Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 224 The Battle Begins: Qin Dong's Showdown, Huo Guan Joins the Fray

My current girlfriend!
These words really hit Dong Xuan where it hurts. As mentioned before, Dong Xuan's Achilles' heel is breaking up with Yan Li.

Dong Xuan had even talked to Yan Li before and learned that Qin Lan had taken advantage of their breakup (from Dong Xuan's perspective), which made her hate this matter even more.

In her mind, if she and Yan Li hadn't broken up, Qin Lan wouldn't have been involved, and neither would Fan Xiaopang and those other messy women.

The young couple lived happily together, and perhaps they are already married by now.

Yan Li is in this state because he's been seduced by these vixens.

Of course, Dong Xuan intentionally or unintentionally ignored why the two broke up back then.

Even if I remember, the blame still falls on Yellow Saint Cloth.

This little bitch was the first to lead Yan Li astray, causing their breakup and leading to all the subsequent events. That's why Dong Xuan hates Huang Shengyi the most, more than ten times more than Fan Xiaopang and Qin Lan combined.

However, Qin Lan, another beneficiary of the breakup, is making things difficult for Dong Xuan.

Dong Xuan sneered, "Yan Li's girlfriend? I've never heard of you."

As he spoke, he turned to Guan Yue and joined in, saying, "Old Guan, have you heard of it?"

Guan Yue and Dong Xuan, longtime friends, worked together seamlessly: "We've never even heard of any rumors about them, who knows where this wild gossip came from?"

“You haven’t heard of me, but I’ve heard of you.”

Qin Lan looked at Dong Xuan and said, word by word, "The officially recognized ex-girlfriend."

The words "ex-girlfriend" were pronounced with particular deliberate care, making Dong Xuan's temples throb. She gritted her teeth and said...

"Whether she's an ex-girlfriend or a current girlfriend, Yan Li accepts it. Who do you think you are? Does anyone even know who you are?"

Qin Lan used her "ex-girlfriend" to annoy Dong Xuan, and Dong Xuan retaliated by using Qin Lan's "invisibility" to stab her in the heart.

Regardless of the circumstances, Dong Xuan and Yan Li have both acknowledged their relationship, and everyone knows about it.

The relationship between Qin Lan and Yan Li is still only known to a few people, and although there are occasional revelations online, they do not have much impact.

So they both knew about their relationship, but in terms of their public identities, Qin Lan was "unworthy" of confronting Dong Xuan.

Guan Yue, protective of her best friend, stepped forward and fired back: "All sorts of random women are crowding around here. They should know their place."

Dong Xuan had someone to protect her, and Qin Lan didn't come alone either; Huo Siyan jumped in to take over.

"Who are you talking about? An ex-girlfriend is an ex-girlfriend, it's all in the past, why are you being so dramatic?"

It would have been fine if it were anyone else, but when Dong Xuan saw that it was Huo Siyan, the little bastard she had dealt with before, she spoke coldly and rudely.

"You haven't learned your lesson yet, have you? You need to be taught a lesson again, huh?"

Huo Siyan still had some psychological trauma from Dong Xuan, and was a little timid when she actually faced her, so Qin Lan had to step in to protect her.

"What are you doing, gangsters?"

Looking at Huo Siyan, who seemed a bit listless, Qin Lan felt truly exhausted.

This piece of trash is all talk and no action. He's great at bragging and instigating behind the scenes, but when it comes to actually doing something, he's nothing.

Apart from Wang Ou, who avoided the fight, Qin Lan led her to fight two matches, one against Dong Xuan and the other against Fan Xiaopang. Huo Siyan, whether due to psychological trauma or she was simply useless, was instantly defeated.

Looking at Guan Yue, who was full of fighting spirit next to Dong Xuan, I understood the importance of good teammates even more.

Fortunately, Huo Siyan wasn't alone today; Ma Yili was also there.

Qin Lan gave the other party a wink, "Old Ma, go!"

Ma Yili was conflicted. It was true that she and Qin Lan were good friends, but she really didn't want to get involved in these things.

