"Xiao Chen, I apologize. I misunderstood you. Please don't take it to heart. It's late now, why don't you stay the night? I'll have Xiao Liu make arrangements for you."
"Clean out a room, and you can make do for the night. Tomorrow, I'll treat you, and I'll call Li Yong over. The three of us will have a drink, and consider it my apology."
Not long after Xu Jiali left, Zhang Qun returned with a smile.
Since he knew Chen Yang wasn't his son-in-law, befriending such a capable young man was certainly not a bad thing.
Even Li Yong had benefited greatly from him. Chen Yang obviously had his unique qualities; being adaptable, Zhang Qun, who had lived for more than half his life, would have been completely devoid of wisdom if he couldn't see that.
"Uncle Zhang, you're too kind. Teacher Zhang has helped me so much, I'm grateful. Besides, I was drunk earlier and spouted nonsense. I should be the one apologizing to you."
"How about this, tomorrow I'll make arrangements at my place and invite you and Uncle Li over for a simple meal. It can be my apology to you, Uncle."
"Please bring Auntie and Teacher Zhang along. I originally planned to treat Teacher Zhang to a meal today to thank her, but I didn't expect my alcohol tolerance to be so poor, and I messed it up. I'm ashamed."
Chen Yang looked at Zhang Qun. As the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling person. Moreover, given Zhang Qun's status, even if his words were just formalities, they were enough to show him respect. Chen Yang knew how to conduct himself.
Even if it was still a meal, changing the location and the wording made a significant difference.
While Li Yong's future development was promising, he was going to Beijing. In the next year or two, he truly wouldn't be able to look after Chen Yang. By the time he was promoted, it would be more than a decade later.
Zhang Qun, however, had been rooted in Shanghai for many years and was clearly not from an ordinary family. At least, Hou Yong, the director of the Industry and Commerce Bureau, was completely out of his league.
Hou Yong didn't live in such a villa, nor did he have a car, let alone dedicated security guards. For a person of this caliber, befriending him could genuinely help Chen Yang at a critical moment.
Of course, Chen Yang had another most important matter at hand: helping Zhang Yingying calm down.
Living in such a family was fortunate, but also unfortunate.
Teacher Zhang would likely become a victim of a family alliance in the future. Chen Yang didn't know how to say it. There were many things that even with his two lifetimes of experience, he had no good way to resolve.
"That would be wonderful. I'll call Li Yong, and we'll settle it like this."
"Xiao Chen, please comfort Yingying for me. I'm doing this for her own good. What father doesn't care about his daughter?"
"The person I choose for her might not be someone she likes, but they will definitely be outstanding in terms of family background, character, and future prospects. She's still young and doesn't understand these things. In the future, she'll understand my good intentions."
"Living a lifetime, are things like love and romance really that important?"
Zhang Qun sighed. He had lost his temper today and shouldn't have slapped his daughter. Now that he thought about it, he regretted it himself.
"Uncle Zhang, I would have done this even if you hadn't said it. It's all my fault for getting drunk today, otherwise, you wouldn't have misunderstood."
"Please wait for Auntie and yourself. I'll go upstairs and talk to Teacher Zhang. However, I won't be staying here. I might need to trouble the driver to take me back to my place on the Bund. It'll also give him a chance to remember the route. Uncle, Auntie, and Teacher Zhang must come to my house tomorrow."
Zhang Qun didn't mention it, but Chen Yang intended to talk to Zhang Yingying.
If nothing else, Zhang Yingying had helped him so much, he couldn't just leave her to her own devices.
What if Zhang Yingying really thought too much and got stuck in a dead end, leading to some trouble? He would be devastated.
"Go ahead. You two can talk in the living room on the second floor. We won't disturb you. Try your best to persuade Yingying."
Zhang Qun knew when to stop. The living room on the second floor was out of earshot, but they wouldn't be doing anything inappropriate in a room. This was the best arrangement.
This was also because he had made a mistake today and wanted Chen Yang to help persuade his daughter. Otherwise, this late at night, even in the living room, he wouldn't let Chen Yang and his daughter be alone together.
"Uncle, alright, I'll go upstairs and talk to Teacher Zhang. Please ask the driver to wait."
Chen Yang naturally understood the underlying meaning of Zhang Qun's words: he hoped Chen Yang and Zhang Yingying would maintain a distance.
Chen Yang had no other way with such a cunning old fox. He was too shrewd, but Chen Yang didn't need to deal with him. As long as Chen Yang could show he was valuable to him, Zhang Qun would try his best to get closer to him.
Once Chen Yang had no more use, he would ruthlessly kick him aside. This was Zhang Qun.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Chen Yang knocked on the door. There were two rooms upstairs, one with the door open, which was the study, and the other was naturally Zhang Yingying's room.
"Teacher Zhang, it's me, Chen Yang. I'd like to talk to you."
Zhang Yingying had locked herself in her room, and even Xu Jiali couldn't get through to her.
Seeing Chen Yang go upstairs, Xu Jiali worriedly tugged at Zhang Qun's sleeve.
She had only one precious daughter and naturally didn't want Zhang Yingying to be unhappy.
"Old Zhang, do you think Chen Yang can persuade Yingying? Why did this boy get married? Otherwise..."
Xu Jiali didn't finish her sentence. The die was cast, and there was no use saying more.
A mother knows her daughter best. She could tell that her daughter didn't reject Chen Yang, otherwise, she wouldn't have used him as a shield. Since childhood, she hadn't seen any man capture her daughter's attention.
If nothing else, her Uncle Zheng's third son, who had served in the military for five or six years, looked good too, but Zhang Yingying wasn't interested.
As for the descendants of her father's brothers, they were even less worth mentioning. Although many were truly capable, more were just second-generation heirs.
Let alone Zhang Yingying, even she looked down on them. Chen Yang was the first man her daughter had taken a liking to.
"Let's try our best, it's not like we have to find a partner for Yingying right away."
"You should also think more during this time. If it's really necessary, you can take Yingying back to see her maternal grandfather. His judgment when it comes to people is usually good."
"Whether it's Jinling or the capital, my father-in-law's network is broader than ours. He can always find someone suitable. Even if the family background is a little worse, it doesn't matter, as long as their character is good, they won't fool around outside, and they are willing to be devoted to our daughter. At worst, we'll pool our resources to help him."
Zhang Qun conceded a little. Normally, the man's family background should be superior to the woman's for a happy and stable marriage in the future.
This way, the in-laws would have a good foundation, and in the future, if anything happened, they could protect their sons. After all, his father-in-law was advanced in age, and once he passed away, the Zhang family would be in a difficult position.