At the start, I had to choose one of four options, and I immediately picked the Brahmin from the cou

Zheng Hao stood by the shoe cabinet, his back against the wall, barely daring to breathe. He had considered that his mother might know about Lin Miaomiao, but he hadn't expected Wang Qin to be so blunt, leaving him no room to lie.

"I'm not forcing you to break up with Lin Miaomiao. If you really like her, you can support her and pay for her education until she graduates, no problem. But you have to remember three things."

First, she can't go to Jiangyang. We don't want her to impulsively bring him back and become a laughingstock among our relatives and friends.

Second, you can't let her touch the Zheng family's money or business. She's just a student; she's not on your side.

Third, and most importantly—don't let her get pregnant. A girl like her, once she has a child, you'll never be able to get rid of her completely.

After Wang Qin finished speaking, she lifted her eyelids and glanced at him: "If you understand, just say so."

Zheng Hao lowered his head and hummed in response. This hum lacked any of the slickness he usually displayed when arguing back. He knew that in this family, once his mother got to this point, it was no longer a matter for discussion.

"Alright, stop making that sour face. Go take a shower first. Your dad's coming back soon, I won't let him yell at you."

Zheng Hao was completely convinced, and for the next few days, he stayed home obediently, which was unusual for him.

However, he quickly regained his usual lively spirit because Zhou Yanhuai had returned.

The day Zhou Yanhuai arrived in Jiangyang happened to coincide with the coldest cold wave since the beginning of winter.

The wind outside the high-speed rail station was so strong it made one's skin feel tight. Zheng Hao parked his car in a temporary parking space opposite the exit, turned the heater up to the maximum, and idly scrolled through his phone with an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth. Li Xiao sat in the passenger seat, replied to two messages to Sun Zaiquan, and then glanced up in the direction of the exit.

"When will Fatty Zhou arrive? It's been more than twenty minutes." Zheng Hao took the cigarette out of his mouth and twirled it between his fingers.

"Ten minutes late, they should have arrived by now."

"As soon as Li Xiao finished speaking, the electric doors at the exit swung open with a whoosh, and a few passengers, buffeted by the cold wind, walked out. Zheng Hao squinted and scanned the crowd, then suddenly slapped the steering wheel:

"Holy crap, isn't that Zhou Yanhuai?"

Li Xiao followed his gaze. A young man wearing a long black down jacket and a dark gray scarf was walking out with his head down, dragging a small black suitcase with his right hand and holding a mobile phone to his ear with his left hand, talking about something.

He was a head taller than he was six months ago. His once round face had become thinner with a clear jawline, and his shoulders were much thinner. The well-tailored down jacket made him look like a slender bamboo.

Zheng Hao rolled down the car window, stuck half his head out, and shouted, "Fatty Zhou! Over here!"

Zhou Yanhuai looked up and saw them, said "I'll hang up now" into the phone, then put the phone in his pocket and walked quickly towards them.

After he opened the car door and sat in the back seat, Zheng Hao looked him up and down several times, his expression shifting from surprise to disbelief, then to a sour feeling of being outdone, before finally managing to utter:

"Damn, Fatty Zhou, did you go to Jingcheng to study or get plastic surgery? You've lost weight, your whole demeanor has changed. Where's your belly now?"

"I lost weight by running. The school playground is far from the dormitory, so I walked there every day. I also played tennis with my classmates, and I lost weight by doing that."

Zhou Yanhuai took off his scarf, rubbed his fingers which were red from the cold, and spoke in his usual unhurried tone, but his voice was noticeably clearer than it had been six months ago. Zheng Hao felt increasingly uncomfortable looking at him, and turned back to add, "Oh no, I can't call you Fatty anymore. Now that you're back, I'm the roundest one."

Li Xiao chuckled and glanced at Zhou Yanhuai in the rearview mirror:

"These past six months in Beijing haven't been wasted. How were the classes?"

Zhou Yanhuai said, "It's alright. The major courses aren't too demanding, but there are a lot of lectures. I audited a few industrial economics lectures, and they were quite helpful. By the way, Xiao Ge, I've compiled the analysis on talent mobility in the intelligent equipment industry that you requested. I'll send it to your email later."

