"You little punk, you took away my two precious granddaughters and haven't come back to see me for so long. Are you bullying them out there?"

Mr. Zhou stared at Yang Yan, his eyes blazing, questioning him with an unfriendly expression.

Yang Yan was slightly stunned.

He initially wanted to laugh it off as usual, but remembering Zhou Hanyun's kidnapping in Manhattan made him feel guilty, leaving him speechless.

Zhou Hanyun, being sensitive, quickly grabbed the old man's hand and joked:

"Grandpa, what are you saying! Yang Yan treats us sisters so well!"

"Really?"

Mr. Zhou didn't look at Zhou Hanyun but rather cast a suspicious look at Zhuge Wushuang and then at Yang Yan with a meaningful glance.

The implication was clearly, bringing a little seductress into the house, and you still dare say you treat the two of them well?

Even though Yang Yan had quite thick skin, he couldn't think of anything to say at the moment!

After all, our Miss Zhuge Wushuang had once boldly declared right in front of the old man that she was Yang Yan's fiancée!

Yang Yan wanted to explain, but he couldn't say anything and could only remain silent.

However, the source of the awkwardness, Zhuge Wushuang herself, didn't notice a thing. She put on a well-behaved look and smiled at Mr. Zhou:

"Sir Zhou, don't worry. I'm with Yang Yan every day and can vouch for him. He hasn't bullied Hanyun or Hanyu."

Silence—

Suddenly, it's deathly quiet all around.

Yang Yan groaned inwardly, almost coughing up blood.

He shot Zhuge Wushuang a fierce look, yelling with sound transmission technique:

"Auntie, can you just be quiet if you can't talk properly?"

"I'm just trying to help you!"

Immediately, Zhuge Wushuang's aggrieved voice came to Yang Yan's mind.

Alright, Yang Yan was utterly defeated.

He really regretted it now, wondering why he was so foolish to sympathize with her pitiful look.

If this script goes on, Mr. Zhou will end up in the kitchen looking for a knife, wouldn't he?

"Hmph! Since my two granddaughters spoke for you, I won't hold it against you for now."

Seeing the atmosphere about to fall into a completely awkward stalemate, Mr. Zhou shook his head and said:

"It shows some conscience that you still know to visit this old man."

"Whew!"

Yang Yan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly presented the gifts he'd brought to curry favor.

Mr. Zhou didn't see the value in the wine and fruits, but when he received that piece of Warm Jade, his old eyes gleamed with shock.

In disbelief, he exclaimed:

"Boy, where did you get this exquisite jade?"

Without waiting for Yang Yan to answer, he kept stroking the jade with his fingers, mumbling and whispering:

"Smooth and polished, yet substantial, cool to the touch—truly a world-class jade."

Hearing such high praise, Yang Yan couldn't help but chuckle while rubbing his nose.

Over time, Mr. Zhou had received quite a few good items from him, and naturally, his discernment had greatly improved.

Thus, it's no surprise he could see the benefits of this jade.

But that's all.

If Mr. Zhou knew that in the Hidden World, such jade was as common as pebbles by the river, who knows what expression he would make.

"Ahem! You little punk, is this jade meant for me?"

Mr. Zhou finally snapped out of his shock, tightly clutching the jade as if afraid it might disappear.

Yang Yan found it amusing and pretended to be clueless about jade, saying:

"I heard Hanyun and Hanyu mention you like jade, so I just happened to buy a piece earlier."

"I don't really know much about this stuff, so I thought I'd give it to you, Mr. Zhou."

"Hey! This thing in your hands is truly a waste!"

"Since that's the case, I'll reluctantly accept it! Consider it safe-keeping on your behalf."

Yang Yan and the three ladies exchanged a glance, all amused by Mr. Zhou's childish demeanor.

But no one pointed out the true origin of the jade.

Despite being very dissatisfied with Yang Yan for taking his two beloved granddaughters and having entangled relations with other women, Mr. Zhou couldn't resist the sweet talks from Zhou Hanyun and Zhou Hanyu.

And with the jade gifted by Yang Yan, he finally temporarily set aside his prejudice against him.

During dinner, after Mr. Zhou had a small sip of Immortal Wine, he felt as if he were floating on clouds.

Goodness!

If Yang Yan hadn't held him back, Mr. Zhou would have sworn brotherhood with him, slitting a chicken's head and burning yellow paper.

With Mr. Zhou's birthday approaching and the uncertain future after the Demon Race invasion, Yang Yan and his group weren't in a hurry to leave; instead, they planned to stay and keep him company.

Mr. Zhou naturally knew nothing about the Demon Race affairs, but not knowing allowed him to be quite happy in those few days.

The only thing that displeased him was that Yang Yan still played chess against him with no mercy, each time defeating him until his armor scattered and he couldn't rally.

This was despite him retracting moves countless times in every game...

Yang Yan originally wanted to let him win, so he discreetly removed two chess pieces while he wasn't looking.

However, the old man's attentiveness and stubbornness far exceeded his expectations.

Upon discovering Yang Yan had purposely removed two pieces, he accused him of underestimating, rolled up his sleeves, and dared to show him some prowess.

Then, Yang Yan quickly defeated him again with a few moves...

In the end, Zhou Hanyun couldn't stand it anymore and dragged Yang Yan out shopping.

As the saying goes, three women form a lively drama.

Accompanying three women shopping, Yang Yan could only swallow his complaints silently.

Not to mention carrying bags and items along the way, if he glanced twice at a pretty woman on the road, he'd turn back to see three pairs of mournful eyes.

So he dared not let his eyes wander.

As a man, if shopping doesn't allow him to admire beauties, what's the point of shopping?

Unfortunately, women seem oblivious to this pain.

For they believe shopping's purpose is to buy things and enjoy the process of spending.

Luckily, Yang Yan has one advantage over other men; at least he doesn't have to worry about small cash matters.

Time flies, and Mr. Zhou's birthday banquet proceeded as scheduled.

The Zhou Family, being a renowned business family locally, naturally attracted numerous guests to celebrate.

Everyone who came had some stature in the local area; otherwise, they weren't qualified to attend Mr. Zhou's birthday banquet.

Of course, their stature, in Yang Yan's view, made no difference to having or not having it.

In the words of those Western snobs, they're just ignorant mortals...

The birthday banquet started smoothly, and Yang Yan's group deliberately chose a corner seat, feeling warm watching Mr. Zhou cheerily on the stage.

Yet in this world, slow-witted buffoons always seem to pop up suddenly and spoil your good mood.

Like now, standing in front of Zhou Hanyu, there's a bookish guy with glasses.