Ding Wei walked into the office where she came to work every day, and as soon as her colleagues saw her, they greeted her enthusiastically, “Morning, Wei Jie!”
“Morning…”
“Wei Wei Jie, good morning!” A male colleague who had just joined last week exaggeratedly praised her, “Wow, you look so beautiful in the white suit today.”
“Thank you.” Ding Wei smiled and walked into her department’s office.
Several colleagues who arrived earlier immediately stopped chatting when they saw her, looking a bit awkwardly at her face. “Wei Jie is here, good morning.”
Ding Wei pretended not to hear anything and lightly replied, “Morning, everyone.”
Then she sat down and started doing her work, seemingly unaffected by the recent discussions among her colleagues.
Yes, it had been about ten days since May 15th, but Ding Wei, who was praised by everyone as the wealthy mother-in-law, still remained in her original position without any changes.
Gradually, many people began to speculate about Ding Wei’s relationship with the wealthy family, wondering if it was good or bad.
At this moment, Ding Wei’s phone rang, and the screen displayed three words: “Mother-in-law.”
Ding Wei felt nervous for a moment, took a deep breath, and then answered, “Um, yes, mother-in-law…”
All her colleagues around immediately pricked up their ears. Mother-in-law? The boss’s mother?
On the other end of the phone, Zhang Ruoqi smiled and said, “Dun Dun’s grandmother is really sorry. She has been so busy lately that she only now found time to call you.”
Ding Wei hurriedly replied, “Oh, no need to apologize, you’re too polite.” Then she asked, “Is Wuyang and the child okay?”
Zhang Ruoqi replied, “They’re both fine. Father and son are doing well.” She added, “Yangyang has been busy studying lately, working especially hard. If we’ve been neglecting you both, please understand, after all, he’s under quite a bit of pressure…”
Ding Wei said, “Of course, we completely understand. As long as he’s doing well, we have no other requests.”
An Cheng caught the implication in his wife’s words, feeling embarrassed as he scratched his head, “Ah, I see, I was just talking nonsense.”
After all, having been an ordinary person for half a lifetime, the education and mindset he received were like that. Suddenly, his son distanced himself from him with a single word, and he couldn’t accept it psychologically.
He tended to overthink things a bit.
With Lady Huo’s phone call, Ding Wei’s position as the wealthy mother-in-law became solid, and her colleagues at the company no longer gossiped about her behind her back.
As for why she continued to work as a low-level employee even after becoming a wealthy mother-in-law, well, that’s because she had principles.
There’s nothing sinister about it.
This Wednesday, his parents were coming over to their house as guests.
The afternoon before, An Wuyang took a day off from his etiquette class and spent the whole afternoon in the kitchen with the family chef, preparing a delicious meal for his parents.
Old Master Huo couldn’t bear to see his obedient grandson-in-law covered in grease in the kitchen and tried to persuade him, “Yang Yang, leave the cooking to the chef. You don’t have to do it yourself, it’s too hard.”
An Wuyang replied at the time, “Grandpa, my parents raised me, so it’s only right that I cook for them.” He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his arm and continued, “Last year, I got married to Dun Dun without saying a word, and now I don’t know how to do anything else, so I can only cook.”
As for the future, if he had the ability to earn money, he would definitely repay his parents.
Old Master Huo fell silent for a moment, then nodded. After going out for a while, he came back with a fan to fan his obedient grandson-in-law.
Old people tend to have soft hearts.
If An Wuyang had taken the initiative to promote his family, Old Master Huo would have understood and wouldn’t have refused.
But this child never mentioned it.
Since the alliance with the Huo family a year ago, apart from sending gifts to the family on special occasions, An Wuyang never asked for a single penny.
Now, seeing him standing in the kitchen, busy preparing for the whole afternoon, everything he did was heartfelt.
Old Master Huo couldn’t help but wonder why the An family only saw the other two children who were good at studying, when they had such a good child like An Wuyang.
On Wednesday, the An couple came to visit.
Warmly received by their in-laws, everyone sat down to discuss matters regarding the weddings of the two younger generations.
After everything was almost settled, Huo Xiao turned to his wife and said, “Ruoqi, let’s give back the betrothal gifts for Yang Yang today.”
Huo’s wife nodded. She smiled and immediately took out a red silk embroidered purse, pushing it towards the An couple, “In-law, this is the betrothal gift for Yang Yang.”
Ding Wei and An Cheng: “…” The smiles on their faces paused for a moment. Neither of them reached out to take it. Finally, Ding Wei solemnly moved the purse in front of the second son-in-law, “Mother-in-law, we didn’t prepare dowry for Wuyang. Let this betrothal gift be considered as Wuyang’s dowry.”
