Chapter 537: Dongzi's Girlfriend

Chapter 537: Dongzi's Girlfriend

Evening.

In a private room of a high-end restaurant in Shanghai, a young couple was having dinner.

"Dongzi, this braised mandarin fish is one of Shanghai's famous dishes. The taste is quite good, try it," the young woman said. She looked to be around twenty-three or twenty-four, with a beauty that could be described as stunning, a classic beauty.

As she spoke, this beautiful young woman used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of fish and place it in Dongzi's bowl.

Seeing this, Dongzi couldn't help but smile broadly and nodded, saying, "Okay, I'll try it."

The taste was salty with a hint of sweetness. If it were a dish from a province that doesn't eat sweet foods, it might be considered dark cuisine. However, many dishes in Guangxi are sweet, and Dongzi, having grown up eating such dishes, easily accepted this flavor.

He ate while praising, "The taste is indeed excellent."

The beautiful young woman continued to smile and pick more dishes for him, saying, "And this Fengjing preserved pork hoof is also a specialty, try it."

Dongzi also picked a piece of Fengjing preserved pork hoof for her, smiling, "Lanlan, you should eat too."

Shen Xianglan smiled and said good, then ate gracefully, her manners rivaling those of a noblewoman from ancient times, clearly indicating her distinguished family background.

The two of them ate with affection and tenderness for over half an hour. When they were nearly finished, Dongzi asked, "Lanlan, are you full?"

Shen Xianglan replied, "I'm full!"

"Then let's go!"

"Okay!"

They then held hands and walked out of the private room together, heading to the cash register to pay.

Just as they finished paying and were about to leave, a few young men also came out of another private room to pay.

One of the young men saw Dongzi and Shen Xianglan holding hands and couldn't help but show a look of surprise, "Lanlan!"

Shen Xianglan turned to look and also showed a look of surprise, "Brother!"

Another young man stared intently at their intertwined hands, his face contorted as he questioned, "Lanlan, who is he?"

Hearing his accusatory tone, Shen Xianglan felt a bit unhappy and answered, "Zou Weijie, he is my boyfriend. And please call me by my full name, thank you!"

Zou Weijie's face instantly turned ashen, and he gritted his teeth, "You refused me for this little punk?"

Dongzi, who had been unsure of who these people were, immediately retorted upon hearing the man's rudeness, "You're the little punk, and your whole family is a bunch of little punks."

"Shut up!"

"Dongzi!"

The Shen siblings almost spoke at the same time, but their tones were different. Shen Baoshan's voice carried a tone of reprimand, while Shen Xianglan's voice was laced with concern.

Zou Weijie, clearly not expecting Dongzi to dare to insult him, laughed in anger, "Interesting, really fking interesting."

A young man following Zou Weijie saw an opportunity to curry favor and immediately stepped forward, shouting, "Good kid, you've got some guts, daring to insult our Young Master Zou. Do you know who Young Master Zou is?"

Dongzi replied calmly, "I don't care who he is. If he can insult me, why can't I insult him?"

The young man sneered, "Do you think you can compare to Young Master Zou? It's an honor for him to insult you!"

Seeing that her boyfriend wanted to argue further, Shen Xianglan gently pulled his hand and whispered, "Dongzi, let's go, don't say anything more."

Dongzi, seeing this, didn't want to argue anymore and nodded, "Okay!"

Zou Weijie coldly snorted, "Stop, you insulted me and want to leave?"

Shen Xianglan couldn't help but stop and frowned, "Zou Weijie, you were the one who insulted first. My boyfriend just responded. What more do you want?"

As she spoke, she glared fiercely at her brother.

Although Shen Baoshan also didn't like the man standing next to his sister, he still cared for his sister. Seeing that she was a bit angry, he had to step forward and say, "Weijie, give me some face, don't make things difficult for him here."

Zou Weijie, seeing that Shen Baoshan had intervened, could only give Dongzi a deep look and said, "Since Brother Shan has spoken, I'll give him some face."

Shen Xianglan then pulled her boyfriend's hand and said, "Let's go!"

Dongzi didn't say anything more, just nodded at his future brother-in-law, and allowed his girlfriend to lead him out of the restaurant.

Zou Weijie stood there, watching them, his face dark. He had been pursuing Shen Xianglan for not just a day or two, but for two to three years. For the past two years, Shen Xianglan had always used her studies as an excuse to avoid dating him.

Last year, after she graduated from university, he had also received support from her brother, Shen Baoshan. Unfortunately, she still rejected him without hesitation.

However, Zou Weijie was not discouraged. In his circle, Shen Xianglan was indeed the most outstanding girl, not only beautiful but also a high-achieving student from Peking University. Moreover, their family backgrounds were similar. If he could marry her and gain the support of the Shen family, his status at home would rise even further.

