Proud senior schoolgirl was tender and sweet, we fell in love

Indeed, what was bound to come eventually arrived.

Grandma had been silent before, likely thinking that my eldest uncle and his family could solve the issue on their own, but now they had been pushed right back by the teacher, Xie Xiao, and Doctor Yang with just a few words.

The elderly lady then took it upon herself to speak.

She held Xie Xiao's hand, speaking in a gentle and delicate manner, more as if she were negotiating rather than requesting.

But even such a soft and delicate tone couldn't make the question an easy one to answer.

If Xie Liu's temper were better, his personality kinder, then Xie Xiao wouldn't be opposed to helping.

Yet Xie Liu's character was indeed spoiled; he was overbearing at home and even made a bunch of disorderly friends outside.

A man in his twenties, idly whiling away the entire day.

Don't tell Xie Xiao that he's fundamentally not bad, because although he might not be fundamentally bad, he definitely can't be considered good, either.

Not to mention, with his character, if Xie Xiao were to bring him into his company, he would surely throw his weight around under false pretenses.

Xie Xiao couldn't tolerate that.

So, at this moment, he softly began, "Grandma, you know how far B city is from here. You ask my parents—aside from my summer vacations and New Year's, I hardly ever come back here. Do you really have the heart to let Xie Liu go so far away? To only see him once or twice a year?"

As soon as these words were spoken, indeed, hesitation appeared on Grandma's face.

Xie Xiao pressed on, "And if he suffers any grievances out there, he's sure to be unwilling to complain to me, his brother. He'll definitely go to you, and with the distance so great, how could you help? You'd just be anxious at home, then distressed. Are you really okay with that?"

Grandma frowned, "That won't do... that won't do..."

The wife of the eldest uncle noticed that Grandma might be swayed by Xie Xiao, so she quickly spoke up, "If not B city, that's fine too. Xie Xiao, didn't you get yourself a girlfriend? We've heard about it, her family is very wealthy, and she's an only child. If the two of you get married... Right, her father is Luo Ming, isn't it? The one we've seen on TV..."

Xie Xiao's smile gradually faded from his face.

Yang Lan couldn't believe her eyes as she watched the eldest uncle's wife enthusiastically talk about how marrying Luo Yanran could turn the Luos' wealth into the Xies' property.

A flash of anger gleamed in her eyes.

Xie Qingxiao was somewhat speechless. What was his eldest aunt saying?

He could see his son and wife's expressions were starting to look unpleasant.

Xie Qingxiao quickly interjected, "Eldest sister-in-law! What are you talking about? Our Xie Xiao and the young lady from the Luo family are truly in love; that's why they are together. It's not right for you to covet people's family wealth like this."

"I'm not saying they don't like each other, just saying is all," the eldest uncle's wife glanced at their family, obviously noticing Xie Xiao and Yang Lan's displeased expressions.

Normally, she wasn't someone with such an annoying disposition, and she generally got along okay with Xie Xiao's family.

But wasn't this all for her son?

Her husband and mother-in-law still didn't even know—the son's little girlfriend was pregnant.

She had to find a stable job for her son. Your journey continues with empire

At this moment, the wife of the eldest uncle felt a tinge of jealousy.

Compared to Xie Liu, Xie Xiao was a head above in everything, and now even his girlfriend was wealthy.

An only daughter, from a rich family, and in addition, beautiful.

They said she was highly educated, and the couple had been together for a while now.

Really, it was very difficult not to be envious.

Now looking at Xie Liu's girlfriend, smoking and drinking, always wearing heavy makeup.

She just didn't seem very decent.

When I brought him home for dinner before, everyone was so annoyed by my mother-in-law doting on Xie Liu that they left directly.

Of course, my husband and I didn't like it either.

But, unfortunately, our son said that young girl was pregnant.

What could I do? That would be my grandchild!

I couldn't just ignore the situation.

So even though I could see they were displeased, the aunt still opened her mouth to continue speaking, "We are family, which is why I'm being quite candid. If Xie Xiao is going to take over a company or something in the future, shouldn't he have someone trustworthy by his side? You see..."

"Auntie!" Xie Xiao pulled up the corners of his mouth to reveal a smile without any real humor, "You're thinking too much. That's a TV drama plot. What taking over a company?"

Xie Xiao gently removed his grandmother's hand from his. The reason he had patiently been pushing it away was that he didn't want to involve Luo Yanran and the Luo family.

But at this moment, it wouldn't be appropriate to stay silent.

Otherwise, people might really think that Xie Xiao coveted the Luo family's property.

Even though there would certainly be people discussing it behind his back in the future, it was unavoidable.

But Xie Xiao couldn't let his family and the people close to him think the same, assume it was the case.

How would he face Ranran in the future?

If Ranran heard them talking nonsense, how would she feel? She would definitely start to feel guilty again.

He couldn't let that happen.

So now, Xie Xiao looked at the aunt and said word for word, "The Luo family's company belongs to the Luo family, what does it have to do with me, Xie Xiao? Don't mention that I'm dating her now; even if we get married in the future, those things will always belong to someone with the surname Luo."

Xie Xiao glanced at his parents and then at his grandmother, "Grandma, let's go back after we finish eating, it's getting late, and you usually sleep early, don't you?"

This was a clear indication he didn't want to discuss it any further.

The aunt wanted to speak again, but her husband tugged at her.

She looked at her husband and finally closed her mouth.

Then the old lady's voice was heard, slow and as if she hadn't understood Xie Xiao just now, "So, Xiao Xiao, when can you arrange something for your brother? It's best if it's nearby, he can't go too far. You're capable, but if you go too far, grandma can't see you even once a year. If your brother goes that far as well, what am I supposed to do?"

She proactively grabbed the hand of Xie Xiao, who was standing up, and sighed, "Grandma's getting old, you know. When you got into University B because of your abilities, I was so happy, but later when you went to class, I spent my days looking forward to your return, barely seeing you once a year. Sometimes when grandma misses you, it's your brother that uses the phone to show me that what? Oh, it's not right, the videos or something..."

Xie Xiao looked at his grandmother's eyes, which seemed cloudy from age.

She wasn't misunderstanding; she was simply favoring one over the other in the end.

Xie Xiao couldn't clearly describe his feelings.

He also knew that his grandmother probably had the old generation's way of thinking, her eldest grandson had made a name for himself, and she was happy.

Having a very nice girlfriend was even better.

But his younger grandson wasn't doing well, so it would be great if he could help out a bit.

It's just finding a suitable job, after all. Xie Xiao was capable, and if not, didn't he have a girlfriend? Eventually, they would all be family, and there's no need to make such a clear distinction.

If Xie Xiao was unwilling, it would mean he was unwilling to help his brother, looking down on Xie Liu.

The elder may not have malicious intentions, but this kind of manipulative behavior was still distressing enough.

Yang Lan spoke before Xie Xiao could this time.

"Mom, if you want Xie Xiao to arrange something, it's not like it's impossible."