Mrs. Cheng had a loud voice, and her words were easily heard by the other family members who were chatting together. However, many of them couldn't conceal their disdain. Hua Yan's close friend, Li Meier, was Cheng Jie's lover, and they were the first to know about it. What was strange was that back then, Hua Yan used to go shopping and visit beauty salons with Li Meier. That foolish woman didn't have a clue.

"Well, they are also good friends." Cheng Jie's tone was cold, his eyes openly mocking. He thought back to when he hadn't yet divorced Hua Yan, and Li Meier had seduced him into bed. That foolish Hua Yan had been deceived into thinking of Li Meier as a confidante. She didn't even realize how many times she and Li Meier had rolled around in her own bed. Such a foolish woman was destined to be abandoned.

"I think Li Meier is much more likable than Hua Yan. Li Meier is always so affectionate whenever she sees me, and my loud voice never seems to intimidate her. She even accompanied this old lady of mine to go shopping several times. Unlike Hua Yan, who has been married for over four years, whenever she sees me, it's like a mouse seeing a cat, completely uninteresting. She trembles at my loud voice as if I were some kind of villain, as if I abuse her regularly. It's infuriating to think about it." Mrs. Cheng spoke of Li Meier with such fondness, while her teeth clenched at the mention of Hua Yan. She truly despised her.

"All right, let's not gossip about others for no reason. It's late, everyone should rest. We have an important family banquet to prepare for tomorrow." Mr. Cheng angrily threw the newspaper he was holding onto the table. He was very dissatisfied with Mrs. Cheng's gossiping behavior, but after being married for decades, he could only express his anger and hope she would tone it down. He couldn't bring himself to be too harsh, and besides, he didn't have any other severe punishment to enforce. After throwing the newspaper, Mr. Cheng had the butler take him back to his bedroom.

The rest of the family members in the living room left one after another. After seeing off the last group of guests, Mrs. Cheng couldn't help but murmur to Cheng Jie, "Look, your father didn't even leave me any face in front of so many people."

Sitting on the sofa, Cheng Jie hugged Mrs. Cheng and comforted her slowly, "You know Dad doesn't like it when you talk about Hua Yan. Just be more careful next time. And besides, don't you know Dad's temper? If he really didn't want to give you face, he would have said something right then and there. Mom, go back to sleep. Say a few kind words, and Dad will surely never say anything harsh to you again."

Mrs. Cheng lightly tapped Cheng Jie's forehead in embarrassment and anger, scolding him, "You naughty child, always teasing your mother. All right, I'm going upstairs now. You should sleep early too, don't stay up too late. Your health is the most important thing. Do you want some tea? Mom will make it for you?"

"I'm not drinking anything now, Mom, you don't have to worry about me. Go upstairs and rest. Early to bed, early to rise is good for your skin."

After coaxing Mrs. Cheng upstairs, Cheng Jie, feeling a bit tired, went to the study to check if the contract with Alice was still intact. It was crucial for Cheng's Group to easily expand into Europe and America, and the opportunity to cooperate with Alice's family was essential. So he needed to be extremely careful.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

To please Alice, he had hired top chefs to prepare food for tomorrow's banquet, and the wine was all precious imports bought at high prices.

The gift for Alice was also seventy-two identical D-grade diamonds, despite the high cost. But to ensure the success of this venture, Cheng Jie spared no expense to please this British woman. Of course, he also planned to give Hua Yan a few gentle smiles tomorrow, to placate that foolish woman.

Early the next morning, Hua Yan was awakened by her alarm clock. She closed her eyes, intending to snooze for a while longer. After all, she was going to the countryside today, so there was no need to get up early and exercise. Consider it a little treat for herself. But just then, there was a knocking on her bedroom door.

Soon after, her father's voice came through the door, "Xiao Yan, are you awake? The sun is already high, and if you don't get up soon, it'll be noon. Hurry up!"

Hua Yan pulled half of the summer blanket that had fallen to the floor over her head and continued sleeping. Her father waited for a while, but hearing no sound from inside the room, he finally made up his mind and knocked on the door with more force.

Continuous noise made Hua Yan scream in protest, "Dad, you're murdering your daughter. Let me sleep in peace."

"Xiao Yan, you said you wanted to go fishing at the countryside resort today. Dad hasn't had a chance to relax in a long time either."

"All right, all right, I'll get up right away. You go and prepare the fishing gear first, Dad. And ask Auntie Chang to prepare breakfast." Usually, they didn't eat until around eight or nine o'clock, but today it was just past seven.

"Hurry up, Dad's waiting for you downstairs."

"Got it." Hua Yan struggled to get up, rubbing her long hair as she muttered to herself, "Dad is really impatient. Wasn't he the chairman of a big company before? How come there's no sense of stability at all? Sometimes he acts like a child."

After quickly rushing to the bathroom for a shower, she grabbed a set of casual sportswear from the wardrobe and put it on. She then picked up a white baseball cap from the hat rack and tried it on. It looked good, so she casually grabbed the brown sunglasses she had found the night before and headed downstairs.

When Hua Yan came downstairs and saw her father sitting on the sofa, eagerly looking upstairs, she couldn't help but feel amused. "Dad, are all our outing supplies ready?" Wasn't last night and this morning's time too short to organize all those things?

"Miss, you don't know, Master had everything prepared last night," the housekeeper chimed in from the kitchen with a smile on her face. Although Mr. Hua felt a bit embarrassed, he didn't refute.

"Dad, why didn't I hear you packing things last night?"

Mr. Hua felt awkward and whispered, "Dad couldn't sleep in the middle of the night, so he prepared everything we needed for today in this bag in his own bedroom."

"Well, that's good. We have plenty of time left. We can go early and find a good spot to catch a lot of fish. Is breakfast ready, Auntie Chang?" Hua Yan kindly changed the topic to spare her father from feeling awkward.

Auntie Chang's cheerful voice came from the kitchen, "Miss, it's ready. I'll bring it out for everyone."

After taking a few bites, Hua Yan generously praised, "Auntie Chang, your millet porridge and steamed buns are getting tastier and tastier."

"As long as you enjoy it, Miss. These snacks are prepared for you and Master. You can have them as a snack if you get hungry. It's good for your stomach."

"Thank you, Auntie Chang. Once you've packed them up, just put them in my black backpack."

After breakfast, Hua Yan and her father got ready to leave. Before leaving, Hua Yan instructed Auntie Chang, "Auntie Chang, if anyone from the Cheng family calls or comes looking for me and my dad, just say that my dad isn't feeling well and went to see a doctor. Understand?" She didn't want their day trip to be ruined by that family.