She actually knew Dong Xuan, though they weren't close, but they had interacted before. She was reluctant to speak ill of her or offend her for no reason.

There's also Tong Dawei. The two have a good relationship. Wen Zhang and she were able to get roles in "Struggle" thanks in part to each other. Now that he's directly fighting with someone else's girlfriend, how will they get along on set in the future?

Huo Siyan, a bachelor, is determined to cling to Qin Lan's coattails, while Ma Yili has a successful career and good interpersonal relationships.

Although I am willing to befriend Qin Lan, it doesn't mean I'm completely tied to her.

After much hesitation, Ma Yili still intervened, but not to help Qin Lan; she tried to mediate the fight.

"Everyone's here to visit the set, there's no need to cause trouble. Give me and Dawei some face, let's be amicable..."

Ma Yili not only tried to mediate herself, but also pulled Tong Dawei along to persuade them. After all, both sides had come to visit the set because of them, so it was appropriate for her to act as a mediator and smooth things over.

Reminded by Ma Yili, Tong Dawei quickly stepped in to offer his advice.

The women were arguing earlier, and it wasn't really appropriate for him, a grown man, to get involved.

If it were anyone else, he would definitely side with Dong Xuan and his girlfriend, but Qin Lan's identity is too sensitive.

The conflict between Qin and Dong is an internal affair of Yan Li's family, so it's understandable that a few close friends would chime in to support them.

How can a grown man like him handle this? What if Qin Lan complains to Yan Li that he's bullying people? What if Yan Li can't get what he wants and takes it out on him?

So Tong Dawei could only watch from the sidelines, not daring to get involved easily.

But now Ma Yili has provided an idea, which finally gives Tong Dawei room to maneuver.

If it's inconvenient to participate in the fighting, you can always break up a fight.

Anyone with experience knows that when it comes to arguments, the worst thing is when people around you egg them on and join in. The argument gets more and more heated, and it's not uncommon for people to start fighting.

However, if someone tries to break up the fight and cool things down, it will have a certain effect on most of the parties involved, except for a few who get carried away and become even more enthusiastic the more you try to stop them.

Qin Lan didn't want to compete with Dong Xuan, but she was forced into the position and couldn't back down, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and go on.

Needless to say, Dong Xuan was in a completely unexpected situation, a chance encounter on a narrow road, so she definitely couldn't back down.

We had a brief exchange and I realized the other party was no pushover.

Either continue the fight and tear each other apart in public, or go back to the right path, go home, and talk about it later.

These two choices were not difficult for Dong Qin, and he prepared to follow the steps suggested by Tong and Ma.

"We're on someone else's film set today, so don't interfere with their business. We'll settle any scores later."

"Okay, I'll give Lao Ma and Dawei some face, but remember, this isn't over."

Dong Xuan and Qin Lan each made some harsh remarks and then prepared to leave.

At this moment, a petite girl came from the direction of the parking lot. Seeing the crowd, she ran over with some surprise.

"Wow, everyone's here, it's so lively."

Li Xiaolu is a popular young actress and also an actress in the TV series "Struggle". She is playful and good at socializing.

She knew almost everyone present today.

Tong and Ma need no introduction, they were in the same production crew. The one they were closest to was Huo Siyan. The two met through Li Xiaolu's boyfriend, Li Chen. They were both good at making friends, and they would go out for meals and shopping together. They had a good relationship.

Qin Lan also met Li through Huo Siyan, but they only went shopping together and weren't very close.

Dong Xuan was a little better off than her. The two had met at a birthday party for one of Dong Xuan's college classmates, and Guan Yue had also met Li Xiaolu at that time.

Afterwards, Li Xiaolu took the initiative to ask Dong Xuan to hang out, and Dong Xuan accepted the invitation twice. Their relationship was okay, but not particularly deep.

That's where things went wrong!

They knew each other but weren't very close, which led Li Xiaolu to believe she could talk to anyone, but she didn't really understand the inside story.

For example, regarding Dong Xuan and Yan Li's relationship, she only knew about his ex-girlfriend and was unaware of their actual relationship.