Zheng Hao chimed in from the side:

"You've been reporting on your work as soon as you got off the bus. Zhou Yanhuai, you've changed. You've become even more dedicated to your job than my dad."

Zhou Yanhuai replied with a smile:

"Working for Brother Xiao doesn't discriminate between holidays and days off."

The car departed from the high-speed rail station and entered the ring road. The cold wave drove pedestrians indoors, and the streetlights shone with a pale light in the damp, chilly air. Zhou Yanhuai folded his scarf and placed it on his lap, his gaze passing through the car window to the familiar yet unfamiliar county town outside.

Jiangyang has changed a lot in the past six months. The former wasteland in the south of the city has now been transformed into a cluster of factory buildings, with tower cranes still turning in the distance and construction lights shining on the exterior walls of several buildings.

Zhou Yanhuai looked at it for a while and said:

"When I left, there were corrugated steel sheet fences on both sides of this road. Now the streetlights have all been replaced."

"You haven't seen Xinglan yet. I'll take you for a walk around the park tomorrow when the weather is clear."

Zheng Hao turned the car onto a newly built side road. "Now you have to scan your face to get in and out there. My face wasn't even registered, so I had to ask Brother Xiao's people to open the door for me."

"You're not one of Xinglan's people, why should I record for you?" Li Xiao said.

"I'm a shareholder of Lansheng, after all. I even helped move the boxes for Xinglan Intelligent Manufacturing's prototype chassis."

Zheng Hao retorted stubbornly, "Besides, when Fatty Zhou comes back from Beijing, he'll have to see what we've accomplished in the past six months. We can't let him think we've been living a life of debauchery in the provincial capital every day."

"You dare to bring up those two empty boxes you moved?" Li Xiao chuckled, exposing him without any politeness.

The atmosphere in the carriage instantly relaxed because of that joke. Zhou Yanhuai leaned back in his leather seat, looking at Zheng Hao's embarrassed profile, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The tension he felt, forced to maintain a certain composure in the capital, finally eased little by little when he returned to Jiangyang and sat down next to his two brothers.

Zhou Yanhuai leaned back in his seat, his eyes looking out the window, but not at the scenery. He had actually been living a very stressful life in Beijing for the past six months.

The courses at Beijing University of Electronic Science and Technology were much more demanding than he had expected. Most of his classmates were top students from various provinces and cities, so even he was nothing special among them.

Running and tennis are less about losing weight and more about relieving stress. Only when the sweat has dried can he finally relax a little.

"You've suffered a lot these past six months, haven't you?" Li Xiao's voice came from the front row, calm, but Zhou Yanhuai could still detect a hint of concern in it.

Zhou Yanhuai looked away, smiled, and said with a hint of nonchalance, "It's alright. This is much easier than preparing for the college entrance exam in my senior year of high school."

"Stop being so stubborn."

Zheng Hao chuckled in the front seat and expertly turned the steering wheel.

"Look how fat you were back in your senior year of high school. Look at you now, you're as big as a scallion, and your eyes are even fiercer than before. Stop pretending to be relaxed."

Zhou Yanhua chuckled, lowered his head to straighten his cuffs, and didn't refute further.

In the melting pot of the capital, surrounded by so many outstanding talents, a moment's slackness would leave him behind. Only he knew the feeling of being chased by invisible pressure.

Zheng Hao slammed on the gas, breaking the brief silence in the car with a loud laugh: "Alright, enough of this tiring stuff! Tonight, our usual spot, it's on me, we're drinking until we drop! Fatty, you're not getting out of the drinking tonight!"

Zhou Yanhuai laughed and scolded, "Alright, I'll risk my life to keep you company tonight. But let me make it clear first, my alcohol tolerance hasn't increased along with my weight, so don't think I'm a spoilsport."

"What are you afraid of? With Brother Xiao backing you up, you're not going to be allowed to leave here unscathed."

Zheng Hao jerked the steering wheel, and the car smoothly turned into a familiar old street.

The barbecue restaurant on the street corner gleamed with its bright red signboard in the cold wind, exuding a lively, bustling atmosphere. Li Xiao shook his head in the passenger seat, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Drive slowly. I'll let you two have your fun tonight, but take it easy when you drink. Tomorrow I have to take him to Xinglan's park to see the new equipment."