Shocking! The young educated youth had just arrived and was already clashing with spies.

Chapter 447 This is called insatiable greed (Page 12)

"This is all because Grandpa spoiled me! Mom, you don't need to worry about what happens next. Since he's targeting me, I'll take care of it."

Zhou Yichen's tone was chilling, and instead of being reassured by his words of comfort, Zhou's mother became even more worried.

"Don't do anything reckless. They are still relying on the reputation of having saved someone's life, and your grandfather holds such a high position. If this gets out, it will have a bad influence."

Zhou Yichen scoffed, "It's precisely because Grandpa holds a high position that he can't be manipulated by such a scoundrel forever!"

Zhou's mother sighed, her son's temper was usually cold and indifferent, but if he really wanted to stand up to someone, he was just like her father-in-law.

If it weren't for the second son's family persuading the old man, who knows what would have happened now.

“Your grandfather never expected that this family would become so unreasonable after only two years. He refused at the time, saying that they could say whatever they wanted and spread whatever they wanted. But this is not a matter like that. If someone with ulterior motives were to seize on this, our whole family would suffer.”

Zhou's mother no longer disliked her son. She leaned closer to Zhou Yichen and lowered her voice, saying:

"Look at the Kong family. They are the family of Director Kong, who has a prestigious reputation in the Kyoto Revolutionary Committee. Yet, they were still suddenly targeted and almost destroyed."

Zhou Yichen's face was expressionless. He knew better than anyone else what had happened to the Kong family, since Chu Xin and the others had orchestrated it together.

This is different from that bastard family that clings to their grandfather.

"Anyway, you don't need to worry about it. They were only after me anyway. I used to ignore them because I thought it was unnecessary, but now I won't tolerate it anymore."

As Zhou Yichen spoke, he remembered something else, "You don't still have contact with the Wei family, do you?"

"No, Wang Jiahui told her daughter she was looking for a husband right after the New Year, and she specifically looked for a family outside of Beijing. Anyway, the Wei family was severely damaged by what happened last time, so the couple doesn't dare to spoil their daughter anymore."

So much the better.

There have been too many women who have wanted to get close to Zhou Yichen since they were young. Only those with a bit of ulterior motives could be scared away by his cold face. There are quite a few others who have the guts to do so, like Wei Hongying.

If it were a male colleague who was constantly bothering him, he would have taken action long ago, but with female colleagues, he seems to lack the necessary strength.

The Zhou family's upbringing taught him not to lay a hand on girls, and that even if he couldn't protect them, he should at least respect them. He couldn't do either of those things, so he could only ignore it.

This led to him appearing to outsiders as ruthless as a monk in a temple before he joined the army.

He loses if any woman gives him even a second glance.

Later, he joined the army, where strict discipline made it even more important for him not to harm any civilians.

Therefore, he became colder and more aloof, which naturally scared away some people and largely avoided troublesome relationships between men and women.

It wasn't until he met Chu Xin that Zhou Yichen went from being attracted to her to learning how to care for a female comrade, stumbling and learning little by little as he grew.

He also realized that things that could have been dealt with calmly in the past now needed to be addressed in a different way to prevent potential problems, thanks to Chu Xin.

In this way, there are many aspects of Chu Xin's approach to handling affairs that he can learn from.

The mother and son had barely begun their conversation when there was another knock on the door.

Before Zhou's mother could move, Zhou Yichen was a step faster, saying, "I'll go."

When the door was opened, it turned out that the person standing there was neither Grandpa Zhou nor Zhou's father, but the "trouble" that had just been mentioned—the Ruan family.

"Oh, Yichen's back?!"

There were four people in total: an old man, another man and a woman, and a girl wearing a bright red cotton-padded jacket.

Zhou Yichen's sudden appearance made everyone smile. "You're getting more and more energetic! Come on, let's go in. It's been so long since we've seen you. We have to have a good chat."

The old man, Ruan, who was in the lead, raised his hand and pushed the door open, trying to squeeze in, as if he were more at ease than in his own home.

The girl in the red cotton-padded jacket blushed and said, "Brother Yichen, you've lost weight."

Zhou Yichen's face darkened immediately. "We don't know each other, please be mindful of your behavior."

Upon hearing this, the girl in the red cotton-padded jacket blushed even more, and her eyes reddened as well. "Brother Yichen, I am Hongmei. Don't you remember me?"

"I don't know her, I don't remember her!"

His icy tone was chilling, and his expressionless face instantly created an awkward silence.

He had been pressing the door shut with his foot, and Old Man Ruan had tried to push it several times without success. Now, hearing Zhou Yichen say such things, he immediately gave up.

"What do you mean by that? How can you say you don't recognize me? My Hongmei is going to be your wife!"

Upon hearing this, tears streamed down Ruan Hongmei's face as she sobbed in grievance. The couple who had come with her quickly comforted their daughter.

"Don't cry, don't cry. What he says doesn't count. Grandpa Zhou will stand up for you. We're not afraid of him."

Ruan Hongmei looked at Zhou Yichen through teary eyes. How could she not cry? Ever since she heard that he had quit the army, she had been worried every moment that the Zhou family would find him a partner.

However, she has not seen Zhou Yichen since she came to Kyoto in recent years, and her grandfather's idea of ​​arranging a marriage has been repeatedly rejected by Zhou's grandfather.

She's nineteen this year (by Chinese reckoning), and if she delays any longer, she'll become an old maid. That's why she's been waiting in Kyoto since after the New Year and hasn't left.

But today, when he finally met her, he said he didn't know her?

We used to see each other every year when we were little.

"Brother Yichen..."

"Shut up!"

Zhou Yichen coldly retorted, "As a woman, please have some self-respect. I have a boyfriend, and your behavior could easily cause misunderstandings."

what? !