Qin Lan and Yan Li were completely unaware of the situation. They had only met once, and although Huo Siyan had a good relationship with her, she couldn't reveal Qin Lan's background to everyone.

If you want to curry favor with someone powerful, you have to keep your mouth shut. Huo Siyan wouldn't easily talk about Qin Lan's affairs to outsiders.

There was only one person who was certain she wanted to bring into the group of sisters, Xiong Naijin. She only revealed this after getting Qin Lan's consent, while Zhao Ke, having filmed "The Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty," already knew what was going on.

I was unaware of the conflict between the two parties, and since my mother, who had just come to visit the set, wasn't on set and didn't know the background, I was also unaware of the situation.

Seeing the group gathered there, Li Xiaolu assumed they were chatting and relaxing in the cool air, and clamored to be included.

"Sister Lan, Sister Xuan, it's been a long time! Don't leave later, I'll treat everyone to dinner so we can all get together."

"..."

Ma Yili was stunned. The event was almost over, and you're piling everything together again. She quickly said.

"We'll get together again next time. We're all quite busy, so it's time to head back."

"No way! It's only a few o'clock. It's a rare opportunity to visit the set. You've all finished talking, and I haven't even seen you yet. Nobody's leaving. I'm going to ask Director Zhao for leave. We're not leaving until we're drunk tonight."

Li Xiaolu is quite famous and comes from a wealthy family. Her grandfather and father were both production managers and directors at the August First Film Studio, and her mother was an actress before going into business. Her family's connections in the industry may not be the strongest, but they are certainly much better than those of the average actor.

Everyone else, including Tong Dawei, was on high alert in front of Zhao Baogang, but she alone could be a little willful because of her family's relationship with him.

Li Xiaolu's insistence on keeping people from leaving involved privacy, and Ma Yili couldn't say it outright.

Finally, Dong Xuan, who had been silent all along, spoke up and brought the matter to light.

"Lulu, I appreciate your kind offer, but I just can't sit at the same table with certain people. Let's skip this time, I'll treat you next time."

Qin Lan was furious. "If you're going to refuse, then refuse. Why drag me into this?" she said directly.

"Xiaolu, if someone doesn't want to go, fine, I'll eat with you. If you don't get along with someone, don't bother with them in the future."

Dong Xuan looked at Qin Lan coldly: "I'm not going, you go. You just grab whatever others don't want and stuff it into your arms. You really love eating leftovers."

Qin Lan raised an eyebrow and said sarcastically, "Oh, that's still better than going back to what you already have. You eat it, spit it out, and then eat it back again. Are you asking me to eat leftovers? Are you eating swill?"

"Who are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you!"

The fact that Dong and Qin just stepped down doesn't mean they've calmed down. On the contrary, they're both brewing their own plans, originally intending to go home or target someone.

Li Xiaolu's intervention caused a slight delay.

It was like blowing a strong wind on a extinguished fire; the ashes scattered, the sparks reignited, and the momentum was even stronger, with the two of them dealing even more damage than before.

Seeing Dong and Qin start arguing again, Li Xiaolu was dumbfounded. What was going on? They had just started fighting.

However, there's a lot of information here.

Ma Yili cursed inwardly, but could only go up and continue to stop them. However, the same excuse could only be used once, so the effect was greatly reduced.

Dong Xuan pushed Ma Yili, who was trying to mediate the fight, aside and pointed at Qin Lan's nose, cursing her.

"I've put up with you for a long time, and you, a mistress, are showing off to me like this."

Qin Lan spat at Ma Yili across the table: "I was in a serious relationship with Yan Li. You're shameless. You're still entangled with him after we broke up. You're the homewrecker."

While the main characters were arguing, their teammates weren't going to hold back either; Guan Yue immediately started yelling at Huo Siyan.

"It's like a broken pot with a broken lid; what kind of people associate with each other? They're a pair of scoundrels born from the same source."

Huo Siyan had a phobia of Dong Xuan, but she wasn't afraid of Guan Yue. So what if she was Tong Dawei's girlfriend? She had someone protecting her, so she wasn't afraid of Tong. Thus, she retorted sarcastically.

