Chapter 21: Temper

Xue Sumei noticed that Yang Tao had come home, but at first, she didn't pay attention to the ring on Yang Tao's hand. She just pulled her over to the sofa and said she wanted her to take a look at the engagement process. But then she felt something was off; it seemed that there was something on Yang Tao's hand that was getting in the way.```
He picked up his daughter's hand and saw a ring on it, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Peach, what’s going on with this?"
“It’s nothing, just a ring!”
Yang Tao said there was nothing wrong, but the smile on her face couldn't be hidden anymore.
Xue Sumei saw her daughter's expression and instantly understood, saying, "This is from Xiao Zhao, isn't it?"
"Yes!"
Xue Sumei came alive with excitement and asked, "Peach, quickly tell Mom what’s going on?"
"It's nothing much, he proposed to me! I didn’t agree, but he said if I didn’t accept it, he would throw it away, so I thought it was a shame and just took it back!"
“You stubborn girl, still pretending not to agree.”
Xue Sumei looked at the ring on the peach she was holding; it was much larger than the diamond on the ring she bought for Su Qing and her husband. The one she bought was only a few points, while this one must be at least a carat.
“What’s wrong, Mom? I'm very serious about relationships, so I need some time to consider and understand more before deciding whether to marry him.”
Xue Sumei thinks her daughter is just being contradictory; the ring is already on her finger, which should indicate something, right? However, she didn't say anything to Yang Tao. After all, the proposal has already been accepted, and getting engaged should indeed follow the process.
……
Lan Weiwei is at the airport to pick up her boyfriend, Zhuang Yan, preparing to meet her parents for dinner.
However, when Zhuang Yan hears the phone call from Lan Weiwei, he instead says he took an earlier flight back and is already at the office.
Lan Weiwei cautiously asked, "Um, my mom asked me to ask you, when are you coming to my house for dinner? Didn't you say that after you return to the country this time, you'll see them right away?"
Zhuang Yan said while walking on the road, "I want to go too, but I can't leave the company! I have social engagements tonight. Can you explain it to Uncle and Aunt? Okay?"
Lan Weiwei felt a bit disappointed upon hearing Zhuang Yan say this. How many times had Zhuang Yan refused to meet her family, always saying he was busy and had things to do.
Zhuang Yan probably knew this wasn't good, so he said, "By the way, I have a small gift for you. Let's meet in the evening. It's still the same hotel; I've booked a room."
Lan Weiwei, feeling down after hearing this, said, "Okay, bye!"
After returning home, Lan Weiwei told her parents that Zhuang Yan couldn't make it. Then, Team Leader Hao angrily said, "The food is all ready, and the wine is prepared. Just because he can't come, it's always one excuse after another. What does he mean by this?"
Lan Weiwei still wanted to explain to Zhuang Yan, saying, "It's nothing special, just busy with work!"
Lan Caiping also chimed in, "Yeah, he's the boss, of course, he has a lot of work to do!"
Team Leader Hao said disdainfully, "Vice President!"
Lan Caiping replied, "The vice president is still a president, and the vice president is even busier. You don't know, back when we were in the theater troupe, that vice director was always busy going back and forth, don't you remember?"
Team Leader Hao said, "No matter how busy he is, he should come to see us! Marriage is a major event, isn't it an important matter?"
Lan Caiping fell silent upon hearing this. In fact, she was also somewhat angry that Zhuang Yan had not shown up. She indeed valued money above all, but with him not coming home, she couldn't see a cent; compared to Xue Sumei, having this son-in-law was as good as having none at all.
“Weimi, your dad is right. You should talk to Zhuang Yan about it. No matter how busy you are, you should come home to visit your parents, right? You’ve been in a relationship for three years now, yet he hasn’t come to see us at all. What does he mean by that?”
Lan Weiwei quickly said, "Dad, Mom, he just returned from abroad and must have a lot of work to handle. He did promise to come today, but the company really has urgent matters, which is why he can't make it."
Captain Hao saw that his daughter could speak now, and with just one little cotton-padded jacket in his life, he naturally had nothing more to say.
But Lan Cai Ping was different; she had known since she was young that if you want to get something, you have to fight for it. She said, “We know he's busy, but he can't even spare time to meet us, right? Look at Yang Tao's boyfriend—after dating for just a few days, he took the initiative to visit and brought Aunt Xue a bunch of gifts, all big-name teas and supplements. How long have you been with Zhuang Yan? We haven’t even met, let alone had tea; what kind of situation is this?”
“Let me tell you, daughter, you can't spoil this man; you have to keep him in check, otherwise he won't take you seriously!”
Lan Weiwei, upon hearing Lan CaiPing mention Zhao Shucheng, couldn't help but think of the luxury car he drove and his impressively handsome face when they met, which caused her inner resolve to waver a bit.
“Mom, I understand!”
“What do you understand? You've been in a relationship with him for three years, and every time you come back with some worthless trinkets. This is just a way to appease you! You should be straightforward with Zhuang Yan. If he really likes you, he should come to meet us. If he doesn't come, then forget about the marriage. You’re so young and beautiful; you’ll definitely find someone better.”
