Chapter 182: Family Meeting

Cheng Shuang remained dazed for a long time, unable to snap back to reality. She still found it hard to believe, constantly replaying recent events in her mind to see if she had done something wrong that let Lu Wenchuan find out and displease him.

Yet, reviewing everything overall, there seemed to be no issue at all. So why was it Zuo Fei?

Cheng Shuang could not accept it, but reality was just like that.

Guan Zijin had finished everything he needed to say. "I am going on a business trip with CEO Lu this afternoon, Zuo Fei. Pack your things and come along."

"Okay." Suddenly promoted, Zuo Fei had no reason to be unhappy, yet she remained very restrained.

The secretary department remained a friendly and harmonious place after all.

Cheng Shuang pondered for a long time without figuring out what was actually going on, until she sat down and caught sight of the name in the web search box, causing a sudden flash of realization. "Could it be because I am not married?"

Instantly, the office fell deathly silent, and no one dared to utter a word.

Realizing what she had just blurted out, Cheng Shuang let out an awkward sound, quickly lowering her head to pretend she knew nothing.

Li Siyi curved the corners of her lips. Recalling Lu Wenchuan's past style, it really turned out to be for this exact reason.

"Zuo Fei, come here for a moment." Li Siyi took a deep breath, and after exhaling, she had made up her mind. Taking advantage of her resignation, she would take a good, long rest, and once her mood improved, she would return to work.

Zuo Fei was still somewhat bewildered by Cheng Shuang's remark, unsure whether she should feel lucky for having married early enough.

---

Inside his office, Lu Wenchuan had no idea what was being discussed outside. After Guan Zijin left, he searched online for specialty products from Country F and which of them were most beloved by young women.

The result was perfume.

However, Sang Yijia did not like wearing perfume.

Lu Wenchuan was troubled. He wanted to prepare a gift personally, but had no idea what would be appropriate to give.

---

On the other side, Sang Yijia washed her face and went downstairs, just in time to see her eldest, second, and third brothers all back home—the family completely gathered together.

Only, Sang Yijia noticed Sang Qibo's expression did not look well. "Third Brother, why does your complexion look so terrible?"

Sang Zheng had already spoken up beforehand, "You wanted to become a doctor, and I have no objections, but as a doctor, why can't you take proper care of your own health?"

Now that Sang Yijia brought it up, Sang Zheng could not help but repeat himself.

Sang Qibo quickly raised a hand to stop him. "Dad, Little Sister."

"I am fine. I just went to sleep late last night. I'm resting today, will sleep early, and I'll be fine tomorrow."

Sang Yijia looked at Sang Qibo's face again; indeed, there were only faint bluish-black shadows under his eyes, and his facial hair seemed to have been trimmed, making it less noticeable.

"Third Brother, Dad is right. You still need to pay attention to your health." Fearing that avoiding the plot's arrangement might still fail to save Sang Qibo from sudden death due to overwork, Sang Yijia remained worried.

"I will," Sang Qibo replied.

Mother Sang had finished preparing lunch and instructed someone to go in and help. Just as Sang Yijia took a step forward, Sang Qiwen and Sang Qiwu blocked her path.

"Eldest Brother and I will handle it," Sang Qiwu patted Sang Yijia's shoulder. "Little Sister and Third Brother can just sit and wait."

"Thank you, Eldest Brother and Second Brother."

"Why so polite?"

"We are all family."

Sang Qiwen and Sang Qiwu went in to bring out the dishes. Sang Zheng looked at Sang Yijia, strongly tempted to ask what on earth was going on between her and Lu Wenchuan, but then thought that they were about to eat, so why bring up such unpleasant topics?

Sang Qibo, however, asked directly, "Little Sister, are the things on the internet true?"

"What things?" The matters concerning Weibo and the livestream had blown up quite massively, so it was no surprise that Sang Qibo knew. Sang Yijia thought for a moment, "Qian Baobao and I were indeed high school classmates, but I don't remember most of the things she wrote in her diary."