Therefore, Zou Weijie recently planned to start with Shen Xianglan's parents. As long as he could gain their support, he believed Shen Xianglan would be unable to escape his grasp.

But he never expected that before he could find an opportunity to act, this unknown little punk would steal his chance, which was a tremendous humiliation.

Shen Baoshan roughly understood Zou Weijie's feelings at the moment and could only console him, "Weijie, don't worry. I'll ask my sister tonight when she gets home and find out more about that guy."

Zou Weijie quickly adjusted his mindset and said, "Brother Shan, I'll leave it to you. Call me as soon as you have any news."

Shen Baoshan nodded and said, "Alright, I'll be off then. We'll talk on the phone later."

"Okay."

"Take care, Brother Shan!"

...

After leaving the restaurant, Shen Xianglan said somewhat reproachfully, "Dongzi, you were too impulsive just now. They were in the majority, and you would have been at a disadvantage if a conflict had started."

Dongzi laughed, "You're worried they might beat me up?"

Shen Xianglan rolled her eyes, "You're my boyfriend, of course I'm worried. They're not good people; most people wouldn't dare to provoke them. Luckily, my brother was there today; otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to get away so easily after insulting him."

Dongzi grinned, "Then I should thank my future brother-in-law!"

Shen Xianglan spat, "Don't be silly, who's your future brother-in-law? Seriously, don't be so impulsive in the future!"

Dongzi said, "Where was I impulsive? They called me a punk to my face, and you don't think I should respond?"

Shen Xianglan said earnestly, "It's not that you can't respond, but you need to consider the situation. As the saying goes, a wise man doesn't take a loss when he's outnumbered. In their numbers, it's best to endure if you can. After all, a wise man doesn't stand under a crumbling wall!"

"I understand your point, but since I insulted them, I had the confidence that I wouldn't be at a disadvantage. Don't worry!"

Dongzi then asked, "That punk seemed so arrogant just now. What's his background?"

Shen Xianglan glanced at him and replied, "He's the youngest son of Mr. Zou, the leader."

Dongzi took a deep breath and sighed, "No wonder he's so arrogant. His background is indeed significant!"

Shen Xianglan looked at him, "Are you scared now?"

Dongzi puffed out his chest and said confidently, "I'm not scared of him. I'm a famous writer with a million followers. If he dares to do anything to me, I'll expose him online. I don't believe he wouldn't be afraid."

Shen Xianglan liked his confident demeanor and laughed, "Don't worry, I won't let him touch you."

Dongzi smiled and changed the topic, "Lanlan, today I met your brother. I think it's time to visit my future in-laws. What do you think?"

Shen Xianglan couldn't help but punch him playfully, blushing, "Stop it, don't call them that. Who are your in-laws?"

Dongzi smiled, "Isn't it just a matter of time?"

Shen Xianglan was about to speak when her phone, hanging from her neck, rang. She picked it up and saw the caller ID, saying, "It's my mom."

Dongzi said, "Answer it quickly!"

Shen Xianglan nodded and walked to the side to answer, "Mom!"

Her mother's voice came through the phone, "Lanlan, your brother told me you have a boyfriend?"

Shen Xianglan, prepared for this, admitted directly, "Yes, I do have a boyfriend!"

Her mother asked, "Are you with him now?"

Shen Xianglan replied, "Yes."

Her mother said, "Lanlan, your father is at home too. Come back, we want to talk to you."

Shen Xianglan knew she couldn't avoid her parents forever and agreed, "Okay, I'll be right back."

Her mother said, "Alright, we'll talk when you get back. Bye!"

Shen Xianglan replied, "Okay."

After hanging up, she looked at her boyfriend.

Dongzi asked, "Your mom called you back home?"

Shen Xianglan nodded, "Yes, my brother must have called her. She wants to talk about you and me."

Dongzi laughed, "That's perfect. Tell your parents when I should visit them."

Shen Xianglan rolled her eyes, "At a time like this, you're still joking!"

Dongzi said, "I'm not joking. I'm serious. We've been dating for a while, and it's time to meet the parents. I know what you're worried about, but trust me, I'm confident I can win their favor and get their blessing."

Shen Xianglan, seeing his confidence, put her worries aside and smiled, "Alright, I'll see how you win their favor."

Dongzi said with determination, "I promise I won't disappoint you."

Shen Xianglan said, "Alright, enough talk. My parents are waiting for me. I'll head back now!"

Dongzi waved to hail a taxi for her and said, "Call me if anything happens."

Shen Xianglan nodded, "I will!"

...

At the procuratorate family building.

Shen Xianglan's father was sitting on the sofa smoking, while her mother sat on the other side, frowning. Shen Baoshan was also smoking, blowing out clouds of smoke.

