Chapter 243
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Chapter 243 Top-tier Big Player
“Tell me about your boyfriend. What’s his name? Where is he from? What does he look like? How tall is he? How much does he earn monthly?” Every mother-in-law is the same – when it comes to their daughter’s lifelong happiness, they can’t help but be cautious. They ask these questions not because they’re worldly or utilitarian, but because they genuinely hope their daughters can live happily.
After all, in today’s materialistic society, happiness must be built on a material foundation. The notion of “love is enough to quench thirst” is simply nonsense.
Su Rui, sitting nearby, was barely able to contain his laughter. If he had water in his mouth, it would surely have sprayed all over the Passat’s windshield.
“Mom, why are you being so nosy? What are you talking about?” Zhou Anke saw Su Rui’s smile and knew he had overheard the entire conversation with her mother. Her pretty face immediately turned bright red.
“How am I being nosy? Don’t you know I’m concerned about you? How can I not worry about your lifelong happiness? What if you end up with someone who has two noses and one eye…”
Upon hearing “two noses and one eye,” Su Rui instinctively glanced at the central rearview mirror, feeling helpless.
His appearance was decent enough. No matter how bad it might be, he couldn’t possibly be considered a freak with two noses and one eye!
“Mom!” Zhou Anke was completely exasperated, her pretty face gradually turning completely red, adding a unique charm to her appearance.
“I knew it. A grown daughter belongs to another family. You haven’t even married yet, and you’re already speaking up for a man,” her mother complained.
“Mom, my phone is almost out of battery. I have to go. Please prepare the guest room for my friend.”
With that, Zhou Anke quickly hung up. It had been a while since she’d seen her mother, who seemed to have become even more fierce and intimidating.
What she didn’t know was that after hanging up, nearly a thousand kilometers away, Zhou Anke’s mother wore a cold smile.
“Don’t think I don’t know how you young people date. Preparing a guest room, how hypocritical. Even if I prepare a guest room, won’t you just sneak over there at night? Since that’s the case, you might as well sleep in the same bed!”
If Zhou Anke had heard this, she would have been on the verge of tears and definitely would have sent Su Rui to a hotel.
After saying this, Zhou Anke’s mother began calling relatives one by one.
“Yes, yes, yes, all of you come to our house for dinner tonight. Anke has brought her boyfriend home!”
“Good, character is revealed through drinking. Make sure you get that young man drunk tonight so we can see what he’s really like!”
“Of course, the more people the better. Aren’t there several young men in our town who secretly admire Anke? Have them come too. I want to compare. If he’s not suitable, I absolutely won’t agree.”
“What? With so many people, how will we cook in the kitchen? Our family is already large. I just reserved twenty tables at Liantang Restaurant, to be set up in our courtyard. Yes, yes, the restaurant owner is my younger brother…”
If Su Rui knew what was happening, he would probably have made a run back to Ninghai! Zhou Anke’s mother was truly too fierce!
Su Rui drove much faster than expected. When there were no speed cameras, he pushed the car to over 200 km/h. This wasn’t disregarding his own safety or traffic rules; he simply possessed exceptional control skills and didn’t want to waste too much time on the road.
By afternoon, the car entered Liantang Town, a place filled with fresh air everywhere.
It was June, and while the lotus pond hadn’t bloomed yet, the pool of emerald green still gave people a refreshing feeling.
Su Rui drove slowly through the small alleys, experiencing the atmosphere of this southern water town, his eyes filled with tranquility.
Canopied boats, bluestone paths, small bridges over flowing water – it was truly a wonderful place.
“This is a place where the soul can rest,” Su Rui said sincerely.
Fortunately, this ancient town hadn’t been commercially developed. Not too many tourists knew about this place; otherwise, Liantang’s unique charm would certainly be more attractive than some completely commercialized ancient towns.
No one dislikes hearing praise about their hometown, and Zhou Anke was no exception.
Hearing Su Rui’s words, Zhou Anke tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, showing an otherworldly charm. Her face revealed a longing expression: “Yes, my biggest dream is to find a suitable man and live a peaceful life in Liantang Town.”
“That’s many people’s dream, but due to life’s pressures, many can’t realize such pastoral wishes.”
How could Su Rui not want to lay down his arms and return to a simple life of farming? Who wouldn’t want to pick chrysanthemums under the eastern fence and gaze leisurely at the southern mountains?
But life doesn’t give people such opportunities. Su Rui had experienced too much. He also wanted the gunfire and smoke in his eyes to gradually fade away, but those bloody past events forced him to pick up daggers and bayonets, straighten his back, and face the threatening blades of those who harbored ill intentions toward him.
Zhou Anke looked at Su Rui’s profile and somehow saw a sense of vicissitude on his young, unwrinkled face. This vicissitude was deep in his marrow, definitely not something a young person could fake just to appear melancholic.
Zhou Anke momentarily doubted her eyesight, but when Su Rui spoke those words, that sense of vicissitude was indeed directly expressed.
