Chapter 1 A Certain Street in Dragon City

On a street in Dragon City.

Yu Mingyuan held his phone, speaking with extreme politeness, "Uncle Han, hehe, it's Mingyuan! Oh, I'm Yu Jinrong's son...!"

"Haha, Mingyuan!" The other party replied with a hearty laugh, "You calling me out of the blue caught me off guard. What's up, nephew?"

"It's like this, I'm getting married next Saturday, do you have time to come?" Yu Mingyuan asked.

"Oh, that's great news! Congratulations, Mingyuan. But I'm... very busy with work, can't get away." The other party paused and said, "Tell you what, send me the address on my phone later, if I have time, I'll definitely be there. If I really can't get a vacation, I'll definitely have someone bring a gift on my behalf."

"Okay, okay, Uncle Han, I'll send you the address later!"

"Alright, send it over!"

"Okay, then I won't bother you, you're busy!"

"Goodbye, goodbye!"

After saying that, the two ended the call. Yu Mingyuan wearily wiped the sweat from his face.

Since his father Yu Jinrong passed away, Yu Mingyuan had been consciously trying to maintain the family's relationships. Even though he worked hard, never forgetting to send gifts to important figures during holidays, birthdays, weddings, and funerals, he still couldn't stop many relationships from gradually fading.

The saying "once the person is gone, the tea turns cold" was vividly reflected in this society. Take this Uncle Han for example, Yu Jinrong took care of him a lot when he worked in the First District, but now he even forgot what his old superior's son was called. Most of the things he said on the phone just now were excuses.

Some might think that the An family had a lot of influence, and Yu Mingyuan was Yu Zhen's nephew and the president of the Tongji Association, so they should befriend him. But in reality, this was useless for the vast majority of people.

Because the An family's influence didn't represent Yu Mingyuan's influence. As for organizations like associations, they were useless to many big shots until they truly became powerful, because there were tons of grassroots organizations like those in Dragon City.

Yu Mingyuan frantically contacted his old connections mainly for two reasons. First, Yu Zhen instructed him to make the wedding as grand as possible and invite more social celebrities. Second, Yu Mingyuan didn't want to be outshone by the Wen family and wanted to show off his social connections.

These days, Yu Mingyuan had been very busy, making himself very tired, but after all, a wedding was a joyous occasion, and he was enjoying it.

"Dilingling!"

A phone ring rang, and Yu Mingyuan immediately pressed the answer button: "Hello? Xiaorou!"

"Come to the new house! My second aunt and the others have arrived and want to meet you," Wen Xiaorou's voice sounded.

"Okay, okay, I'll be right there!" Yu Mingyuan replied.

After hanging up the phone, Yu Mingyuan turned around and headed towards the new house.

...

About half an hour later.

Yu Mingyuan parked the car outside the villa, walked into the courtyard with a light step, and headed straight for the main hall.

"Tss...!"

Just as Yu Mingyuan was about to enter the door, he suddenly heard the sound of rushing water coming from the side of the villa's swimming pool.

Yu Mingyuan walked over and looked down, seeing that the water pipe next to the swimming pool had burst and was spraying water outwards, and a lot of useless cement next to it was soaked.

"Damn it, these workers are so careless!" Yu Mingyuan cursed, stepped forward and reached out to tighten the main valve of the water pipe.

The new house was being renovated recently, and the yard was a mess. Yu Mingyuan moved the two bags of cement with his feet and turned to go back to the living room.

"Xiaorou, are you really going to marry him?" A middle-aged woman's voice came from the living room.

"Second Aunt, why are you asking that? I've already gone through the formalities and sent out the invitations, so how could it be fake?" Wen Xiaorou replied with a smile, "Have some candy."

"I don't eat it, I have diabetes!" The middle-aged woman paused and said, "Xiaorou, your dad is too careless, and your mom is someone who doesn't take charge! To be honest, if they had discussed it with the family, we wouldn't have agreed to you having the wedding so early...!"

Yu Mingyuan stopped in his tracks when he heard this.

"Why?" Wen Xiaorou asked, puzzled.

"Because you're not a good match." The middle-aged woman said bluntly, "The Yu family used to be okay, but now... he's not good enough for you! To put it bluntly, your dad is in his prime, and if he works for a few more years, he'll definitely be promoted to a general. Your uncle also said that as long as they confer military ranks above, he will definitely help your dad get it done! And you, if you go to the Army Academy for further studies, you'll be a Major when you come out, right?"

Wen Xiaorou replied coquettishly, "Second Aunt, don't say that."

"What does Yu Mingyuan have? His uncle is a big official, but he's not his real father, so what's the use? He himself doesn't have any official position in the system. Business? Running an association? Isn't that ultimately serving the powerful departments?" The middle-aged woman sighed, "And I've heard that your dad has been influenced by him in some decisions... Alas, this kid's motive for marrying you is probably not pure."

"Second Aunt, if you say that again, I'm going to get angry!"

"Silly child! Aren't I doing this for your own good?" The second aunt pouted and poked Wen Xiaorou's forehead hard with her finger, "How many high-ranking cadres' children are there in the military compound! Matching careers, matching family backgrounds! Whether it's in life or career, you can support each other! You say... you find someone... like this... hey, you'll have a lot to worry about in the future! Your dad will have to put in a lot of effort too! It's very tiring!"

"Second Aunt, I'm serious, we're about to get married, you can't say that again...!"

"Oh, you child!"

While the two were talking, Yu Mingyuan deliberately circled around the yard, pretending to have just entered from the gate, and shouted, "Xiaorou, Second Aunt and the others are here?"

Wen Xiaorou stood up with a happy face and replied, "Mingyuan!"

The second aunt straightened her clothes, put on a professional fake smile, and didn't plan to say anything more.

...

First District, New York City.

An's father returned home, sat on the sofa, and looked at the ceiling wearily.

Yu Zhen walked down from upstairs and asked in surprise, "What's wrong? Why haven't you even changed your shoes!"

"I'm going to be transferred!" An's father said with his eyes closed.

"Where to? Did the transfer order come down so quickly?" Yu Zhen asked anxiously, walking to the side.

"The transfer order is on the table, take a look!" An's father replied.

Yu Zhen reached out and picked up the transfer order, glanced at it, and asked with a very surprised expression: "They're making you the military commander? Going to Dragon City? Who the hell came up with this terrible idea!"

"We had meetings all afternoon and argued all afternoon, but in the end, there was nothing we could do!" An's father sighed.

"Can't it be reversed?" Yu Zhen asked.

"The transfer order has already been issued, what can be reversed?"

"...It seems that you urging Mingyuan and Wen Xiaorou to get married was the right thing to do!" Yu Zhen said with emotion.