Outside the window, it seemed as if a light drizzle was falling.
It didn't take long for a thin layer of rain mist to rise, blurring Lin Chuan's vision.
Lin Chuan took a deep breath.
He knew that Old Zhang would only send him this message if he had encountered a major problem, and moreover, the issue was related to the Little Landlady.
After a moment of thought, he replied, "Old Zhang, I'll come over in a little while."
"Good."
Old Zhang responded.
Taking advantage of the Little Landlady not having gotten up yet, Lin Chuan entered the kitchen, a rare occurrence, and cooked some millet porridge.
It wasn't long before the Little Landlady woke up.
She came up behind Lin Chuan and gently wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her entire body against Lin Chuan's back, "Chairman, I could have cooked."
"You've also been staying up late recently, you should rest a bit more," Lin Chuan said, smiling.
"Chairman is the best," Zhang Xinxin's grip around Lin Chuan tightened.
The porridge was not yet ready.
Lin Chuan laughed, turned around to scoop up the Little Landlady, and carried her to sit on the sofa, "Do you have plans for today?"
A playful smile appeared on the Little Landlady's face, "I have an appointment with Keke today to discuss the medication for certain diseases."
"Xinxin, you know about drugs too?" Lin Chuan raised his eyebrows and asked.
"I don't, but I can learn," the Little Landlady said with a smile brimming in her eyes.
"You've been quite close with Yu Keke lately," Lin Chuan offhandedly remarked.
The Little Landlady nodded, "Keke has taught me a lot about drugs, saving me the trouble of doing research."
"Why the sudden interest in drugs?" Lin Chuan curiously asked, looking at the Little Landlady in his arms.
"I won't tell you for now, I want to surprise you!" the Little Landlady said playfully, her lips pursed and the corners of her mouth smiling.
"I look forward to your surprise," Lin Chuan laughed heartily and ruffled Zhang Xinxin's hair, "Let's have breakfast first!"
After breakfast.
The Little Landlady left.
Lin Chuan saw her off downstairs, then hailed a taxi to head to East Street.
The taxi weaved through the vast city, with somewhat noisy tire sounds resonating inside the vehicle. If he stretched his hand out of the window, he could feel the whoosh of the wind presenting a full sensation over his hand.
They arrived at East Street.
At this time, it was still morning, and East Street didn't have many pedestrians, rather like the silent alleys of an ancient town, only the shopkeepers and staff were out to do business.
Lin Chuan made a few turns and walked into the 'Goldstone Edge' Antique Shop.
"Lin, you've arrived."
As soon as Lin Chuan entered the shop, Old Zhang came up to greet him and pulled him toward the reception room on the second floor.
"Old Zhang, what's wrong with you?" Lin Chuan noticed that Old Zhang looked uneasy, his face weary, bearing the troubles of his heart.
"Xinxin doesn't know, does she?" Old Zhang glanced at Lin Chuan, his brow slightly furrowed, and asked.
Lin Chuan shook his head, "She doesn't know. Are you encountering any difficulties?"
"Let's talk upstairs."
Inside the Antique Shop, the staircase from the first to the second floor was built with an ancient style out of wood. Old Zhang climbed the stairs in haste, making a 'thud, thud, thud' sound.
Going up to the second floor.
Lin Chuan noticed that his uncle, Zhang Ren, was sitting in the reception room, also looking uneasy.
Seeing Lin Chuan, his uncle managed a smile, "Lin, you're here."
"Uncle, what's going on?" Lin Chuan's face grew stern as he looked at Zhang De and Zhang Ren, frowning inquisitively, sensing that the difficulty they faced might be complicated.
Suddenly, Lin Chuan remembered the scent he had smelled on Uncle Zhang Ren the night before.
Hisss!
Could it be related to that thing?
Old Zhang sat down, his cloudy eyes looking towards Lin Chuan with an expression of difficulty.