At this moment, the lotus-like Miss Zhou felt she couldn’t quite figure out this man with whom she shared such good chemistry. He seemed to have experienced many things.
For both mature women and young girls, this faint sense of vicissitude becomes something very attractive.
“Go forward a hundred meters, then turn left, and you’ll see the wall of my home,” Zhou Anke said, her pretty face already showing excitement.
Five minutes later, Su Rui uttered a concise sentence.
This sentence had only two words – “My God!”
“My God” – these words were rated as the hottest phrase of the year in China.
Indeed, Su Rui couldn’t help but exclaim this because from the moment he saw the wall of Zhou Anke’s home to her front gate, the Passat, traveling at 30 kilometers per hour, took a full five minutes!
This wasn’t just a wall; it was practically a city wall!
Zhou Anke covered her mouth and laughed softly.
“Ann, is your family a landlord?” Su Rui’s jaw nearly hit the gas pedal. In today’s China where land is extremely valuable, there were probably very few who could own such a large residence!
If this courtyard were demolished, it could easily be used as several football fields! Perhaps even ancient royal mansions couldn’t compare to this courtyard!
“Of course not,” Zhou Anke covered her mouth and laughed lightly. “It’s just that since ancient times, my family’s elders have always been… leaders of Liantang Town.”
Zhou Anke struggled for a moment before settling on the word “leaders,” her wrinkled little nose looking utterly adorable.
“But this house is too big. Even Suzhou gardens can’t compare,” Su Rui sighed. “If a thief came in, you wouldn’t even need to catch him; he’d get lost inside by himself.”
Although Su Rui knew that the “Liantang style” calligraphy was created by the daughter-in-law of a wealthy family in Liantang Town, with descendants required to practice it, eventually spreading throughout the town, and Su Rui had deduced from their first meeting that Zhou Anke was a descendant of this wealthy family, and he had also heard that this wealthy family was a great household that had existed for hundreds of years.
However, even with some mental preparation, Su Rui was still shocked. This wasn’t just wealthy; it was supremely wealthy!
Zhou Anke was amused by Su Rui: “This residence was reportedly built by a fallen prince and later bought by my ancestors. It has been used until now, having been renovated countless times over the years.”
“Then I can’t wait to experience it,” Su Rui said as he got out of the car and began helping Zhou Anke with her luggage.
Zhou Anke also opened the trunk but discovered numerous packages of gifts – all of which were not her belongings.
Seeing that these gifts were not inexpensive, Zhou Anke seemed to guess the reason and asked with surprise: “Su Rui, is this…”
Su Rui smiled casually: “Since I’m accompanying you home, I should prepare some gifts. It would be embarrassing to arrive empty-handed.”
“But I invited you. How can I let a guest buy gifts?” Zhou Anke firmly refused. “Besides, these gifts are not cheap. They must cost at least tens of thousands of yuan. It’s too expensive.”
In Zhou Anke’s eyes, Su Rui was still just a market department employee with a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan, even though he had just received a commission of 2 million yuan. But that was money he had earned through hard work. To spend so much on gifts at once was something Zhou Anke absolutely could not accept.
Just then, two lively children ran out from the imposing gate of the residence. As soon as they saw the Passat, they clapped their hands and shouted: “Auntie is back! Auntie is back!”
“Xiao Qing, Xiao Yu, it’s been a while. You’ve both grown so tall. Come here, this is Uncle Su,” Zhou Anke lovingly ruffled the children’s hair.
“Hello, Uncle Su!” The two children bounced around, looking adorable.
“Good kids,” Su Rui took two boxes of chocolate from the car and handed them to the children. “Go enjoy these, but don’t eat too many. Be careful of cavities.”
The child called Xiao Qing, wise beyond her years, said: “Uncle Su, you’re so nice. I know you’re Auntie’s boyfriend. Don’t worry, this box of chocolate has bought me over. Later, Xiao Yu and I will put in a good word for you.”
Su Rui was both amused and helpless upon hearing this.
“What nonsense are you two talking about? Keep it up, and I’ll spank you,” Zhou Anke’s face turned bright red, but her threat was completely ineffective – the children weren’t afraid of her at all.
After the two children bounced away, Zhou Anke said embarrassedly: “Don’t take it to heart. Children often say random things.”
Su Rui shook his head: “It’s fine. They’re quite adorable.”
Zhou Anke smiled: “I just didn’t expect you to even prepare chocolate. Was it to win over the children?”
“I didn’t know you had children in your family. Just being prepared,” Su Rui shrugged.
In fact, he had long known that Zhou Anke came from a wealthy family in Liantang Town. With such a large family, how could there not be children?
Su Rui was prepared to charm everyone, young and old alike!
When he and Zhou Anke carried the packages through the ancient, weathered main gate and saw the scene inside the courtyard, Su Rui couldn’t help but exclaim once more: “My God!”