"You're no match for me. You're like two dung beetles who've become sworn brothers and ended up in a stinky pile."

"You little bitch, you dare to challenge me?"

"So what? You're just a lackey, what the hell are you so great about?"

Dong Xuan and Qin Lan still had some reservations, so they just argued back and forth.

Guan Yue wasn't so good-tempered. When she got angry, she reached out and scratched Huo Siyan. Huo Siyan wasn't intimidated either and went up to grab her hair.

Fortunately, Tong Dawei was there. He quickly picked up Guan Yue and shouted at Li Xiaolu, "Aren't you just going to stand by and watch? Stop them!"

"Oh."

Li Xiaolu responded and stepped forward to pull Huo Siyan along. She looked like she was putting in a lot of effort, but in reality, she wasn't using any strength at all. Her eyes were slightly excited, as if she wanted to start a fight to watch the show.

Because Li Xiaolu was holding back, Huo Siyan took the initiative. Although she didn't hit Guan Yue, she managed to hit Tong Dawei a few times.

Guan Yue became even more anxious. How dare that little bitch hit my man!
Ignoring Tong Dawei's attempts to stop her, Guan Yue kicked Huo Siyan with her feet. Tong Dawei, fearing that Guan Yue would fall, could only hug and hold her, allowing Guan Yue to play freely without worrying about falling.

Huo Siyan was greedy for quick success and acted rashly, not expecting Guan Yue to come up with this trick, and was kicked right in the face.

Li Xiaolu steadied him and quietly reminded him, "Use your bag."

Huo Siyan suddenly realized what was happening, took the bag off her shoulder, and used it as a meteor hammer to hit Guan Yue's leg.

Seeing that Guan Yue had already made her move, Dong Xuan rolled up her sleeves, ready to join the fray. Qin Lan, worried about her good friend, pulled off her bag, grabbed it, and rushed forward.

Ma Yili was almost in tears; these aunties were all more troublesome than the last.

Li Xiaolu almost burst out laughing. On the surface, she was trying to break up the fight, but in reality, she wished she could secretly kick him a couple of times.

The most unlucky one was Tong Dawei, who was surrounded by several women and became their shield. While the women didn't get much of the damage, he took most of the harm.

As the physical altercation intensified, a Mercedes-Benz G-Class sped toward them.

"Fuck!"

Li Xiaolu thought they were going to crash into each other, so she quickly called for them to get out of the way. However, when the people saw the car, their expressions turned rather grim.

laugh--

The G-Class made a slightly screeching tire screech and stopped a few meters away from the group. Then, a tall young man in casual clothes got out of the car. It was Yan Li.

After glancing at the situation, especially at the slightly disheveled appearance of the group, Yan Li understood what was going on, and his face darkened.

Looking at Qin Lan and Dong Xuan, he squeezed out a sentence: "Let's go home."

Dong Xuan and Qin Lan exchanged a glance but neither moved. Yan Li held up three fingers.

"If I count to three and they still don't reply, then don't reply at all, one..."

"If I don't want to reply, then I won't."

Guan Yue was indignant at Yan Li's domineering attitude; today's situation was all because of him, so she couldn't help but speak out.

Yan Li glanced at her indifferently, ignoring her completely, and then continued to bend his second finger.

"two."

Guan Yue wanted to speak, but Tong Dawei covered her mouth. Ma Yili tugged at Qin Lan, who, seeing that Dong Xuan hadn't moved, also gritted her teeth and stood still. Seeing that she didn't move, Dong Xuan pursed her lips and stubbornly remained still.

"three."

After Yan Li finished counting, seeing the two of them looking like this, he turned around and got into the car without saying a word.

Seeing that Yan Li was about to drive away, Qin Lan panicked and couldn't hold back. She quickly stepped forward. Seeing her move, Dong Xuan, who had been holding back for so long, also strode towards the car.

Both of them had their eyes on the passenger seat. Qin Lan opened the door to get in, but Dong Xuan grabbed the door. They glared at each other, neither willing to give in.