"Old Zhang, just say it if there's something you need to talk about," Lin Chuan said, his brow slightly furrowed.
Old Zhang sighed again, his voice low, "Xinxin's mom has returned to Anling."
Lin Chuan's expression stiffened as he immediately noticed something amiss.
The Little Landlady's mother had come back to Anling?
In theory, this should be good news for the Little Landlady, but Old Zhang seemed quite reluctant to let Xinxin meet her mother.
Therefore, Lin Chuan asked, "Old Zhang, is there some unspeakable secret?"
"Ah..." Old Zhang sighed deeply and began to recount an old story.
The Little Landlady's mother, named Liu Meng, had been 'addicted to drugs' more than a decade ago and had been willing to abandon her husband and daughter to follow an organization abroad.
Since then, she had not returned.
Fortunately, Old Zhang's family was well-off enough to support Zhang Xinxin's upbringing.
Having listened, Lin Chuan's brows tightened further, and he asked, "Old Zhang, does Auntie want to see Xinxin now that she's back?"
Old Zhang neither confirmed nor denied but instead said, "She returned a couple of days ago and has been looking for your uncle and me. Your uncle and I had a serious talk with her last night. She said she could avoid seeing Xinxin, but she wants to meet you."
"Meet me?" Lin Chuan was suddenly shocked, an expression of surprise crossing his face.
She was willing to forego seeing her own daughter yet insisted on meeting her daughter's boyfriend—what sort of reasoning and logic was that?
At that moment.
Uncle Zhang Ren spoke, "Liu Meng gave her reason. She said she wanted to see her son-in-law and judge for herself if he could take good care of her daughter."
Old Zhang nodded, "That's why I called you to come over, to discuss this."
"Aside from seeing me, does Auntie have any other requests?" Lin Chuan inquired.
"The other things she wanted, I have already given her."
Old Zhang said gravely.
The expressions on the faces of the two Zhang brothers both grew heavy.
"I can meet with her."
After pondering for a moment, Lin Chuan made up his mind.
Lost to 'addictive drugs', following an organization, having disappeared for over a decade, and now reappearing again, Lin Chuan was unclear about her current affiliation.
Therefore.
He did not feel at ease with Liu Meng meeting the Little Landlady, so he decided to meet her first to see what her intentions were.
"Lin, thank you."
Old Zhang expressed his 'thanks' to Lin Chuan with considerable gravity.
"I'm doing it for Xinxin as well," Lin Chuan's heart ached for his own Little Landlady.
His heart felt as if it was being gripped tight.
Perhaps, the astute Little Landlady had already guessed some of the reasons from Old Zhang's behavior, which is why she was holding her troubles inside.
Alas... but these were matters she couldn't resolve on her own.
With this thought, Lin Chuan sighed deeply.
At that moment, Old Zhang had already taken out his cell phone to contact his ex-wife Liu Meng.
"Lin, she said she wants to meet you alone now."
Lin Chuan's face showed a flicker of movement, but he still nodded and said, "Alright, where?"
"At Yueming Tea House. Your second uncle and I will take you there," Old Zhang said and also cautioned, "But you must be careful. She might still be dabbling with those things, and if you encounter any special situation, your second uncle and I will immediately rush in."
"Don't worry, I can handle it."
A faint smile appeared on Lin Chuan's face, signaling Old Zhang to be at ease.
Yueming Tea House.
It was located in a small alley in Qingxiu District, with a modest storefront. In the grey-brick alley, only a door with a green pot beside it could be seen.
Lin Chuan had been here before.
Previously, when Lin Chuan 'clashed' with Old Zhang's then-girlfriend Liu Qing, it was in this place. They tricked General Manager Zhao into appraising the forged 'Fengtian One Tael', luring Liu Qing and the others into the trap.
In the end, they busted the antique fraud and money laundering gang in one fell swoop.
And now, he was about to meet Old Zhang's ex-wife here once again.