An Cheng hurriedly echoed his wife, “Yes, that’s right.”
In such a situation, he had no intention of accepting anything in his heart.
An Wuyang: “Mom… this…”
Was he panicking?
The restless little angel moved closer to himself, so Huo Dad instinctively held him and grabbed his hands, preventing him from accepting the betrothal gift.
“Please accept it. Yang Yang doesn’t need dowry. Your education and upbringing for him are the best dowry,” said Huo Dad, looking at Ding Wei and An Cheng. His gaze wasn’t icy, but rather instilled a strange fear, making resistance futile.
And… what he said could easily lead to misunderstandings.
The little angel also chimed in, “Mom, Dad, I won’t be able to be with you in the future. All I can do is this. So please accept it. Give my sister and younger brother a better educational environment, give them more opportunities.”
The words of the second son struck a chord with the An couple.
They thought not for themselves but for their children.
After much hesitation, they decided to accept the betrothal gifts.
“Okay, then Mom will accept it.” Ding Wei was originally smiling, but as she reached for the purse, her eyes turned red, silently cursing herself. Now that the second son was sending them away with money, it felt as though their son truly wasn’t theirs anymore, with no turning back.
“Don’t cry, Mom,” An Wuyang sat beside his parents, gently wiping his mother’s tears with a tissue. “I’ve prepared a table full of delicious dishes. Let’s go and taste them.”
Ding Wei cried even harder.
An Cheng, beside them, also shed tears—turning away to wipe them, he once thought that his first bride given away would be his eldest daughter.
An Wuyang patted his father’s shoulder, “Dad, don’t cry either. Go and comfort Mom…”
Taking the tissue, An Cheng wiped his eyes while patting the head of his second son, “…,” Honestly, he was proud of raising such a good child, but unfortunately, he hadn’t guided him seriously; he had been laissez-faire. Even if the second son didn’t feel close to him in the future, he and his wife had no right to complain.
[The French phrase “laissez faire” literally means “allow to do,” with the idea being “let people do as they choose.”]
Huo’s wife watched from the side, her eyes also moist, frequently touching the corners of her eyes with her fingers. Although she didn’t have a daughter, she couldn’t bear such a sentimental scene.
Huo Yunchuan asked for hot towels to be brought over. This attentive gesture surprised An Cheng and his wife, and they felt too honored to continue crying.
The little angel breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright, let’s go eat!”
He couldn’t wait to let everyone taste his cooking skills.
Although many dishes were semi-finished products, their delicious taste was all thanks to the quality of the ingredients. But hey, there’s no gain without pain!
An Wuyang introduced his hard work at the dinner table one by one, then picked up a piece of tender fish belly for his grandfather. “Grandpa, you also contributed to these dishes. You helped me fan in the kitchen, so thank you, Grandpa. This is the most delicious fish belly for you.”
Huo’s grandfather’s mouth formed an ‘O’ shape, looking particularly surprised and honored. “Thank you, Yang Yang.” He happily picked up a chicken leg and gave it to An Wuyang. “Then let’s have the most delicious chicken leg, Yang Yang.”
An Wuyang smiled and thanked him, “Thank you, Grandpa. I like chicken legs.”
The harmonious family atmosphere made Ding Wei and An Cheng reflect once again. Were they too strict with their children before?
It turns out the second son also had such a lively and sweet side…
Seeing him thriving in his in-laws’ home, the parents felt both relieved and filled with contrasting emotions, feeling like they were on a rollercoaster ride.
After lunch, the parents gathered in the living room for tea and conversation.
An Wuyang seemed a bit busy, helping Aunt Zhang tidy up the gifts for their parents and brother.
In this room full of things, there were daily necessities purchased by the Huo family themselves, as well as gifts sent by others, with prices ranging from high to low. An Wuyang could arrange them as he pleased.
He had only attended a few days of his wine tasting class and hadn’t developed the ability to discern value or think deeply about it. He simply chose items that seemed practical.
As Ding Wei and An Cheng walked out of the luxurious mansion, they truly felt like they had sold off their second son. They no longer had the right to interfere in his life.
If they hadn’t accepted the betrothal gifts today, they could have maintained a tough stance against the Huo family in the future.
Now that they had accepted the betrothal gifts and the second son’s attitude was clear, everything would follow the rules of a married daughter. With their own sons and daughters to worry about at home, they wouldn’t trouble the second son easily.
The next day at work, instructions finally came from the company above.
But it wasn’t a promotion or a raise. It was transferring Ding Wei back to An Cheng’s company, Huarui.
The position and salary remained unchanged, everything was as usual.
The people around couldn’t figure out what the boss meant, only Ding Wei understood.