Yan Li looked at the two of them and said, "Go sit in the back." Qin and Dong exchanged a glance and fell into a stalemate again. This time, Yan Li didn't waste any words. He grabbed one of them with each hand and pulled them into the car, giving them a warning.

"No hitting, no arguing."

After getting the two into the car, Yan Li took the car keys from their bags, turned around and came over to the group, first giving Qin Lan's car keys to Huo Siyan.

"Help your sister Lan drive the car back."

Huo Siyan said it was no problem. Yan Li then looked at Guan Yue, who didn't say anything but simply reached out and took the key.

If Yan Li still complains, Dong Xuan will already be in the car. If she speaks up now, she'll only cause trouble for her best friend. She should just keep quiet.

Yan Li looked at Tong Dawei, who had several footprints on his body, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "You've worked hard."

He then said to Ma Yili and Li Xiaolu, "I'm sorry, you two must have laughed at me."

"fine."

Ma Yili waved her hand and even interceded on your behalf: "It's just a small conflict, nothing serious. Don't get too upset, just go back and talk it over."

Yan Li nodded, apologized and thanked everyone again, and said that he would treat them to a meal to make amends when he had the chance in the future. He also hoped that everyone would stop spreading family scandals.

After receiving nods of approval from everyone, Yan Li turned and got into the car. Seeing Dong and Qin each sitting in a corner of the back seat with cold expressions, he honked the horn and drove away.

...

After Yan Li left, the group exchanged glances and then went their separate ways.

Tong Dawei and Guan Yue walked back. Guan Yue reached out to brush the dirt off him. While urging Yan Li on, she was also worried about whether Dong Xuan would be bullied.

"Stop meddling. It's a willing transaction. Dong Xuan herself didn't say anything, so why are you arguing with Yan Li?"

"I can't stand his attitude. Even though everything started because of him, he still acts like he's accusing someone. What kind of person is he?"

"You need to change your mindset."

Tong Dawei advised his girlfriend, "You can't keep treating Yan Li like he was a poor kid in college. He's a big boss now. If Dong Xuan gets angry with him, she might lose him, and that would just benefit the Qin guy for nothing."

As mentioned before, Guan Yue knew Yan Li for a very long time and witnessed his entire university journey firsthand.
Therefore, they prefer to place the two people on a more equal footing, thus ignoring the current real gap between Yan and Dong.

Although Guan Yue's attitude has changed somewhat in the past two years as Yan Li's career has continued to improve, and her tolerance for Yan Li has increased, deeply ingrained ideas cannot be eliminated overnight. In addition, she was still angry today and acted impulsively, which is why she confronted Yan Li.

Now that things have come to this, she feels a little regretful, fearing it might affect Dong Xuan.

Tong Dawei didn't take it seriously. He felt that Yan Li wouldn't blame Guan and Dong for such a small matter.

Even if it has an impact, Dong Xuan won't blame Guan Yue, after all, Guan Yue just spoke up for her and even fought for her.

This kind of best friend relationship is really worrying for him. If he and Guan Yue quarrel later, Dong Xuan will have to fight him to the death.

I don't have Yan Li's abilities!

Thinking back to when Yan Li counted to three, Qin Dong, who had been arguing and fighting just moments before, obediently got into the car and left with him, a hint of envy flashed in Tong Dawei's eyes.

"A man should be like this!"

"What did you say?"

The voice was too soft for Guan Yue to hear clearly, but Tong Dawei forced a smile and said, "I mean, I'm still the best, good or bad, you don't need to fight."

"Hmph, all men are the same, they turn bad when they have money, and you're no better."

Guan Yue pursed her lips, but then reached out and rubbed Tong Dawei's arm, as someone had scratched it earlier.

Damn it, so it's not their man, they really don't feel any pain in hitting him...

On the other side, Ma Yili left with Huo Siyan and Li Xiaolu and arrived at the parking lot.

Seeing that Huo Siyan was having some trouble reversing, Li Xiaolu, who considered herself a better driver, offered to take Huo Siyan home.