This was the scene Shen Xianglan saw when she opened the door. She changed her shoes and greeted them as if nothing was wrong, "Dad, Mom, I'm back!"

Her mother asked directly, "Lanlan, when did you start dating a boyfriend?"

Shen Xianglan sat down on a single-seat sofa and replied, "He started pursuing me when I was a freshman in college, but I only agreed to be his girlfriend last month."

Her father, mother, and Shen Baoshan all looked surprised upon hearing this.

Her mother asked again, "Is he your classmate or from Beijing?"

Shen Xianglan shook her head and said, "Neither. He's from Guangxi and also studied at a university in the capital."

Shen Baoshan couldn't help but interject, "Lanlan, is he from Tsinghua University?"

Shen Xianglan shook her head again, "No, just an ordinary university."

Shen's mother frowned and asked, "Lanlan, you are a top student from Peking University, and your boyfriend is from an ordinary university? Isn't that a laughing matter?"

Shen Xianglan replied, "Mom, I believe that when choosing a partner, the most important thing is their character and ability, not which university they attended. Besides, although he studied at an ordinary university, he is very talented."

Shen's father added, "Lanlan is right. When choosing a partner, the most important thing is their character and ability. As long as their character is good and they have real ability, it doesn't matter if they graduated from a prestigious university."

Shen's mother asked, "What does he do for a living?"

Shen Xianglan answered with pride, "He is a web novelist. He published his first novel in his freshman year, and he is truly very talented."

Shen's mother was puzzled, "A novelist is a novelist, why call him a web novelist?"

Shen Baoshan explained, "Mom, I know about this. A web novelist is someone who writes novels online. They are quite different from traditional novelists. To become a traditional novelist is quite difficult; every traditional novelist is talented.

However, the threshold for becoming a web novelist is much lower. As long as you can use the internet and type, you can become a web novelist. The quality of web novelists varies widely. Some are very talented, while others are not so much.

Overall, web novelists are often looked down upon by traditional novelists and have little social status."

Upon hearing this, Shen's father and mother both frowned.

Shen's mother looked at her daughter and asked, "Lanlan, is that true?"

Shen Xianglan replied, "Brother is right. Overall, web novelists have a lower status than traditional novelists, but that's not true for everyone. The boyfriend I chose is not one of those useless web novelists. He is a top web novelist, earning millions of yuan a year."

Shen's father was surprised and said, "Web novelists can earn that much?"

Shen's mother was also taken aback. Earning millions of yuan a year, even in the future, would make someone stand out, surpassing over ninety percent of the population. In this era, it was even more impressive.

Without going into other things, just consider the housing prices of this era. For example, in Shanghai, even in developed areas like Pudong, the average price of a commercial apartment was around 16,000 yuan per square meter. In ordinary county towns, the prices were even lower, less than 1,000 yuan per square meter, making it much cheaper compared to the future.

Therefore, earning millions of yuan a year in this era could buy two or three apartments in Shanghai, which was indeed very impressive.

Shen Xianglan smiled and replied, "Dad, not all web novelists earn that much. Some can't even cover their internet fees, let alone earn millions a year."

Although Shen Baoshan was also shocked by his sister's boyfriend's earning ability, he still favored Zou Weijie and interjected, "Lanlan, I admit your boyfriend is quite capable, but how can he compare to Zou Weijie? Zou Weijie is the son of Mr. Zou, and our families are well-matched. Moreover, Zou Weijie's grandfather is the CEO of a listed company, and the family's wealth is enough for your boyfriend to earn for a hundred years. I still think Zou Weijie is the better match for you."

Shen Xianglan shook her head and said, "Brother, matters of the heart cannot be forced. Zou Weijie has been pursuing me for two to three years, but I have no feelings for him. His family background is indeed impressive, but those are the achievements of his elders, not his own.

In terms of personal ability, Zou Weijie doesn't even deserve to carry my boyfriend's shoes."

Shen's father and mother exchanged a glance. Shen's mother then asked, "Lanlan, are you set on this boyfriend?"

Shen Xianglan replied, "He has been earning millions a year since his university days. If others had such income, they would be lost, but he has always maintained a humble attitude. He pursued me for years without knowing my background.

After graduating, he stayed in the capital for me. When I graduated and returned to Shanghai to work, he followed me to Shanghai.

A man who is both capable and devoted like that is hard to find. I am set on him, and I hope Mom and Dad can bless us."

Shen's mother was not the type to value only material benefits. Her daughter's boyfriend, while not from a prestigious background, was indeed very capable. Moreover, her daughter's heart was set on him, and there was no need to force them apart.

Thinking this, Shen's mother looked at the head of the family and asked, "Old Shen, what do you think?"

Shen's father stubbed out his cigarette and said, "Since Lanlan likes him, we, as parents, will naturally bless you. Bring him over for us to meet him soon!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end