Another Day of Pretending for the Wealthy Couple - Chapter 51

Zhong Yan came down half an hour later.

Ji Tanyuan was on a call outside the door, her expression unreadable.

Sensing his gaze, she glanced up at him, then turned her back and ended the call within two minutes.

She turned and walked inside. “Grandma wants us to go in. She probably has something to say.”

Zhong Yan nodded and headed toward the old lady’s bedroom.

Grandma Zhong squinted slightly, observing the two young people standing before her.

One stood on either side of the foot of the bed, neither bothering to take even two steps forward.

Both were weighed down by their own troubles, too preoccupied to put on a show. They stood expressionless, arms crossed.

Even their eyes began to show traces of annoyance.

Arrogant, aloof, and detached, that was the impression Zhong Yan gave, and Ji Tanyuan seemed to share a similar aura.

The old lady coughed twice. Neither of them moved.

She coughed more violently twice more. Still, no reaction.

Both knew she was faking it and didn’t even bother to call a doctor.

But Grandma Zhong had no idea her act had been exposed.

Now, even if she wasn’t sick before, she was genuinely getting angry.

“You two.”

At her words, they turned to look at her simultaneously, two faces of noble elegance, both in the prime of their youth.

One handsome and dignified, the other beautiful and graceful, yet both exuding an air of cold indifference.

Standing there, gazing at the elderly woman on the sickbed without a trace of concern or emotion, the old lady was suddenly struck by the scene.

She took a deep breath before speaking:

“Come home for meals from now on, and I’ll let bygones be bygones.”

Zhong Yan gave a noncommittal “Hmm.”

“If work isn’t too busy and we’re not traveling, we’ll try to visit you.”

Grandma Zhong turned to Ji Tanyuan. “Tanyuan, as a woman of the Zhong family, you should know what’s expected.”

Ji Tanyuan also responded with a “Hmm.”

“I share A-Yan’s thoughts. If work permits, I’ll come see you.”

“Still working?”

Ji Tanyuan: “Yes. If you’re afraid of being lonely, ask Grandpa to keep you company.”

He’s your husband, after all. Ji Tanyuan tried to analyze the old lady’s motives with the most bizarre logic but still couldn’t make sense of it.

Because her behavior was utterly unreasonable.

Later, she figured it out: the old lady was engaging in a tactic of harming the enemy a thousand while damaging herself eight hundred. She didn’t like her, but to make her suffer, she could endure that dislike.

Grandma Zhong said, “After marriage, you’ll become Mrs. Zhong.”

Ji Tanyuan: “Hmm.”

“Since you’re Mrs. Zhong, you should prioritize A-Yan.”

Ji Tanyuan: “Hmm.”

“A-Yan, you should be more considerate of your mother. Don’t impulsively say hurtful things.”

Zhong Yan: “Hmm.”

“As members of the Zhong family, don’t intentionally skip family gatherings. Disunity is the greatest enemy of a family.”

Zhong Yan: “Hmm.”

The old lady frowned. The two of them wore identical expressions of indifference, cold enough to freeze anyone. She felt as though she were talking to two deaf people.

“Did you hear what I said?”

“We heard.”

But they hadn’t taken it to heart.

Zhong Yan cut off the old lady before she could say more. “You should rest. We’ll be leaving now.”

“Tanyuan, stay. I have more to say.”

Ji Tanyuan frowned. “I have things to do.”

With that, she turned and left.

Only after she had gone did Zhong Yan speak. “I know you’re faking it, Grandma. If you cared for me even a little, you wouldn’t listen to Grandpa. You’d be better off persuading him to retire.”

“Zhong Yan…” The old lady was stunned. He hadn’t listened to a single word she’d said, hadn’t reflected on himself, and instead came to lecture his elder.

Zhong Yan stepped out and found the family doctor. “Arrange a psychologist for the old lady.”

Then he turned to the butler. “Find a politics teacher to explain everything from the People’s Liberation to gender equality being established as a basic national policy.”

The butler nodded.

Zhong Yan took two steps, then turned back to look at them both.

“You don’t think I’m joking, do you?”

The butler was bewildered. Wasn’t he? Such an absurd order, wasn’t it just to provoke the old lady?

Zhong Yan’s smile faded. “I’m serious. Go find one now.”

The butler nodded quickly.

Zhong Yan walked out, and Ji Tanyuan was already waiting for him in the car.

He got in. “Are you angry?”

Ji Tanyuan opened her eyes slightly. “Your family seems complete, but it doesn’t feel like a real family.”

Zhong Yan told the driver to start the car. “It never was.”

“Authoritarianism, dependency, unity, self-interest. Patriarchal authority, wifely dependency, and a community of interests form a strange yet balanced micro-power structure.”

This was common in wealthy families, but the Zhong family was especially so. Under the infiltration of power, the old man craved authority and refused to step down, resulting in a state of retirement without truly letting go, constantly controlling others to satisfy his own desire for power.

He was the one behind it all, the one at the very top.

Ji Tanyuan remarked, “You see your family very clearly.”

Zhong Yan looked ahead. “It’s just the truth.”

Power was even more terrifying than money, both alluring and horrifying.

Ji Tanyuan asked, “Are you like that too?”

As soon as she asked, she felt it was a pointless question. Between power and money, which side would he stand on? There was no need to think.

Previously, when Tongji High-Tech submitted its grid connection proposal and delivered the consumption opinion letter to the northwestern provinces, the road permit was smoothly obtained. The approvals, from the Energy Bureau to the Natural Resources Department, environmental assessments, and even the Forestry Bureau’s compensation approval for seedlings, spanned nearly ten government agencies and were processed remarkably quickly.

As Mrs. Zhong, she had reaped the benefits, which was why she could tolerate it.

How much more so for Zhong Yan?

Zhong Yan turned to look at her. Ji Tanyuan raised her eyes and met his gaze directly.

“Aren’t you?” Zhong Yan didn’t answer directly but instead threw the question back at her.

Ji Tanyuan smiled. “Yes. If I weren’t, we wouldn’t have married, would we?”

She turned to look ahead. Zhong Yan watched her impassive face, his fingers twitching slightly, but in the end, he remained silent.