Chapter 252 If it weren't for me, would you have found a wife?

The online reaction to Lu Fang's reply was frenzied, with Song Ni's fans and various onlookers speculating wildly about the identity of Song Ni's husband. The Li family had no prominent public figures, and the figure who had previously trended on hot searches did not quite resemble the man from the Tang family. Lu Fang, like a scumbag, sauntered away after piquing public interest, generating buzz and simultaneously giving Lu Corporation and Song Ni a free advertisement. Of course, the discussions openly held by netizens lasted less than half an hour, after which all search terms related to Song Ni's husband became unsearchable. The two protagonists being discussed online were preparing to return to the Tan family. It was, in fact, the first time they were returning to the old Song family residence together after their marriage, which was one of the reasons Song Ni felt this marriage was quite good. Unlike other families, they didn't have to deal with numerous relatives, there were no rules dictating they had to live in the old residence, nor were they required to return at specific times. For Song Ni, who valued freedom, this was incredibly comfortable. However, she felt a slight nervousness about meeting her in-laws, all stemming from Tan Zheng's father, the man who had elevated the Tan family to the top tier in Star City. "What does your father like?" Song Ni had prepared a gift for her mother-in-law but couldn't figure out what to give her father-in-law. Tan Zheng stopped typing his email and looked up at the bewildered Song Ni. "You don't need to prepare anything; our presence is enough." "No, these are proper courtesies. You can't not know what your father likes, can you?" Tan Zheng's brow twitched. He turned his head, propped his chin on his hand, and pondered for a while. "I only know he likes my mother." Song Ni: ... "Anything else?" "I'm not sure. As long as my mother is happy, he's happy." Song Ni was speechless again, having hoped for some useful advice from Tan Zheng. Tan Zheng smiled and extended his hand to Song Ni. Song Ni glanced at him but then moved to sit in his lap as he wished. "Didn't we already decide to approach your mother first?" Song Ni played with Tan Zheng's fingers, touching his knuckles, then his tiger's mouth, and then tracing the veins on the back of his hand. "Father works hard at the company, he gets tired, so we can't completely ignore him, right? At least let's show some good attitude." Hearing this, Tan Zheng snorted. "When he passed the burden to me, he didn't consider whether I was tired." "Then why did you agree to take over back then?" If she remembered correctly, his father and mother had their son Tan Zheng in their early twenties, and now they were only in their early fifties. With their grooming, they could pass for being in their forties or even thirties when out. Song Ni took Tan Zheng's ring off, first slipping it onto her little finger, then onto her other fingers sequentially. It was too large; there was still room even when she put it on her thumb. "He said that if he hadn't given me money to play with cars back then, I wouldn't be where I am today, and I wouldn't be able to find a wife." Song Ni: ... "So you just surrendered?" Tan Zheng smiled, took the ring back from Song Ni, and put it on again. "Yes, he's right. Without him, I wouldn't have been able to find you as my wife." Song Ni: "Wait, wait, what does that have to do with me?" A new email arrived, and Tan Zheng patted Song Ni's waist. "You can ask them then about how they chose you back then." Song Ni blinked, got up, and thought, "Right, that's also something worth asking." ... Song Ni's first impression of her father-in-law was that he looked like Tan Zheng twenty years later. Therefore, even on their third meeting, Song Ni felt no timidity. "Dad, I heard Uncle Xu say that when Tan Zheng had that accident and lost a hand, he shamelessly went home to ask you for money. Why did you agree back then?" Tan Yi pushed his glasses up, as if he couldn't quite recall that incident. After a long pause, he asked, "Fourteen years ago?" Song Ni calculated the time and nodded. She had expected to hear something like words of support for Tan Zheng's dreams from her father-in-law, but instead, Tan Yi let out a cold snort. "At that time, Xu Qing was so old and still didn't have a girlfriend. Your mother was worried sick. When I asked, I found out this brat had spent all of Xu Qing's money playing with cars. If he had no money, how could he find a partner?" Song Ni: ... Was that the reason? It was truly... beyond her imagination. Hearing this, Mrs. Tan, Yang Qian, couldn't help but let out a soft cough. "When we were dating, you were also a penniless nobody." Tan Yi didn't care about being contradicted by his wife. Instead, he took off his glasses and looked at her dotingly. "If I hadn't intervened then, you would have been snatched away. After that, didn't I work hard to earn money? Being without money to date would have made my partner suffer." Yang Qian glared at Tan Yi, but the corners of her lips subtly curved upward. "If you truly love someone, you wouldn't care about money. Xu Qing still doesn't have enough money, and he hasn't found a partner either." "That's his own problem." Song Ni looked at her father-in-law, then at her mother-in-law, and began to be curious about their story. She had heard that her father-in-law was a self-made man, and it was only after he achieved some success that his marriage received the Yang family's approval. The Yang family was renowned for its scholarly background, and at the time, giving an opportunity to the penniless Tan Yi was already considered quite open-minded. However, time had shown the Yang family that they had made the right choice. Tan Yi suddenly looked at Song Ni. "Why are you suddenly asking about this?" Song Ni's gaze shifted. She leaned in, cupping her hand around her mouth. "If Tan Zheng hadn't been a race car driver before, I wouldn't have participated in that damn blind date." Even Tan Yi was taken aback by Song Ni's directness for a moment. He laughed heartily and looked at Tan Zheng. "Did you hear that? If your old man hadn't given you money to play with cars back then, you wouldn't have been able to get a wife." Tan Zheng pulled Song Ni back, telling her to sit properly. "Yes, Dad, I'll toast you." Without waiting for Tan Yi to react, Tan Zheng drank the wine in one go. After Tan Yi finished drinking, Tan Zheng smoothly stated the purpose of their visit. "Since you've been so kind already, why not do another good deed?" Tan Yi put down his wine glass, his brow furrowing as he sensed something amiss. "What?" Tan Zheng smiled and held Song Ni's hand. "Next spring, Ni Ni will be going to London to study for a year. I plan to work at the GN headquarters for a year and will no longer be involved in domestic affairs." Tan Yi's brow furrowed even tighter. "What do you mean? You're not returning to Tan Corporation?" Tan Zheng slowly placed food onto Song Ni's plate. "There's no rush to return to Tan Corporation. Can you bear to see your daughter-in-law alone and helpless in a foreign land for a year?" Song Ni: ... Tan Yi: ... Yang Qian put down her chopsticks. "That's certainly not permissible. You should go with her to London. Ni Ni's studies will be difficult, and you must take good care of her." Tan Yi: ... "Wife, didn't we agree to travel the world together next year?" "Will the world end if we postpone it by a year?" Tan Yi: ... Song Ni: ... Oh my, she didn't need to say anything at all; her mother-in-law automatically sided with them. *Sob sob sob!* What a wonderfully kind person her mother-in-law is! Song Ni first cast a grateful glance at Yang Qian, then blinked her big eyes at Tan Yi. Tan Yi first looked at his wife, then at his daughter-in-law, and finally at Tan Zheng, who was smiling and watching the show. "..." 70