Ruan Hongmei's eyes widened, and she stubbornly shook her head, "I don't believe it, you and Grandpa Zhou are both lying to me!"

She then forced a smile, ignoring her flushed face, and said, "Brother Yichen, I know you're focused on your work and don't have time to think about personal matters. I respect that. If you don't want to think about marriage, we can postpone it."

But don't lie to me, it hurts my feelings..."

Ruan Hongmei wasn't particularly outstanding, but she believed she had an advantage over the beautiful and well-connected girls from Kyoto.

Her inexplicable self-confidence stemmed entirely from the fact that her grandfather was Grandpa Zhou's savior.

Back then, Grandpa Zhou was surrounded by the Japanese devils. When he tried to break through the encirclement, he and his guards were separated. In the end, it was her grandfather who carried the seriously injured and unconscious Grandpa Zhou back from a hidden mountain stronghold. That's how he survived to this day and achieved his current status.

The reason why the Zhou family members were able to hold official positions and enjoy great prestige in the capital was entirely due to the kindness of his grandfather in saving them back then.

This idea is truly a bit illogical.

Zhou Yichen had long seen through the true colors of this family.

The Zhou family never denied the life-saving grace. Back then, his grandfather gave him every thanks he was entitled to. Even after the liberation, his upright and selfless grandfather used his connections to get a job for the Ruan family's illiterate son.

Even though his family often came to Kyoto, his grandfather always treated them like proper relatives.

Later, Old Man Ruan suddenly proposed that the two families arrange a marriage, which was immediately rejected by Grandpa.

He made it clear that he was the one who had saved his life, not his grandson, and that he would never let the younger generation bear the responsibility.

Unexpectedly, the Ruan family stopped mentioning it afterward, but continued to have frequent contact with him. Then, after Zhou Yichen was transferred to another job, they brought up the old matter again, which was extremely annoying.

Of course, this is also one of the reasons why Zhou's mother was in such a hurry to find a partner for her son.

Zhou Yichen gave her a cold glance. "You're nobody to me. I have no reason to lie to you. I'm just stating the facts."

Also, my matter is only a matter concerning the Zhou family and has nothing to do with your family.

As a lesbian, you should have at least some basic sense of shame, right? Before, your whole family pretended not to understand what I was saying. I didn't care what you did when I didn't have a boyfriend, but now that I have a boyfriend, I have to give her respect and a sense of security. If you continue like this, you'll become very unpopular.

Please don't be so shameless as to try and get close to me again.

Ruan Hongmei was heartbroken. This was the only time Zhou Yichen had ever said so much to her, but it was all words that were stabbing her in the heart.

"That's not how it is, Brother Yichen, you wouldn't..."

"I will. If you don't want to be kicked out by me in an even more embarrassing way, you'd better stop fantasizing, otherwise it will only embarrass you and your family."

Zhou Yichen was so disgusted by the title "Brother Yichen" that he wanted to vomit. He pushed Old Man Ruan back and said, "If you have something to do with my grandfather, then wait until he is here. Now, please leave!"

The Ruan family was furious. This wasn't asking them to leave; it was telling them to get lost!

Zhou Yichen didn't lower his voice intentionally, so not only could his mother, who was sitting in the house, hear it clearly, but even people passing by the Zhou family's door could hear the gist of it.

Although they were all leaders of some rank, none of them could resist the temptation of gossip and were immediately captivated.

Such a lively scene at the Zhou family's house is a rare sight; only a fool wouldn't watch.

"you you you……"

The Ruan family members blushed deeply, trembling with anxiety and anger, their eyes fixed on Zhou Yichen as if they wanted to tear him apart right then and there.

They never knew that this person, who had always been taciturn from childhood to adulthood, would have such a sharp tongue.

He's ripping off their family's face and stomping on it!

"Hey Zhou, watch your tone. I'm..."

"Isn't it just a life-saving grace? It's been over thirty years. What, isn't what I've given you enough? Well, what a coincidence! Today I'm informing you that your days of eating, drinking, and taking from us without ever getting enough are over!"

If you insist that the debt of saving my life must be repaid with marriage, then fine, as long as my grandfather is willing, I don't mind having such a young stepmother!

"Cough cough cough..."

Zhou's mother, who was watching the commotion from the windowsill, almost choked on her own saliva.

My God, what's wrong with her son? How could he say something so shocking with such a serious face?

This is very unlike Zhou Yichen. Could he be possessed by a ghost?

The burst of laughter from those around him enraged Old Man Ruan, who always considered himself an elder of the Zhou family.

"Zhou Yichen, how could you insult people? This is ungrateful, discriminatory against poor and lower-middle peasants, and a serious mistake!"

The Ruan couple were also furious. They wanted to rely entirely on the Zhou family, but their daughter was at the prime of her life. How could she be associated with an old man who was about to die?

"This is outrageous! We're going to report you!"

Ruan Hongmei was filled with shame and indignation. She looked at Zhou Yichen with a sad and sorrowful expression, shook her head repeatedly, and then her eyes suddenly turned into hatred and disappointment, as if he had done something to betray the country.

Zhou Yichen's expression suddenly became even colder.

A person's subconscious words and actions most easily reveal what kind of person they are. The fact that the Ruan family used the tactics of "overthrowing" and "criticizing" so skillfully shows that they had used such pretexts to persecute people many times.

Clenching his fists tightly, Ruan's father was now a commune leader, and he had managed to get to this point despite being illiterate, thanks in no small part to the help he received from the Zhou family in the early stages.

However, at that time he behaved very uprightly and had good business acumen, so the Zhou family found him a suitable position.

But now... some people have already changed.