Why did the system take my request to take photos with a cosplayer seriously?

Ding Heng nodded slightly.

Lin Man took Ding Heng's arm: "Perfect timing. My boyfriend has been saying he wanted to meet his grandfather for a while, but it was too sudden and we didn't even prepare a gift."

"Why are you being so polite with your grandfather, child?"

Geng Rui turned and walked into the elevator, and the two followed.

As the elevator ascends, the numbers on it jump one by one.

Lin Man turned to look at Ding Heng and lowered her voice: "Boss, what if Grandpa asks about this later..."

"rest assured."

Ding Heng patted the back of her hand: "I know what I'm doing."

The elevator stopped on the fourth floor, directly opposite a mahogany door.

Geng Rui pushed open the door and stepped aside to let the two of them go in first.

It's not a large space; it's a small tea room.

By the window, an old man sat in a wheelchair, looking down and playing with the white cat in his arms.

He was seventy-eight years old, with completely white hair, but he was in very good spirits. Not only did he have few wrinkles on his face, but his eyes were also bright and piercing.

Hearing the noise, the old man turned around and smiled.

"Xiaoman is here?"

"Grandpa."

Lin Man stepped forward and stopped.

Lin Fengnian asked with a smile, "You little rascal, how long has it been since you came back to see me?"

"I'm sorry, Grandpa."

Lin Man lowered her head: "I'm too busy, I can't get away."

"Busy? Busy with what?"

Lin Fengnian chuckled wryly and joked, "Busy arguing with your family?"

Lin Man didn't say anything.

Lin Fengnian sighed and turned his gaze to Ding Heng.

Who is this?

Hello, Grandpa.

Ding Heng stepped forward, neither humble nor arrogant: "Ding Heng, Xiao Man's boyfriend."

"Oh?"

Lin Fengnian carefully examined Ding Heng, then pointed to the coffee table: "Sit down, everyone, sit down and chat... Ah Mei, make some tea!"

A gentle-looking nanny named Amei emerged from the corner. She was in her early twenties, dressed in a simple cheongsam, and knelt beside the coffee table to begin serving.

Warming the cup, adding tea leaves, rinsing the tea, and brewing—the movements are fluid and graceful.

Lin Fengnian picked up his teacup and took a small sip.

“Girl, girl, you either don’t come back at all, or when you do, you bring your uncle a big gift.”

His tone was flat, revealing neither joy nor anger: "There's an old saying that a person has two major hurdles after sixty, and then seventy-three and eighty-four. I'm seventy-eight this year. If you guys mess with me a few more times, I don't know if I'll be able to hit the second hurdle."

"Grandpa, you will live to be a hundred years old."

Lin Man tried to ease the tension: "As for what happened yesterday..."

"okay."

Lin Fengnian waved his hand, interrupting her: "I called you here today not because of that trivial family matter from yesterday."

He put down his teacup, his gaze shifting between Ding Heng and Lin Man.

"Ding Heng, right?"

"Grandpa can just call me Xiao Ding."

"Let's call you Ding Heng. You have too much influence; I can't accept that title..."

As the absolute culprit, Ding Heng's displeasure with Lin Fengnian was obvious.

But before they could figure out the other party's background, they dared not offend them rashly.

"Xiaoman told me you run an investment company in Hong Kong?"

"Minor trouble."

"You're being modest."

Lin Fengnian picked up his teacup and took another sip: "You're quite something for your age."

"Just luck."

"This kind of luck is something that not everyone can have."

Lin Fengnian looked Ding Heng up and down again: "What does your family do?"

“My dad is a photographer, and my mom has passed away.”

"An ordinary family?"

"Correct."

"An ordinary family opening an investment company in Hong Kong?"

Lin Feng snorted lightly, his tone not one of inquiry but rather of teasing.

Did Ding Heng think he was a three-year-old child?

A commotion arose downstairs; the birthday banquet had officially begun.

Through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the tea room, you can overlook the entire banquet hall.

The banquet, with its eighty-eight tables, was packed to capacity.

Lin Zefu stood in front of the main table, exchanging pleasantries with several guests, his smile polite and his demeanor composed.

The two brothers, Lin Zhiyuan and Lin Zhihong, followed behind him, chatting and laughing as if nothing had happened yesterday.

Lin Fengnian looked down at his eldest son's family and sighed with emotion.

"Xiaoman! Grandpa doesn't blame you for what happened yesterday. In the end, it was their family's own fault."

Lin Fengnian quickly changed the subject: "But as the saying goes... family scandals shouldn't be aired in public. If you have any grievances or complaints, can't you come back and talk to your grandfather? Why make such a big fuss? It won't do you any good, for me, for your uncle, or for our family."

Lin Man was about to reply when Ding Heng spoke first.

"Grandpa came to mediate?"

Lin Fengnian's eyes suddenly sharpened, but his tone remained calm.

"Harmony in the family brings prosperity in all things."

"Harmony in the family brings prosperity in all things..."

Ding Heng questioned, "When Xiaoman was bullied as a child, why didn't your grandfather advocate for harmony and prosperity in the family? When her mother was in prison and relatives robbed her of her family fortune, why didn't your grandfather advocate for harmony and prosperity in the family?"

The tea room fell silent for a moment.

Geng Rui paused for a moment while pouring tea, but quickly resumed her normal actions.

The nanny, Amei, lowered her head, pretending not to hear anything.

Lin Fengnian didn't speak, he just quietly looked at Ding Heng.

Ding Heng met his gaze without flinching.

A few seconds later, Lin Feng let out a light laugh.

"Girl."

He finally looked at Lin Man: "Is this also your idea? You resent your grandfather?"

Lin Man lowered her head and did not answer, handing over the right to speak entirely to Ding Heng.

Lin Fengnian finally understood.

He's found a good backer for his granddaughter and is preparing to settle accounts with his relatives.

He chuckled again and shook his head.

"alright."

He lifted the white cat off his lap and placed it on the ground.

"No matter how much I say, it's useless."

The white cat meowed once and strolled away.

Lin Fengnian looked at Geng Rui.

Geng Rui understood, took a file bag from the cabinet next to her, and handed it to Lin Man with both hands.

"Xiaoman, take a look."

Lin Man took it and opened it.

Inside was a thick stack of documents, densely packed with entries, along with various receipts and photocopies.

She turned the pages one by one, her pupils slightly contracting.

Asset list.

After her mother went in, all the family's properties, shops, savings, stocks... that had been divided up by relatives were listed out clearly, one by one.

Some have been recovered, while others are still in the process of being processed. The progress and the person who handled each transaction are marked.

Lin Man turned to the last page, her body trembling slightly.

She was a minor at the time, didn't understand things, and had no sense of propriety.

She only knew that her relatives had taken a lot of things from her family, but she never imagined it would be such a huge sum.

Compared to the meager favors she receives from the Lin family each month, it's practically a joke...