26 1.1.26: Meet the Zhou Family III

Zhou Lang realized that her attention was on his brother and his fiancée, so he nudged her. Her glazed eyes blinked a few times and finally stared at him. For a flash of a second, Zhou Lang saw a type of repulse when she stared at him, but before he could contemplate, she blinked it away.

And in the place of her former, dazed, face, was replaced by her usual cold eyes that were semi-warm when regarding him. Zhou Lang smiled at her as he held her hand, fully aware that majority of their eyes were on them, especially his girlfriend.

Who could blame them? She was, after all, a heaven-defying beauty. After what seemed to be a few minutes of awkward silence, Zhou Elder finally cleared his throat and everyone's attention was on him.

"This family meeting was called for because of a very important reason." Even though Zhou Lang had a surprise for them, they would never call a family meeting for it. But Zhou Lang had already been notified of a family meeting hence wanting to take advantage of the opportunity, introducing Xiao Yunhua.

Zhou Elder continued, "As you all know, Zhou Ming, the Zhou family heir, has been on a business trip for a year or two now." Many nodded, including Zhou Eldress even though she didn't want to. All the Zhou grandchildren here weren't her biological grandchildren, as they all shared blood with that evil woman.

All except her precious Zhou Yaoyao, who was the daughter of her only child, Zhou Hua. Even though she didn't want for that woman's grandchild to be the heir to the entire Zhou fortune, she knew that she didn't have that much authority to change the fact. Besides, her daughter had not given birth to a son; her granddaughter was too naïve for the business world.

She could only endure with letting that woman's grandson becoming the heir. But even with such a fact, Ling Xiu—or commonly known as Zhou Eldress—was overjoyed knowing that the woman would never get acknowledged by her grandchildren because they didn't know that she existed.

Everyone except for Zhou Ming. The bastard was in his tweens and clearly remembered his grandmother being chased out and her replacing that woman. Even though Zhou Eldress has tried on multiple occasions to build a better relationship with the twenty-six year old heir, he would always coldly disregard her.

And even though Zhou Eldress knew why he hated her, she still blamed it on that woman. If it wasn't for the deceased bitch, then Zhou Ming wouldn't hate her as much as he did. Zhou Eldress' eyes fell upon the girl that Zhou Lang brought. Her glare filled with contempt and disgust. Surprisingly, the young woman, Xiahu Yunhua, reminded her of that woman.

She didn't know why, but with such a gut feeling that they were related in some way, she knew that Xiahu Yunhua could and should not stay! She would make sure of it.

"...Is coming back." Zhou Elder's words startled Zhou Eldress. Her snake-like eyes widened in horror. Zhou Ming was coming back?

"Yes, he is." Zhou Elder answered. Unknowingly, Zhou Eldress had voiced her question out loud.

Zhou Eldress' cold, snake-like eyes glazed deep in thought, as though she contemplated on things that could not be said aloud.

<<I would remember that name if I were you.>> Xiao Taotao's voice suddenly echoed in Xiao Yunhua's head.

'Why?' What was so special about Zhou Ming? She had never interacted with the man nor did she really involve him in any of her plans.

<<Host, you'll have to trust me! Zhou Ming will be something you'll have to remember for later on. As for the reason, I cannot say.>>

Xiao Yunhua didn't answer and zoned out the conversation that the Zhou family was having about the arrival of Zhou Ming. Even though Xiao Taotao already admitted that Zhou Ming was an important character, for now, he was too insignificant for her to worry and fawn about.

"Xiahu Yunhua..." An emotionless voice startled her and she snapped back into attention. Unsurprisingly, it was Zhou Eldress wanting to take advantage of her vulnerability and the fact that she was too busy lost in her thoughts.

"Yes?" She answered, as calmly as she could.

"So how did you and Lang'er meet?" An innocent question, but by the look in Zhou Eldress' eyes, it was almost as though the old woman was daring her to lie because she would be caught. Knowing that she couldn't keep it a secret forever, she could only admit the truth.

"In a nightclub." Gasps echoed right after she muttered those words.

A furious voice screeched, "I knew it! What a damned slut, shamelessly acting wanton and attention-seeking!" Once again, Xiao Yunhua wasn't surprised to hear such words from yet another opposer by the name of Zhou Yaoyao.

But unlike before, multiple people murmured their agreement alongside the bratty girl.

Xiao Yunhua could only roll her eyes. Jumping to conclusions after she only muttered a few words? How had Zhou Yaoyao survived in the big, harsh world by acting so dumb and cliché?

But the truth hit her in the gut faster than she expected: Zhou Yaoyao had family to protect her, she, Xiao Yunhua, had no one.

"Stop it! Yaoyao, you should let Little Beauty finish her words before jumping to conclusions!" As a good boyfriend and someone that genuinely loved Xiao Yunhua, Zhou Lang would of course defend her.

Hearing the nickname for the harlot, Zhou Yaoyao clenched her fists in aggravation. She opened her mouth to retort, but Zhou Elder raised a firm hand and silenced everyone there.

"Girl, to fully admit that you were in such a place unsuitable for young women to be—" Xiao Yunhua almost rolled her eyes again. What double standards were these? Wasn't he going to criticize his grandson too? Or is it because he's a healthy, young man that's bound to go to such places? "—shows that you aren't afraid of the consequences not really fear the Zhou family name."

Before Xiao Yunhua to defend herself, Zhou Elder continued, "I will not allow the Zhou family name to be sullied because my youngest grandson decided to get distracted by that type of girl."

"With all due respect," Xiao Yunhua interrupted as calmly as she could be, "making assumptions seems to also be part of the Zhou family way?"

"Atrocious!" Zhou Eldress snapped with anger. "You dare to insult us!?"

Xiao Yunhua ignored the old woman and continued, "We met because I work there—" As though sensing that another round of disapproval was going to begin, she quickly added, "—as an entertainer that doesn't do anything except sing."

"So, are you sure you're not a prostitute? Because I wouldn't be surprised if you were one." Zhou Yaoyao huffed quietly underneath her breath, earning her a giggle from Kang Yiyi. The two had never really gotten along, but as the saying goes: an enemy of an enemy is a friend.

And that's exactly how they saw Xiahu Yunhua...