Ma Yili nodded. Just before getting into the car, she pulled Huo Siyan as if to say something, but in the end, she sighed and waved for them to leave.

Whether it was an argument or a fight, Ma Yili had a thousand reasons, but what she did was beneficial to the overall situation and Qin Lan.

But they were all good friends. Guan Yue and Huo Siyan would stand up for Qin and Dong whenever something happened, while Ma Yili was trying to break up the fight. Compared to them, Ma Yili knew she had definitely lost points.

It's unclear what Qin Lan is thinking, but Huo Siyan's attitude towards her is clearly cold.

"Oh dear, what kind of mess is this?"

Ma Yili felt that Chun Chun was an innocent victim. She was filming a movie and encountered a lot of problems. In the end, she did her best but got no credit. She was so annoyed.

In the car, Li Xiaolu started gossiping with Huo Siyan about Qin Dongyan.

I just broke up the fight and roughly understand what happened, but I'm still not entirely clear on the details. The fact that he offered to take Huo Siyan there shows he was just there to watch the drama unfold.

Huo and she already had a good relationship, and Li Xiaolu's leniency and reminders during the fight made Huo Siyan feel that Li Xiaolu was one of her own.

Since Li Xiaolu had already witnessed Qin Dong's fight, and couldn't hide it from her, Huo Siyan simply told her what she could.

Of course, Huo Siyan's statement is highly subjective, praising Qin and belittling Dong.

Even though Li Xiaolu didn't know much about the matter before, she sensed that something was amiss.

After all, she had dealt with Dong Xuan before, and the other party was clearly not like the "vicious woman" Huo Siyan described.

But Li Xiaolu didn't say anything, just listened to the gossip, her expression gradually becoming animated, asking a few questions from time to time, and finally expressing a slightly satisfied and sentimental sentiment.

"They really know how to play!"

Compared to Qin Lan and Dong Xuan, Li Xiaolu is now more interested in Yan Li.

He's a womanizer, always looking for something better, always having his cake and eating it too. This man is no good.

However, on the other hand, this kind of bad boy is indeed quite exciting and flavorful.

Recalling Yan Li's domineering manner in counting to three before getting into the car, Li Xiaolu's eyes flickered. If it were her boyfriend, Li Chen, he definitely wouldn't have that kind of aura and courage.

Hmph, he wouldn't even dare to two-time, otherwise she'd cut that thing off him...

Unsure of Qin Lan's intentions, Huo Siyan did not have Li Xiaolu take her to Qin Lan's place, but instead went to her own home.

Li Xiaolu didn't leave after seeing the person off, saying she was happy today and wanted to get together with Huo Siyan.

Huo Siyan felt that Li Xiaolu was loyal enough, and given all that had happened today, she had a lot to say but hadn't had enough to talk about, so she readily agreed.

The two bought cooked food, cold dishes, and wine, and then ate, drank, and chatted at Huo Siyan's house.

The two women were having a great time eating and drinking, while the atmosphere was rather tense for Yan Li and the other two who had been driving around in circles since leaving the "Struggle" crew.

Qin and Dong remained silent during their cold war, and Yan Li also kept quiet, so they just lingered on the road, since he had nothing to do today anyway.

More than half an hour had passed, and Yan Li was considering refueling when they passed a public restroom. Dong Xuan couldn't help but speak up.

"Stop, I need to use the restroom."

Qin Lan muttered to herself, "Lazy donkeys produce a lot of excrement and urine."

Dong Xuan didn't tolerate her at all and retorted directly: "It's still better than you eating without excreting."

Yan Li patted the armrest box: "If you keep nagging, I'll throw both of you out. I'll walk by myself."

Dong Xuan complained, "You're never going to stop scaring people."

Qin Lan also said, "That's right. We were giving you face just now. Did you really think we were afraid of you?"

"Alright, there are no outsiders here, you two don't need to give me face, get out of the car, I'm going home for dinner."

Dong Xuan and Qin Lan remained silent. This fight had indeed gone a bit too far, and they weren't sure if Yan Li was genuinely angry or just trying to control them.

