementia, she can't calculate things correctly. I misspoke and forgot about you. I apologize."
"We are just exploring the path this time. When all of you graduate and it's summer vacation, we'll all go out as a family. We'll put the globe on the table, point to anywhere you want, and go wherever you say."
"That's great, thank you, Mom!"
Everyone became happy again.
Only Jing Yu frowned, looking uninterested.
Zhan Bei Jue was the first to notice his unusual behavior.
"What's wrong, Jing Yu? Aren't you happy that Mom and Dad are taking you out to play?"
Jiang Jing Yu closed his book. "Why is it so sudden? You didn't even discuss it with me beforehand. I still have a lot of work unfinished at the company."
The parents couldn't be happier hearing their child's sense of responsibility towards work.
Jiang Nan Fang looked at him gently.
"It's okay, we're not leaving tomorrow. You can still go to the company tomorrow. We'll leave when you've finished handing over your work."
"Mom, you're becoming more and more dictatorial. Before, when I didn't want to go to the company, you and Dad sweet-talked me into it. Now that I've finally gotten used to it and am willing to stay, you're suddenly asking me to leave."
Jiang Nan Fang never expected that her plans for Jiang Jing Yu would end up being resented by him.
"So, from your perspective, you don't want to go on vacation with us?"
"No. What's so great about traveling? Isn't it just changing places to eat, look at flowers and grass, and sleep? Our family travels twice a year, and after so many years, I'm already tired of it."
"Then, according to you, you still want to go to work at the company?"
"What else can I do if I don't work? Everyone else is in school, I can't just stay at home and play every day, can I?"
"..." Jiang Nan Fang was speechless for two seconds, then chuckled.
"It seems we were worrying unnecessarily. We thought you were unhappy at work and wanted to take you out to relax."
"Alright, since you don't want to go and prefer to work, we'll listen to you. By the way, I didn't force you. Don't blame me later for not being democratic enough."
Jiang Jing Yu was still unhappy, looking at the grinning Jiang Nan Fang.
"Did you put any pressure on CEO Lu? Making her feel like I'm a burden in the department, so she wants to get rid of me quickly."
"Actually, what she said isn't true. It's against her will. I've never been unhappy."
Jiang Nan Fang almost stood up to cry foul.
"Am I that overbearing? Making you go to the company for training and then oppressing your leader, isn't that contradictory?"
"It was just a casual mention during our chat. Jia Ying said it so casually. She didn't say you can't go tomorrow. Don't cause trouble at the company tomorrow."
"Cause trouble?" Jiang Jing Yu thought to himself.
What right do I have to cause trouble for her?
Before, you said she was my leader, and I didn't dare.
Now... I dare even less.
Could it be that she wanted to get rid of me because of this? Was her solution to pretend nothing happened, and from then on, we go our separate ways and never see each other again?