It's like a twisted fate!
Dressed in casual attire, Lin Chuan walked into Yueming Tea House. A familiar female waitress, dressed in a purple cheongsam, greeted him immediately, "Good day, sir. Do you have a reservation?"
Lin Chuan mentioned a room number.
"This way, sir," the waitress promptly walked ahead of Lin Chuan to lead the way.
The tight-fitting purple cheongsam with a slit on the side outlined her attractive figure, full of grace and charm. In this somewhat elegant tea house, it added a unique allure.
But Lin Chuan didn't look at it even once.
His gaze surveyed the surroundings, other than occasionally encountering some 'special personnel' who seemed very familiar, casting glances at Lin Chuan from time to time, there was nothing unusual.
"Sir, this is your room."
The waitress stopped at the door of the room and gently knocked. An approval sound, cold in nature, came from inside.
She then opened the door for Lin Chuan to enter.
Lin Chuan walked into the room, where there was only one person, a woman in her forties. She sat in front of the tea table, exhaled a puff of smoke, and stubbed the cigarette in her hand into the ashtray.
Afterward.
She looked steadily at Lin Chuan, her eyes full of sizing up, "Lin Chuan, right?"
Lin Chuan studied the middle-aged woman in front of him, who bore some resemblance to the Little Landlady, dressed in an opulent cheongsam, with hoop earrings and a jade bracelet on her wrist, exuding a sharp and cold aura.
Lin Chuan narrowed his eyes slightly, then revealed a polite smile, "Yes, I'm Lin Chuan. Are you Auntie Liu Meng?"
Liu Meng didn't respond to Lin Chuan's question.
She picked up the teapot nonchalantly, poured a cup for Lin Chuan, and pushed it in front of him, "I heard Xinxin is with you now?"
"Yes," Lin Chuan nodded.
"Quite handsome, young Lin."
Liu Meng's mouth lifted into a smile, then her expression turned cold, "Do you have the ability to provide Xinxin with a worry-free life for the rest of her days?"
Lin Chuan sat opposite her, his face showed a light smile, not intimidated by Liu Meng's imposing presence, "Of course, it's no problem."
"No problem?"
Liu Meng's brows tightened, her eyes slightly squinting, "I heard you're just a web novel writer, that's quite a statement, isn't it?"
"I have other side businesses," Lin Chuan smiled.
Lin Chuan maintained his usual calm demeanor in front of the woman who might become his 'future mother-in-law', and was not intimidated by her aggressive stance.
"I've looked into your side businesses. Nothing much, just a company and an antique shop. Doesn't make much money," Liu Meng's mouth edged with a slight sneer.
Lin Chuan laughed and said, "It's enough."
"Enough?"
Liu Meng laughed disdainfully, "How could that amount of money guarantee Xinxin a worry-free rest of her life?"
"So, Auntie, are you saying that you won't allow Xinxin and me to be together?" Lin Chuan countered.
"What do you think?"
Liu Meng sipped her Pu'er Tea and asked.
Lin Chuan looked closely at Liu Meng. In her forties, her complexion was somewhat pale, and her eyes were slightly cloudy.
He leaned back into his chair with an easy smile, "You didn't want to see me just to break me and Xinxin up, did you?"
Liu Meng raised her eyebrows slightly, "You have some insight."
"Auntie, if you want me to do something, feel free to speak up." Lin Chuan threw out the question directly, not beating around the bush, playing it straight!
This direct approach by Lin Chuan was clearly unexpected by Liu Meng.
A hint of surprise flashed through her eyes, her expression quickly adjusted, and she began to smile, "Lin Chuan, you are indeed a smart man. I'm not trying to break you and Xinxin up; it's just that with your current status, you're not good enough for her."
"So what then?" Lin Chuan asked with a smile.
"So... Lin Chuan, why don't you work with me?" Liu Meng's mouth curved into a smile, "I'll lead you to a great business venture!"

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