If they're really angry and continue arguing, wouldn't that just benefit the guy surnamed Fan for nothing?

To be honest, whether it's Dong Xuan or Qin Lan, they both consider Fan Xiaopang to be their biggest enemy.

That vixen put too much pressure on them!
If it were Fan Xiaopang who was fighting them today, Yan Li's three-count technique might not have been as effective.

But with Fan Xiaopang absent, the situation became one where the fisherman could reap the benefits, and neither of them dared to gamble.

Forget about losing the bet; if that vixen manages to gain the upper hand, they'll be in for a world of hurt.

Seeing that the two had behaved themselves, Yan Li's expression softened slightly.

In this situation, it's important to strike a balance between tension and relaxation.

The two had a fight, and while he lacked confidence, he was also in the wrong. As the instigator of everything, Yan Li always knew his place.

So it's fine to intimidate them and deflate their arrogance, but you can't keep putting pressure on them, otherwise things could easily go wrong and end up backfire on him.

"Just bear with it for a bit, come to my house, and have a meal with my parents while you're there."

Yan Li felt he had given them enough of a warning and considered using this opportunity to test their limits.

He understood that both of them wanted to become Yan family daughters-in-law, but whether they could become Yan family daughters-in-law harmoniously was something Yan Li wanted to understand and facilitate.

"..."

Qin and Dong were both a little uneasy when they heard that they were going to Yangjiaodeng Hutong, but due to the pressure from Yan Li and because they didn't want to show weakness in front of him, neither of them objected.

When they arrived at the courtyard house in Yangjiaodeng Hutong, only Zhang Hong and Comrade Lao Yan were home.

The two were watching TV, and CCTV-6 was broadcasting the movie "Raise Your Hands," in which Pan Changjiang played a Japanese soldier being chased by a stone roller.

The couple laughed heartily, but when they saw Qin Lan and Dong Xuan enter together, their smiles instantly froze on their faces.

"Mom and Dad, Huanhuan and Lanlan have come to see you."

Yan Li pronounced Dong Xuan's nickname smoothly, but Qin Lan's "Lanlan" sounded a bit awkward, mainly because he didn't call her that name often enough.

However, since her parents called her by Dong Xuan's nickname, they couldn't call Qin Lan by her full name, so they simply used her nickname.

"Oh, please sit down."

Zhang Hong realized what was happening, invited them to sit down, and chatted with them somewhat haltingly.

Well, Zhang Hong had seen her two daughters-in-law quite a bit during this period and was fairly familiar with them, but the key was that they had never met together before, so she was inevitably a little reserved and nervous.

After chatting for a few minutes, Dong Xuan went to the restroom. Yan Li had let her go when she came in, but she didn't want to let the man surnamed Qin go first, so she held back until now.

However, once she left, Qin Lan still seized the opportunity to fawn over Zhang Hong.

“Auntie, Yan Li told me you were talking about me. I've missed you too. A friend of mine recently gave me a beauty salon card. I'll take you there for a pampering treatment sometime…”

Zhang Hong smiled. She had some opinions about Fan Xiaopang, liked Dong Xuan, but did not reject Qin Lan.

Well, although Qin Lan doesn't have the prestige of being a university teacher, Zhang Hong still approves of her in many aspects, such as personality, appearance, and family background.

In Zhang Hong's heart, it would be best if Dong Xuan became her daughter-in-law, but she wouldn't object if it were Qin Lan.

As for Fan Xiaopang... if her son really likes it, there's nothing she can do, but she has reservations about it...

After a while, Dong Xuan returned and, seeing the two chatting happily, immediately stepped forward to speak.

“Auntie, Yanli said you’ve been talking about me at home. Why don’t you call me? I can come see you after work.”

Why do I keep nagging like this!
Zhang Hong glanced at her son and thought, "This little bastard is such a burden to his mother."

Yan Li coughed lightly: "I'll go out and look for where my grandma is."

Yan Li slipped away, with Old Yan following closely behind: "There will be a lot of people tonight, I'll go check if we have enough food."