She had transmigrated countless times, so it was completely normal that she didn't remember certain things.

"Not her matters," Sang Qibo shook his head in denial. "It's the matter between you and Lu Wenchuan."

"The internet says you two are together," Sang Qibo's dark eyes gazed straight into Sang Yijia's. "Is it true or false?"

"Let's talk about this after the meal," Sang Zheng coughed, cutting off their conversation.

Sang Qibo glanced over, and seeing Sang Zheng's expression, lowered his gaze and acquiesced.

Sang Yijia took a look, and seeing that Mother Sang, her eldest brother, and second brother had all come out, she said nothing more.

This lunch was exceptionally quiet. Sang Qiwu tried several times to ease the atmosphere, but no matter what, he couldn't manage to utter a single word.

Until the meal came to an end, Mother Sang let out a soft sigh. "Jiajia, while everyone is here right now, tell us what your plans are."

"Dad, Mom, Eldest Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother, Lu Wenchuan and I are together," Sang Yijia straightened her back. "I was the one who proposed it."

"???" Sang Qiwu widened his eyes in shock. "Little Sister, you made the confession?"

"Why?"

Sang Yijia had anticipated such a reaction. She cleared her throat and answered solemnly, "I wanted to take the initiative."

Sang Zheng was just about to speak, but upon unexpectedly hearing this sentence, he immediately fell silent.

"Alright then." Sang Qiwu accepted it, but he had a follow-up question. "Earlier, we already asked about Lu Wenchuan's thoughts."

"He said that for Little Sister, he is willing to marry into our family and live with us." Sang Qiwu suddenly noticed his eldest brother's expression turning odd and choked on his words. "Eldest Brother, is there something wrong with that?"

"Well, if Lu Wenchuan marries into our family, the Lu family certainly won't agree," Sang Qiwen raised his eyes calmly to look at Sang Yijia. "Families like ours emphasize matching social status and background, so there shouldn't be any issues, right?"

Sang Qiwen was soliciting everyone's opinion.

"None," Sang Yijia felt that given Lu Wenchuan's conditions, their Sang family was marrying above their station; if it came to matching social status, they probably barely scraped by.

"If Lu Wenchuan marries into our family, he would inevitably have to give up everything belonging to the Lu family. Once Lu Wenchuan has nothing left, what qualifications does he have to be with Little Sister?" Sang Qiwen stated.

"We certainly can't let Little Sister suffer hardships following Lu Wenchuan, right?"

Feeling this made sense, Sang Zheng nodded repeatedly. "Your eldest brother is right. Under normal circumstances, it's impossible for Lu Wenchuan to marry into our family."

"So, he was simply trying to make you happy," Sang Qibo picked up the thread.

Mother Sang had originally thought Lu Wenchuan was quite good, but hearing her husband and sons put it this way, she began to hesitate.

"Jiajia, you must think about this carefully," Mother Sang looked at her with worry. "A man having money is one thing, and not having money is another."

"None of us can guarantee whether Lu Wenchuan's attitude and feelings toward you would remain the same whether he is rich or poor."

Sang Yijia desperately wanted to tell them that all their worries were overblown, yet she had to admit that their concerns were valid.

People always change; no one can guarantee whether their thoughts today will remain identical ten years from now.

"Dad, Mom, Eldest Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother, Lu Wenchuan and I are currently in the dating stage. Whether we can actually get married in the end is still unknown," Sang Yijia said candidly, "even though Lu Wenchuan wants to marry me."

"He even said that our first child will take my surname, and the second child will take his," Sang Yijia blushed slightly as she recounted this. "I have to admit that at times, I was moved by his words."

Sang Yijia had never dated before, and with Lu Wenchuan being so direct, it was only natural that she couldn't fend it off.

"In that case, it wouldn't hurt for you two to date for eight or ten years before getting married," Mother Sang decreed.