So she felt particularly calm in her heart, accepting everything calmly.
The calm demeanor of the An family couple, in the eyes of those who didn’t know, was seen as giving face to An Wuyang, truly living up to the standards of being in-laws with a wealthy family.
As the spokesperson for the Huo family, every action and statement made by Huo’s wife was carefully considered and either announced or created.
On Thursday morning, her Weibo was updated with the caption: “A compassionate father raises a filial son, harmony in the family leads to prosperity. [Picture]”
It was a family portrait, looking harmonious and happy. However, upon closer inspection, the parents of the Huo family’s son-in-law all had red eyes, as if they had been crying.
Netizens were all great detectives, and upon reflection, they understood what was happening.
Those who speculated that An Wuyang marrying into a wealthy family meant neglecting her own family were now being proven wrong.
Netizen 1: “To those haters who accused Sweet An of being a gold digger, open your eyes wide and see clearly, our Sweet An is so filial!”
Netizen 2: “The parents-in-law must have cried. Sigh, marrying off a son is just like marrying off a daughter, no one wants to let go.”
Netizen 3: “So lucky, I envy Sweet An for marrying so well. Even in photos, his husband wants to hold him.”
Netizen 4: “This young winner of life, damn it, now I want to get married too. Is there a wealthy family to take me in [facepalm/].”
Netizen 5: “To the guy who wants to marry into a wealthy family, wake up and face reality! Everything is just a dream!”
Netizen 6: “Lately, my feed has been filled with news about the Huo family, but still, I must say, this kind of wealthy family with the right values is the one that will continue to prosper. I can see that.”
Indeed, the Huo family’s stocks had been steadily rising recently, although it wasn’t clear if recent events had any influence.
But one thing was certain, since Huo Yunchuan and An Wuyang went public, the Huo family’s public favorability had reached unprecedented levels.
Mrs. Huo was very satisfied with the current situation, which was obviously beneficial for the Huo family.
Before, she had always worried that after she and her husband passed away, the Huo family, under the control of Huo Yunchuan, would lose all the goodwill from the outside world. After all, Huo Yunchuan never cared about socializing or maintaining the family image.
But now, their only son seemed to have suddenly taken a turn and married a son-in-law with a very positive image.
Even though the son-in-law had only shown one side in front of the media, she had already gained the love of both the media and the public, which was nothing short of a miracle.
Mrs. Huo was secretly planning to make An Wuyang the future flagship of the Huo family.
“Mom, did you call for me?” It was scorching hot outside, but An Wuyang was indoors wearing a cool silk shirt, revealing his fair neck and arms, looking very youthful.
“Come and sit down,” Mrs. Huo said, patting the seat next to her.
An Wuyang sat down. “Yes, what is it?” He casually picked up an orange from the table and started peeling it.
“Is Yunchuan taking a nap?” Mrs. Huo asked.
“No,” An Wuyang paused in peeling the orange, feeling a bit embarrassed. “He’s working. He’s always busy anyway.”
“Oh.” Mrs. Huo just asked casually, her intention was not about her son. “Wuyang, have you seen the recent news reports about you?”
“Yes…” He felt a bit embarrassed.
This child was thin-skinned, and Zhang Ruoqi knew it. But as a member of the Huo family, he was destined to learn how to survive.
“Have you noticed that everyone seems to really like you?” she asked.
“Um, yes,” An Wuyang nodded.
Indeed, some netizens were very enthusiastic, openly expressing their admiration for his appearance.
Some even flooded the comments asking if he wanted to change his husband?
An Wuyang: “???”
These were the comments that An Wuyang feared Huo Yunchuan would see the most. They were too provocative, and how could Dundun’s father tolerate them?
“This is a good thing, you should be happy,” Mrs. Huo took a sip of tea. “Yunchuan isn’t good at managing his image. We were worried that the Huo family would become less relatable under his control…”
An Wuyang pondered his mother-in-law’s words for a moment and couldn’t find any fault with them.
“But now that you’re here, I hope you can start consciously managing your own image and representing the Huo family,” Mrs. Huo said. “Of course, I’m not criticizing you now; you’re doing very well.”
An Wuyang scratched his face. “Thank you.”
He couldn’t help but feel a bit puzzled as he tried to recall where exactly he was doing well.
Was it because his smile was genuinely warm enough?
Or because he did more and talked less?
An Wuyang silently contemplated, feeling a small sense of pride.
He felt that these two points were among his few strengths.
“Well, then you should open a Weibo account. You can post some positive and uplifting messages or beautiful and bright pictures from time to time,” Mrs. Huo advised. She believed that these would suit An Wuyang’s youthful image well.
1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you ❤️”