Zhang Hong: "..."

There really isn't a single good person in the Yan family!

However, even if the Yan family father and son didn't hide, Qin Lan and Dong Xuan's primary target would still be her or Grandma Yan.

After all, the purpose of coming to this family is to build a good relationship with Yan Li's elders. There's no need to pay attention to Yan Li. But since Old Yan is the father-in-law, it's not appropriate for the daughter-in-law to get too close. So, she can only try to get close to her mother-in-law and grandmother.

Zhang Hong had no choice but to deal with the flattery and fawning of her two daughters-in-law.

To be honest, although being surrounded by her two daughters-in-law was a bit of a headache, Zhang Hong also felt a little bit of secret pleasure.

This is what it means to be a mother-in-law!

Grandma Yan's three daughters-in-law were never this filial to her in her old age.

Her sister-in-law, Yan Li's aunt, also had a daughter-in-law who was no pushover. Yan Li's cousin, Yan Yi, was completely under his wife's thumb, and Yan Li's aunt often complained to her that her son had forgotten his mother after getting married.

The situation is pretty much the same on the mother's side. Everyone says there are a lot of wicked mothers-in-law in the countryside, but conversely, there are also quite a few daughters-in-law who are in charge of the household. There are even cases where mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law fight and the mother-in-law is kicked out of the house.

Zhang Hong's preference for obedient and well-behaved daughters-in-law stemmed from her having witnessed too many mothers-in-law being bullied by their daughters-in-law, and she was unwilling to follow in their footsteps.

But now it seems she doesn't need to worry about these things. Her son can handle it, so she can enjoy the good life.

However, Zhang Hong put the idea aside after finishing dinner.

There aren't enough rooms in the courtyard house, mainly because Chairman Qin is too delicate and doesn't want to share a bed with Yan Li.

So Yan Li decided to take Dong Xuan and Qin Lan home, but just like last time when he took Dong Xuan and Fan Xiaopang home, the question of who should go first became a source of conflict for the two girls.

Yan Li once again brought his parents to vouch for him, indicating that he would absolutely abide by the rules.

Dong Xuan blinked, indicating that she was willing to trust her uncle and aunt, and took the initiative to show good manners by letting Yan Li take Qin Lan first.

After Yan Li returned from Qin Lan's place, he picked up Dong Xuan and took her home. About an hour later, Qin Lan called Zhang Hong, saying that Yan Li hadn't called her to say whether he had returned home or not, and she was worried that something might have happened to him on the way, so she wanted to inquire.

"Uh, you're back. I think you're asleep. I'll have him call you back tomorrow."

After dealing with Qin Lan, Zhang Hong turned to Lao Yan and said, "Let's pack up and go back to our hometown in a couple of days. If we stay any longer, I'll ruin my reputation of half a lifetime."

That little bastard lies himself, fine, but he even used his wife and son as guarantors. What will they look like when the truth comes out?

Comrade Lao Yan nodded in deep agreement: "Let's go back. I can't keep up with bringing these little bastards home two by two."

"Look at the two of you, so pathetic."

Grandma Yan tapped her cane and glanced at her son and daughter-in-law with disdain.

Zhang Hong said quietly, "If you're not scared, you can stay by yourself. But I'm warning you, if the three of them bump into each other one day, your old arms and legs won't be able to handle it."

"Yes."

Comrade Old Yan patted his belly and said, "And I think that little bastard is definitely holding back. Who knows, he might suddenly have a fourth or fifth one."

"..."

Grandma Yan was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "The Lesser Fullness of Grain is coming soon, followed by the Grain in Ear, it's time to harvest the wheat."

“We didn’t plant wheat, and besides, it’s still more than half a month until the Grain in Ear solar term.”

Comrade Lao Yan said that this reason was not sufficient, and Zhang Hong patted him: "My family grows wheat. Yan Li hasn't been to the fields for so long, how would he remember when to harvest wheat?"

Grandma Yan tapped her cane and said decisively, "That's it, let's go home and harvest wheat."

(End of this chapter)