Every time Lan Caiping thinks about how Xue Sumei's son-in-law bought her over 50,000 worth of gifts, she feels so frustrated knowing that she has to humbly beg to see her future son-in-law.
Captain Hao also said, "It's not about the money, but he's just a vice president. Where does he get such a big attitude? Back in the day when I was the head of the theater troupe, I met all sorts of high-ranking leaders, but no one ever had such a big attitude towards me. You have been in this situation for three years, and you need to be given an explanation or an answer. It can't go on like this."
“Finding a son-in-law like this gives face, but it's uncomfortable here, and the clothing is hard to wear!”
Lan Caiping said, “Both face and substance are good, there's no…” Just as she was about to say there weren’t any, she suddenly thought of Xue Sumei's son-in-law. Although her son-in-law isn't a company president like her own son-in-law, at least he brings her some face and has substance too.
“There’s nothing that doesn’t exist; both the surface and the substance need to be good. Just look at this clothing: if the outside looks good but the inside is uncomfortable, then even if it appears glamorous to others, you’ll be uncomfortable in your own body. On the other hand, if the inside is good but there’s a hole in the outside, even if you feel great, you’ll be worried about what others think.”
```htmlLan Weiwei initially hoped her mother could help deal with her dad, but unexpectedly, the two are now on the same side against her.
“Mom, you didn't say this beforehand. Didn't you say that finding a wealthy husband means a lifetime of financial security, and even if there are a few small problems, it's not a big deal?”```
Lan Caiping was taken aback when she heard her daughter say this. She replied, "Ah, I did say that, but we don't know whether there's any money or not. Are you just saying it? She doesn't even come to our house; how do we know if she's really rich or not? If she were really wealthy, she could come herself or at least have someone come to me with some gifts to see if we need anything!"
“Look at your Aunt Xue's son-in-law; he comes to visit every now and then, either bringing some tea leaves or health supplements, or buying clothes and jewelry. It's not that I'm asking Zhuang Yan for anything, but we can always tell who is being filial and who isn't, right?”
Lan Weiwei didn't have much to say about this, but Zhuang Yan was Yang Tao's ex-boyfriend. When he was with Yang Tao, he never bought her anything significant, nor did he buy anything for Xue Sumei, just occasionally giving small gifts.
```htmlFacing the double blow from her parents, Lan Weiwei could only leave home in embarrassment. With time still early for her date with Zhuang Yan, she took the initiative to invite Yang Tao to meet with Jiao Yang.
As soon as they met, Lan Weiwei's materialistic tendencies kicked in. She immediately noticed the diamond ring on Yang Tao's hand and curiously asked, “Taozi, did you get engaged?”```
Jiaoyang listened and, curious, looked at Yang Tao, wanting to know if it was true.
Yang Tao shyly said, "No, it was a gift from Zhao Shucheng!"
"Taozi, did Zhao Shucheng propose to you?"
```html“Hmm, but I haven't agreed yet!”
Lan Weiwei asked curiously, “Peach, is this ring made of diamond?”
“Of course, to verify if it’s real, my mom even used the ring to scratch glass, and now the glass on our bedroom door is still broken and hasn’t been repaired.”```
Yang Tao said with a hint of pride, as she held the ring up to the sunlight, through which the facets refracted a unique light, characteristic of the gem.
Lan Weiwei looked at it enviously, seeing that the ring was quite substantial, and couldn't help but ask, "Taozi, what size is this ring?"
“I'm not really sure about this, but it seems to be one carat!”
Jiao Yang exclaimed in shock, “Wow, Taozi, Zhao Shucheng really spent a fortune, huh? A one-carat diamond ring must cost at least several thousand, right?”
Lan Weiwei, being just as materialistic as her mother, knows a thing or two about luxury items like diamonds. She said, "Not just that, this diamond ring, in terms of color, clarity, cut, symmetry, and fluorescence level, is considered a high-grade diamond. It could cost at least fifty to sixty thousand, and potentially more than a hundred thousand."
Yang Tao still didn't know the price of the diamond. Upon hearing what Lan Weiwei said, she suddenly felt that wearing such an expensive ring on her hand did indeed seem a bit inappropriate.
If this gets lost or is stolen, it won't be easy to explain to Zhao Shucheng later.
Lan Weiwei looked at the diamond ring on Yang Tao's hand and recalled the gifts Zhuang Yan had given her before. She suddenly felt that they were no longer appealing. Previously, Zhuang Yan had gifted her items like phone cases, keychains, lipsticks, skincare products, and so on. They all seemed to please girls at first glance, but their actual value wasn't very high.
I didn't think much of it before, but comparing myself to Yang Tao, the value of all the gifts I've received over three years with Zhuang Yan doesn't even compare to the value of this gift from Zhao Shucheng.
This way, she developed a sense of psychological imbalance. After putting in time and giving her body, the money she earned was not even half of what Yang Tao earned hand in hand. Didn't this make her seem cheaper than Yang Tao?
So when she thought about the solemn date in the evening, she decided to check what gifts Zhuang Yan had sent first. If it was a designer handbag, that would be fine; if it was diamond jewelry, that would also be acceptable. However, if it turned out to be some worthless small gift, Lan Weiwei felt that she should give Zhuang Yan the cold shoulder, letting him know that she also had her temper and wasn't so easily appeased.